Chicago's Jaylon Johnson top NFL cornerback shares his bigger vision, talks WR matchups, Ben Johnson’s leadership, Caleb Williams, contract market shifts, and how faith and therapy helped him overcome sexual addiction

“I think it was important in my highest moment, to talk about my lowest moment because if it wasn’t for God’s work in my life, I wouldn’t be who I am now…. Going into that season, my mind was so cloudy and cluttered, I didn’t have the right focus and I knew I needed to get help.” -Jaylon Johnson In one of the most humbling and revealing episodes of The Pivot Podcast yet, Chicago Bears star cornerback Jaylon Johnson sits down with Ryan Clark, Fred Taylor, and Channing Crowder for a conversation that dives far deeper than football. With a new contract as one of the highest paid cornerbacks in the league, Jaylon is revitalized by the Bears culture under leadership of new head coach Ben Johnson and believes his accountability to players is helping Quarterback Caleb Williams lead the team better with emphasis on competition and execution. He breaks down the tough wide receiver match ups he faces, who his style of play is modeled after and the games he has circled on the 2025 schedule. But beyond Xs and Os—Jaylon dives deep into his personal growth, fatherhood, giving back through his foundation, and what it really means to stay true to yourself in a league that tries to mold you. Known on the field as one of the NFL’s rising shutdown corners, Jaylon opens up about the battles he’s fought off the field — including his deeply personal struggle with porn addiction and the role his faith in God played in his journey toward healing and freedom. With honesty and vulnerability, he shares how he reached a breaking point, leaned into scripture, and found strength through surrender. Jaylon also talks about growing up in Fresno, the loss of his close friend and how it fueled his mission, becoming a father at a young age, and why his purpose now goes beyond interceptions and contracts. Jaylon’s life is guided by something bigger than football and this conversation is about redemption, resilience, and redefining manhood—as he opens up like never before, proving that true strength starts within. Thank you to Toyota and as you heard, we talked about Toyota's all in partnership with football and game day giveaways, Learn more at https://toyota.com/nfl Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

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• 0:30Ryan Clark?

  Chicago Bears Pro Bowler Jalen Johnson was built to be a number one corner. But we also learned that he was built, and is, so much more. Both his father and brother were Division One corners, so they trained Jalen to do the exact same thing. The Fresno kid always knew what the plan was, so the trappings of the streets never excited him. He worked his way to the University of Utah, and he still has nightmares of being all dressed up on draft day number one, only to wait until the 50th pick to hear the Bears call his name. He signed a four-year, $76 million extension just two off-seasons ago, but he still feels like he deserves more. During that press conference, he shared that while having an all-pro season,

• 1:13Ryan Clark?

  he was actively in therapy for sex addiction, a revelation that was new to everyone around him except his wife. He's ready for the first start of the season against the Lions after missing last week's game. He believes in Ben Johnson's structure, and he's seen the work that Caleb Williams has put in. He knows now they just have to execute. We tap in on all those things and more, like the best wideouts, circled matchups, and giving back to his community. Chan, Freddie T., and me sit with Jalen Johnson right now.

• 1:46Channing Crowder?

  Yeah, Chan, he got more muscles than you. Yeah, he got more muscles than me. He get paid to have muscle.

• 1:52Fred Taylor?

  How you doing, man? That's your reason for it, bruh?

• 1:56Channing Crowder?

  Well, yes. I worked out for 17 years to get paid. Then I got paid. What? Why am I working out anymore?

• 2:04Fred Taylor?

  So when they stop paying, you start working out?

• 2:05Channing Crowder?

  Yes. I'm not going in the gym 6:00 a.m. and not make no money. For who? For what?

• 2:11Fred Taylor?

  Well, 6:00 a.m. though. Well, you go 6:00 p.m. though.

• 2:13Channing Crowder?

  But I just, man, I just don't like to work too. I'd have, man, I'd have drank a bottle of wine by 6:00 p.m. I can't go to the gym.

• 2:40Ryan Clark?

  Walk-ins, Jalen Johnson, Chicago Bears, All-Pro, Pro Bowl Corner. This is Channing Crowder, this is Fred Taylor, I'm Ryan Clark. Pivot fam, thank y'all for pivoting with us. Speaking of walk-ins, bro, on Monday night, you walked into the stadium in a skirt. Like, I saw the cats in Atlanta was wearing like the mini skirts and the ruffles. So it made it all the way to the NFL now?

• 3:04Speaker 05

  Yeah, yeah, nah, it was, it was some inspiration I honestly got. I looked at a few fashion shows and I seen it. I was gonna do a different color, the first color didn't work. So I end up getting, switching to the backup, so the gray, red, and navy blue joint was a go-to. But I, I wouldn't even call it a skirt though, I definitely had some shorts on. But the guy who made it for me, he made the, of course, the cover part for me. So it was a little button we had to kind of button it together. But we, I wasn't in a true skirt, man, I still had my shorts on, for sure.

• 3:32Ryan Clark?

  So, guys out, thighs out?

• 3:34Speaker 05

  No, no, no, no, no, it was right, it was, it was right above the knee. It was still fashionable.

• 3:38Ryan Clark?

  The fashion of the skirt, what is that?

• 3:40Speaker 05

  No, no, no, it was, it was still masculine, it wasn't just like, it wasn't, nah, it wasn't like I had the, all my thighs out. No, no, no, no, it's still masculine, I, I make sure I keep my, keep my line there, for sure.

• 3:52Ryan Clark?

  And he made sure too, though, he had, it was, it was, it was cut like a vest, though. So he made sure the guns was all like, it wasn't...

• 3:58Speaker 05

  Nah, and I still had the G-Fezos on, so...

• 4:01Ryan Clark?

  He had on like a onesie almost.

• 4:02Speaker 05

  No, no, no, no, no.

• 4:03Fred Taylor?

  Don't listen to him, bro.

• 4:05Speaker 05

  I know, I know how he go to bed and stuff, he wearing the onesies.

• 4:08Ryan Clark?

  Yeah, no pressure.

• 4:10Fred Taylor?

  What would the homies back in Fresno say? That's all that matters.

• 4:14Speaker 05

  They'll say, "I put it on." I mean, I think, I think for me, it's one of those things where it's like, I like to be different in one of those things where it's like, everybody kind of just wears the designer looks. That fit with something I was working on for about two, three weeks. Where I had a guy who did my SP suit a few years ago. And I contacted him and then I was like, "Hey, bro, I need, I need some help kind of creating something." So, came to the house a few times, we went over some looks, went over some fabrics, materials. And he, man, he did a heck of a job.

• 4:39Fred Taylor?

  So, everybody that sit in that seat, that got a fashion sense and think they really put it on?

• 4:44Speaker 05

  Yeah.

• 4:45Fred Taylor?

  I always gotta ask them. What would your game and what would your fits or pieces look like compared to what y'all see RC do? Who the best?

• 4:53Ryan Clark?

  You trying to say can he outdress me?

• 4:55Fred Taylor?

  Basically, in a nutshell.

• 4:56Ryan Clark?

  I'm 45!

• 4:58Speaker 05

  I think the swag is different in a way where I would say as far as TV swag, I would put him at one. For sure. I would say as far as like suits, and I know definitely with the RC that he had, the pen, I like that. I would definitely say the combination of the suits, the, I would say the colors, things like that.

• 5:15Fred Taylor?

  But in the head up, don't run from it.

• 5:17Speaker 05

  No, no, no. It's two different categories though. It's two different. Because, I mean, again, he's, I'm dressing to put on a show. I'm dressing to capture everybody's attention. I feel like his, at times, is more subtle, is more professional in a way, so I mean.

• 5:30Ryan Clark?

  Thank you!

• 5:30Speaker 05

  It's different looks. It's different look.

• 5:32Channing Crowder?

  RC gotta try to dress though.

• 5:34Speaker 05

  Yeah, no.

• 5:34Channing Crowder?

  So y'all gotta put dress first dress.

• 5:36Ryan Clark?

  You say I gotta put a dress on?

• 5:37Channing Crowder?

  You gotta put dress first dress!

