Professional football is a business, even on Christmas.
Former Patriots tight end Asante Cleveland found that out first-hand in 2015 when he received a call from Patriots head coach Bill Belichick.
Cleveland, who now plays for the San Diego Chargers, shared this story with Michael Gehlken of the San Diego Tribune. It begins with his phone ringing on Christmas Day.
“He was like, ‘Hey Asante. It’s Belichick,'” Cleveland recounted, doing his best Belichick voice impression. “He said, ‘We’re going to have to make some roster moves.’ At that point, I knew what ‘roster moves’ means. It means I’m being moved from the roster. We needed to bring in a cornerback because we were playing the Jets.”
“He said, ‘I just want to let you know this is no indication we’re moving away from you. We really like you. … We just need to make this quick transaction.’ That call ended. I said, ‘Merry Christmas.’ I don’t know if he heard me. He didn’t say it back,” Cleveland told Gehlken.
Belichick is known for his ability to make tough decisions, and cutting a player on Christmas certainly falls in that territory.
Thumbnail photo via Kevin Hoffman/USA TODAY Sports Images
