Richie Incognito put a lot of effort into proving a point that didn’t offer much evidence at all.
Incognito fired back at Mike Zimmer on Tuesday after the Vikings coach denied the team had any interest in the lightning-rod offensive lineman. Incognito quickly tried to back up claims he’d made last week, that he’d received calls from the Vikings and Seahawks, by posting screenshots to his Twitter account of alleged text message conversations he’d had with former Vikings offensive line coach Tony Sparano, who died last month of heart disease.
“Mike Zimmer is a f–king liar!!” Incognito wrote in tweets recorded by Yahoo Sports. “I just released the screen grabs of my conversations with Coach Sparano. #Facts.”
The problem with the images Incognito posted, and then subsequently deleted from his account, is the vagueness of the contact and the content of the messages. The person Incognito appears to have texted with in the screenshots is listed as just “Coach S” in his phone and their alleged conversations read more like friends catching up, with the occasional message from Incognito expressing his interest in returning to the NFL.
The 35-year-old is back on the free-agent market after the Bills released him in May. Incognito had a sudden change of heart after announcing his retirement following the 2017 season over health concerns.
Vikings coach Mike ZimmerAP“Come talk to everybody make sure everyone is comfortable. Kirk can sling it,” Incognito allegedly wrote in a June text, referring to quarterback Kirk Cousins whom the Vikings signed to a three-year deal in March.
The closest answer Incognito appears to get from so-called Sparano to the Vikings having interest in him reads, “Wish I could get u going, never know.”
“Never know,” Incognito responded, according to the screenshot. “You know I would love to play for you. You guys have a great situation. Zimmer is the man. I just want to work coach. That’s all. I’m chasing a f–king championship. F–k money! I saved all mine. … Thinking training camp I come on a visit. Most likely go to Seattle first.”
It didn’t take long for Zimmer to fall out of favor with Incognito, responding harshly to the rumor the four-time Pro Bowler was spreading.
“No interest and totally false,” Zimmer said. “Tweet that.”
The back-and-forth is the latest sign of bizarre behavior this offseason from Incognito. In May, he was taken into custody and given a psychiatric evaluation after he was accused of throwing a dumbbell at a man in a Florida gym. Just last month, he tweeted his support of former Bills teammate LeSean McCoy, claiming to “know the full story” behind McCoy allegedly orchestrating an attack on his ex-girlfriend.
If not for his play, Incognito is best known for his role in a bullying scandal while with the Dolphins, which caused him to miss the entire 2013 season.
