On the latest NFL Players: Second Acts podcast, former Pro Bowl receiver Braylon Edwards joins Peanut and Roman. Braylon didn’t come to sugarcoat. He came to be real. Braylon starts out telling the guys how his Detroit roots came out when he defended an elderly man from an attack at a local YMCA (3:50). He then talks about his wild days in the NFL, which included a friendly challenge for Olympic legend Michael Phelps (10:55), a friendly rivalry with LeBron James (23:14), and a friendly conversation with Jets coach Eric Mangini that led to his trade to the New York Jets (31:40). Speaking of his time with the Jets, Braylon names the coach who he blames for the Jets back-to-back AFC Championship Game loses in 2010 and 2011 (38:10). Braylon also opens up about his struggles finding his identity after football (41:26), and how going back to school to get his college degree helped him find it (44:32). Braylon also discusses how he overcame a dependence to opioids (49:22), and the therapeutic process of writing his book Doing it My Way (55:30). It’s a conversation you won’t want to miss.
The NFL Players: Second Acts podcast is a production of the NFL in partnership with iHeart Radio.
There was pressure with Brown's and Calves.
Now Lebron though Lebron is it is especially this Yeah, I think that's why.
I was trying to like competition though, right, you have the same city City coet.
We had the same so it's funny though, there's a funny story about that. So we both had Bentley coops.
This is all.
I had a Mulliner. He had the same exact car as different real wheels. I remember parking my car in Valet and they had me parked up front. By the time we came out, I was about to try to get in the car. My key's not working. It was, Oh, no, that's not yours, it's Lebron. I was like, where's mine? Said, we parked you was down the street. I was like, why do you move mine? Come on, don't don't do that too. I'm like, it's levels to this level, us to this.
Thank you for tuning in to the NFL Player's Second Acts podcast on Peanut Tillman and we got more Town's mayor right here, mister Roman Harper.
Dude, I'm only being to Detroit like twice. Yeah, you know what I mean. If y'all want to vote me in I'll do it. I'll clean it up. There you go. It's nice out here.
The only thing I can't change is the weather, which is pretty cold right now.
It's just.
Okay, next case I already tried to tell us, does herb and get to him? Man, First and foremost is get out here to our listeners.
And all of our viewers.
Wherever you pick up your podcast with the Apple Podcast, our Heart, the iHeartRadio app, make sure you give us five star rat and give us a review. Click that follow button. Also leave a couple of comments, tell us how we're doing. We love to keep bringing the heat man, and uh, we need the heat right now. It's a little cold outside, Peanut, who is our guest? It's cold outside and it's cold in here. But I do believe this next guest is going to bring the heat. Okay, like I did that.
I like that. Yeah, I like.
That so earlier it was terrible on me. Anyway, back to the show. He was the third overall pick in a two thousand and five draft out of them out of Michigan. Still holds the schools all time or he is still the schools all time. LI Receiver didn't know that until I read that.
I didn't know that either. I didn't realize that.
Uh yeah, I played nine years in the NFL Pro Bowl All Pro and now he's an author and he's probably Detroit's biggest voice.
Ladies and gentlemen.
Braylan Edwards, Welcome, thanks, welcome to the show to the city. Yeah, thank you, literally said, bro, you played in Chicago.
I'm from Alabama, brom from Alabama, and we soft. Yeah, I mean it's just hot, like it gets told in Alabama gets down to forty.
Yeah, okay, but like not right now though, that's true. So right now, it's about seventy five.
Yeah, seventies eighties so, and I live in Charlotte now, so it's in the seventies.
They will always be in the South. South guy, always will always be a.
South Caroline is a beautiful state. I was out there for the Dreaming Jacob's Yeah that was man. Me and my girl went beautiful time. I just loved the greenery trees.
Yes, I was actually in Raleigh and didn't know the dream Like I knew it was going on, but I didn't really think about it until I was staying at the hotel I saw album. Kamara and his people were there and uh it had a whole bunch of the people from Dreamville staying at the hotel.
I was actually at a wedding day.
Uh yeah, it was Actually we stayed.
Small World after this. Okay, yeah, yeah, yeah, for sure, man, that was it was just crazy. But yeah, yeah, so you want to tell this whole first story.
Yeah, I gotta ask him now, Okay, I'll tell you what you asked him.
Since you you you you're doing my job, so I'm gonna let you do it.
No, if you want to do the funny story, you go ahead. I was gonna go to football, but I'll let you do the fun funny. I can't wait to get the spice. I went to high school with Spies really down the street.
Yeah, we did our last podcast and he was calling me on the phone.
I talked to him the other day.
He's been the best. I meant, Spiders when I was twelve, been friends there.
So y'all been friends. You've been friends with dubbed that long. I did not know that. So you guys went to the same high school. I went to King I was a fresh leader. Yesterday or last night, I was not.
I called him when I got in sound and he's like, I was like, yeah, man, I'm in this, you know, my mo vacation and I'm in Detroit. He was like, come on, man, chill out, relaxes Detroit.
What you do. And he's like, I remember old high school.
Come through.
I'm like, uh no, I'm going to my hotel right now.
It's funny. It's literally down the street. But right now with all the traffic and.
Yeah, things are blocked off, it'll take you forever to get there. But if it's no traffic, four minutes. Yeah. Yeah.
So what I do want to talk about is the ymc A. You know, there was a there was an incident. It was that that happened. There was an elderly person that was I would assume we could say it was.
Was being attacked.
Yeah, and you you stepped in and stepped up to get involved in intervene and help this to help this person. You know what what made you want to get involved and help this person being attacked?
You us three around the same age, you know, and this newer generation everything is recording, this new era twenty four, everything is recording. People aren't helping people are, you know, like standing and watching and not doing anything and I always complain. I see things online or you see things on the post, It's like, why they record, Why won't they help. That's why the Alabama bro was so special because people stepped in.
You know what I'm saying, so.
Shut out, just write down mate for me.
Respect. So when man, let's go time. But when I.
Instinctively, I just think some people are like I think football players are built like that, you know, yeah, extinctively go do call to action.
So so it wasn't right, and I made it right.
I saw I read that article too, and it was you were like, I mean, it's just what I was supposed to do, just like the old only man this young dudes jumping on him.
It's just like that man. Dude was young guy was about twenty twenty two or so. He was twenty two. He was in shape. Other guy was like eighty or seventy two seven. It was all about loud music.
That's exactly what it was. And this is the other side of the thing. I couldn't say this when I was on the news and the other places. Sometimes like stop trying to enforce rule though, because you never know how people are wired.
You never know for sure.
He don't don't go and be all, hey, hey, turn that down and yelling at people. You never know how people are wired. I'm not saying what that guy was right. It was totally wrong. Yeah, sometimes it's not your business, like, yeah, how long were you in the locker room for it? Just put your trunks on, go swimming, or take the clothes on, go home, like sometimes stay out people's business. But it was the right move, man. I'm glad the guys okay actually made out the hospital a couple of weeks ago.
Good. Good.
So I want to talk about this because you were going to mention I guess the first time we played, Yeah, seventy five yards to the crib.
First play, tore my a cl and five. It was my rookie year.
