ready ready ready was your intention to always be here on day one and what kind of message do you think it sends the other guys in your team especially in your running back that you are here from day one yeah I ain't stupid I ain't going to get a money up I'm trying to get some money right so um I was going to be here I mean it's it's it's it's no one that has a jersey on none of it's It's nobody not even I wouldn't even blame any coaches uh what's going on with contract issues right now right like I mean this this happens all across the league it's happened here it's happened everywhere where right you know people trying to get contracts trying to get paid and I'll be a fool to to to spike my teammates because of a dispute I'm having with upstairs or I wouldn't even call it a dispute we just having conversations about compensation um so man I was going to be here I mean Dereck saw me he was surprised but you know it's not like I was telling everybody like I'mma to be here but man I I'm I'm not that guy like I'm I'm I'm I'm for the team so um I'm here I'm doing what I got to do I'm working is your hope that as you go through the of training camp and everything and keep going business as usual off the field that you can get something don't re work in your contract hopefully what what what then was yeah the message of leaving early during mini camp just you know it's a little show of Leverage or what uh trying to get a contract done and then it it sh it just ain't been nothing happening like it ain't been no real conversations or any I would say um worthy conversations of of contract so um that last day was just me saying you know that's that I think there was a misconception about oh well a didn't say anything about contract which I never do really I mean it just you know it's time um we've been talking about it a little bit it hasn't been anything really meaningful it's been kind of one side where they at and I'm kind of like ah nah so um I went to the crib this year or or looking ahead looking ahead I mean I and I've said it before I want to be a saint you know what I'm saying I want to retire if I got to play football somewhere else I'll probably be somewhere with my feet kicked up in Africa somewhere or something like that but um yeah I want to be a saint and it's nothing I'm not I don't know I don't really for me I don't I don't really watch football I don't have I have everything football muted on my socials everything like I don't even see what's going on so I don't know what people say but just for me to set the record it's not I'm not asking for nothing I'm not asking for nothing crazy where it's like oh my gosh we can't do that you know well that's my perception of It Whatever the perception is upstairs with whoever makes those decisions um it's obviously different than what my perception is so you know um we just we just carry on I got to just do what I do um not focus on what I got to do it's obviously a fine line so do you feel like that message that you were trying to get across was received in the way you H um I don't know I wouldn't I I maybe I I guess you got to ask who y'all feel like um you got to ask the question of whoever y'all feel like um would answer had an answer for that how do you separate the how do you separate the two and not let one Le over to the other what you mean like the the contract and then the and this um I a long time ago and two people that I love dearly dearly Mark Ingram and Cam Jordan they told me this business is conditional and don't take anything personal and I and I've done a good job of that so it's not really personal it's just business so anything that I any decisions that I make it's not out of emotion it's just we we we handling business right so um you know it's like it's like playing chess somebody make a move you you got to you got to assess the situation and then you make a move based on what that what what what that uh that opponent makes so um not to say we're opponents but you know just um analogy wise but um it's not personal it just is what it is I'm going come out here work do what I got to do um kick up with my teammates and if something get done it do if not then started with you approaching them about wanting an exception or they they I thought it was going to get converted yeah yeah um and they they they talked about um doing an extension yeah and then there was other talks about other things that I'm not going to get into but um I guess there were some feelings that I didn't do something or I didn't I didn't do yeah I didn't do something that they wanted me to do and we're here now so I mean it ain't really it ain't really been too many conversations I ain't had too many conver personal conversations with with um the parties involved so what well I'm curious because with with de Mario and Tyrant they got extensions along with like pay cuts this is that is that something they wanted you to do at any point um something like that maybe I I mean but we didn't even get to the point of really getting anywhere with an extension it wasn't really a negotiation thing I'll say that you say did the when they didn't restructure a contract was that a concern for you and your agents because generally you would assume if they restructure it that means they're kind of looking long term and they structured everyone else yeah I mean um I was in Africa and they was talking about that and and nothing really happened so I was just enjoying my time in Africa and we in July almost August and nothing has happened and you know I voed I think I I've always told y I want to be a saint for a long time for as long as my career goes and that's all that's really all I'm looking for really I mean um you know some people say the money don't matter the money does matter but in the grand scheme of things I made a lot of money and I and I and I do well off the field also so there's kind of like a feel of like okay well you know I want it to be fair but at the same time I'm not I'm not chasing nothing you know what I'm saying as far as money goes I'm not chasing nothing that's that's outlandish or or that's like um offputting that should be off-putting um so I don't know just I'm just doing my duty you say should be offputting do you think that the running back Market kind of fractures to I mean yeah it does and it doesn't right cuz I've never looked at the running back market and said okay that's what I should be paid cuz I mean would y'all look at the running back market and be like okay uh you know you you can't it's it's a situational you can't compare everybody everybody's not the same just just like it if you want to go there you can say okay well the running back Market is here and then you look at a Christian and say well the running back Market is this so we can't pay him over this like man he deserved what he got you know what I'm saying like he got his money because he produced um so I don't really I don't I don't look at the running back Market I'm looking at my situation right how much do you think they're looking at your last two years of production which probably by your own standards they weren't what they were two years before that and factoring that into a decision to restructure you going forward and I'm sure that I'm sure that's what I'm sure that's um a point of emphasis when they're sitting there um thinking about the business side of it and then moving forward um um you know I mean it is what it is personally I'm not going to get into what they talking about because I don't know I don't sit in those those meetings but for me it was obviously disappointing the two the past two years I had um and I don't want to I'm not going to point fingers at what the what it was or what I just know I I don't feel like I'm on a decline