The Richard Sherman Podcast - Seahawks' Tyler Lockett on Geno Smith, Russell Wilson & Pete Carroll

making every moment more punning. One up in SELEC States first on nine Really any way, your only tandell firstpose required, Own this issue and with expliers fourteen days AF receipt restrictions applies. He terms a sportsookvan dot com problem gambler the volume. Welcome to the Richard Sherman Podcast. I got a special guest, my guy, Tyler Lockett. I call him no he nobody knows why because apparently I'm old now and and there's not another Locket on the team. But

I appreciate you joining. I mean, how you how you doing man? I'm doing good man? And if you're old and that means I'm still young because I came in way way after you, right, and you the vet vet. Now you're you're the super vecu Right. I didn't. I didn't been here so long, man, I didn't seen draft classes come and go. That's that's when I knew it was. I'm like, dang, man, do you remember when you were all innocent? You thought the lead was just you know, sunshine,

the rainbows. This is a cool place. I remember when I first day I got there. This's a shoot all. It's way different from case stay. I might enjoyed being here. This was like an hour and a half, right, that's it, right, And you've been there ever since, and you've been thriving. Man,

how's the hand doing? The hand is doing pretty good? Man. Honestly, I think you know, I'm kind of blessing the situation that I mean, just because it wasn't like it was a broken hand or where I had to sit out, you know, for four or five months and was the end of my season. I actually got a chance to be able to see how much work I could put in just to be able to come back out and try to be able to play a help team. I

don't understand no, because you've been balling. You know, this is your um team season of being consistent, and you need a couple more yards for your thousand. But you in d K just like like they always just act like you're not out there balling, you're not killing like and and that goes for a lot of people. Why do you think that is? You know, I mean, you've been doing it for a long time. D K came on the scene and he's been playing at a high level.

But it's still no matter how many yards and touchdowns your second all time and touchdowns and Seahawks history, but people still don't give you that love. Yeah, you know, I really don't know why, bro Um. It's one of those things where ever since I got here, I mean, even when you were here, like Doug didn't get any love too, you know, and was phenomenal with everything that he did, the releases, being able to catch the ball.

I don't know if it's just kind of a Puget sound thing out here that a lot of people don't get the chance just to be able to watch us. But I mean I've kind of come to a place, man, where I've accepted the fact that the best I might

ever be in a people's minds is underrated. And I mean that's okay, because it seems like underrated is the most consistent thing they could say, because they can't say he's top ten or or top fifteen, because then that means he's better than underrated, and so underrated is a way to just say he's good. But we're not going to acknowledge him as a player that we probably should. Stat's wise, So we're just gonna continue to keep it underrated, right.

But it's frustrating because it was frustrating for me when Doe was there. That's what it was. Thankful Doug at least made the Pro Bowl and and and got people to see it at least one time, you know what I mean, they should have saw it his old career, but they at least got to acknowledge his greatness for that year. But I don't know, man, are you excited to come back this week because they need they needed you last week? You know, obviously you wouldn't have been

out there with your shirt off. No, I'm not gonna say. I'm not gonna say, you know, builing like everybody else. But it has just been a difficuld of shirt off. You know experience I told, I told the receivers, I wasn't gonna go out there until it was time to catch punts. Well, I would have been out there no shirt compressions, just like, oh man, but no, man, I'm not gonna lie. Man. It's it's hard just being able

to watch the game. Like you know, when I knew I wasn't gonna be able to play, I was just like, man, it's gonna be tough just watching the game. Especially I went to Case State. It would have been like a home game for me, you know what I mean. All the Case State fans was there, my dad played with the Chiefs. It was a game that I was really

looking forward to. And then, you know, for for something like that to happen, I was like super frustrated, but at the same time, like I said, man, it was one of those blessings in the skies to where I felt like I get a week off, I get my mindset right, and you know when we talk about this underrating and stuff too, it's like I get a chance to go to another place in my career because I never had surgery and had to come back and play.

So now it's like I get to tap into that new mindset, that new hunger, that new you know, motivation, especially with these two games left and then there's no telling what can happen. It's like, all right, like remember why you grind it? Remember you know what it was like when you were training for camping in the off season, just to be able to get right. It was like, that's what that week was for me. It was super frustrating.