I toured in December, actually on my mom's birthday, December fourth, Jays's birthday, too. Worked my way back, went through the rehab process the first time I'd ever been injured, so I didn't know what to expect.
I thought my career may be over.
Obviously now ACL is nothing, but got all the way back. First game of the year going against Reggie Bush obviously the Saints, but it was Reggie's first game. I know that you personally, and I'm excited. First play of the game, seventy five yard touchdown. I call it was an motion post route boot boot seventy five yard touch I'm excited.
It was holding on our left tackle.
I was like, this is gonna be a bad season, like this is just an omen But I remember.
Look at one play, you just knew it was gonna be a bad season.
Did we finished season five and eleven? I think you guys won by four? I think yeah, But I remember looking at the Scoleton Report. I've always been heavy and looking at the Scoleton Report seeing like sizes like well guys went to schools, you know about guys and get.
Into their head.
Looking at the picture, I was like, who's this old dude playing safety out here? Roman Harvey had the white hair that I'm like, this dude ain't no rookie because it is by his name.
I said, that's the typo and it's not. You know, still looks the exact same looks great, bro. Appreciate it. But it was funny. It was my very first game was versus Cleveland.
He hit like the old man too, Yeah I did, and uh, Roman strengths he got that still too.
I actually had a sack to seal the game for us. My boy Rob Nikovich. We had a little Yeah he is last night. Yeah, he was at the little thing last night with the MGM.
So he uh.
He took the tight end, which was Kellen Windsor, who I like I told you earlier.
I love guarding him because he always talked trash and he literally talked the whole game. He's not gonn and he's not going to shut up. And he'd be like, oh I got you on that. I'm like, dude, they didn't even look over here. He's like, I don't care. All right, It's just me and him in our old world for like sixty minutes.
It was great.
I got a thousand windows stories. But this is a funny quick one. So we're playing the Chargers. This has been the same years six tight game. We're out in San Diego. This is before they obviously in LA and he's yelling at our coaches. He said, hey, run that play, running play when the play we do in practice. Because he's trying to get the game winning play, which is a good play for him. I'm laughing. Give him to play, don't you know. We get in getting the actual game. He ran the wrong route. You asked for this play, You've been running this play.
He ran the wrong round. I ended up being open. He's like, hey, son, I forgot. That's only that's all shty k T. I appreciate the honesty. He got too hyped. I forgot. I forgot. I'm gonna hype hisself up and forgot to play.
You know you're doing like mannerisms like him though, because that's what he was like. When I would be guarded, he was like, hey, I got here, just.
Like I didn't know him personally, but he worked I worked.
Out with him a couple of times in in uh Schrist ranching in California with Sprolls and everybody like that was l t or yeah dame.
When we all worked out there. He didn't speak to me my rookie year. So like he's drafted, oh four, I'm five.
He was like big Tom Venue on his second year. Hold on, hold up, because this is why this is so funny. He got hurt.
The motorcycle thing happened the week after the draft. I get drafted to Cleveland, and I'm like, damn Cleveland. But then I'm like, all right, I was like, well, K two. I was like, it's real. But I'm like, all right, Well K two's at Keller Ones. I'm like, all right, video team and we'll figure it out. A week later, the actually happened, so he didn't play that whole year. He didn't talk to me, like when he came in for treatment I was seeing him, wouldn't speak, didn't speak. I guess he felt like I was a guy coming in. You know, the first time he spoke to me, I'm sitting in the stool on the shower tearing my a cl He came in the shot. He was like, hey dog, Hey, hey, hey son, we're gonna rehab. We're gonna get right next You're gonna be all year. I oh, you speak to me now. My answer is injured.
But great dude had great rehab process.
And that's why I can do all his mannerisms because I spent a lot of time together.
Oh I totally get it, So go ahead, Nope, all right, I won't to know how this whole thing with Michael Phelps did because you him that, yeah, you would have double the touchdowns right true? And he about his gold medals, which seems like a doable thing.
You know, if he wins four, you just gotta get eight. You'd just come off.
A big year.
What you had fifteen or six sixteen, sixteen the year before. And he goes out and gets eight gold medals? How did that whole conversation go? And have you actually paid up because you didn't get sixteen?
I damn sure didn't. I didn't.
Yeah, my boy, he was a freshman in my senior year, so we hung out.
I swim a lot in the mornings with him. Old you would go over there and swim. Yeah, I swim. They swim. They get in the pool like.
Five No, no, they up every morning like five thirty's five thousand swim.
But I would go with that like I would swim.
I could swim, but not like that, you know, like when they would get in the part, jump in, do a lap or two. I'm all right, I'm on the platform. I'm on the spring board, like I'm just on the diving boards. So we got real cool. We got tired. He comes to that next year. I had sixteen off season. I'm talking stuff to him, like, hey, you know, base Jean's coming up. What you're gonna do? I did sixteen last year. I said, I bet I double whatever you do. So we put fifty k on it, and I think I had six touchdowns.
Maybe you're not even that man, Cleveland. We sucked, but I paid up. Okay, you paid up. Yeah that's my guy. Okay, I love that. I love that, like Mike's my guy. See we didn't get the whole scope of the end result.
I love that you did that because I mean, last time we seen Michael Phelps, he was at the Masters behind behind Tiger, right, was that behind Tiger on sixteen?
That's why you paid up. So you pay up because you know his access is you know what I mean him Now I still have that access too.
You don't pay up, I can't go to the Masters, I can't go hang out with Michael Jordan's Yeah, I pay. He's a good dude, man, I've heard great Yeah, great family man.
He's great. He's a great friend to have.
I ran into him in Michigan two years ago, I think the High State game. He was the same dude, same dude as a big ear kid.
When I made it. He was eighteen years old, same guy he is now as a father and a.
Husband, big broad shoulders. That's about swimmers. Bro, he's a funny, funny story.
Since we're talking about swimming this, dude, you want to see a funny story or you want to see something funny.
Can't swim?
Oh my god, well I can't swim. I'm not like, I'm not saving lives winning races, Okay, but I can swim like I'm good.
You can do with take what it takes.
I'm good, I'm great, I'm confident. But you also got to understand what the situation is that we stepped into. Okay, we're in the Brevnick and Croatia Great Couples truck. We're doing that thing, you know what I mean. And Peanut has this great idea where we're gonna uh water Polo. I don't know why, but he's like, dude, when else.
Are you wanna do this? Yeah? About energy? Too much energy, it's exhausting. Line were you at? Where were you at? Not try? Yeah?
Because the boat somebody should have been there to tell me. I was like, thank you appreciated bon because he didn't. So he's like, come on, man, the guy. It's not even about the speed up, but we had you know it? Yeah, but you have the country.
So yeah, that we go appreciate it, you know what I mean. You have the country that appreciated. You know what I mean? When in Rome do with the Romans agree? You know what I mean.
So we're out there and man, we get out there and I'm like, bro, where the bottom at?
Like, ain't no bottom? He didn't know that, but no, no, no, Bro, you thought you was gonna something in there. It was like, no, it ain't no bottom, but it ain't no bond. They got to tread water. Brother, Yeah, I don't know how to do that. I don't know how to do that. The first thing they teach you at the why speaking of yeah, let's get that. I ain't had that.
