Clinton Portis says he had a ‘bad breakup’ with Redskins

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Last week came word that Clinton Portis still wanted to play NFL football, and that he had struggled with the idea of playing in 2011 because he was “heartbroken” over the end of his Redskins tenure.

Monday, Portis explained himself further during an interview with John Thompson on ESPN 980, and he took the love metaphor to the next step.
“I really don’t feel like the terms I exited on was my goodbye,” Portis said. “You know, I feel like I’ve got a lot left in the tank. If there’s some questions left, I want to put those questions to rest. I feel as if I can still do it, and I want to....

“Like I said before, it was like a bad breakup, when you’ve been somewhere for so long and all of the sudden you’re gone and you’re to blame for everything,” he later explained. “It was just a bad breakup. And for myself it was a question, can I really go to another city? Do I really want to move and go through this? Will I still have the same desire to go out and play for heart?

“You know, I’m not playing for monetary reasons. Wherever I go, it’s not gonna [be like] oh, Clinton just signed a $10 million deal. So for myself, it’s really just about going to the right situation and having the right opportunity to go out and play and really enjoy playing again. So that’s what I’m looking forward to. I really want to go to the right situation that I can come in and just have fun and make my run and my exit be a memorable one.”

Portis said there are teams that are talking with his representatives, but that he didn’t want to make any names public. He did say that he wanted to go to a team with a bond that could go on a run like the Giants did last season, or a team that could have a quick turnaround like the 49ers.

“There’s no situation you can pick and say well this is gonna be the team,” he said. “I just want it to be wherever I go to that I can find a way to relate to my teammates and help my teammates move forward and we put together a magical run.”

Portis said he would be fine in a backup role or in a competition for playing time, and that “if I go out and play, my work’s gonna speak for itself. If I go out and perform the way I’m capable of performing, I don’t have to worry about playing a secondary role.”

And he also said that he would be more vocal about his desire to play football.

“Just for myself, I really don’t ever think I took the forefront last year to really say I want to play ball,” Portis said. “And it was probably one of the better decisions that I’ve made, to take the time off and really reflect and enjoy and appreciate the things that I have accomplished, and realize and set some goals to go out and accomplish again. So that’s what I did. I re-set my goals, and I’m looking forward to accomplishing them.”


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(washingtonpost.com)
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