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Former New England Patriots, and current Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Cassius Marsh somehow made news in the Boston sports world.
The outspoken 29-year-old who spent just nine games with the Patriots in 2017 has likely made more headlines for bashing one of his six former teams than for anything he’s done on the football field as a pro.
“They Treat Players Like Crap”
While appearing on comedian Tom Segura’s podcast, Marsh let loose on the “Patriot Way” in a rant that caught a good amount of attention during a slow week for actual football news.
Marsh originally said this back in 2018 shortly after the Patriots waived him in 2017, per WEEI’s Ryan Hannable:
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.
Marsh doubled down on his criticism of the team in Segura’s broadcast. He delivered this eye-popping take.
The Patriot Way is extremely impressive. They work day-in and day-out. Their work ethic over there [that] they instill is pretty legendary. They also treat players like crap. You don’t have a lunch period. … You get there and you have to make time to eat in between meetings. And they are like 5-10 minute periods where I would literally go scoop food and put it in a cup and like crush it real quick before I got to the next meeting. There’s no fun. There’s no — well, that is what I got in trouble for, for saying they don’t have fun.
Take a look at the video:
Marsh knows he’s hated in Patriot country. He gives one more quote that sort of gives respect for the franchise’s success, but he goes on to say the organization treats players like crap.
Patriots fans hate me. I am probably one of the most hated former Patriots. Up there. Top five at least. … Here’s the thing: over there, nobody says anything publicly because they have won so many championships. So, you don’t want to upset the fan base because after you win a Super Bowl, you can get paid for signings in New England for the rest of your life because you’re a Super Bowl champ. It was funny, when I did that article a lot of the players like thanked me for making it public on how bad they treat guys. I mean, they win games so you just really can’t argue with championships.
Who is Cassius Marsh?
Marsh has been in the NFL since 2014 after the Seattle Seahawks drafted him in the fourth round. He has played in 92 games during his NFL career. He’s started nine times and has recorded 14 sacks, 29 QB hits, 5 forced fumbles and 175 tackles in his career.
It’s hard to take a guy like Marsh serious. He’s taken shots at an organization with a proven track record of success, and there are also a ton of players who would disagree with his takes about the way the organization treats the guys on the roster.
Trent Brown couldn’t wait to get back to New England after some unhappy seasons with the Las Vegas Raiders. Players like Lawrence Guy, David Andrews, James White and others had a chance to leave, but elected to re-sign with the Patriots.
It all comes down to what works for each individual, and Marsh’s comments come off as a blanket generalization. Those are almost always off base.