I couldn't rest mentally out going through it, just because I was like, it's now or never, right, Hey, hey, you got me chills, like motivating, Let's go get because anything cared happened these last two weeks, you gotta happen though. You gotta have last two. No, you're right, and you you as a leader, you know, I mean they missed you more than your production, your leadership. I mean, I

remember when you didn't say nothing. Well, you always got your spoken word and your yeah yeah, your great advice, but you know you weren't speaking as much. But now you're you're obviously a leader and the captain of this team. Uh, you were live tweeting during the game. You know, that had to be totally different. I had to watch what I said because I didn't want to get fine. I told himself I might have to retire and then say what I want to say, and they come back next week.

It was so bad man like then, you know. But it's like we see that as players too, even when we're done playing. We see the stuff that fans could say are just people in general, and they could get frustrated. But at the same time, it's just like, man, if they was in that position, they probably do the same thing or probably couldn't even do it at all. You know, people get mad at me for catching the ball and I get what I could get it fall and it's

like they think that's all that I do. And it's like, all right, well, why don't you have people like Fred Warner and Bobby Wagener punching the ball out two and seven to see what you do? Know you ain't all you own? The people no explanation, like that's why I'm sitting there listening to people talk, and it's like there's no winning with y'all. The man the man is it's it got a hundred and fifty yards. You don't want him to get an extra yard. But then if you

get injured the out for two games. Then you're like, why didn't you just get down? Like you're never gonna please say I'm get injured. They mad you get down and get what you can get. They mad, you know what your pockets and field, your teammates is happy. How all you can worry about? Man. I heard this pastors say this. My mom had me listen to it a long time ago. He said, whether you change your dream, people gonna talk, and if you don't change your dream,

people gonna talk. So the one thing that you do know is whatever you choose to do, people still gonna talk. People gonna talk. They're gonna criticize. You know what I mean, I ain't. I ain't the most religious man, but they say they criticize Jesus. They can criticize Jesus knowing God

ain't nobody got a chance. Man. At the end of the day, bro, what I've learned is this game is about durability because even like me missing this game versus chiefs like, people don't understand that's that's the next man of mentality. And when people step up and people start bawling, then it starts to bring in curiosity, like oh, do we really need him anymore? Like do we want to pay him this month? Like, people don't understand the business

side of it, you know. So even when I got the opportunity to be able to like step in and get more targets and stuff, it was unfortunate because that's when Doug was kind of dealing with his injuries and stuff. But people don't understand that next man of mentality. And that's how a lot of people get opportunities, and you don't. You don't pray on people's downfall, but it's like, you don't really get opportunities unless you know something happens and

then you step in and play. And that's the unfortunate part about football because you want everybody to win because there's enough success and love and and all that stuff to go around, no question. And speaking of bowling, obviously you had Russ last year and Gino came in and everybody had the conversation like, what is you know gonna be? Has been a backup for a while, he has been struggling and he come out there striking. You know what's striking? You get a Pro Bowl year? How happy are you

for him? Man? I'm real happy for Geno, man, Like just to be able to see how far he's come. Like his story, like everybody's story in the NFL isn't the same. And when you kind of sit down and you talk to people, it kind of just reminds you, like the mentality that you gotta be able to have to keep fighting because not everybody gets to come into the league their first year and be able to beat

everything that they was in college. And so sometimes you gotta be able to be patient, you gotta wait your turn, like we said, the next man up mentality, and just for him to just continue working, continue grinding, like staying in it because he's been out of it for so long, bro, So just to mentally still be able to stay in it and mentally still be able to like do that work in the off season as if he was preparing

to be able to play. Like I think that's the stuff that goes past people's mindsets because they don't understand, like, what six seven years he didn't really have a chance to play. Imagine chasing a dream for six seven years and you had to wait till year, year ten or eleven just to be able to finally get your shot. And once he got that opportunity, bro, like you could tell he was ready, like you could tell like he

wanted it. And I'm just really happy that, like the world is starting to notice like who he is as a person, the type of quarterback he was. But I mean I've seen him when he was playing Call of Duty. I love you. You saw the greatness of the Call of Duty game. Man, I knew I even had to be on my stuff and he's gonna say, where's my team? Where's my team? I had no choice but to come to right right right? So how different is that? Because I'm not sure Russ plays video games, but it got

to be different. I mean, I've never played video games my quarterback, but that had to build. I mean I heard Patrick my homes talk about it, you know, I heard um Juju Smith Schuster. The relationship kind of got built over Call of Duty and things like that. Like does that does that help on the field production? Uh? Well,

