It’s not every day you see a player go on Twitter to directly refute a report about their free agency destination, but that happened Sunday with Mychal Kendricks. The 27-year-old linebacker (#95 above) had been with the Philadelphia Eagles since they picked him in the second round of the 2012 NFL draft, and he won the Super Bowl with them this year, but received less playing time than he was used to and was cut last month. He’s since visited with the Raiders, Browns and Vikings, and while reports emerged Sunday that he’d chosen a destination, Kendricks responded with a “Not so fast.”
NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport tweeted Sunday that the Browns “are signing” Kendricks according to sources, and Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer added confirmation that it “should be done by tomorrow.” But it sounds like it isn’t done at this point. Kendricks fired back at Rapoport in an interview with a Minnesota-based reporter, and then took a shot at Rapoport himself on Twitter:
Sources: The #Browns are signing free agent LB Mychal Kendricks to a 1-year deal, bolstering their linebacking group late in the offseason. Along with Jamie Collins and Christian Kirksey, it could be one of the most talented in football.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) June 3, 2018
The #Browns are signing LB Mychal Kendricks to a 1-year deal, as first reported by @rapsheet. Should be done by tomorrow https://t.co/KTuCzsZqkq
— Mary Kay Cabot (@MaryKayCabot) June 3, 2018
Free-agent LB Mychal Kendricks, in a brief phone interview, denied a report he's reached agreement to sign with the Browns. "No, it's not accurate. That's all I have to say. I'm not really talking about it.'' Kendricks wouldn't comment on whether the #Vikings are still in the mix
— Chris Tomasson (@christomasson) June 3, 2018
You will never have my respect
— MK (@MychalKendricks) June 3, 2018
That’s a much stronger response than we usually see from a player to a reporter, and it’s pretty unusual to see something refuted this way. It’s possible that both Rapoport and Cabot learned this from a team source or sources that thought the deal was done when it actually wasn’t, but it definitely sounds like Kendricks doesn’t think a deal is set at this point. We’ll see what comes of this.