So I get out there like I know how to swim, but I don't know how to tread. So this is clearly a difference. And so I'm out there and I'm like, bro, this ain't it?
Did you know? Bottom? Not? It almost like is this a D way? Is this a D way?
Lebron James Carmelo store where they were like on the banana boat, Like Lebron had to save Carmelo.
Yo know that. I know. Yeah I didn't.
Almost drown, but I did have to use like one ball to throw another ball, because I was like, I don't know how to just trade water like that, and so that was a good time.
It was. It was a great time. How did you do because that's that.
Yeah, I can trade. I'm I'm pretty straight at it. I mean, I didn't want no gold medals or something like that, but I'm deep. When I can trade for about ten I can, I can, I can trade for about fifteen minutes.
Okay, you can survive.
You almost when you almost couldn't get on the little boat thing that the girls were on, you almost fell back in the water and was hurting.
I didn't almost drown though, though anyway, forgetting on it. You didn't deny that you almost failed it. Yeah I did. I did fall, but just it was bad.
It was both of us, honestly, it was more for me crazy. Yeah, No, I won't do water polo.
Yeah meither. We'll be back in a minute.
What I do want to know is who's the most, uh the biggest celebrity you have in your phone right now?
Since you you you your.
Name dropped a little bit, Who's who's probably the big what you got on your phone?
Bat phone? The rock? Okay, on the bad phone. Okay, the bad phone, the rock. Most folks don't admit to the bat phone no more. Yeah, that phone, dog I located, I located. I tried to like, let I try to let it go.
I tryed to let that one go, like okay, yeah, follow up with another question or two, or say something, say.
Something different, okay about that's my dog wrap. I appreciate. All right.
So was there ever any well coming out of college or excuse me, coming out of high school.
I didn't get a thousand offers.
You probably got a thousand offers y'all. Y'all were y'all were that good? I'm sure you got a lot too, So was there no?
My My journey was unique because I was I don't want to use the words short, but I was short, like basically I was five six and a half when I got to high school.
Yeah, five eight.
My sophomore year, I was like five nine whatever, and I shot up and I broke my knee my sophomore year as well, So that delayed me my junior game. So going into my senior year, I had done the Michigan camp. I did some camps and it was all mac offers and it was HBCUs n's Howard Hampton nose and then you know Central Eastern Michigan Toledo. And then I went to Michigan camp the summer going into my senior year and turned it up a notch and so Michigan State offered, Vanderbilt offered cal offer. But I didn't have any major major and I'm not trying to knock Michigan State.
I'm not trying to knock them. But I didn't have any.
Major major offers, and I think blessing disguise. Reggie Williams, who went played at Washington, got drafted by Jacksonville Jaguars and four he ended up decommitting to Michigan and then going to Washington, and so there's a spot to open up. Lloyd Carr offered me a scholarship based on my performance at the camp and then how I played on defense.
I was a defensive standard out senior year. Just say this.
I went to a small school. I played d N safety and linebacker d N D. I had eleven sacks my senior year. I had like two touchdowns receiving all my stats with defense. So Reggie pulls out Paul and then I go to Michigan and then the rest of Sitry. I had to work though to get there. It wasn't easy once moved. I can't believe you shot up that much. Yeah, I mean I was like five seven my freshman year.
How big is it? How tall was your pops stands six foot, six foot and a half. My mom short.
My dad's side of the family though, his uncle six ten, his cousin six ten, his cousin's brothers seven foot. It comes from that side of the family. But my dad six foot, my mom's five three.
Yeah, and your pops, if I'm not mistaken, your pops with the Michigan too.
He did seventy seven eighty two, got drafted in the third round, and eighty two to the Oilers now the Tennessee Titans.
So football lineage is there. Yeah, So you grew up around the game. I did.
I was always at somebody from Michigan's house and warm Moon I was that's unk.
Yeah what I'm saying.
They played in Houston together, So I was always around the game, always in an arbor.
Jim Harbor, I remember him when he played in Godge. You know what I'm saying. I was on the sidelines running around. I was that bad kid. But I will find my way back to the little sidelines.
Would you were you able to enjoy it though, because I know, like when I tried, like we got room son here.
Right now, he's all about football. He's all basketball right now. Though there's other two cads.
But I love that though, because my dad was in the army, so I was all about whatever my dad did, like I wanted to do.
He was at work.
I would go to his job and just be around all the soldiers and everything. And I remember it like vividly to this day, like I really wanted to be around my pops and all his friends. So luckily or unfortunately, my kids were young enough and I got girls, so they couldn't just like hang around me all the time in the locker room and whatnot. Do you actively do you have like vivid memories of like your dad, the stories, locker room, going over someone's house, like just being around the game.
I remember days to take me to the locker rooms in Michigan all the time I met Desmond with Desmond was a freshman, Yeah.
At Michigan's.
I used to go in there and I remember crazy Ricky Powers, Tyro Tyrone Wheatley, what number six like? Look, I love like Tyron Wheeley was my favorite player in Michigan history. Like if he doesn't break his ankle his junior year, the rest is history. But Jamunga, But I remember when he was in the play for the Lions. Yeah, so I remember silver my first jersey ever bought Carolina. There you go eight overall, I think in ninety five. But yeah, you're right, man. Just being around Pops and being around the players, learning the game and coaches and it just was fun.
Like I actually was a better baseball player than football player.
But yeah, baseball is my first love because my parents they separated, mam re married and we moved to Georgia and I lived in like throwing you in the country, like I had six to twelve. So I fell in love with baseball, man. Atlanta Braves love my Tigers, Atlanta. I'm a Braves fan.
So because the TVs though they had that contwork, you could just all the time, and that was.
The great years when the Braves were great.
Though they left so many World Series on the table, like Smokes Maddox Glavin and Fred McGrath, Fred McGriff, Teddy penalty, Yeah, said Ryan.
Yeah, Chipper Jones is young Jones.
Andrew Jones later on, Yeah, Bobby cox Man, he left.
He left too many World Series on today pictures coach like they had.
Literally, I mean we legitimately used to watch full baseball games when I was a kid, Like you said, turn turn on TBS, watching anyone to the ninth in and going to sleep.
Yeah that's what now I can only watch like seven and nine.
I feel you, dog, I want to know this though, your time in Cleveland. Yeah, uh, you stayed relatively close to you were there around the time Lebron and all those guys were there. And did you feel any like added pressure because because of what Lebron had brought to Cleveland that like, man, the Browns we need to pick it up too. Or was it because the Cavs weren't that big of a deal either and all of a sudden, Lebron, the home grown product showed up.
I didn't feel any pressure at all. Like Lebron was, you know, one of a kind. He still is one of the kind. I remember the Chosen Magazine, I remember ESPN, I remember Sports Illustrated, the King and all that.
Like the pressure that he had on him. He had all the pressure.
