Ahmad Brooks benched for missing team meeting: ‘I’m just a number’
San Francisco 49ers linebacker Ahmad Brooks appears to be growing unhappy with his current situation. The veteran did not play a snap on Sunday against the Oakland Raiders after he was benched as punishment for missing a team meeting.
Brooks missed a defensive meeting on Tuesday, which inspired Jim Harbaugh to put an end to the 30-year-old’s streak of 60 consecutive regular season starts.
“No, I don’t agree,” Brooks said of the decision, per Eric Branch of SFGate.com. “But I’m just a player. I’m just a number. I’m not the only one that’s ever missed anything. Of course, there’s been other people that have missed, or been late or whatever. But I’m not here to point fingers. I own up to my responsibilities. I wasn’t there.”
Brooks said he missed the meeting because he was unaware it was taking place before the players attended a domestic violence meeting on Tuesday.
When Aldon Smith returned from his suspension last month, Brooks reportedly benched himself during a game against the St. Louis Rams instead of splitting reps with Smith and rookie linebacker Aaron Lynch. Harbaugh later said that Brooks and the team were “working through” their differences.
With Lynch playing well and Brooks scheduled to count nearly $10 million against the cap in 2015, a divorce is likely inevitable.
