Kansas City Chiefs running back Samaje Perine has spoken out for the first time on the viral video of Patrick Mahomes appearing to reject a handshake with him at the end of the Super Bowl.
Fans spotted the Chiefs quarterback Mahomes shaking hands with several members of the team’s offense when the game was lost but he appeared to pass over Perine to hug Travis Kelce.
There was no obvious reason for Perine to be snubbed by his quarterback, leaving fans to wonder if something had occurred behind the scenes.
But Perine insisted that was not the case in a message on social media.
The 29-year-ols responded to a clip of the video and wrote: ‘Lol I actually stood up to untie my pants string, no one blamed anybody. It’s not that deep.’
During the game itself, Perine had only one carry for eight yards but was an important member of the team during the road to the Super Bowl.
Patrick Mahomes appeared to snub Samaje Perine in his Super Bowl handshakes on Sunday
But Perine has insisted the quarterback didn’t ignore him in response to the viral video
In fairness to Perine, the clip did need addressing. It look very awkward.
Beginning with wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster and ending with an embrace of long-time favorite target Kelce, Mahomes went down the Chiefs bench in the game’s final moments to share his appreciation for everyone’s contributions.
‘Patrick Mahomes completely ignored Samaje Perine,’ one critic wrote on X. ‘What a loser.’
One responder slammed Mahomes for ‘very poor leadership,’ while another opted for a pun: ‘Not cool Mahomie.’
Perine caught 28 passes for 322 yards and one touchdown for the Chiefs during the regular season on top of 92 rushing yards on 20 carries.
Mahomes was in no mood to point the finger at anyone else when he spoke to reporters after the loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in New Orleans.
‘They played better than us from start to finish,’ Mahomes said. ‘We didn’t start how we wanted to.
‘The turnovers hurt. I take all the blame for that. Those turnovers swing the moment of the game and they capitalized on them.
Mahomes blamed nobody but himself after the Chiefs lost the Super Bowl to the Eagles
‘They scored on one and got a touchdown immediately after another. That’s 14 points I gave them.
‘It’s hard to come back from that in the Super Bowl. I didn’t play to my standard and I have to be better next time.’
Mahomes also addressed fans on X, writing after the game: ‘Appreciate all the love and support from Chiefs Kingdom.
‘I let y’all down today. I’ll always continue to work and try and learn and be better for it. Want to give thanks to God for every opportunity he has given me. We will be back.’
Now, attention turns to Kelce’s future. He could address the intense speculation around his potential retirement on Wednesday’s scheduled episode of New Heights.
