Bussin' With The Boys - Robert Griffin III

Episode Date: September 22, 2020

Recorded: June 1, 2020 First and foremost, free shoutout to ALL of you wolves for being patient with us on this delayed drop. That said, The Boys worked around the clock to bring you a hell of a pod to make up for it. Robert Griffin III, Ravens QB and Baylor legend, joins Will via Zoom for another 2-hour banger. Will & RGIII begin the pod by revisiting some of the ongoing social issues that we are still battling today. Then, The Boys breakdown RG's dominant college campaign, and his first season in the league where he led the Redskins to the playoffs, and won Offensive Rookie of the Year. After that, The Boys remember their time together in Washington, Will recalls his first time meeting RG, and Robert reveals a couple of things he would've done differently while playing in DC. To wrap it up, RGIII tells his inspirational story of resilience from being the 2nd overall pick in 2012, to not playing in the NFL in 2017, to now where he plays a pivotal role for the Baltimore Ravens. Big time football pod where we learn a ton from a guy with a story unlike any other. Enjoy! ----- SHOP: https://store.barstoolsports.com/collections/bussin-with-the-boys FOLLOW THE BOYS Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bussinwtb/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/BussinWTB Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BussinWTB/ Website: https://www.bussinwtb.comFor more, visit barstool.link/bussinwtbSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hey guys, it's us The Jonas Brothers. I'm Joe. I'm Kevin. And I'm Nick. And guess what? We created our own podcast called, Hey Jonas. We invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it.

We just contributed to it. We're the first people to do podcasts. We get to ask other people questions because we're sick and tired of being asked questions. Well, sick and tired is a strong way to put it. But, you know, tired and sick. Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it.

I'm Joey Dardano. And on my new podcast, Hope From a Hypocrite, I'll be changing lives, helping people in need with thoughtful solutions. Sike, I'm a comedian. I'm not qualified to give good advice. Join me and my comedian friends as we riff, rant, recommend some of the most legally dubious advice known to me. This is Help from a Hypocrite, the worst advice from the dumbest people you know.

Listen to Help from a Hypocrite Wednesdays on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you're watching the latest season of the Real Housewives of Atlanta, you already know there's a lot to break down. Corsha accusing Kelly of sleeping with a merry man. They holding Kay Michelle back from fighting Drew. Pinky has financial issues. On the podcast, Reality with the King, I, Carlos King, recap the biggest moments from your favorite reality shows, including the Real House Wise franchise, the drama, the alliances, and the T, everybody's talking about. To hear this and more, listen to Reality with the King on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

This episode of Bustle with the Boys, the Boys, is presented by Barstool Sports. What are you doing? Hello, man. How you doing? You're doing, bro. The boys were back together. Yeah, we're back together. Look at you, man. Looking at you, I haven't seen you, like, talking to you since you got the new teeth, man.

You look incredible. Oh, I know all the, all the Redskins, teammates and friends and stuff just, just heckle me, dude, because obviously I had the old, the old blitz package running to my mouth back in the day. Hey, the best thing about it is you're smiling now more, you know what I mean? I know, I know. Like, I love doing it, too. It's probably the best investment I've ever made.

It's fixing these teeth, man. How long was it next to get them? I got him in the summer of 2018. So right before, like, I was with the Titans and OTAs and the Raptor OTAs. I got them. Any problems with them? No, not really. Like, the only thing that sucks is, like, so you'll get temporaries that you put in,

and they're not, like, individual veneers. It's like an entire set. Right. And so you got to wear those for, like, two weeks. And so eating and stuff, you could kind of feel them shipped around. Not like big, but you could feel it to where you were just nervous the whole time. Like I remember I was in the chair, the dental chair. And I was like, yo, I'm not going to lie, guys.

I'm super scared to do this. And everybody was telling me like not to. Like, dude, it's your personality, this and that. I'm like, dude, fuck the personality. Like I need, I want a better smile. And I was like, I told the doc, I was like, man, if I don't like this, can't, are you able to Because they shave them down to like little itty-bitty like vampire teeth. Like I look ridiculous.

And then they put the veneer caps on them. I was like, if I don't like it, could you shave and trim my teeth, the veneers back to what my teeth used to look like. He was like, he was like, I promise you're going to like him. But yes, if you are that uncomfortable, I will shave him back down to your original chip tooth and stuff like that. He was like joking on me. That's crazy, man.

Yeah, you're killing it, though. You look amazing, you know. Thank you, bro. We're too secure, man. so we can say that. But, uh, thanks, man. Yo, I always look at, um, and it's always when D.Y hits me up.

D. Y, he'll reach out, like, just say what's up every now and then a few times a year. And I'll always, like, my first response is sending him the video. And when me, you and him were in, uh, was it your car or his car when we were driving to the Gaylord hotel to make meetings. And we were stuck in traffic. And we were like weaving through following like the. ambulance and stuff like that.

I'll never forget that, man. Yeah, man. Did I freeze? Was that when we were in, man, that's when they had like a really bad traffic jam. Yeah, it was like the ball that they had, I think, for like the military, right? Remember they had a ball every year, like during Christmas time? And traffic was stuff, but it was like was chaotic and you definitely didn't want to be late

to a meeting. No, never wanted to. Never wanted to. One of those meetings. Yeah. He was the best though, wasn't he? Bro, he's one of my favorite teammates of all time, dude. And you don't start thinking about that stuff until, like, you know, your years are,

years are like, those kind of years are behind you and you get to kind of sit back and reflect. And you're like, man, this stuff just doesn't last forever. So you, like, appreciate all those, like, friendships that you had that you're like, I wish I would have just enjoyed them that much more. Yeah, you know, it's crazy because if you look at, like, the Redskins roster now, I would say like 95% of the guys that we play with there or not there anymore. Right, right. It's same with like college too.

Like you get a couple years removed, but you still kind of follow your team because you've got your boys that are selling a team that you're rooting for. And then when it gets to like you don't even recognize the roster, you're just like, I have like no ties really to this organization or college anymore. You don't feel that way anyway. Yeah, you feel like a foreigner, you know. Yeah.

I was sitting with a bearer. And I used to go back a bunch. But then obviously, you know, with everything that happened, there and then guys start disappearing. You don't know anyone. So you just become like a fan. Like I'm sure you're in Nebraska now. Not all fans have a statue.

My man's got a statue. My man's got a statue. Come on, man. Rightfully so, though, bro. You were a stud in college. And we'll get to that stuff. But before we get in all that, like, how you've been, dude? Like, obviously we're on, for those listening,

I don't know when this episode is going to drop. But for everybody listening, RG and I were talking. basically the week, the Monday right after all of the protests and riots that have been happening on behalf of the George Floyd incident. And so Rob and I are talking now, R.G., we'll call them all the fun stuff. But so when I ask him that, that's kind of what I'm referring to. So I don't know if this is going to come out. I don't know when it's going to, but to give people context.

How you been, dude? Yeah, I mean, personally, you know, aside from everything that's going on in America, I've been okay. You know, I actually got stuck in California. You know, we went out there in, you know, February, I think it was. Yeah, February to kind of like get away, go train, get ready for the next season. And then COVID hit in March, and we were stuck. So we got stuck out there, didn't really know what to do, didn't want to get on a plane.

We had my three daughters with us and I had my wife and we're just like, what do we do? So we stayed for a couple weeks. And then, you know, Bill starts to ramp up. up a little bit. You know, it's not like you stay out there for free. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Are you in an Airbnb? Just who we were in an Airbnb out there. So I'm like, all right, what do I do? You know, I want to, you know, save money. Don't know if the season's going to come back around or what's going to happen. And because of COVID, we had a house that were getting built in

Florida. They got pushed back because everything's, you know, kind of shutting down. So we drove. We drove from California from L.A. all the way to Texas. Really? Yeah, I was able to get my mom a house, you know, less enough to buy my mom a house, out here in Arlington. And so we drove out here. And 18 hours on the road. Yeah, road trip. It was great, beautiful scenery, you know,

seeing the mountains and all that stuff in California all over to Texas. But it's just been a stressful time, like not knowing what's going on. And, you know, with everything that's going on now, with the protests and, you know, fight for equality in the George Floyd murder, it's just like the world

it's just in chaos right now, man. It's, oh, I know, man. It just, it just sucks. Like, it's like you, I've had conversations over the weekend, and you know how it is. Like, they're just like lengthy conversations

and just ultimately, like, it just sucks. You know what I mean? Like, you reach out to, like, your friends and you're trying to, like, check on, like, me, like, checking on, like, your black teammates or black friends and stuff like that. You're just kind of trying to get a feel for, what the like what it is in everybody's head and i'm careful to like say stuff because you know how people

can just grab and just take anything out of context these days yeah and uh it's just unfortunate man like i hate it and then on top of it like all this stuff's going on it's like yo the pandemic like where we out the pandemic yeah yeah everyone like you see some good protesting going on you see bad stuff too and it's like yo hey what it's the pandemic is still going on too yeah so it's like you know, to be honest with you, you know, I got to say for you, man, like, I appreciate you, appreciate your voice. I saw what you wrote the other day about people needing to stop, you know, listen and understand before they move forward or just, you know, turn a blind eye to what's going on. I think in this country, for the longest, we've liked, we have liked to think that racism doesn't exist or that it's gotten better.

and yeah trust me like from the civil rights movement it's definitely gotten better but yeah like we're not you know like it's people bring up some photo it's like okay like we're not saying that it's yeah we're not segregated systematically that way i think that people will will will go to their grave arguing about systemic racism and systematic racism how it's built in that way and i don't disagree with that but the what we're seeing right now with the riots and the protests and the burning of the buildings and the looting, it's, uh, you know, not all of that is being done by the right people, of course. Absolutely.

But absolutely. I mean, yeah, that is pain from hundreds of years of inequality. And I, and we see this happen, right? We see, you know, a black guy, on-on black guy get killed and there's protests. and then it just feels like, you know, a couple weeks later, it's all back to normal, right? It's, it's, no one's talking about it, no one's doing anything about it, no one's coming up with a solution. So to see this one linger the way that it has and turn into what it has, it kind of feels like this is the opportunity to try to actually implement significant change. And it's going to take time, right? It's going to take time.

People are going to have to vote. They're going to have to try to take down the system by voting in the right people. but it's going to take people like yourself who aren't, who aren't afraid to speak up publicly. And it's not just doing it one time. It's not just doing it for, you know, your brand or to look good. So they can't say you didn't say something. You know what I mean?

Some brands aren't saying anything because they're nervous about what the ownership might say, hey, like stay out of this sticky stuff. Exactly. And you know, they've always preached that. When we came in as a rookie, when you came in as a rookie, I came in the league as a rookie. They're like, hey, don't talk about race, religion, or politics. Don't put yourself out there with issues that can be deemed, you know,

like you're going to scorch the earth, right? And this is a moment where you've seen more athletes speak up and talk about it. You've seen more white athletes speak up and talk about it. And, you know, I have my feeling. Some I feel are genuine. Some I don't feel are genuine. But at the end of the day, we need everybody to try to march. together to get to a point where we can figure something out because I don't have the answers.

I don't know what's going to. I know. And that's what's so frustrating and heartbreaking. You just don't know, but you know saying something about it can help. And we need everybody for that. Right. Because like, so after I wrote my blog piece and I'm stoked. I'm like I'm fired up that people like liked it and shared it and it did what it did.

And, you know, when I wrote it, I'm like, I hadn't seen. I don't, this isn't certain, but I hadn't seen anything written on Barstle yet about it. So I was like, you know, I wonder if I write this, like, if it's going to be able to be actually submitted. Right. I mean, because I hadn't seen anything yet. Right. And fortunately, like, Erica, the CEO and Dave and everybody's, like, reaching out, talking about, you know, how well, you know, how well, obviously, like, teammates and people that I have peers with and stuff reaching out. And it's like, all that happens.

