He talks about his fit in the Saints defense and how excited he is to be in New Orleans. (0:33)
The wait was worth it for Tyrann Mathieu.
He was holding out hope that he would fit in with his hometown New Orleans Saints. Even while thriving with the Kansas City Chiefs, the 10th-year veteran insisted that this was something he had beenmanifesting for the past couple of years.
This was the place I had always wanted to be. "I think most people around me, they wanted that, too," said Mathieu, who pointed out the Saints were the only team he visited in person during free agency before he signed a three-year deal.
It was just about everything coming together. It means a lot to me to have this opportunity.
I WISH MY GRANNY COULD SEE THIS! https://t.co/pWveHfKmx5
— Tyrann Mathieu (@Mathieu_Era) May 4, 2022
When asked if he wanted to prove the Chiefs wrong, he said, "As good of a football player as I think I am, maybe I'm not good enough, so that's what."
When a reporter mentioned that Mathieu is about to turn 30 on May 13, he joked that he was 30 like that. I am heating up.
He is excited to join the Saints defense under new head coach Dennis Allen, who he has admired from afar for several years. He is excited to impact the community that he grew up in.
His jersey is in high demand among the Saints fan base.
When he was a star at LSU, he said leaving Southern Louisiana was the best thing for him.
After being kicked off the LSU team for multiple failed drug tests in 2012 and being arrested on a marijuana possession charge, Mathieu decided to change his surroundings and move away from some negative influences as he focused on maturing and reviving his football career.
After Will Smith was shot and killed in New Orleans in the summer of 2016, former Saints star and current player, Mathieu, was vocal about how he didn't feel safe enough to stay for more than two days in his former city.
After coming back to host a youth camp later in the year, he has hosted camps ever since. He has been a big LSU supporter in Baton Rouge.
"To be honest, I have been in this thing for a long time, and I knew I wasn't going to go to the Saints," he said.
New Orleans has always been a great place, this has always been a great community. When I was a young child, I wanted to get myself to a point where I could come back home, so I removed myself from certain things and environments so I could work on myself. It has been a great process.
I lean on the people that support me. Without those people and my commitment to just try to do things the right way, this opportunity wouldn't even be in front of me. I am grateful to be here, to have this opportunity, and to be able to inspire these kids to be better, to give them some hope. I think that is what it is all about.
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