Players who made a mistake and asked for a realease

Vanilla_Ice · Joined: 17 Jan 2013 Posts: 104

I've been thinking about this one for a while. What NFL players out there have asked for a release because they thought they were better than what they were and it ended up not working out?

- A recent one is Kellen Winslow. The Seahawks were going to sign him for a reduced salary and he said no. So the Pats sign him and he asks for a release directly after signing, probably because he thought there was a market for him. How silly does he feel when both Gronk and Hernandez got hurt?

- Chris Cooley is another one. Dude wanted released because Fred Davis was named the starter. No one wants him and he comes back only after injuries and has zero chemistry with RGIII and is lucky to be catching a paycheck.

- I think the ultimate one was Jeff Garcia. The Raiders wanted to give Jamarcus Russel another shot to start and Garcia wanted to be the starter immediately. No one wanted Garcia and he signs with the Eagles for 1 game that year as a backup. Russel meanwhile was benched like 3 or 4 weeks into the season and his career was over. I think Garcia could have played there a year or two and done fairly well. He would have atleast extended his career. He ended up in the UFL begging the NFL for another shot that basically never happened. The Texans signed him at the end of the 2012 season but he was never activated.

- Oh, lets not forget my main main Tiki Barber. The moron retires from football to "pursue" other interests in life like Journalism. Knocks up a young intern, gets divorced and fired from million dollar a year job with NBC for it, goes broke, we win a superbowl, and he tries to make a comeback as a mid 30's runningback. His situation is alittle different because he retired, but wow did he overvalue his worth and think he was superman. Now he's on CBS radio probably making 60k a year if he's lucky.

In reality, NFL players should realize how lucky they are to be getting a paycheck. Pacman Jones is forever grateful to the Bengals for the 2nd chance and now speaks to rookies every year about the opportunities that are so fleeting. I can't believe how arrogant some of these guys are.

Any other stories out there anyone can remember?

OneBadCat · Joined: 24 Aug 2012 Posts: 632

Mushin Muhammad.

He left the Panthers at the peak of his prime and left for Chicago where receivers go to die. He was never the same player he was in Carolina. Had he stayed the Panthers would have never had to replace him and Steve Smith would have had a competent #2 WR.

lavar703 · Joined: 12 Jan 2009 Posts: 4835

As far as I know Cooley never asked for his release and was always open to the idea of coming back a Redskin. Local media reported he had offers with other teams but just had no interest in going anywhere else...
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Vanilla_Ice · Joined: 17 Jan 2013 Posts: 104

Shorty McFast · Joined: 27 Apr 2011 Posts: 746 Location: At the desk

Bryant McKinnie said "just release me" many times during his stay with the Vikings. They finally got tired of it and did. He's bankrupt BUT he's now playing for a Superbowl. You could call it either way I guess. Career success but not financial success.

dotmotion · Joined: 21 May 2008 Posts: 10133 Location: Vancouver

Read on New York Times that Tiki Barber has this website where he books out athletes for corporate events and it just got over 3m in investments... His journalism career isn't going as well but if this venture turns out, maybe he has other avenues to pursue.
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Brian23 · Joined: 08 Feb 2010 Posts: 5083

Pugger · Joined: 01 May 2010 Posts: 4324 Location: N. Fort Myers, FL

What about a player who pretended to retire? Wink

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EliteTexan80 · Posted: Tue Jan 29, 2013 10:30 am Post subject:

Hmm...

- Sage Rosenfels requested a trade; He was moved to the Vikings to compete with Tavaris Jackson for the starting job. Soon after the trade, Brett Favre decided to take his talents to St. Paul, so the end result was just as it was in Houston; Only instead of backing up the oft-injured Matt Schaub, he was backing up the NFL All Time leader in consecutive starts. Yeah. Way to think that through, Rosencopter. Laughing

- Not necessarily a trade/release, but TE Joel Dreessen went from the Texans primary RZ option to Denver's #5 option this past season. Granted, the money was nearly the same and Denver is where Joel D is from...but he could have been the key guy in the Texans O this past season, a season where the Texans had a dire need for a RZ offense.
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Slateman · Joined: 13 Nov 2006 Posts: 4612

Vanilla_Ice · Joined: 17 Jan 2013 Posts: 104

Vanilla_Ice · Joined: 17 Jan 2013 Posts: 104

Vanilla_Ice · Joined: 17 Jan 2013 Posts: 104

EliteTexan80 · Posted: Tue Jan 29, 2013 12:31 pm Post subject:

Vanilla_Ice · Joined: 17 Jan 2013 Posts: 104