Fred Warner, NFL's top Linebacker, on what he means by being so good they can’t ignore you, Super Bowl heartbreak to battling Injury, 49ers facing the Rams, traveling to Australia, chasing the Lombardi, season preview and his growing family.

'Be so good they cant ignore it." Fred Warner The San Francisco 49ers star joins The Pivot to talk about the journey, adversity, and mindset behind becoming the leader of one of the league’s toughest defenses. Going from having Super Bowl MVP locked up to losing the game, Warner opens up about chasing the Lombardi, the lessons that came from falling short, battling back from injury, and what it takes mentally and physically to return to the field at the highest level. He gets real about his family, the people who keep him grounded, and the responsibility that comes with being a leader in the 49ers locker room. He also breaks down the transition to a new defensive coordinator in Raheem Morris, what changes on the field, and how he plans to set the tone for the next chapter of San Francisco football. This is Fred Warner beyond the helmet — his journey, his setbacks, his family, his leadership, and his relentless pursuit of a championship. Check out the full episode streaming now on Netflix. 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.

• 0:01Speaker 00

  This episode is brought to you by Michelob Ultra. Good times mean competitions between you and your friends. Like seeing who can throw some pigskin the farthest or rush the field the fastest. Winner gets an ultra. Because it's not just a superior like beer. It's also giving fans superior access to their favorite sporting events. Superior is worth playing for. Visit michelobultra.com/superioraccess to enter. Enjoy responsibly. Copyright 2026 Anheuser Busch InBev Michelob Ultra Beer, St. Louis, Missouri.

• 0:30Ryan Clark?

  Fred Warner isn't just a middle linebacker. He is the middle linebacker. But you let him tell it. He wasn't even supposed to be here. So how does a kid from BYU who played out of position and ran 464 at the combine become the best middle linebacker in NFL? You just outwork everybody. So Fred invited the Pivot fam to keep pivoting with us. So he came over prepared for his biggest pivot yet. And this conversation goes way beyond football. He takes us back to the injury the night before. Sitting on that field and the gratitude he felt. Also, the tough recovery. We go back even further to his days of recruiting, his college years, and the woman who means everything to him. Yes, his mother.

• 1:15Ryan Clark?

  And then we get into the personal stuff. Sliding into his wife's DMs, whether he would have missed the birth of his child for a game. Oh, and what sort of teammate is Dejounte Love? Nah, I'm just checking to make sure that y'all are listening. This is the time to talk football, though. The 2026 season, opening against the Rams, and the best quarterback that Fred Warner has ever played. He also mentions that that guy could actually be on his team. And when it comes to linebacker, it's Fred Warner and nobody else. So it's only right that our very first show on Netflix starts with the best. So Pivot fam, once again, thank you for pivoting with us.

• 2:17Speaker 02

  Yeah, nah, man, I'm a fan, man. I be tuned into the show. You know what I'm saying? Boys Pivot, Pivot fam, thanks for pivoting with us.

• 2:24Channing Crowder?

  Ah, there you go. He ready to go. There you go.

• 2:27Speaker 02

  I'm telling you, hey, I was, bro, I was, man.

• 2:29Ryan Clark?

  Speaking of, this is a major pivot. This is our first show on Netflix. So the Pivot fam, that's always been pivoting with us. We're now pivoting to a new platform with all Pro Bowler, team captain, Ironman Award winner, everything here in San Francisco. Fred Warner, this is Channing Crowder, Fred Taylor, I'm Ryan Clark. Pivot fam, again, thank you for pivoting with us. Ironically, my birthday is October 12th.

• 2:53Speaker 02

  Mm-hmm.

• 2:54Ryan Clark?

  Right? Which is a day that is now an infamy in your career. October 12th, 2025, a day like any other, five tackles away from breaking the San Francisco 49ers tackle record. Early on in that game, you get injured. It's like seeing a superhero be hurt, right? You really haven't felt anything like that since freshman year at BYU. Take me back to that moment and what you're thinking when you know that your 2025 season is over.

• 3:25Speaker 02

  If I'm answering the question, like, what did I feel in that moment? It was obviously the shock of what was going down, but there was also like a sense of peace and calmness about it because I remember the night before, I'm in my hotel room, you know, I journal before the game. I'm talking to God and I'm like, just, just talking about how grateful I was just for the moment that I was in. We just came off a huge win on the road, Thursday night football against the Rams. Nobody, nobody thought we were gonna win that game. You know, I'm having a great season and I was just so thankful for that moment. I'm like, man, I can't wait to go out tomorrow, get my first interception of the season, Baker Mayfield. Like, that's the type of time I was on, I'm thinking it was gonna be the best game of the season for sure, right? Like, I was feeling great. And then when that happened, it was like, whoa.

• 4:10Speaker 02

  Like, it was kind of crazy, but at the same time, I'm like, God, he's so perfect, his plan is perfect, to where I was like, man, this is, I'm exactly where I need to be, right? That's why I didn't, I didn't shed a tear. You know what I'm saying? I was, I was, people were like, man, why are you smiling on the cart going back? You just snapped your leg and have your seasons over. But for me, it was like, man, I don't, I don't ever blink. It would be wrong of me to, you know, in the moments that things are great, saying, God, you know, has a plan, everything happens for a reason. And then in the times of when it's chaos all around, people are shrieking, you know, the, the crowd's shrieking because they're showing the replay. And it's like, ooh, boy, it's like, no, like, unfortunately, this is, this had to happen for a reason, right? For me, it was like just to come back even better than ever and show everybody what it looks like to really come back out on top.

• 4:52Channing Crowder?

  I felt like Pops on Friday. Get up, Fred. Get up, Fred.

• 4:56Speaker 02

  Oh, yeah, you see that second angle there? Ah, yeah, nah, he ain't getting up from that one.

• 5:02Channing Crowder?

  Just speaking about the injury, though, like, at the moment, you were smiling, which was crazy to me. But at that, like, the after of it, because all time, a four-time All-Pro, your team captain, leader of the defense, calls the plays. We all saw you up in that box, they kept showing you. You didn't look comfortable in that box at any moment that I saw you in that box.

• 5:22Ryan Clark?

  It never looked fun.

• 5:23Channing Crowder?

  Coping, you, you played seven seasons not missing a snap.

• 5:26Speaker 02

  Right.

• 5:27Channing Crowder?

  And now you're done. How did you deal with that when it hit you that I can't play football for the rest?

