Eric Decker's wife on the losses piling up: 'He's been depressed'
Jessie James Decker, left, is the wife of Jets wide receiver Eric Decker. Credit: AP/Lee S. Weissman composite
Losing has taken its toll on Eric Decker.
His wife, Jessie James Decker, admitted as much during a radio interview with "The Todd Show" on New York station WPLJ (95.5).
"It's been a really hard season," she said. "He's been -- I don't want to say depressed, but he's been depressed."
Though the Jets wide receiver downplayed the level of his despair, he made it clear that losing 10 of the past 11 games hasn't been easy to accept.
"That's obviously dramatized," Decker said of his wife's comments shortly after the Jets dropped to 2-10 with a 16-13 loss to the Miami Dolphins on Monday night at MetLife Stadium. "But it's hard.
"I will say that going home's a little tougher and I've got to do a better job of balancing those things. But I'm a competitor and I want to win and I came here to win, and for me, I've got to be better at what I do. That's all I can control. I'm going to try to be the best teammate I can be and be the best receiver I can be.
"And losing [stinks], period. No one wants to lose. And if you're OK with losing, if you're going home and fine with losing, there's something wrong inside of you.
"This game, you only get so many years to play, and I would enjoy getting another shot of making a run and having that success. Not saying we're far off at all. We just need to execute better."
Signing Decker was general manager John Idzik's top priority during free agency, and the Jets gave the former Bronco big money to sign with them. Decker, who inked a five-year, $36.25-million deal in March, said he doesn't regret it.
"I don't second-guess my choice at all," Decker said. "The New York Jets wanted me to come here and Denver didn't. So I was excited about coming here and I wouldn't have done anything differently."
