Rich Cimini says the events leading to Jerricho Cotchery's release were all because the wide receiver wanted to leave the team.
Cotchery, unhappy with his role as the No. 3 receiver, approached the organization after last season and asked to be traded, sources said.
The final straw apparently was the Plaxico Burress signing, which happened last Sunday. At that point, the Jets gave Cotchery's agent permission to speak to teams about a potential trade, a league source said.
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"He feels disrespected by the moves from the past two years, with the trades and being relegated to the third receiver," a player close to Cotchery said. "He wants a fresh start. I don't blame him one bit."
That kind of flies in the face of the whole he accepted his role perception we all had. It is another example of how we really do not know what is happening behind the scenes. Earlier in the week, we were all jumping on the Jets for trying to trade him. It turns out Cotchery was the reason for it.
I have a lot of respect for what Jerricho accomplished here so I will not get on. Careers in the NFL are short so guys should be happy. He is a starting caliber receiver. If playing time is what is most important to him, I don't have a problem with him seeking out a chance to do so. Some guys would rather play on a loser than be a backup on a good team. Part of me says the Jets should have held him anyway for depth, but the team probably felt an unhappy Cotchery would be more trouble than it was worth. I'd imagine there was a wink-wink deal that he does not sign with Miami or New England in exchange for granting him his release. If the Jets can grab Derrick Mason to replace him, it would not be a downgrade in the short term.