Demaryius Thomas Calls Short Stint With Patriots a "Waste of Time"

Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

Wide receiver Demaryius Thomas expected to play with the Patriots this season, but after being suddenly traded to the Jets in September, he's calling the move "insulting."

Thomas, 31, signed a one-year contract with New England in April but was released on Aug. 31 during final roster cuts. He re-signed with the team on Sept. 2 and was inactive in Week 1 due to a hamstring injury. However, the Patriots traded him to the Jets on Sept. 10.

"It was insulting, for sure," Thomas told the New York Daily News. “Once I got cut [on August 31], I could have just come here [to the Jets] and not stayed there and re-sign. When they re-signed me, I was thinking that I was good. Two weeks later, I was gone. So, it’s like, 'Why did I waste my time?' Because at the end of the day, it was kind of a waste of time for me."

Thomas, who tore his Achilles last December and was dealing with a hamstring strain in August, told the Daily News he didn't like the way the Patriots handled their roster moves.

"It was disrespectful to me," he said. "Like, you know, you could trust me and I could trust you. You told me when you cut me at the [final] cut, sit around you'll bring me back. And I stayed. I could have easily become a Jet once I got cut. ...I could have been here the next day after I got released. But I chose to stay."

Thomas said he felt safe to stay with the Patriots, whose offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels drafted him in 2010 as the Broncos' head coach. However, New England signed Antonio Brown following his dramatic release from the Raiders on Sept. 7 and traded Thomas three days later.

"I felt like I was cool. But even having conversations with [McDaniels] and couple other people, it was like, 'You're going to be okay.' Two weeks later, AB gets cut...and then they kicked me [to the curb] and shipped me out like I'm just a rookie."

The Patriots released Brown on Sept. 20 following the announcement of an NFL investigation regarding alleged harassment and intimidation.

On Thursday, Patriots coach Bill Belichick was asked if he had any thoughts on Thomas's comments.

"Demaryius is a great kid. I have a ton of respect for him...I felt like I was always truthful with him, but things changed, so what I'd said to him was not the same as what I'd said previously. It is what it is," Belichick said, per ESPN.

The Jets and Patriots will meet on Monday night. Kickoff is slated for 8:15 p.m. ET.