How was this I guess this campaign for you, Chris. You're obviously you've done a lot on special teams and at split ends.
So how have you approached it? I mean we approach uh really every day the same, you know, attacking it and uh being available and and doing whatever is asked. You know, the last couple of years of my career have been a lot of things. You know, played a lot of roles, and uh, I've prided myself and being able to play each of those roles well. And uh, you know, I've been asked to do some of those things here, whether it's on teams and and on offense
and uh having that trust uh from coaches and your teammates. Uh, it's a good thing. And so we're attacking it the same way and trying to be dependable.
If you're sometimes I asked to do roles that much younger players are asked to do special teams, goals and stuff like that. How how do you feel about, you know, being asked to be a gunner or or who other things like that, you know throughout the season.
Oh, you know, I actually take pride in it now. I think that you know, there's a misconception that certain things on the football field are more valuable than others. And I think that with time and experience, you realize that each of those roles are equally important and they contribute to your success on Sunday or Monday or Thursday, and you know, ultimately getting where your team wants to go.
And so if I can be one of those roles that helps the team, you know, secure a victory, I'm content being that I'd rather be in one of those spots helping the team win than being helpless on the sideliner at home and just watching.
So you came out of Georgia with all the measurables, try forty six inch vert and four to three speed. How are you a better player though today than you were when you came.
Into the league.
I think multiple things. You know, there are so many instances in my career where things went incredibly well and times where things went incredibly wrong, and so many lessons that were learned along the way on good teams, on terrible teams, and locker rooms where guys were locked in and they wanted to see everyone succeed, in locker rooms where people could care less. So I think that that wealth of knowledge has made me a better teammate. I think that those experiences on the field have made me
a better player. They made me more decisive. I play a lot faster now than when I did when I was younger. You know, the body is obviously aged, but the mind is much sharper.
You've seen George Odom's step up in CAPA guy's kind of a core special team throughout his career and get a shot at strong safety or at safety and with the ones and really whole eposite of the bargain it says, and you're willing to do whatever it takes, but it's still a part of you that says, you put me on a wide receiver for X amount of snacks a game, you're going to get production from me.
Of course, I think that any any opportunity that you step into, you want to go out there and you want to take and you know you make no there's no mistake about what the offense is capable of here and being a part of that, being asked to be a part of that is an honor and it is something that you don't take lightly. At least I don't, you know, knowing how short and how hard to come by.
Opportunity is in this league. But yeah, and you know, I have all the confidence in the world that whatever it is that you asked me to do out there, that we can get it done. And then also just part of the DNA of what it is being a forty nine er, you know, a lot of that has resonated with the way that I've approached the game my whole career.
You're one of three or four receivers on this team who haven't been injured this summer, a lot of pan string strains things like that. Does that surprise you? Is that Do you think that that's a result of just how hard you guys or how fast you guys go in these practices.
Yeah, I think that there's a little bit of a learning curve for getting your body in the place that it can approach practice with the same intensity every single day. And that's part of, you know, learning how to be a pro as a rookie. There's just a different tempo, there's a different speed, the volume is different, the intensity is different. So even if you were to pull back the reps, you're still going to be getting more here than any practice you've ever had in your life. Because
the competition is just better. It's more intense, there's more at stake, there's more eyes, and so all of that stress is cumulative on the body. And so some of those guys have to learn that what that means and learn how to get warm and stay loose and be ready. But obviously, you know, you see some of the veteran guys who have been through that, they understand what it
takes and they get ready early. You talk about what it means to be a forty nine or what's different about the culture here compared to maybe some of your other stops.
In the NFL.
It's about ball. It's about ball, and it's about it's about doing what's necessary to win. You know, the details are important here, and I've always been someone who's loved when people harp on detail. And Kyle is one of the most detailed coaches I've been around. You know, I can't I can't really think of many others who are that detailed, and that attention to detail, that attention to
intensity intent is integral to putting that helmet on. And he makes no mistake about letting people know, like, hey, you have.
To earn it.
You earn everything here, and everything is about doing things the right way and attacking it. And you know, that's something that I believe into.
Look at the as we did the practice with twenty three guys out canceled the Saints' scrimmages and so Okay, from the outside, maybe it looks a little dire, but the way football is practiced now as opposed to way it was maybe you know seven eight years ago, are things not nearly as bad as they love for you guys.
I mean, I think that you obviously want guys to be healthy, and uh, you know, there's a lot of guys who are working through through plenty of things, some that we know about something that we don't. And I think that Kyle was being cautious and uh and looking out for guys and then also just making an opportunity for people to continue to get work. You know, things are modified this week, but that doesn't mean that we're
we're not going out there to get better. The intent is still there, uh, and sometimes you just have to shift the physicality and really hone in a little bit more mentally, and uh, that's what we're that's what we're doing. So to us, I don't think that people are panicking, you know, if anything, it's it's a time to focus in and make things right, because when things don't feel right, that's when it's got to be right.
Appreciated monster hitting the super Bowl and it was you know, you take a pride in that part of your game now, kickoff coverage and being super physical.
Uh yeah, I think that physicality is something that I've always tried to add and have a part of my game. But just really being being effective and being someone who can be counted on and in open space running down the field. Obviously the kickoff and kickoff return is much different this year. We're still figuring out how that looks and how that we can you know, how we can
be most effective. But whatever game plan we come up, I'm you know, one of the people with my first people with my hands up saying hey, I want in there, and I want to be at the point of attack, you know, because I think that it's something that can affect and change games and I want to be a part of that.
Right.
Thanks us.
The problem