New York Jets wide receiver Demaryius Thomas said he understands the business of football, but he has a problem with how the Patriots handled his brief time in New England.
The Patriots signed him this offseason, cut him on Aug. 31 as part of their cuts to get the roster down to 53 players, but re-signed him Sept. 2 — only to be traded to the Jets on Sept. 10.
Thomas called the debacle a waste of his time.
“It was insulting, for sure,” Thomas told the New York Daily News. “Once I got cut, I could have just come here (to the Jets) and not stayed there and re-sign. When they re-signed me, I was thinking that I was good. Two weeks later, I was gone. So, it’s like, ’Why did I waste my time?’ Because at the end of the day, it was kind of a waste of time for me.”
The Patriots traded Thomas because they had just added a new receiver, certainly an upgrade over Thomas and everyone else on the depth chart. Someone by the name of Antonio Brown.
Now, the Patriots don’t have Brown or Thomas, and injuries have hurt the rest of their receiving corps.
“Coach (Belichick) came up to me and was like, ’Uh, we got too many guys. We can’t get the ball around enough and we’re going to trade you to the Jets,’ ” Thomas said. “And that was that. … Ain’t no reason to yell. They’ve won championships without me. I was only trying to be a part of something that was going to be good when I was there.”
But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t still irk Thomas, the 31-year-old who used to be the No. 1 target in Denver.
“It was disrespectful to me,” Thomas said. “Like, you know, you could trust me and I could trust you. You told me when you cut me at the (final) cut, sit around you’ll bring me back. And I stayed. I could have easily become a Jet once I got cut… I could have been here the next day after I got released. But I chose to stay.”
The Jets play the Patriots on Monday night.
• Adam Zielonka can be reached at azielonka@washingtontimes.com.
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