During the week leading up to the Jets hosting the Buccaneers, Brandin Echols pictured himself picking off Tom Brady and having him sign the intercepted football.
The rookie cornerback just didn’t envision all the attention that would follow the postgame scene.
Echols got his interception of Brady and, seconds after the Bucs beat the Jets on a last-second touchdown, the autograph from the future Hall of Famer. The moment was captured by Fox cameras, which led to some criticism of Echols for the timing and look of it, given the Jets had just lost a heartbreaker.
“[There] most definitely could have been another way to get that done, but I was just excited to pick off Tom Brady,” Echols said Thursday. “I’ve been watching him since I started realizing what football was. So it was a big moment for me, and I was just caught up in the moment. I just felt like I needed to do it right there.”
Echols, who was 2 years old when Brady was drafted by the Patriots, said he appreciated the fellow sixth-round pick obliging and having a brief conversation with him. But he compared getting the ball autographed to a jersey swap, which is commonplace between opponents in today’s NFL.
“People made it a bigger deal than what it was supposed to be,” Echols said. “[The backlash] really doesn’t mean nothing to me because I’m the one that’s going out and doing what I’m doing every week. It’s good to just relax and live your childhood dream for once.”
The last time the Jets played the Bills in Week 10, they got crushed 45-17 and gave up 489 total yards.
What especially stuck out, at least to defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich, was the way the Bills were still passing the ball late with the game in hand. Their last time going to the air was Josh Allen’s 43-yard pass to Stefon Diggs to begin a drive with 8:10 left in the fourth quarter, leading 38-10.
“I would definitely say that there’s some guys, probably including myself in some ways, that want some redemption,” Ulbrich said. “When a team has got a comfortable lead on you and they keep throwing the ball deep on you, that leaves a mark, that leaves an impression.”
WR Braxton Berrios (quad) did not practice for a second straight day while fellow wideout Elijah Moore (quad) worked on a side field with trainers.
RB Michael Carter (concussion) practiced fully for the first time since suffering his head injury Sunday against the Bucs. OL Chuma Edoga (ankle) and OL Greg Van Roten (non-COVID illness) also returned to full practice.
DL Sheldon Rankins (knee), WR Jamison Crowder (calf) and S Ashtyn Davis (back) were limited and LB C.J. Mosley (rest) did not practice.
The Jets activated DE Kyle Phillips off the reserve/COVID-19 list.