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Michael Irvin not pleased at all that Winston and Mariota won't be at draft

Frank Schwab
·NFL writer

I don't get the sense that many people are really too riled up that quarterbacks Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota decided to stay at home with family and friends for the NFL draft instead of attending it in person.

Well, except a random rant from Hall-of-Fame receiver MIchael Irvin on the subject.

Speaking to Lindsay Jones of USA Today, Irvin seemed upset that the two top quarterbacks will be at home instead of Chicago for Thursday's first round.

“I understand you want to be with your family, Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota, but you’re a quarterback. Nobody profits more from this league than quarterbacks and I do have an issue with them not being there,” Irvin, now an NFL Network analyst, told Jones. “This is a family. You’re coming into something that is much bigger than you. Don’t big-time it, and that’s what I feel is being done.”

OK, so let's put aside for the fact that Winston and Mariota have perfectly good reasons for staying home. Winston said that he's not going to Chicago because his grandmother has diabetes and couldn't make the trip. Mariota will have a large party in his home state of Hawaii, and said it's important for him to "pay my respects to where I came from." Both great reasons.

But Irvin went on in his interview with Jones. The first line is especially odd.

“I think Jameis would benefit especially from the opportunity to talk to guys like Cris (Carter) and I, but also just being there and seeing it. He won’t get what he’s getting to be part of. You see [fans] wrapped around the building, sleeping there, to get there. You see what it means to them,” Irvin told Jones.

So ... they should go to have the chance to talk to Irvin and Carter? That's certainly one way to look at it. Those guys, who dealt with their own off-field demons during their careers, could dispense some knowledge to any incoming football player, but could probably do so in a phone call on Sunday as well if it's that important.

While Winston and Mariota not attending the draft is unusual, it makes sense given their reasons. But Irvin isn't happy about it. That's his right, but it's probably a good bet that it'll mean more to Winston to spend that moment with his grandmother rather than Michael Irvin. 

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Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdowncorner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!