• 5:31Speaker 02

  No, there definitely was a moment it hit me. Uh, you know, I'm, I get the surgery done finally. It took, I think, a full day of me sitting around and then finally get the surgery. And then my leg's throbbing. I go to that game against Atlanta, I think it was, that following game. I had to deal with the pain of that afterward because I'm up in that suite with my leg barely, you know, attached to itself. And so it was hard, man, because like, to go from being the man, and then you, just the small things, like walking, walking from the couch to the kitchen. I'm on, I'm on a scooter where I'm like, I, it took, it take every, it was taking everything for me to just do simple tasks. And so like, there were moments that like, I broke down. I'm like, man, this is just, it's rough. But, you know, I just keep reminding myself of just staying in present in the moment. Everything was gonna pass.

• 6:13Speaker 02

  But God bless my wife, she was like nine months pregnant at the time. She over there having to like, do everything for me. I'm feeling bad because I'm supposed to be doing everything for her. So, um, it was, it was a roller coaster, you know, but I just, I kept my head down and I had the vision of what, you know, what I was trying to do, setting out to do. So it, it, it worked out.

• 6:31Fred Taylor?

  Fred, you're one of the best to, to ever put on a jersey, man. And I just want to give you those flowers.

• 6:37Speaker 02

  I appreciate that.

• 6:38Fred Taylor?

  But you're also big team captain here, one of the leaders of this prestigious organization. You're the perfect person to ask, what type of teammate was Dejounte Love?

• 6:48Speaker 02

  Hey, I don't know what. I'm like, wait, where's this going, man? He going somewhere with this. A great teammate. It's like my best friend. No, I seen him, he posted something about me looking at his story. I'm like, what the heck? Why, why he pick me to Photoshop the, the, the, the, the tag onto there? I'm like, man, come on now.

• 7:08Fred Taylor?

  Why, why not you?

• 7:09Speaker 02

  Hey, right. And then I got people tagging me like, oh, Fred saw the story. He just fabricated his whole life. You think that that's the one real part of what he posted? Oh, that Fred looked at his stuff. Crazy.

• 7:21Fred Taylor?

  That is crazy, but no, seriously, uh, you know, Sam Marcos, largely raised by your mom, did a great job raising you guys, much so, almost on her own. Looking back at that during your injury and trying to get through it all, were you able to lean on any of that upbringing and reflect on the sacrifices that she made in order to kind of help you make your journey and your, your, your fight back a little bit easier?

• 7:46Speaker 02

  Yeah, I mean, my, my mother is the reason why I am who I am for everything that I've done. Not just for that injury in particular, like, yeah, I had a different mindset to, to come back from that thing stronger, better than ever. But, uh, it's all encompassing in my life for my mindset and why, why I've been able to achieve what I've been able to achieve. You know, her sacrifice, teaching me and my siblings about hard work, you know, I wouldn't be where I'm at without her. So I think that was just another, another moment to, you know, bring, you know, the testimony of, man, what hard work can bring. Because when everybody saw me out there in January on the practice field in the playoffs, you know, that, it was like, whoa, what the heck? This guy had his leg twisted the other direction just a couple of months ago and now he's

• 8:31Speaker 02

  out here on the field. And so I, I use every opportunity to show, you know, what, what she was able to do for me and my siblings, right? I think, I can't, I can't obviously thank her enough for, for what she did for us, but everything is a, is a moment to be able to show that.

• 8:45Ryan Clark?

  So here's my question now. If we're not injured and we got an opportunity for the San Francisco 49ers to get the number one overall seed, but Sydney going into labor, what decision are we making if we not hurt now?

• 9:00Speaker 02

  That's a perfect question because I had to ask myself the same thing. Because we're out there, right? Like, they're, you know, they're playing in the game against Seattle for the one seed while I'm in a hospital room. She's about to give birth and we sat there, we're like, what, what would you have done if you weren't her? What would I have done if I was her? I would have been at that game. Unfortunately, like, it is what it is. And so, listen, I love my babies, I love my wife. It would have been a tough decision, but the one seed, that late in the year, they, I, I gotta be out there. You know what I'm saying? And luckily, she didn't give birth till like, I think, later that night or the next, it was the next day, actually. So I still would have been there.

• 9:36Ryan Clark?

  Yeah.

• 9:37Speaker 02

  But, uh, I, I still would have done both.

• 9:38Ryan Clark?

  Yeah.

• 9:39Speaker 02

  But boy, yeah, God works in mysterious ways because I was able to be there.

• 9:42Ryan Clark?

  So tell me about this then, right? Because, you know, we love, we love love on this show.

• 9:46Speaker 02

  Oh, okay, good.

• 9:47Ryan Clark?

  Love, Channing, Channing's favorite saying. What was the DM that started this?

• 9:55Speaker 02

  You want me to put everybody on game?

• 9:56Ryan Clark?

  This life of love?

• 9:57Speaker 02

  You want, you want me to kind of help, help out the fellows a little bit?

• 10:00Ryan Clark?

  They got young people watching this and they feel like you can go the Dejounte Love route or you can go the Fred Warner route.

• 10:05Channing Crowder?

  I think both, I think both of them are questions.

• 10:08Speaker 02

  Yeah. Yeah, well, we can go, yeah, I don't want to talk too much about Dejounte, but, you know, I, I'm not gonna say exactly, I'm gonna keep that between her and I. If she ever one day get on a podcast, want to say what I said, she can go ahead. But I was real smooth with her and, uh, and let her know that. She was a beautiful young lady. You know what I'm saying? And I wanted to get to know her more. So that's kind of how I went down, you know? She didn't know anything about football or who I was. And it took a little while for her to respond to my DM. So I got nervous. But then when she finally did respond, I got the number and we're texting. She's from Alabama. So we're communicating across the country. And the stars definitely aligned.

• 10:50Channing Crowder?

  So it wasn't emoji bombing, because that's what I read.

• 10:52Speaker 02

  Emoji bombing?

• 10:52Channing Crowder?

  Sending her a bunch of pictures.

• 10:54Speaker 02

  No, no, no, no pictures, no.

• 10:56Channing Crowder?

  The little emojis, the little cat smiling and all.

• 10:59Speaker 02

  Oh, there may have been an emoji too. Not the cats. No, no cats. There weren't no cats in there. There may have been an emoji in there. But hey, listen, you know, whatever gets it done. Today and age, we live in it. Look where we at now. Right, look where we at now. Come on, that's it. So you know what I mean? It's just life, man.

• 11:15Ryan Clark?

