Das Forum » Rishard Matthews didn't like his diminished role

in Tennessee's new offense Derrick Henry Jersey , so the wide receiver gambled on himself.He asked to be traded or released 鈥?and the Titans cut him. Matthews then waited for a team to sign him.It took four weeks to find another job. Now he's a member of the New York Jets , eager to help his new squad in any way he can."I fully understand the position I'm in," Matthews said. "I put myself in this position. I expressed that as well. I played special teams to make it in this league. I don't mind doing that, I don't mind taking reps off the guys throughout the week so they could be fresh for the game. Whatever I've got to do to get their trust and contribute, I'm all for it."The 29-year-old Matthews comes to the Jets to provide a potentially big boost to a receiving group that needs some help.Quincy Enunwa will miss his second game in a row with a sprained ankle that could keep him out a few more weeks.Robby Anderson hasn't practiced this week, also because of an ankle injury that coach Todd Bowles described as "kind of in between" a high and low sprain. Terrelle Pryor was released last Saturday with a groin injury.That leaves only veterans Jermaine Kearse and Andre Roberts, who's New York's primary returner, along with youngsters Charone Peake and Deontay Burnett."No. 1, he's a veteran," offensive coordinator Jeremy Bates said of Matthews. "He really likes the game. He's been here studying his tail off, and he's got great size, got great length, he's been productive in the league and he just understands the professionalism of the sport."Matthews signed a one-year contract extension with the Titans in August after leading them with 1,740 yards receiving and 13 touchdowns combined over the past two seasons.An undisclosed injury caused him to miss offseason workouts, minicamp and the Titans' first three preseason games. He was activated from the physically unable to perform list before the regular season, but never found a consistent role in new coordinator Matt LaFleur's offense. He had just three catches for 11 yards in three games before Tennessee released him when it couldn't deal him."That's just a situation that's in my past now," Matthews said. "It is what it is. That situation happened and I wish nothing but the best for those guys."Matthews had workouts with the Jets, Browns and Cardinals in the weeks after he was released, but wasn't immediately signed. He said in an interview that he thought he probably wouldn't be signed by anyone this season."I wouldn't say surprised," Matthews said of joining the Jets. "I guess I was just letting my feelings out at that given moment. Yeah, that was last week and I'm happy to be here and I'm just trying to learn as much as I can so I can contribute right away."Matthews has been putting in extra work on the field with Sam Darnold, trying to quickly build a bit of a rapport with the rookie quarterback.There are some familiar faces for Matthews in New York. He and Kearse were roommates at the NFL combine in Indianapolis in 2012 鈥?Matthews was a seventh-rounder by Miami; Kearse went undrafted before signing with Seattle.Jets linebacker Avery Williamson played with Matthews for two years in Tennessee, and is happy to have the receiver on his side."He had a lot of great catches, man," Williamson said. "You put the ball in his area, he's going to go up and get it. I'm definitely glad to have him out here. Once he gets back and used to playing again and continues to learn the system, I feel he's going to be a great asset for us. I mean, he's a tough guy. I've seen him make some catches where he takes some tough hits and he holds onto the ball well."Matthews has 228 catches for 3,147 yards and 21 touchdowns in six-plus seasons. With the Jets so thin at receiver, there's a good chance Darnold could be looking for Matthews plenty in Chicago on Sunday."I didn't know much before he came here Kevin Byard Jersey , but I know that he is a great player," Darnold said. "I know that we can kind of fit him everywhere. We can kind of put him in different spots and he's able to so far just in the first days. He's learning the offense like crazy."NOTES: C Spencer Long missed his second straight day of practice with knee and finger injuries. If he can't play Sunday, Jonnothan Harrison or Dakota Dozier would start in his place. ... CB Trumaine Johnson (quadriceps) remains sidelined. ... CB Morris Claiborne (shoulder/foot) and LT Kelvin Beachum (back) were limited after sitting out Wednesday. ... Also limited were: S Marcus Maye (broken thumb), CB Buster Skrine (concussion) and LB Kevin Pierre-Louis (foot). ... Darron Lee was a full participant after missing practice with an illness. With former Jaguars and Raiders coach Jack Del Rio throwing a foreign object into the punch receptacle regarding Russell Wilson‘s tenure with the Seahawks, an obvious question arises: If Seattle would consider trading Wilson, who should be calling?Although a trade would make more sense in 2020, when Wilson’s salary spikes from $17 million under the last year of his current contract to $30.34 million under the franchise tag, the fact that Del Rio has heard scuttlebutt about a possible trade means that it’s worth making a phone call to G.M. John Schneider, if a team needs a quarterback and potentially wants Wilson.But here’s the problem. The Seahawks, who would like to increase their slate of 2019 draft picks from four, will want a lot for one of the best three or four quarterbacks in football. And Wilson will still expect to emerge from the transaction as the highest-paid player in NFL history, with the franchise-tag dance providing his ultimate leverage against whichever team has him under contract this year.So who should at least explore the situation?The Giants currently make the most sense. Even though a $5 million roster bonus already has been paid to Eli Manning, New York could send perhaps the sixth overall pick in 2019 and either No. 17 or next year’s first-round pick for a 30-year-old quarterback who would, contract permitting, be their guy for at least a decade. (Wilson told me in December 2017 that he intends to play until 45.) Maybe he wouldn’t push so hard contractually, given the sponsorship and media opportunities that would generate much more money for him during and after his NFL career.As a TV personality, former Giant Michael Strahan has become everything former Giant Tiki Barber wanted to be, and then some. Wilson would be a candidate to pull off that same feat.Other teams that should at least consider making a call to the Seahawks include the Chargers (who also have a quarterback under contract through 2019 but could desperately use Wilson’s star power in the “Fight for L.A.”), the Dolphins (who seem to be more inclined to position themselves via the natural unfolding of events in 2019 to draft a quarterback early in 2020, which is a fancy way of saying “tanking”), and maybe the Titans (they could offer Marcus Mariota plus a first-round pick, and with Wilson the Titans instantly would become a national brand).Here’s another intriguing possibility: The first overall pick from Arizona, for Wilson. It’s an interesting philosophical question. If the Cardinals are thinking about drafting Kyler Murray with that No. 1 pick, does it make more sense to essentially draft Wilson with that same pick? He’s 30, but he’s proven. He’s also far more expensive than Murray would be.After talking it all through earlier today on and PFTOT, Simms and I decided that a possible trade makes much more sense in 2020 — unless Wilson is signed to a long-term deal.And it makes sense to expect a long-term deal, even if it comes after the Wilson-imposed April 15 deadline. Last year, the Seahawks essentially reconfigured the team around Wilson. The team was aware of his contractual situation at the time, and the 2018 plan for proceeding with the construction of the roster surely included a plan for making it all work financially in 2019 and beyond.