Aug 13, 2019 3 min read

Antonio Brown has returned to the Oakland Raiders training camp facility after missing time to see a specialist for his frostbitten feet and losing a grievance with the NFL over the use of a helmet.

Brown walked on the field surrounded by cameras late in practice Tuesday and greeted his teammates for the first time since leaving the team about a week ago.

Brown says he has been meeting with a foot specialist to get healthy from frostbite and blisters that came while getting cryotherapy treatment in France. Brown has also been fighting with the NFL over his helmet, which is no longer certified for practice or games.

Brown’s agent, Drew Rosenhaus, says they have found a new helmet and are waiting to get it certified for use.

Brown says he has no timeline for when he will be able to return to practice but coach Jon Gruden says he expects him to be ready to play the season opener Sept. 9 against Denver.

Tate’s appeal denied: New York Giants wide receiver Golden Tate has had the appeal of his four-game suspension for a violation of the NFL’s policy on performance enhancers turned down.

The decision by an independent arbiter was announced Tuesday and means the 10-year-veteran will miss the first four games of the regular season, starting with Dallas on Sept. 8.

Tate, who signed a $37.5 million contract as a free agent with the Giants in March, announced the suspension in a Twitter post on July 27. He said he intended to appeal it and felt his case had merit because he was using a fertility drug prescribed by a doctor.

The appeal was heard by a member of an independent appeals panel in New York last week.

Tate will be eligible to practice with the team until the start of the regular season.

Petition seeks separate union: A petition reportedly has been filed with the National Labor Relations Board seeking to create a separate union for NFL running backs.

According to the website Law360, the petition was filed Thursday by the International Brotherhood of Professional Running Backs and focuses on the shorter careers for players at the position.

“These employees have unique career structures; and the current one-size fits all unit is inappropriate,” the petition says of players’ representation by the NFL Players Association. “Excluded: All other player groups,” it said.

The NFL Management Council and the union have begun preliminary negotiations on a collective bargaining agreement. The current 10-year deal expires in March 2021.

A message to the players’ union seeking comment was not immediately answered.