  But nah, man, for you, Fred, man, you know, I know the number 464 stands out for you, right? I've watched a ton of Fred Warner tape. I've never looked at that tape and went, this guy runs the 464. You know, for the way you study, the way you diagnose, anything that your coaches say about you, they talk about your anticipation for the game, that you've tapped out your potential, right? That everything got put in you, you find a way to bring that to the field. For you, what started that journey of making sure I understood everything that was going on? That would allow me to play faster than what my time makes it?

• 11:57Speaker 02

  Oui, let's see, we go back 2018, young Fred Warner, Brigham Young, 464. I was, you know, my comp coming out was Alani Fuwa, who was a former BYU player. Probably, nobody probably knows who that is. You know, it took, it took time, right? It was, I was definitely a project. And God bless anybody out there who comes out nowadays, their first round draft picks or, you know, high draft picks and they're expected to play day one. I wasn't that guy, right? I was a third round draft pick who was a project, never played stack off the ball linebacker. And I got put with the best linebacker coach, you know, in my opinion, of all time, almost, besides Johnny Holland and D'Amico Ryan's. It was his first year as a linebacker coach, my first year as a linebacker in our system.

• 12:41Speaker 02

  And Robert Sala, he had a vision for me and fitting in his scheme. And they were able to tap into that just through belief in me first. Like, the fact that I had guys who believed in me and I didn't know if I even believed in myself yet, because I hadn't done it, right? You know, I knew I wanted to be great. I knew I belonged in the NFL, but to have those guys believe in me and coach me up hard, you know, I'm forever indebted to them first. And then, once I kind of started to make a player too, I'm like, uh-oh, I think I belong now. And then it was just a matter of like, okay, how far can I take this thing? And it was always a constant quest, a constant curiosity of how to keep taking that next step. And I always remember Kyle Shanahan in a team meeting saying just something simple like, you're either getting better or you're getting worse in this league.

• 13:25Speaker 02

  You ain't never staying the same. And that always just resonated with me of like, man, you always got to be finding ways to get better, because you're never just entering a new, a new season like the same player. Oh, you're, you're the number one linebacker, you're this, that and the third. Like, well, guess what? Once you hit the top, it's even harder. Yeah, there's nowhere to go but down or stay the same. So it was like, how are you going to continue to try to find a way to get better even when you've reached that? So that's what has allowed me to continue to stay hungry and search for flaws in my own game, because that's truly what it was. That's what it was. It's like, okay, they told me I was slow. They told me I wasn't physical. They told me I couldn't use my hands. So I was like, okay, perfect. This is what they said I can't do? Let's work on those things and let's make them strengths. And then you looked up and it was like, whoa, now they calling me the best in the game.

• 14:10Speaker 02

  And it was like, whoa, how did that happen? And it was like, man, I just, I had great people around me, coaches, mentors, players. And I just, I just was honest with myself at the end of the day, you know what I'm saying? I was like, okay, boom, you say I suck at this, let me go make it, make it good.

• 14:25Channing Crowder?

  I'm trying to call no coaches, I don't know no names anyway, but it seems like you were out of position in high school, college. Honestly, like, nobody set you off the ball and then the 49ers said, hey, let's take this big motherfucker, put him off the ball.

• 14:38Speaker 02

  Yeah, nah, it was a perfect storm.

• 14:39Channing Crowder?

  Think about a Hall of Fame pass, but you went third round.

• 14:42Speaker 02

  Right.

• 14:42Channing Crowder?

  You went to BYU. There's no way your big ass should have been at BYU. You know what I'm saying?

• 14:47Speaker 02

  A little back then, a little.

• 14:49Channing Crowder?

  Oh, okay.

• 14:49Speaker 02

  I mean, I had to put weight on.

• 14:51Channing Crowder?

  Yeah, but there's some players, like, I think you were out of position. That's as simple as that.

• 14:54Speaker 02

  Yeah, it was funny too, though, because like, it was honestly the perfect storm for me. Because at BYU, they had me playing like nickel out in space a whole lot, right? Almost like a DB type of position where in the league, that wasn't, that wasn't a thing at the time. And then, so then, when the, when the league started to kind of change into more, they want stack guys who can play in space and do those sort of things. It was like, I already know how to do that. That's where I'm comfortable. You asked me to go out and play in space and cover receivers and tight ends and backs? Like, I know how to do that. It was, for me, it was like learning how to now strike 330 pound lineman, boom, X off, go make a thud tackle where I'm knocking guys back instead of getting drug, drag tackling cats. You know, and that's kind of how it worked. But luckily, the whole like, playing out of position actually worked in my favor,

• 15:39Speaker 02

  because it was, I was right in the revolution of the position a little bit.

• 15:42Fred Taylor?

  Yeah, we see the development as a player, but let's talk about the development as a young man to a, to a man. Going to BYU as an 18-year-old and leaving home and then going that far. Like, just talk about who you were when you arrived to BYU? And who were you four years later when you left?

• 15:59Speaker 02

  I was barely, I think I was 17 when I stepped on the campus. So it was like, it was a shock for sure, because I'm from, I'm from SoCal. Going to Utah, that was a big adjustment, right, in itself? But you talk about just four years of just the maturation process as a, like you said, as a man, as a player, trying to just figure, figure life out on your own. When you, you know, you the man of the house growing up. So it was, it was definitely an adjustment. And I'm so grateful for my, for my time there, because it helped me obviously to where I'm, where I'm at now.

• 16:28Fred Taylor?

  What other scholarship offers did you have coming up?

• 16:31Speaker 02

  It was, it was a weird process, because like, I got the, I got a New Mexico State offer was my first offer. BYU was the next day. And then it was just ghost silent. Like, no, nobody was talking to me. I went on a visit to BYU. My mom said, this is perfect. We'll be safe, sound, boom, we locked it in, we, I'm committed. Back then, that's when commitments actually meant something. Nowadays, they don't even know. I don't even know if they commit anymore. Do they commit or they just sign the dotted line? I don't know, but. And then later on, in my, in my recruitment process, I'm hitting the seven on seven circuit. I'm making moves, I'm out in LA, you know, competing and my name starts getting around. And that's when I started getting, you know, the Pac-12 offers, you know, random schools, you know, like Nebraska came, it was just like, different schools came along, but it was late in the process.

• 17:13Speaker 02

  At that time, I'm like, my mom, my mom definitely was like, yeah, you're not going anywhere else. We already made a commitment, you're going here. So, and I'm so grateful for it, honestly. And BYU was, was the right path.

• 17:24Ryan Clark?

