Raiders’ Antonio Brown to see foot specialist

NAPA, Calif. — Wide receiver Antonio Brown was absent from the training camp facility as his Raiders teammates practiced in shorts Saturday.

The star pass catcher was instead scheduled to meet with a specialist about a foot issue that has limited Brown’s participation in his first camp with the team.

A source familiar with the situation confirmed the visit to the Review-Journal.

Brown, who posted a photo of his gnarly feet on social media earlier in the week, has missed six of seven practices since training camp opened and has yet to get in a full session.

The issue was believed to be minor, and there has been no indication from the team that assessment has changed.

Coach Jon Gruden and quarterback Derek Carr have mentioned in the past two days a desire to have Brown back on the field.

“You think every rep you miss is important time, at least that’s the way I look at it,” Carr said Saturday. “We wish the healing process of whatever’s going on will be fast. We want it to be fast, but at the same time you can’t rush things for training camp when you have a season and hopefully a playoff run to think about.

“We just know that when he does show up, we can’t wait to welcome him with open arms, and hopefully he’s healthy and ready to hit it running.”

Carr said the “meat and potatoes” of the process of building chemistry with Brown was done in the offseason through countless hours of running routes.

But details still need to be worked out.

“I’m used to throwing him the ball,” Carr said. “It won’t be brand new when he shows up. It will just be more on him in the details of the routes, getting out and doing it, then correcting it on film and fixing it the next day.”

Despite growing close so quickly, Carr wasn’t ready to see the picture of Brown’s feet. Carr follows Brown on Instagram, but indicated he was grateful to have missed the photo in his feed. He declined an offer from a reporter to view the photo on his phone.

In Brown’s absence, Carr has found chemistry with another newcomer expected to play a major role in the offense.

“Tyrell Williams is not just a No. 2 receiver,” Carr said. “He could easily take that featured role and be a 100-catch, 1,000-yard guy. The fact we got him is a blessing, man, especially with the feet thing that’s going on, having Tyrell is nice.”

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Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on Twitter.