• 5:38Ryan Clark?

  My dog told you.

• 5:39Speaker 05

  He talking about dress. I thought he talking about like dressing up. He talking about actual dress. Nah, nah, nah.

• 5:45Ryan Clark?

  Jay, man, to get away from that, I remember that night before the game, you're walking in and Adam Schefter was talking about it. And I just made the joke. I was like, shoot, don't nobody come to the game that clean to watch. You know what I mean? You know, you were injured, you were banged up, headed into this weekend's game. How do you feel?

• 6:02Speaker 05

  Ready to go.

• 6:03Ryan Clark?

  Ready to go?

• 6:03Speaker 05

  Yeah, nah, it was, the injury honestly hurt me more than physically. It hurt me mentally. And one of those things where it's like, yeah, of course, two-time Pro Bowler, two years in a row. But for me, I felt like there's still a lot left out there for me to prove. So really just training, had my first offseason in Vegas, so training at UNLV, training in all different spots. Really pushing my body. And then the last week of training, in my last, one of my last days, probably my adductor off, my pelvic bone. So it's like when I immediately did it, I felt it. I'm like, nah, this ain't right. And I was telling my wife, like, nah, babe, I think, I think, I think it's kinda bad. And kinda just heading into it, and she was like, you gonna be okay, or whatever, and giving me the wife talk and support. But I'm just like, I feel like God trying to really test me in a way of like, when you think you going in the right spot,

• 6:48Speaker 05

  it's like, nah, I have something better for, I can see further ahead for you. And I'm just like, man, God, that's a heck of a way to wake me up, or like, that's a heck of a way to test me. Just throughout this whole process of camp, it has given me a lot of insight, I would say, in how guys approach the game. And for me, you can't really tell until you get out of it. And it's like, I really, really missed it. And I was on, in Ben's hip pocket all the time, trying to get to practice, trying to see practice, begging him to get to the joint practices, things like that. But it's like, it really tested me mentally and really just made me hungry for the game again. And everything I've done, I mean, I've been doing two and three sessions a day, almost every day, for the last seven, eight weeks now. So I'm definitely in a good spot now.

• 7:30Ryan Clark?

  How hard is it to watch the way the first game ended? You know, you guys were up on Minnesota. I saw how happy you were when they got the pick six, right? They had the camera on you. And then to watch J.J. McCarthy find himself, you know, Justin Jefferson, Adam Thielen, you know, he's running into the end zone. How difficult is it when you are that premier player on the defensive side of the ball? You have had these accomplishments and it's primetime football, week one. How hard was it for you to have to watch your team lose?

• 8:02Speaker 05

  It was extremely tough because for me, it was like, okay, things are finally starting to change in the first half. Okay, we got Ben, offense is looking good, defense is flying around. We had like three, three and outs, I think, in the first half. And we were like, okay, like, for me, I'm starting to kind of erase those memories of the Bad News Bears previously that I've been a part of. And it's like, okay, and you start seeing it kind of slip slowly, but surely. And it's like, man, I know we ain't going down this path again. And it's like, for me too, when I know I can make an impact, especially with having Justin score a touchdown, it's like, man, that matchup I was freaking training for. That's one of those things where it's like, when I'm doing conditioning, I'm envisioning him. I'm envisioning covering him in that fourth quarter and things like that. So it's definitely hurt from that perspective,

• 8:46Speaker 05

  knowing that covering guys like him and the gauntlet that I'm gonna go against this year is the reason why I really train and do the things I do, push my body the way I do. So it definitely hurt in that way for sure that I couldn't be there to help the team.

• 8:58Channing Crowder?

  And Jay, you say it working out two, three times a day. And I don't know if it's fantasy football or whatever, but even when we played, there was no fantasy for Fred. Fred's a hundred, but. Like, like, they don't understand, like, when you did the ab, the abduct and all that, how hard you want to play. What you were doing on a daily basis to get back. And I say, God, like, you have the heels. What did you do to get back? Because, like you say, bro, you are all pro corner. I'm watching the Minnesota game. I'm like, no, they ain't doing that to Jay. No, no, no, no, I would love to see that matchup. So what did you do on a daily basis?

• 9:35Speaker 05

  For one, the worst thing, I had 7:00 AM treatment every day, even off days. It moved to nine, so we got a little bit of sleep. But for me, it was 7:00 AM treatment. It really, in the beginning phase, of course, trying to get all the inflammation out. And then I would still go to all the meetings. After meetings, I would come get more treatment, go lift during practice, after practice, come back in, get more treatment. So I was really getting, I would say, about three different sessions with a lifting, pretty much every day, maybe except for the off days, and they kind of let me chill a little bit. But for the most part, it was really three and four sessions, including the weight room. And then, once I got back into moving around, it was really the same thing. And now, the weight room, and then sometime in the morning, I would go run, start incorporating my run and my change of direction and things like that. So it really got more intense.

• 10:19Speaker 05

  And of course, and even in the weight room, after the weight room, we'll lift, and then go get on assault bikes. And it's like, those, those make a man out of you for sure, especially you trying to get back in shape. Assault bikes, the versi climbers, all that type of stuff. So it really just, me trying to get back in shape, get back stronger. Really, I just attacked those. Like, my practice is like, my fault, my fault, Kent, where I can go in there, it's like, it's 95 degrees, it's humid or whatever, the guy's out there working. Least I can do is bust my ass on a versi climber and do what I can do to get back in the shape, to get prepared.

• 10:49Fred Taylor?

  I actually tore my groin out the bone, too. So I, I know exactly what you've been through. I know we'll get back to present, but take us back to Fresno, man. I know I asked you about it. How did that environment shape you? You know, your dad and your brother both played DBs, you saw them. How did that environment shape you? And sort of what were you able to take away from them?

• 11:09Speaker 05

  Work was honestly the biggest thing for me. I know my dad, he's worked the same job, correctional officer, for, I want to say about 30 years. So all I know from him is work. From my brother, from eight years old, hard-working eight-year-old. And it's like, for me, I'm four, and I'm kind of growing up, like, okay, yeah, this is, this is what it is. And then through time, as he elevated himself, elevated his game. It was just like, nah, this would, this would it take to get where, where I want to go? And he had 25 plus offers coming out of high school. He was top DB, went to UCLA. And my dad, of course, set the tone, going to Fresno State, played there. So for me, it was, as far as the family dynamic goes, it was all about work. Like, whatever it is, my pops told us straight up, like, I ain't got no money, no, I don't got no college fund set up for you.

• 11:53Speaker 05

  Whatever you want to do, if you want to go to Juco, that's on you. But if you want to make something work for yourself, you got to go get it. So, I mean, for me, that was, that was really all I knew from my pops. But I would just say Fresno, Fresno was somewhat on the other side of that. And you had a lot of opportunities to go left. And I think for me, not even I think, I know that. If it wasn't for God and his hand on me, I could be in a totally different, totally different direction. And I say that because I know once my family split, or my parents split, when I was like, maybe nine, kind of transitioning into middle school, elementary school, that's when things start to shift, identities start to kind of be, be found in ways. The kids that I played on, my pop wanted team, starting to go down the wrong path.

• 12:33Speaker 05

  And it's like, things like that you start to see from the city is definitely something that I could have, could have indulged in. And my dad, of course, being a correctional officer, he was always hard on me, he was tough on me. He used to whoop us with the damn leather work belt. So, I mean, I, I knew what a good, what a good whooping looked and felt like. But I think for me, I made it, I made a commitment early to myself that I wanted different for myself. I wanted different for my family. And with those examples, like I said, with my dad, my brother, it was like, nah, I just got to work. I got to, I got to flip that switch.

• 13:01Fred Taylor?

  Right. So seeing that hard work and having avoided those pitfalls that could potentially have come with the city of Fresno. What was more gratifying, hearing your name called on, on draft night? Or the re-up, signing that big ass deal?

• 13:14Speaker 05

  Who?

