FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — Stevan Ridley was hoping to avoid the topic, but the former Patriots running back couldn’t escape the questions in his first interview with the New York media since joining the Jets.

“Here we go with this Deflategate,” he said Thursday, shaking his head and smiling.

The NFL fined the Patriots $1 million, stripped the organization of two future draft picks and suspended quarterback Tom Brady for the first four games of the 2015 season after the Wells Report concluded it was “more probable than not” the Patriots adjusted the air pressure in footballs during a 45-7 win over the Colts in the AFC title game.

The Patriots went on to win Super Bowl XLIX, though without Ridley, who tore the ACL in his right knee in October.

“You can’t please ’em all,” Ridley said, in reference to those who criticize the Patriots’ Super Bowl run. “You’re always going to have somebody that’s for you and you’re always going to have somebody that’s against you. But at the end of the day, the Super Bowl champs are the Super Bowl champs.”

Asked directly if the Patriots deflated footballs, Ridley said: “You tell me. I don’t know what goes on over there. It happened. So I don’t even know what the deal is, to be honest.”

Ridley spent four seasons in New England before he signed a one-year, $1.25 million contract with the Jets this offseason with only $80,000 guaranteed. He still has love for his former teammates and even joined the Patriots for their White House visit in April.

“I love those guys over there,” Ridley said. “It’s a rivalry … but the truth of the matter is, they gave me my first shot in the NFL, so I’m not going to bad-mouth anybody, I’m not going to say anything that I don’t know firsthand. And I’m going to let them deal with their own issues.

“Everybody has their flaws – me, you, everybody included. They made a mistake. The best thing that can happen is that they deal with that on their own. That has nothing to do with the New York Jets, and this is where I am now.”

• Coach Todd Bowles is not looking for his players to be “robots,” but urges them to be smart when using social media.

Bowles said Thursday that he won’t police what Jets players say on forums such as Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. But he also made it clear that they need to realize when they could potentially hurt the team with their comments.

Bowles, in his first season as Jets coach, is quite a bit more reserved than predecessor Rex Ryan. He says he’d prefer to not have a team that “gossips” when it “hasn’t done anything yet.”

Bowles did not comment directly on a Twitter squabble between cornerback Antonio Cromartie and former tight end Kellen Winslow Jr.

THE EAGLES released two-time Pro Bowl guard Evan Mathis, who had started in 56 games since joining Philadelphia in 2011.

FORMER GIANTS running back David Wilson hopes to qualify for the U.S. track and field championships in the triple jump at his first professional meet Saturday.

Wilson was forced to retire in August after two NFL seasons because of a neck injury. The former first-round draft pick had been a successful triple jumper at Virginia Tech.