 All right, thank you. Yeah, butter, what was it like being a free agent and signing with the Falcons here? Oh, well, I'm going to be real. Being a free agent was not good because I didn't want to get released. But you know, man, things happen. No injuries occurred. It was a step behind me now. So overcame that, man, went through a little tough time, went through a little tough right with injuries, man. And one later after another, I had to overcome that and just get on my best ability with my body. But no Falcons opportunity with the Falcons presented itself and it came at a better time. You know, at this point in my career, you know, being close to home, working here with opportunity to work with a program that's developing and trying to go out and win. And what, how do they say you would fit in the defense? Fit in the defense, you know, just normal as Russia runs, stopper on the end, being able to come in there right away with some experience, a better mentality, toughness, and just do my best I can do to make as many plays as I can. Does it help that, you know, AJ Terrell and some of the other guys that saw you at their camp last summer there? Yeah, man, those boys, you know, from everyone in Georgia kind of knows about each other, knows about how we were raised and everything of that nature. Try to, me personally, I try to touch as many players as I can. So they got a camp I'm going to try to pull up. If they got any events of that nature, I want to be able to come along because, you know, it just makes it that much better as a, you know, as a for the community, for football, not just for the thousand, but for the NFL in general. The injuries, how are you right now? Oh, I'm a hundred percent perfect. Excited to go training every day, no restrictions, ready to pull the full health season together. When did you feel like you were out? Actually, at that point. What point you're saying? That's where you're like, OK, I'm sure you're good. So, like the end of the season last year, I tore my pick and that was a bummer because I just had got done with a hip flexor injury that I was dealing with on both sides and, you know, just having the time to sit back and rewind and try to connect the dots from backwards and knowing what I didn't do, knowing the things that I did too much of, knowing what I can do to prevent it from this point on. And it just makes you really tap into your inner self, tap into your training more, you know, tap into, you know, just your personal lifestyle with what you have to do or more. So, you know, man, I had time to reflect, got that all situated, knowing how to attack it and I'm excited to go back to, man, just playing football for four, 17 weeks, right? What did you change or did you change? Yeah, change, you know, just change. First of all, I train too much if I can. I go out there and try to do two, three times a day. Yeah, in the past, man, you can't do that all the time when you're an explosive athlete like myself. So, you know, that's thinking you're working hard which you are working hard but you're kind of working backwards because your body needs time to rest and needs time to relax and, you know, everybody's body is different. Once you get to a certain point, you gotta start doing different things. So, I had to accept the fact of that, go out and I feel better than I ever felt. When was the last time you felt this healthy? When was the last full season where you felt like you were at 100%? I would say 2019. That's the full season that I played. Well, 2020, that's the full season that I tore my ACL that year. But still, you know, just leading up into that, leading up into that, man, it was a great opportunity. I felt the same way now, being able to do the things I was doing. Like you said, ACL injury is tremendous. It's tremendous and it affects you mentally. No spirit to everything, man. You have to question yourself about a lot of things. So, you know, over that hump, ready to move forward. Hey, bud, you're part of, you know, this team's obviously invested in a number of really accomplished guys on the defensive side of the ball, including you. What have you thought of, you know, the moves this team's made, bringing in some veterans on defense? I think it's great for the culture. I think it's great for the, you know, for the staff and for this team and for this city. You know, a lot of great guys coming in, man, and it only going to make it better. It's a lot of competition going to go involved. And, man, you know, guys like Caledis, I mean, you know, he's one of those older, older guys who's really the vet, you know, in the room. So, you're 13, I think. So, man, it's exciting to even learn from that type of person, even with me a year or nine, and I wanted to go, you know, I know it'll help Grady out tremendously to be able to have that type of impact in the middle. And no telling about the other guys, man, they're coming along. Everyone's excited to be a part of what it is. I can just sense, you know, in the locker room and the workouts that all these guys, man, are eager. And they know it's an opportunity for us to go out here and make a big splash. How does that affect the vibe for this off-season training when there's so many new faces? Yeah, I mean, personally, with me, I feel like I know pretty much a lot of the guys just from, if I played with them, I probably played with them at Tennessee or seen them at Pittsburgh, like a couple of guys that came from Tennessee. And so, I already familiar with them. A couple