  And you speak about your mom, you know, to have that match her faith as well. I think it helps a young man continue to grow, but that closeness and the bond. I'm sure she felt good to have you there. The NFC West is an absolute treacherous, treacherous road now. And so I know there's some rivals within that. But man, you gotta hate Kansas City.

• 17:48Ryan Clark?

  I mean.

• 17:49Speaker 02

  Yeah, we don't like them, we don't love them.

• 17:51Ryan Clark?

  Fred, it is, it is, we always have this conversation. I talk about like, I've won a Super Bowl and I've lost one. I've been twice. And I always tell them, I'd rather not go than to lose it, right? Because it hurts that bad. You've been on, you know, on record saying, the first one scarred you for life. Bro, to get there two times, to play that well and have, and find ways to basically snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. How did those two games change you and your perspective on winning championships?

• 18:28Speaker 02

  It not only changed my perspective on winning the big one, but it changed my perspective on just the game in general, right? Like, you, you say that you, you would never want to, you'd rather just not go than to feel that pain. I'm the opposite. I'm, I'd much rather have the opportunity to go and compete for one. Because if not, then you never even have a chance at it, right? And I'm not afraid of, of that, that, that pain, that, that failure. I don't want to feel that pain again. I'll tell you that, like, it's, it's, it's a nasty pain. But I'll say the second one probably hurt more than the first, only because the first one, I was so young in my second season. You're right, I'm just out there trying to make plays. I got, I got leaders on the team like Joe Staley, Richard Sherman, the Forrest Buckners.

• 19:11Speaker 02

  They're the guys who were like the captains of the team and kind of steering the ship. That second time around, who's the, who are the leaders of the team? Me, you know, George Kittle, the CMCs, you know what I'm saying? Like, so that one stung more because it's like, damn, like, I'm the one who's, I feel like I'm responsible now for not, not like, not pulling that off. And of course, everybody knows how that game happened with Dre going down. So that was like the added, just extra little sting with that one. But yeah, man, I mean, it is what it is. Like, there's certain things that you, you carry from those games that stay with you forever in terms of like, man, how you go throughout a game and don't, don't get too high, don't get too low. I remember that first game against Kansas City and Miami. We're about, yeah, we're up 10 in the fourth quarter. I have an interception on Patrick Mahomes in the Super Bowl.

• 19:56Speaker 02

  And I'm thinking, hey, man, if I just get a couple more tackles, I might win Super Bowl MVP. Like, that's how, that was the conversation on the, on the sideline, like, and how foolish, right, of me to sit there and be talking like, that's, that's, that's what, being naive in your second year. That's what happens, right? So, you know, you learn from those, you learn from those mistakes. And now then, of course, the old legend of Patrick Mahomes and the old Andy Reid and all that grows. And, you know, at the end of the day, we gotta, we gotta go through them at some point to finally make it. But we'll see.

• 20:25Ryan Clark?

  What hurt more, watching Dre injure himself running onto the field or the actual loss? Because your reaction to, to that was not just from watching the film, that was all I needed to know about Dre Greenlaw's value to the team and to you.

• 20:46Speaker 02

  Yeah, I mean, specifically to me, for sure. Like, that's, that's a brother to me, right? And I care about the person first. And to see him go down in that moment where he didn't even get his chance to like, go down in the, in the battle, you know what I'm saying? Like, we run out on the field and that happens? No words, no words. You know, I remember going at halftime, seeing him in there and like, I'm losing it. I had to like, I had to get myself together, right? It hurt more not to win it for him, you know what I'm saying? Because like, that could have been the perfect opportunity. Your boy goes down like, hey, man, let's win this thing for Dre. And so to not, not come out and get that done for him, that probably hurt more. But, you know, now we get a second opportunity to go try and chase it again, man. It's rare in life you get another opportunity like that.

• 21:29Speaker 00

  This episode is brought to you by Michelob Ultra. Good times mean competitions between you and your friends. Like seeing who can throw some pigskin the farthest or rush the field the fastest. Winner gets an ultra because it's not just a superior like beer. It's also giving fans superior access to their favorite sporting events. Superior is worth playing for. Visit michelobultra.com slash superior access to enter. Enjoy responsibly. Copyright 2026 Anheuser Busch InBev Michelob Ultra Beer, St. Louis, Missouri.

• 21:57Fred Taylor?

  There's a question I have for you is to have Dre back. Like both of y'all just basically chalked up 2025 like that. That's in the history books.

• 22:05Speaker 02

  Yes.

• 22:05Fred Taylor?

  And now you have him back. Like, what does it mean to you to know that he's back here? Both of you are healthy, healthy and ready to go.

• 22:12Speaker 02

  No, it means everything. When I, when I got that phone call from Dre, I'm grinning ear to ear because it is true. It's true. Like in this league, man, when guys kind of, they make the decision to go off in free agency and go, go somewhere else. It's rare that you have an opportunity to come back to a place where you call home.

• 22:28Speaker 02

  You know, and so the fact that we get an opportunity again to come back and do this thing again and, uh, and make sure we do it right. You know, it's the hungriest both of us have ever been, right? For him, he's going, coming from a different situation, finally being able to come home and prove himself again. Being here, me coming off injury, wanting to prove myself and show that I'm still like still the best in the game. So it's like, it's the perfect recipe for us to just go out and, uh, and really bring that heat every single Sunday.

• 22:53Ryan Clark?

  How can you get better?

• 22:56Speaker 02

  Honestly, like I played. Plenty we could, we could talk about, man. We got all the time.

• 23:00Ryan Clark?

  Don't give me no coach speech. Really like you, you have goals set higher than what you're like all pro.

• 23:05Speaker 02

  For sure.

• 23:05Ryan Clark?

  Like, what, like, how can?

• 23:06Speaker 02

  Most definitely.

• 23:06Ryan Clark?

  And I know it's take, everybody wants to win the Super Bowl. You done been to two, so I know that's eating at you too. But you personally, like what, what are you going to do more than be top three in the league in tackles and have multiple sacks? You done caused 17 damn forced fumbles. I ain't even know that. That's crazy, bro. Like what you have goals set higher for? What is, do you, you say you journal? Like what are you really writing that journal? You just write goals? What are you doing?