• 13:16Speaker 05

  I'll probably say the re-up. I think draft night, I was, I was too mad. I went, I went at 50, yeah. And I, I felt like, honestly, for me, I think it was more so my shoulder. I had just had shoulder surgery. So I think there was a lot of uncertainty around that. But either way, when I was definitely still, I was high, I was a little dressed up the first night. And I was like, man, damn, I'm coming in a regular fit this time. I'm just waiting for my name to get called, hopefully. But I would definitely say the contract. But even in that, I think, to transparently speaking, I felt like it was. I feel like it was a good deal, but I would definitely say that there was, I felt like there was more out there to get. And I think that still, still drives me in that way of like when I look at myself in the mirror, I look at myself as a top guy. And it's like, when I got paid, of course, it was life-changing money. It was something that I can set my

• 14:01Speaker 05

  family up for the rest of their lives. But for me, I'm still, I'm still hunting that top spot. So I think even within that, it's like, okay, yeah, I got it. I'll be able to do some things or whatever, buy a new house, get some, some new stuff, things like that. But for me, it's like, nah, I'm trying to still get that top spot.

• 14:15Ryan Clark?

  Can you talk about that? I think that's a, a conversation, you know, we have on this show, but that's not often had is when you get a deal, there's going to be somebody the next month or the next year that's the same level of player or whatever it is. And that player gets the next level of money. But we've seen since you've got your deal, you know, Pat Surtan, he sets the market. Jalen Ramsey gets more money. But now we've seen Derrick Stingley, Sauce Gardner. When you talk about the top spot, is it the top spot in the field of people perceive you as the number one corner? Or is it the top spot in the sense of not only am I perceived as the number one corner, I'm paid as the number one corner in the NFL as well?

• 15:00Speaker 05

  I would say that I think the biggest thing for me is impact. And I feel like if you look at your number one, your number one guys, I feel like all of those guys, I mean, even J.C. Horn, he's Carolina's number one guy. He reset the market. And I think too, we're at a point where it's not just, okay, are you better than him? But it's like, I'm the top guy on our team. And I'm the top guy amongst the league. So I think for me, it's one of those things where if their top guy on his team can get top money, top guy on that team gets top money, there's no reason why the top guy on our team shouldn't get that same money. And for me, being a homegrown kid, for me going through now three regimes, still being able to produce, still being able to make the plays that I made, unhealthy, hurt, fighting through injuries and things like that, all pro, pro bowl seasons, I think

• 15:44Speaker 05

  there's nothing left to question. But I think for me, I always find some motivation in it to where it's like, nah, okay, clearly the people within my building don't see me or view me how I think they should see me and view me. And then, of course, amongst the league, I feel like there's still some doubt. So for me, that's really the biggest thing I'm trying to prove is, of course, myself right always. But I feel like I got a certain time. It's like I gotta pop my shit to other people to where they know what it is.

• 16:08Channing Crowder?

  And, bro, we talked to Demo and Gibbs, the Detroit running back.

• 16:11Speaker 05

  Yeah, for sure.

• 16:11Channing Crowder?

  Them two, and J. Ram, who's OG now.

• 16:16Speaker 05

  Yeah.

• 16:17Channing Crowder?

  That motherfucker went crazy there.

• 16:18Speaker 05

  Yeah, for sure, for sure.

• 16:20Ryan Clark?

  He said it when we talked to him, Chan. He was like, no, I'm finna show him. I'm still that.

• 16:23Speaker 05

  Yeah, you got to, yeah.

• 16:25Channing Crowder?

  But it's funny that you say, like, y'all watch the market. And y'all know that I can't take none less because that's gonna mess up a dude that plays in, you know, anywhere. San Diego, Carolina, wherever. Like, if I don't push the envelope, I'm messing up the corner market. Like, Demo and Gibbs were talking about, they were like, we need to reset this. Saquon went out there and got his money, you know, and they were like, y'all think about that. I don't know if it's the communication and we're just old, but I never talked to other linebackers when my deal was up. Do y'all, y'all understand that now as, I guess, a progressive player union?

• 17:00Speaker 05

  I think it's one of those things where people have different mindsets when it comes to contracts. And I think people, a lot of times, can go for APY. A lot of times, people can go for guaranteed money. They can go for the length of the deal. Some people want shorter, three years. Some people may want longer, five-year deals. I think that impacts the value of your contract. I think it's easy, okay, yeah, let me, make me the highest paid and my guarantees are bottom 10. And it's like, that's not, that's not a good deal for me. I think, then that was one of the good things I felt like about my deal was, yeah, my APY was somewhere in the middle. But I think my guaranteed, even now to this point, I think I'm still top, at least top three in a lot of the new deals that have been made as far as guaranteed money, especially in the first year, the first two years, things like that. So I would say that was the good part about my deal.

• 17:45Speaker 05

  But I think I much rather get guaranteed money and make my money than go and get the top-paid spot. And so, yeah, I'm making $35 million a year on paper, but I only take home. X amount of money. So I think it really just depends on your viewpoint in it.

• 17:58Fred Taylor?

  Yeah, you came in as a day one starter. Take us through your welcome to the league moment when you knew you had to be matched up versus the wide receiver ones every Sunday. It was like, I'm here.

• 18:10Speaker 05

  Yeah, I would say that started my, no, I would say my first year, Mike Evans was damn good my first year when I played him. Mike Evans, Tom Brady, I think it was Thursday Night Football. That was my first touchdown too. I think I gave up that year. But I would say even after that, my second year is when I started matching up against guys. Odell Beckham was my first matchup when he came back from his injury in Cleveland in 2021. But for me, that was what I did in college. So I was used to doing that for about two years in college, coming to the league. Of course, Kyle Fuller was the vet my rookie year and then taking that over, it was like, this is what I'm supposed to do. This is what I'm brought here.

• 18:44Fred Taylor?

  To be fair though, you was at Utah.

• 18:46Speaker 05

  Yeah, no doubt.

• 18:47Fred Taylor?

  In the league, you, you seeing something different every week.

• 18:51Speaker 05

  What, what does that mean?

• 18:52Fred Taylor?

  Because.

• 18:52Speaker 05

  Utah is big time football.

• 18:53Fred Taylor?

  But it ain't SEC football.

• 18:55Speaker 05

  I'm not. I ain't debating that. I ain't debating that. I ain't debating that.

• 19:00Fred Taylor?

  No, I ain't, I ain't knocking your sale either.

• 19:02Speaker 05

  No doubt, no doubt, no doubt.

• 19:03Fred Taylor?

  I'm not.

• 19:03Ryan Clark?

  Jay, I was just being petty.

• 19:06Fred Taylor?

  But no, I'm definitely not knocking.

• 19:08Speaker 05

  No, I got you.

• 19:09Fred Taylor?

  Cause I, I know what you're made of. I'm just saying like, when you come to the league, you're like, it ain't just the NFL. I'm here. It's like, I gotta do it this week. I gotta do it again.

• 19:18Speaker 05

  For sure.

• 19:18Fred Taylor?

  I gotta do it again and again. And when they demand it like you as a number one, you gotta follow the number one. So that moment when you realize shit, my job is what his job is. We just on a different side.

• 19:31Speaker 05

  A hundred percent. I think honestly, the way I process it is like, I've been doing that my whole life as far as being a smaller name guy, coming from a smaller city and having to go and play the guy, the kids from LA, go and play those kids in Texas and Florida. So it's like for me, I've been, even on basketball circuit, I was on the Under Armour circuit and things like that. So it's like, I've been playing in these matchups my whole life. So it's like now, cause it's Odell Beckham, now, cause it's Amari Cooper. I'm not looking at them any kind of way. Of course, at times it's like, damn, that's really him. But it's like, as soon as I think that, it's like, okay, but now I gotta bust his ass and I gotta get, get back in that mode. But I think for me, it's like, I'm used to winning those matchups and going through those battles just from a young age.

• 20:10Ryan Clark?

  You know, you come in and think this is the third regime you've had. And so it's Matt Nagy, it's to E. Reflues, and now it's to Ben Johnson. I don't want to really talk about the past, but I do want to ask. What is it that has given you confidence that Ben Johnson can be the guy now in Chicago?

