Brandon Marshall, Darrelle Revis play nice day after scuffle
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — It’s football, man.
That was Darrelle Revis’ take on his highly publicized practice skirmish with Jets teammate Brandon Marshall on Friday afternoon.
Egos clashed as the two stars went at it on the field, resulting in tempers flaring and Marshall taking an open-handed swipe at Revis as retribution. But a day later, the only hot head on the field was Marshall’s — literally.
The Jets’ No. 1 receiver exited practice briefly and immediately was tended to by a trainer. After he took off his jersey and shoulder pads on the sideline, a wet towel was placed over his head. He later returned to practice.
There was no leftover animosity between the two Pro Bowl players or any carryover of hurt feelings during the Jets’ scrimmage-like practice late Saturday afternoon. And when it was over, Revis reiterated that both players had moved on.
“It’s just football, man,” he said. “Every year that I’ve been involved in training camp, guys get after it. So it’s football to me. Nothing more.”
The on-field drama began when, according to Marshall, Revis “swung and hit me in the face” after he beat the cornerback on back-to-back reps during Friday’s one-on-one drills. Marshall admitted he swung at Revis with an open hand in retaliation, connecting with the cornerback’s shoulder pad.
While both players still were jawing at each other near the sideline, receiver Quincy Enunwa picked up Marshall in a bearhug to separate them.
Revis, however, said he didn’t cheap-shot Marshall. He said he inadvertently made contact with him “during the play.”
“Things happen,” he said. “You might jam, your hand might slip, whatever. You might hit somebody in the head, you might get poked in the eye, you might get your foot stepped on. It’s a very physical sport . . . We’re fine. We’re moving on. I might get into it scrapping with another wide receiver tomorrow. It just is what it is.”
Revis lined up against Marshall only a handful of times Saturday, but they never went head-to-head. Either a running play was called or the defense was in zone coverage. Coach Todd Bowles denied it was done on purpose, adding that the team was just sticking to its usual practice schedule and routine.
“No, no, no. Right now, it’s more of a scrimmage-chill practice,” Revis said, assuring reporters that he hadn’t been relishing the opportunity to go against Marshall again. “Just trying to go through situations today in practice. We’ll get after it. It’s still the early stages in camp. We’re definitely going to get after it and compete.”
That same chippiness never materialized Saturday, as Marshall tried to fight the heat instead of one of his teammates. As for whether any lingering issues exist between him and Revis, the cornerback insisted they’ve moved past it.
“It’s competition,” he said. “We’re not going to go back and forth on who does what . . . We’re both physical players and we like to compete and I think this is good. I think it’s good for us to compete the way we do. Brandon’s not going to stop competing the way he competes and I’m not going to stop the way I compete.”
Revis also said he wasn’t fazed by Marshall’s jab about the cornerback being beaten for two touchdowns last season by the Texans’ DeAndre Hopkins.
“No. It’s fine, man,” he said, laughing. “You’ve got to do more to get under my skin than do that.”