I think I think everything goes hand in hand. I think, like you know, even when Russ was here, I think the thing that helped me out too was like when you get to know people outside the field, you know, you kind of get to hang with people outside and kind of see what their interests are and stuff. Like that, and you find similarities like just conversations even with me

and you like you start learning how people think. And it's weird how like that translates to the field because sometimes it's like I could have seen Russ running around and I've seen him turn before he ever even turned, and then I'm able to just get you know, get out of my route and try to go get open.

And so I think it's similar like with Gino, Like you know, we we started talking more and more off the field, like when we started playing the game a lot, And when you play the game a lot, it's like you learn different strategies, you learn different techniques like do you want to be aggressive? What type of team do we have? Like we can't be as an aggressive, you know. And so there's so many things that you learn, like alone the way when you you gotta learn how to

play with different teammates and stuff like that. Some people want to be the captain and Gino's like, no, I'm the captain, Like I'm the quarterback, y'all listen to me, you know. So it's really interesting. But the biggest thing is like we gotta be able to learn how to be all in and so I think you learn how to do that, you know, with whoever is your quarterback, once you learn who they are outside the field, and

everything internally starts to be able to click. Well, earlier this year, you said, it's amazing what you can accomplish with nobody of kids who gets the credit. They're talking about the selflessness of the team and sacrifice, Like do you think that mindset? And where did that come from? What does that? You know what I mean, where where did that come from? In your mind? Um? And has

that healthy team a lot this year? Man? It it came so when we was playing basketball in high school, our our coach Sha Sills used to always say it, used to come up with a quote, and we all used to be like this, dude, can't stop giving quotes. But it was like you never know when you're gonna need it, you know. And like for me, when you come to the league, it's not like college because college is more like a team thing, like his team oriented.

But you get to the league and it's like they teach you how to be a business like sole proprietorship, Like it's all about you gotta look out for yourself. And I think like with that mentality, is hard to kind of like get a group of guys together to be a team. And so I think for me, like just being able to still have that same approach of like, Okay, stats doesn't matter as much as people say stats matter, but then it's like, but stats is what gets you paid,

you know what I mean. So you gotta be able to find that balance. And so for me it kind of helps me like stay steadfast, like I'm balanced in my approach because it's like I don't want to get too selfish to where it's all about me, because that receiver, the only way that you shine is if you get the ball, you know what I mean. Like they don't really talk about you making blocks like that or you being able to run arounds to get other people open, but those are other aspects of the game that help

you and that help your team. So I think for me, like when we talk about like it's amazing what we can accomplish when no one cares who gets the credit. I mean, you know, it sounds cliche, but I think of y'all as a defense. I used to kind of define it by that a little bit. Um when y'all had ll ob out there, it was like it didn't matter who got the pick. Like, you know, if it was Bobby, y'all was over there happy and celebrating. If

it was Early, y'all were celebrating. If Cam had a hit, it was like y'all were celebrating as if it was you making the play. And so it was like, you know, that's something that I was trying to learn how to be able to do as an offense. And so, you know, I think early on in the season, I think it's helped us out a lot because you know, we got such a young team too, so we have that team oriented feel and we don't have to get caught up in I need to get my yards, I need to

get these touchdowns, I need to get these throws. It's like we could kind of just go out there and play and kind of like symbolic what it's like to

be able to play in high school in college. Again, it's been really cool to watch the evolution, you know, because the beginning of the year there was so much like turmoil and controversy, you know, and and division, especially when you talk about the Pete and Russ you know, I mean even before the year before, before everything happened, you know, you know, they were talking about firing Pete and what they're gonna do with Russ and then you know the trade happened. Then you got well, Pete, Pete's

