Two Sundays ago, Cardinals defensive lineman Darnell Dockett reacted strongly to a plan to let the Jets score in order to have a chance to force a tie.
While the team still hasn’t disclosed what Dockett did (we reported he spat in the face of teammate Kerry Rhodes), the franchise saw fit to fine Dockett $200,000.
He spoke about the situation in a recent radio interview, and it appears that the situation may have driven a permanent wedge between Dockett and the organization.
“I have no idea,” Dockett told XTRA 910 Sports in Phoenix, via SportsRadioInterviews.com, as to whether he thinks he has a future with the Cardinals. “First of all I’m very thankful that the Arizona Cardinals have given me opportunities. From drafting me and to show my talent, I’m very thankful to the organization. If I’m not wanted somewhere then I will be happy somewhere else or however that situation may go down. To all the Cardinals fans, this was not my idea of me being traded or people thinking I might be traded and I came up with this or I said this. I never said that but at the end of the day I’m never going to be anywhere I’m not wanted or I’m not going to be somewhere where I’m treated unfairly. I want to be happy. I play with passion, I give everything I have on the field, I love what I do, I play injured a lot of times and I play through it, I don’t just sit out of games and watch my team go out there and play. Anything I can do to help this football team win I have done it and my record speaks for itself. At the end of the day if it comes down to that then I will take my talents somewhere else.”
Dockett definitely thinks he was treated unfairly via a six-figure fine. “It was shocking,” Dockett said. “‘Man did it come to this?’ I guess they felt like that’s what they had to do or whatever. I felt that it was unfair, I spoke on it, I felt it was out of my hands and I’m not really worried about it. I have a process going on.”
The “process” is an NFLPA grievance, which may or may not result in the facts coming to light.
Whatever happened, the team believes it was significant. Dockett, obviously, believes it wasn’t. And that disagreement could eventually result in the team and the player parting ways.
