Former Patriots defensive end Cassius Marsh recently trashed the legendary “Patriot way,” saying the Patriots’ uptight nature didn’t allow him to have any fun and that his time in New England almost caused him to walk away from the game.
Now a member of the 49ers, Marsh provided details on his experience with the Patriots in an interview with Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle. Marsh revealed that he “wanted to get waived” and facilitated a meeting with Bill Belichick with that goal in mind. He said the Patriots misused him, asking him to do things he had never done before, saying they had him “covering running backs and receivers and basically almost never rushing the passer” which is what he was used to.
Marsh ultimately got what he wanted, and was claimed off waivers by the 49ers. He’ll be playing on the opposite side of the country now for a team with a much different culture. It’s very rare for a player to openly criticize Belichick and the Patriots like this, and whatever you think of Marsh’s comments, it’s refreshing to see a player speak this honestly.
Here are more notes from the league’s eastern divisions:
- Dolphins receiver Leonte Carroo will undergo “minor knee surgery” according to Armando Salguero of The Miami Herald (Twitter link). Salguero adds that Carroo is expected to miss the rest of OTAs and minicamp, but should be back on the field by the time training camp starts in July. Carroo was a third-round pick in 2016, but has done little his first two years in the league. Dolphins beat reporters have already predicted he won’t make the team this year without a strong offseason, and this injury definitely doesn’t help his chances of making the team’s 53-man roster.
- Eagles general manager Howie Roseman is always active in the trade market during the summer months, and The Philly Voice’s Jimmy Kempski expects that to continue this year. Kempski speculates that several players could be on the move, including cornerback Ronald Darby. Kempski notes that Darby is heading into the final year of his contract, whereas all the Eagles’ other corners are locked up for multiple years. Kempski speculates that the Eagles may let Darby walk in free agency anyway, so they might try to trade him now and get something for him, perhaps a third-round pick.
- In case you missed it, Cowboys defensive end Randy Gregory is still going through the reinstatement process. Read all the latest here.
This is how NE views Marsh and his comments if anyone is interested.
Marsh saw himself as a “one trick pony” and BB thought he could be more than that. The Pats players who can do more than “one trick”. Marsh just didn’t seem to realize BB saw more potential in him than he saw in himself. Simply put, he did not want to learn more than the one trick and as a result he was miserable, as he put it. It’s too bad really. He seemed like a decent player.
Millennials are used to participation ribbons. The Pats don’t award those. It’s not for everybody. And it’s not supposed to be fun. It’s a job with responsibilities. It’s supposed to be challenging. Hard. Some guys can handle it and some are Marsh. No big deal. He got what he wanted and NE moved on. Apparently he hasn’t .
This is excellent
Fins fan here and I totally agree with you
Be one thing if marsh was a superstar or even an above avg player. His comments mean nothing the patriots are by far the best team in the past few generations, is it shocking a no name player who couldn’t handle NE speaks out against them? No, does it hurt the franchise? No, everyone knows the patriot way and that only the best players can handle it. Sorry you couldn’t bro.enjoy losing vs winning.
49ers won’t be losing. Because Jimmy G was taught by Bill and Tom. Marsh is young. When you’re young, you make dumb decisions. Like talking too much. We all know fun means nothing when winning championships is the standard. I’d rather win than have fun. But lots of teams do both. 49ers can do both.
Last I checked, players stirring up unnecessary drama wasn’t “refreshing”, but that’s just me..