And then I sit back and I'm like, okay, well, like you were saying earlier, like, it can't just be a one-time thing. and I'm thinking in my mind, like, all right, you know, what can I do next? Because again, it's also hard. First of all, it's definitely needed for more white people to speak up about it. And it's not speaking up in a way that you know the facts and you know answers. But I want to say everyone I've listened to where I have a conversation with, black, Hispanic, just any minority, it's like acknowledge that it's happening. Correct.

they want to be heard. So acknowledge that you have privilege, even if that might rub you the wrong way. Like sometimes I was talking to my fiance, she's half Filipino and she's like, like sometimes on privilege you's brought up to me, I get a little shun by it because I know my upbringing in my own community. Now knowing, having all this and reflecting more,

knowing my community is white and just knowing like, okay, even though I wasn't privileged in my own white community, that doesn't mean I don't have this white privilege myself. Like she does a good job explaining a lot of stuff to me. But like the things is like acknowledging your privilege, acknowledging that you're hearing everybody you're hearing what's happening and giving a shit like using your platform in whatever way possible and like just letting them letting people and I hate saying them like you got to let black people know like I about it and however you can say it um go about it

like you got to do it in a genuine fashion and also be careful because you can't get taken out of context as well so it's it's difficult but it is man it's it's good to to see a lot more people speaking out. And me, I can, I can admit that I've been, I can be guilty of not, like, if a murder happens, you know how white people, I don't, I hate saying, just people in general. I know, people in general. Yeah, I know you're not going to take me out of context, but you have a pie, so you got to be careful. So, you know what I'm saying? It's like, people can be like, you see a scene happen and you're like, listen, let's get all the facts. Like, we, just because there's a very angry community doesn't mean like this is exactly what happened. And so you'll want to wait on

more facts. Like to me, this situation is as obvious and as clear cut of a situation that you can use as an example. It's like, listen, guys, this camera was on for over two minutes. And this, it's clearly wrong. Like I was talking to my boy Blas, shout out Blas, who's Hispanic, who's Hispanic and he's in the law enforcement. He's like, there's nowhere in our teaching to where, you know, it's on somebody's neck. It's, you know, around their belt or their chest or something like that. But it's like this situation kind of helps. I feel like, you know, more people, white, everyone look at a situation and see what the black community has been wanting to be seen forever. Yeah. That makes sense. If I explain that in my very white privilege, I got it. I'm saying all

this stuff, guys, in my very white way, that is, that was my thought. Yeah, I feel like, you know, when I, when I've talked to my white teammates recently, it's, it's like, hey, what can we do, right? And like, you're at a loss for words, right? You don't know what you can do. But I know that you can, you can speak up about it. And, you know, they're like, hey, we're willing to talk with you and brainstorm and figure out things to do. And I feel like the beginning point is speaking up. You have to say something. Right. And then once you do that, then it's like, hey, man, if you're in your own little circle, when you hear something, right, that just shouldn't be said or a viewpoint that that someone shouldn't have on certain things when it comes to equality, you have to step up then, right?

Because whether it's racism or just, you know, a superiority complex or whatever may be, that stuff is tough. That's not, you know, it's not, you're not born with that, right? You see a black kid and a white kid in the same area. They're going to love on each other because they, that's what they know, right? but as they get older or whatever happens, that stuff is built in and it's taught for someone to, you know,

not like someone of another color or think that that person is inferior to them. And I think that's a big part of everything that's been going on. No one knows what to do, right? I know. A lot of people want to help, but they don't know how to help. And I just can't stress enough that this is not a political issue. You know what I mean? I know.

I know. I know. And I hate when it starts to get muddy there. Right. People want to turn it into a political issue. It's not a political issue. This is a human rights issue. If you're a believer, right? If you're a Christian believer, this is doing others as you want them to do on to you. And I agree with you. This George Ford one is like so egregious that I think that's why you see some of the chaos that you see. In other situations, I don't agree with it, but they'll say, hey, well, they shouldn't have done this. They shouldn't have done this. But this one for all people is just like, oh my God. gosh. It's the most obvious one. It's what is going on here. And this is something that I, you know, I've dealt with my whole life. We've had these conversations before, like about just inequality or opportunity or whatever it may be. But you don't want to, you know, when I got three daughters and, you know, one day I pray to

have a son. I don't want them to have to grow up in a world like this, right? And you can say, well, this is the greatest country in the world and we have the most freedom and we do all these things. And yeah, I'm very, you know, I know those things, right? My parents served in the military. I know the freedoms that we have and what we fight for. But did we really fight for this? Our nation is founded on, you know, liberty and justice for all.

And our original sin, the original sin of America is injustice. It's the original sin. We have to get over that. How do we do it? I have no idea. But I know that if I can get you, all my other, non-black teammates, all my black teammates, the community, and we can all do this together, there's a better chance,

as opposed to what has typically happened is if it doesn't affect you, you just turn the other cheek. You say, oh, well, that doesn't really bother. It bothers me, but it doesn't affect my life, so I'm just not going to say anything. I don't want to hurt my brand. I don't want to lose some fans. I don't want to, you know, get fired, you know,

for whatever reason to stand on something. But I think this is the time. I think this is the time for everyone to take that stand and take that risk because it's just not okay. It's 2020, man. You remember when we're in the 90s, we're watching movies, and they're talking about, like, flying cars and all these things in the future. Like, this is the future now, and we don't have those things, and we don't even have justice for all in a country that was founded upon justice for all. Right, right. Don't you just wish, like, I'll sit back and think, like, man, I wish everyone could just experience a locker room dynamic.

Yeah. Like when you're on a team, I know us, we're very fortunate to have been in locker rooms because my own story, it's like I grew up in Bontair, Missouri. That is, like you read, 99% white. And a lot of people don't necessarily leave that bubble. Like St. Louis is the closest city an hour away. So we're in small town, USA. Right. You know what I'm saying?

And for me, I would have never really known or understood any of this had I not been in the Nebraska locker room, had the roommates that I've had, been in the Redskins locker room, Raiders locker room, Titans locker room, all that stuff. And just to think that, like, had I never experienced that, I would, I would, you know, more than likely be around my Bontair upbringing. Not that it was bad or negative, but you have that kind of, you have some of those people. that and they have access to this huge platform like social media and that's where a lot of stuff can get muddy because people just uh i i say the word ignorant carefully i'm not calling people ignorant but you're ignorant to like what's truly all like out there happening all the time and all these different communities and stuff and it just gets really muddy when you have a platform like social media to sit and kind of ultimately get to arguing you know how it goes like now it's get some of it gets made into a political issue and it's like, you know, back to reeling it in, it's like a humanity issue. Correct. Now, I just wish people, I wish everyone could be in a locker room like us, you know what I mean, and be around the dynamics, so you get to be around.

Right. Because you create such strong bonds that, you know, you hate seeing what's happening out there right now. Yeah, and I'm with you. Like, the locker room is like such a special place. It's, it's, so special. It's crazy. Like, most guys, when they retire, right?

Like, most guys don't miss training camp. They don't miss, you know, practicing and lifting, but they miss that bond of being in the locker room. Yes. And I was, let's listen to on our coaches today as he was talking. And he said that, you know, football for him, he grew up in the segregation times. But football for him and sports for him was a place where he didn't feel that, that hatred, right? those white people back then or non-black people back then felt a certain type of bond

because they were all in it for a common goal, right, to win. Right. If I go play basketball and I got, you know, four white guys on my team, you know, the stereotype is that all of them can shoot, right? But it doesn't matter. Defense, defense and shoot. Yeah, that doesn't matter. The point is that me and those other four guys, we're all trying to win that game.

So you overlook where you came from. You overlook how much money you have. You overlook all these things that are, that are, what I say, qualifiers for inequality. And you're all trying to accomplish the same goal. So you're willing to do whatever it takes, right? Shoot the three, pass the ball, die for the ball, you know, go into triple overtime, whatever you have to do to win that game. And when he said that, I'm like, man, like, how do we get society to that point?

To where we're all. we're all in it for the same reason, right? People are going to have their own views on wealth, right? And who has all the wealth, who doesn't have all the wealth, and earning potential and this and taxes, whatever. Those are all political issues. But the fact that we're trying, we should all be in this together to try to get towards equality

and to try to get towards justice. To me that we should all be on the same team there. We should all be willing to do whatever it takes to get to that. equality doesn't mean that me and you have the same amount of money it means that me and you have the same opportunity right now as an athlete you know that's not always the case right i was drafted you weren't you weren't drafted but oh yeah our conversation that one day right right but yeah yeah yeah you still have had in in football terms your skill determined your opportunity right my skill determined my opportunity in that position now

Is there, you know, inequality and injustice in sports? Yes, there is. But is it anywhere to the level of the everyday person, not even close. So how do we get society to join on the same team and do things march together, right? I see all these protests and I'm like, oh, man, that's awesome because it's not just black people, right? Oh, I know. It's not just white people. It's not just Asian Americans.

It's not just Mexican Americans. It's everybody. right that's what we need how do we get that and then take that and obviously go vote and try to tear down the system that's in place right now how do you do that i don't know right i know i know i am obsessed with fucking whoop boys whoop is a fitness tracker um that gives members access to their app which provides personalized insight into recovery strain and sleep guys i wear this 24-7 it was on my wrist at the game yesterday. Oh yeah, yeah, when you're listening to this?

Yes, yesterday, because the boys are now two and oh. It's on my wrist when I'm playing. It's on my wrist when I'm sleeping. It's all my wrist when I'm chilling and watching TV because it gives you personalized insight into data, which helps you recover, which helps you go after strain every day, which gives you information on your sleep. It's phenomenal. For recovery, whoop tracks a member's recovery, which lets them know how ready their body is

to perform. So for me, I wake up on Sunday feeling good, feeling alive, feeling ready to go play some football. I know that because my whoop strap also tells me I have a 96 recovery rate, which is look the fuck out recovery rate. Look the fuck out recovery rate. I really kind of butchered that a little bit. I put a lot of strain.

I put like 16 strain on my body during the game. It's able to track your steps and focus on everything meaningful and in between. This is looking how active your heart is throughout the day and calculating. calculates that in your strenuous day through daily exertion. Based on your recovery, WOOP provides target strain goals, which helps you lead to more optimal training. Again, it's awesome, guys. Sleep, it tracks things, it tracks all things sleep, your cycles, your stages, your disturbances, your efficiency. Based on how strenuous your day is again, WOOP will provide sleep time so your body is able to get the rest.

It needs to recover. The battery lasts five days at a time. It's waterproof. It's low energy. It's phenomenal. Our listeners, Woop is offering 15% off with the code Bussin at checkout. Go to Woop. That's W-H-O-O-P.com.

W-H-O-P dot com and enter Bussin at checkout to say 15%. Sleep better, recover faster, train smarter, do it with the boys. Optimize your performance with Woop. One thing that you were mentioning earlier, and I actually have written down, is one of the things that I jumped out to me when I was researching your background is you were born in Japan. Yeah. You were born. And you said it earlier. Your parents, they served in the military.

You come from a military family. Talk about being born in Japan and kind of moving around where being, what do they call it, like being like a military child. Exactly. Not really sticking anywhere. Oh, hang on. Hang on. Alex says. hang on he says he thinks i'm using my AirPods mic if i can find a stopping point check and switch

if necessary yeah i tried not to interrupt during the that whole talk because that was so important obviously that i flowed right but i figured if you're going to switch over now this would be a good time for you to take a look and make sure because i think you are on air pods mic i am i am i see it it's microphone right yes how about now can you hear me beautiful make sure you restate the question before you start back again if you could i will i will my bet RG. Oh no, you're good. You're good.

You're not as, man. Athletes trying to figure all this stuff out, dude. But one thing that jumped out to me when researching your background was that you were born in Japan. And you said it earlier, like alluding to your parents being, you were in a military family. Talk about being like a military child and moving around. And just knowing that you were born in Japan made me laugh. I'm like, what the f this dude was born in Japan. Japan? How long were you there?

