Demaryius Thomas Releases Statement After Being Cut By Patriots, Calls Trade ‘Insulting’

New York Jets veteran receiver Demaryius Thomas inked a deal with the New England Patriots in the offseason. He was released in the final roster trimmings on Aug. 31, re-signed with the team on Sept. 2, was inactive Week 1 due to his hamstring injury, and was then traded to the Jets on Sept. 10. The Jets will confront the Patriots on Monday night.

“It was insulting, for sure,” Thomas told Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News on Wednesday about the moves he made prior to his contract with the Jets. “Once I got cut (on Aug. 31), 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 him because they planned to ink Antonio Brown. That story didn’t have a happy ending, and the Patriots now have a lot of injured players.

Thomas wasn’t angry with the business approach New England had, but didn’t like the way head coach Bill Belichick handled his situation.

“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.”

Signing Brown caused a lot of problems, and the Patriots try to add strength to the wide receiver unit.

“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. … They’re doing a hell of a job.”