According to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, anyway.
"But it happened, man, it happened. I was down, and that's why I made this happen. I went to [Minnesota's] front office and told them: 'I don't want to be there no more. We need to work something out.' And we made it happen. I got out of there, and now smiling Fred Smoot is back."
Good lord, are you kidding me with this crap?
First off, I don't know if Smoot actually had depression or not. . .but he sure as hell was a carrier. Shoot, I get depressed just thinking about his level of play for the Vikings over the two years he was here. . .I'm not sure what my reaction would be if I had to actually watch the game were Steve Smith humiliated him again.
Second, I really don't think he needed to ask the Minnesota front office to get rid of him. I'm relatively sure that that's something they were planning on doing long before any requests were made. If Fred Smoot was as good as Fred Smoot seems to think Fred Smoot is, Fred Smoot would still be in Minnesota and actually competing for a starting job. In reality, Fred Smoot would be about #4 on the CB depth chart at this point and simply fighting for a job.
But, if it's any consolation to Fred, there are millions of Vikings fans that hated his time in Minnesota, too. I am very firmly part of that camp.