Report: Be It From Tebow Or Sanchez, Holmes 'Just Wants The Ball'
NEW YORK (WFAN) -- It seems almost everyone has an opinion on the Tim Tebow trade, with one notable exception: Jets wide receiver Santonio Holmes.
"He didn't really care," a player who works out with Holmes told the New York Daily News. "'Tone' just wants the ball."
The embattled wideout's relationship with quarterback Mark Sanchez was reportedly at the center of the Jets' locker room dysfunction last season. Much has been made of the offseason healing process, and Holmes even tweeted his congratulations after Sanchez signed a three-year extension.
But here's the big question: What will happen if Sanchez continues to regress in his fourth year -- and Holmes' numbers suffer?
"(Santonio) said it's all on Sanchez this time," Holmes' training pal told the paper. "If Sanchez trips (up), then he'll be on the bench going, 'Tebow! Tebow!' like everyone else."
Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis said this week that the locker room will be "more of a circus" with Tebow and that the quarterback drama "is going to be an ongoing thing throughout the season."
Holmes' personal coach, Tom Shaw, insisted to the Daily News that the wide receiver "wants Sanchez to be successful."
"He's never told me that this guy sucks," said Shaw. "The one thing about Sanchez is that he doesn't want to make mistakes. And that's what Santonio says. Ben Roethlisberger would just let the ball go. He doesn't care if (Holmes) is triple covered. If Ben thought Santonio could make a play for him, he's shooting it in there."
Holmes' unhappiness was on full display Week 17 at Miami. Former offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer benched him late in the game after a public spat in the huddle.
Third-string quarterback Greg McElroy then called out his "extremely selfish" teammates in January and charged there was a "corrupt mind-set" in the locker room. Veteran running back LaDainian Tomlinson said the discord was the worst he'd ever seen.
The 28-year-old Holmes took his lumps in the local papers after New York's disappointing 8-8 season. But with over $15 million in guaranteed salary due over the next two seasons, it seems he'll be around to see how this budding quarterback controversy shakes out.
"The media don't make me and the media don't break me," Holmes told the Daily News. "I'm Santonio Holmes ... and that's it."
Do you have an issue with Holmes' attitude? Sound off in the comments below...
