Reggie Wayne: I left Patriots because I was 'done,' not because it wasn't fun

Reggie Wayne is coming to the defense of the New England Patriots after multiple players bashed the team's atmosphere in recent weeks.

The retired wide receiver signed with the Patriots in August 2015 but spent just two weeks with the team before walking away, having appeared in two preseason games.

Philadelphia Eagles guard Brandon Brooks said this week that the Patriots' culture forced Wayne into retirement.

"It's been this way for like a decade," Brooks said. "You've seen - Reggie Wayne did it. He retired. He went there (to the Patriots) for a training camp and retired. S--- is not fun there."

Wayne wants it known, though, that his decision to retire had nothing to do with the atmosphere.

"There are some reports out there that I left New England because I said it was not fun or it was too hard. Those reports are false. The fact is, I was done. It was time for me to retire. There were other teams that wanted my services but I knew it was done for me," Wayne said Thursday on NFL Network, according to Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk.

"(Patriots head coach) Bill Belichick is not a party planner," Wayne added. "That is not what he is in it for. I think he's in it for winning championships, winning games for that organization."

San Francisco 49ers defensive end Cassius Marsh also criticized the Patriots earlier in the week, saying, "They don't have fun there. There's nothing fun about it. There's nothing happy about it," according to Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle.

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