So I was there in Japan for two and a half years. So for me, I don't remember it. But we got the pictures, we got the videos and everything. You know, I know you're trying to be politically correct, but the proper term for a military kid is military brat, right? That's what they call. Okay, my bad. Yeah, military. And, you know, my parents being in the military taught me the discipline, sacrifice. You saw it, right? every single day

when we went to war my mom and dad my dad my mom was out by that time and my dad had to go over and be deployed and I saw a lot of my friends parents and you know aunts and uncles

not come back because of that so it was really tough growing up as a military brat having to move around but like I said the things that teaches you how to you know

gel in different groups right so in Japan obviously that's a pretty you know diverse group you're i'm on a military base so it's not like i'm right you no no i feel you we're on a military base you got you got people of color you got white people you got Asian people and we moved a bunch i moved early on moved to Colorado I lived in Alabama lived in New Orleans Louisiana but I was lucky enough to settle in copperscoe Texas

before first grade and I went through my whole schooling in that same city. Oh, that's nice. That was that was a blessing because usually I had a lot of friends move away. And the one thing you hate is when you like move away like junior high high school time. And you're just like sports is such a big, you know, most sports to team sports. So most of them are like really big on camaraderie. And you don't want to be the new kid who comes in as a sophomore at the high school. Now you got to, oh man, the coach's son is the court. quarterback and like, you know what I do that. So I was blessed enough to go through that whole time.

And, you know, to this day, high school football is probably still the most fun I ever had in my life. Bro, it's the purest game. With all the guys that you grew up with from like, you know, kindergarten first grade, people that you've seen develop. And, you know, I was obviously oblivious. I thought all my high school teammates were going to go to the NFL. So. I know, right?

You think, hey, me, you know, college. Like for sure. Then you get to college and you're like, oh my gosh, there's a six, eight, 350 pound offense alignment. I had none of those in high school. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. And you don't quite know what you're doing all the time. He was five seven, he was five seven, two hundred and twenty five five, five, seven, two hundred and

twenty five pounds. And I'm like, man, you're going D1. And I mean, he's probably like, you know, looking at me like you're crazy. And I get it now. But it was a lot of fun. And being a military kid taught me a lot of things. taught me how to mesh in jail with a bunch of different people in different groups and try to understand it from everybody's perspective. A lot of times I find myself being the new kid

and having to try to find my way in each different community. And I think that's helped me with how I've led, how I've been able to be a good teammate in different places that I've been and, you know, just be a better all-around person. No doubt. Like I feel like if you're like a military Bratt to be politically correct. You have like some of those, you have like those foundational things, those foundational values that, you know, you just can't teach all the time unless you're like in, unless you have those parents or you're around that environment constantly. Yeah.

And I think that piggybacks off what you were saying, like from where you grew up and how that was. I went to, you know, I went to Baylor University. And no one's going to say that that's like a melting pot, you know, it's a private school. it's a private Baptist school and I believe over 70% of the of the students that go to Baylor

are Caucasian, you know? Right. I mean, shoot, same with Nebraska. I mean, people are probably here Nebraska. Like, okay, Will, did you really get out of Bontar, Missouri? It's like, I guess I'm thinking like in locker room terms. Correct. You know what I'm saying?

Like in your locker room, you got dudes from Florida, Cali, New York, all over. Yeah, and sports is like the equalizer. You know, if it's not split down the middle, it's probably favoring, you know, minorities, to be, to be honest, at Nebraska, at Baylor, whatever it is. I still remember you walk around campus, I go to class, right? There might be, you know, if it's a small class, say, like, you know, 30, 40 kids, there might be five black people in college. But you go to the area where all the athletes are. Yeah.

It's like, it's crazy to see that. And you meet people. You meet people who have never hung around minorities of any kind because where they live at is so just one color. And I ran together with my wife. My wife's from Estonia. And they don't have any black people. Where's Estonia at? Astoria, exactly.

I don't care, man. I'm not ashamed of like, hey, hang on, wait a minute. Estonia is in the Baltics. So Norway, Latvia. Okay. It's right. And I say this one last because don't ever say this to an Estonian, but Russia, they're right next to Russia.

And Estonians and Russians don't really get along because Russia has conquered Estonia a couple times. So just anyone I feel, don't ever call my wife Russian. Don't ever. Yeah, yeah. So that's kind of like Russian then, huh? Like, no, don't say that. So, but I ran it to.

with her, like there's no black people. She didn't grow up with that, those types of people in her life every day. But she came over to the United States for college, went to Florida State. She went to Tallahassee, Florida, which is one of the blackest places in all of America. Yeah. She got a crash course on black history by going to college.

And it's opened her eyes because from what she saw back at home to what she sees now in America, you know, to her, it's obvious. obvious that there's racism here. But the people here all the time, they're like, no, that's not that. He was resisting, you know. There was this, there was that.

But hers's like, there's no excuse for it. And I think that, you know, there's nothing wrong with the fact that where you grew up. There's nothing wrong that, you know, you being more comfortable with someone who looks like you than someone who doesn't. I think that is natural. I think where the problem comes in is when people are uncomfortable with someone based off

a stereotype and they use that against them in a way that diminishes their ability to either make a living or just walk around freely, you know? I don't want to be afraid to go on a job. You know? I don't, I heard you talking about it

with the man who got gunned down for going on a jogging. They're like, oh, well, he was looking in a in an unbuilt house before he got gone. Oh yeah, yeah, yeah. It's like, and? Right.

Who hasn't done that? Right. You know, like this house here from my mom, there's houses that are being built. It's a new build community. And we've gone in those houses and looked at them

that aren't finished. Does that mean that now if I go jog a little bit, I should get gunned down? Like, come on. Like, he's not stealing anything. Right. No doubt, dude.

That's what I, yeah, I was like, to justify behavior and it's like that doesn't pass the common sense test you know right right like you know i've you know i've done that stuff too and i wasn't like what did i say i said i like these dudes hopped in the car like it was grand theft auto or something like you know it's it's in a video game dude yeah like it's it doesn't make sense but like to get back to the to the overall point is that it doesn't matter where you grew up right right and just because you don't see people that that that don't look like you or you grew up. It doesn't mean that when you go to college

or when you go somewhere that you can't learn something new. And I think that's what it is. You just have to be willing to learn. And just because something doesn't affect you particularly or your kids or your family, it doesn't mean that it's not going on. And I think that's the point. It's like, I'm not wanting you to get pulled over by the cops

and then to fear for your life. I don't want you to feel that. You know, I don't want you to feel that fear. I don't want, I'm not saying that you deserve that. I'm saying that people that look like me don't deserve that. Can you, can you at least agree with that? Can you at least help me move forward some type of agenda to get that to be eliminated? And I think that's, that's a big part of it. But you're right. A lot of people don't grow up with those experiences. So they just don't think it's really happening. Right. Right. It's like, take the glasses off and put on somebody else's glasses. It's like, you can't really take. your lens off. Like you're going to have your own filter regardless, but it's like being super curious and like, you know, seeking to understand where the person across from you is coming from about something. Because I'm not, I'm not, I'm not like you were saying too, like we're not

disappointed where we grew up. I love that I grew up where I grew up and I get to have this story to kind of share that like, hey, you know, I've had all of these experiences along the way. And here's where I am now getting to with just different things. Like shout out Bontair, Missouri, you do. But like, yeah, being curious, like, everyone's going to have their own filter because nobody can help where they grew up. But like you're saying, like, you know, seek that curiosity factor that, you know, you're trying to understand someone else's perspective and listen and, you know, grow. Exactly. You know what I mean? Yeah. You, I agree with you. It's almost impossible for someone to really take their lens off.

Whenever you hear the saying, walk a mile on someone else's shoes, yeah, you can put their shoes on, but you're still going to be walking halfway with your own mindset. Right, right. So if you've never experienced injustice to the level of the African-American community

or people of color in general, you're not really going to understand it, but you can't go into that conversation with a jaded view. like it's not happening. Like it's in front of you and it's been happening for hundreds of years. You can't just say, oh, it's not happening. It doesn't exist.

It doesn't exist. You know, you know, stereotypes are like a huge problem all around the world, right? I know, but like the stereotypes too, it's like it's sensitive in like this topic that we're talking about. But I've always enjoyed a good stereotype for jokes every now and there. Being in a locker room, like I'm all up scared saying that on the mic. Locker room jokes. If people heard locker room jokes, I mean. bro. We have so much fun in there, bro.

But it's stereotypes of a problem for a long time forever. Right. Those stereotypes are what lead to people feeling certain ways about things, right? So I was talking about if I go on a basketball court and I roll up with this team and, you know, we're called the white chocolates or something. And I got two or three Caucasian teammates. Everybody's guarding them at the three point line. Right? But nobody's guard me at the three-point line because they think, oh, he's African-American, he can jump, he's a dunker, he's a slasher.

This Caucasian guy over here is a shooter. Now, I'm not saying that that doesn't work out that way sometimes, right? Like, J.J. Reddick is a hell of a shooter. Kyle Corby's a hell of a shooter, and LeBron James is one of the best slashers of all time. But it doesn't mean that everybody is like that, right? No doubt, no doubt. But if you rolled up in Bontair, Missouri at a pickup basketball game, and I'm saying, I'm like, hey, I want him on my team.

What's your name, man, RG3? Hey, you can be on my team, man. So I'm saying it's not that those stereotypes don't sometimes end up being true. It's just when it's in the negative light. That's when it's like, oh, man, we got to try to overcome that somehow. I still remember, you know, in Cleveland, I have, you know, I've had long hair since, like, forever, since I went to college. And I had my afro out.

Right. No, not like right now. Like, I got the buns in right now. But I had the afro out. And coach came to me and he said, hey, I need you to come to work with your hair braided or cut it off. I said, coach, why? He said, well, you're black and you're a black quarterback. And you can't be presented in that way.

You can't come here with your hair not done in some type of. of way because it just doesn't give off the right message. And I'm going to be honest with you, it, you know, it pissed me off because I feel like, why do I have to do that, you know? Right. Why is that the message that I'm giving off if, because my hair looks a certain type of way or because I'm wearing a hoodie or whatever? For the longest, everybody used to, I walked down the street in D.C.

And they'd be like, hey, man, I got some weed for you. I know you, I know you smoke all. I know you got that. I'm like, bro, like, I've never smoked in my life. And I'm not condemning anybody that does. But just because I'm black, I'm wearing a hoodie, and I got what people thought were dredge at the time. Doesn't mean I'm on the ganja.

You know what I'm saying? It doesn't mean the Mary Jane. Like, come on. No, duh. Hey, yo, try hanging out, like, with your teammates and stuff. And then people are thinking, like, I'm their agent or, like, financial advisors. Hey, man, no, put some respect on my name, man.

I play too. Like, oh, hey, what's your name, man? Like, trying to give me a handshake. Like, damn you. So it's just to that point where, yeah, man, like, everybody likes a good laugh. But what's been going on in this country for hundreds of years with minorities in general, especially the African-American community, just isn't a laughing matter anymore. And I think people are seeing that.

And that's the disheartening part because you would feel like, damn, why didn't you see that earlier? but I do think this George Floyd incident and the gentleman who got gunned down for going on a jog those have really brought everybody out to the forefront plus everyone's not doing anything really right so a lot of work so there's more eyes on social media

there's no eyes on the news and like I mean it's like like 2020 is just complete chaos man Kobe Brian dies and we got coronavirus Hitch and now. I think about the history books that are going to be on 2020 back when it's like year

3,000, dude. They're going to be learning about all this and that's why I think a lot of people are doing what they're doing because they want to be on the right side of history. I want to be on the right side of history that sees a system of systematic injustice crumble, you know.

Yeah. Clear it down. I want to be on that side of history and I think we can do it. But if you had to ask me, I have no idea how. I have no idea how. Yeah, yeah, I mean, she rolling it together, man. I know you, it's like you sit. It's like how that happens right there.

