Patriots sign Antonio Brown after dramatic Raiders release

On Saturday, the Antonio Brown era officially came to an end for the Oakland Raiders as they granted his request for a release from the team. Hours later, after online jokes arrived that the New England Patriots would sign Brown, they actually did just that. He’ll now join the reigning Super Bowl champs after a dramatic offseason with Oakland.

According to ESPN’s report, Brown’s agent Drew Rosenhaus confirmed his client’s signing with New England on Saturday to Adam Schefter. His new deal is for $15 million for one year with a $9 million signing bonus along with $10 million guaranteed. There’s also $5 million in incentives. The Patriots added yet another offensive weapon to their roster for quarterback Tom Brady, after receiver Josh Gordon was cleared to return to the team this offseason.

Meanwhile, it brings an interesting offseason to an end for Brown and his former team, the Oakland Raiders. He was acquired by Oakland in an offseason trade, and a lot was made about how he might help quarterback Derek Carr and the team improve this season. Brown was featured along with the team on HBO’s Hard Knocks, but also in headlines regarding his offseason drama or antics.

The first of the stores involved Brown’s frozen feet resulting in blisters after a cryogen therapy session in France. That led to Brown taking time to heal so he could return to the practice field. There was then a dispute involving Brown’s helmet choice. The league wouldn’t allow him to use his longtime helmet due to it not being in line with NFL safety policies. Brown tried to fight it and got a new helmet made for use this season.

However, the biggest drama came over the past few days including a blowup at general manager Mike Mayock. Brown was upset over the $215,073.53 in fines he was given for “conduct detrimental to the team,” which voided the $29.125 million in guaranteed money for his deal with the Raiders.

Brown’s former coach Jon Gruden told the media following AB’s release, “I tell you, he’s a good guy. He’s misunderstood by a lot of people. He’s a good guy. He’s a great player, and I hope he gets what he’s looking for.”

It appears he may have as Brown took to Instagram to post a photo of himself wearing a No. 84 Patriots jersey with the caption “God’s plan.” With the Pats signing him, they’ve moved ahead of the Kansas City Chiefs as 4-1 Super Bowl favorites, ESPN reported.

Antonio Brown will officially be able to play for the team in Week 2 of the season against the Miami Dolphins. Meanwhile, the Patriots will start things off Sunday with a matchup against another of Brown’s former teams, the Pittsburgh Steelers, with a Sunday Night Football game at 8:20 p.m. Eastern Time.