Brandon Bostick Claims He Received Death Threats After NFC Championship

Minnesota Vikings tight end Brandon Bostick claims he received death threats in the days after he dropped an onside kick recovery during the 2015 NFC Championship Game.

Bostick, who was then a member of the Green Bay Packers, left a blocking assignment and cut off receiver Jordy Nelson before dropping the recovery. The ball landed in the hands of Seahawks wide receiver Chris Matthews, helping Seattle earn a 28-22 comeback victory in overtime.

Writing on the experience in a first-person article for MMQB.com, Bostick laid some blame on the media for scapegoating him and discussed the barrage of death threats he received on social media.

"I don't know how many death threats I received, but there have been a lot," he wrote. "I still haven't read most of the messages that people sent me, but I want to so I can deal with the consequences and use it as motivation. But it is physically impossible for me to read every troll's comment; the volume is simply too much. So their comments sit there, untouched, maybe forever."

USA TODAY Sports

Bostick, 25, spent his first three NFL seasons with the Packers. The team admitted his onside kick mistake played a part in his release earlier this month.

"I played in 13 games and had a pretty good season, but more importantly, I knew I was improving," Bostick wrote. "But they said they have their guys, and that I didn't develop as fast as they had hoped. They said the onside kick had something to do with it, but that's all they said."

Bostick says he still thinks about the play "every day" and regrets his decision to jump in front of the ball. He said he thinks people in the Packers organization "couldn't live" with him continuing with the team after the mistake.

Frank Schwab of Yahoo Sports doesn't believe Bostick deserves the blame for the team's loss: 

The Vikings claimed Bostick on waivers the day after his release. Largely used on special teams in Green Bay, he has nine career catches for 123 yards and two touchdowns.

Follow Tyler Conway (@tylerconway22) on Twitter.