Jets

Former NFL WR Brandon Marshall was in the locker room when Jets QB Geno Smith was sucker-punched by LB IK Enemkpali after a situation erupted over $600. Marshall noted that being knocked out by a teammate could have derailed Smith’s career, yet Smith is now returning to New York to finish up his career. 

“You see what happened; something like that usually crushes guys — it’s over and it’s done,” Marshall said, via Rich Cimini of ESPN. “You go to New York City, you lose it all and you’re embarrassed, right? Your jaw is broken and you shut down and it’s over. But, no, he stayed the course. [He went from the role of] backup, backup, backup, backup, backup and — boom: ‘They wrote me off, I ain’t write back though’ — one of the greatest moments over the past 50 years. His grandkids are going to see that when the NFL puts out the 50 best clips from the sideline.”

Patriots

Patriots CB Christian Gonzalez said he didn’t know anything when asked if talks regarding a new contract were progressing, but wouldn’t divulge much more information.

“I’m focused on today,” Gonzalez said, via Doug Kyed of the Boston Herald. “Right now, it is practice in what, a couple, 30 minutes, 40 minutes. Worried on that right now, so we’ll focus on that.”

Patriots

Patriots HC Mike Vrabel was asked about preparing to face off with the Seahawks again in Week 1 and notes that the team will likely be completely different this time around.

“I think you just have to be careful,” Vrabel said, via Chad Graff of The Athletic. “It’s the first game. They’ve got a new coordinator, and some things will be different. I’m sure they’ll have some plays that are similar (to last year) that they like, and I think their defensive structure may be the same, (but) it may not. … You just have to be careful how much you show them and try to focus on what it is that we’re trying to accomplish.”

“We have a lot of new guys on the roster,” Vrabel added. “We have guys that are returning, our core guys, and understand that the journey’s going to be a lot more difficult just based on how we finished. … I think just staying consistent is probably the thing that we have to continue to do and not ride the waves of up here and then down low. We just have to try to stay consistent and continue to improve. The teams that do that are usually the ones that play in January. We’re focused on just competing against Seattle, not competing for something that’s going to happen in February.”