You sit and you say something, you just start thinking and you're just like, man, like how does that, how does that kind of stuff happen? And you just, if anything, try to stay optimistic. And when you can find an opportunity to, you know, do something yourself, like hopefully everyone takes that choice, chooses the right, choose the right choice makes the right decision to just like hey be you know be a good person yeah it's like there was this i came here i don't know if the show is still long but there was like the show what would you do and like they like set these different scenarios up where like a girl's

at the bar or something and the guys like he clearly put something in a drink and he's getting to trying to get a drunk and there's people around there's cameras in the area and they're trying to see like who's going to step up and do the right thing Right. And as you know, like we've had these talks with the team about not getting involved in certain situations. For sure. And you see some like domestic violence assault happening in a public place. Don't get involved because you could get injured. Call the cops. Do this, do this, do that.

I don't feel like this is that type of situation, right? This isn't a mind your own business type of thing. because justice for all is is good for everybody you know what i mean we don't want black fathers to be incarcerated at alarming rates that are taking them away from their families you know what i mean we don't want black fathers being uh you know murdered because i mean that's what george florida was or that was murder you know it was in the right right right uh just no remorse at all and um you know i just think that those are those are those are things that people have to really pay closer attention to Yeah, it's like it's like we're kind of in a point.

I was just thinking about this as you were talking. It's like everyone has a little bit of sense of ownership right in. Yes. Yes. Now in this moment. To where we're now in a leadership role in your own capacity. It's not like, hey, this is our leader of this and that. It's like everyone has a little bit of leadership right now and some accountability,

some ownership in this. They can take part in that. And it's like if you see something, say something. Yeah. And again, the whole seek to understand thing. like, but I do feel like we are. You said something that triggered that we're kind of a spot that's like, we all have a little bit of ownership in this part right now.

And like you were saying, it's not like, don't stay removed from the situation because of the repercussions that could come from it. You know what I mean? Now it's like going to think, hey, see something, say something. And, you know, hopefully you're looking around and you got more people that are doing the same thing you are. Right. It makes me a lie.

It's not funny, but it makes me laugh that, you know, like growing up, they always talked about, don't let peer pressure get to you in negative things, right? So underage drinking, whatever it may be. Yeah, still say no to drugs, kids. Yeah. You know what I'm saying. So I'm like, okay, you know, you get all these pet talks and they're like, you know, peer pressure can be good, peer pressure can be bad, don't let the bad peer pressure affect you.

And I feel like right now there's more peer pressure for non-people of color to step up and say something, right? Right. To the point where when you first saw it happening, you're like, wow, now that's big. You know, that's big. He had Tom Brady, you know, posting an image of something where he's never really went into those areas at all. You're like, oh my gosh, okay, we're making some progress here. We've got to get more people to do it. But then after like a week of all this stuff going on, then you start seeing more people

start coming out. But there's a feeling that it's due to the peer pressure that if they don't say something, people are going to look at them differently. And I look at it like the church. Okay. People have their feelings about the church. They have their feelings about ties and offerings, right? Right.

And I've heard every conversation about it, right? But at the end of the day, if you are tithing and you're helping the church out, the church is spreading God's word in some type of way, whether you agree with how they're doing it or not, right? So, you know, I have my own feelings about that. That's a whole other conversation for a whole other tone. Yeah. But that's what I look at it. So sometimes when you see people come out and say things, it's still good, right?

regardless of whether they are feeling peer pressured into it or not, it's what you do next that really matters. And you said that. You wrote that piece. It was beautifully worded. And it's like, what do I do next? Do I continue to be local? Do I work in my own circles to try to improve or attack things that I see?

Do I work with, you know, these different organizations to go out and be in the community and whatever type of way. It's what you do next that really matters. Don't just say something to say something, you know? Right. And so I'm like, I'm thinking about it and I'm like, man, like, people are really being peer pressured into saying something right now. And even still, some people aren't saying anything.

Right. And I do think, you know, that something needs to be said. Like, your brand should never be based off racism. If you're afraid to lose fans or. notoriety because you say something about injustice, then that itself is a problem. And I think that's where America is right now. We're realizing, man, you know,

I was reluctant to say something at first because I'm like, damn, you know, in my position, I don't need to be, in my current position, I don't need to be controversial. You know what I mean? And I understand that. You know, I understand why certain guys disappear from the league when they were young,

because they're controversial. I don't need to be controversial, but I don't think that, you know, standing up for equality in this moment is controversial. I think it's- Right. Right. And you can also like, you know, even with what I wrote,

I feel like there's a place where you don't have to intentionally try and be controversial to get a message across. Right. Like you can kind of stand alone that's outside of, say, your football brain and stuff like that and still do it in a way that's like makes sense and is genuine and comes off like we're kind of saying like

we don't know the answers but you can start having conversations and doing it a spot from you know, every you can understand all that stuff. It's just, you know, you don't have to make yourself,

force yourself into some controversial spot. Like you can do it with some, I don't know, the only word that's coming in my head is I guess elegance, which sounds a little weird. Yeah. You don't want to, you don't have to force yourself to do something or say something because it's going to look good.

Right. No. Or don't say something because it's not going to look good. You know, and I think that's where we've been for most of the part, most of the time. But I now think guys are starting to say things because I do think they actually genuinely care. And then, you know, on the other side of it, there's always going to be just like the riots and the protests. There's always going to be those who aren't doing it for the right reasons. similar to people who've been out there

not even protesting. They're just spray painting stuff. They're just like, you know, you can see people sitting home, hey, we got this movement going on. Like, let's go get back at the cops in the city for what they've done to us. And they're just out there tearing and tearing shit up. So, you know,

I think things are going to move in the right direction. I don't, I don't want anything else to be like destroyed or people to lose out on money or anything, but I definitely do think the system does need to be destroyed. Yeah. Well, I can't have RG on and not talk about some ball because you have,

you have an interesting story. You do. You have an interesting journey. I know from my own experience with RG3 for everybody listening, when I was undrafted in my first interaction in the building, because I can vividly fucking remember this, and I was hype, is I'm going to undraft a cat, go in, you know, I got, I had what I had going on. And RG comes out the elevator. You were on the bottom of the player floor. You came out the elevator and we were about to go out to the rookie minicamp. And you just stuck out your fist and

you're like, hey, good luck out there, man. And I remember dapping you up and like walking by you and I was thinking to myself like, yo, that is RG3. And this was after your rookie ear. You know what I mean? Like this is what you know. Hey, that was RG3 who just, RG3 who just dabbed me up. And you go from having an insane and I'm going to let you talk about it because you're going to you're going to give me some education on it too because I'm very curious and you you went from being the face of the Redskins and I was there when it was kind of filtering down like I was trying to come up in my way you were you I'm going to let you talk about it right and you go off the Redskins and then um where you were a year free agent right after the skins or did you go somewhere else first and then you were I went somewhere first. I went to Cleveland in 16 and then I was out in 17. That's right. And you spent a whole year off. Yeah, whole year off and still working on your craft. I'm talking about your old trees. Yeah, I saw all your videos and you kept at it. Like you persevered through a lot of adversity that you went through in that middle part of your career and to re-reamp it,

re-light it, reignite it in Baltimore. And it seems like you're having a hell of a time out there and I always get stoked when you get out there and it just looks like you're having so much fun playing again. Right. And I'm just so curious to learn about the story of RG3 a little bit. Right. And walk me through the beginning too, because I was looking,

I was on your Wikipedia page and seeing all your accolades. Like, I knew you were a beast in college because we played, Nebraska, played against Baylor. One year you were out because you were, I think you had a knee- Yeah, yeah. Yeah. When you came to Nebraska, you ran all over us. Yeah, that was my ad.

Which I'm sure our stadium was probably your favorite of all time. Free shout-out, go big red. But I remember people being like, yo, who in the hell is this student? It's like, you know, he was like, you were like number one in America or the world's for like hurtling. And you were like, you're a world-class track athlete as well at this time. Then you go from first round pick, Heism, trophy runner. You got accolades, list, list, list. Offensive rookie of the year.

Yeah. Playoff game, taking the skins of the playoffs where, you know. And then your knee happens. Like talk, talk about your story. story for me a little bit. And talk about going into the Redskins your rookie year. Talk about your rookie year. Yeah. So, I mean, the grand scheme of it all has just been a, it's been an amazing story, a testimony that I would love to share in some type of capacity when it's all said and done. Will on the bus. Yeah, on the bus. On the bus, dude. You know, on here with you guys

in a book, somehow, some way, because I think it's a, it's just been. It's been. an eye-opening experience. So, you know, first I would say that when I came into the league, I'm not a kid who has, what is it, an NFL pedigree, right? I don't have a, I didn't have a dad who played or an uncle who played or some, you know, a grandfather who played in the league. So everything was new to me. And it was riding, riding off of the success that we had at Baylor

and came in as a rookie. So when I came in as a rookie, it was, you know just trying to prove to everybody that like I was worth everything they gave up I didn't ask them to give that stuff up but I wanted to well yeah but you're I mean just to give people perspective like you're saying it now like you're explaining it but you're what how old are you uh at that time I think I was 20 I was 22 years old 22 years old face of a franchise you're your top five pick like I mean I get it dude like you're a kid coming in and you're yeah you're trying to prove everybody like yo I

I'm the new young, I'm the man. Right. And hey, I'm the man in this piece. Denzel watching the dude. Like, yeah, you're always trying to like, for sure, dude. There's like being young about it. And I'm not trying to talk about it, right? I'm not trying to do anything that a rookie is not supposed to do.

You know, we had Santana Moss, we had Chris Cooley. We had all these veteran guys. And I'm like, I'm starstruck when I walk in the locker room. they sit me next to London Fletcher, right? Anyone who knows that London was like that guy in Washington. That dude. He was that dude. So when I got there, I'm like, oh, man, I'm right next to London Fletcher every single

day. And I get to throw the ball to Santana Moss. And I get to throw the ball to Chris Cooley. Like, I'm like, I'm losing my mind as a rookie. Like, this is incredible. Yeah, dude. And, you know, you come in and you make your mistake. and you get better. You make your mistakes and you get better, as you know, and you slowly

figure it out. And for me, London was a big part of that because I had to go against him every day in practice. So Shanahan's system wasn't the easiest system to maneuver and operate, especially as a rookie. So when it's check, recheck, check, check, and I'm having a check, recheck against one of the greatest middle linebackers of all time. Like, that's not fun. I make a check. he knows what check I'm making. Oh, no question. He's a stud. Either that or he read the script.

You know, that ongoing argument every day. Y'all knew what was coming. It's like, no. So we check and I'm like, okay, well, it's cover zero. I make the check. And London's like, check to cover two. So I check back. He checks back to cover zero.

I go to coach and say, hey, Kyle, like, what am I supposed to do? Like, the dude knows all the calls. He's making all the checks. And Kyle just says, I don't know, just go play ball. And for me, there was this sense of just go play ball my rookie year. Go play ball.

I didn't know everything, right? I knew the offense, but I didn't know everything that the NFL was going to present. And, you know, that run against the Vikings was a complete misread by me. That touchdown run, my rookie year, the 70s, 6th year or whatever was, it was a misreed by me. I saw the two backers in the middle of the formation and I thought I was getting, you know, some type of cover zero or that I was going to be hot. So I had to make a decision to either throw the ball hot or run. And I decided to run.

And everybody was blocked. I remember vividly because I think, man, I think it was Evan Royster. It might have been the running back. Oh, yeah. Yeah. It was your typical AA blitz, which I know now, it was a double A blitz. And they didn't bring anyone extra. They didn't bring a DB or safety from either side.

and everybody got blocked. So the defense was kind of shocked that I took off running because they're thinking, oh, it's third and like five or six or seven he's going to throw the ball. So I'm running the sideline and coach, I can see Kyle

and I can see Mike and they're both saying, get down, get down, get down, because all we needed was the first down to win. All we needed was the first down to win the game. And I looked and I looked at the safety, which I think was Harrison Smith at the time. I'm like, I can get past this guy.

All right. So a white guy in uniform. Hey, I'm Justin. I said, I think I can outrun him. I outran him. And then I scored the test down and like the rest is history. But it was like little things like that were happening in my rookie year. And slowly but surely,

but surely I was winning over the guys in the locker room because of the play on the field. And because of, you know, just the hard work. When you came in, did you come in, you came in Chenney's second year or my second year? Yeah, I came in the, the year you were, you were rehabbing to get your knee back right. Correct. So I came, I came the year after your guys, you guys had a hell of a year coming back, bringing to the playoffs. I came the year where it was bad. So you remember when we came back in 13, everyone was like, oh man, these guys went to the

playoffs last year. It's going to be a great year. We're going to do this. We're going to do that. We're going to do this. And we came out and we were flat, right? We just, I remember vividly in 2013, it was like almost every game we came out. And like first second quarter, it was 21 and nothing, 14 to nothing. And we were fighting from behind every single game. I remember the Packers. Like, I don't know if you remember that Packers game. D.Y had like a super long touchdown, like a 60-second catch out of the backfield.

But we were down like 28 to nothing by like midway through the second quarter, something like that. Right. And it just, it didn't click for us that. And I know why it didn't click. It didn't click because our chemistry wasn't the same. There too much turmoil happened from the time when we won the playoff, when we got to the playoff game, and by the start of the next season, that whole offseason was chaotic. Why was it chaotic?

You want to know my favorite drink route right now? It is body armor. I drink that shit for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and everything in between. They're stocked at the facility, at the Titans facility. So I'm in love with that. every day when the day is over with, I get to get a little to-go bag. Stock the bags up like it's a 7-Eleven. Go home.

Hey, baby, I got a bunch of body armor, take your pick. Phenomenal flavors, but most importantly, very healthy. It's all natural. There's no artificial sweeteners, unlike its other competitors. No artificial flavors or dyes. It's packed with potassium, vitamins, and antioxidants to keep you hydrated throughout the summer months or when you're cheering on the boys on Sundays. You can learn more at drinkbodyarmor.com.

me rattle off a few of these flavors for you though because my personal favorite is blackout berry they also have watermelon strawberry tropical punch pineapple coconut phenomenal little deal berry lemonade mixed berry grape uh strawberry banana orange mango and the also common fruit punch uh but learn more at drink body armor dot com and you can order all of these flavors at amazon right now so go get a little variety pack try a few uh on amazon shout out the boys of body armor I don't know if you remember this because you weren't you run on the team yet but my injury caused a lot of of turmoil. Yes. I mean you were from my understanding, you are you were you were the face. Yeah. And you had question marks playing that game, correct? Correct. I did.

And there was, I mean, you know, I don't know. There were from what I had heard. there were decisions and stuff that were happening on actual game day even. Yeah. So like I said, I didn't want to, I don't want to dive too much into it, but there was a lot of turmoil around my injury. I got hurt against the Ravens, which is, you know, kind of ironic. I know, man. I got hurt against the Ravens.

I sat out a game against the Browns, and then I came back against Philly. And I played the rest of that year, but, you know, everybody knew I was, you know, I was compromised to... If you could go back, would you have played that game, that playoff game? If I went back, I wouldn't have gone back in. I got, I was okay in the beginning of the game and we jumped out to, I think, a 14 to nothing lead. And then I re-injured my knee. Just like on a, I was rolling to the sideline.

I threw my knee buckle. Something happened. You know, when you're already compromised, it's like, the weirdest stuff happens that can make re-end or something. And you already kind of fall to the ground in a way. You're just like, hey, R.G. I mean, exactly. Fall to the ground gracefully.

I'm sure all of Rescue Nation is like, when they hear this, you're going to be like, oh, man, I knew he shouldn't have went back in. Yeah, I should. Yeah, I mean, if I could go back and do it again, yeah, I wouldn't have gone back into the playoff game. But hindsight's 2020, right? For sure. I'm like watching this documentary.

you know, about, you know, Lance Armstrong, right? And he's, yeah, I wouldn't do anything different. I'm like, bro, come on. Yeah, like, couldn't you anything different? Like, anything? So, yeah, I mean, I think to be, to being honest with yourself, and I think that's a big part of it, like, you learn that over the course of your career. You just got to be honest with yourself.

I wouldn't have gone back into that playoff game, but you don't know what you don't know at that time. Yeah. If I hadn't gone back in then, maybe I would have. maybe I'd still be in Washington. I don't know. If I hadn't come back from the injury in 2013 prematurely, maybe I'd still be in Washington. But I don't hold on to those things anymore

because it's all part of the journey. And now I can take that experience and give it to other guys. But that's why I think our chemistry was off. There was a ton of turmoil between that. Mike was being torn apart in the media. I tried to come to his defense, but no one was listening at that time. They just felt like he should have taken the responsibility and taken me out of the game. And as you know, it's not like, you know, that team was like the most organized team of the time.

I try to say that with the utmost respect. You know what I'm saying? Like, I'm not out here to try to tear anybody down or tear anybody down. other organizations down. I'm just trying to do the best I can do right now for Baltimore ratings. So that turmoil affected our whole locker room. And now guys are having to answer questions every single day about what's going on with RG, what's going on with Mike, what's going on with the doctor, what's going on with his knees? He's going to be ready for the season. Is this going to happen? Oh, what if he gets hurt next year? Are you going to pull him out of the

game? And it was just like, it was from that standpoint. of it to where you didn't know what the right answer was. Well, Washington media is crazy, too. Hey, am I going to come back and be ready for week one? Yeah, I mean, why wouldn't I? Why wouldn't I want to do that? And then it just became this whole thing of, well, why would he come back for week one? And why would he do this and why would he do that?

And I think that really affected our team. You know, it became, for lack of better, a better explanation, it became all about me. and I think that really affected the locker room to the standpoint of, you know, what the hell is going on. So I learned that. And don't get me wrong, I made mistakes in my time in Washington, you know, going back into that play off game and fighting to play so, so hard was one of them. Did you, did you, did you, was it like the competitive pride to want to go back in and play?

Without a doubt, you know. Yeah, that's what I'm saying. I'm in here. It's like, I know, I know, I know. It didn't matter.

It can be London Fletcher. You'd be like, I'm the best linebacker. They need me. Yeah. That's just our nature, right?

Our nature is to want to play. So when you get hurt, you know, some of us like to think of ourselves as gladiators, as superheroes. You have one or two responses. The one response is,

all right, I'm done. I'm not going to play anymore. And, you know, from myself, I think that's the selfish response. The other response is, I got to be out there with my brothers. I have to put it all on the line. And I don't think that's a selfish response. It is up to other people to try to pull you out of that.

But you should always want to play, right? I think that's in our DNA. You always want to play. Your light could be falling off and you're like, tape it up. I can go. Yeah. And if you can't. You know, it's their job to tell you, no, not, not. Sit out. You're not going to do that right now.

So I think that really affected our team in 13. And then obviously 14, we got a new coach. And like I said, all that stuff I'll definitely write about someday. But, shout out the new book, RG, baby. I'll write about that stuff another day. But I think it was just, it was, it was tough to go from. Yeah, I mean, I think anybody would say it was tough to go from being the face of that franchise, face of the league, to by a little, I mean, three years later, 2015, I didn't play a snap. Right. I remember, I was, you know, I was playing scout team safety. I know, dude.

I know. You go from that to that and you're like, okay, how did this happen? you go from helping the team win the division for the first time in 12 years. I think 1999 was the last time they won the division. And you go to the playoffs for the first time in a while. And then three years later, you're like, damn, they didn't even give me time to develop or time to overcome these injuries. Because that was a big part of it for me, too, was the injuries.

I tore my ACL, I broke my ankle. And then there was the phantom made-up concussion in 2015. in the preseason. But let me not go there. It's just, that was part of the story. 100% it was part of the story. And I just look at it. I'm like, man, like Matthew Stafford got hurt

his first two, three years in the league and they stuck with him and gave him an opportunity. I didn't get that luxury. And in 2017, I let that go. That's why I can talk about it freely now. There's no animosity. It's like, this is what happened. And now I'm moving forward.

So what I'm praying for is that I get a chance to play for the next 10 years because quarterbacks, we can play for day and there forever. So I'm 30. I'd love to play into my 40s, but I want to play for another 10 years at least. And now I'm praying that and through the work ethic and the hard work that now I'll be blessed with the luxury of getting that time, staying healthy for the remainder of my career and playing at a high level. So for me, I've been healthy for the past.

three years and I think that'll continue. I just need an opportunity and the Ravens have given me one right now in this capacity and I'm going to make the most of it so that when I do get my opportunity to be a starter again, I'm ready. Yeah, I mean, and the thing too that, you know, I hope people understand how much fun you have that you've been having doing and making this kind of like comeback. You know what I mean? Like it's a cool story.

Like you hate that it happened. Right. Now, without going into much detail on the other side of the fence, that'll probably be in your book, if you could talk to, if you could talk to young R.G. during those first few years, what kinds of things would you tell yourself that you could have, that you could have probably went about, not things, but maybe, uh, maybe playbook wise, maybe learning wise. Like, what advice would you have given your young self back then? If you could go back and be like, and grab yourself by the head and be, hey, make this decision or don't write it like this,

or maybe it's reading media stuff. I don't know what it is, but speak on yourself a little bit about some things that you might change. You know, this has always been a tough thing for me because I have I've had this question before and I've answered it. The tough part is that like you know me, there was some some storylines that were just not true. For sure. Well, there were some media reports that just weren't true, whether it was about the locker room, about myself and my study habits or whatever it may be. Anyone who's ever been a teammate in mine knows that those things weren't true. So I'm like, okay, what would I have told myself? One of the mistakes I really felt like I made was I used to talk after Mike in the media. It was just the way the rest ofans

had it set up, right? Mike would talk and then I would talk. And I felt like sometimes I was too anti what was being said, if that makes sense. If it was, hey, are you going to come back and be ready week one? They would ask Mike that. And Mike would say, you know, we're going to be cautious. We're going to, you know, take our time. We're not sure if he's going to be ready. The doctors will make that decision.

And then I would come afterwards and they would ask me, are you going to be ready for week one? And I'm like, there's no doubt I'm going to be ready for week one. And I'm going to be. And I felt like in those instances, I put him in a tough situation because he was saying things. And then I would come back behind him. And I wasn't contradicting it.

But I was more like, I was way more aggressive in that approach. And that was my personality. And I felt like sometimes I could have just said, hey, you know, talk to coach, talk to the doctors. I'm going to do everything I can, but they're going to make the final decision or whatever it may be. Right. And I did say they're going to make the final decision, but I just said it way more aggressively, you know. Right, right. Personality is, hey, RG, you think you could go make the Olympic team right now in the 400 hurdles?

Yes. If I go train, yes, I can do it. I don't know. I'm 220 pounds. I don't know if I could make the Olympic team in the 400 hurdles. I love those guys. Those guys are incredible. I mean, I'm not going to go train for two weeks and be like, yep, I can do it.

But if you asked me to do it, I try. You know? So I feel like I could have done a better job, a better job with that. But there was a lot of things that were being said that just rubbed me the wrong way because I knew they weren't true. and that is where I would say I could have ignored it better, you know? Yeah. I mean, dude, it is hard, especially in Washington.

Put it in context like, you're in the nation's capital. You're right. Barack Obama's the president and you got a black quarterback. Who, scrutiny is at an all-time high, okay? Right. That was the part where I felt like, you know, just ignore the noise. Ignore the noise.

Don't let it affect anything. Don't make it change you. You know what I'm saying? Yeah. And I think by the time, you probably attested this, by the time I left Washington, I was not having fun anymore.

Right. You would try to force it in practice like on the peace squad stuff, but I mean, yeah, for sure. You're trying to make the most of it. I never showed that to you guys, but you, Niles, D.Y., like, we were close. They knew I wasn't having fun.

But I did my job. I was a good teammate. In 2015, I was not a cancer on that team. We won the division. And I didn't play a snap of football, right? I did what I was supposed to do. They asked me to play scout team safety. I played out to practice.

I got my work and worked on my craft. and um but every people who knew me knew i wasn't having fun but i never showed that in the building i showed up to meetings i was i was into it i was helpful i helped uh you know kirk do do do all the studying and and the recognition on the field whatever it may be that you're supposed to do i did those things i'm not asking for a pat on the back for him it's just that's what happened and what i'm doing now in baltimore and that year off of football helped reset me helped me helped me have fun again. When I came back in 2018, I played in the preseason. Like, I'm a, I'm a, you know, second overall pick. I'm not a guy that, like, was living for the preseason. You know what I'm

saying? Yeah. Well, guess what? That was my situation. I was the fourth quarterback on the roster. You know, I had to accept that. Like, damn, I'm the fourth quarterback on the roster. I was getting two reps a day in practice for the majority of training camp. I'm like, all right, you know, I'm not getting a lot of reps. I'll stay at the practice, I'll do this, but I know that I can ball. And I went out that preseason, and I played my ass off. And I think that's why I made the team. I think that's why they brought me back for the two-year deal

because they understand that I'm always going to be ready. And that year out of football in 2017 really helped me reset my brain, really start having fun playing the game again. And I think that's a big reason why I was able to come back in the way they'll have. You think being out of football, being out of football for a year, was a huge play for you to actually get in the right headspace to come back again? Correct. I was going to ask, I was going to ask if that was your lowest year mentally.

But what was your lowest point throughout the process of transitioning out of Washington and then rekindling it all on the Baltimore Ravens? Because I want to know about your perseverance in that adversity of being like, you know, low-key, I might be your plan. You know what I mean? Yeah, yeah. to say that, you know, football's a team game. So it's hard to say, hey, 2015 was my, was my lowest year. It was it because we were winning. And we weren't winning a ton. As you know, we were, I think we were nine and seven or.

Yeah, we won. We had that. We won a division, but the division was down that year. NFC. Least. That scene was like chaotic also, though, if you remember. Yeah. I don't know if you remember when we played Philly. I think it was Philly. I think it was Philly and, like, At Philly? He took a knee instead of killing the clock. Yeah, yeah, yeah. When that was the game, we won the division.

Yeah, we won the division that game, but he took a knee at halftime instead of killing the clock for us to kick a field goal. And I'll never forget. Like, I'm on the side of him like, what just happened? And we're like walking in, and we walk in the locker room. And I mean, I'm pretty sure somebody's already told this story before. But, like, Pierre is, like, about to whip Jay's ass.

And Deshawn is about to whip Jay's ass. and like Deshawn passes out in the locker room. And I'm like, whoa, what is going on? And then we've had out and won the game. Yes. All right. Well, we just won the division. I don't know how it happened.

I don't know what was going on a half time, but we won the division. Yeah. So I can't say that because I was, you know, any guys going to want to play, right? But for my team and the guys that I was there with, I was really happy for them in that moment. 2016 was tough because I got hurt right away. I came out in the preseason in Cleveland and we were killing it. I had Josh Gordon there and we were doing really well.

And we went to Philly and I broke my shoulder right away. That was a tough year. We lost every game until I came back on Christmas Day and we beat the Chargers. So I'm thinking in my head, all right, you know, I was injured. It came back. I helped him win a game. I'll be back next year. I'll get one more go at it.

They're probably going to draft a rookie high, and I'll have one more go out of here, and we'll go about our ways. And they told me, we're bringing you back, and then they released me. It's, God, I hate that part of the business, bro.

I hate that part of the business, but it's, you know, you want to say, just be honest, right? Don't lie to me. And, I mean, it was, like, within, like, 16 hours. I got a call. Oh.

I got a call. We're bringing you back. don't worry about any of this stuff. I think it was when they traded for Brock Osweiler. So I'm like, okay, I'll compete with Brock. You know, I used to kick his ass in training when we were coming out for the draft. So let's go.

Yeah, no doubt. We're not, we're going to try to trade him and get rid of him. Don't worry about that. We're bringing you back. We're rolling with you. We might draft a guy. But, you know, you're going to get a shot. I'm like, okay, cool.

16 hours later, I got the call that I was doing. Oh. What's going on? So now that's transitioning. from that happened in 2017 so now I'm thinking okay they let me go I'm going to get another opportunity yeah I might not get paid as much money but I'm going to get an opportunity to go and compete to be a starter and I got an offer from the Cardinals to come in with Bruce Ariens and he had just brought in like Blaine Gabbard or something and I remember like for like the

past couple of years I believe it was And who was the backup for the Browns last year? Last year? He was real good drinking buddies with Bruce Aaron and with the Cardinals. Yeah. Hey, that's hilarious. Was it Stanton? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Is it Drew Stanton? Drew Stanton. Yeah, so Drew Stanton was the backup. And I think Carson was still playing at that time. Yeah. I'm like, in my head, I'm talking. talking to my agent at a time, I'm like, yeah, you know, Drew has come in and not played well, but Bruce really likes him. He's good for the room. He's good for Carson. And they just,

they just signed or brought in Blancabber. So why would I go there? I'm going to be the fourth guy, odd man out. And he said, yeah, but, you know, and the contract they offered me, I'm like, okay, I can't take that contract. That's just a bad deal. So I turned it down. He said, if you turn this down, I don't know if you're going to get an opportunity to play until training camp. So I turned it down, didn't get an opportunity, didn't get another call until training camp. And then I had to try it with the charges,

and I did really well, killed the workout, so much that they use it as leverage to trade for Cardell Jones. Yeah, so they traded for Cardell Jones because they were pressure in the bills. They're pressuring the bills with me saying, look, if you don't trade them to us for whatever pick, six-round pick,

then we're just going to sign RG3. So they trade it for him. and I got a call from the Baltimore Ravens in 2017 when Joe Flacko hurt his back. And they said, we want you to come in. We're going to play the Redskins. But we want you to start the game because they were trying to hide Ryan Mallet

because they didn't know if Joe was going to be healthy. So they didn't want Mallet to get hurt playing against the Redskins. I said, all right, man. Like, why wouldn't I want to play against the Redskins, right? What, hell yeah, let's go. I would love that. I said, okay, look, I'll come in. I'm ready to go.

Like, I've been training. I'm all for it. But I need you to give me some type of assurance that I'm not going to come in for two weeks and be released. Because I don't know if everyone knows this, but with quarterbacks, when you go that route, there's no coming back from that. Football is back, boys. Two and O, the boys are two and O. Sundays are back But also, don't just stick to watching the boys on Sundays.

Get that NFL Sunday ticket, watch every game out of market When you can catch all of those boys. Catch it all on NFL sundayticket.tv. Good news, DirecTV has expanded the service. So if you live in an apartment or a big city where DirecTV is not available, you can now get NFL Sunday ticket without a satellite. To see if you're eligible, go online to NFL Sundayticket. TV and stream every NFL Sunday ticket game this season to follow your favorite team no matter

where you live. Hopefully you're cheering on the boys. If you're not cheering on the boys, I hope you're selling out for the boys in your city. You can also stream from all your favorite devices. Xbox 1, PlayStation 4, Apple TV, Roku, Samsung, smart TVs, Chromecast, laptops, smartphones, all of it, dude. The website, NFL Sundayticket.tv. Use promo code bus and 20 at checkout to say 15%.

There are also some nice little goodies in there for exclusive student discounts. So if you're a student living in a dorm, go check them out, NFL sundayticket.tv now. You don't go somewhere for two weeks in training camp, get cut, and then all of a sudden have a 10-year career after that. Usually that happens and you transition to some other style of life and your career is over. And I felt like I couldn't risk that. And at that time, Baltimore wasn't willing to give me any type of a shirt. that, you know, whether it be financially or verbally that you're going to be here, we're not going to do that to you.

Right. So I turned it down. And when I turned that down, then I got a bunch of calls throughout the year, but nothing really materialized to the point of a contract offer. And I sat out the whole year. So I was ready the whole football season. I was throwing watching. And you could have actually took in the chance to go do that,

and you just chose to turn it down. I chose to turn it down on multiple occasions because I felt like it just wasn't the right move. Correct. For sure. This is chess. It's not checkers. You know what I'm saying? Like you don't just take an opportunity because it's there. You take the right opportunity. And I honestly felt in my heart that I made the wrong choice by going to Cleveland. And I was making a checkers move instead of a chess move.

So I wasn't going to make that mistake again. And it cost me a year in my football career. Now, during that year, I got to like settle my whole life. Like, what am I going to to do with or without football. I got to watch my daughter grow up. I got to spend more time with my family. Have the weekends. And they were out there every single day with me. And my wife was telling me, I'm out of the track. I'm in Miami. I was in Florida at the time. I'm out of the track in Miami. And I'm running 300 hurdles, okay? Because I was like, you know what? This is what got me here. Why not go back to some of this style of training so I can get my speed and and trust and all this other things back.

I'm running through inner hurdles and I'm dying, Com. I'm dying. I mean, 300 meters without hurdles is tough. Hurting. And like, I get to, I have five reps of it, and I get to the fourth rep. I finish it. And I'm like, you know, I'm like dead leg walking. You know, like knees aren't straight.

Knees are bent. No flexion in the calves because I'm just, I'm toast. And she says to me, she says, baby, you don't have to do it. you don't have to do this like you're financially secure you don't have to play another down in your life I don't want to see you get hurt going out there and playing

and I said no I said I have five I'm going to do five right I didn't even address the other stuff I'm just like I said I have five I'm going to do five and I did number five and when I tell you I couldn't feel my legs afterwards it was like the worst moment of all time

you ever get so tired that like someone tries to like touch your leg or stretch you and you like yell at them like that's how how tired I was she's where you start like you start like you're so exhausted you start peeing a little bit and you just don't even really feel it like you're just so dude that exhausted I tell I said she's like come here let me I'm like no don't touch me let me go and I was I was I was toast and I'm like you know what you're right I am financially secure I don't have to play anymore but something is keeping me going. Something is telling me that this is what you're called to do. This is, this is where you're supposed to be. So that happened actually pretty early in the season. So I'm coming, I'm going out

the whole year and I'm throwing footballs at palm trees and I'm at UCF in the spring, throwing footballs to some of their wide receivers. And I get a call from my agent and he says, I think I got a couple workouts lined up for you. Um, He's like, the Ravens want to bring you in. They have a couple receivers coming in for you and you're going to throw. I'm like, all right. Cool. Like, you want me to work out, bro?

That's not a problem. Go to the workout. It's Willie Sneed and Michael Floyd. And when I tell you not a ball hit the ground, not a ball hit the ground, it was like we had been practicing for like 10 years together. It was just like a match made in heaven. And they tell us after the workout, they're like, hey, we're going to, we want to sign you. Willie and Michael Floyd.

So Willie signed first. I went to another workout a couple days later with the Jacksonville Jaguars. And I killed that workout as well. It was me. Honestly, I can't remember who the other guys were. But Austin Davis, who now coaches for Seattle, he was one of the guys at that workout.

And we're killing the workout. And Austin's like, man, you look good, man. I wish they wouldn't have paired me with you to come to this workout because the visual difference, You know, the visual difference is like too. And I'm like laughing about it. I'm like, hey, man, you know, he looks good too. You did your thing.

Just tapping my, you didn't. You know, like, hey, come on, man. Don't, don't be it. I got a call a couple days later from the Ravens offering a contract. And it wasn't the contract that I wanted, right? It was a bad deal for me and my point in my career. And I'm like, you know what? But at the end of the day, if I'm going to bet on anybody,

I got to bet on myself. So I bet on myself, took the deal. was a fourth quarterback on the roster behind Joe Flacco, Lamar got drafted a couple weeks later. We had Josh Woodrum, who was the third quarterback, who had like a really great preseason the year before, and there was me. And I had to fight through a lot.

The cool story about that year in 2018 was we played the Dolphins in the third preseason game, and coach told me at the beginning of the week, you're not playing this week. So I'm like, you know, comp, like, now I'm in the situation. I'm like, am I going to make the team? I know, man. What are they doing here? Like, I'm like, this is what I was fearing.

Like, I didn't want to come back and be put in a situation like that because it's not good. Perception-wise for my career. But I'm like, all right, you know, maybe it means I'm going to make the team. And they don't need me to play in this game because I've already solidified it, right? Going through all these things, dude. You went through all these scenarios in your head. I had already solidified. that I started in the Hall of Fame game played well.

I played in the next game against the Colts played well. So I'm like, all right, I've done my thing. There's nowhere they're going to let me go. So like after, I didn't practice at all that week, no reps at all. After practice every day, I'm going through the script and I'm thrown. I'm like, okay, I'm going to stay ready just in case, right? Just in case something happens. It's not like he said, hey, R.G., you're not dressing this week.

He just said, yeah, you're not, you're probably not going to play this week. Yeah. And I started that game. Hey, way to stay ready, though. That's what guys don't understand. You have to because when your opportunity comes, you don't know. So I stayed ready. I ran through the script.

I was throwing. I was doing all these things. And the night before the game, he tells me, hey, we're going to sit the starters. So there's a chance that you're going to play. And I'm like, no worries, coach. I've been staying ready. I'll be good. Day of the game.

I get a text message. Hey, R.G., you're starting tonight. Now, this is me starting without the starting left tackle, without Marshall Yonda, without the two starting receivers, who at the time were Michael Crabtree and John Brown, Smoky, and going against the Miami Dolphins number one defense, Cameron Wake, all these guys, you know, just heat-seeking missiles off the edge. Right. And we went out and we moved the ball up and down the field on them.

And I played great. And that's why I didn't even have to. We had the Redskins the next week. And everybody's like, oh, man, RG is going to play against the Redskins in the preseason, yada, yada, yeah. And coach didn't even play me in that game because I was ready to go against the Dolphins. So it was a testament. And like for the rest of that year, everybody just kept saying, hey, RG, you ready? Yeah, we know you ready.

And it was just a thing with the locker room because they knew like, how's this guy going to go all week with no reps, start the game, play well, make the team. and have this comeback story start. First time, Baltimore had kept three quarterbacks, I think, in like nine years. It was truly special. So the lowest point for me was probably also the highest point, which was in 2017, because you can never complain about spending time with your family. For sure. You know, getting to watch your kids grow.

and if I had stayed home and been out of football that whole year and then lost the passion for the game and just was like, man, I don't want to do it. You know, I'm going to go do this. I'm going to go do that. I'm going to go do this. I wouldn't be playing right now. I didn't lose it. It made the fire inside of me grow even more. And it taught me a lot about myself. I just think this is what God's called me to do. He didn't come going to be a backup quarterback. But right now,

I'm being honest with it. Right now, that's my role. And I'm going to be the best at that role. And I think if you ask anybody in the Ravens organization, they'll tell you, you know, I show up to work every single day to go out there and kick ass. I'm not here to play games because I understand how valuable it is. And I understood it in Washington. I understood it in Cleveland.

But now having all those experiences in my belt, I understand how, valuable this time is and how much you have to make the most of it. For sure. That's, you know, I love hearing that, dude. And you said it, you said it earlier, like, I learned a lot about myself, like that moment where you prepared that week, not knowing if you're going to start, because that's how a lot of stuff happens for guys. Like, your opportunity comes just out of nowhere. And if you fail at that opportunity, you know how the, you know how guys are. It's like, yeah, but everybody has every reason in the book to say why you failed. But that, that is the majority of just really life.

Life and definitely in the NFL. It's like being ready for all these opportunities and that's what's going to happen for you. Like for me, I would have never gotten my shot had Kenan Robinson not Torres Peck the first practice of training camp. I was fourth on the depth chart. Another undrafted guy ahead of me, Jeremy Kimbrough, and he had hurt his hamstring right before the first preseason game.

So I got a shot to play with the twos. Yeah. And then people come up to me like, I remember Shanahan like, oh, I should call. call you Mr. Interception because I think I got I picked on off from like you and Kirk one day in practice. Yeah. And you just start getting noticed and you're just like you stick to like what you were doing. Even when you have every reason to like doubt yourself, doubt the experience and be like, I don't care if I'm done after this. You know what I'm saying? Yeah, I know exactly what you're saying. I'm going to go ahead and say that you probably didn't pick me off, but it's okay. You can tell me.

Hey, I'm going to say, man. Hey, now I'm going to have to find that film. I'm going to hit up. I'm going to hit up big mic. Hey, big Mike. You're making their videos. Yeah, but no, you, you, you came in and it was, it was just like, man, like these opportunities, it's not, I wouldn't, I don't want to say fell into your lap because you definitely earned them. But whenever you have a guy go down in front of you, you're not like, you're not praying for that. You're not, you know, making that happen. It just happens. And when you step in there, you bawled out, you know.

Like, after a couple of weeks in training camp and really after the first, uh, pre-stance, season game. Most of us knew you were going to make the team. Not me. I'm scared. I'm scared a little boy. It's like, oh. It was just a matter of, okay, well, he's undrafted, and they liked this guy, and maybe they paid this guy a little more money. For sure. What were they going to do with that guy? It wasn't an issue of, did you make enough plays? You made enough plays. And, you know, that group, you, you, Niles, D.Y, and those guys were always like, like that, you know what I'm saying? I know. I know. Yeah. It was really cool to see that, but the guys have to understand that your opportunity

is going to come when you least expect it and see that opportunity. You know, like you said, the guys will have excuses. I could have had the excuse. I could have said, well, coach, you didn't give me any reps. Right. If you would have every excuse in the book and every reason to say, you can say excuse, but every reason to say this is why I didn't play well. But the reason it kept me was because.

in a regular season game when you're used to being a starter, it's really hard to be a backup. It's really hard to be a backup. And I'm not saying, like, I'm too good for this. I'm too good for that. No, man, look, this is where I'm at.

I'm making the most of it. But this is where I want to be. You weren't the fourth guy on the depth chart saying, you know what? I'm the fourth guy on the debt chart. Yeah. You were saying, I'm saying, I'm better than that guy. I'm better than that guy.

I'm going to go show it. I'm going to show it every single day. And when my opportunity comes, I'm going to make the most of it. So they got to see me with no reps all week, go out and perform at a high level. That's exactly what every backup QB in the league has to do. No reps all week and then go out and play at a high level

if your number is called. So I think that gave them the confidence and obviously what I've done in the past in Washington and in Cleveland. For sure. Also gave them that confidence. But it's just, I can't stress it enough. You have to be ready.

And I'll tell you this comp, that is what drove me. That is what drove me in 15 when I didn't play a down. That's what drove me in 16 when I broke my shoulder. It's what drove me in 17 when I was out of ball. The only difference for me was I let go of D.C. I let it go. I hadn't let it go yet. I hadn't let it go until 2017 when I was out.

And I didn't understand how much of a burden that was for me. you know yes i'm like it was not fair i didn't i didn't get this opportunity me and you had the conversation after that conversation i was like like i can't keep having this conversation i can't keep having this conversation like and just like continue to hold on to that and it's and it you know it's going to sound cliche but it set me free it set me free to let that go to say it happened you'll Learn from it. It happened. Now what? What do you want to do? And I did not want to be the guy that wasn't ready. So if I never played another down of football after 16, after 16 and I was out all of 17, if I had never played another down, I looked my wife in the face and I said, it's not going to be because of me. Right. It's not going to be because I wasn't ready. It's not going to be because they offered me a contract. And the ones that I turned down last year, I wasn't going to accept.

this year. I accepted the offer. I'm like, I hate it. It's a bad offer. But guess what? I'm going to go play football. Yeah. And then Lamar Jackson two weeks later.

Lamar got drafted two weeks later. I'm like, mother. I know, dude. Are they going to? I'm, you know how it goes. Last guy in, first guy out.

So I'm thinking to myself, all right. Well, shoot, I just got signed. I was the third one I got signed. Now they draft Lamar. I'm the fourth. are they going to keep me here? And I think the relation, obviously, the obvious thing is that we're both African-American

quarterbacks, both Heisman trophy winners, and both dual-threat quarterbacks. I think that value is what saved me. And my reaction, too. If I'd have had a bad reaction to it, then I probably wouldn't have been in Baltimore. But my reaction and willing to be a mentor to him, I think is what kept me in 2018. team and then obviously my play. Help me make the team and all the other things. Everything else is.

How is your relationship with Lamar? Obviously good, but talk a little bit of Lamar and the steps he kind of made year one and year two. We'll get into your playoff loss in a second. I know, but talk about Lamar a little bit, man. Yeah, I would say that, you know, I wasn't sure. I didn't know, I didn't know much about LJ when he came in. So I wasn't sure, you know, how that was going to be.

You know, I'm a guy that I'm always competing, you know. Right. It's just my nature. It's how I'm, how I'm wired. I'm not wired to be, you know, a backup. It's just that's how, that's why teams were reluctant to sign me in 17 because they didn't want me to come in and they, and challenge the starter to the level that they knew I would challenge him.

Right. But with Lamar, I saw that more as an opportunity to really work on myself, if that makes sense. Give him the guidance that I didn't have when I came in. You know, no offense to the guys that I had when I came in, but I had Rex Grossman and Kirk Cousins. Two guys that don't play ball like I play ball. Two guys that don't look like me. Two guys who haven't done it the way that I've done it. and it was it was less guidance and more just going out there and competing every single day.

Right, because one of them, one of them was in your draft, like Kirk was in your draft class. Like for sure you had a different setup. Yeah, Kirk was in my draft class. And then Rex was, you know, the gunslinger who had been to the playoffs with the Bears and was kind of, you know, in the tail into his career and bounced around a little bit with Shannon. Having fun. Just having fun. And, you know, you know, no look passes. Yeah, no look passes.

Like, Rex was, don't get me wrong. Rex was awesome. Like, I enjoyed the time. But it wasn't like I had a quarterback to mentor me in the ways that Lamar has had with me over the past couple years. So I wanted to be that for him. I let him know early on, like, look, man, I'm here for you. If you got any questions you can ask me.

I constantly talk to him. but I'm also here to whip your ass. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Like, hey, I want that spot. I want that spot, but I'm here to help you. And our relationship in year two, I believe was better than year one. Our relationship in year one wasn't bad. I think our relationship in year one was good.

He came to me, talked to me. We talked about different things. I mentored him on certain things. But our relationship last year was light years ahead. because I felt like a lot in year one I was having to go to him and say, hey, this, that, and the other. And in year two, he was coming to me. He was, he was more actively trying to learn and ask me questions about certain things because he constantly reminds me of this. He says, hey, man, I ain't forgot. You are G3. And it makes me laugh because I'm like, yo, am I really that old?

Like, am I that old that he sees me that way? And, you know, he does see me that way. He sees me as RG3. And I think in year two, he started to see me as a brother. You know what I'm saying? Yeah. And that's what I want for him. Like I told him the other day, I want our Zoom meetings.

I said, look, man, this has been awesome to be a part of this with you. To watch you blossom from year one and year two and go win the MVP and put up the numbers that you put up from all the hard work that you've done. And I let him know, like, bro, that is you. You know, that's not me. That's not the quarterback coach or the offensive coordinator or anyone else. That is you. Now, everyone has a part in it, correct?

For sure. That is what you've done. And I told him it's been fun to be a part of that. You know, and I hit him with the classic, I don't plan on being the backup for forever, but it's been fun. And he laughs and then he comes back and he says the thing that, like means the most to me, you know, like, he's like, look, man, it's not just me. I, I needed you, you guys to get it done. And I want you to know that this is us. And I'm like, that means a lot,

right? You know, I can always, I was, I was talking to a guy in the building about it. I said, look, I want to win a Super Bowl and I want to be the starting quarterback. But if there's ever a place that I want to win a Super Bowl and I have to be a backup, it'd be. Baltimore. You know what I mean? I don't think any access to themselves. I just want to win a Super Bowl. I don't care how I get it done. It's a special moment no matter what. But I feel like the bond I have here in Baltimore with the team, with the organization, with the starting quarterback, makes it that much more special. You know what I'm saying? Oh, yeah. It's been a great relationship, man. And I never in a million years thought from 2012 to 2020 that I'd ever be in this position.

right? You know what I mean? But now that I'm in this position currently, I don't think there'd be a better situation for me to be in where I'm at. You know, we had a hell of a ride last year, and I know you want to get to the playoff loss, so I'll help you segue there. That'll be my last question.