• 20:30Speaker 05

  I think you can tell a lot about a man by, I would say, his consistency and how he shows up. You can feel his intensity, you can feel his authentic self, and I think a lot of times, coaches are always coming with the rah rah speeches, coaches are always gonna have those type of things to say. But I think they don't live those things out. A lot of the time, they want you to live it out, but they don't live that out. I think one thing from talking to him a few times is I feel like he lives that out. And of course, being able to play against him a few times, it's like, nah, they really trying to put up like 40 on that. They trying to embarrass, like, it's a real, like, it's a real thing. And it's like, he tells a story, of course, about how he grew up and his dad and things like that. It's not just really for us about winning. It's like, nah, you have to really, like, embarrass him, like, really, like, make him have no second thoughts about,

• 21:12Speaker 05

  about the game, about the result. And it's like, that's how he coaches. And it's like, from the jump in offseason, people were calling me, texting me, like, hey, man, he different. Like, he getting on Caleb, he getting on the defense, like, all these different things. And it's like, we never had that. We never had a certain level of accountability and a certain level of transparency where it's like, nah, if you want to get to the championship, this is how those championship teams practice, this is how those championship teams play. This is how they watch film, this is how they go about doing business. So I think for us, having a championship, coaching staff, where, of course, Dennis Allen went winning and coaching in those Super Bowls and things like that, he has, and I also credit them too, that he built a heck of a staff as well to where he can focus on the offense and then Dennis Allen can focus on the defense. Because, I mean, he was just a head coach, so he knows how to run a unit,

• 21:56Speaker 05

  he knows how to run, run a team. So I think they all collectively do a heck of a job.

• 22:02Channing Crowder?

  You say, you brought up Caleb. Caleb done been on the show before.

• 22:04Speaker 05

  Yeah, for sure.

• 22:05Channing Crowder?

  Cool dude. Cool. He a California guy like y'all, so.

• 22:08Speaker 05

  Nah, he's from DC.

• 22:10Channing Crowder?

  He from DC though. But, there USC, I don't know what it puts you in you, but y'all just, y'all run the room and just with the shoulder, with the shoulder wiggles and all.

• 22:17Speaker 05

  I got you.

• 22:19Channing Crowder?

  Oh yeah, that's that, what's the nope thing?

• 22:21Speaker 05

  I'm a caper, yeah.

• 22:22Channing Crowder?

  Yeah, and all that.

• 22:24Speaker 05

  What's the Caleb thing?

• 22:25Channing Crowder?

  No, the capers, they wigga, they wigga their body a lot. They worm, the capers worm a lot. Yeah, that ain't very masculine to me, like you said, yeah, that's.

• 22:34Speaker 05

  Continue, man.

• 22:34Channing Crowder?

  That's a feminine dress.

• 22:35Speaker 05

  This is about Jalen.

• 22:38Channing Crowder?

  But Caleb's a big part of this. When we play, you could have, what was it, 09? Y'all's defense, y'all's stupid defense.

• 22:45Speaker 05

  Yeah, it was number one.

• 22:45Channing Crowder?

  09. Two, what was that, 2002 Buccaneers, 2000 Raiders, like, to choke somebody to death.

• 22:52Speaker 05

  Can't do that no more.

• 22:53Channing Crowder?

  To 13, you can't do it no more.

• 22:54Speaker 05

  For sure.

• 22:55Channing Crowder?

  Your quarterback got a ball. You've played the best, you brought up Brady already, I know you done played the dogs. Caleb can spin it.

• 23:01Speaker 05

  100%.

• 23:02Channing Crowder?

  But is Caleb progressing to that, to a level of playoff quarterback? Like, where do you see him? Talent's there, we all know that. Where is he moving to?

• 23:12Speaker 05

  That's tough. Honestly, I don't, I wouldn't want to dip my hand in something that's not mine in a way of like, I don't know what that, what that looks like. Cause I mean, respectfully, before him, we had Justin. He didn't really get an opportunity to really show too much. Quarterbacks before, we had Nick Foles, we had Mitch Trubisky, I mean, I've been through a lot of quarterbacks. So it's like, I don't know what that looks like on a day to day. I don't know what that looks like mentally, of course, playing them. Looking at it through the TV, it's like, nah, Tommy's cool, calm, collective. He always gets the two minute drives. Patrick Mahomes like.

• 23:43Channing Crowder?

  Different when you're in the building.

• 23:44Speaker 05

  Yeah, I was about to say, it's different when you can actually see it. I know talking to some guys that have, it's like, I know Mike Pennell, he's with KC, D lineman, he was telling, he came from KC to the Bears. And he was just like, bro, he's different. But it's like, I could never really understand what he talking about. But he was just like, the way that they operate, the way that he operates, we always truly like believe because he's that like, he's that guy. And like, we see him putting in a certain level of work. And I think even beyond putting in a level of work, I feel like some guys' makeup is just a little different. And I feel like, for me, I'm not going to say, oh yeah, I see him doing it, or I see him not doing it. I know he's definitely taking steps. I definitely see his car in a lot, a lot, a lot longer than, than it was. Definitely him taking those steps. But I couldn't just say, oh yeah, he's progressing to be a TB.

• 24:28Speaker 05

  And I ain't never really know what TB play.

• 24:30Channing Crowder?

  They ain't many TB's.

• 24:31Speaker 05

  Yeah, I was about to say, I can't, I can't speak to that.

• 24:34Channing Crowder?

  It was one of them. When, you mentioned Ben Johnson, it made me think of the fake fumble.

• 24:40Fred Taylor?

  Right. Did you ever ask him about that? Did you say, hey Ben, what was it about us that made you think faking fumbling the ball and having a wide leak?

• 24:52Speaker 05

  I would have if I didn't see the little video they put out. Because I think that was when Jared Goff did the quarterback thing. So I seen the video, so when I'm watching, I'm like, at first, like on the field, of course, I was covering my guy and I just see him open, I'm like dang, what happened? And then it's like, we thought they fumbled, so it was like in the game, whatever, we really thought they like fumbled and picked the ball up. So we like, ah, whatever, fluke. We go to watch the film, we like, bro, ain't no way he faked like a fake the fumble. And then the video came out, we just like, who thinks of that? But to the point, it did happen against Green Bay and Buddy was wide open. It was like the fact that he was that detailed, the fact that he was that creative to go back and look at what would get these guys to bite up on this, on this run fake.

• 25:37Speaker 05

  That, that, that was the best thing I've ever seen. I feel like as far as play calling creativity.

• 25:41Fred Taylor?

  So you wore 33. Another great bear made the top all time, the Bears top 100, Peanut to me. But you recently switched. Have you been able to spend much time with Peanut?

• 25:54Speaker 05

  No, not really. The most I know, he's come to practice a few times, um, just talk, kind of talk, pick his brain. I would say the most that stands out, I would say is our play style is a lot different. So I think for me, it's like understanding, I won't even say understanding, I think being ball conscious. And I feel like for me, like coming out of college, I'm thinking ball conscious interceptions, breaking the ball up. But it's like, no, you gotta start like punching, trying to find ways to impact the game, punch the ball out. And it's like, I didn't think like to go punch the ball, I'm trying to tackle the dude, forget that ball. If it come out, it come out. But for him and them, of course, showing all the highlights, it's like, there's really opportunities to make plays out here. And it's like talking to him, it's like, nah, it's all about, like, it's really all

• 26:36Speaker 05

  about the ball. And I think that was something that he always emphasized was different ways to get to the ball, different ways to, I mean, he's, he's def, he's, he's different physically, mentally. I mean, he was showing me some damn ways to get off the path or the run block and do this and break his arm here. I'm like, I'm not trying to do all that. I'll give him a long arm or something, but it's just like he's trying to do all these different things to where he can go get to the ball, try to punch the ball out and do what he does best. But I would say for me, I'm more, that was something that that I got my wheels turning as far as trying to be being able to impact the game. But for me, I I like the covering part of it.

• 27:08Fred Taylor?

  You you won't be getting off the blocks like Jalen did in week one?

