Where does Incognito go from here? Is his career over? Is this going to affect the reputation of the NFL?

This begs the question… when does character supersede talent?

We all know Incognito is one of the most controversial players in the game. He was suspended from his college squad for an off campus incident, cut from the team that drafted him after several incidents, has gotten into several in-game fights, and now this. He is a Pro Bowl talent but will teams start to shy away from guys with checkered pasts?

Justin Blackmon is another case. He had alcohol issues in college, and now is having them as a pro, allegedly. He too has been suspended from his pro team with no timetable to return. Aldon Smith is another who is developing a scary habit of getting into trouble.

In my opinion, teams have to start not only drafting talent that meshes better but signing veterans who will set the tone for the kind of professional behavior that will be expected on the squad. Ray Lewis and Bart Scott, both former Ravens, came out and said that Incognito’s actions would not be tolerated on the Ravens.

Remember a few years ago when the Raven’s drafted Jimmy Smith out of Colorado and everyone said he’d be a problem in the league?

Here is what I wrote then:

If Smith gets in with a locker room in tune with his personality we may look back and say he was one of if not the best cornerback from this class.

And Smith has been a regular pro since joining the Ravens. So it goes to show you, character does matter but only to the degree that character meshes with the rest of the locker room. It seems that Jonathan Martin may simply have been a bad character match for a Dolphins team that is rough around the edges. After all, Richie Incognito allegedly once bought himself gifts with Ryan Tannehill’s credit card and it was ok.

In my time writing this blog I’ve been given all sorts of tips on players. Some I cannot publish, some I did. I’ve been told of certain college players drunken exploits, private coaching results, and more all in an effort to either build or kill buzz for certain players.

The good thing is that I am independent, so every word published here has been my own opinion with no influence from the outside.

Here is the thing though, you would be crazy to learn who pays attention to what you say when you have enough influence. Is it possible that an NFL club be afraid of the city’s top sports reporter? According to Jason Whitlock, the answer is yes. The Chiefs allegedly passed on Richie Incognitio in the 2005 draft due to Whitlock’s presence.

Would never happen in a properly media-policed market. You wonder why Kansas City was quiet from 1994-2010. I ran my corners.

— Jason Whitlock (@WhitlockJason) November 4, 2013

Incognito wasn't even on the Chiefs draft board because of fear of my reaction.

— Jason Whitlock (@WhitlockJason) November 4, 2013

We’ve all seen how Incognito has played and to put it lightly he is a loose kind of guy. Any team that brings a guy like that in their locker room either have strong leadership in place, or are blinded by the talent and don’t care what the repercussions are (whassup Jaguars…)

Of course you shouldn’t take Whitlock’s word for gospel here. After all, Richie did get drafted to the St. Louis Rams…. who also play in Missouri.

I have nothing to add on the Jonathan Martin/Richie Incognito situation that you can’t hear anywhere else. It’s unacceptable behavior by a professional.