Wide receiver Denzel Mims has made it pretty clear that he wants to be traded away from the New York Jets, calling a trade the “only option” for him at this point. However, Jets head coach Robert Saleh doesn’t seem to be ruling out Mims’ future with the team just yet.
In an interview on Friday, Saleh said he has had a “really good conversation” with Mims and isn’t willing to say his time with the team is over just yet, according to NFL.com.
“It’s not over. I’m not going to say it’s over with him,” Saleh said. “Is it (disappointing)? Sure. You go into this and you fight for all your guys and you’re trying to get them to where you want them to be. You just want to see these guys have success — all the individual players — you want them to have successful careers and achieve all their personal goals.”
Even though Mims has publicly requested a trade, Saleh does not think it’s negatively affecting the locker room. And due to the nature of Mims’ trade request, he does think reconciliation is possible at this point.
“I don’t think it’s a locker room distraction,” Saleh said. “That’s where I’m getting at. It’s a business part of it. You know, he’s one of our 53 best. This is the business part of it. In my heart, and I think you look at Denzel, it’s not, ‘I don’t want to be a part of New York.’ It’s not, ‘I don’t like my locker room. I don’t like my teammates. I don’t like my coaches.’ It’s, ‘I want more.’ Which is understandable.”
The Jets open their regular season at home on Sept. 11 against the Baltimore Ravens. We now wait to see if Mims will still be with the team.
[NFL.com]
