This story was originally published by Dead Spin
Bill Belichick is no longer the leader of the New England Patriots, but new head coach Jerod Mayo isn’t standing for any social media nonsense.
Jalen Reagor was released from the Patriots practice squad on Tuesday afternoon.
Now, maybe this is all one gigantic coincidence. Or maybe New England brass saw Reagor throwing shade at them through a cryptic Instagram story. Regardless, he’s back on the free agent market.
Before being released on Tuesday, Reagor posted a popular internet meme of a Bugatti underneath a beat-up home.
This meme is often used to showcase a very expensive, prized item being surrounded by garbage. For example, Christian McCaffrey on the Carolina Panthers a few years ago was the perfect way to utilize that meme.
Reagor is fast, and in this Instagram story, perhaps he was comparing himself to the Bugatti, surrounded by crap, which could be deciphered as the Patriots.Â
What’s hilarious? The Patriots are 1-1. Reagor is on the practice squad despite New England being very thin at wide receiver.
Demario Douglas, K.J. Osbourn and Ja’Lynn Polk headline New England’s receiving room. Behind them are Javon Baker and Kayson Boutte since Kendrick Bourne is sidelined. It’s not exactly a star-studded room, and Reagor couldn’t even crack it.
Still just 25 years old, perhaps the speedster out of TCU could stick on a different practice squad around the NFL.Â
The Philadelphia Eagles drafted him in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft, so they must have seen some sort of promise in him. He then bounced to the Minnesota Vikings before being picked up by the Patriots.
Last season, he had seven catches for 138 yards. There’s no doubt he can get downfield, but he’s had trouble sticking on with a team and finding an actual role in the NFL.
But let today’s release be a lesson to all those young wide receivers out there reading this. At that position, you can be a diva. It’s perfectly acceptable. You can’t get away with it at every position on the gridiron, but receiver is one of them where it works. We’re about to see Ja’Marr Chase secure one of the biggest pay days in NFL history for having a little bit of a difficult personality and putting his foot down in contract negotiations.
But you can’t be a diva and bad at football. You can’t be a diva and have under 1,000 receiving yards in four seasons as a first-round draft pick.Â
If you find yourself looking online for a cryptic meme to post on Instagram, take a look at your own stat sheet and determine if you are worth the headache.