So I didn't feel pressured, like this guy is supposed to be transcendent, he's supposed to be better than Jordan when it's all said and done. So nah, I didn't feel any pressure with him. But when they turned that thing around, like once he got there, three, I got there, No. Five, like they started getting good. Then they dethrown the Pistons and O six yeah, which is my team, So that hurt had the root against him. But that's when you started seeing us kind of like all right, look, they not even that good outside Lebron, Like we gotta do something with that. We got win some games, and seven we finally did. We went ten and six, didn't get into the playoffs with just grazy. But there was pressure with Brown's and Calves, not Lebron though Lebron is it.
Is especially this Yeah, I think that's why I was trying, like competition though, right, you have the same city city, We had the.
Same car like that, so it's funny though, there's a funny story about that.
So we both had Bentley Coops. This is all.
I had a Mulliner. He had the same exact car. It's different real wheels. I remember parking my car in Valet and they had me parked up front, like I asked, hey, put my car right here, to put my car right there. By the time we came out, I was about to try to get in the car. I was like, my key's not working. It was oh, no, that's not yours, that's lebron. I was like, where's mine? So we parked us down the street. I was like, why do you move mine? Come on, don't don't do that too. I'm like, it's love us.
To this, loves us to this. I said, y'all won't get my business anymore. Oh that's funny. Have y'all crossed pass since?
Uh?
Yeah.
We used to cross paths a lot. Then I got traded to actually got into it. One of his dudes go to words about that. Dude, look that up, and I ran into him last night too. You can you can bring that up.
Oh it will go ahead, No, tell us what happened.
I crossed paths with him in New York a lot, and when I got traded to the Jets, he was always I thought he was gonna be a nick like. I thought that was gonna happen, But uh, just one night, Man, we were out, We're downtown Sunday. You get tired of losing. He's tired of the same old routine.
Doubt.
Uh, you know, practice all week, try to get a game plan. Think you got a good game plan, and you go in the game on Sunday, you lose, like they not getting on for So we go out and I just wasn't feeling. Said I'm ready to leave. I'm tired of this man, Why are we partying. I'm sitting here spending money with drinking and blah blah blah said and we getting ass like on the day in and day out. I said, So I'm ready to go. I left early that night and his friend was outside Edward Givings and it was one, two three. It was four of them and the two security guards that are always there. He was like, what's up being man, why are you leaving early? I was like, man, because I'm tired of the city, I said, the city week, I said, this club's week.
I said Ebody.
I'm like, I'm like city Week. I said, I'm just homesick. I'm tired of losing. So they got mad because they're Clevelanders. They was like, man, you week we think you corny, that's not what you want. And so I'm from Detroit born and yeah, yeah, yeah, they surrounded me.
It sounded like a fourth grade fight, just out of nowhere.
It was, it was, and they surrounded me and I hit two and the other two didn't do anything.
I jumped the crowd and I left.
But I'm from Detroit, like see you swinging be swung on And it was just me out there. Everybody else was in the club party and my manager was playing the tag.
So I dropped, dropped him, dropped Tim. The other two backed off.
I left and next thing I know, it's on ESPN and I ain't gave him concussion and I jumped them so well.
I I wasn't expecting that, but I mean, I'm glad we're able to address that as as adults now.
Yeah, I see him last night last night, so him last night, his name ever, give you tied me? He said, what's up? Bea much different space now. I was like, what's going on at how you doing as well?
And that's so good?
Yeah that's what we're in our forties now. Yeah, bro, you should be happy you got me for one hundred and fifty K. But just neither here nor there. I'm trying.
I'm trying. I'm better, I'm better be better. Hey, how you doing wrong to see you? Buddy? Can I bout your drink tonight? Yeah? It stings a little, you know what.
I will say this because we're talking about clubs a little bit. So the first experience I have a Braylan Edwards.
I knew it was a club experience. You said it was definitely a club. It's gonna be a good one because the sun's right there. It was. It was clearly awesome though.
So this was after my rookie year and me and my college roommate, we're in Vegas, and so we like it might have been club Twist, and so we're out there and like me and my boy put our card down.
We got a group of like five or six of us, and we get a couple of botles. We're just trying to do it easy.
We're just trying to just trying to feel like we're fitting in right, because I don't, you know, it's the first time in Vegas period.
Dude. I look over, I'm like, oh.
That's brailn Netwards. I know who that is. Like, oh, you are having a glorious time. You were also the first guy that I saw stand up on the section where like, you know, that's how you get out there as you stand up, and.
So I was like, Okay, so that's what I need to do.
Allegedly these are all allegedly too. Yeah, I'm not one hundred percent sure this is Brailer Netwards, Okay, but I'm pretty sure this is Brailer.
Anyways, it was great.
I think I said what's up to you one time in passing you, trying to say what's up?
It was all good, nothing but love.
But dude, when I saw you pulled the move, We're like, I don't even know how to say it, but like it was like, I mean you had pants on, but like your pants fell down and you were dancing in the club. You had other pants on underneath that, but it was still like broy pants on. I mean he had like his underwears or stuff on.
Yeah. Sure, yes, the way he wasn't naked in the club, bro, this is wild. Yeah yeah, but he was wild. Bro. It was like great, it was a great time in Vegas.
He kind of set the tone in the tempo for everybody else in the room that night. So I honestly wanted to say thank you for like being that light because it was a great night.
Thank you for being the light. But you know what, I get what you said.
Like, so being from Detroit, like growing up like Detroit's party, like the era BMF is from here in southwest Detroit.
I know who BMF is if you don't look it up. Uh, this era was with Tommy Hearns the hit Man. Like it's a big party city.
So cats me going out drinking champagne at the bottom doing that since the eighties, et cetera.
So I kind of saw that growing up and it just was fun. Yeah. I think a lot of times when I was saw you were.
Yeah, you were like having a good time, like you were the light that we all needed to see.
A lot of athletes, a lot of entertainers that go out when what I noticed when I was younger is like they were scared to have a good time or they wanted to be reserved. I was like, look like, I'm gonna just be me. I'm gonna have fun. I bring my friends around. I hung out with more of my people from like my city and my friends in actual NFL player, I was cool with everybody yeah, but I hung out my boys from the crib, you know what I'm saying, And we would just go out and just live life, like I'm blessed to be in this situation, bless to be able to, you know, take trips to Vegas from Miami or whatever, drive cars. So we just wanted to have fun. And I had fun. And I'm got it out of my system because now I ain't staying up as ten unless I'm watching the show. But I got out of my system. But it was a lot of fun back there man Vegas, trist the Waterfall, and.
Yeah, yeah, it was my first time in there, bro.
And I'm telling you, like, I'm like, bro, this is how I'm supposed to have fun.
That's what I'm saying. Like I had never been around it. I was my pants. But outside of that, it was, it was, it was, it was. It was a great night. That's all I want to say.
Uh. Moving on though, back to football, Howard juvenating was it? You talked about how whack Cleveland had got for you or it was weak?
How are juvenating was it?
When you got traded to the Jets as a career, as a mentality, what did that do for you?
