Many veteran players clamor to get to New England, thinking it gives them a chance at a ring.
But for at least one younger player, getting out of there might have saved his career.
Now-49ers defensive end Cassius Marsh said he “hated” his time with the Patriots.
“They don’t have fun there. There’s nothing fun about it. There’s nothing happy about it. I didn’t enjoy any of my time there, you know what I’m saying?” Marsh said, via Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle. “It made me for the first time in my life think about not playing football because I hated it that much.”
Of course, a reasonable response from the Patriots might be that they didn’t enjoy Marsh all that much either, as he had one sack in the nine games he was sentenced there, after they traded a fifth-round pick to the Seahawks for him.
“I confronted [coach Bill Belichick] about all the things that were going on,” Marsh said. “I won’t get into detail, but it was B.S. things they were doing. I just wasn’t a fan. And so I, basically, without asking to get cut, I kind of asked to get cut.
“I had confidence that I would have an opportunity elsewhere and I would take advantage of it.”
He did something resembling that, with two sacks and two forced fumbles in six games with the 49ers, and they gave him a two-year contract extension in February. And ostensibly, made him feel happy and valued.