Patriots defensive back Devin McCourty trashed Rex Ryan over the ESPN analyst's Amari Cooper commentary. Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Devin McCourty puts Rex Ryan on blast after Amari Cooper comments

By Erin Walsh | Last updated 4/6/20

Rex Ryan's disgraceful comments about Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Amari Cooper last week made New England Patriots defensive back Devin McCourty pretty angry.

The former New York Jets and Buffalo Bills head coach called Cooper a "turd," among other things, when discussing the Cowboys' decision to sign him to a five-year, $100-million contract.

“I just wanted to call ESPN and say, ‘ESPN, listen. You have the Jordan documentary coming out. You don’t need to air Rex Ryan,’” Devin said on the "Double Coverage" podcast he hosts with his twin brother Jason. “Like, you don’t need that. Ratings are going to go through the roof. When you drop the Jordan doc, it’s a wrap. As soon as Rex Ryan said that, (ESPN) should have cut it, should have never had it on air. Whatever (they) had to do, just cut it. Throw it in the trash. The Jordan doc is going to drop. We don’t need any extra hits for nonsense.”

The fact ESPN would even allow Ryan to make those comments irked McCourty, and he added that they shouldn't have even been allowed to promote the content on social media.

“To me, the crazy thing was after he said it, ‘Get Up!’ posted it on Twitter, ESPN retweeted it on Twitter,” he said. “Everybody was all-in on this ‘turd’ comment. I guess, at the same time, it’s all about entertainment — how can we get more viewers, how can we get people to click this, click that? But at what point in the game can you call somebody a turd? Whether he’s a good player or not a good player, it was just bad ball all around.”

Cooper has been one of the league's most impressive wide receivers since being drafted fourth overall by the Oakland Raiders in 2015. The 25-year-old has had four 1,000-plus yard seasons and has scored at least six touchdowns five times.

Ryan's comments were rather unwarranted when comparing them to Cooper's stat sheet, and although the ESPN analyst apologized for the "turd" comment, he doubled down on everything else he said... including calling the WR a "disappearing act."

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