of guys I trained with in the area, in Atlanta area with them. So, you know, like, it just makes it that more comfortable for me when I walk in. A lot of the younger guys already told me they were studying my family. They watched me when they were younger, when they were coming out of college. So, you know, that just gives you that sense of, man, everyone kind of is already in a twine with each other, whatever you could say that's so. And it's always good to have that comfort when you walk into a space that is a new area. You know, guys are accepting everyone is, you know, we got one goal. And that goal is to win. So, no matter, see, no matter how you got here, it's about the goal that we get, that we have when we get here. So, you know, and that's the win. Just curious how it makes you feel when the younger guys come up to you and they say that they watched you growing up. Yeah, yeah, it's gonna feel weird. Yeah, it feel weird. So, you know, man, yeah, what it is at this point, but, man, you know, it's a blessing at the end of the day because a lot of guys don't get to make it this far in the league, no matter if you're a first-round pick. I was first-round pick that still doesn't matter. Make that I was gonna make it this far. And, you know, being a Georgie kid, man, playing for the Falcons, having younger guys look up to you, man. That's all we, that's all we dreamed about. That's all we really wanted to do it. So, now the proof in the pudding for me is to go out here and lead these guys and, you know, show them that, you know, just could you get, you know, kind of establish and lead. You have to go out and work harder and harder to keep your name relevant. And I got chips on my shoulder because I was hurt these last couple years. So, I'm gonna play as hard as I can and play the most violent as I can just to be able to, you know, get back into that mix for myself personally, but also for the team to keep this team alive and, you know, just do what the coaches want me to do. How much do you enjoy just being a veteran and trying to get something out of it too? Yeah, it's dope. It's real dope. The coaches understand that here. They do a great job with that. The players understand that also as well. And man, now you just gotta go out and lead. If you're a veteran, you gotta be able to lead. You know, I do a great job with that. Not only by example, but also, you know, physically as well and verbally sometimes. So, you know, that's a great thing. Going kind of off of what you're talking about with you, the injuries and getting back to a healthy level. How, and how things change as you get older, how do you feel like you're the same guy you were maybe in 2018, 2017, 2019 to where you are today and how do you think you're different? Yeah, so different wise, I would say, you know, when you're younger, you just play out of pre-athleticism. Whoever, when you come out of the drive, if you're super athletic, you're gonna make plays because people haven't got a chance to study you. You know, they haven't really seen your skill set, so it's kind of different. You know, you're fresh off, you know, you can be fast, running four or five and changing direction and bending and fluid. But eventually, you know, you're gonna run into guys who've been in the league for 10 plus years and they're not gonna be as fast as you, but they're gonna be smartening you. So that's gonna be, they're gonna stop you. And the older you get, the smarter you get with the game. It comes from reps and it comes from this experience and having in-game experience in training camp experience. Knowing what's gonna really, when to turn it up, what day in training camp is gonna be good, when to not go so hard so you can reserve your body. And when you're in between those lines, man, knowing how to give it your all, but still being smart. And man, that's a big part of getting older. But as it comes with, you know, we're just identifying, identifying things and that's what you really gotta tune in to. You can't ignore things. You gotta just take it to, you just gotta take it. And when it comes to that, you gotta make sure that you're ready to adjust and adapt to a lot of things that will be thrown at you. Because the NFL is, it's a lot of things happen sporadically. So you gotta be able to, you know, like I said, adjust to it. Feel like nine years soon? Nah, man, I feel like three or four. For real, I feel like real quick, I just feel, I remember I got drafted the other day in Chicago. And man, it was a blessing there, man. A lot of people came in, were excited of me going to the stillers. But I would say one thing when I signed to the Falcons, I've never, my phone never blew up that much. Even on draft day, you know, it was a lot of excitement, you know, from stiller nation, but to feel the at home love, I guess people at home like, man, he went to the stillers. But now that I signed to the Falcons, it's crazy like the support, the people who want to see the Falcons do good from, just from my circle as well as, you know, people, who I've been seeing on a daily, since I, because I live in the off season, so people who I normally see in the off season, now they were talking to me, and one of them said he coming to a falcon game with, they knew I was on the stillers and knew I was on the Titans the whole time. And they say none at all. So, you know, it's just funny how that works, man. You know, just making new Falcons fans and, you know, that's exciting. I've seen a funny story is, you know, some