June 1, 2025 • 27 mins
Jaguars veteran D-Lineman Arik Armstead joins the O-Zone Podcast for a check-in after the second week of Organized Team Activities. Senior Writer John Oehser gets Arik's candid opinion regarding his eventful first year in Jacksonville, which ended with little team success but also earned him the highly regarded Walter Payton Man of the Year Award for his work off the field. With a couple weeks of practice with the rookies and new coaching staff under his belt, Arik gives his first impressions of the 2025 Defense under new Defensive Coordinator Anthony Campanile's leadership.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:08):
Welcome to the Ozone Podcast with Jaguars senior writer John Osher.
All Right, welcome into this week's Ozone podcast. And I'm
excited about this. I think a lot of people will be.
It's a chance to catch up after a long first
year as a team with Jaguars defensive tackle Eric Armstead.
(00:30):
And Eric, first of all, I appreciate you doing this,
and tell me about the mood of the team right now.
I've talked to some younger players about it. You're a
guy who's been in the league ten years now, tell
me about what you're seeing for this franchise right now.
Speaker 2 (00:45):
I think we have a great vibe going around the building.
It feels very refreshing. It feels great to be honest,
to be a part of it and entering OTAs and
getting back into football. I think we're on the you know,
the forefront of a promising season. There's a lot of newness,
which I think is great. A lot of first timers,
(01:05):
you know, first time head coach, first time decordinator, first
time GM. And I think with the first timers, they
bring a sense of refreshed energy and.
Speaker 3 (01:19):
You know that they want.
Speaker 2 (01:20):
To get it right and they're doing everything they can
to make sure that you know we're headed in the
right direction that we need to be, and so it's
it's great to be a part of it. Energy has
been great out at practice in the building, and it's
been a lot of fun to be a part of.
Speaker 1 (01:37):
How again, you've seen a lot of coaches and a
lot of different situations in the NFL. I know you
don't deal with the GM that much as a player.
You deal with your coaches, But do you get a
vibe from William Cohen and James Gladstone and Tony BISSELLI
just I guess how important is it for a group
(01:59):
like that to be working together? And do players feel
that when the structure is new and moving forward and
has the energy that they did?
Speaker 3 (02:08):
I think I think you definitely feel that.
Speaker 2 (02:09):
You can always feel when leadership and and people in
certain positions are on one accord and.
Speaker 3 (02:17):
It's and it's cohesive.
Speaker 2 (02:19):
I was a part of a lot of coaching change
throughout my career, but I was also there for when
Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch came in together. You can
feel it, and you can always feel that from the
very jump, like they were in this together.
Speaker 3 (02:33):
It was cohesive.
Speaker 2 (02:35):
And they were going to make decisions as a united front,
and so coming in together and especially like I said,
being new and first timers for them and and having
kind of that those running mates to go through it
with you, I think is going to bond them.
Speaker 3 (02:51):
Even closer together.
Speaker 2 (02:52):
And you know they're they're taking those next steps to
to build the organization. You know how they bestee fit
and it's a lot of exciting times now.
Speaker 1 (03:03):
Without getting into specific details or the weirdness of last season,
there's always weirdness when things go bad as a team.
Had you ever been through a situation quite as it
just kind of felt like a lost year for everybody.
Speaker 3 (03:19):
Yeah, it was definitely not a whole lot went well.
Speaker 2 (03:25):
And especially I think that when you look coming into
the season and you know, me coming here and looking
at our roster and and how promising we thought it
all could be, it just never never was really right.
Speaker 1 (03:38):
And it's how hard it can be.
Speaker 2 (03:39):
Right shows how hard it can be. And you know,
been in this league a long time. When you're winning,
it solves a lot of problems. Your life is better,
your kids or your wife is happier, and you go
home and uh, it feels feels.
Speaker 1 (03:54):
A lot better.
Speaker 3 (03:56):
Everything is much sweeter. Life, life is a lot better.
Speaker 2 (03:59):
But when you're losing in the NFL, life can be
can can be sour, and especially when you're when you're
dealing with the pressures of you know, coaching and everyone,
you know, we all have a job to do, and
then you're dealing with, you know, letting the fans down
and not giving them a product to be proud of,
(04:20):
and and what comes with that as well too. So
it's something that I've been a part of, unfortunately, and
I've been a part of the other side, where you're
you're dominating people every weekend. Things are very fun and
life is great. So that's where we're trying to get to.
Speaker 1 (04:37):
Gotcha. And then at the end of that year, it
was such an odd year, probably for you in a way,
because at the end of that year you get an award,
an unbelievably well deserved award that is a career defining
award in the way, the NFL Man of the Year. Uh,
tell me what that meant to you and take me
(05:00):
that moment, and again, I guess just what that means
to you considering how you've approached your career.
Speaker 3 (05:09):
It's a huge honor.
Speaker 2 (05:11):
Really, you know it, it just doesn't you know, the
winning in a world like that just isn't about me.
You know, I think about all the people that have
had impact in my life, from my family to you
know where I grew up in Sacramento, and coaches and
guys and players that I've played with, and other great
(05:31):
men that I've been able to learn from, and you
know those everybody who shaped Yeah, everyone who's shaped me
and got and helped guide me to the point where
I'm at in my life now. And you know I am,
you know, just a testament of of that of other people,
of God's blessings him, you know, guiding me throughout my life.
(05:54):
So I think about it from that sense of the
goodness that I get to represent from everyone that has
had a huge impact on my life and the opportunity
that I have with the platform, with the award to
serve more and more people and have bigger and bigger impact.
And you know, I've always had the mindset of you know,
(06:15):
we never know how long we're going to live on
this earth, but you know, from my time on this earth,
I want I want to leave this earth making it
a better place and making other people's lives better and
those are the things I think about. And with an
award like this, the platform, the doors that will open
to serve more and more people and impact people, and
(06:36):
the platform that comes with it to shape people's lives
is immense, and I'm excited to do the work.
Speaker 1 (06:43):
I was going to say, there's some excitement there because
for you, I mean, realistically, you're closer to the end
of your career than the beginning, but you're not closer
to the end of your off field work than your
at the beginning. That's a lifetime thing. And this is
very much a stepping sown a foundation for that right.