I feel like I could play for four or five more years if I if I want to you know if it goes there but um you know I think I that's probably part of the conversation and then you know at this position we always get get the age thrown at us right it's oh it's a aging running back he's aging he's almost 30 or this that that so there's a hesitancy there's there's like a a reluctancy to to commit to um a aging body at this position and you know it it it just like I said it's situational but at the same time it is what it is um I mean I'm here I'm going to come out here and do what I do my bones don't hurt my legs are working my hands work um I don't feel like I have aging running back uh body syndrome that something can get done and if not have you started thinking about what might come next from you if something doesn't get done um am I confident that something can get done if something doesn't get done you know what I'm saying it's like I I I'm I'm just here I'm kind of like I'm just kind of like focus on me and kind of just keeping my mind right you know um staying where I need to be at mentally mentally physically emotionally to to produce and and and play this game the way I've been able to play it for the past seven years um I would love for something to get done it's it's I love I love the city I love the fans I love my teammates I want to be here you know but sadly I mean we s we saw the uh y'all saw the hard knots clip with the Giants there stuff that I don't it's probably conversations going on about me that I don't know about that probably you know people look at and be like damn they talking about them like that and honestly I it's business like I wouldn't feel no type of way I'll just be like man it it is what it is but um I would love for something to get done like I said if it doesn't then it just it it what can I do you have a timeable in your head I don't have a time table I've never I've never put like oh if it don't get done by like I don't have a time table I'll just I would like something to get done um what's what's your philosophy about playing out the regular season if there is if there's nothing done yeah um I'm I'm I'm here I'm playing I'm I I plan on I plan on playing so uh if I'm if I'm not if if there's no commitment to years after this then I mean I feel like y'all pay attention to football more than me I know what that mean how much did the uh CVA changing with the fins being what they are now like did that influence your decision to be here not going to lie I don't know what the fins are but I know it's probably more than missing half a day of OTAs how much 450,000 40 to 50,000 yeah so I'm not stupid I ain't about to give up 40 to 50,000 a day I mean it don't take nothing to be here I like La Alvin just to clarify what you just answered to BR like you you're here today and you're here through December even without a deal is is your plan through January I'm here I'm here I'm here today man it's beautiful I'm breathing woke up we got a good practice here I'm here with my teammates um what see what happens um take one or two more we always like how blunt and honest you are especially when things like is the team buying in what's your role in that I mean cuzz cuz sometimes you make it clear when you're questioning the direction of this team I mean culture's been a big topic this year like where are you in in the buy to this current team right man I I feel good I think overall I feel good about where the team is going I think it's some energy that we've been missing here um the past two years and then I just speak personally for offense you know we got to re with a new coaching staff I mean new offensive staff right and I think the guys on offense are kind of buying into that philosophy buying into the vision um you know it's refreshing to have um some some some intentional help right um and I think I love it I think Derek loves it being the being being the captain of the ship and you know I think it's it's just kind of like like a breath of fresh air like okay all right let's go we can go now how how much of it she was kind of like the top down leadership and accountability and all that stuff last year um I mean I think we I I talked about it a lot I think and then I mean we we talked about it in in in private right it's like a lot of things were going on and nobody was saying anything about it and it was just like uh okay well let's go to the next game in the next game and nothing was really getting addressed and uh uh y'all know better than me when when when that happens when things keep getting swept under the rug people start disappearing and a lot of people disappeared so you just got keep you got to be look at it like that like uh you don't fire people for no reason do you feel like you're already seeing signs of that changing though yeah there's a different kind of accountability I think um and I think like we we've been when we've been good around here it just it it was just unspoken like it was certain that you just don't do and it was certain that you do do and when it when it when you keep that right there how it is then good happens when that flips and you know you kind of let a couple things here slide and a couple things there slide then you get the result you got the past two years and it it it it accumulates and it compounds and it turns into some you don't want turns into a mess you talking about like mistakes mistakes practice yeah yeah yeah just and showing up yeah simple stuff mistakes um I mean I'm I'm a I'm a I'm a very big believer in in detail so when the detail lacks then you you you start to get glaring glaring issues and then you you you kind of look at it like well you you look at the big issue like a a uh just say a fumble or uh uh Derek standing right there interception or something and you look at it like well that was a fumble you shouldn't have fumbled but maybe maybe it was a it been a fumbling problem in practice for the past two weeks and you know nobody said it's just like all right well hold on to the ball instead of like man stop this the next person that dropped the ball it's over with get out like and that's what that's that's a lot of what was going on so I think it's it's just kind of it it it's kind of Switched the ti turned a little bit you're you're here for your teammates as a running back and a player on this team but what how how important is your responsibility as a tone Setter yeah culture stuff yeah I mean I I I feel like since I've been here I've never been a ra ra guy right you know I say what I need to say when I need to say it I I usually go to guys and and kind of talk to them on theide and and and say my peace and and say what I see and then I just set the tone on on how I do um how I handle my business from a physical standpoint you know the tempo I set the the urgency in in which I do my job so that's kind of been my thing you know um some people want more some people cool with it um I don't know I just I that's that's how known to do it that's how I've been known to do it that's how I've been doing it my whole life um and I don't know I think I think that's just kind of that's that's kind of my my place you know I think we we we got guys that that do the do the do the uh verbal and you know that that got a kind of different leadership style you know and everybody can't have the same leadership style you know so um I think I I and you can I don't know you maybe you got to ask my teammates maybe my perception is different than everybody else's perception maybe maybe maybe my style of leadership might not be what people need but I think it is if not then it's something it's something to be talked about I I I Ain I ain't never been scared of scared of um criticism or suggestions so cool appr so