Wide receiver Brandon Marshall blames a lack of veteran leadership for the New York Jets' disappointing season -- and he includes himself in that group.
"I don't think we did a good job, us as leaders in the locker room," Marshall said Wednesday morning on ESPN's Mike & Mike radio show. "We have to do a better job. It always comes down to the stars, the leadership. It's on us and we didn't get it done."
The 5-11 season was marked by occasional locker room strife. Marshall and Sheldon Richardson were involved in a heated argument after a Week 3 loss, an incident that created "a dark cloud" for the remainder of the season, cornerback Darrelle Revis said at the end of the year.
"I'm not going to sit here and make any excuses and point fingers at younger guys and this or that," Marshall said. "It comes down to our veterans, the guys who have been in the league six, seven-plus years. We need to do a better job of making sure everyone is in line."
Coach Todd Bowles is expected to change the chemistry by cutting some high-profile veterans. Marshall, 33, who is due to make a non-guaranteed $7.5 million, is rumored to be on the chopping block.
The Jets are trying to get younger, but they haven't shut the door on Marshall, sources said. The team is waiting to see how the offseason shakes out before making a decision on the six-time Pro Bowl receiver.
"I'm under contract," Marshall said. "Until they tell me otherwise, I'm going to continue to present myself as a Jet and try to get [our] team to a Super Bowl."
Marshall is coming off what he called the worst year of his career - 59 catches, 788 yards and three touchdowns. That, combined with an uncertain quarterback situation, didn't stop him from an outrageous prediction for 2017.
"I promise you, I'll be in the top five [among receivers]," Marshall said on ESPN's "First Take."
Marshall refused to speculate on who might be throwing him the ball, a departure from last offseason. He lobbied publicly for the team to re-sign Ryan Fitzpatrick, whose contract dispute with the team lasted until late July.
Marshall said his lobbying efforts "took so much time and energy," telling Hannah Storm on SportsCenter, "That's not my job. This year, in moving forward for the rest of my career, I'm out of the personnel department. I'm just focused on catching the football and playing my role, so I don't know what we're going to do and I don't care to know. I just want to catch footballs."
The Jets have only two quarterbacks under contract, Bryce Petty and Christian Hackenberg, neither of whom is proven.