gonna be lost. How how has that affected your mindset in terms of like like leading the team, you know what I mean? Because you knew it was gonna be a lot on his plate. He had to be different this year a little bit. You know. I know, Pete, it's total regiment and and straight, like I'm gonna stay same jokes, I'm gonna tell the same stories. I'm gonna talk about the psychology of the game, but that he

had to feel it a little bit. You can tell a little bit in his press conferences that he kind of like felt the relief and felt you know what I mean, Like he was he was jabbing back a little bit more this year that I think he's ever app Have you seen a difference to him, Uh? Yeah, I think I have seen a difference in Pete. I would I would say, like to start it off, I think it was it was hard being able to lose Rus, Like that's the first quarterback I was able to play

with for for seven straight years. You know what I mean, and you just get used to knowing like, Okay, he's gonna lead the team, like you know what I mean, I just gotta be able to follow suit, like I just gotta do my part, like whatever you need me

to do, like I got you like. So it's like for seven years, I was able to grow little by little each year into being able to have a different position, and then all of a sudden, you know, then we let Bobby go as well, and it's like we are two main leaders who we depend on, who we rely on, who we listened to, who can kind of steer the ship because they've been here like almost throughout a decade. It was able to help us, you know, like me Al Wood, Quandre Digs, Jamal Adams like and many more

players like even Gabe Jackson. But now that we lost them, it's like we've all had to be able to step up in our own way to where we don't want

one person to just steer the ship. And so I think Pete has done a great job and just being able to allow us to to explore other options, like you know, we've always had three captains, but now he made it to where like, okay, we can have four now maybe we can have five or more because you never know what a title brings and how other people can be able to step up in that position to

like help us be successful. But sometimes when you when we only have we would have three, like I wouldn't want to speak up, like Quandre wouldn't want to speak up, you know what I mean, because we don't want to

overstep anybody's toes. But now, like since we lost our two best leaders, we kind of created this this thing that works for us where it's like, man, it doesn't matter if you player, if you don't play, like if you see something, speak up, like because we got to be able to keep each other accountable because we lost like the two best players that help us stay accountable,

no question, no question. You see something to say something, But tell me about how how Russ's leadership had helped you grow and and the things you learned from him and the things you learned from Bobby. You know, those are two great players for a long time, and then they have to rub off of you. Oh yeah, man, I mean you almost had no choice for everything to

rub off on you. Like it's like when you're in the room full of wise people, like you're gonna come out and you're gonna remember a whole bunch of stuff in that conversation. That may be different when you know you're around people that that don't know how that much

acknowledges them. So I was just sitting there being able to talk to Bobby, like to start off with him, like man, you know we're talking about how you and him branched off and became your own agent, you know, being able to learn like different segments like that, like being able to learn from Bobby about some of the um the work he does outside in the unity. Um people don't understand. They think players don't never do anything, and it's like, no, we do. We just don't want

the credit. You know, when you watch like how Bobby has always been a pro. He goes about his business. He doesn't say much, but he doesn't have to because when he when he speaks, everybody listens, you know what I mean. It's like it's really cool to be able to see and and I mean you you also see it like um, when he's over there with the rams, like how everybody's talking about him and stuff. It's like, well,

I mean that's how he always been. You know what I mean, he's always been that person how to look out for you, and I needed to talk to him like in and he sat outside with me and talk to me like you know, and it's weird talking to a grown man, bro, Like don't give me wrong, Like you don't never want to tell people what's going on with your life. But it was like he was able

to sit there and talk to me. And I mean, and it's the same with Russ to like the things that I've learned from Russ, like his approach to the game, like he wants to be great, Like he wants to be the best honestly, bro, I don't think I've ever seen a time when he came into the building and he wasn't ready to work, you know what I mean. And so sometimes when you have people at that mindset that's like I'm gonna do whatever it takes, regardless of

what it is that I gotta do. You want to be able to attach yourself to that, and you want to be able to say, look, bro, it don't matter. So for me, it's like it don't matter if it's cold outside, it don't matter if it's snowing. This is my job. Like I can't make any excuses. So it's like the things that I learned from Russ is like, there's no excuses to what it is that you're trying to accomplish in this life, Like either you're gonna do

it or you're not gonna do it. And so just to be able to see his approach, to be able to see how he would he would take the leading things. And that's the biggest thing I've learned as a captain is um penny Hart said that he was like, it's hard to be a captain and be a friend. And you know, when you're a captain, there's gonna be some words that have to be said. You're gonna have to call people out, You're gonna have to keep people accountable.

