Do at least try to look surprised.
After the Steelers traded Antonio Brown and he was introduced at a press conference March 13 in Oakland, he spoke a lot of the right things about doing right by the Raiders but also threw in, "Obviously, my goal in the back of my mind is to catch Jerry Rice."
Meaning, of course, as the NFL's all-time leading wide receiver.
But in an Instagram story posted Friday on his personal account, AB clearly took that concept further:
These were the words: "Nothing even matters anymore but us catching Jerry Rice."
Here's betting Jon Gruden and Mike Mayock appreciate that motivation, not to mention Derek Carr and all of AB's new teammates.
And here's hoping, from the Raiders' perspective, that they don't ever find a JuJu Smith-Schuster there who can challenge him for top status or, for that matter, catches and yards. Because it becomes increasingly glaring that's primarily what motivated him in Pittsburgh, as well.
Can he catch Rice?
Well, he's 31, and his 130 games over nine NFL seasons have brought 837 catches for 11,207 yards and 74 touchdowns. To catch Rice in any of those categories, he'd need 174 more games, 713 more catches, 11,689 more yards and 124 more touchdowns. On the game count alone, he'd need to log 11 more seasons and never miss -- or simply blow off -- a single game. Even if the league succeeds in its new bid to expand the regular season to 18 games, he'd need to stay at a star level for another decade.
Without a franchise quarterback the caliber of Ben Roethlisberger, it should be stressed.