Speaker 2 (07:01):
One hundred when I started, you know, our organization, and
and I got with my wife and we founded our organization,
and you know, that was the number one goal is
to make something that's sustainable. You know, I just didn't
want it to be something that we did while I
was playing. I wanted it to be long lasting, have
long impact, and be sustainable and have and shape and
(07:25):
help and you know, bridge the gap for years to
come for people. And in a war like this, you know,
brings that more into reality. It validates the work that
we're doing and also opens up doors to truly ensure
that it is sustainable and that we're continuing to to
serve at a high level long after you know, I'm
(07:48):
done playing the game of football. That was always the
goal when when we started it. And I like the
trajectory that we're on, but there's a lot more work
to do.
Speaker 1 (07:57):
Got you now, I'm gonna get back into foot a
little bit. A million dollar question everybody watching this is
wondering defensive end. Last year natural defensive tackle. There was
the storyline, the narrative out there was that you wanted
to play defensive end. You came in. How much can
you tell me about sort of why you were playing,
(08:18):
where you were, what went into that?
Speaker 2 (08:21):
Yeah, we can. We could talk about it. Yeah, we
could talk about it openly because.
Speaker 1 (08:25):
You're smiling because that's something that you know, every fan
had their thought. But a lot of times those thoughts
aren't real.
Speaker 3 (08:31):
Yeah, a lot of time narratives get created. But you know,
the rele of it is this.
Speaker 2 (08:36):
I was being pursued by multiple teams in free agency
and the number one question for me was how how
will I be utilized When I'm speaking to all these
teams and I played defensive tackle for like the past
three or four years of my career, and you know,
was playing at a Pro Bowl elite level.
Speaker 3 (08:59):
And so it.
Speaker 2 (09:01):
Was by surprise to me when I asked, you know,
how they wanted me to be utilized, that they wanted
me to play defensive end, and they wanted me to
rush inside on third down, but primarily play defensive end.
And it was a little bit of a surprise to
me knowing that you know, I've played detackle, you know,
(09:22):
for the past a few years and have been pretty successful,
and but they wanted a big body at defensive end, uh,
a guy who could rotate with with Trayvon and Josh,
And you know, when they presented the plan to me,
I was like, okay, let's let's do it if if
that's you know, the best plan that you guys see fit.
(09:45):
And then shortly into the season when we were in London,
I went to them and I said, you know, I
don't think it's necessarily working out. You know, I feel
like I can have bigger impact on the team if
I'm playing more inside, where I'm you know, a better
pass rusher and I'm on the field, you know, with
Josh and Trayvon and the rest of the guys, and
(10:08):
at that time, looking at the roster, it didn't happen.
Even though I expressed that that's something that I wanted
to do and I thought that would be better for
the team, it didn't happen. But when you look at
the roster, I don't you know that kind of could
have went into that because when you look at the roster,
we had four defensive ends. So you move and we
had seven defensive tackles. So if you move me to detackle,
(10:30):
who spells and who gives Josh and Trayvon a break?
You know, So it could have been in one of
those situations. But I did express it, and you know,
sometimes you get into things and there's adversity. There's a
lot of things going on. But I believe everything has
happens for a reason. I'm really excited about this season
and this opportunity that I have. It's not something that
(10:55):
I haven't been through in my career.
Speaker 1 (10:58):
I think, kind of smile, you've been You've seen it before.
Speaker 2 (11:01):
I've been through a lot of situations throughout my career,
having success, having failures, going through adversity, things not working
out my way, and I've always overcame them. I've always
been able to you know, I think people have seen
and been able to show the type of the player
that I am and have earned a lot of respect
in this league. So I'm excited to have the opportunity
(11:23):
to do the same thing.
Speaker 3 (11:24):
Right.
Speaker 1 (11:25):
I liked your perspective there, because sometimes when something like
that happens, it's easy to say, well, they were just stubborn,
but there were there were positional issues, and once you
get into an NFL season, I think people sometimes don't
realize how fast things move and it's tough to make
changes once you're sort of down a roads. So it
can it's a strange league for issues for some issues
(11:49):
like that. Sometimes, yeah, it can be.
Speaker 2 (11:51):
It can be a strange league. And you know, that's
last year it happened. You know, it's it's part of
my career, I guess is part of my journey.
Speaker 1 (12:01):
But you learn after eleven years, the situations come.
Speaker 2 (12:04):
Around, Situations happen, people talk, people say things, and you
have an opportunity to You'll always have opportunity to show
myself and show who I am, the type of player
that I am.
Speaker 1 (12:16):
So and sort of on that front, how much more
I hate the word comfortable, but I guess it applies here. Comfortable, confident,
just playing inside make you And do you feel like
in this scheme that you're starting to learn, do you
feel like it's coming together on that front, like it's
(12:38):
going to be a good fit.
Speaker 3 (12:39):
Yeah. I think the main thing is just being out
there really.
Speaker 2 (12:43):
You know, when you look at last year, I probably
was only playing like twenty five maybe thirty snaps some games,
and you know I'm used to being a starter playing
fifty five sixty snaps. So you know, just being out
there more, I'm going to be more productive. I think
that's the main thing. And then when I look at
(13:04):
you know, playing inside, in which I've played both throughout
my career, have had success at both, I think just interiorly,
I'm an that's where I'm best. I'm the can have
the biggest effect on the quarterback playing rushing against guards
and centers, and that's what that's what I do best.
And so playing inside more because when people think about pastors,
(13:27):
they just think about oh, third down or but they
throw the ball on the first and second down too as well.
Speaker 3 (13:33):
So when I'm.
Speaker 2 (13:34):
Playing de tackle full time now I have more opportunities
to affect the game on first, second, third down, I'll
have more opportunities to have a big impact on the
game and be be more productive just being rhythm. You know.
