Buffalo Bills wide receiver Isaiah McKenzie was inactive for Monday night’s game against the New England Patriots, and he may not have known the specific reason why until his coach’s postgame press conference.
With winds gusting up to 50 mph, Bills coach Sean McDermott chose to have safety Micah Hyde field punts and running back Matt Breida handle kick returns. McDermott was asked after the Bills’ 14-10 loss about McKenzie and Marquez Stevenson, two return specialists, not being active. He said he didn’t trust either to field kicks in the terrible weather.
McKenzie seemingly came across his coach’s explanation on Twitter, and he had a one-word response.
Isaiah McKenzie apparently didn’t know that Sean McDermott didn’t trust him or Marquez Stevenson to return kicks and punts vs. New England. pic.twitter.com/36f4LMnnlI
— Matt Parrino (@MattParrino) December 7, 2021
McDermott pointed to the play where Patriots wide receiver N’Keal Harry had a punt go off his helmet, giving the Bills the ball deep in New England territory. He said he wanted someone “that I trusted” to return punts.
Here was McDermott's full quote on making McKenzie/Stevenson inactive: "Ya, the same reason they [NE] turned it over on their punt return team, I wasn't willing to do that. So, I wanted to put a guy back there that I trusted, that was going to make good decisions with the ball."
— Bradley Gelber (@BradleyGelber) December 7, 2021
McKenzie is in his fourth season with the Bills. You can understand why he felt that was a bit harsh.
In addition to delivering some back-handed criticism of his own players, McDermott also took offense to a question about Bill Belichick. He was understandably in a salty mood following the tough loss.
Photo: Oct 13, 2020; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Buffalo Bills wide receiver Isaiah McKenzie (19) runs after a catch during the second half against the Tennessee Titans at Nissan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports
