Antonio Gibson: "We felt like this was the best place for me." | Patriots Press Conference

Intro hey Antonio thank you for doing this today no problem um two questions first of all what initially Drew you to New England and then secondly do you anticipate being the primary third down back for this team in What initially drew you to New England 2024 um I wouldn't say is necessarily you know what drew me but um you know a bunch of young guys uh new coaching staff um I got a chance to talk to a lot of the coaches and um I'm super excited uh to what they got planned and um how they plan on moving things forward but uh you know me and my agent talked it over had a lot of good talk and you know we felt like this was the uh best place for me and um they showed love they reciprocated it and you know I'm just ready to get things going also um I'm not going to you know stick myself to to just a third down back uh I want to compete um just the same as everybody else and you know I feel like that's only going to make the running back room better uh like I said I'm not here to step on anybody's toes but you know it's the end of the day we we have to compete and um I'm not just here to you know to to take the back seat so you know like we can we can we can do a lot of great things together um you know me and the running back room uh just adding on so you know I'll just leave that there but uh I'm I'm looking forward to you know having a great year with these guys thank you next question mark Daniels hey Tell us about your background Antonio um could you tell us a little bit about your your background you see that you played receiver in college and I think it because of that you know is um your hands you know one of your one of your strong suits yeah for sure uh I I've been playing receiver my whole whole life um it wasn't until the league that I I officially got moved to running back and you know having to dive deep into learning blocking schemes and you know pass Pro and um and you know things of that nature so um you know it was a it was a adjustment for me and um you know I kind of had to let go of the receiver side because um that that wasn't what I was doing anymore um so you know it it it helps though uh you know I can I can be lined up outside and and you know still run routes um you know I got a lot of the bases Downs is kind of instilled in me um you know so we get to work on some things like that uh I would love to do that and um you know help out and then I can catch out of the back field and who's to say you know a lot of guys can catch out of the back field but like I said I feel like where it separates is that I can line up outside and run routes so you know I feel like that's where the uh Advantage comes in thank you question Chris Ryan hey Antonio welcome to New England um just you mentioned before that the Patriots showed you showed you love and the uh your agent and you made the decision to come what did that what did that look like and was there anything you know specific that Drew you to uh to Eng coaching staff you know facilities anything that jumped out uh for me it was just you know kind of listening through my agent um you know he did most of the talking and uh you know uh it was a certain period to where we couldn't talk to anybody so um you know when I came in I just I just felt it though you know they they brought me in I got to talk to everybody and um I felt the energy it was a good vibe and you know we uh we just had a good we just started off on good terms so um like I said can't wait to get the OTAs and get to work and how would you describe yourself you know as a running back men you made the transition um what is your main what do you see as being your main skill set as a as a running back um just the guys who who who's able to make plays um I can run the ball um I can catch the ball um you know you can line me up outside I can block too so uh you know whatever you need I can get done I pass Pro so uh you know whatever you need from me I can get it done thank you Mike race hey Antonio how you doing good how you doing I'm doing great thank Family support you I was reading up on you and it sounds like you've had family members at all your sporting events going way back is that like is that true and and who are these who are these people that have been supporting you uh you know all just family and friends um I feel like I always had a a good support system um I feel like you can't go to far without a good support system and um my mom and sister are there regardless um you know when I was in Georgia and um you know I had a lot of friends who always came to my games and then when I I moved out to Memphis mom and sister of course was there I had people you know support from all over come from Maryland um Georgia and then I got luckily you know well I guess you call luckily but my mom and sister are from Maryland and I got drafted to the commander so you know that side of the family got to see more of the games and um you know and they came out and they supported uh they were already fans of the team so it just made it even more easier for them to come and support so you know I appreciate them and everybody you know who got me as far as I am today it sort of leads me to my next question it sounds like you have a pretty close relationship with your sister and that maybe you know through the work you put in in your career um maybe have the ability to maybe help her chase her dreams does that sound right it would um you know piecing that together like um definitely um life Life Life Is Life uh I always I guess to saying it's I be life be life and but um you know it's it's still struggles here and there but uh just trying to that's like one of my main goals just trying to you know put everybody in a place to where they can be successful or they can you know get a fresh start and things like that so I definitely you know mom and sister whatever they need um they can get it um and you know we're just working you know to better our futures for sure yeah I I don't want to monopolize ask too many questions but is there anything