Last year was the first I've never came off the bench,
you know, so that was a little bit unique and
(13:57):
different for me, like not having a rhythm or a
full Yeah, I've never been like a spot player, Like
I've never came in and like played a couple of
players and then was out and then in and out,
so like that and now I have, having going through
that experience, I have a lot of respect for guys
who who have that's like their role. Situational guys, Yeah,
(14:17):
situational guys, because it's like that's tough to come in,
not be in a rhythm and be expected to you know,
play at a high level and then come out and
then in and out. And so I gained a lot
of going through this experience. I gained a lot of
ton of respect for you know, situational players. But I
don't feel that I am that, and you know, to
(14:41):
to be myself, I need to be out there. And
I think that's what everybody you know wants, and that's
what I've been paid to do. You know, they're not
paying me as a situational player, so I need to
be able to you know, do my job at a
high level.
Speaker 3 (14:54):
And that's what's gonna happen this year.
Speaker 1 (14:56):
It sounds funny asking you this because your career speaks
for itself, But is there something to prove for you?
Speaker 2 (15:02):
There's always something to prove as long as you're in
the NFL, It's always something to prove each year. There's
always something to prove there always.
Speaker 1 (15:11):
If there's not, you may as well get out right.
Speaker 2 (15:12):
Yeah, no, no one, you know, the last year is
last year, good or bad. You know, if you had
a if you had an All Pro season the year before,
you know, great, But that's not going to help you
in Week three when you're playing against whoever you're playing against,
you know, and people are going to expect you to
(15:34):
have the same type of performances and.
Speaker 3 (15:38):
Play at a high level.
Speaker 2 (15:39):
So, you know what, you can look back and gain
a lot of experience and confidence. But if something to
prove every years, something to prove every year, and it's
a lot more to prove for me, you know. The
things that I think about as well too, is like
this being my first time being around this organization, my teammates,
(16:01):
these fans, and they don't they don't really know me, sure,
you know, like I haven't.
Speaker 3 (16:06):
I haven't, you know, had a huge.
Speaker 1 (16:11):
It was a hard year to get to know you
last year because there was weird.
Speaker 2 (16:14):
Well, they don't know me as a player, that would
know me as a person and I have we don't,
we don't have any what's the word I'm looking for,
like vested equity, built, equity builds up, you know, like
coming from a place where I was, I made plays,
I helped us win games. You know, I was a
big time player in big games, Like I don't have
any of that equity built up, So people don't really
(16:35):
know me. So I'm excited to have an opportunity to
build that up.
Speaker 1 (16:39):
That's cool. It's and I assume you feel like you've
got a lot left. I mean in year eleven twelve,
that's when those questions start happening.
Speaker 2 (16:47):
But all those questions don't happen for me. I got
like a good five years left in me. I feel
like I'm yeah, I got a lot. I got a
lot to prove, a lot to do, a lot to
accomplish I'm not I'm not stopping anytime soon.
Speaker 3 (17:00):
I still feel great.
Speaker 2 (17:02):
I know I could play at a high level, and
you know, until until that day comes where I feel
like I can't play at a high level, then then
I'll shut it down. But I don't see that happening
anytime soon, because.
Speaker 1 (17:11):
Once you get those double digits by your experience, that's
when those questions start coming around.
Speaker 3 (17:16):
You know, Yeah, for.
Speaker 2 (17:17):
Sure, But I think I think, uh, I think I
came into the league early. I left college my junior year,
you know, So you know, there's there's guys that even
though I'm mentoring year eleven, there's guys in year eight
and nine that are.
Speaker 3 (17:32):
Older than me. Sure, you know. So those are some
of the things I think about.
Speaker 2 (17:36):
But no, I got I got a lot, a lot
to prove, a lot more in store, a lot to
do left in this league, and I'm excited about this
opportunity to do it with this special group of men
that we have on this team here.
Speaker 1 (17:50):
What's the first thing that comes to mind when I
mentioned your defensive coordinator Campan Uh, it's a piece of.
Speaker 3 (17:56):
Work, right, Italian.
Speaker 2 (18:00):
I've been been around, you know, been fortunate enough to
be coached by some Italian coaches and they they bring
that energy and they bring that juice and camp. You know,
before he got here, you know, I'm asking around for
(18:21):
you know, players that that uh played for him, Like, man,
what's heking? I didn't get not one bad review. Everyone
I talked to loved him, told me that I would
love playing for him, and you know, me being around
him for a couple of months now, everything that everyone
said has been one hundred percent true. You know, he's
(18:43):
he's up front, forward, honest, bring energy every day and
want what's best for.
Speaker 1 (18:48):
You and once the same that's what was saying the
other day.
Speaker 2 (18:52):
And wants to get the most out of you, and
you know you can live with that. I think as
players being around, being around and coached by a lot
of different people throughout the years, I think as players,
all we want to know is, you know, does a
coach care about me? Does a does a coach have
the best? You know, uh, does you want the best
(19:12):
for me? And if we know that, guys will will
do anything to make sure that you know you're successful,
but also that coach has success as well too, and
go out on that field and sacrifice everything because we know,
we got a coach that has our back in that
and that loves us.
Speaker 1 (19:28):
Does scheme matter enough for me to ask you? Do
you like this scheme? I mean, sometimes for for defensive
line and it's whatever scheme they're playing, But do you
like this scheme and does it matter to you?
Speaker 2 (19:38):
I think I think it would be. It's gonna be
much improved. You know, we're we're getting into it, and
I'm I'm enjoying. I'm enjoying it.
Speaker 3 (19:48):
You know.
Speaker 2 (19:49):
Up front, it's it's only so much you can really
you know, really do.
Speaker 3 (19:55):
Or really line up.
Speaker 2 (19:56):
You know, at some point, you know, the techniques kind
of become you know, yeah, yeah, pretty pretty similar. You know,
a shade is a shade of two eyes and two
eyes four eyes of four eye. You know, a three
tech is a three tech and so it kind of
kind of can become like that at times for D
line play.
Speaker 3 (20:13):
But I'm really excited.
Speaker 2 (20:14):
About holistically, how our defense is gelling together and and
tying in rush and coverage. You know, our back end,
you know, in this short period of time of OTAs
has been playing extremely sticky in coverage and for us
up front, we're just licking our chops because we know
all we need is a little bit of an extra
(20:35):
hitch and that cohesiveness, that synergy that you build, that's
the most important piece. You know a lot of times
and you know, communicating effectively, keeping it simple for us
to be able to play fast and then you know,
letting us be, letting us be playmakers and show our
abilities and doing it all together. And once it all
(20:56):
comes together, I think it's gonna be pretty special.