And that's the stuff that we don't like because you know, relationships going this league. But when you're a captain, like you on that thin line of like all right, let me let me learn how to speak to people. I gotta learn how to meet people where there I can't talk to everybody the same. You gotta be able to know and so those are the things that I've kind of learned, bro. And and it's interesting because you even

take that approach with the coaches. It's not just the players, but you got to know how to talk to the coaches. You gotta understand how to talk to the players. And that stuff helps you a long way. Even when you're married. Well, I'm telling you it's hard to it's hard to keep a girl happy. But just just just do your part. Yeah, do your part. Look, look understand. And that's a huge part of the leadership in general, leading the football team and being a leader and being uh having guy's look

at it. It's not about pleasing everybody. It's it's it's about having respect and love for everybody and understanding, Hey, hey, I need more from you and you ain't got an m F nobody to get more from Hey. There's a way I can talk to you to say, hey, you gotta be better than this, and I know you are better than this than to say you suck man, what are you doing? No, it ain't that. Ain't that ain't gonna get you the results you're looking for. It's like, hey,

come up to you, Hey, brother, let's let's work. Let's work. Let's do Hey, what can we do to improve this? Like I know you better than this, We know you better than what's going on, so that we can get you to play how you used to play and how we know you can play. And I think that's something I learned, I mean throughout my time in Seattle, in my time in San Francisco. You know, when they were just looking at me like an old man. Um is

that it ain't about being being liked by everybody. It's it's it's when everybody knows that we're working towards the same thing, and we're working in the same direction, that your every action is working towards that, then there's nothing but respect there. And it's not nobody's gonna be upset

with that. If winning is their goal, if winning a championship in the Super Bowl is their goal, then they'll never get upset because every they'll know that every action that you're doing, every every movement, every thought that you're processing is moving us in that direction. Hey, yes, sir, Yes, sir.

And that's why Bobby, I'm sure Bobby ain't what didn't feel uncomfortable at all in that conversation, Like that's that's that's what we lose in the black community, subtized, like we feel like we can't talk to each other as grown man and and talk about our issues, talk about our problems, talk about it, you know, what's going on, and help each other. You can, Yeah, you can. I

mean my thing is you can. But like the way society is, bro, they they want you to be vulnerable, and then as soon as you're vulnerable, they that's when they tear you down. Yeah. But but you know, a locker roommate ain't really a society. Not in the locker room. Bro, you can be as vulnerable as needed. Because that's the thing, bro, Like these are not only your teammates, but like these

are your brothers. And like this is why businesses try to be able to like emulate what we do on the football field and what we do within you know, our team, because it's like, how do you all come to play every single day? Well, I mean some people want to play for money, some people play for their faith in God, some people play for their family, some people play for them. But you gotta be able to like talk to everybody because not everybody's gonna come in

all the time just ready to go. There's only a few people that's like that, and so some people gonna be down. They're not gonna feel like practicing and you gotta go talk to him and be like, hey, bro, like whatever you need, I'm right here with you. And even when I started going through it, I gotta be able to have people that say, hey, I'm right there with you. And so like, for me, the biggest thing I've learned throughout my life SHIRM is just you know,

relate to people, you know what I mean. Like, so when I talk to people and they say, man, I I struggle with this and I do this, and I'm like right there with you, and then I start telling them stories and they'd be like whoa, I'm like, don't repeat that. Yeah, like like only use it if you got to help somebody or something, but but just no, at the end of the day, if it does come out, like at the end of day, I struggled, just like you struggle, but we all in this together. Like, And

that's the biggest thing I told people. And they asked me, like, who is your best teammate? I always say you, But it's just like but it's because like it amazed me how you would always stay out there with people even

if you knew they might not make the team. And it was just the fact that I'm like you just sitting there and teaching them and teaching them, and you know, you would think like, oh, like, okay, if it was somebody like a Tarik Wool and he's having an amazing year, that you would teach somebody like him because you see how great that he can be, and it's like, okay,

Like I helped him because of that. But it was like, no, it didn't matter who it was, like, if they were good, if they weren't as good, if they belonged in the league or not, Like you took out the time to listen.

