Demaryius Thomas signed with New England in April after being cut by Houston in February, and even though he looked great in preseason, he would not make the final roster. They would ultimately re-add him to the roster days later, but once Antonio Brown became available, Belichick suddenly traded him to the New York Jets.
Thomas spoke to the New York Daily News ahead of his team’s Monday night game against New England, and spoke about being disrespected and insulted during his short time there.
“It was insulting, for sure. […] Once I got cut (on August 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.”
Patriots head coach Bill Belichick was asked about those comments during a presser and even though he stated he thought he was being truthful every step of the way, he confirmed that he told Thomas one thing, but things changed, and he did something completely different.
“Looks, Demaryius is a great kid. I have a ton of respect for him, very professional and did everything we asked him to do,” Belichick said Thursday, via NESN. “Our circumstances changed a couple times in that period leading up to when he was traded. I felt like I was truthful with him but things changed and therefore what I said was not the same as what it was — what I’d said previously. It is what it is.”
This kind of thing happens in the NFL. The business side can be quite brutal.