• 27:12Speaker 05

  No, I'm not saying I get stuck on blocks, but I think I think the way you get off of them is a little different. But for me, I I think it's a pride thing when guys come to come to block me. I feel like it's it's the unspoken, like manly competition going on in that way. It's like, no, I gotta let you know. You can't. You can't put your hands on me like that.

• 27:30Ryan Clark?

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• 28:03Channing Crowder?

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• 28:26Channing Crowder?

  Bring up J. Ram, because he was on, we had a training camp tour, kind of getting, you know, we're done with it now, but you know, you saw it. Where he was saying he enjoys outside, going to the nickel, going back to say he wants to move around. How you feel about that position change and moving around? Because some point, I know Reivers was the dude when we played, Reivers gonna lock up outside all day long. How you feel about the position change and moving around and all that?

• 28:52Speaker 05

  I'm definitely more to Reivers. Just keep me. Keep me outside. And I think, I mean, I think for me, it's style of play is a big thing. We all knew Jalen Ramsey is a heck of a tackler. We always knew he had ball skills. So it's like, somebody like that, you can put that safety because he can still come down and tackle. He can still make fit. And he's a physical specimen for real. So it's like, he can be in that box and shed those O linemen and still make plays. He can do all of it, see it. And of course, he's been around the game a long time now where it's like, he can, he already has outside on lock. And now it's like, through the years, you transition to getting some nickel. And then really just learning defenses, I feel like his IQ has allowed him to start playing that safety, that dime position. But that definitely comes with turns. That's not something I think anybody should start out trying to play all these positions like, now you got to master one first. And I feel like he earned that, right?

• 29:37Ryan Clark?

  You talked about Jettus scoring the touchdown in the fourth quarter. This week, it's the Lions.

• 29:42Speaker 05

  Yeah.

• 29:42Ryan Clark?

  It's such a different matchup because you don't have a ton of film with them, with Johnny Mo.

• 29:48Speaker 05

  A hundred percent.

• 29:49Ryan Clark?

  As the coordinator, right? You got the one week in Green Bay. There was a struggle against that defense. But still on that team, man, there's Amon Ra St. Brown, who's an all-pro player. There's JMo Williams. He just got his money. You know, both teams headed into this matchup 0-1. How important is it for you guys to go there and find a way to get a W?

• 30:09Speaker 05

  I think it's very important, but I think it starts with a mental commitment. I think going into that environment like that, especially with being going back, I wouldn't say home, I guess, but going back home to Detroit, is definitely going to be, I would say, mental commitment to strain. And I think in that way, because I mean, for them, they pride themselves on toughness and all that. So we got to really go in there, we got to outdo that. And that's not going to be a comfortable thing to do. And I think not only is it going to be physical, but the mental strain that we got to get over the hump of, because clearly that's been the biggest thing for us. We've been in tight games all throughout last year. Throughout this year, of course, to start off the season, giving away the lead that we had. So it's really just about, I would say, mental commitment to the physical strain and the mental strain.

• 30:50Speaker 05

  But I don't think it's really, as far as matchups goes, I feel like it's whatever in that way.

• 30:56Ryan Clark?

  Who you jumping on?

• 30:58Speaker 05

  I'll probably say whoever come to my side, I don't think it's somebody I gotta go follow.

• 31:02Channing Crowder?

  Cause that damn my my Rob.

• 31:04Ryan Clark?

  I'm a Rob. Say bro.

• 31:06Speaker 05

  Uh huh, what about him?

• 31:07Channing Crowder?

  We went to practice. I thought this motherfucker was Jerry Rice.

• 31:12Speaker 05

  Yeah, you went to Miami one?

• 31:14Ryan Clark?

  Yeah, yeah, yeah.

• 31:16Ryan Clark?

  We was, man.

• 31:19Channing Crowder?

  He gonna catch every ball? Why he gonna catch every ball?

• 31:22Ryan Clark?

  It got to a point.

• 31:23Speaker 05

  He was killing.

• 31:24Ryan Clark?

  It got to a point where he was, he'd take a one on one rep. Catch the ball. By the time he ran back, he was back for the next one. Like you know, you know how it is.

• 31:33Channing Crowder?

  Get the other receivers.

• 31:34Ryan Clark?

  When you start feeling good though.

• 31:35Speaker 05

  Yeah, you start trying to go.

• 31:36Ryan Clark?

  Yeah, you know what it is, yeah. You start trying to go, but I think, you know, I listened to you talk about wanting to get the top spot. A mental commitment to, to strain, to push. How do you feel as an organization, you guys have been as it pertains to those traits of winning throughout your time here in the other regimes?

• 31:57Speaker 05

  I would probably say this, I mean, of course, my first regime I got drafted into. Young, learning it. The staff got fired after my second year. I would definitely say as far as hirings go, as far as it being different, I would definitely say this year is, feels, feels a lot different. I think just feeling the vibe of things trying to move and change in the right direction. I think not only getting Ben, but doing what it takes to get Ben, I think was a step in the right direction. Of course, paying him the amount of money that he got, that's, that's showing that we're trying to do some things. But I think really it starts, yes, it starts up top, the tradition and things like that. But I feel like it, it really goes into the locker room. I think it's one of those things for us where we're still trying to figure out how to take it over

• 32:38Speaker 05

  and still trying to figure out how to, not, not, we have a tight knit locker room, but I think we all gotta get on the same page of hunger to win. And I think for. I only bring Detroit up because they had a new regime come in and they were talking about different things, but I feel like you definitely can see the team buy into that new, what they say grit over there. So it's like finding that for themselves. I think for us, we have to find what it looks like for ourselves and our locker room. Because I mean, the coach can come in, I mean, we had when Coach Flus was here, the Hitz principal and everybody was, "Okay, yeah, this is what we need. We need tough football back." And it didn't work out. And it's like now with Ben, having the killer mentality, it sounds good, but until we figure out a way to really make it all come together, I don't, I think we'll be in the same spot.

• 33:21Ryan Clark?

  They've been to Pittsburgh a lot because of me, and they've been around a bunch of Steelers. It's, even with the different personalities, it's like talking to the same football player all the time. When we talk about what we believed in, how we approach football, like even our conversations now as adult men, you can tell like there's a foundation that made these humans tight. But the other part of it is too, bro, winning makes you cool. You know what I'm saying? Like, like you become tight when you go on Super Bowl runs.

• 33:51Speaker 05

  You win it.

• 33:52Ryan Clark?

  Right? And you deal with and get through adversity. And in the thought of adversity, you know, you get your deal and then there's stories written about you going to therapy for a sexual addiction. And we've had a conversation with Kirk Franklin about this before. And like on our show, we try to sort of give people space to explain things that there are people in their homes going through these things, dealing with these things, and they're too scared to talk about them. They believe they're by themselves. For you, what was that entire ordeal like?

• 34:26Speaker 05

  It was crazy because we flew in the night before, PJ, whatever, I had my family, my friends, we was all at my house, my old house, whatever. So we cooking, I think my wife was making tacos or whatever. So everybody kind of doing their thing. And I'm like, oh, I gotta give like a speech. Like what am, what am I gonna say in my open impression? So I kind of go off into going like my basement or whatever. And I'm just kind of typing out some notes. And my spirit was just like, you can't glorify all these things that you're getting, all the work that you put in without telling them how God delivered you from what you was going through. So for me, it was just like, eh, I'm thinking, like as I'm typing and kind of like listening to them talk to me, I'm like, ain't no way I'm about to get up here and just say this like this. And it's like. He said it clear again, just like,

• 35:10Speaker 05

  "You can't really glorify me until you bring this up." And I'm just like, "Forget it." So I typed it all out, typed it all out. And none of my family knew. I just kind of typed it to myself. So when I went up there and I said it, for the most part, of course, my wife, my now wife, she knows, knew about it, whatever. But everybody else was kind of the first time hearing about it. And I think for me, it was important, in my highest moment, to talk about my lowest moment. Because, again, if it wasn't for God's work in my life, I wouldn't be where I was, or where I got to at that point. Even where I'm at now, it's like, going into that season, I was, my mind was so cluttered, was so cloudy, didn't have the right focus.