We had a hell of a year, and I think I played more than any backup quarterback that didn't have an injury to the starter. right you know we were blowing teams out that's what I'm saying it's like a high school it's like the back of a high school t-shirt dude where it's like you just got on the blow I'm like I'm you know I'm sitting there and I'm like okay you know helping coach pick out plays and calls and what we're giving them ideas should I say because you know I'm not I'm not the play caller and they do a hell of a job but you know giving them ideas from what I see at a and they're like hey you're in next drive

I'm like what I'm like okay let's go you all just been chilling hey Somebody warmed me up. I mean, the craziest thing was, like, the Miami game, first game of the year. We're blowing them out, right? They played a bunch of cover zero, and we killed it. And I, like, go in. I didn't even travel with the team that game because my wife had just had our baby, Gammaia.

So I travel on a Southwest flight to get to the game after the team had already departed and landed. So I'm on the Southwest flight with all the Ravens fans. And they're like, what are you doing here? what are you doing? I'm like, well, you know, I missed a flight. I had to, you know, I didn't have to, but coach let me be there for the birth of my kid. Literally, you know, less than 12 hours later, I'm playing on the field. I go six for six for 60-some-odd yards, throw a touchdown, and dedicate the touchdown to my wife and the newborn baby. So it was like, it was just a, it was a crazy whirlwind, man, and it was a lot of fun. Now, when we got to the playoff game

and how that all unfolded, folded, one of the most heartbreaking moments ever. 2020 has been a whirlwind of emotions. It's been nuts, some would say. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't disregard your own beautiful little nuts. Manscaped is on a mission to take care of your twins with their below-the-belt, waist grooming, and hygiene products. And for those listening in the UK candidate in Australia, which we do have those listeners. And shout out you awesome motherfuckers. They just released their products to you guys as well.

They also just released a crop care kit, which is a. formulation bundle to give you a plus balls and is the ultimate male hygiene hack your boy now i am a semi monthly little uh little boy shaver little boy trimmer i like to go in there with my little uh lawnmower 5.0 or a lawnmore 3.0 my fault and take care of the little beautiful boys a couple times a month now um the crop care kit includes the crop preserver ball deodorant the name speaks for itself obviously it smells phenomenal The Crop Reviver ball toner, a spray on toner that will give your balls a little slice of heaven with their aloe vera and hazel extracts. Crop cleanser, body wash, a full body wash that you can also use on your hair. I know the boys love two and ones.

We like anyway to be a little more efficient. The crop mop ball wipes. You never know when an opportunity strikes, and you should always be prepared to wipe and clean those little boys when you're on the go. The foot duster, foot deodorant, that's a free gift. designed to keep the stanky feet smelling fresh. The lawn more 3.0 Trimmer offers a replaceable ceramic blade with advanced

skin safe technology which helps reduce grooming accidents. Very minimal to no blood at all. The waterproof technology also allows you to groom in the shower for up to 90 minutes. It's the best trimmer on the planet boys for your butt, your balls, your

body, whatever you want to do. These formulations are all vegan, cruelty free, die free, sulfate free, and paraben free so you know your manhood is in good little palms. You're probably playing with your balls right now, so you might as well invest in the crop care kit to make it elite. Get 20% off in free shipping at manscape.com with the code Busson. If you care for those beautiful little balls of yours,

all you have to do is go to their site, hit a few buttons on your phone, and you will change your life for the better. That's 20% off and free shipping at manscape.com with code Bustin. Add some swag to them. saggy little boys done there. Bro, y'all were like the squad, dude.

We were America. Like defense? Offense? Not going to lie. We were on a role offensively and defensively. And, you know, it was a sad scene on the sideline. Very sad scene. You feel like it was a bye week? I think it was a,

I don't want to say that. I know. I know it's so hard because, Because when you get to that spot, you want the by week for your body. Yeah. But then when you say like you guys lost, like hindsight, it's like, was our momentum gone from having a buy week? You know what I'm saying? Honest, you know, I don't know.

I don't know. Because I know coaches wrestled with this a bunch because we, they, we wrested the starters the last week of the season. That's true. That's right. I forgot about that. We had for, so for the, I wouldn't say the majority of the guys, but for, you know, seven, eight, nine guys, they had two by weeks.

And I don't know if our momentum was gone. I just think that, you know, it's going to sound real clicheish. But when things are supposed to happen for you, they happen for you, right? You know, the way I look at it from Washington, Washington wasn't meant to be at that time. So I had to go on a journey to get somewhere else. And then from Baltimore, I had to go on a journey to get somewhere else. Yeah.

Saying all that, man, it was tough. Bro, I know, man. It was tough, bro. It was, it was, I'm like on the sideline, like, trying to reverse time or something. You know what I mean? Like, it was a bunch of dominoes too, right? We had like a, we had a turnover. Then we had a turnover on downs.

And like when you look up, it's like 21 and nothing. And you're a run-based team, right? And you're down 21 to nothing. And it might be still first or second quarter, but people are already thinking there's no way we can come back from this. And I'm not saying the players are thinking that because, you know, that's a different breed in how we think. Right, right, right. It was tough, man. Like, I don't know how to describe it.

I don't know how it happened other than the fact that they punched us in the mouth and they kept punching us in the mouth. I mean, I don't. That Derek Cameron run, dude. Oh, my, I'm not going there, bro. He said, I'm going there. That's my teammate, right? I know, man. Oh, man, no doubt.

And I think any of the guys will tell you, you have to give credit with credits do. You know, they came into our house and they beat us. Yeah. They didn't just beat us. They beat us up. And I think that's why you saw some of the moves in the offseason that we made defensively. You know, you bring in Derek Wolf, you bring in Colette Campbell. You sign Marcus Peters through an extension.

You know, all these different things. You bring back Jimmy Smith, you know. Yeah. We have, you know, what did they say we need to help with, linebackers, whatever may be. You draft two young linebackers from two prestigious programs and guys that are ballers. You know what I mean? These guys are really good players. Right, right.

And offensively, you add more speed. You know, you create more mismatches. Obviously, you want Marshall back, right? If I'm playing GM, you want Marshall back. You offer Marshall 30 million to come back for one more years. He's a stuff, man, Hall of Famer, bro. No doubt. He's a Hall of Famer, heck of a player, but, you know, he took that 30 million and turned

it into, you know, 45 pounds and looks like a teenage boy now. I don't know what that's going on. But it's, I think our, you know, Eric DeCost has done an amazing job. You know, he's a guy that believed in me, brought me in when, you know, other teams wouldn't. So I trust the guy, I trust what they're doing. And they're building a team that will be able to. overcome some of the downfalls that we had in the playoffs.

And that's the only thing you can do. But I know those are your boys. So you're like, you're probably like, heck yeah. You know, my guys got them. LeWan, man, he was on one that game. He's on one every game. No, I know. I mean, I was surprised.

For sure. I was surprised, like, watching obviously because you go into that game, you know, the Raiders, we didn't go to the playoffs. So you're sitting back watching. And you're like, oh, they probably won't. make it pass the Ravens like them Ravens are like this team and then it was happening you're like holy shit man like you know these boys got a legit shot they beat new england they beat y'all it's like yo these boys got a legit shot yeah i was i would say that you could probably you know from my

perspective you could feel the tension on the field like everyone knew this is not supposed to be happening like this is this is our year you know big truss all that where everybody's saying it whoop-woo. And we weren't a team that was like hot and cold. You know what I mean? Oh, yeah. We were just, we were just a hot team and we were doing it in a bruising fashion. You know, sometimes you see teams that throw the ball a lot. They cool down a little bit in the place. You got better defenses. People know your scheme. Yada, yada, yada. But we were just, you know, bruising and, you know, high-flying big plays here and there. But really, the basis of what we did was running the rock.

And it was, it was, it was very weird. Let me put it that way. I didn't expect it. I won't say we weren't ready because we were ready, you know. Right. So this wasn't, you know, no NFL teams like this, and I don't want to, you know, make this guy sound bad. But it wasn't Buster Douglas beating Tyson.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Any NFL team can beat a team on any given Sunday. Right. Every team has talent. but we were like the, you know, the Tyson, the Holyfield, the Ali, we were that brand. And we just, we got hit in the face, man. Like, they just beat us. There's no other explanation.

That week of practice, I'm like, we're ready. We're going to go to the Super Bowl. I'm going to be blessed enough to put on that Super Bowl hat. And then we're going to win the damn Super Bowl. It's going to be everything. Yeah. It wasn't meant to be. It wasn't meant to be last year, but nobody's saying we can't do it.

this year and I think our guys are hungry so you know that's that but I love I love my team these guys are awesome it's what you see on TV from them is exactly who they are right mark ingram is hilarious big ball of energy and Justin Tucker is cringeworthy funny that's that's what he does you know that's awesome that's awesome well shoot man hey I appreciate you coming on bro we put in some time on this thing um appreciate you have I had a blast man you, I'm happy for you, bro. I feel like you're killing it. I want you to keep playing, obviously,

because I want us to, you know, ride this thing out as long as we possibly can. But, you know, what you're doing in your second career is incredible. And I'm happy for you, bro. I appreciate that, brother. When you come to Nashville, you're going to have to get on the bus with the boy, man. Why not?

We have to get, like, get D.Y in, maybe Niles. Oh, my gosh. We got to bring in. Just tell some stories, bro. got to bring in D.Y. Niles and then we got to get the guy who doesn't talk very much out for Morris to come in with us. Yes. Yes, dude. That would be awesome. All right, brother. Love you, man. I appreciate you. Play too, man. God bless. See you, bro.

Guys, gals, people of all ages, appreciate you so much for tuning in to another episode of Bustin' with the boys. If you haven't yet, please subscribe to the episode on Apple Podcast, Spotify, whatever platform you're on. We have a YouTube channel Bustin with the boys We would love if you subscribe there as well If you are subscribed And you want to be more for the boys Unsubscribe and resubscribe again It sounds funny and stupid and kind of obnoxious

But all of your subscriptions And resubscribing and stuff It helps in these little algorithm games For climbing charts because again We are very organic You guys where we're at is because of you guys So we like to keep it fucking organic and just from us

And us first of the world but we really do. We really appreciate your guys' support. A few of you had questions about merchandise. You can go. Our merchandise store is on barstoolsports.com. Go over to shop, and we are under the brand bustle with the boys. You can find all of our gear there.

We rest out constantly now. If you guys have any ideas, shout us out. If you guys buy the gear, shout us out. We really do love when you guys talk back to us, add us, mention us, put us on your stories, tag us, all that fun stuff. We like grabbing that stuff and putting in on our use. YouTube episodes. And again, we just love it, man.

We love you guys. We appreciate you so much. Keep being for the fucking boys. Keep being a wolf. The biggest of hugs and the tiniest of kisses. We love you. We appreciate you. Tune in next week for another episode of Bus with the Boys.

Hey, guys, it's us. The Jonas Brothers. I'm Joe. I'm Kevin. And I'm Nick. And guess what? We created our own podcast called, Hey, Jonas.

We invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to it. First people to do podcasts. We get to ask other people questions because we're sick and tired of being asked questions. Well, sick and tired is a strong way to put it, but, you know, tired and sick. Tired and sick. Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. Why are we all so obsessed with romance? On the Radio 831 podcast, join us, Sanjana Basker, and Tyler McCall. As we unpack all the trending tropes, fuzzy adaptations, book talk drama, and celebrity love stories with hot takes and sharp guests. Each episode digs into what these stories reveal about desire, fantasy, identity, and how we love now. Listen to the Radio 831 podcast on the IHeart Radio app,

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, it's Edwin Castro, also known as Castro 1021. And I'm Conky, his best friend and business manager. And we've got a new show called The 1021 Podcast. I'm taking you behind the scenes on how I became one of Twitch's most popular streamers. We also love sports. And with the World Cup right around the corner, we'll be breaking down the biggest storylines ahead of the big tournament here in the USA.

Listen to the 1021 podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.