You took out the time to help him. And when they asked me, like, what was some of the best advice you got, I told him one was from my dad, who talked about, like, you're gonna see a lot of people out there that's great at what they do, but just remember they drafted you because they already liked what you do and what you bring to the table. So never changed that. And then the one that I would tell him that you told me was that you're gonna lose a lot in practice, but you're gonna win a

lot in the games. And I mean a lot of that was because of the defense we were going against for sure, but you said that, you talked about how the games were gonna be a lot easier in practice. And when I learned that approach, I was like, man, like my rookie year, I'm like, bro, this is way easier than I expected. But you had to be able to understand that, Okay, you might lose your going against like the best safety in the world, the best corner in the world, the best strong safety in the world.

You know what I'm saying is so if you can figure out how to compete with these guys every day, if you could try to figure out how to beat them every single day, I want to get you all the time on the right side. And if I beat you one play, I couldn't do that same route for like five weeks because you were you know what I mean. So it just taught me how to be able to like be a better player, and it taught me how to be able to go into that different mentality looking

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of that. I say Okay, all right, you cook. I tell people bro like they don't understand like a lot of it is. Yeah, you look, you learn from people, but you know, there was also a lot of stuff that I didn't do that I always did in college. But it's about scheme, you know what I mean, And they don't understand. Like there's some offensive coordinators where when you're you, you gotta adapt your game. To me, that's the biggest way of how you stay in the league.

And so it's like you get one coordinator and they're like a man, one move and go. I can't sit at the line, or they'd be like, once you make your move, they'd be like, get out your break, don't do nothing at the top, just speak cut it and the ball gotta be there. And so it's like, you know, through the course of me having bevel, through the course of me having shoddy, like I've learned how to be able to adapt my game to where I got better in some of the areas that I never even knew

I needed to work on. Now. When Shane came in, he like, hey man, you can freak it a little bit, like you can do this and this, And I'm like, okay, how you speaking my language. So it's like you gotta learn how to be able to adapt in the league because that's what ultimately helps keep you here as well. Right, and and speaking of you, brought Reek up. What a

year he having. I mean, think about how far he's come from from training camp and you know, real raw dude and a pro bowler in his rookie year leading the league and picks like, tell me about him and what you've seen from him throughout the year. Bro, him and d K I it just don't make any sense. Bro, this this these are people we created on Maddens speed

like jumping. Like when I seen when I seen DK and Re goo at it in camp and I was just like, Bro, like DK fast too, you know, and I'm I'm seeing a Ree like side by side and then all of a sudden, like just throughout camp and going into the season, I'm like, Bro, I'm like, if this dude understands like his ability, I'm like, he could sit on whatever around he want to sit on, because it don't I'm like, in the league, bro, quarterbacks is on point. They're gonna throw the ball, keep you on stride.

All that. When I saw with my homes through that post and Riek was like four yards behind dude and came back and almost picked it. I was like, yeah, at this point, bro, just leave alone. At this point, Bro, it's like, as long as he just stays the course. There's some things, Bro, within technique we can't get away with his players, but like he could lose certain things and technique and still win. And so if he can continue to get that technique. On that play, his footwork

at the line was terrible. He was beat so bad he started pointing at the safety. He realized the safety wasn't gonna be there. It was like I just gotta run and almost booked it. Like this is his rookie years. The biggest leap you take as a players from your rookie to your second year because because then you're going into your second year, like your confidence is through the roof. Like I'm practicing with a whole different mentality, because it's not like I'm trying to figure out if I be

long or not. I'm trying to figure out if I can do it. I know I can do it, Like I know I'm the dude. Now I'm just I'm sharpening the knife. Like now I'm not trying to find a knife. I'm sharpened and like y'all know, it's sharp, like let me know. And that's what's been so cool to see with him. And this week y'all got I mean, between him and Sauce for rookie of the deepest rookie of the year. And and you gotta you gotta deal with the Jets and young DJ Reid sa my dog, your dog, DJ.