• 35:53Speaker 05

  And I'm just talking to her like, "I need like, I need help." Like, I need, like, it's not just somewhere. It's like, you know right from wrong. And I always take full accountability for my, for my actions. And I don't want to ever say or put it on somebody, "Well, my environment was this, or I wasn't taught this, and I wasn't..." I used to think like that. I used to think like, "Man, I wish I was better molded into being the right man that I was supposed to be, that God called me to be." But for me, I still knew, I still knew right from wrong. And I feel like I didn't think of the repercussions from it. And I feel like even for me, it was, and it started in high school. It's like, trying to just keep up with everybody else and just keep up with the homeboys doing. It's like, okay, yeah, it's all cool, it's fun, it's innocent at the time.

• 36:36Speaker 05

  But it's like, as you go into college, as you get into relationships, it's like, you already done built this badass foundation of where you go seek comfort at. And I think for me, it was just like, after a certain point in time, it's like, I don't even know why the hell I'm doing what the hell I'm doing, like, or why I'm even thinking the way that I'm thinking. And for me, I'm just like, nah, something got to change. And it's just like, over time. And it's like, I know there was plenty of times where God would move through my life and talk to me. And it's like, things that I was just in the moment of thinking, or doing, or whatever, she hit me with the same thing that I'm going through. I'm just like, I know God's really talking and moving through me in that way. And I need to take the step to be who I need to be for Him first, and then for her and my family. Because biggest thing that I know, not just with money and status,

• 37:21Speaker 05

  things like that, but I feel like I'm the first in my family to really be able to change everything. And I wanted to take that on head on. And it was like, nah, I need to change for myself. I need to change for my kids, for my wife, for my family, for the trajectory of my family and things like that. So I'm like... Let me just put it out there of what I went through in my all pro year was the year I was dealing with that. So I'm like, I would, every off day, I would go in the mornings, drive like forty-five minutes away or whatever, go to my sessions, talk to her and it was like, really wasn't even about the sex part. It was just, it was the little kid in me that was more so trying to find, find himself and was so hurt from things that went on in the family that I was around. And I ended up falling off into that.

• 38:05Speaker 05

  And it's just like, for me, it's like, let me heal that little boy so this man can be who he needs to be for his family. So that was really what that whole journey was, was about. But I think it was important for me to speak on that because I feel like a lot of times, of course, as black men, I feel like we're looked at a certain way, we're looked at in that light. I think even just as men in general, it's one of those things where if you ain't getting none by a certain age, it's like, bruh, you, uncles, where people, hey, bruh, you gay, like, what's wrong? Like, you get that pressure and it's like, one of those things where it's like, you don't really know, but I feel like for me, it's one of those things where it's like, if we only had the, I won't even say the right men, but if the men that were in our lives were led by the spirit, were led by God and groomed us to be who we are called to be,

• 38:48Speaker 05

  I think the trajectory of our lives would be completely different. So it's like, for me, I know now who I'm truly called to be and how to operate, how to think, how to renew my mind, how to renew my heart in that way, where now it's like, for my kids, I can teach them. Where it's like, don't do what daddy did, don't have those thoughts that daddy had and how to get through it. And it's not just telling, I think too, that's a big thing that, I feel like, I can only speak for black parents and black families, but it's like, don't just tell me not to do something, but tell me the reason why not to do it. And I think for me, I was raised in a church house, I was raised, but, raised in that environment. And it was just, oh, don't sin, don't have sex before you marry, don't do this. But it's like, I don't know why the hell I'm doing it, I'm gonna have no fear to go out and do it. And I think for me, it's like, throughout this journey, throughout my life, even now, it's like,

• 39:31Speaker 05

  God always has a reason why, he has a why to his boundaries. And it's not because he doesn't want you to do it, but he wants to protect you from certain things. And for me, getting, living outside of those boundaries, I was now open for all the issues that I was dealing with and still am dealing with. And that was one thing where I just really wanted to speak on that to where other kids that look like me first and just other kids, other men that are grown up, even, even young girls, to where it's like, how do you view yourself and to view yourself in a different way?

• 39:58Channing Crowder?

  RC brought up Kirk Franklin.

• 40:01Channing Crowder?

  Well, he had that.

• 40:02Speaker 05

  Yeah, you seen it. You seen the clips before, Jay. Jay, you have seen the clips. I'm with you.

• 40:09Channing Crowder?

  But, big homie, like, like I told him, a porn addiction, you wanna beat up your lil' man, beat up your lil' man, that's your business.

• 40:17Speaker 05

  Little dawg.

• 40:17Channing Crowder?

  What's a sex addiction? Cause you gonna go, bro, like you saying, you gonna find something about 14, 15. I had a Toyota Paseo. I grabbed me something in the Toyota Paseo, my sister's car. Like, it's a natural progression, and then you gonna keep, you gonna keep hitting stuff.

• 40:36Speaker 05

  I got you.

• 40:37Channing Crowder?

  I think it's an extreme to saying a sex addiction, where we all, we all wanna wiggle that worm.

• 40:43Speaker 05

  100%.

• 40:44Channing Crowder?

  Like, what's the difference between natural, human, a- a- affection and sex addiction?

• 40:52Speaker 05

  Same thing with people who drink. I feel like, if you going through things, your escape is what? You wanna go drink.

• 40:57Channing Crowder?

  Yeah.

• 40:58Speaker 05

  If you're my, my escape growing up, family troubles, doing whatever I was doing, go talk to girls, go, go do whatever I was doing.

• 41:06Channing Crowder?

  Yeah.

• 41:06Speaker 05

  So I think for me, it was, as you doing that as a kid, you're developing yourself to depend on that. So now, when you're going from a high school kid into a college kid, you start trying to get into relationships, you already done built yourself up in a way where you're now dependent on that. And you can, and to me, even to the point it's like, yes, natural for you to have that, but it's natural for you to have that for one woman, not for 100 different women. And I think for me, that was the thing that I didn't grasp until a few years, when I started really starting to get help and starting to shift my perspective. But it's like, for me, it's not about, again, just being able, oh, I have this urgent, it's just, I'm just gonna do it. It's like, for me, that's, not being able to control yourself and not be able to

• 41:50Speaker 05

  move according to certain standards or values, I feel like that's where, I feel like that's, that's not where the men lay, to me. And I feel like I had to learn that, where it's like, if he just go around and do anything, he ain't really worth shit. To me, it's like, to me, the man who's worth the most is who doesn't just go around doing anything, who has control of himself, who looks at himself a certain way, and who has standards and a way of moving. So I feel like, yeah, I felt like it was natural, and of course, the things that I was being, oh, yeah, bro, just go do da-da-da, and it's, you rather go do that, you rather go beat your lil' man before you go, and it's like, yeah, in a way, it's like... Yeah, that may seem better than the other one, but it's like for your mind, it's not any different. It's like one of those things where it's like you're still feeding into it versus breaking it and now being able to have that self-control where it's like, no, I'm not gonna do neither one of those.

• 42:35Ryan Clark?

  I think the thing I love that you said though, it's the man who chooses not to do it because what you do learn is it's not necessarily the sex. You said that earlier. It's not about the actual action, right? It's the comfort that it gives you. It's the reasons that you go to it. But that also doesn't mean that the man that's choosing not to doesn't have those same thoughts or urges.

• 42:59Speaker 05

  Hundred percent.

• 43:00Ryan Clark?

  Right? It's that he's making the decision to value himself in a different way or value the other people that would be caught up in his thoughts or caught up in his desires. And so I love the fact that you shared it. I love the fact though, that you shared it in a thoughtful way where it was, hey, no, like, I understand what's going on. I just, at the time, wasn't fixing it. You chose to say, I want to fix it and I commend you so much for the work you put in. But also, man, I'm finna get paid all this money. I could use that time for anything to boost myself. But the fact that you heeded God's voice, man, I just really respect that about you. The season is off to a fast start and Toyota is still all in all season with Toyota

• 43:45Ryan Clark?

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• 43:57Fred Taylor?

  That's right, man. Toyota has a commitment to football that runs deep and they're even giving fans a lot more to lose their minds over. That's 22 weeks of new challenges and prizes.

