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Patriots Signing Former Steeler LeGarrette Blount Despite Criticism
It looks like LeGarrette Blount is being recycled by teams. First he was at Steelers and now he is in the progress of being taken back by New England Patriots. He is certainly lucky to land a deal so fast because it is only last Tuesday that he departed from Steelers and he has now been confirmed at Patriots.
PG has learned that Steelers decided to set him free after he left the field while his side was still playing at Tennessee.His action was a reflection of the disappointment he was going through with himself.
He seemed to be blaming his poor performance on himself. Despite his absence, Steelers managed to carry the day with 27-24.
And by Wednesday, he was already in the free agents market thanks to the waivers he got early after his exit. Blount was actually a running back at Steelers where he recorded 266 yards and six touchdowns.
The star wanted to be alone even in the locker room because he was seen walking out the moment his team mates came in.
His performance at Patriots was quite commendable because he managed to get 772 yards and seven touchdowns. Perhaps that is why they have allowed him back.
Blount’s return is significant because at the moment the Patriots don’t have a reliable running back due to the fact that Stevan Ridley is nursing a knee injury.
Some of the star’s critics have been arguing that things would have been different if he would have swallowed his pride and apologized to his team mates. Before his departure, Blount had secured a two year deal with Steelers worth $3.85 million.
Since the deal has gone sour, Steelers don’t owe him anything except for the $950,000 that was guaranteed at the beginning of his contract. Steelers wanted to have him on board so that he could mentor their upcoming running back Le’Veon Bell.
There is no doubt that most of his team mates including the coach have been praying for his exit because he has only been a pain in the neck. There was actually an instance where he was accused of having marijuana.
A few weeks before the marijuana incident in August, he was involved in a heated argument with assistant coach, Joey Porter. The confrontation was said to be so fierce that it almost got physical.
Coach Mike Tomlin broke the news to Steelers and they were actually happy not to have him. “You know what, man, we have a good team,” center and team captain Maurkice Pouncey said. “If you don’t want to be here, don’t be here. At the end of the day, you have your decision to make as a man, and he made it.” Pouncey argued that Blount’s exit was meant to be a blessing.
“We’re fine,” Pouncey said. “We have our starting running back. It’s probably a good thing that it happened. At the end of the day, if it was a cancer, he ended up leaving on his own. That’s a blessing for us. At the end of the day, we’re good. We don’t need him.”
Everyone seemed to rally behind Pouncey. “We’re grown men and we need to act like grown men,” defensive end Cam Heyward said. “If you’re not on the field, that shouldn’t be a problem. If you’re not on the field, you have to make other contributions. We’re a team. If you don’t want to be a part of the team, don’t be a part of the team. We’re trying to win, and that’s not going to be acceptable.”
It’s only Antonio Brown that sugar coated his opinion probably because he has been friends with Blount. “I hate to see him do something like that and have to cause the result,” Brown said. “As a competitor, he let his emotions get the best of him. He got outside the grand scheme of things that are really important. What’s important is we play as a team; you embrace your teammates, you ride together. When we win, it should be positive.”