New Jets cornerback Aaron Berry said after he signed this week that he knows he’s working on his last chance in the NFL after the Lions dumped him this summer for getting arrested twice. But Berry says that if there’s a coach willing to give second chances, it’s Jets coach Rex Ryan.
Berry told reporters today that in his first conversation with Ryan, Ryan made a point of telling Berry that he’s a believer in giving people second chances.
“He pretty much told me he’s a guy that gives people second chances,” Berry said, in comments distributed by the Jets. “He feels like everybody deserves a second chance. He just wants me to come in here and respect everybody in the locker room and just be disciplined. If they take me in, then I won’t make the same mistake as I did before. I’m just going to take that in and like I said before, I’m blessed to be here and thankful that they gave me a second chance.”
Berry, who was arrested once for drunk driving and once for brandishing a gun during a traffic altercation, insists that the Jets have nothing to worry about with him.
“It’s a blessing,” Berry said. “They gave me a second opportunity that a lot of people don’t get. I plan to take full advantage of it and do what I can to help this team win some games.”
If Berry’s days of getting in trouble off the field really are behind him, then this has the potential to be a good move for the Jets. Berry would be starting for the Lions right now if it weren’t for his off-field issues, and it’s not often that a starting-quality cornerback is available for nothing in the middle of the season.