Speaker 1 (20:58):
Well, the same question I probably I see in this
form last year, But there was such an energy when
they signed you. It was like, man, you put him
with Trayvon, with Josh, that's three big time and there's
more guys, but those are the three veterans. I guess
because of last year that's sort of got lost. Do
(21:20):
you guys feel that sort of energy and optimism about
what the three of you can accomplish and knowing that
there's more people involved with.
Speaker 2 (21:28):
It, And I think people are going to see, you know,
when the season starts. Right now, it's it's it's cool.
You know, we're working work in the shadows and right
and work on our game and get us to the
spot we need to be to dominate during the season
and you know, all that work that we're going to
put in, it's going to be on display. So you know,
(21:51):
really not much, not much to be said, you know,
if people want to people want to hype it or not.
You know, it's we're going to see when it when
the season starts.
Speaker 1 (22:00):
You're a good place. Yeah, I feel gree I mean, okay,
it's good. I guess this is the time of year
to be in a good place. But you're optimistic and
you like what's going on.
Speaker 2 (22:12):
I feel great. Like I said, you know, it's it's
an honor to be in this league. I don't take
it for granted, and I don't take it lightly. I've
earned my right to be in this league as well too.
But it's it's it's special and I love I love
the game of football. I love being around my teammates,
and I love the journey of going out there and
(22:36):
trying to achieve greatness and be a dominant defense first
obviously because I play defense, but a dominant.
Speaker 3 (22:43):
Team as a whole.
Speaker 2 (22:45):
And there's really nothing like it, you know, And I
know a lot of people might aren't going to be
able to experience what we experience, but it's it's truly special,
and I don't take it for granted, and and I
cherish it. So I love I love doing what I do.
Speaker 1 (23:02):
We're gonna finish up with the Zone five. Some new
questions since you were nice enough to do this within
uh twice in the last year. Your best podcast guest
you ever had?
Speaker 3 (23:14):
Best podcast guest I've had.
Speaker 2 (23:17):
I've only had my teammates or guys that I played with,
So I don't know if I can rank. They're all
They're all my all, my homies. I don't know if
I can rank them, But I think the conversations kind
of all went a little bit of different directions, you know.
Speaker 3 (23:35):
I think.
Speaker 2 (23:37):
Two that really stick out to me that were extremely
funny were my episode with Trent Williams and my episode
with Christian Wilkins. Those guys, like it just turned into
like a very funny podcast.
Speaker 3 (23:49):
And then you know, other conversations like the.
Speaker 1 (23:53):
Second question is best Jaguars podcast guests, So okay, well.
Speaker 2 (23:58):
I've only I've only had I've only had I've only
had josh.
Speaker 3 (24:01):
On thus far.
Speaker 2 (24:03):
Yeah, he's the winner, but expect a lot more uh
this upcoming season where we're getting back into the fold.
Speaker 1 (24:10):
Who would be the best aside from yourself, who would
be the best podcast host among your teammates.
Speaker 3 (24:16):
Oh, that's a great question. I think Uh, I think Ross.
Speaker 2 (24:22):
I think Ross would be a good I think Ross
would you know, bring a good energy. Yeah, we'll go
Ross like he's he's funny, he has a good vibe
about him. I think he would naturally like bring a
lot out of out of people, if that makes sense,
through through conver through conversation.
Speaker 1 (24:41):
So I think Ross would be a good one. We
do we do do we would have?
Speaker 3 (24:48):
We would have like a do we would have a
good non sports podcast?
Speaker 1 (24:53):
Though?
Speaker 3 (24:53):
He do? We we do? We We can talk about
some conspiracy theories.
Speaker 2 (24:57):
And in some in some in some difference.
Speaker 1 (25:00):
I've told him that's his post NFL career. Uh. Your
favorite NFL player growing up?
Speaker 2 (25:06):
My favorite favorite NFL player ever all time Sean Taylor,
hands down. He made me love the game of football
the way he played. I grew up a basketball player,
but Sean Taylor like made me like like football. His swag, fingertap,
rainbow visors, hitting people, picking the ball out the air,
(25:27):
returning it for touchdowns six three two thirty, hitting the
Bowl what hitting punters the Pro Bowl, His sticking people
like hands down, he made me love football.
Speaker 3 (25:37):
And I'll give you another one.
Speaker 2 (25:39):
Julius Peppers just looked up to him a little more
like for for me, sure.
Speaker 3 (25:44):
Played basketball in college football.
Speaker 2 (25:49):
You know, I think one of the goats, goat D
linemen of all time when you look at his career.
Speaker 1 (25:53):
Yeah, maybe he underrated among the great ones.
Speaker 2 (25:55):
Super underrated, but up there, you know, I put him
up there with with the great so him. I definitely
looked up to him because of his journey in his
career playing D line, playing basketball as well to growing
up being a two sport athlete. And just his longevity,
you know, like at one point he had he had
(26:16):
eight and a half sacks. He had eight and a
half plus sacks for fifteen years.
Speaker 1 (26:20):
Straight him forever.
Speaker 2 (26:23):
Just just the longevity and just who he was, like
big freaking nature.
Speaker 1 (26:29):
Yeah, your most influential teammate, Like the teammate you had
that you looked up to the most. Maybe when you
were a young player with the Niners. Anybody shape you.
Speaker 2 (26:45):
Yes, I'm gonna say, I'm gonna name a few names
my rookie year, the whole defensive line, Glenn Dorsey, Ian Williams,
Quentin Dial, Tony Gerard Eddie, Mike Purcell, guys that when
I got into the league, when you're trying to figure
it out, had some really good vets who taught me
(27:09):
how to be a pro, taught me how to watch film,
taught me, you know, how to how to approach.
Speaker 3 (27:15):
Things, and you know, that was really.
Speaker 2 (27:19):
Great and foundational for my career and a great launching
board to just figuring out how I wanted to do
things and how I wanted to go about my career.
So those guys definitely helped me a lot.
Speaker 3 (27:30):
My rookie year.
Speaker 1 (27:31):
Got you, Eric Armstead, I could talk to you forever
about football. I really enjoy this. Thank you for joining
the ozone podcast season.
Speaker 3 (27:38):
Appreciate you having me on.
Speaker 1 (27:39):
Appreciate you.
Speaker 3 (27:39):
Bud
Welcome to the Ozone Podcast with Jaguars senior writer John Osher.
All Right, welcome into this week's Ozone podcast. And I'm
excited about this. I think a lot of people will be.
It's a chance to catch up after a long first
year as a team with Jaguars defensive tackle Eric Armstead.
(00:30):
And Eric, first of all, I appreciate you doing this,
and tell me about the mood of the team right now.
I've talked to some younger players about it. You're a
guy who's been in the league ten years now, tell
me about what you're seeing for this franchise right now.
Speaker 2 (00:45):
I think we have a great vibe going around the building.
It feels very refreshing. It feels great to be honest,
to be a part of it and entering OTAs and
getting back into football. I think we're on the you know,
the forefront of a promising season. There's a lot of newness,
which I think is great. A lot of first timers,
(01:05):
you know, first time head coach, first time decordinator, first
time GM. And I think with the first timers, they
bring a sense of refreshed energy and.
Speaker 3 (01:19):
You know that they want.
Speaker 2 (01:20):
To get it right and they're doing everything they can
to make sure that you know we're headed in the
right direction that we need to be, and so it's
it's great to be a part of it. Energy has
been great out at practice in the building, and it's
been a lot of fun to be a part of.
Speaker 1 (01:37):
How again, you've seen a lot of coaches and a
lot of different situations in the NFL. I know you
don't deal with the GM that much as a player.
You deal with your coaches, But do you get a
vibe from William Cohen and James Gladstone and Tony BISSELLI
just I guess how important is it for a group
(01:59):
like that to be working together? And do players feel
that when the structure is new and moving forward and
has the energy that they did?
Speaker 3 (02:08):
I think I think you definitely feel that.
Speaker 2 (02:09):
You can always feel when leadership and and people in
certain positions are on one accord and.
Speaker 3 (02:17):
It's and it's cohesive.
Speaker 2 (02:19):
I was a part of a lot of coaching change
throughout my career, but I was also there for when
Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch came in together. You can
feel it, and you can always feel that from the
very jump, like they were in this together.
Speaker 3 (02:33):
It was cohesive.
Speaker 2 (02:35):
And they were going to make decisions as a united front,
and so coming in together and especially like I said,
being new and first timers for them and and having
kind of that those running mates to go through it
with you, I think is going to bond them.
Speaker 3 (02:51):
Even closer together.
Speaker 2 (02:52):
And you know they're they're taking those next steps to
to build the organization. You know how they bestee fit
and it's a lot of exciting times now.
Speaker 1 (03:03):
Without getting into specific details or the weirdness of last season,
there's always weirdness when things go bad as a team.
Had you ever been through a situation quite as it
just kind of felt like a lost year for everybody.
Speaker 3 (03:19):
Yeah, it was definitely not a whole lot went well.
Speaker 2 (03:25):
And especially I think that when you look coming into
the season and you know, me coming here and looking
at our roster and and how promising we thought it
all could be, it just never never was really right.
Speaker 1 (03:38):
And it's how hard it can be.
Speaker 2 (03:39):
Right shows how hard it can be. And you know,
been in this league a long time. When you're winning,
it solves a lot of problems. Your life is better,
your kids or your wife is happier, and you go
home and uh, it feels feels.
Speaker 1 (03:54):
A lot better.
Speaker 3 (03:56):
Everything is much sweeter. Life, life is a lot better.
Speaker 2 (03:59):
But when you're losing in the NFL, life can be
can can be sour, and especially when you're when you're
dealing with the pressures of you know, coaching and everyone,
you know, we all have a job to do, and
then you're dealing with, you know, letting the fans down
and not giving them a product to be proud of,
(04:20):
and and what comes with that as well too. So
it's something that I've been a part of, unfortunately, and
I've been a part of the other side, where you're
you're dominating people every weekend. Things are very fun and
life is great. So that's where we're trying to get to.
Speaker 1 (04:37):
Gotcha. And then at the end of that year, it
was such an odd year, probably for you in a way,
because at the end of that year you get an award,
an unbelievably well deserved award that is a career defining
award in the way, the NFL Man of the Year. Uh,
tell me what that meant to you and take me
(05:00):
that moment, and again, I guess just what that means
to you considering how you've approached your career.
Speaker 3 (05:09):
It's a huge honor.
Speaker 2 (05:11):
Really, you know it, it just doesn't you know, the
winning in a world like that just isn't about me.
You know, I think about all the people that have
had impact in my life, from my family to you
know where I grew up in Sacramento, and coaches and
guys and players that I've played with, and other great
(05:31):
men that I've been able to learn from, and you
know those everybody who shaped Yeah, everyone who's shaped me
and got and helped guide me to the point where
I'm at in my life now. And you know I am,
you know, just a testament of of that of other people,
of God's blessings him, you know, guiding me throughout my life.
(05:54):
So I think about it from that sense of the
goodness that I get to represent from everyone that has
had a huge impact on my life and the opportunity
that I have with the platform, with the award to
serve more and more people and have bigger and bigger impact.
And you know, I've always had the mindset of you know,
(06:15):
we never know how long we're going to live on
this earth, but you know, from my time on this earth,
I want I want to leave this earth making it
a better place and making other people's lives better and
those are the things I think about. And with an
award like this, the platform, the doors that will open
to serve more and more people and impact people, and
(06:36):
the platform that comes with it to shape people's lives
is immense, and I'm excited to do the work.
Speaker 1 (06:43):
I was going to say, there's some excitement there because
for you, I mean, realistically, you're closer to the end
of your career than the beginning, but you're not closer
to the end of your off field work than your
at the beginning. That's a lifetime thing. And this is
very much a stepping sown a foundation for that right.
