Josh Jacobs Sheds Light on Antonio Brown’s Raiders Chaos: Phone Habit, Money Issues, and the Story Behind ‘Free AB’

Inside Antonio Brown’s Unfiltered Raiders Stint

Antonio Brown has always been a lightning rod, but his short stretch with the Raiders really exposed sides of his personality that the public rarely saw up close. Running back Josh Jacobs recently pulled back the curtain on what it was like to be teammates with one of the NFL’s most talented—and controversial—receivers. The details aren't just about football. They’re about phones, feuds, and a viral video that defined a bizarre chapter in both Jacobs’s and Brown’s careers.

Jacobs didn’t mince words when he talked about Brown's habits during those infamous Raiders meetings. While plenty of players might sneak a look at their phones, Brown had his out in the open. According to Jacobs, Brown “would be in meetings on his phone and he ain’t even hiding that.” Plenty of coaches would have lost their minds, but the real twist? Brown still never made mistakes on the field. Jacobs marveled at it, calling him the hardest worker he’d ever seen—outside of defensive star Maxx Crosby. No matter how much chaos swirled around Brown, his game preparation and execution set a standard that almost nobody could match.

But discipline clashed hard with drama. The 2019 preseason, which was supposed to mark Brown’s Raiders debut, was filled with public blowups: helmet issues, missed practices, and an ongoing fight over his contract. Brown’s desire for guaranteed money became a huge bone of contention. Jacobs was right there when Brown shot the now-infamous “Free AB” video as talks turned tense. Team management threatened to yank Brown’s guaranteed millions, and the receiver’s reaction was raw and viral. Brown’s grievances weren’t out of nowhere—NFL contracts can get complicated, and the guarantees or lack thereof mean everything to star players. Still, as Jacobs recalled, most guys in the locker room didn’t approve of how the conflict spilled so far beyond closed doors.

The Fallout and Legacy

The mess finally reached a boiling point in September 2019. After a series of fines and public drama, the Raiders cut ties. If Brown’s exit was a headline, so was what followed: He signed with the New England Patriots the very same day. That run, too, was short-lived. Sexual misconduct allegations saw the Patriots move on almost immediately. It seemed like Brown’s NFL days might be behind him, but he found yet another second act, this time with Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Together, they went on to win Super Bowl LV—something that might have seemed impossible when Brown’s career appeared to be defined by off-field issues rather than his stats.

For everything that went wrong in those wild Raiders months, Brown’s numbers across his career stayed untouchable: 928 receptions, 12,291 yards, 83 touchdowns, and seven trips to the Pro Bowl. He collected four first-team All-Pro nods and carved out a spot on the NFL’s 2010s All-Decade Team. Maybe that’s what makes Brown so polarizing—equal parts distraction and generational talent. And for teammates like Jacobs, his time in Oakland wasn’t just about a headline or a video. It was a front-row seat to a sports soap opera that still leaves fans talking.