On the same day that his short-time former G.M. questioned his football character, receiver Kenny Britt’s short-time current quarterback praised his effort to fit in.
“You know, he’s just kind of come in and worked hard the last couple days and trying to understand all the things we’ve got going,” Tom Brady told reporters on Thursday regarding Britt. “Hopefully, we can add something to the mix here in a short period of time. It’s always challenging for a guy to come in late and pick up everything at once, but hopefully he can figure out a role. He’s had a lot of production and he’s going to have to go out and earn it, earn everybody’s trust to get out there, but he’s done a good job the first couple days.”
Brady also was asked the broader question of why it clicks for some veterans in New England and not for others.
“I don’t know,” Brady said. “That’s a good question. I’m not sure. We’ve done pretty good with veteran receivers. . . . It’s probably on a very individual basis. I think for most people, what you do is kind of up to the player and the professionalism and the ability to come in and put the work in every day. Some guys make it and some guys don’t. Veteran receivers -- I would say in our offense, it’s a pretty high degree of difficulty. So the guys who have been around a little bit know how to play football, know how to play professional football and prepare and study and all those things, can come in and do pretty well.”
All in all, it was a much better assessment of Britt than the one provided by new G.M. John Dorsey.
“From a cultural standpoint, I don’t think he fits in the prototypical character point of what I’m looking for in terms of a leader,” Dorsey said. “He did not live up to his expectations as a player.”
That’s arguably a low bar for Dorsey, given that he drafted cornerback Marcus Peters in Kansas City, among others who arguably aren’t a good fit when it comes to the “prototypical character point” of what teams are looking for in terms of a leader.
The truth is that coach Hue Jackson didn’t want Britt, and arguably never did. Dorsey quickly made the decision to move on. It’s been reported that Britt had been asking for his release, although Jackson has denied that.