• 23:28Speaker 02

  Yeah, man, I mean, I'm, I'm never, I'm never setting a limit on myself. Right? I'm always shooting for stuff that is probably unattainable. Right? And, and if I, if I fail, I'm falling, I'm falling at least in the, in this little area right here where it's like, you know what I'm saying? Here's how I phrase it. I shouldn't even be here right now as it is. You know what I'm saying? Like I was never supposed to be this, this person. I was never supposed to be, you know, the Fred Warner. Everybody knows, you know, I'm a little old Fred Warner out of San Marcos, BYU. So it's like, if I was able to achieve what I've already done, it's like, well, how, why, what's stopping me from achieving even more? You know, than what I've been able to do. And it's like the last play, the last linebacker to win defense player of the year, I think was Luke back in 20, what 15?

• 24:10Ryan Clark?

  15.

• 24:11Speaker 02

  About a decade. You know what I'm saying? So it's like, I mean, I know they value sacks and everything, but if you, if you can just be so good, like my, my coach, Johnny Holland used to say, man, you be so good, they can't ignore it. Man, why not? Right? You, your, your numbers got to be dumb. They got to be stupid.

• 24:25Ryan Clark?

  Yeah. Team gotta be good?

• 24:26Speaker 02

  The team gotta be good. The defense gotta be good. And that's, that's truly what matters most. I want to make sure that my play is what is infectious to throughout the entire team to ultimately achieve what we want to go out and do.

• 24:37Fred Taylor?

  You gotta be a little naive. I didn't agree with you on that, by the way. Young and naive and you gotta set the limit. You gotta set the bar high.

• 24:47Speaker 02

  I'm shooting that thing way through the, way through the ceiling.

• 24:50Fred Taylor?

  Right.

• 24:50Speaker 02

  Way through the ceiling. So I'm delusional in that way. You know what I'm saying? Where I'm like, I've lived in delusion my whole career of saying, telling, telling myself when I was early on, like, man, I want to be the best. And it's like, what? You ain't finna be the best little 48. You know what I'm saying? Scrawny, scrawny cat. What you mean you want to be the best? It's like, I want to be the best. You do the things that require being the best and all of a sudden you look up and it's like, hey, we got stuff to work on still though.

• 25:15Ryan Clark?

  I'm close.

• 25:16Speaker 02

  You know what I'm saying? So.

• 25:17Ryan Clark?

  For you, you know, I know what I would do was every off season, I'd go watch a group of safeties that I respected. And then I'd go watch my tape and I'd say, okay, this particular thing I want to work on. You mentioned early on in your career being like, they said, I can't do this. They said, I can't do that. They said, I can't do that. So let me go work on those things.

• 25:37Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 25:38Ryan Clark?

  As a rookie, I think you missed like 18 tackles.

• 25:40Speaker 02

  Mm hmm.

• 25:41Ryan Clark?

  Right? You wouldn't worked on that.

• 25:43Speaker 02

  Boy did his homework.

• 25:44Ryan Clark?

  Yeah. Now, now when you.

• 25:45Speaker 02

  Was it 18 for real?

• 25:45Ryan Clark?

  Yeah, it was 18. Now, when you miss one, now when you miss one, when you miss one, I rewind it like, damn, what he do? I'm like, what he do to make Fred miss it?

• 25:54Speaker 02

  My gosh.

• 25:55Ryan Clark?

  For, for you, this off season in understanding and being able to sit back for those 12 games and think about who you wanted to be coming into this season. What in particular have you been focusing on leading up until this game against the Rams?

• 26:11Speaker 02

  Yeah, man, I mean, I want to be so dominant in terms of like, first of all, taking the ball away. I want to be the separator in terms of that from the position where it's like, okay, you got your linebackers who can cover, who can play the run. But it's like, what's the thing? Yeah. What's the thing that's going to really change the game for your team at the end of the day? And so I think that's why edge rushers are at a premium because they're the ones who are over there affecting the quarterback, you know, on a playing play out days, uh, basis and being able to get the ball out of the quarterback's hands, force the, the tips and overthrows for defensive backs. So I want to be that cat that's really affecting the football first and foremost. And then it goes to like, all right, what haven't I done yet up to this point? We just talked about edge rushers affecting the quarterback in the, in the blitz game,

• 26:56Speaker 02

  you know, and having that opportunity to try to get one on ones with backs. You know, coming, coming through the B gap against guards, like winning, winning those one on ones. You know, I look, I look at all that, man. Hand, block destruction, tackling. I'm always, I'm always nitpicking my game. At this point, it's me against me. So I'm, I'm always trying to see like, okay, like what, what, what do I need to do? If it's not, if it's not up to the standard, then I gotta look at it.

• 27:21Ryan Clark?

  The mental part of the game though, not only understanding what you have to do or the way you want to focus on the game, but lining everybody up, right? Being able to communicate, uh, distribute the call throughout. Bro, it's been D'Amico, Robert, Steve, uh, Sorensen, back to Robert. Now you got Ra. We've been around him a ton. That's a different level of energy.

• 27:47Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 27:48Ryan Clark?

  That, that walks into the building.

• 27:50Speaker 02

  Sure.

• 27:51Ryan Clark?

  Every day. As the leader of this defense, what is your responsibility as it pertains to making sure that Raheem Morris's message is distributed throughout the defense each and every day, especially from an energy standpoint?

• 28:05Speaker 02

  Yeah, man, I'm always trying to out energy, the energy, man. And in Ra, you know what I'm saying? Like I remember his first, one of his first, uh, defensive meetings. He's like, good morning, fellas. And I'm like, great morning. He's like, whoa, great morning. All right.

• 28:20Speaker 02

  I guess it's great morning from here on out. So it's like, you know, I'm, I'm trying to be that guy consistently, right? I, I'm not just a sometimes type of cat. Like I'm not just sometimes coming in with great energy or sometimes bringing the, you know, the, the energy to practice. Like I want, first of all, it's, it's about being consistent and it's about having that, that relationship with Ra of knowing like, all right, what is, what is his vision of our defense? What is he trying to, you know, what's the message he's trying to get across to the group? So then I'm know, I know me and him are on a clear same page. So then I'm funneling it to the rest of the group. Right? And, uh, you know, I think that's, that's where it starts and it ends, but it's a constant evolution, right? It's not going to be a finished product come week one of what, of what we're trying to achieve. Uh, it's going to be all season, but that thing better look darn good come week one or else.

• 29:04Ryan Clark?

  It better be damn close.

• 29:05Speaker 02

  Yeah, it better be damn close. Cause I mean, obviously what we're playing, but yeah, I mean, I'm, I'm excited for the challenge though.

• 29:10Ryan Clark?

  I was never good enough to do this, but I played with Junior Say I was Zach Thomas and they used to do it. So you up there with them. Can you, can you tell Ra, Robert and them, you have some crazy defensive coordinators you've played under. Just the list you just named is nuts.