people who I know they die hard stiller fans and always hated the Falcons. As soon as I signed it, I seen them throwing the jerseys away from the stillers and they wanted to, told them they going to buy Falcons jerseys. So, you know, that's always a place that I made some people from Reneek from their friend on fandom. So, that's funny, man, for sure. Mike Davis on here a couple of years ago, he said like he had to manage ticket requests. Like, does that already happen? Yeah, the ticket request going crazy. Ain't a lot. They might have a student section like in high school with bud jerseys on. But, man, I'm gonna have to get with the ticketing people and let them control that. Cause I ain't trying to be dealing with nobody. Hit me up before the game for the tickets. I'm gonna go in and set the record straight for that one. And I'm gonna let everybody go to one person and you want to buy a ticket, you come here. Don't call me direct. And, you know, it'll be exciting though to see all the love and the people in the stands though. So. If you're talking about how much love you're receiving when you tell your family that this is happening and that you're getting ready to be close to home, what was that reaction? Yeah. Well, at first my kids, when I told my kids we're gonna have to go to another team that was mad cause they really liked the Nashville. They had got accustomed to Nashville cause they got older in Nashville and so I was like that. So I had to tell them like what team we're going to or tell them I'm going to the Falcons. But we're going back to Georgia. So then, you know, they decided just to come to Georgia. They only, I don't think they, I don't even think they understand like that. I'm still going to the Falcons. But it's exciting though for my older family though. Now everyone's excited that I came back home man and have an opportunity to see me up close, personal, each, every home game they want to. They don't have to plan it. They just can leave the house, come to the game and go back home. So that's always a plus for them and that's to be fun. Sometimes you got to, sometimes we, as players, we forget the experiences that our family and our loved ones get to have during this process. You know, we're so tied into the business that we're so tied into trying to be great and win games that we overlook, you know, the small things which count. You know, your family, man, they're going to have memories for the lifetime. They came to the game and got to South Kyle, Pete, score, touchdown. They get to see, they get to see Grady get a sack. You know, they get to see him up close and personal. He's number 97. I've been watching him the whole time. A.J. Terrell get a pick. Everybody doing the dirty bird. Like, it's different. You know, you hear about it. We thought about it when we was young. We seen guys like Vic them doing the dirty bird and having a great time. But to actually be in the mix of it and be in the culture, man, it's a plus. Like I said, man, the Falcons were my hero growing up. Like, if it was our neighborhood hero growing up, and to be a part of this journey is amazing. Do you ever get a chance to come up here for a game? No, so my first NFL game was a game I played, which was crazy. Oh, sorry. We didn't ask you about Ryan Nielsen. Thought on your new defensive cord day area and kind of what you think about what he's going to bring. I think Ryan is intense, really. And I'll just say this and not just because I'm on the Falcons, but as far as when it comes to passwords, I ain't really never experienced a teacher in a short time already from a coach of that stature. So he's not just putting X's and O's and telling you what to do. He's actually breaking down the passwords. And no matter what level of time you've been in the league, man, you still got room for knowledge. And he's actually really breaking it down and it's the sight of the me. I'm ready to work with him. I'm ready to get active. So it's fine. What was it like when you got the news that you were going to be getting traded to the Falcons? I would say a little bittersweet from the standpoint of the relationships that you form playing for a team for three years. But I was definitely excited about the opportunity to have a fresh start here in Atlanta and kind of new opportunity to wipe the slate clean. And what was that conversation like with Brad? A lot of people talk about how him and Terry ready to work it out and do you have a conversation with him about coming here and getting a fresh start? Yeah, it was pretty brief. Just we feel like this is gonna be the best things for both sides. I ultimately agree with him. And then we just kept him moving from there. And what have they told you about the opportunities here with the Atlanta Falcons? They're pretty excited about my ability, what I'm able to do and man to man press coverage and how it'll compliment the scheme. That's the things that went wrong in the tournament. Where did it start to make you break down for a year or two? You know, I approach the situation, put my best foot forward and sometimes things don't work out how you intend to. So you take those lessons and move on and take those lessons and apply them to a new situation which is here. And I'm excited for this new chapter. What's the lesson maybe that you took the most for those three years and kind of everything you had through there? You know, being in my time at the house state found a lot of success. Didn't really see a lot of lows. So to see those lows and learn