Quotes from Chris Long

I am honored to be named the 2018 Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year and to join the long line of men who have received this prestigious honor.

I wouldn't be anywhere close to where I am today without my pops. I think a lot of a football player's makeup is mental, and I've been blessed to have someone to learn from. Not just from a technical standpoint, but everything he taught me about being a hard worker, a teammate and just being a football player.

I'm a worker. I'm a grinder.

My dad taught me to work hard and to be the same guy every day. If that's going 100 miles per hour and working hard, then that's what I'll do.

I'm a big guy and I can't have any tiny tattoos.

When I grew up, I had everything you could ask for, and I kind of didn't appreciate it. Because it was a given for me. Everybody that grew up in my neighborhood was going to have an opportunity to go to college. I took that for granted. I always regret that.

I've had to work and scratch and claw for every inch of what I've gotten as a football player.

You'll learn that the most worthwhile exercises are preceded by this very human phenomenon, fear. Marriage, parenthood, relationships.

You may doubt the significance of your work, but work faithfully anyways.

The lead initiative of my foundation is clean water, but not far behind it is military appreciation.

There was a time when I was injured and playing really bad and cut, rightfully so, that I wasn't sure what my future in football was.

The 24-hour news cycle is kind of insatiable. Players in the '80s and '90s didn't have to deal with that scrutiny.

I think if you show a player an avenue to make a difference, he's going to bring that same intensity he brings on the field in his community.

Playing eight years, never making the playoffs, you feel like you're running on a treadmill that's going nowhere. You're like, 'Is this it? Is this all football is?'

Any football player will tell you that in July you get this dark cloud over you if you know camp's coming.

Ties in the NFL absolutely suck. Trust me, I was involved with a tie against the San Francisco 49ers when I was with the Rams in 2012 and it felt pointless.

I play in a league that's 70 percent black and my peers, guys I come to work with, guys I respect who are very socially aware and are intellectual guys, if they identify something that they think is worth putting their reputations on the line, creating controversy, I'm going to listen to those guys.

Baseball was always my favorite sport, and I thought it would be the sport I'd pursue for the long term. But I guess about my sophomore year in high school, I started really getting into football, and then it just took off from there.

There are always more people to prove wrong.

It's unbelievable how far my career has taken me.

I think that's just the way football is supposed to be played, at a high speed.

Earlier in my career, I wanted to do a lot of things under the radar because I felt uncomfortable in engaging with the fans because then they're thinking, 'Well, you're doing it for publicity,' or whatever.

I want to squeeze every drop out of my potential as far as affecting the world around me.

In New England, I learned so much about football. I always thought I was a smart player, even though I never thought about anything but the six inches in front of my face. In New England, I was forced to learn so many schematic concepts.