So it's funny that that we're giving situation story outside the club. So the week before that, every man Genie had asked us. He said, Hey, if anybody wants to get traded or they want to move, they want to see what they could do, come talk to me and I'll make something happen. I have been in Cleveland five nothing, O six nothing. We didn't make the playoffs all every ten and six, O seven eight nothing, and now we're on three. So I'm just thinking I need a change the scenior. You know how there's sometimes you just need that change the scenery, new coaches, new voices, new air whatever. And so I said, hey, Coach, if you meant that I would like to see you if you could do that for me.
I said, it's nothing against you.
I just don't think Cleveland and I we jail, we vibe, we bond.
He said, Okay, I see what I can do.
Fast forward a week later, that situation happens outside the club.
He calls me into his office at Wednesday, early in the morning. He called it six am.
I'm like, well, I love hey Gray, when when you come in, could you could you see me?
It's coach.
I was all right, bet So I go see him like seven in the morning. He says, now we've moved you to the New York Jedi. It took everything and not to just jump up and start like doing the robot like I'm literally excited. I'm about to doug he here the move, but but he traded me.
I was so excited.
Wrong, pet Nut, I didn't even go to the locker room, like I didn't go downstairs. I left like I didn't go downstairs. I left my Sony viol I had I'm the DJ in the locker room. I'm one of the DJ's locker room. So my speakers you can have it, Sony Via have it, all, my cleats have it. I left everything in Cleveland, got in the car, called my mom. She said, I know your agent told me last night. I didn't want to tell you.
So uh. It was great.
I go from being z and four to three and one. Rex Ryan was a player is and it will be players coach, somebody you could talk to. Just everything was different, like from the cleaning staff was different. The equipment managers were different, like the cooks, the chefs great conversation. The training staff was cool. John shout to John Melly John Mellody. So it just was it was great man, and then people on the team. I said, Okay, I'm not saying we're gonna win anything, but I'm saying, what this is a playoff team, and I feel at home. It's something I want to give all my energy to and ball out. So it was brother fresh.
A, Well, you brought up Rex Ryan.
Give me a great Rex Ryan story, because you're already good at really good at imitating people, so go ahead and give me one.
Okay. So Rex loved me because I because I like, I'm a blocking receiver, like.
I love like y'all know that, Like I love hitting the defense.
So uh, he used to tell me.
He's, hey, hey, hey, look yeah twenty four, you knock him out, you knock him down, I'll let you be late for beating. You know, I missed a couple of video neither here nor there. So every time I would knock players out or knock DB's out or whatever, or defensive ends on a crack back, I go up there. She was like, oh, he said, you don't have to come into about nine fifteen to day, but he was great.
Then I dropped, I dropped the touchdown.
Uh.
The playoffs. One time we playing the Bengals. We won the game, I dropped the playoff. I come to the sideline. I'm like, dangn all right, I got to figure this out. I'm one when I dropped a pass, like like, stay away from it, like I'm gonna figure it out.
I'm figured it out to stay away.
If Rex comes up to me, he says, well, you can hit, but you can't catch. For so he like living me up and instantly is what I needed. You know what I'm saying, You get out your own heads. So great dude.
Man, he just knows what a player needs and he's just he's a great dude.
How much does a sting to go to two AFC Championship games and almost like you're just one game away? How much is that sting?
I love what happens on these podcasts because people they get on here and they try to like not to tell the truth.
I'm a I'm a blamer. I'm gonna go ahead and say, yeah, thank you. The reason why blame I'd be blaming.
The reason why it sucks is because it's Brian Shotenheimers. Fuck Brian Schottenheimer's offensive coordinator the two years I was in New York Jets. Cool dude, but it couldn't get it done. First year we played the coach right, they're playing man and man coverage. I had one hundred yards at halftime. Yeah, I had one hundred yards a halftime. Thomas Jones, It gets hurt, Jones.
TJ.
You know, TJ gets hurt. He threw me one pass and the second half and we lost. It was just the way in which they went it by.
I give you an example.
We get into uh it's it's the first half. We're up four points. We get a turnover, so I'm like, okay, cool, we can go for a shot. Yeah, let's just take a shot. Or actually we're up ten or four, four, seven, one or two. Let's get the end zone. They played for the field goal. Guess what happens. They feely missed the field goal. Guess what happened? Peyon man and we were up ten. It was ten, That's what it was. We were up ten. Jay feel missus the field shout at Jay University, Michigan. Goblu Peyton goes down fielding thirty seven seconds right before the half and they score. So now as opposed to being thirteen to zero, or seventeen to zero. It's now ten to seven. We get the ball after the half. Don't you know that locker room was dead, sad. We're up and get the ball dead silent. But that was Brian Schinheimer once again, and he threw me one pass in the second half.
Second AFC Championship game, defense did their thing. Defense did it thing.
We played the Stillers the second time, we had just played them four weeks prior. I had one hundred and eighteen yards. Antonio did his thing. We took advantage because Troy was injured. Troy had I think you want to say Achilles was bruised or something like that, so he didn't play in that game. Took advantage, destroyed them in the AFC Championship, changed the whole offensive game plan.
Threw me one pass and it was on the fourth down.
I converted and then Jaco Jerichocatri shot at Jacob one of my favorite teammates ever. He had one hundred so dudes, man, he want them dudes. He was coaching thing too. But he scores a touchdown. We can't come back. Emanuel Sanders actually called a third down conversion kind of in the game for it I'm not saying he had to get me the ball, but why I go away from something that's working. One hundred in the first half, nothing in the second half. One hundred and eighteen in the first game, and then one pass in the second.
So I blamed Brian Shot. I agree with you. I accepted. I actually.
We learned from you guys that first year versus the Jets what not to do. I bet we learned what not to do, especially playing against Peyton Mann. Can you guys defense was great first half yep. But then by like the middle of the second half, he kind of learned what you guys are doing.
Because our offense wasn't.
Yeah, I wasn't helping the defense on the field, they're standing defense.
Yeah.
So eventually he kind of figured things out, and then he started getting nicking us apart. So then it was like, all right, well, we got to have enough bullets in the chamber to be able to do something in the third or fourth quarter that.
He had this nine this has been nine Super.
Bowl Yes, when we paid against the Colts, and so when Tracy Porter picked him off the end zone, that was just something that he hadn't seen. And so we ran a different version of a man and man coverage. So but we learned from what the Jets did, and you guys had him. You guys had them. But then you guys just kind of yeah, and you know, now you're over here like Peanut with two conference championship, ten appearances.
You know he got he got got one too. Was that shot?
It was?
It was?
What do you think the biggest misconception is about you as a player?
Oh, as a player, I think it's the position as a whole. I think it's the diva. Yeah, I think it's a misconception of I totally thought you would have been a diva. I like hitting, bro like, I like like blocking whatever, making first downs, going over middle, catching like I just love. But at the same time, I like getting in zone, I like dancing, like doing all that. I'm not a diva, you know. And I hate it when they said that, like, I just played. I played the game. Played the game. I played the game. So BIG's misconception is devn. I think it's just a tag for why those that wouldn't me.
We're going to take a short break and we'll be right back.
So I retired in what twenty I'm retired in twenty sixteen, were you're twenty seventeen.
Yeah, I probably say the hardest part.