What you what you're seeing from them? Many they're doing the same thing. Man, they bawling. I mean we you know, I've seen what it was like to already be with DJ on the team, Like dude as a dog. You know, he don't get the respect that he deserves as well, Like I felt like he had a chance to be

able to go on the Pro Bowl. Um had a Pro Bowl like season, but he just real sticky man, like you know, I always say, like him and Trey Brown remind me of a nat They just all in the way, you know, but you gotta be able to learn how to play maneuver around that. I feel like he's done everything and more that the Jets even wanted him to do. Like you look at Sauce, like Sauce and a man Bro as a first round pick, and

he is not disappointed. You know, he's lived up to that first round hype and probably even outplayed the first round hype. And that's something that's really really hard to

be able to do. You know, you're talking about Sauce and Reek having a chance to be all pro, you know, and and and what's what's scary, bro, is they're still learning, right, Like you know what I mean, Like when you're in the league, it's like you're learning each and every year, but at some point you're like, all right, ability kind of starts to outweigh you know, everything else. But it's like, Bro,

these dudes are in year one and they're learning. If they continue to learn the pace that they're going, like, Bro, they have a chance to be like one of the best at the game of football has ever seen. They're learning there, They're they're growing, and the moment isn't too big for him. At corner. It's hard. It's hard to play sixteen games in the league at corner as a vet. You know, as a rookie, you kind of like you kind of like they're gonna throw at me a lot.

I don't know, this Dude's technique. I don't know what I'm gonna get like, and these dudes are just embracing the moment, living in it, thriving in it. It's cool to see. I mean one of them, I mean they both might make the All Protein first or second team, you know what I mean. I mean, it's it's a crazy year for them too. You got any questions for me? No? Before we get out of here, Man, if I would have known, I was gonna have a chance to ask

you questions. Um, let's see, how how how has everything been with just like you leaving football? Like you know how A lot of times people say, like you go through that that crazy, not crazy, but the depression and stuff whenever you're done playing, Like, was it easier for you because I heard you always wanted to kind of do what it is that you're doing now. Well, well, I'm crazy in general. We're all a little crazy in general.

So I think the hardest thing for people when they transition is the loss of structure, Like for I don't know, thirty years, for some of us, you got structured. You know, at this time of the year, it's gonna be training care. You know, at this time of the year, it's gonna be the season. You know, I'm gonna be training in this time of the year. You, I mean from college

till now. You gotta schedule, like you gotta schedule in your locker you know what time, meetings at eight, breakfast at this time, this and this and this, and when you lose that and when you show up in August of your life and you don't have a training camp and you don't have a schedule, and you don't know

what you're gonna do. You might have all the money in the world in your account, but you don't have you don't feel like you have direction or purpose like I've been putting all my not just putting my eggs in one bucket. Because even if you're like I got money in real estate, I got this, I got that, I got passive income, you're not an expert at that. You're about to move out of a space that you're an expert in and go be a novice somewhere else.

And I think that's the hardest part for guys, is to find purpose and to find the locker room and the mentality and everything, and so all that kind of all that weight kind of starts to follow on you at the same time, and if you don't get from under it and go find something, get stuff. Yeah, So I would say my last question would be it is so, you've been a Pro Bowler, hall of Fame, you're about to be a Hall of Famer at some point. You've been an All Pro. So outside of football, what's your

Pro Bowl? What's your Hall of Fame, and what's your all pro? I think being dad, you got you got some time before before it happened, but you might want to get on it. But being a dad, bro, that's that's gonna be my hall of Fame, my all pro. Not everything, you know, being that trying to be a good husband. You know, obviously the transition there was different to the relationship kind of changes because you go from not being here a majority of the time, you know

what I mean. You got your time, your season, your nd season, you're out of season too, here all the time, and your wife gotta adjusted that. She should be like, hey, go somewhere, get out of here. I'm used to you not being in here all the time. So to go make yourself busy. And so that's it now, just trying to be great at my career, you know, trying to set a great example from my son and my daughter, trying to raise them right, you know, trying to coach.

