COURTESY OF LOS ANGELES RAMS MEDIA RELATIONS DEPARTMENT
(On how he feels getting back in the groove of camp)
"I just, basically, control what I can control, to keep it simple. I can't control everything that's going on. I just have got to abide by the standards and the rules that everybody has to abide by and try to come in as best prepared as I could. So, I kept my regiment the same as best as I could, basically."
(On building camaraderie with the team this season)
"Oh, it's just day two. So, we've got a little way to go. I mean, we've got to interact virtually, and yeah, I'm a new face, but I was here for half of the year last year. I wouldn't say that I'm a new face, like I was a free agent coming in, or I was like a rookie coming in. I know everybody pretty well I'd say."
(On building camaraderie with new teammates and rookies this season)
"Yeah, we all kind of knew that it would be different than it has been in the past. We knew that going through virtual stuff and like I said, it's really only day two of us being out here together. So, everybody's getting adjusted to how things are now. But it’ll come, as time goes on."
(On if playing football given the pandemic will be challenging)
"I wouldn't say so. We're professionals, so we should be able to compartmentalize the different things. I mean, when it's time to play football – it's time to play football. Outside of playing football, we've got to do what we've got to do. We've got to wear our masks, social distance, do virtual zoom meetings and stuff like that. It's cool, I guess."
(On the importance of having a new contract before the season opener)
"My agent and the front office, they will handle all that."
(On whether it's personally important to have the security of a new contract before the first game)
"My agent and the front office - they'll handle that. Come on now, man, you've got to take the answer I give you, man."
(On the fairness of answering questions surrounding contracts)
"I answered it though. I said my agent and the front office, they are going to handle it. I'm worried about what I can worry about and controlling what I can control. I answered the question, I'm not going to continuing answering it just because I'm not answering it the way you all want me to. Either accept the answer or keep it pushing. I don't want to get disrespectful, but that's the answer."
(On the status of his contract and why he wants to leave the discussions between his agent and Rams management) "Well, obviously I'm back because (Lead Specialist, Communications) Tiffany (White) and (Sr. Director, Communications) Artis (Twyman) just begged me to come back. But yo, when I answer a question that's the answer. I understand you all want to ask me about my contract and stuff like that. I told you all at the beginning of this, I said, ‘I am controlling what I can control’ and when you asked me the question about my contract I said, ‘I am letting my agent – who is by far the best agent in the game – David (Mulugheta), and the front office handle it.’ “I can't do anything about it. I'm not worried about it. I'm trying to do my job as a football player. I'm trying to be a leader on the team. I'm not going to do every Zoom session, or however we are going to do them this year, talking about my contract. Look if it comes, it comes. It's going to be a surprise to me, like it's going to be a surprise to you all. I called my agent up, before August, and I said I don't even want him to call me about it. I literally told him, I said, ‘I want you to call me one time.’ I said, ‘When my deal is done.’ I said, ‘When you feel like my deal is done, call me.’ That's it. I’m not worried about it. I’m worried about football. I'm worried about other things in my life. Like, my blessings will come when they come. I’ve got all my trust in God. So, when I give you all an answer, that's the answer. I don't appreciate you all trying to push me to a different answer because that's not what you wanted to hear. That's my real genuine answer. “I am not worried about it. That's genuine. I am not lying to you all. I'm really not worried about it. The Rams knew that before they traded for me, they knew what the situation was. We all have been on the same page from the jump. I’m pretty sure you all have talked to (General Manager) Les Snead, I’m pretty sure you all have talked to (Head) Coach (Sean McVay), and they probably told you all the same thing. Like look, we’re probably progressing to it. I’m not quite sure. It'll get done if it's meant to get done. I don't know, I really don't know. I’m going to keep it real with you all. If you all want to direct those questions to them, feel free. Push all of that to them. But me? If you all want to talk about football, if you all want to talk about my teammates, if you all want to talk about things going on in the world right now, if you all want to talk about any of this other positive stuff that I can possibly be able to help or control, at least my part of, cool. But I can't control – I'm not in those negotiations. I’m not David Mulugheta and I’m not Les Snead. I'm not doing that. So, when I give you all an answer, I would just appreciate if you all would take that. That's my genuine answer and I didn't mean (any) disrespect to (anybody), but I want to set a tone of like look, that's genuinely what it is. You know what I mean?”
(On the reporter clarifying that their question wasn’t meant to be disrespectful)
"I didn't take it as disrespect, but I just wanted to set a tone just like, 'Look, that is my answer.’ Genuine as best as I can give you. That's genuinely my answer. I can't give you another answer. That's all I'm focused on."
(On how he feels about his role on the team)
"I don't really have like an exact, exact role on the defense yet. I'll be doing a bunch of different things so there's not really somebody that I can talk to that's like, 'Oh, you did this and this and this...’ because nobody's done what I'll be asked to do or what I'm going to try to do on this defense. I might have to take this journey kind of by myself and with my teammates and with the coaches and see where we can take it."
(On if he likes the challenge of moving around in the defense)
"For sure, yeah. For sure."
(On what it's like to be back on the field with coaches)
"Well, per the rules, we're technically not on the field with them, yet. We're just on the field doing strength and conditioning type of things. So, we're just able to do meetings which we've been doing on Zoom but now they're in person, so that's better."
(On doing walk-thrus)
"We are doing walk-thrus. It's going good. Like I said, it's only day two, so we haven't even done our second walk-thru yet so I can't really tell you that much, but I think day one went good, if that's what you're asking."
(On Defensive Coordinator Brandon Staley's coaching/teaching style)
"I would say he's intense, but I think he's a good leader. By that, I mean, you can't treat everybody the same, so I think he knows how to talk to different people. I know he knows how to treat different people differently, but he's intense which I think is good. We need that."
(On if controlling COVID-19 is discussion around the leaders of the team)
"It's not. We can't control it, honestly. We know just about as much as everybody else does. So, it's not something I think that the older players can't control. Nobody's been able to control it so far, I guess. "Yeah, we can always give direction, but at the end of the day everybody's a professional now at this point. Everybody's a grown man, so they're going to do what they want to do when we leave this facility and you would just hope that what they're doing aligns with what we want to accomplish as a team and they wouldn't put the team in jeopardy of anything happening like them possibly being out doing something they're not supposed to do and catching COVID and bringing it back and infecting any other people. We can give them direction but at the end of the day, everybody is a professional, everybody's a grown man, kind of got to get with it."
(On the Rams wide receivers and not having former WR Brandin Cooks)
"It will be different. Every year is different. The receiving corps is different, but we still have (WR) Rob (Woods) and (WR) Cooper Kupp and ‘J-Smooth’ (WR Josh Reynolds). We got some guys in the draft, (WR) Van (Jefferson), so I'm sure it will still be good competition. We'll still get good work in and at the end of the day, we're going to try to set the tone in the secondary and bring it out of those guys anyway, regardless of who's on that side. But yeah, everything's different."
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