The Buffalo Bills, coached by Rex Ryan who was fired by the New York Jets, didn’t wait very long to sign I.K. Enemkpali, which is something of showing the middle finger for Ryan to the organization that let him go at the end of last season.
Well, maybe he does think Enemkpali is a good player. He did get to be around the outside linebacker for a season after he was picked in the sixth round of the 2014 NFL draft, coming out of Louisiana Tech. Enemkpali played in three games last season, not getting too much action, finishing with three tackles.
So Enemkpali got released from the New York Jets for punching Geno Smith, breaking his jaw and taking him out of action for six to 10 weeks. The joke everyone is riding on at the moment is that he actually did the Jets a favor and should get promoted or a new contract from the team.
But on a more serious note, violence between teammates is probably possible to understand when it’s in the heat of the moment in a very violent sport. But during a locker room argument, resulting in such a serious injury? While NFL teams don’t like letting their dirty laundry get exposed, the Jets didn’t really have a choice.
And then again, if they had bigger plans for Enemkpali, this might have resulted in a suspension, not the termination of a contract. Enemkpali should have two shots at showing the Jets and Smith (both games are after November, when Smith should be healthy already) how he feels about getting cut, although he’s probably not exactly happy with how he acted, provoked to do it or not.