I'm coaching his basketball team just coming up this season in January, and and I think when you when you lose, like the drive are are are not the drive? But like, uh, I'm not consumed with football anymore, so, so I'm not obsessed with being the best of that. So now I'm obsessed with being the best dad. And not that I wasn't obsessed with being the best dad while I was playing, but it's hard to be obsessed with two things. Yeah, it's tough. So now I'm totally obsessed. Like I'm at

every practice, at every every meet, at every meeting. I'm in everything I can be in and it it gives me purpose. It gives me so much fulfillment because I'm having fun. I get to see them grow, I can see them learn. So that's it right now, that's just being a great dad, a great father. In this job. You know, I get to talk football. I get to talk football all the time. And um, I get to see you guys and can talk to you. It brings

me joy. Well, I appreciate it, man, I you know, like I said last year, I was like, you know, the more and more I got better, I was like, you know, if it was one person that I would want to be, like, oh yeah, I could see the transition because you see me from when I first came in and like you see everything that I'm doing now, and you know, like I said, regardless of anybody ever appreciates it, Like for me, I had to learn how

to appreciate it myself. I wanted to go to at least one Pro Bowl receiver because I already did it as special teams. But I mean for me, it's like I'm a pro bowler in my heart, Like you know what I mean, I'm a pro bowler from my team. Like everything that I'm looking for, it taught me not to look for it and let it come find you.

And so like I'm I'm learning how to appreciate all the stuff that's right there, like people say, being where your feet are, because I can always sit here and like you said, be upset about why am I not getting credit? Why this isn't it? Or I can appreciate like this my second time being Walter pay the man of the Year, you know, a second well, I don't think I can say the other one yet. The other one hadn't happen yet. Oh the Steve Largen Award, Like

it's my second time I won that, so yeah. So I mean it's like learning how to be, you know, thankful for everything around you, like like you said, man, Like man, I got a fiance, I got friends from high school, from middle school that that I still talked to. I got a chance to help my family and friends. Like you know, Claypool said it a long time ago. He said he already won, you know, right way said he already won. So like for me, it's like, bro,

I've already won. Everything else is just an addition. You know, when you hang up the cleats in fifty years and you and you look back on it all the cool things you did as a player, you gonna be like, man, that was pretty cool. Like I was, I was special. I was out there cooking, I did my thing. And then you're gonna start to do stuff with your kids and with your wife and with your family, and you're gonna be like, I mean, that was fun, but watching my kid do it, it's gonna be like and I'm

sure your dad would tell you the same thing. It brings you a different level of like, like, man, that's like it almost feels better than when you did it because you created somebody, you worked with him. You you you, you see them through the ups and downs. You know. It's almost like the young kids you work with. I'm sure young receivers you see you work with over your career and you see him do better, and you're like and like, I remember when you was here, and now

you're here when it's your son, Oh my god. I see him make baskets or I see him win a track meet, and I'll be sitting there. I'll be the first want to pick him up from the Finnish. I'll be like, hey, I don't care, and it don't even matter if you want. It matters that I've seen you get better and sometimes we win, sometimes we don't. But if we got better, I don't give a dangn what

the result is. The process approach. That's the best approach, bro, because if you teach your kid it's all about winning, then you you lose sight on progression over perfection. Falling in love with the process, That's what I tell him every time. Falling up. We're gonna get in love with the process, the results will come. Like eventually we win everything, but we got to fall in love with getting better day after day, play after play, practice after practice. The

results to come. If we work, it'll come. Yeah, Well, he's speaking like dad of the year. Man, I appreciate that. I can't wait till you have a kid. I'll be we bring him out there with the track with our kids. Man, I have a kid. It's on right right, he's gonna be a little scooter too. Hopefully he about six pot six five. Look, I don't know, but we're gonna we're gonna pay on the six six five like five too five three. I appreciate you. Yeah, I ain gonna take

too much more of your time. I know you got more treatment and you get better, but it's damn good to hear from you always the same man likewise appreciate you. Even asked me to be on Man, I was waiting for the call. Well, you gotta pick up you as your time, you know what I mean. I try to catch you on your hot and then it was hard. We asked around and then we caught you injured, and I was like, yeah, I'm glad we was able to make it work. Man, I really appreciate it. I appreciate

you to know you have a great day. Brother, all right, you to love you, bro, I love you too. The volume