with this contract being a big you know that's probably the big contract anything on your mind that you want to do to help him um not yet um it's not too much that I haven't done already um so you know just taking a step by step um you know taking the knowledge and learning you know how to how to do things properly in the right way to go about things so you know I'm bettering myself before you know I make any major moves Dan Fresh start re hi Antonio welcome I'll only ask you one question not like Mike ree who just going to go on and on and on and do a complete novel with you but uh just kind of your your thoughts on that word you just mentioned Fresh Start uh how important is that to you when you play and you're healthy you you're productive basically how nice is it to get to a fresh start with with mayo with Alex Van Pelt with Taylor Embry all the way through to the players man uh super exciting um I feel like you know um you know much respect to Washington you know they gave me my opportunity and I'm forever thankful but you know I feel like a fresh start was needed um you know things kind of went uh a little South for me like my back in two years and um I felt like I was still able to uh play you know just things didn't work out that way and you know no disrespect to anybody but um I feel like here a fresh start new faces you know just to just to start all over uh you know in front of new coaches prove myself again um and get out there and compete with the guys perfect thanks I only asked one again Mike Reese got three so you know I'll just pass it on thank you thank Relationship with Jacobi you next question Tyler RI hey Antonio welcome to the team um thank you what's your relationship like with Jacobi given the time you guys spent together with Washington last year um much respect to the guy I feel like a vet's vet um he does what he needs to get done um he's sharp um you know when he stepped in you know lat later in the season um he was on 10 and he was ready to go um I think even I remember one situation I think my my guy wasn't even wasn't even warmed and he had to step into into the game and uh you know he made some things shake so uh much respect to him uh great player great dude so you know I'm excited right thank you and welcome again thank you two final questions here starting with Taylor KY there Antonio thank you so much for Key to success the time welcome to New England uh so I was watching your tape I know that in Washington you ran a lot of different kind of blocking schemes but I was wondering is there something like wide Zone outside Zone Gap is there anything that you feel like is your special and also you talked about pass protection and that's big for getting on the field especially on passing down so in your opinion what's the key to really thriving in that role um I would say wi Zone um and not to say you know either or I feel I could get down but wi Zone just to be able to stretch the defense and it's kind of up to you and you know the o line to to kind of pick and choose you know if they're overflowing you know you cut up if not you know you get to the edge and um it's so many in between that you know you can go from there but uh pass Pro um I would say just just getting in there staying patient really uh you know some guys get a little fidgety uh even me included I used to so um you know just being fidg and once they make a move you you like react too quick uh you know you just got to be patient get in there be strong and hold your ground um it's really not much to it and then the more you know um and the quicker you're able to scan the defense I feel like that's when you get more confident you get more comfortable also as well and you're not just trying to think on the Fly what's going to happen you kind of already know you see it and you be able to relax and and get your thoughts together before the play even happens awesome thank you so much sure final question here from Sophie Weller hi Antonio welcome to New England First impressions um I had two quick questions for you if that's all right uh first one is just have you had any communication with rre Stevenson and are you familiar with his game at all and then secondly just what is your first impressions of Gerard Mayo Ben um I definitely um I hit him up uh I think I seen some somebody made a post that he was from Joo too and um I hit him up and asked him what Joo he went to then he asked me if I was Jo guy and said much respect and uh you know it's it's just a respect thing from that Jo level uh taking a a harder route not saying that we wanted to be there or we didn't have to be there but you know certain situations caus us to be there so um but it's not easy it's not a easy route and um so anybody you know that goes to that juk or rout they kind of understand so you know much respect to him um I love his game I remember he played it against I think last year if I'm not mistaken uh he hit the sideline man took off for like 60 70 yards so you know much respect to his game great running back and uh I can't wait to go to work with him for sure um and Coach um sat down with him uh you know we had good conversation definitely um a different vibe from a head coach um just from the the one day I met him um you know nothing against coach but he like he sat down and just having like like just different conversation he didn't even sound like not to not to you know put him on but like it didn't sound like a coach you sounded like he was talking to one of the guys and um you know I feel like that's that's something you know that might be a positive thing in the locker room for him to be able to relate and communicate like that and you know kind of understanding both sides of it and um also man he uh he showed my daughter a hell of a time uh you know brought him to the office and you know just you know just treated her U with love and uh I appreciate that for sure um especially the first time meeting them all right thank you very much Antonio we appreciate you joining us here today and thank you to all the media who also joined the call thank you thank youall so much