Speaker 2 (07:01):
One hundred when I started, you know, our organization, and
and I got with my wife and we founded our organization,
and you know, that was the number one goal is
to make something that's sustainable. You know, I just didn't
want it to be something that we did while I
was playing. I wanted it to be long lasting, have
long impact, and be sustainable and have and shape and
(07:25):
help and you know, bridge the gap for years to
come for people. And in a war like this, you know,
brings that more into reality. It validates the work that
we're doing and also opens up doors to truly ensure
that it is sustainable and that we're continuing to to
serve at a high level long after you know, I'm
(07:48):
done playing the game of football. That was always the
goal when when we started it. And I like the
trajectory that we're on, but there's a lot more work
to do.
Speaker 1 (07:57):
Got you now, I'm gonna get back into foot a
little bit. A million dollar question everybody watching this is
wondering defensive end. Last year natural defensive tackle. There was
the storyline, the narrative out there was that you wanted
to play defensive end. You came in. How much can
you tell me about sort of why you were playing,
(08:18):
where you were, what went into that?
Speaker 2 (08:21):
Yeah, we can. We could talk about it. Yeah, we
could talk about it openly because.
Speaker 1 (08:25):
You're smiling because that's something that you know, every fan
had their thought. But a lot of times those thoughts
aren't real.
Speaker 3 (08:31):
Yeah, a lot of time narratives get created. But you know,
the rele of it is this.
Speaker 2 (08:36):
I was being pursued by multiple teams in free agency
and the number one question for me was how how
will I be utilized When I'm speaking to all these
teams and I played defensive tackle for like the past
three or four years of my career, and you know,
was playing at a Pro Bowl elite level.
Speaker 3 (08:59):
And so it.
Speaker 2 (09:01):
Was by surprise to me when I asked, you know,
how they wanted me to be utilized, that they wanted
me to play defensive end, and they wanted me to
rush inside on third down, but primarily play defensive end.
And it was a little bit of a surprise to
me knowing that you know, I've played detackle, you know,
(09:22):
for the past a few years and have been pretty successful,
and but they wanted a big body at defensive end, uh,
a guy who could rotate with with Trayvon and Josh,
And you know, when they presented the plan to me,
I was like, okay, let's let's do it if if
that's you know, the best plan that you guys see fit.
(09:45):
And then shortly into the season when we were in London,
I went to them and I said, you know, I
don't think it's necessarily working out. You know, I feel
like I can have bigger impact on the team if
I'm playing more inside, where I'm you know, a better
pass rusher and I'm on the field, you know, with
Josh and Trayvon and the rest of the guys, and
(10:08):
at that time, looking at the roster, it didn't happen.
Even though I expressed that that's something that I wanted
to do and I thought that would be better for
the team, it didn't happen. But when you look at
the roster, I don't you know that kind of could
have went into that because when you look at the roster,
we had four defensive ends. So you move and we
had seven defensive tackles. So if you move me to detackle,
(10:30):
who spells and who gives Josh and Trayvon a break?
You know, So it could have been in one of
those situations. But I did express it, and you know,
sometimes you get into things and there's adversity. There's a
lot of things going on. But I believe everything has
happens for a reason. I'm really excited about this season
and this opportunity that I have. It's not something that
(10:55):
I haven't been through in my career.
Speaker 1 (10:58):
I think, kind of smile, you've been You've seen it before.
Speaker 2 (11:01):
I've been through a lot of situations throughout my career,
having success, having failures, going through adversity, things not working
out my way, and I've always overcame them. I've always
been able to you know, I think people have seen
and been able to show the type of the player
that I am and have earned a lot of respect
in this league. So I'm excited to have the opportunity
(11:23):
to do the same thing.
Speaker 3 (11:24):
Right.
Speaker 1 (11:25):
I liked your perspective there, because sometimes when something like
that happens, it's easy to say, well, they were just stubborn,
but there were there were positional issues, and once you
get into an NFL season, I think people sometimes don't
realize how fast things move and it's tough to make
changes once you're sort of down a roads. So it
can it's a strange league for issues for some issues
(11:49):
like that. Sometimes, yeah, it can be.
Speaker 2 (11:51):
It can be a strange league. And you know, that's
last year it happened. You know, it's it's part of
my career, I guess is part of my journey.
Speaker 1 (12:01):
But you learn after eleven years, the situations come.
Speaker 2 (12:04):
Around, Situations happen, people talk, people say things, and you
have an opportunity to You'll always have opportunity to show
myself and show who I am, the type of player
that I am.
Speaker 1 (12:16):
So and sort of on that front, how much more
I hate the word comfortable, but I guess it applies here. Comfortable, confident,
just playing inside make you And do you feel like
in this scheme that you're starting to learn, do you
feel like it's coming together on that front, like it's
(12:38):
going to be a good fit.
Speaker 3 (12:39):
Yeah. I think the main thing is just being out
there really.
Speaker 2 (12:43):
You know, when you look at last year, I probably
was only playing like twenty five maybe thirty snaps some games,
and you know I'm used to being a starter playing
fifty five sixty snaps. So you know, just being out
there more, I'm going to be more productive. I think
that's the main thing. And then when I look at
(13:04):
you know, playing inside, in which I've played both throughout
my career, have had success at both, I think just interiorly,
I'm an that's where I'm best. I'm the can have
the biggest effect on the quarterback playing rushing against guards
and centers, and that's what that's what I do best.
And so playing inside more because when people think about pastors,
(13:27):
they just think about oh, third down or but they
throw the ball on the first and second down too as well.
Speaker 3 (13:33):
So when I'm.
Speaker 2 (13:34):
Playing de tackle full time now I have more opportunities
to affect the game on first, second, third down, I'll
have more opportunities to have a big impact on the
game and be be more productive just being rhythm. You know.
Last year was the first I've never came off the bench,
you know, so that was a little bit unique and
(13:57):
different for me, like not having a rhythm or a
full Yeah, I've never been like a spot player, Like
I've never came in and like played a couple of
players and then was out and then in and out,
so like that and now I have, having going through
that experience, I have a lot of respect for guys
who who have that's like their role. Situational guys, Yeah,
(14:17):
situational guys, because it's like that's tough to come in,
not be in a rhythm and be expected to you know,
play at a high level and then come out and
then in and out. And so I gained a lot
of going through this experience. I gained a lot of
ton of respect for you know, situational players. But I
don't feel that I am that, and you know, to
(14:41):
to be myself, I need to be out there. And
I think that's what everybody you know wants, and that's
what I've been paid to do. You know, they're not
paying me as a situational player, so I need to
be able to you know, do my job at a
high level.