• 29:23Speaker 02

  Crazy, yeah.

• 29:24Ryan Clark?

  But could you be, they'll put something in, be like, Ra, that shit garbage.

• 29:30Ryan Clark?

  Did you have a casta to do that?

• 29:32Speaker 02

  No, I mean, I, I don't know if I'm just straight up calling it garbage. I mean, we might have a conversation about trying to, I mean, like, let's talk about this a little bit, but that's the beautiful part about guys that I mean, coordinators I played under is like, they're all humble in that, in that way of wanting to have that over communication. Cause you know, there's, I'm sure there's some guys out there is like, man, it's my way or the highway, which hey, cool. Like whatever, you got to do what you got to do as, as a guy who's at the top. But, uh, I've always played with guys who were open to that, that conversation when it comes to different plays. But, and usually they're not, they're not saying anything that's garbage either. But you know what I'm saying? I, I haven't, yeah, I haven't really.

• 30:06Ryan Clark?

  Junebug got rest his soul. He used to put a, a blitz in and they'd have him line to run through somewhere. He'll say, nope.

• 30:14Ryan Clark?

  And the coach be like, what you mean, Junior?

• 30:15Speaker 02

  What Junior said?

• 30:16Ryan Clark?

  Nah, I'm going around.

• 30:20Speaker 02

  He one of the best ever do.

• 30:23Ryan Clark?

  That golden jacket first ballot, dawg.

• 30:24Speaker 02

  That's right.

• 30:25Ryan Clark?

  You get to do what you want.

• 30:26Speaker 02

  That's right.

• 30:27Fred Taylor?

  That is. Over/under, tears coming during the anthem before or after the kickoff? When you come back?

• 30:33Speaker 02

  No tears. No tears for me, dawg. Yeah, I think I'm gonna be in such a bad place at that point.

• 30:41Ryan Clark?

  I like that, dawg. I like bad place.

• 30:43Speaker 02

  You know what I'm saying? It ain't gonna be no tears to be shed at that moment. But it'll be special, though, right? You know, it'll be special to finally be in that moment. I haven't really thought about it as like the first time back, though, to be honest. Like, everything has been such a smooth transition. I think it was so important for me to come back in the playoffs last season, even though I didn't play in the game, but like to have my feet on the ground, practicing and feeling like myself again, allowed me to just kind of really like just take it as if I'm going into the next season, fully healthy, training hard, duh duh duh. It was never like a, okay, my first practice back, oh, my first game back. It's like, nah, like, I just gotta go out there and I gotta do my thing, right? My team needs me, you know, so I need to go out there. I need to be who I need to be.

• 31:25Fred Taylor?

  Yeah, the team needs me part. Did that time away or the timeout from the games, did that give you a different feel for your role as a leader? Like a different perspective, like watching the game from the outside as opposed to being immersed in it?

• 31:41Speaker 02

  Yeah, I mean, it was, uh, it was different, man, because we've talked about it. I went seven straight seasons, especially at my position, without really missing time. And so throughout those seven seasons, you see guys go down. They're kind of away from the team. You always, once you sit back, you wonder like, man, what happened to Buddy? Like, he kind of dipped out on us. What's going on? And then I'm in that situation, and I'm like, damn, I wonder, are they thinking that I abandoned them? Because like, it's not even that you necessarily don't want to be a part of the team anymore. It's like, man, I got, I have to focus so much on like my rehab. And like, it'd be silly for me to sit in the meetings throughout the season, prepping for different teams, when I could be using that time more wisely to like get back quicker, right?

• 32:26Speaker 02

  So it was strange in that fact of not really being, feeling like a part of the team when you're at one point feeling like you're the guy that people are relying on and looking at, and now you're like, damn, I'm not even really a part of the team anymore. But even though you really, you are, but like, it's just that's what the feeling is. So that was tough. But you know, I feel like I still did a good job of staying around the guys and staying connected.

• 32:47Ryan Clark?

  Bro, iron sharpens iron, man. And I remember, you know, back when we were great defensively in Pittsburgh, we always stopped the run. But that was because at practice, you had to stop the run, right? Like you, they was gonna run it, and we was gonna have to...

• 33:03Speaker 02

  Y'all knew they was running it?

• 33:04Ryan Clark?

  And you was gonna line up and figure it out, right? So that was the thing. And so, beginning of the season, we ran the ball well, but we stopped the run, right? And we played everything from that. Every day, you're out there, man. Christian McCaffrey's on the other side, and also Kyle Shanahan.

• 33:18Speaker 02

  Yes.

• 33:18Ryan Clark?

  Talk a little bit about what those battles are like and how that allows you to keep competing at a high level in practice. So when you move into stadiums, it's not this whole jump of this game time, because I've been preparing that way the entire offseason.

• 33:35Speaker 02

  Yeah, man, I mean, I've been blessed in that way, like, my whole career, being a part of this franchise, competing against Kyle as our play caller in our offense. And then you mentioned Christian, getting him in 2022, that was like, I still remember that moment, being in the barber chair. My barber, he turned to me like, hey, bro, y'all just got Christian McCaffrey. I'm like, bro, quit playing, man. Get that out of my face. Like, no, like, for real, you got Christian McCaffrey? I'm like, oh! And we both dapping up, we screaming, bro. It was crazy. But, you know, of course, yeah, that's gonna breed the best out of me. I'm gonna try to get the best out of him. And really, like, going, you know, I'm sure everybody got their opinion about Brock Purdy. Brock Purdy, in my opinion, best out, best out, okay? And then, look, of course, everybody gonna be like, man, what the heck you talking about, bro? They got the Josh Allens, the Patrick Holmes.

• 34:19Speaker 02

  The way that he be out there, playing the position at the highest level, I'm just telling you right now, just stay tuned. I'm just telling you right now, this camp, you didn't have me in a blender a little bit. And I don't give that up to anybody. But, you know, competing against the best every day, obviously, is only gonna get the best out of me and vice versa. And yeah, so then we go out there, man, going against Kyle's system. You go out and you play Matthew Stafford in the Rams, week one. You're definitely way more prepared for that situation had you played in a different system for somebody else elsewhere. And I just never known any different. So I've always been ready to go week one, no preseason, no nothing, let's go, let's roll. It's like, man, this is the most competition you gonna get.

