Football

Our reality became clear at a very young age: If we wanted to make it in District Heights, the options were to either join a gang or play sports.

I’ve been looking forward to getting to a college campus for a looooong time — probably since I got that scholarship offer way back in eighth grade.

Now at the ripe old age of 33 and in my 12th year in the NFL, I’ve just wrapped up the best season of my career.

This is Giant Steps, the first oral history podcast offering from The Players’ Tribune.

The only thing you’re thinking when the ball is coming down is, Don’t drop it. You can’t think about anything else.

I’m six-foot-five, all legs, with the gait of a giraffe. So you won’t catch me running up the middle on a fake punt anytime soon.

What makes being an Aggie so meaningful isn't something that can be seen or touched. It’s deeper than that.

I have a long history of convincing myself that I can do something everybody around me thinks is impossible.

Where else but in a dream does this season even happen? The answer, of course, is Green Bay.

I want to tell you about the most difficult thing you will ever experience, more difficult than anything that will ever happen on the football field.

There was no way we were going to let it slip away again. And we didn’t.

The Falcons gave me an opportunity, and in return, I want to help deliver a ring.

Listen: If there’s one thing I know after having played for the Patriots for 13 years, it’s that you don’t wanna be late to a Bill Belichick meeting.

When you see him in the playoffs, it’s usually a sign that your season is about to be over. He’s the Grim Reaper.

Don’t worry about the Cowboys’ history. Go make your own history. This is your moment.

No matter what happens next, I know I’ll never experience something as special as being a Tar Heel.

The game is pure only in the sense that it pits student-athlete against student-athlete … while everyone else cleans up.

For the next four years, I’m going to be attending Ohio State.

We dug ourselves out of that 4-5 hole. We didn’t panic. We embraced the adversity and kept fighting. That's the Steeler Way.

The University of Florida has changed my life. And I don’t mean that in the cliché way. I mean every single syllable of it.

In order to go somewhere you’ve never been before, you gotta do some things you’ve never done before.

Anyone who has ever wondered how football players get so big has clearly never tried my mom’s cooking.

You can’t stand on the sidelines if you want to affect something. You gotta make a move. You gotta do something.

It’s the playoffs. So stay loud, and enjoy the show.