About leaving this game or walking away from it is accepting it. And twenty thirteen you were in you were in New York with the Jets and the end up releasing you. I think you had hurt your knee or I'm sorry ankle. What was the hardest part about accepting that it was over?
Like it's it as a hell of a question, and I like, I love how you asked it. This is our identity, And I think that was the thing for a lot of us, a lot of guys that didn't necessarily set up things as they were playing and kind of already have the phase out.
You know. I was that guy. I never focused on anything but football.
Same so I focused on like football is. Football is what gave me confidence to talk to women. Like football is what gave me confidence just to like to wake up.
I was. I was insecure and shy as a kid.
I told you I was five six and all these other stuff. Football gave me confidence, you know, football, Like when I finally found myself, it was football going number three overall, I'm like, yeah, like, and so much of my persona was number third pick overall, you know, having this and having that and being able to do this and that. So now that it's slowly but surely being taken, like damn, who am I?
Damn?
What do I do next? Like you know when I walk into a room, how am I be perceived?
Is it? Hey?
That's Braidlyn was always like man, you know, you know you just got cut or you know he he don't playing league no more. So I think for me it was like trying to eventually tell myself that that's not who you are. Football is a vehicle, Like football is a vehicle that drives you to the plane that's ultimately going to get you to where you are and like for who you're going to be. So just working through that like that was tough, like because I had to disassociate myself from the player, Like I'm way more than the football player. Football actually was a small part of who I am. But it's telling yourself that. It's having the confidence, having my mom, having God, having like my father and the.
People around me. Eventually you get there.
But in twenty thirteen, like I a lot of time in Miami trying to run from that next step.
Yeah, how long do you think that process was for you before you started like liking the Brailn nevers that.
You saw them.
Okay, thirteen, I officially retiring. Fourteen fifteen, I'm working with ESPN. I'm doing some hits for Fox and start to balance it feeling good. All right, cool, I'm still in shape, still got money in my pocket. You know what I'm saying. I can do this broadcasting thing and we can pivot this and do some other stuff. No pun intended, by the way, and for the slows. I got DUI in twenty sixteen and eot A fifteen Arizona. So once that finally like knocked out my agent, then it Fox didn't want to do anything. ESPN didn't want to do anything for a while. Then I go right back into dang, Now who am I were going to do? So it was a while, and it wasn't until I went back to school, going back to school. I went back to school twenty seventeen to get my degree. And when I went back, I said, oh, okay, all right, stop, what's all this pity parties?
Yeah, it was like like you.
Were with something before football, you'll be way more after football. So going back to school is it was like okay, and getting going back to school, I start working at mental Health, I started working in the digital space again with media. So going back to school is when it finally clicked again. It was like, man, all right, how many years has it been? Fourteen seven?
What about school made you like snap back into it? Because I look, I went back after my second year in the league and finished my degree.
I had three classes. I went back.
It was like the best experience ever for me because I was I wasn't working out like a normal football player. I was doing on my own terms, but I was like normal and I was like, dude, I got so much more time. I had so much more clarity. I could do things on my terms. It was just different and being in that classroom with other students and kind of just seeing it work, and you actually like, damn, I got a huge advantage because everybody in this room at least that's how I.
Feel life experience I had.
Yeah, it was like everybody in here is doing this just trying to get this education.
To get their dream job. I'm like, dude, I already did that.
Already did that. I got my dream job. I'm just getting this paper.
Yeah, that's what it was. It easier though it was easy for me.
It's the same same, and I'll get into that in a second. But you bring up someone and I don't want to forget it. That's a hard part for us. So many people have to go to school. Then once you go to school route they're twenty two. Now, they struggle to get the job or to get the placement, and then they get the job at least to the next job. Yeah, they're forty five before they finally get to where they want to be or where they get to their goal or fifty or et cetera.
What do you do when you achieve your dream at twenty two?
Yeah, See, no one told us to move the goal post back for ourselves. And I think that's a conversation for these young kids to tell them, like.
Look, keep moving that goal post.
That's a great point because when you achieve it, it's already so like it's done so anyway. But wide school did it because I was able to put energy and other stuff, like I was a good student when I mean, I talked all the time when I was younger, but I was.
A's b's hecame easy.
But I saw myself put forth effort in other things and enjoy it, whether it was writing a paper, whether it was figuring out this, or whether it was taking a stance in this class. And then you were regular students that get away from sports, Like were just sitting there talking about you know, some some random girl from Oregon and what it was like for her growing up, and this is what she wants to do. Her cat from Maine, Bangor Maine, and you kick it with doud like I'm talking to this kid from Bangor Maine. So I think being able to dive in classes, dive in rhetoric or curriculum excusing, and just meet random people that were not in between those hashes that one hundred back fifty four. Yeah, that's what kind of like, all right, this is cool, Yes, it's okay. Yeah, I'm gonna be okay. And would you get your degree in language and arts? Language, Language and arts speaking the other languages I speak of.
Cash a big coin. I mean, I think that's a great a great subject.
Just not for my Would you get to business business man business management?
I mean, but he already had his money, so he don't need to like get a degree.
That's gonna like do that it's gonna be two.
Tis like I'm gonna get degree. I'm not unless you're a doctor. Yeah, lets you get your NBA. That's you're a doctor. Unless you're with law, unless you're those You're you're going to get a degree and go do something completely different. Away, I wanted more multiple experience.
I want to talk about one more part of the transition and the struggle, and that is you talked about this in your book as well, that you wrote about how bad this the reliance on the opioids and maybe that led to some of your erratic driving. Also on your uh, your Wikipedia, it's pretty open and candidate about how many speeding tickets you got, Like.
With everybody knows you can pity at eight ten year period you had, like I mean I had to, I had to.
One was more extreme now yeah, yeah, it was one tall Nights.
First it was like one sixty five, I mean sixty five. First of all, why is your free way sixty?
I agree? I agree that sounds like a DC thing. That's a funny story too, That actually is a story.
Tell it so going one twenty five in the sixty but it's a Bentley Bentley goes to twenty So I get pulled over and the cop is like, what are you doing? What? He said, what are you doing? I was like, sir, the car goes to twenty. I was going one hundred and twenty. Average car goes about one twenty at sixty, So technically, i'm you're driving faster than I am.
He's said, license and so he gave me it, gave me a ticket for seventy But oh good see.
But that's because I signed an autograph unbeknowing to myself for his son who had cancer and not his son, his nephew. He came and camut science. He was like, man, you're a very nice so I'm gonna cut.
You a break. I say, dude, I mean, but I said, hey, I ain't say nothing. That's pretty I appreciate it. Yeah, I was sober though.
Yeah that's true, but I want to know about that though, just your uh.
How bad was your op yo?
And like you also said the mental health thing, like these are all the things that you learned and it helped you get to where you are now.
Yeah, one of percent.
It never got to the point of like craziness, but it definitely became a dependency.
For a second, right, I would say two, because you know how Miami is. Yeah, yeah, So.
When you're retired, I'm now twenty twelve, I'm contemplating what.
I'm gonna do.
I'm in Miami, I'm hanging out, hanging out with different crowd, different people. I'm actually getting away from the people that I hang out that I know players. Yeah, and now you start to hang out with other people that are in other things, and you know, you start dibbling, you start dabbling, start trying things, and it just it's that release.