• 44:06Channing Crowder?

  Man, Toyota, I love it. They done dove into football this season.

• 44:10Ryan Clark?

  And oh my goodness, this Sunday, we got Baltimore and Buffalo. You know, the second half is gonna be packed with big time plays and they're giving away a hundred dollar NFL shop gift card.

• 44:20Fred Taylor?

  Sunday's always special. It's been football family and now Toyota. And then later in the season, they're giving away a thousand dollar gift card to Marriott. I'm about to sign up.

• 44:29Ryan Clark?

  And don't miss out. Visit toyota.com/nfl right now to learn more. That's toyota.com/nfl.

• 44:37Channing Crowder?

  No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited. Ends on February 8th, 2026. Open to legal residents of the 50 US states and DC. Eighteen and over. For complete details, how to enter, prizes and official rules, visit www.toyotasgamdaygiveaways.com.

• 44:52Fred Taylor?

  I think that's great using one of the most important moments in your life to give back in that capacity. But go back just a few more years before that, your best friend was murdered.

• 45:04Speaker 05

  Yeah, for sure.

• 45:05Fred Taylor?

  Kevin Shrubs. And you started the Kev Vision Project. Right. And that's just to give back to underprivileged youth. So you're using, once again, your platform to look out for those kids. Kind of take us through that and the purpose of the foundation.

• 45:23Speaker 05

  Yeah, so of course, coming to the league, you see all the guys that have the foundations and what are you going to support and things like that. I'm just like, I don't really got nothing, really. So when my first year, didn't do really too much. Going into my second year, my best friend was shot and killed back in Fresno. So I'm just like, of course, going through the emotions of it, went back for the funeral and kind of just seeing the hurt. I'm like, how can we change this? Like where we're at, it's like, of course, I'm assuming we've been from different areas, but living the same lives. It's always the R.I.P. shirts. It's always what you're going to do to get them back. It's always those type of conversations. And it's not, how are we going to use this to help others?

• 46:05Speaker 05

  How are we going to use this to impact other people to where we give other people hope? So I think, not even, I think for me, I ended up calling his mom up one day, like, I'm going to start a foundation and start doing some work out of his name because he was involved in the community. He had his own clothing brand he was trying to start up. And he would give shirts to homeless, he would go to the hospital, do things like that. And I still remember to this day, I still have the text of some things that he wanted to do. So I really told his mom, I was like, hey, we got the blueprint. He already said like how he wants to impact the community, how he wants to help the youth and things like that. We should do it in his name. And then we got a group together, a close family friend group, and we really just started figuring out from there. I mean, we didn't really have, we didn't have no resources, of course, outside the funds I had. And then from there, we just built it from the ground up from there and then trying

• 46:50Speaker 05

  to just really find ways to expand our impact.

• 46:54Ryan Clark?

  You mentioned work, right? Pops, Johnny Junior, they worked. So it made you say, hey, look, I'm going to work. You read the book Relentless, right? From Good to Great to Unstoppable. My favorite quote in that book is he says, "The price of talk will never go up. It's always free and you get what you pay for." Right? And the reason I thought that was a prophetic saying is he's basically saying, if you never put... Action to thought or to words, it equals nothing.

• 47:22Speaker 05

  Yeah, faith without works is dead.

• 47:23Ryan Clark?

  Faith without works is dead. So for you, it's perfect segue. Good job, S T V. How has faith played a part in making you the man you are now? Because you've spoken about spirituality and God so much throughout this sit down.

• 47:39Speaker 05

  I think it's, I mean, I think I know it's given me identity. And I think it's crazy because like you think that you know yourself, like you think you know something until you hit a point where it's like, man, I didn't know shit. And I think for me, that that was what I was in really, I mean, I'm still finding it. I'm still reading my words, still finding things where it's like, damn, like I still got a long way to go. And it's like, that's the beautiful thing I feel like with the relate, having a relationship with God is you don't have to clean up to go to him. You don't have to clean up to hear his voice. I think it's one of those things where all you have to do is commit. All you have to do is believe in a way, but also with that belief, it still takes work. And it's one of those things where it's like, oh yeah, well, I read my Bible, but do you turn away from your urges?

• 48:22Speaker 05

  Oh yeah, yeah. Well, I'm listening to my sermon, but what are your thoughts? And it's like, one thing I know is like reading the word and listening to sermons, it's like, you're in control of your thoughts. You're in control of your, your heart posture in this way. And I think even for me, like my prayer is I always say, God, search my mind, search my heart, renew my mind, renew my heart. Because one day I could be in a slump where my thoughts aren't right or my heart's not right. And it's like, no, renew my mind to where I can now recommit to you. I can now recommit what you called me to. And I even got this bracelet. I freaking made it on Amazon. It says, you control you. And for me, it's like a reminder where it's like, no matter what's going on around me, I control my thoughts. Like I control how I react to things, no matter who says what to me, who does what to me.

• 49:07Speaker 05

  I'm in control because honestly, I don't answer to you. I don't answer to you. I don't answer to her before, my wife, before I answer to God. And it's like one of those things where that's the biggest thing I'm trying to change in my family, my immediate family as far as reacting. And one thing I just learned too, is there's a difference between reacting and responding. And in that is reaction comes from your flesh and you just do it because your flesh has to do it by responding. You're filled with the Holy Spirit and you already have your response to it. And really, just when God was tempted after he got saved or baptized, he was tempted by the devil, he had responses. Anytime the devil tried to tempt him with something, he had a response with God's word. And for me, it's one of those things where it's like trying to move like he moved. And of course, I'm never going to be perfect in that way.

• 49:51Speaker 05

  As we know, as athletes, coaches coach you for perfection, but you never reach it. It's the same thing in your walk with Christ where I don't have to be perfect. I don't need to try to be perfect per se. I just need to be better. I just need to work at whatever it is that I'm deficient in. And again, your problems aren't my problem. My problems aren't your problem. Your problems aren't his problem. But one thing we can meet in the middle in is we all got problems and we all got things that we go through. And to me, God is always going to be at the center of it. Now, who removes themselves from that center? That's on him. But I feel like for me, it's one of those things where it's like, I want to stop just having a foot in that middle. It's like, let me kind of sit up, let me get all the way in there because I know with that commitment, yeah, there's always going to be hard things.

• 50:32Speaker 05

  It's not going to make me exempt from hardships, but I definitely know that he can guide me and lead me through whatever it is.

• 50:38Ryan Clark?

  Talking that stuff, dog. I'm not, you are. Yeah, he's talking.

• 50:42Channing Crowder?

  And I love how you did that. When you dove into it, when you didn't just put your foot in the faith, did your circle change? Because I think that's hard for a lot of young players. Y'all are young people, but players for sure.

• 50:54Speaker 05

  Yes, with my faith, but I would also say just with the steps of my life. And for me, it was hard because I pray prayers sometimes where I don't necessarily understand what it come from. And I know at times it's like God bring the right people in my life and remove the wrong people from my life. And it's like, you don't really know until you see people that you was close with that you no longer talk to. And it's like, there's no true rhyme or reason. There was no big fallout. It's just, we just slowly drifted away and it's like, it still hurts in a way where it's like, damn, I was always cool with them. Like, oh, it was always love. But it's like, as I said earlier, it's like God sees something that I don't see. And maybe all time has just come and it's one of those things where it's like.

• 51:38Speaker 05

  With the faith, you can't move and hang out with the same people naturally because of their environments that you're trying to protect yourself from. But even with money, even with status, even with progression, everybody truly can't go and aren't meant to go. Quite honestly, it's not anything to anybody else as far as them being beneath me or anything like that. I think everybody's path just eventually go this way, whether it's through life or whether it's through death. At some point, we gonna end up separating. But I think for me, it was just always understanding that. And for me, it had to happen where it's like, it ain't that hurt. Even to this day, I think like, man, I should not have it for a reason. And you kind of just stay, I'm just trying to stay where I'm at.

• 52:19Fred Taylor?

  Jay, looking back on it all, what would you consider your biggest pivot in life? That's that moment you can dial in on and say, because this happened for me or to me, I am who I am today.