the resilience that can come from that going through a person through adversity, it kind of lets you kind of know what kind of man you are. Chet, so you get to know A.J. Tereldal in the pre-draft process, the combine, things like that? Yeah, I've been familiar with A.J. since high school, obviously hearing about the other recruits in the area. And then we played them in Clemson. They stole one from us, obviously. But we trained together last year during the offseason. We have the same DB trainer. So it was really cool getting to a secondary with people that I'm already somewhat familiar with. Oliver Davis? What's that relationship like? And what's it going to be like, you know, teaming up with them? I mean, like I said, it's pretty cool just coming into a situation where even though it's new, you're not completely a new guy. Because we've had conversation dialogue in the past. I'm extremely excited to play with someone of his caliber. And I think we're going to make a lot of plays together. Interesting. I feel like sometimes with corners, you don't get to play beside each other. You're on opposite ends. But with you and AJ, the fact that y'all have this relationship that y'all built already, how do you think that that could translate on the field to be like, hey, I know he's got it, or hey, I know he's does that make sense? Like, how do you think that relationship can translate for you guys? The best way I can compare it to my last year at Ohio State, me in the opposite corner, Damon Arnett, had a really close relationship from my time at Ohio State. And just having that trust and that chemistry with the opposite corner, I think it pays tremendous dividends over the course of a game. Because when you trust that the other guy on the other side is handling his job, I think you play with a different level of confidence. Do you feel like you and AJ kind of already have that maybe foundation established? I think we're laying down the groundwork. It's kind of the grind to be working here, and then big tears after that. Do you feel like it never really, in some ways, got felt like maybe like last year, did you feel like it was a working year for you in some ways because of all that? Or how did you approach that considering Yeah, that's interesting to say that. I say last year, even though it was my third year in the NFL, in a lot of ways it felt like my rookie year because that was the most football that I've played. Probably in two years. My first year, I probably played seven to 10 games. Second year played one game. So in a lot of ways, just playing that much football, there was a lot of new things. When you're away from the game for a while, kind of take some time to get back into it. But I was able to sit down this offseason and take all those lessons I learned, apply them now, and I'm hoping to see a huge growth. What's it been like? I don't know how much the coaches can do, but I guess you've met Steve and Coach Gray. What's it been like working with them thus far? The best way I could describe it is enlightening. Just learning from someone like Coach Gray. Been meeting with him a lot, learning the game, given him a lot of pointers so far, and I've only been here for two weeks. So I'm going to do my part in learning the most I can from him, someone that's been coaching for as long as he's been coaching. I think he has a lot of game to give out. We're a long way from Sundays and games being played, but when you look around, you know, the guys you'll be lining up with, guys like AJ and Gray, do you've been here, the team's made a big investment on the defense side of the ball and veterans like yourself? How good can this defense be? I think the sky's the limit, but at the end of the day, things can look good on paper, but it doesn't really matter to you. You go out there on the field and you prove it. Joplin, a little amount of time that you've spent here so far, how would you describe the vibe around everything? It's really been really exciting. I think when you're presented with a new opportunity, you can't take it for granted. You try your best to put your best foot forward, and I think when you approach it with that mindset, there's no telling what you can do. Do you come here feeling like you want to prove something or feeling like you're not even thinking about what happened in Detroit and what happened in the past and you're wiping that slate clean? Honestly, as long as I've been playing a game, I've always had the mentality of proving myself no matter when I was coming out of high school with a five-star, coming out of the trap. I think if you keep that mentality, you never get complacent. I wanted to ask you about coming back from the Achilles injuries specifically, because it's just one of those injuries that different players can react differently to. Did you feel like you were at 100% going into the start of last season or was it a bit of a progression in terms of kind of still figuring out kind of where you were physically progressing throughout the year? And following up on that, is there more, potentially, that you feel like you can grow into physically a year on from returning to the field? I think in the moment, I feel like I was 100%. As I'm playing, obviously, staying healthy majority of the season. Within the hindsight, when I sat down with my trainers, my PT people, it was really cool to know that there was another level I could tap into. So I think the room for growth is still there, and haven't reached my athletic peak just yet.