• 35:03Speaker 00

  This episode is brought to you by Michelob Ultra. Good times mean competitions between you and your friends, like seeing who can throw some pigskin the farthest or rush the field the fastest. Winner gets an Ultra. Because it's not just a Superior light beer, it's also giving fans superior access to their favorite sporting events. Superior is worth playing for. Visit michelobultra.com/superioraccess to enter. Enjoy responsibly. Copyright 2026 Anheuser-Busch InBev Michelob Ultra Beer, St. Louis, Missouri.

• 35:31Channing Crowder?

  The philosophy of Shanahan, because we go to a lot of camps. We've been to y'all camp. First thing we say when we go to camp, oh, these boys out here banging.

• 35:40Channing Crowder?

  We won't call any other teams, but we go to other teams, be like, oh, yeah, they ain't hitting like that.

• 35:44Ryan Clark?

  No question.

• 35:46Channing Crowder?

  But the philosophy of it, well, we know that y'all gonna bang, but then everybody's trying to keep people healthy.

• 35:51Speaker 02

  For sure.

• 35:52Channing Crowder?

  But if you ain't banging, you ain't ready to bang when it's time. Why do you feel like that, that back and forth?

• 35:56Speaker 02

  It's a balance. It is. It's a hard balance. But, uh, you know, I think Coach Shanahan does a great job of talking with our, you know, our sports trainers, sports science, all them people that kind of conjure up the scheduling and everything and like how we're gonna do things to take care of the guys, because obviously, you know, we know what kind of, you know, who, what the roster looks like. So having to protect guys, but also it's like, all right, when our feet touch that grass, there is no like, oh, half-speed, this, that, and the third. It's like, no, we're gonna go all out and we're playing football. Let us kind of taper y'all down in terms of like, all right, when are y'all on the grass? How long are you on the grass? But when we on the grass, we going. You know, we're not tiptoeing into this thing. It's like, we're playing ball.

• 36:40Speaker 02

  So that's just kind of how we've gotten down.

• 36:42Ryan Clark?

  How much do y'all think about the legend of the substation?

• 36:45Speaker 02

  Yeah, man, that's just folklore.

• 36:48Ryan Clark?

  Yeah, bro. And it's all y'all fans.

• 36:52Speaker 02

  Yeah, man. I mean, that thing blew up last year, right? You got me going down, you got Bosa going down. It was a perfect storm for all of it, right? Then as soon as it...

• 37:00Ryan Clark?

  Number all pros.

• 37:01Speaker 02

  Everybody's hurt, and then people called it out, and they're like, oh, that's the reason why everybody's hurt. It's not the reason we were hurt. I had a freaking freak accident. Somebody ran, flew into my leg and broke it. And, you know, it just is what it is. Football is a violent game, man. Injuries are gonna happen, and then there's the whole age of it all. You know, if you're older, you're more susceptible to injuries, this, that. Listen, at the end of the day, it's football. There's no substation. That's it. That's not a real thing.

• 37:26Ryan Clark?

  Hey, you know, the one thing, because I keep thinking about great defenses, the one thing that we would do, and the conversations we would have during the week, every time we play Baltimore, right? You know, James Ferrier was our middle linebacker, and we would have conversations about Ray Lewis. And Troy was the safety I played. We'd have conversations about Ed Reed. And, yeah, like, Joe Flacco, like, they mattered. But our thing was, hey, man, we don't know how many points we're gonna score, right? We gotta dial in on what we are doing to help our offense, whether it's get the ball back for them, whether it's give them short fields, all of those different things. When you head into a game, like you're playing against the Rams,

• 38:11Ryan Clark?

  who now, I mean, it's damn Avengers, right? They went out, you know, you bring in Myles Garrett, right? You bring in Trent McDuffie. Obviously, Aaron Donald is now back. How much do you think about making sure you can add to what your offense could do facing a defense that is as stacked as the Rams will be?

• 38:31Speaker 02

  Yeah, I mean, I think that's a good point. I think the mindset remains the same regardless of the opponent. I want to make sure our standard for what we're trying to do as a defense isn't dictated off of whoever we're playing and what our offense might be seeing. Like, nah, it wouldn't have mattered, whatever the team is. Our goal every week is to pitch a shutout. Is that realistic? Of course not.

• 38:55Ryan Clark?

  Gotta think that way.

• 38:56Speaker 02

  But you have to have the mindset, right? And it's like, I want to make sure that that's not lost amongst the group. And it's like, what are we truly like seeking? What are we searching for? Like, what's gonna allow us to have the best opportunity to go win a championship? You know, and so at the end of the day, man, whether it was the Rams or anybody else, like, we're trying to go out there, we're trying to, we're trying to put our best foot forward at the end of the day, right? We know the task that we have as a defense in competing against Stafford and them boys on offense, what our offense has to deal with against their defense and them boys that they got on their side. At the end of the day, man, we're just gonna put the ball down, we're gonna play ball, and we're gonna see what happens. But the mindset remains the same regardless of the opponent.

• 39:31Channing Crowder?

  Talk about Stafford, but who do you play? Because they make a check, you gotta make your check, and then they look in and they see the safety rolling down, so they make a check. You gotta make... Who is the most fun to play with, the mental game with on the side of the ball?

• 39:44Speaker 02

  Yeah, Stafford up there for sure, man. I mean, it's just like, it's different when you're playing a cat. He, what, he 40? 40 years old. He, when you got, a guy's seen everything, he's done everything, you know? It's like, and of course, now you're not only competing against him, you're competing against McVay and his play calling, and you're trying to figure out like, okay, what was their plan all along? What are they trying to attack? What have they seen on film? That chess match with Stafford, him, the no looks, he looking this way, throwing it back that way. So do I look at his eyes? Do I play like he know, like I'm thinking he's looking at my eyes? It's like that constant like back and forth, dawg. It's crazy.

• 40:18Ryan Clark?

  I love that.

• 40:18Speaker 02

  And so the fact that we playing week one, where there's no tape, he ain't seen me in a minute because I was out last year. I ain't seen him in a while.

• 40:28Speaker 02

  Both teams don't play the starters in the preseason. So it's like, you rolling the dice with that, like, y'all, y'all boys, go ahead, go out there and let's see what happens. Yeah, I'll probably say Stafford, dawg. That's the one where it's like, man, that chess match throughout the game of like trying to play that game is a fun battle, for sure.

• 40:45Ryan Clark?

  Hey, that's like Little League. You know, in Little League, man, they just roll the ball out, see ball, get ball.

• 40:49Speaker 02

  Yeah, they ain't no see ball, get ball with them. You better make sure you know what you're doing.

• 40:55Speaker 02

  You better make sure you know what you're doing. It's gonna be a long day.