• 52:31Speaker 05

  I would say going back, I'll give a few. I would say going back, I'll say my parents divorce. I would say would probably be one. I think in that moment, and not even in that moment, during that time of, I feel like separation was a time where I had to find that inner strength. And I know my dad, he's big on mental strength. He has thousand quotes and all those things. But I think for me, I was able to live that out as far as like, you gotta do what you have to do until you can get what you want to get or until you can do what you want to do. And for me, I was in a situation where it's like, I don't want to be here, I want things to be whatever, but I still have to continue to be strong. I still have to continue to go to school good grades. I still have to continue to put in the work.

• 53:15Speaker 05

  And even though I'm hurting inside, I still gotta show up. And I think for me, that's part of life. I mean, no matter what goes on, you still gotta be able to show up. I would say that. I would say the realization that I needed more help. I would say that changed a lot of things for me. I would say having my youngest daughter recently, she changed some things for me as well. I know me and her mom, my wife, we went through some adversity with her and during her. And it was one of those things where it wasn't looking too bright, but she ended up pushing through. Came out nine pounds for four ounces and healthy, hasn't been sick a day in her life.

• 53:58Speaker 05

  She hasn't, she's nothing but a ball of joy. And I think for me, being able to Exorcise my faith in that way where it's like nah, God has something different for her regardless of what anybody else is saying. Seeing how she wakes up truly like, yeah, it's my daughter, but it's like knowing where she came from and what was said about her and where things were going. It's like nah, between her and then her mom showing that strength as well, being able to continue to push and it was funny, I can laugh about it now, but just during that whole time was like, I'm thinking like, man, we doing too much, babe. It's like it's doing too much, but it's like for her, it's like nah, we ain't doing enough. Right. It was a certain level of commitment and a certain level of protection that I've seen from her

• 54:41Speaker 05

  and from my daughter where it's like, I can never take really life for granted. Yeah, my homeboy passed, but it's like when you have your daughter in that situation and you have your wife where it's like, it could have went either way and you starting to see it. It's like nah, I have to, I have to show up in a different way. I have to lead this family that I was blessed with that it could have. I mean, from everything that I've done, from everything that could have just went another direction. It was, it was a wake up call for me where it's like nah, I'm called to be exactly where I'm at with the people I have.

• 55:12Ryan Clark?

  All right. So before we leave, man, gotta do this because it's football season.

• 55:16Speaker 05

  Let's do it.

• 55:17Ryan Clark?

  All right. So what, what are the matchups you circle? Right. See, I played safety. So I was always looking at running backs. I was like, who gonna break through this hole?

• 55:25Speaker 05

  Uh, nah, I gotta go ahead.

• 55:27Ryan Clark?

  Who I gotta go tackle? You got the Lions this week.

• 55:30Speaker 05

  Uh huh.

• 55:30Ryan Clark?

  Do we circle that game or no? You just go out there and play?

• 55:33Speaker 05

  I'm gonna, I'm gonna circle it because of the team. I wouldn't say necessarily from a one-on-one standpoint.

• 55:38Ryan Clark?

  Wow. Cowboys?

• 55:40Speaker 05

  C.D. Lamb for sure. Well, nah, both of them. C.D. Lamb, George.

• 55:43Ryan Clark?

  C.D. Lamb, George. We gonna skip the Raiders. Commanders?

• 55:48Speaker 05

  Yeah, I'll say so. The team. I'll say more so the team.

• 55:51Ryan Clark?

  Ravens?

• 55:53Speaker 05

  The team.

• 55:54Ryan Clark?

  Bengals?

• 55:55Speaker 05

  Hell, yeah. Hell, yeah, for sure.

• 55:58Ryan Clark?

  New York?

• 55:59Speaker 05

  Yeah, I like Malik. Yeah, I like Lee.

• 56:01Ryan Clark?

  Does it matter who playing quarterback?

• 56:02Speaker 05

  Nah, nah, nah.

• 56:04Channing Crowder?

  They jump every route. They ain't throwing D.

• 56:06Speaker 05

  Yeah, I was gonna say nah. It changes how I play, but I'm saying my mind.

• 56:10Ryan Clark?

  All right. We got Vikings?

• 56:12Speaker 05

  Always.

• 56:13Ryan Clark?

  Steelers?

• 56:13Speaker 05

  Yeah, D.K. Uh huh.

• 56:15Ryan Clark?

  Eagles?

• 56:15Speaker 05

  Oh, yeah. A.J.

• 56:17Ryan Clark?

  Packers?

• 56:17Speaker 05

  Team.

• 56:18Ryan Clark?

  Team?

• 56:19Speaker 05

  Yeah.

• 56:19Ryan Clark?

  All right.

• 56:20Speaker 05

  I think to me, I feel like it's different. Like I'm a raw as a heck of a talent, but I think for me, it's more.

• 56:28Speaker 05

  I feel like it's more of a game, game plan, more of a scheme where it's like we have to go in and try to take away certain things. I wouldn't say it's just one of, I mean, of course, when they get down, they go into him. But with him being inside too, it's a lot harder for me because I don't go inside and do all that. So I think even with JMo, I feel like he's young, he's emerging, working on his game. But I think for the Lions, it's definitely more of a scheme thing. You gotta take care, take care of the run and then stop the shots and then get on the wrong third down. So I think it's kind of simple in that way, even with Washington, scary, scary Terry's a heck of a dude. Played against him a few times throughout my career, but I feel like now with the system that they got, you gotta be able to take away everything. I feel like it's not, yeah, for sure.

• 57:12Speaker 05

  I think scary for one week can go for 200, next week can go for 20. So it's like, you never know. It all depends on the flow of the game.

• 57:18Ryan Clark?

  You said Bengals though, you said, yeah.

• 57:19Speaker 05

  Yeah, Jamar Chase is like that. Jamar Chase is like that. Justin's like that. I was excited for Amari Cooper to go to the Raiders. I love his game.

• 57:26Ryan Clark?

  What has been, what does you think's been your hardest, the hardest, like singular matchup on an individual? What do you think is the most difficult one to lead right now?

• 57:34Speaker 05

  Right now? I would say Devonte. I know when I matched up against him my second year, that was probably the most uncomfortable. I feel like I've somewhat like felt going against somebody where it's like, I was damn near meditating on like his releases for hours, like just going through the house, trying to find his rhythm, trying to find what he does. I would probably say that back then. I haven't played him recently and I played him at the Raiders. It was a shit show over there. But I would say now, I would definitely say Justin because I play him the most. I see him the most. I'm looking forward to Chase because I feel like it's not nothing that wows you, I would say, as far as like route running and things like that.

• 58:14Speaker 05

  But he's a dog and I feel like for me, it was him and AJ. I feel like that. Like it's nothing crazy as far as the routes, but you gotta strap up. You gotta, you gotta, you gotta come correct. You gotta go, go in there with the right mentality. So I definitely love those matchups.

• 58:28Ryan Clark?

  Yeah, well, man, listen, I'm honestly, bro, I didn't. I didn't know what to expect from the entire thing. You know, me and you text a little bit. I got to meet you in person, you know, earlier this year. But man, this is, this was really amazing. And like, when I think of our show as a whole, like, this is what it's supposed to be. Yeah, no doubt. We're supposed to be able to talk about sports, but speak about real life, speak life into people. And I really feel like you did that, man. And for a young man, like, that is a very difficult thing to master, bro. So I appreciate you, bro. Appreciate you. No doubt, appreciate you. Yeah, that job was great, man.

• 59:00Channing Crowder?

  Old soul is what they call it.

• 59:02Ryan Clark?

  That job was great.

• 59:03Channing Crowder?

  Old soul.

• 59:04Ryan Clark?

  Yeah, that was good, man.

• 59:05Channing Crowder?

  Yeah, man.

• 59:06Ryan Clark?

  That was really good. Big dog, that's up. Hey, yeah, hear that? She goes, "That was really good. I don't like anything." That's all. That is very true.

• 59:39Speaker 06

  Every game day, you show up for your team. Now, it's your time.

• 59:49Speaker 07

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