Right, you know, it's like the getting away. You're the escapism as they call it.
So you know, from twenty twelve to two thousand fifteen, when that incident happened in Arizona and then I had house arrested in this great state of Michigan twenty sixteen, that's when started to clear up.
And then when I went back.
To school, it was good, but it was it was me realizing I'm running away from people for a reason. It's realizing I'm not going back to Detroit for a reason. I'm not talking to my mom or my brothers or certain friends for a reason because I'm trying to escape. I'm not trying to deal with, you know, being mortal. I'm not trying to. I'm not trying to deal with my mortality. I'm not trying to deal with this sport will not last forever and what's next.
I'm running from all that.
So I drink, you do other things, and it's an escapism. But when you come down from that escapism like it is now you're depressed. Now you're going to this depressed state. Now you're retiring. Now now I'm not even working, So now I'm able to do what I want. So now it's just you don't have family, if you don't have God, man, if you don't have good people around you. And that's what I ultimately left Miami in twenty fourteen. I come back to Detroit, still working on myself. But your mom ain't My mom's Detroit. She's strong woman. It's always so long she will.
Let me run. Finally she look me in the marijuana. They say, get you together. He was like you, He was like, this is what what do you? What are you? That's it? Yeah, like what are you doing? And so then you're like, I can't even lie. Yeah, I had nothing.
It's like K two at that play. So but by the grace of guy, my mom, my grandma. They stayed praying and stay work and he just he was all right, cool, like you know, let me get out of it. So for me, it was a phase. Yeah, And that's why I chose to work a mintal health because you see a lot of football players, a lot of athletes, a lot of people in general. It starts small and then if they don't have the people around them, and it turns into something totally different.
Man.
So work with the NFL, I'm not association here in Detroit, working with SMA, working with some other groups. When I went back to Michigan, I met some people over there at the Eastern Medical Wings.
So working in space for a minute, man, and yeah, good people. Man. Thanks. Man.
Is there any advice you would give any former player about staying on top of that mental health aspect of it? I think we talk about physical all the time, but the mental part of it. Do you just say, what advice would you give the former players? Yes, don't be afraid to talk to people. Like and when I say talk to people, it doesn't.
Have to be a therapist.
It could be uncle, be eyed, and it could be your grandmother, it could be your girlfriend could be your wife, it could be your son or daughter. Don't be afraid to talk to people because I think we're so ashamed a lot of times, or you're so embarrassed, or you feel that you're being embarrassed.
You feel that you be ashamed, and so.
You hide your corner and you're corner from people that are not gonna judge you.
You're cornering from people that if you get it out in the open.
I think once you start talking, once you start having dialogue, you can you can help yourself.
People can help you.
So don't be ashamed, don't be embarrassed. Like we all go through it. We all have some level of mental something that we're dealing with. So don't be ashamed it. Don't be embarrassed because it's nothing to be ashamed or embarrassed about.
Start open your mouth. I love that. I was good. I just never really loved that. We'll be back in a minute.
I want to know what made you want to write your book, so that innovation behind that.
So they came to me, that publishing company came to me and my mom before about writing a book, and I was like, because I put that book out nineteen They came to me in seventeen.
I was like, what am I going to talk about?
Talk about Michigan, what I did in the NFL and double speeding tickets and kids. And also I didn't like the space I was in. Yeah, you're still in that escape. It was ending, but I still was there. So I was like, the book isn't complete. Like if I write a book, it does book has to have a beginning and middle, and then like this book would have had a beginning and it would have had a middle, and so I didn't.
I was it serves no purpose.
Fast forward, finish my degree, start working again, start doing some good things, start feeling good, start working in space and mental health. And they came back to me again about writing the book. I said, yeah, let's do it.
Let's do it. I said.
Also, I talked to a couple people that written books and they said, b real, it's therapeutic. They said, it's therapeutic, and so I said, all right, I'm down for some therapy.
Yeah. Man, I got to writing that book. I cried some of it.
It was beautiful because you realize you blame yourself sometimes for a lot of things that aren't your fault.
You realize a lot of times you blame other people, the stuff is your fault.
So it allowed me a chance to, like men's some fences with friends, allow me men some fences with myself, and be able to really look at myself again, all right, feel good about this, and talk to people.
So it was fun. And I chose that because I love Frank Sinatra.
So I mean, it's doing it my way, like I did it my way, like like you said in that club, I'm always do.
It my way. Yeah, on my own terms.
But it was very Therapeuty allowed me to deal some stuff for my childhood in terms of when we moved to Georgia.
Like I'm a city boy. We moved to a country area.
Everybody was two years old, two years older than me, and all these boys grew up together. So when I get down there, I'm six, get my ass with two years jumping.
I got jumped. I was small, I was.
You know, beat me up to play baseball at first, So I had to deal with that. I never looked back on that til I wrote the book. I start writing a book, and I'm like, Dann, I wonder what happened. I got six three and I'm in the gym and I'm just lifting like out of control, like I'm trying to be prepared for that moment. Again, I think that's what happened at the Why that day. That's how you saw that, and it just went back to that moment. So writing that book let me get in touch with some things. I think I bottled up and never even knew.
I mean, that's crazy because I didn't know y'all was gonna do this to me. Man, Man, I mean, I'm just listening here. I have something I want to go to.
But what you just said so important because you know, my wife has talked to me about dealing with some of her child childhood issues or childhood.
Traumas likes to call it.
And so how a lot of times when you deal with childhood trauma, like you bottle up and like you don't.
Even address it.
It's yeah, you don't, it's not even you didn't have to, didn't even happen until all of a sudden you rehash it, and then all of a sudden, these emotions and all these things happen and you don't know where it came from. And then all of a sudden, you know, you look back on this book that you're writing. It's like, dude, all these things lean back to.
This, and so is it being able to say that now did you think you'd ever get to this place when you were like twenty fifteen sixteen, when you were running, like where now you're able to just sit up here and be so open and candle with us, because not everybody, like you said, a lot of people get on these things and.
Try and lie and sugarcoat.
You're like, nah, is this this is where I'm at?
I know because I'm still in that escape as a mindset, like my dream, which I'm in a better place, I still have this dream. But to a certain extent, my dream was to leave the country and go to the islands, like I'm not just out there, yeah, just like living islands man, like open up a sport, borrow on the beach, man just just chill kind of like bad send Billy, Bob Thornton.
But that was it. But it was still that escapeism.
I was right still trying to get away because I feel like, all right, cool, you know what if I leave, if I go over here to the islands and chill, like I don't have to deal with whatever the past was, Like I could leave everything in the past, and I could leave it stateside as they say, But like, yeah, that was to be that then, and to be on this podcast with you guys man brothers in arms and just having its talking it out like it's the long journey here, journey's not done.
But I love it though.
Like you, I know, Peanuts got one last question for him to get this out.
Uh, how does it tell me.
About being the voice of Detroit sports radio talk man?
From the voice but the chosen one.
Yeah, I appreciate it about you homegrown brog man.
