Surprisingly, the Patriots released tight end Kellen Winslow on Thursday. Even more surprisingly, the move reportedly came at his request.
It has been widely speculated that Winslow decided he no longer could play with the chronic pain in his knee, presumably because he spoke in the days prior to his first game with the Patriots about playing with chronic pain in his knee. But Winslow has been playing with chronic pain in his knee for years.
Besides, if he wanted out because he decided he no longer could play with pain in his knee, wouldn’t he have retired?
There could be more to this story, especially since it came on a Thursday -- after a Wednesday practice that didn’t result in Winslow’s name being placed on the injury report. Winslow said he “had to roll” out of Tampa because he didn’t care for coach Greg Schiano’s “toes on the line!” approach. Schiano and Belichick are friends, and some would say they have similar styles.
Or maybe (and “maybe” means “we’re speculating”) the team decided after a week or so that Winslow wasn’t going to be a good fit, but the team was willing to create the impression that the move came at his request.
Either way, if Winslow continues to seek NFL employment, it’ll mean the knee had nothing to do with the decision.