Defensive end Cassius Marsh spent two and a half months with the New England Patriots last season, and he didn’t have the greatest experience there, to say the least.
In an interview with the San Francisco Chronicle, Marsh explained that the Patriots “don’t have fun,” that he hated his time in New England and that he essentially orchestrated his own release to escape Bill Belichick.
In New England, Marsh, a classic speed rusher, said he was miscast as a “coverage” linebacker. And he became so disenchanted with his role and the Patriots’ culture that he “wanted to get waived” when he requested a meeting with head coach Bill Belichick that precipitated his exit.
“They asked me to do a bunch of stuff that I had never done: covering running backs and receivers and basically almost never rushing the passer, which is what I did in playing defensive line,” Marsh said. “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? It made me for the first time in my life think about not playing football because I hated it that much.”
Later in the Chronicle’s piece, Marsh said he confronted Belichick about the “B.S.” that was going on around him and more or less asked to be cut.
“I confronted (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.”
If you’re a Patriots fan reading this, you’re probably grumbling to yourself that the NFL isn’t about having fun, it’s about winning, and Belichick is the greatest, and everyone else can kiss Tom Brady’s rings and all of that. And if you’re not a Patriots fan, Cassius Marsh might well be your new favorite player.
The Patriots acquired Marsh from Seattle last September in exchange for two draft picks. He appeared in nine games at linebacker and recorded 19 tackles and one sack before being cut just before Thanksgiving. The 49ers scooped him up, and he spent the rest of the season in San Francisco back at his preferred position of defensive end.
It’s not often you see a player trash his former organization the way Marsh did the Patriots, but hey, we salute his honesty.
