Raiders release Antonio Brown after Instagram post

The Oakland Raiders finally released wide receiver Antonio Brown on Saturday after he demanded it happen on Instagram only hours before.

Antonio Brown is a free agent. Everyone in Oakland is breathing a sigh of relief.

Brown, who was traded to the Raiders for a third and fifth-round pick in March, never played a down in any capacity for Oakland. This finally ends one of the most bizarre chapters in NFL history.

Brown, 31, all but forced his way out of Pittsburgh and landed with the Raiders, who packed $30 million guaranteed into his contract. However, Brown was an issue from the start, missing a portion of OTAs before eventually showing up to training camp in a hot air ballon.

Form there, Brown was sidelined with frostbitten feet and then a spat over his outlawed helmet. Once he finally found appropriate headgear, Brown then squabbled with the organization and general manager Mike Mayock, allegedly calling him a cracker while threatening to punch him in the face.

Amid rumors of being suspended without pay, Brown apologized to the team on Friday but then put up a YouTube video which featured a recorded conversation between himself, head coach Jon Gruden and agent Drew Rosenhaus. On Saturday morning, Brown demanded his release on social media after finding out the Raiders were fining him and voiding the guarantees in his deal.

The Raiders walk away from this without a pair of much-needed draft picks and egg on their face. Still, releasing Brown was the only move after such a turbulent offseason.

As for the embattled future Hall of Famer, Brown can sign wherever he’d like.