Speaker 3 (14:54):
And that's what's gonna happen this year.
Speaker 1 (14:56):
It sounds funny asking you this because your career speaks
for itself, But is there something to prove for you?
Speaker 2 (15:02):
There's always something to prove as long as you're in
the NFL, It's always something to prove each year. There's
always something to prove there always.
Speaker 1 (15:11):
If there's not, you may as well get out right.
Speaker 2 (15:12):
Yeah, no, no one, you know, the last year is
last year, good or bad. You know, if you had
a if you had an All Pro season the year before,
you know, great, But that's not going to help you
in Week three when you're playing against whoever you're playing against,
you know, and people are going to expect you to
(15:34):
have the same type of performances and.
Speaker 3 (15:38):
Play at a high level.
Speaker 2 (15:39):
So, you know what, you can look back and gain
a lot of experience and confidence. But if something to
prove every years, something to prove every year, and it's
a lot more to prove for me, you know. The
things that I think about as well too, is like
this being my first time being around this organization, my teammates,
(16:01):
these fans, and they don't they don't really know me, sure,
you know, like I haven't.
Speaker 3 (16:06):
I haven't, you know, had a huge.
Speaker 1 (16:11):
It was a hard year to get to know you
last year because there was weird.
Speaker 2 (16:14):
Well, they don't know me as a player, that would
know me as a person and I have we don't,
we don't have any what's the word I'm looking for,
like vested equity, built, equity builds up, you know, like
coming from a place where I was, I made plays,
I helped us win games. You know, I was a
big time player in big games, Like I don't have
any of that equity built up, So people don't really
(16:35):
know me. So I'm excited to have an opportunity to
build that up.
Speaker 1 (16:39):
That's cool. It's and I assume you feel like you've
got a lot left. I mean in year eleven twelve,
that's when those questions start happening.
Speaker 2 (16:47):
But all those questions don't happen for me. I got
like a good five years left in me. I feel
like I'm yeah, I got a lot. I got a
lot to prove, a lot to do, a lot to
accomplish I'm not I'm not stopping anytime soon.
Speaker 3 (17:00):
I still feel great.
Speaker 2 (17:02):
I know I could play at a high level, and
you know, until until that day comes where I feel
like I can't play at a high level, then then
I'll shut it down. But I don't see that happening
anytime soon, because.
Speaker 1 (17:11):
Once you get those double digits by your experience, that's
when those questions start coming around.
Speaker 3 (17:16):
You know, Yeah, for.
Speaker 2 (17:17):
Sure, But I think I think, uh, I think I
came into the league early. I left college my junior year,
you know, So you know, there's there's guys that even
though I'm mentoring year eleven, there's guys in year eight
and nine that are.
Speaker 3 (17:32):
Older than me. Sure, you know. So those are some
of the things I think about.
Speaker 2 (17:36):
But no, I got I got a lot, a lot
to prove, a lot more in store, a lot to
do left in this league, and I'm excited about this
opportunity to do it with this special group of men
that we have on this team here.
Speaker 1 (17:50):
What's the first thing that comes to mind when I
mentioned your defensive coordinator Campan Uh, it's a piece of.
Speaker 3 (17:56):
Work, right, Italian.
Speaker 2 (18:00):
I've been been around, you know, been fortunate enough to
be coached by some Italian coaches and they they bring
that energy and they bring that juice and camp. You know,
before he got here, you know, I'm asking around for
(18:21):
you know, players that that uh played for him, Like, man,
what's heking? I didn't get not one bad review. Everyone
I talked to loved him, told me that I would
love playing for him, and you know, me being around
him for a couple of months now, everything that everyone
said has been one hundred percent true. You know, he's
(18:43):
he's up front, forward, honest, bring energy every day and
want what's best for.
Speaker 1 (18:48):
You and once the same that's what was saying the
other day.
Speaker 2 (18:52):
And wants to get the most out of you, and
you know you can live with that. I think as
players being around, being around and coached by a lot
of different people throughout the years, I think as players,
all we want to know is, you know, does a
coach care about me? Does a does a coach have
the best? You know, uh, does you want the best
(19:12):
for me? And if we know that, guys will will
do anything to make sure that you know you're successful,
but also that coach has success as well too, and
go out on that field and sacrifice everything because we know,
we got a coach that has our back in that
and that loves us.
Speaker 1 (19:28):
Does scheme matter enough for me to ask you? Do
you like this scheme? I mean, sometimes for for defensive
line and it's whatever scheme they're playing, But do you
like this scheme and does it matter to you?
Speaker 2 (19:38):
I think I think it would be. It's gonna be
much improved. You know, we're we're getting into it, and
I'm I'm enjoying. I'm enjoying it.
Speaker 3 (19:48):
You know.
Speaker 2 (19:49):
Up front, it's it's only so much you can really
you know, really do.
Speaker 3 (19:55):
Or really line up.
Speaker 2 (19:56):
You know, at some point, you know, the techniques kind
of become you know, yeah, yeah, pretty pretty similar. You know,
a shade is a shade of two eyes and two
eyes four eyes of four eye. You know, a three
tech is a three tech and so it kind of
kind of can become like that at times for D
line play.
Speaker 3 (20:13):
But I'm really excited.
Speaker 2 (20:14):
About holistically, how our defense is gelling together and and
tying in rush and coverage. You know, our back end,
you know, in this short period of time of OTAs
has been playing extremely sticky in coverage and for us
up front, we're just licking our chops because we know
all we need is a little bit of an extra
(20:35):
hitch and that cohesiveness, that synergy that you build, that's
the most important piece. You know a lot of times
and you know, communicating effectively, keeping it simple for us
to be able to play fast and then you know,
letting us be, letting us be playmakers and show our
abilities and doing it all together. And once it all
(20:56):
comes together, I think it's gonna be pretty special.
