ESPN’s Rich Cimini reports that Jets players Brandon Marshall and Sheldon Richardson got into a heated verbal altercation in the locker room following a loss to the Chiefs a few weeks back.
The two didn’t come to blows but Jets coach Todd Bowles did hear it. Recalling the incident he said:
I was right there, I heard it. It was loud. Yell down there, yell down here. It was no more than a normal training camp deal. It wasn’t anything significant . . . There were a bunch of people who had words because everybody was [ticked] off.
Bowles handled the matter internally and according to him it did not linger. Marshall said as much simply stating it was “an argument between two bulls…alphas.” Marshall is no stranger to controversy. He is extremely outspoken and is at the center of a lot of action both on and off the field. An argument between an offensive star and defensive star could be signs of something deeper. Particularly given the way both sides of the ball are segregated.
The Jets are 1-5 and not a very good team. With the upcoming change at qb things could get even worse before they get better. There are a lot of alpha males inside an NFL locker room and these guys are competitors. Losing tends to breed serious chords of discontent. There might be a few more locker room altercations this season if they continue on this trend.