ALAMEDA Antonio Brown Jersey White , Calif. (AP) — Jordy Nelson's debut season in Oakland didn't go exactly as he hoped when he signed with the Raiders following 10 years in Green Bay.A team he hoped would be good enough to contend for the playoffs went into rebuilding mode instead. He dealt with knee injuries that hampered him early in the season, and it took time for him to build up a rapport with Derek Carr after so many years of catching passes from Aaron Rodgers.But the results have been there in recent weeks as a healthy Nelson has been a staple of Oakland's offense. "It's just time. It takes time. Nothing happens overnight," Nelson said Wednesday. "We just continue to work at it. It's chemistry, its confidence with me in him and him in me. It just takes time. It was nothing I was worried about."After catching five passes in a span of five games and missing another with a knee injury, Nelson has been prolific of late, starting with a 10-catch performance against Kansas City earlier this month. He has 29 catches for 308 yards the past four games, ranking tied for eighth in the NFL in catches and 12th in yards over that span."Anytime you get new receivers and they're going to be a focal point, it does take some time," Carr said. "I would say that, especially when he came off his injury, he was healthy and we had a lot of time on task. Obviously, I trust him. He's a great receiver. I think a lot of that has to do with once he got healthy, he was ready to roll. It was really that Colts game where I felt like we were ready to hit it rolling. Then he ended up hitting his knee or whatever and he was out. When he got healthy, just ever since then, he's a trustworthy guy that does things the right way. Usually guys like that, the ball ends up finding them."Nelson signed a $14.2 million, two-year contract with Oakland in March after being cut by the Packers. Nelson has no guaranteed money for next season until March and the Raiders could cut him before then with no penalty if they decide to move on from his $7.2 million salary cap hit.Nelson essentially replaced Michael Crabtree, who was cut by the Raiders and then signed with Baltimore this past offseason, and the two have matched production. Nelson has 54 catches for 661 yards and three TDs, slightly ahead of Crabtree's 52 catches for 587 yards and three scores for the Ravens.While Nelson knows he's near the end of his career at age 33, he's not quite ready to retire and hopes to be back with the Raiders in 2019."I plan to," he said. "It's not always the player's decision. But that's the plan. We've enjoyed our time out here so far, enjoyed the team and starting the rebuilding process and being a part of that. I believe that's the plan."It's a new experience for Nelson after being with a Packers team that made the playoffs in eight of his 10 seasons in Green Bay. He almost always played in games with playoff implications before joining a Raiders team that began this year 1-8.But Nelson has played his best down the stretch when the games have had little meaning, and he takes pride in the performance of the entire team the past few weeks when it would have been easy to pack it in.The Raiders (4-11) have won three of their past six games and head into the season finale at Kansas City looking to build on that performance with something they can carry into next season.Nelson has relished his role as a mentor to young receivers like rookie Marcell Ateman after being the beneficiary of that when he entered the league alongside Packers veterans Donald Driver, James Jones, Greg Jennings and Ruvell Martin."I think a lot of guys can take pride in that," Nelson said. "It's hard to do. You can get in a lull and just wish for the season to go by and not really worry about it. There are a lot of guys who have stayed true to the course and taken a lot of pride in their performance and have gotten a little bit of a taste of it. … As much fun as you try to have playing football, if you're not winning it's not that much fun." Antonio Brown is right about one thing: Helmets are important.The way Brown has been toying with his new team makes you wonder if he has ever worn one.The latest from Raider Nation on Tuesday was that the enigmatic wide receiver was on the practice field — and had with him a helmet officially certified by the NFL. That was certainly progress, even if it doesn’t mean Brown will be on the field Thursday night when the Raiders travel to Winnipeg to meet the Packers in the last meaningful exhibition game of the preseason.But if any further proof was needed of Brown’s intent to play this season — and collect the $30 million guaranteed under his new contract — he had a smile on his face and a helmet in his hand as he left the closed practice.And, two days after general manager Mike Mayock issued an ultimatum for his star receiver to decide if he’s all in on the season Bo Jackson Jersey White , the official word was Brown was, um, all in.“I’m confident that he’s going to be a heck of player for us and be ready to roll,” coach Jon Gruden proclaimed.Just what that means for Brown and the Raiders isn’t quite clear. The helmet issue isn’t totally settled, and neither is the team’s relationship with a star being counted on to help lift the Raiders out of the doldrums just in time for the team’s move to Las Vegas next season.But for now all is good from head to toe. Brown’s frostbitten feet, Gruden said, are healing, and he’s got a certified helmet to use even while filing a second grievance with the NFL to be allowed to wear his old one for one more season.And really, the NFL preseason is for rookies, not game-changing superstars. Despite Mayock’s bluster, the Raiders will be fine with everything as long as Brown lines up on the outside when the Raiders open their last season in Oakland on Sept. 9 against the Denver Broncos.“There is a lot of teams that are missing star players,” Gruden said. “My brother (Washington coach Jay Gruden) is missing one. The Cowboys are missing one. The Texans are missing one. That’s part of this league. Every year there are exceptions that you got to deal with, and I like our team, man. I like the way we are competing, and I like the way we are working.”That’s easy to say with nearly three weeks before the season kicks off for real. Like every other team, the Raiders are unbeaten and believe they can be playoff contenders, even if the bookies in Las Vegas say otherwise.But so far Derek Carr hasn’t thrown a pass to Brown when he’s been covered by someone in a different uniform. So far the only time Brown’s name has been mentioned has been in a sentence that included either bad feet, old helmet or hot air balloon.That gives HBO’s “Hard Knocks” series plenty of material to work with. But it doesn’t give long-suffering fans in Oakland much hope that their beloved Raiders will make one final glorious run to the playoffs before running off to fame and riches in Las Vegas.For that to happen, Brown has to be the player the Raiders hoped he would be when they got him on the cheap from the Steelers, who wanted no more of him after he left the team before the final game last year after reportedly arguing with quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.For that to happen, Carr needs to regain his confidence on the field and find some common ground with his new receiver. And that can’t happen with Brown checking into practice only when he feels the inspiration.Brown is a singular talent, whose 686 catches and 9,145 yards the past six seasons in Pittsburgh are the best marks ever for a receiver in a six-year span. He’s a game changer for a team that desperately needs one if it is going to get past the six wins oddsmakers in the team’s future home of Las Vegas are predicting this season.But if his opening weeks with the team are any indication, it’s going to take all of Gruden’s considerable talents of persuasion to keep Brown on the field. Already, Brown has shown with his twin dramas of frostbitten feet and bad helmet that he’s going to have to be coddled to be happy — and he’s yet to play a snap for his new team.Yes, the feet are getting better and Brown may be able to adjust to a new helmet. But the season has yet to begin, and there are plenty of potential minefields ahead.With all the drama still to come, it might be a good idea for the “Hard Knocks” cameras to stick around.Because while the Raiders don’t figure to be much to watch, Brown will surely be must-see TV.