Speaker 1 (20:58):
Well, the same question I probably I see in this
form last year, But there was such an energy when
they signed you. It was like, man, you put him
with Trayvon, with Josh, that's three big time and there's
more guys, but those are the three veterans. I guess
because of last year that's sort of got lost. Do
(21:20):
you guys feel that sort of energy and optimism about
what the three of you can accomplish and knowing that
there's more people involved with.
Speaker 2 (21:28):
It, And I think people are going to see, you know,
when the season starts. Right now, it's it's it's cool.
You know, we're working work in the shadows and right
and work on our game and get us to the
spot we need to be to dominate during the season
and you know, all that work that we're going to
put in, it's going to be on display. So you know,
(21:51):
really not much, not much to be said, you know,
if people want to people want to hype it or not.
You know, it's we're going to see when it when
the season starts.
Speaker 1 (22:00):
You're a good place. Yeah, I feel gree I mean, okay,
it's good. I guess this is the time of year
to be in a good place. But you're optimistic and
you like what's going on.
Speaker 2 (22:12):
I feel great. Like I said, you know, it's it's
an honor to be in this league. I don't take
it for granted, and I don't take it lightly. I've
earned my right to be in this league as well too.
But it's it's it's special and I love I love
the game of football. I love being around my teammates,
and I love the journey of going out there and
(22:36):
trying to achieve greatness and be a dominant defense first
obviously because I play defense, but a dominant.
Speaker 3 (22:43):
Team as a whole.
Speaker 2 (22:45):
And there's really nothing like it, you know, And I
know a lot of people might aren't going to be
able to experience what we experience, but it's it's truly special,
and I don't take it for granted, and and I
cherish it. So I love I love doing what I do.
Speaker 1 (23:02):
We're gonna finish up with the Zone five. Some new
questions since you were nice enough to do this within
uh twice in the last year. Your best podcast guest
you ever had?
Speaker 3 (23:14):
Best podcast guest I've had.
Speaker 2 (23:17):
I've only had my teammates or guys that I played with,
So I don't know if I can rank. They're all
They're all my all, my homies. I don't know if
I can rank them, But I think the conversations kind
of all went a little bit of different directions, you know.
Speaker 3 (23:35):
I think.
Speaker 2 (23:37):
Two that really stick out to me that were extremely
funny were my episode with Trent Williams and my episode
with Christian Wilkins. Those guys, like it just turned into
like a very funny podcast.
Speaker 3 (23:49):
And then you know, other conversations like the.
Speaker 1 (23:53):
Second question is best Jaguars podcast guests, So okay, well.
Speaker 2 (23:58):
I've only I've only had I've only had I've only
had josh.
Speaker 3 (24:01):
On thus far.
Speaker 2 (24:03):
Yeah, he's the winner, but expect a lot more uh
this upcoming season where we're getting back into the fold.
Speaker 1 (24:10):
Who would be the best aside from yourself, who would
be the best podcast host among your teammates.
Speaker 3 (24:16):
Oh, that's a great question. I think Uh, I think Ross.
Speaker 2 (24:22):
I think Ross would be a good I think Ross
would you know, bring a good energy. Yeah, we'll go
Ross like he's he's funny, he has a good vibe
about him. I think he would naturally like bring a
lot out of out of people, if that makes sense,
through through conver through conversation.
Speaker 1 (24:41):
So I think Ross would be a good one. We
do we do do we would have?
Speaker 3 (24:48):
We would have like a do we would have a
good non sports podcast?
Speaker 1 (24:53):
Though?
Speaker 3 (24:53):
He do? We we do? We We can talk about
some conspiracy theories.
Speaker 2 (24:57):
And in some in some in some difference.
Speaker 1 (25:00):
I've told him that's his post NFL career. Uh. Your
favorite NFL player growing up?
Speaker 2 (25:06):
My favorite favorite NFL player ever all time Sean Taylor,
hands down. He made me love the game of football
the way he played. I grew up a basketball player,
but Sean Taylor like made me like like football. His swag, fingertap,
rainbow visors, hitting people, picking the ball out the air,
(25:27):
returning it for touchdowns six three two thirty, hitting the
Bowl what hitting punters the Pro Bowl, His sticking people
like hands down, he made me love football.
Speaker 3 (25:37):
And I'll give you another one.
Speaker 2 (25:39):
Julius Peppers just looked up to him a little more
like for for me, sure.
Speaker 3 (25:44):
Played basketball in college football.
Speaker 2 (25:49):
You know, I think one of the goats, goat D
linemen of all time when you look at his career.
Speaker 1 (25:53):
Yeah, maybe he underrated among the great ones.
Speaker 2 (25:55):
Super underrated, but up there, you know, I put him
up there with with the great so him. I definitely
looked up to him because of his journey in his
career playing D line, playing basketball as well to growing
up being a two sport athlete. And just his longevity,
you know, like at one point he had he had
(26:16):
eight and a half sacks. He had eight and a
half plus sacks for fifteen years.
Speaker 1 (26:20):
Straight him forever.
Speaker 2 (26:23):
Just just the longevity and just who he was, like
big freaking nature.
Speaker 1 (26:29):
Yeah, your most influential teammate, Like the teammate you had
that you looked up to the most. Maybe when you
were a young player with the Niners. Anybody shape you.
Speaker 2 (26:45):
Yes, I'm gonna say, I'm gonna name a few names
my rookie year, the whole defensive line, Glenn Dorsey, Ian Williams,
Quentin Dial, Tony Gerard Eddie, Mike Purcell, guys that when
I got into the league, when you're trying to figure
it out, had some really good vets who taught me
(27:09):
how to be a pro, taught me how to watch film,
taught me, you know, how to how to approach.
Speaker 3 (27:15):
Things, and you know, that was really.
Speaker 2 (27:19):
Great and foundational for my career and a great launching
board to just figuring out how I wanted to do
things and how I wanted to go about my career.
So those guys definitely helped me a lot.
Speaker 3 (27:30):
My rookie year.
Speaker 1 (27:31):
Got you, Eric Armstead, I could talk to you forever
about football. I really enjoy this. Thank you for joining
the ozone podcast season.
Speaker 3 (27:38):
Appreciate you having me on.
Speaker 1 (27:39):
Appreciate you.
Speaker 3 (27:39):
Bud
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