Less than a week after being traded from the New York Jets, Houston Texans wide receiver Derrick Mason said he would like to forget the time he spent on Rex Ryan's team.
Mason told the New York Post his career would not be tarnished by anything that happened in New York, where Mason fell out of favor with the coaching staff before being dealt to Houston.
"The two teams that I've played for -- Tennessee (where he spent his first eight seasons) and Baltimore (where he spent the last six) -- that's all I care about. They respected what I did as a player -- inside the locker room, on the field and outside the locker room. That's all I care about.
"To me, I went from Baltimore to here [the Texans]," Mason told The Post after the Ravens beat his new team 29-14. "I don't know what you're talking about when you mention that other place, but this place here I'm excited about.
"What went on with that other team . . . it won't tarnish my career, not one bit."
Mason caught three passes for 27 yards in his Houston debut, after which he was thankful for landing in a high-powered offense.
Mason said Schaub throwing to him on the first series "showed that Matt has a lot of confidence in me. I instantly smiled [when he learned about the trade] because this offense scores a lot of points and they have a very good quarterback. That's a wide receiver's best friend when you have a good quarterback."
If Mason does not average three catches per game the remainder of the season (totaling 33 catches in Houston), ESPN's Adam Schefter reports the Jets will receive nothing in the trade. If Mason does total 33 receptions, the Jets will receive a seventh-round pick.
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