The Jets released running back Mike Goodson earlier today, but the transaction had little to do with his production on the field. Following Goodson’s failure to show up to training camp, the team announced that the player was cut with the “left squad” designation. Furthermore, he’s had zero contact with anyone within the organization, and that’s leaving some of his former teammates and coaches worried.
Offensive guard Willie Colon is one of those players (via ESPN.com’s Rich Cimini):
“Usually, a guy will send you a text and say, ‘I’m OK.’ Not to hear anything is scary in itself. All you can do is send out prayers to him.”
Goodson has had a bit of a troubled past. The issues began in May 2013, when he was found stopped in the middle lane of a highway by New Jersey Police. The cops say he was incoherent and had vomited, and a semiautomatic weapon and marijuana was allegedly found in his possession. Last season, he was suspended four games for violating the league’s substance-abuse policy. Wideout David Nelson briefly touched on his former teammate’s issues:
“The concern is what kind of state he might be in, where he might be and things he might be doing. Guys are trying to check in on him, making sure that stuff isn’t reoccurring and taking over.
“For somebody who has just gone MIA – nobody can get a hold of him and nobody knows where he is – that takes it to a different level and it goes beyond football. Guys aren’t reaching out to him because of football. They’re reaching out to him because they care about him. They want to know if he’s OK.
“That’s the element everybody is talking about. At this point, nobody is talking about, ‘Why isn’t he here practicing?’ I think the fear is that we haven’t heard from him. That’s not a good sign, honestly.”
Head coach Rex Ryan also addressed the matter:
“There’s no question, it concerns me. I’ve tried to reach out to him but haven’t been able to make contact with him.”
The only time we’ve heard from Goodson’s agent, Kennard McGuire, was following the player’s initial absence from camp on Tuesday:
“Mike must be accountable and responsible for his own actions and comprehend not only effective communication but simple communication.”
With that, let’s see what else is going on around the AFC…
- Free agent cornerback Brandon Flowers isn’t negotiating with teams yet, tweets Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com. The former Chiefs notable will spend the next two days with the Chargers. The Ravens, Steelers, and Vikings are among the clubs keeping a close eye on him. According to La Canfora (via Twitter), Flowers has no other visits scheduled yet and will re-evaluate the situation and whether to take more visits after he’s done spending time in San Diego (link).
- Count wide receiver Eddie Royal amongst the folks who want to see Flowers sign with the Chargers, writes Tom Krasovic of U-T San Diego. The two were teammates at Virginia Tech.
- New Jaguars running back Toby Gerhart wants to be the Jacksonville’s version of Marshawn Lynch, writes Jim Corbett of USA Today Sports. The Jags gave Gerhart a three-year, $10.5MM deal in March.
Zach Links contributed to this post.