The Jaguars are winning at the moment, which makes it a lot easier for their players there who left bad organizations in blatant cash grabs to make jokes now.
But Jacksonville safety Tashaun Gipson was willing to express his glee that he’s on the right side of the equation now, and hopes that his current team adds to the misery of his old team Sunday in Cleveland.
“I truly hope that we hang 40 on them,” Gipson said on ESPN Radio’s Freddie and Fitz show Monday. “Their offense probably shouldn’t score against our defense and I’m excited. That’s the true thing.
“It’s personal, but yet at the end of the day you’re still blessed . . . knowing that I’m in a situation right now where I don’t look back about it. I don’t look back with any regrets. I’m extremely excited with where I’m at right now, but you know it’s definitely going to be personal man, for sure.”
Signing a five-year, $35.5 million contract to escape Cleveland two years ago is reason to feel blessed, but for a guy who isn’t looking back, Gipson had plenty to say about Cleveland. And none of it was particularly complimentary.
The Browns are winless now, have lost 34 of their last 36 games, and lost double-digit games in 12 of the past 14 seasons.
But at the time Gipson joined the Jaguars, they had lost double-digit games five years in a row, and hadn’t been to the playoffs in nearly a decade, so it wasn’t like he signed with the Patriots or anything.
“You look back and I feel bad for those guys because, like I said, it’s nothing that they can do. They just go out there and play,” Gipson said of the players. “It’s the guys above them who make these decisions and, you know, it’s unfortunate. We’ve seen it time and time again, the opportunity that’s slipped by them.
“Every time [Eagles quarterback] Carson Wentz pop up on the TV, somebody brings it up [that the Browns didn’t draft him]. I had to play against [Texans rookie quarterback] Deshaun Watson. It’s unfortunate what happened to him, but that’s going to be one of the best young quarterbacks in the league and one of the best quarterbacks in the league in the coming years.
“It’s things like that you just continue to scratch your head. You’ve just got to look back and say, ‘Man, I’m glad to get up out of there.’”
Gipson was part of the free agent exodus of 2016, which saw a talented core of homegrown Browns leave for greener wallets, if not pastures. Tackle Mitchell Schwartz (Chiefs), center Alex Mack (Falcons), and receiver Travis Benjamin (Chargers) joined Mack in leaving on the field day of free agency.
And while he’s grateful for the Browns giving him a chance as an undrafted rookie in 2012, he’s even more grateful to be gone.