LeGarrette Blount denies he orchestrated his exit from the Steelers

It's funny how things change throughout the course of a season.  One week a guy is running over the Carolina Panthers on his way to a hundred yard game, another week he's leaving his team via a nonverbal hissy fit before finally winding up in a different uniform and scoring three touchdowns in the AFC Championship game to help his new team reach the Super Bowl.

Oh, the life and times of LeGarrette Blount.

At the Patriots media day, Blount was warmly greeted by a pair of ex-teammates, as Ike Taylor and Brett Keisel arrived to wish their old friend luck, according to Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Blount says he maintains a relationship with the old Steelers duo.

"Ike and Brett were two of the guys who were pretty close to me,'' Blount said afterward. "I like those guys a lot. I keep in contact with them. I like those guys a lot. That goes to say that some of the things that were said about me after I left that team wasn't true."

This spur-of-the-moment encounter surely affected questioning of the media members in attendance, as Blount was promptly asked if he had orchestrated his exit of Pittsburgh, a question he declined to elaborate on, softly shaking his head and saying "no" while stating "sometimes things just don't work out."

Blount, in contrast to his attitude earlier this year, seems happy and content with his role on the Patriots.  After a Week 11 victory over the Titans, a frustrated Blount allegedly exited the bench area and boarded the team bus, telling an attendant "I quit."  Blount was released a day later.

Several teammates, most notably Maurkice Pouncey, pointed to Blount's exit as a ray of sunshine, as he didn't feel having someone without the team's best interest in the locker room was a helpful building block.  Reports also surfaced of Blount becoming a bad influence on All-Pro RB Le'Veon Bell, who began the season with a DUI arrest and finished as one of the brightest stars in the NFL.  Lingering effects from his August arrest may transpire in the 2015 season, as a possible suspension looms under the league's player conduct policy.

If Blount is truly confused over the circumstances involving his release, he's one of the few who feel that way. Ray Fittipaldo, who has spent plenty of time in the Steelers locker room as a member of the press, has stated Blount "isn't a good person." If Blount wasn't a good teammate, had a poor attitude about his playing time and could've potentially been the catalyst for others' legal troubles, then it's not surprising the team opted to release him.