5 reasons the Raiders trade for Antonio Brown was terrible

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA - DECEMBER 23: Antonio Brown #84 of the Pittsburgh Steelers celebrates a touchdown during the second half against the New Orleans Saints at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on December 23, 2018 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images) /

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KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI – DECEMBER 30: Quarterback Derek Carr #4 of the Oakland Raiders in action during the game against the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium on December 30, 2018 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) /

2. Raiders don’t have the right quarterback

No one seems to be totally sure what the Raiders are going to do at quarterback in 2019. Publicly, both Gruden and GM Mike Mayock have spoken about their faith in Derek Carr. Behind the scenes, the team continues to be strongly linked with Kyler Murray.

Neither guy is going to be a good fit for Brown. This is a guy who had real issues with his Pro Bowl quarterback in the past. Roethlisberger isn’t a perfect signal caller, but he got Brown the ball an awful lot. Either Carr or an untested rookie is almost certainly going to represent a downgrade at quarterback for Brown moving forward.

The likelihood that Brown will line up opposite Jordy Nelson in the starting lineup won’t help things either. Nelson has had his moments, but he’s nowhere near the player that Juju Smith-Schuster is at this point in their respective careers. The lack of surrounding talent on offense will require the Raiders to find a quarterback who can make plays on his own. That certainly isn’t Carr, and probably won’t be a rookie early in their career.

It’s very likely that Brown will find himself pining for the way Roethlisberger delivered him the ball by the time Week 4 arrives. The Raiders simply don’t have the talent under center to take full advantage of Brown’s abilities. That’s a big reason why this trade is a bad idea for Gruden and company.

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