Santonio Holmes Was in Verbal Altercation With Teammates in the Huddle

Putting together tweets from beat writers in the locker room for postgame discussion, it seems Santonio Holmes was pulled after getting into a verbal fight with a teammate, and something had been brewing for a long time.

Manish Mehta:

There were 2 separate incidents involving verbal jarring between Santonio Holmes & Jets' teammates in the huddle. #nyj

Matt Slauson on Jets' jarring in huddle: "It started off between Holmes & another guy. Then everybody came at each other. It was bad."

LT on Holmes: "There were some guys in huddle unhappy w/Tone’s demeanor. t’s tough for guys to follow a captain who behaves in that manner"

Jenny Vrentas:

Holmes' teammates questioned Holmes' passion, in this game and the season. Tomlinson this sparked an argument in huddle in 4Q.

Bob Glauber:

Santonio Holmes asked if he wants to return to the Jets next year. Doesn't answer question, walks off podium, says, "Thank you guys.

Holmes is not going anywhere. Cutting or trading him would cost the Jets $8.5 million in cap space, pretty much all of the cap space the Jets are entering the offseason with. It wouldn't be logical to do that just to get rid of a guy with the kind of talent Holmes has.

I think it's pretty clear there is a leadership void in the locker room. Tomlinson is right. This kind of thing probably wouldn't happen on a team with strong leadership. Even more, it is one of the leaders doing it. I think it also casts doubts on Mark Sanchez's leadership that his best receiver has been acting this way all year to the point it boiled over in the huddle as the season was on its last breath.

Mainly, though, I think this is just a product of frustration over losing. The big flap between Holmes and offensive line happened during a losing streak. Everything seemed fine once the Jets seemed to right the ship. Losing brings out frustration.

Holmes might be a diva, but his attitude falls far behind Mark Sanchez's lack of development, right tackle, safety play, and play calling in addition to other culprits for this disappointing season. Teams have won with him in the past. They probably will in the future.