Brandon’s not playing the feud
As far as Brandon Marshall is concerned, any feud he had with Sheldon Richardson is “dead.”
The new Giants wide receiver refused to escalate the war of words between he and his former Jets teammate while speaking at the conclusion of Big Blue’s training camp on Tuesday.
Richardson has repeatedly taken shots at Marshall since the veteran signed with the Giants this offseason, but Marshall is turning the page.
“I wasn’t surprised,” Marshall said. “There’s so much good energy here. The environment is amazing so I don’t really have the time to go back to that. It’s dead. It’s dead.”
The two former Jets teammates have been at odds since last season’s Week 3 loss to the Chiefs when they got into a heated altercation after the game.
In July, Marshall said he did not return to the Jets because they “didn’t stand a chance.”
This prompted Richardson to call Marshall “dramaqueenish” and accuse him of not taking any responsibility for the Jets’ struggles last season.
“That man knows what he did to the locker room a little bit,” Richardson told ESPN’s The Michael Kay Show last Monday. “If he can’t come out on media and tell them what he did and how he actually quit on his team way before the season is over with, then that’s all on itself.” It wasn’t the first time Richardson went after Marshall. The Jets defensive lineman also told reporters in May that he had 15 reasons why the Jets locker room is “a whole lot easier to get along with.” Marshall wears No. 15. While Marshall says “it’s dead,” the Giants do play the Jets in their third preseason game on Aug. 26 where both teams expect to give their starters significant playing time.
This means Richardson and Marshall will be on the field at the same time.
The Jets defensive tackle stated earlier in training camp that he is excited for the game, but did not specify why.
Meanwhile, Richardson’s close friend, Damon (Snacks) Harrison, seems to be caught in the middle of all this.
The Giants defensive tackle is teammates with Marshall again after playing together with him and Richardson while on the Jets.
Harrison said he talks to Richardson “about every other day,” but deflected any questions about Richardson and Marshall.
“I don’t concern myself with anything,” Harrison said. “I mind my own business.”
As for the rest of Marshall’s new teammates, things appear to be positive, though it may just be a honeymoon period.
The 33-year-old has received plenty of praise from his new teammates throughout training camp, with Weston Richburg and Janoris Jenkins speaking highly of his leadership abilities. That appeared to be evident at Tuesday’s practice. Marshall made a leaping, one-handed grab over Eli Apple in the back of the end zone, then went over to the second-year cornerback while the second team took the field and had a 20-second discussion with him, presumably over that play.
“He’s been great. He’s got experience,” Richburg said last week. “He’s obviously a leader, somebody that younger guys can look to and take advice from.”