I love it and I appreciate it. I was just with Jerome Betta last night and two seconds ago he was down there at the Detroit It's Big bro with to McKenzie High School. He ran me over one time. He ain't the only one. He's got a bunch of people in the Hall of Fame bus tour. But uh, I just love being from the city man. Like a lot of black people that have voices on the radio and sports airways, you know what I'm saying. We shout out to to Terry Foster, who is one of the first ones, Drew Sharp.
Those guys kind of set the tone.
But now to be able to have this space, have his voice say what I want to say, as long as I'm backing it up with some research, long as I'm backing up with some uh, some actual facts mixed in with the opinions.
It was good because it feels like the city listens.
I think even when they don't like, when they disagree, they still listen to me and give me a chance.
So I love it. Man. I'm from the city, born and raised. Three on three? What up though? What up? Deugh? What up? Deugh? Well, my I got a simple fun question for you.
Thank you all this other Yeah, yeah, well, let me just say this. I appreciate you being vulnerable like it's it's some people can't do that.
I think that's just growth. Friend.
It shows the growth that you've come, how much growth you've grown since then, you know.
So I appreciate you guys married, correct, Yeah, good women will do that. I'll just say that. Yeah, I gotta I gotta go. I'm not married yet, but she is. She's the last boss, as they say in video games.
Okay, yeah, yeah, they're usually the toughest ones. Just know that.
I call yeah Mount Rushmore. Right, You've had a successful life you know, some good, some bad. Who are the four people on your personal Mount Rushmore that has helped you become who you are today?
Mom is not one, two, three, or four? But uh my mom? Yeah, my stepfather why so my dad has always been around Like I was just with my dad last night played in the NFL. We talked about great guy. But my dad was always it was like sports. Like with my stepfather. He came in at an early age as well, and it just was everything you know, and it was academics, it was how you feeling.
It was this is how you tie this tie, this is that.
So it was when you come more well rounded, and the care was always there, you know what I'm saying. So, uh, I wouldn't be who I was to dead for my stuff and my father as well. Yeah, uh stepfather, father it is three. My grandmother yeah, my grandmother, my grandmother before my grandma.
Yeah, I'm saying why why grandma?
Grandma always made me feel special, but she never she never sugarcoated anything.
And my grandma wasn't like, oh that's my baby, that's just my baby. Grandma.
She beat your ass if you if you need it, like she don't do that now I know your mama said this, but this was going on. Like when I stayed to Grandma's. It was fun, but it also was you know, he's gonna get this discipline because my mom wouldn't whoop me until my stepdad came with log. But Grandma was spiritually like devoted to like I never like everything she dealt with. I looked at her childhood. You know, she had five kids. She had five kids by the age of twenty three. Ford it he father. My Mom's gonna kill me for putting that out there. But everything that she went through at that age, you know, she got into church later and she just kept trucking. She kept trucking. She kept trucking. She kept being the matriarch for our family. You know, she kept us strong, she kept us together. Whenever I would like I feel like I was going through something high school, I go to Grandma's house.
We pray, we cook man and you know, I'd be good. Same thing in college.
And I noticed in the NFL when I started messing up, when I stopped picking up Grandma's phone call when she was trying to pray for me in the off season. When I'm coming home, I'm like coming home to come downtown and hang out. But I'm not stopping by Grandma's house. So that connection that my grandma and I have, like I just get these moments, let.
Me call Grandma, should tell me, hey, don't you know I got in the car? Actually I was.
I knew it. Like our connection is like that. So that's why Grandma. I like that over rub my hand and.
Nervous tell no, hey man, I like that though, the openness, the vulnerability. I think it takes a special person to be courageous and be strong enough to share all those personal stories with us.
And I appreciate that. I know Rome does. Thank you for blessing us. Appreciate you, guys, man, your presence.
And your energy and the stories. Man, this was This was dope and I hope to do it again. And I wish you nothing but success, and you know, post post football career, and I love that you're back home, homegrown, being the voice of this great state.
I don't think I ever beat either one of you, guys. I was just thinking that.
I've been thinking this the whole hour we've been talking. I'm like, I don't think I ever beat the Saint No.
And I know for a fact, so I got a I got a quick thirty second story when so y'all played us, Yeah, no, no, no Jets, the Jets, the snowblzard y'all played us. There, we got stuck and we were on the end zone. It was it was a goal line play. Sin said, he threw you the ball. I was why I should have scored. I don't know how, and I'll try to find it later, but I don't know how. It's like I dove for it, but I think my foot kicked it or something, and I caught it like you called it, and I'm just like and I remember and I looked back, was like how, oh my god.
This was so mad. We still lost that game.
I think Santonio scored in that game, but we still I was pissed on that play. You know why is when I saw the replay, so I guess I thought you were going to get the interception. So I kind of was like, oh, Peter about to pick it up, and it got through them and I caught it like this. When you look behind me, there's nobody but the end zone. So like I'm looking like I'm doing.
Like this peanuts on the ground right here. I can't remember who was literally they were over there. It's nothing but ends on if I would have just fell back. Yeah, but I was so like called up guard by catching the pass. A lot of everybody come back, I.
Know exactly, Oh my god, and get back up there. I've never scored a social field, so I was. I'm still pissed about that. It took a touchdown away from me when I was in Seattle. Yeah, never turned that one. That one, that one hurt me.
That would have been like one of the few picks that I dropped to get me to forty. I was like, I finished, No, I finished with thirty eight. I would have been the only would have been only. I call it the forty forty club forty forty and forty fourth fumbles.
That's that forty fourth fumbers. Wow. Wow, don't you know? I guess we I make this thirty second? Don't you know?
Every team I ever played on, Like when you're playing against the Chicago Bears, you ain't know what story was talking about all week in practice, all week in practice, the punch all week in practice. You gotta walking around all the football like doing the halls, like doing practice, and they just try to punch it out if you get it punched out. Different fees, different teams did different stuff, but they preach. They preached he's.
Gonna punch it out. He's gonna punch it out for.
Four pressures or five points, for five points of the ball. It didn't matter with you.
You can be like, this.
Will still go out. Tom Payton said, I don't even want yack this week. Get down. I don't even want it. I'll call it better play. If I want more yards, I'll call it better I don't even want yea. So uh, you definitely affected the game that way, brailor man.
Appreciate you. Man. Next time the weather's better, we need to golf. Say, let's all right, I heard you. I heard pickle ball. Get golf to play tickle ball. There it is I water polo, Me too, Me too, waiting man, let's get up out here. Man.
Thank you as always for our viewers, our listeners. Wherever you pick us up at man, make sure you give us a five star rating, give us a review, hit that, give it, leave us a couple of comments, hit like make sure you hit that follow buttons yes, man, come on man, uh And where you pick up your podcast with the Apple Podcast. iHeartRadio app Man, thank you so much, Brailor Man, you are awesome.
Dude, you were awesome. Man.
You definitely uh man, it's something to be said about somebody. I thought I came in with great expectations and you over delivered.
So thank you for that. Man, great job. Appreciate your brothers. Hey, I'm Peanut. That's Brailan.
This is the Motown man himself. You know this is the most Roman Roman har here, we're the NFL player. Second as podcast, we out
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