The New York Giants released Ahmad Bradshaw last week, and it’s a mystery how many potential suitors are going to line up for the oft-injured running back this offseason. Bradshaw had his ups and downs in New York last year, but the season ultimately ended in disappointment as the Giants missed the playoffs. One of the issues with that team, he says, was a sense of entitlement.
“We couldn’t come together as a team,” Bradshaw told the NFL Network on Tuesday, via The Star-Ledger. “Everybody seemed to think the season would come together in one game. We didn’t have the chemistry we had the year before … We didn’t play together, take advantage of the opportunities we had. … Everyone thought the games would just be handed to us. It was a tough season.”
That sounds to me like the definition of the Super Bowl hangover. One of the reasons it is so tough for a team to win back-to-back Super Bowls is the inability of players to stay as hungry as they were the year before. When you take into consideration the fact that the Giants defied the odds twice in four years and won championships as an underdog, it becomes even more difficult. Plus, it didn’t help that the back end of their schedule was so brutal.
As for his future, Bradshaw raised more than a few eyebrows when he essentially began selling himself to the New York Jets immediately upon his release.
“The New York Jets are a team that I’m excited to hear about, just to stay home, not make a big move from New York,” Bradshaw said. “It’s just right across the street from where I am now.”
The Jets have many needs outside the running back position, so Bradshaw would likely have to take a significant pay cut to stay in New York. He could also return to the Giants on a new deal, which he has not yet ruled out. He better sort this thing out fast. Fantasy owners are already curious.