• 40:59Fred Taylor?

  Yeah, that's part of it though. Like what separates a athletic linebacker from a linebacker who truly, truly understands the position? Like you got linebackers, but then you got, you know what I'm saying? Linebackers, guys that know all this shit. Like every fucking quarterback.

• 41:18Speaker 02

  You know what, man? And you know, I, we talked about the 464 thing. God bless me with an ability when it comes to like upstairs, just like my, my brain is, is operating at, at a higher frequency than probably most. And that's what, that's my edge. That's what gets, that's my, my superpower is like just being able to, to really try to dissect what's going on like quick and in a hurry. Cause you know, in game day in, in the NFL, man, things are happening so fast. That's a lot of guys, they, they freeze up when they, when all of a sudden they're seeing something that they may have not seen, or you know, all these different motions and checks and it's, it's a lot. And especially at Mike, like you're communicating to the whole rest of the defense and then you still gotta settle in, play your game and go affect the ball somehow. So you know, some guys, it, it just comes easier than

• 42:03Speaker 02

  others. For me, that part kind of came a little easier and I have, I've worked on it a ton to like, to really be able to process at a high level. But I think it's, it's true just with any position, but especially linebacker, quarterback, the processing ability to really digest information and, and, and get things clicking at, at, at a high frequency. That's where you see the guys who are probably, you know, the most elite in the league.

• 42:25Ryan Clark?

  I know, I know they hate you at joint practice. I know you the punch the ball out guy.

• 42:30Speaker 02

  Nah, they love me. We hugging like this.

• 42:32Ryan Clark?

  Hey, I already know. Hey, I already know the running back, the running backs coach, man. They're running, they're like, man, that's Fred, man. He always punching at the ball.

• 42:41Speaker 02

  I love me some joint practice, man. It's, it's tough, man. Camp, bro, is long. You're beating your own guys up for so long and you get a fresh face, man. It's, uh, it's fun to just kind of get that change up in, in camp.

• 42:51Ryan Clark?

  The one thing I did want to give you a chance to do before you left, man, like you, you represent all of your heritage, but you know, you've represented, you know, Mexico and been a part of making sure people understood that about your mother and the way that you've grown up. Why was that? Why has that been important for you as you've gotten more popular, become more successful to make sure you pay homage to that piece of you?

• 43:18Speaker 02

  Yeah, I mean, it was, it was important for me, first of all, because you know, football has brought so much to my life. It's such a beautiful game, man, where it brings guys of all different sort, like from all different ethnicities and backgrounds and upbringings and brings them all together for, you know, trying to achieve the same, you know, trying to achieve the same thing, right?

• 43:39Ryan Clark?

  Right.

• 43:40Speaker 02

  And for me, I, I represent a lot of backgrounds, a lot of cultures. And you know, I think it'd be a shame if I just went out there and said, man, I'm just trying to play ball. It's like, no, I feel like I, football is, is a platform for me to, to do more than just play football. I could really affect a lot of people's lives by how I play the game and how I, how I represent myself, my family, uh, my, my, my, my people really. So that, that's always been important to me, man, to really just be of high character and do things the right way. So when kids watch me or anybody really, it's like, man, Fred, he just does things the right way. I want, I want to be more like that. And that's, that's truly what, what I'm trying to, what I'm trying to do.

• 44:14Fred Taylor?

  Fred, when you look, when you look back at everything from the way your mother brought you up to almost being overlooked, to BYU, to be, being the best at the position you're playing, to two tough Super Bowl losses, a tougher injury, uh, marriage, fatherhood, to now, what would you consider the biggest pivot?

• 44:36Speaker 02

  Man, you know, I always be in my car. I'm listening to y'all boys on the pivot. And I hear that last little line, man, what's your biggest pivot in life? And I'm sitting there like, man, what would I say? And it's like, you know, Aziz, when y'all, when y'all interviewed Aziz the other, the other day, I, I was listening to him and you know, he made a good point, right? There's different phases of your life where like, there's a lot of pivots that may have altered, you know, where you're at currently. But adulthood in the NFL, I'd say my biggest pivot, man, was probably my fourth year. I came in, I was coming off of my first All-Pro, my first Pro Bowl, a new deal with, with the team, a lot of expectation on my head. And, uh, you know, just, I wasn't quite right with

• 45:19Speaker 02

  my body, my knees, my knee was kind of bothering me a little bit. And I went into that camp. I wasn't performing like I was supposed to. And I had cats telling me like, hey Fred, you good? Like you, you feel like the contract? You feel like everything's kind of, is a little too much on you right now? And I'm always, I was thinking like, no, like I didn't, I didn't think that was, that was a thing. And then all of a sudden they planted that in my mind. I'm like, like damn, am I, am I doing too much? Am I playing? Am I not, am I not playing right? And I remember I went into that season and I was thrown off the whole, the whole year. The whole year I'm, I'm thrown off. I'm not playing right. I'm getting chewed out in the meeting. I'm not, and I just wasn't myself. And I started letting like that outside noise kind of fester in my brain a lot. And it took me seeking out help from a, a sports site that I followed on Twitter at the time. Uh, Jim Renfro, he,

• 46:04Speaker 02

  I, I still haven't even met him to this day. I was over the phone. I called him up. First of all, I DM'd him, them DMs, boy. I DM'd buddy. I'm like, man, I need help. This is like late in the year. I'm like, man, I need some help, bro. I'm just like, I'm in my head right now. I got, I gotta get out of my head to like get back to, to playing like I want to. And, uh, you know, he, he got me on the phone, man. And we talked through things. And he told me, man, like, man, look, you're, you're the lion at the end of the day. Sometimes the lion, they don't get the kill, but that doesn't mean that they're not a lion. Right now, you're not getting the kill because you know, of all these different factors, if you're not playing this, that and the third. But guess what? You're still the lion. You're still Fred at the end of the day. You're still the guy that went and made that All-Pro. You're still the guy that went and got that Pro Bowl and the guy that

• 46:48Speaker 02

  earned that contract. So just go out there, man, and just be, be the lion. Just enjoy the hunt. Don't worry about the kill. Don't worry about trying to get forced fumble, trying to get interception, how many tackles you won in the game. Just go out there and hunt. And boy, that, that saved me. That saved my entire career. Because that, from that moment on, I never worried about going out there and chasing stats or what the outcome was going to be. My whole goal was just go hunt. And so I remember going into that playoff in 2021 and I went, I punched the ball out on the road against Green Bay. They were the, the one seed, completely flipped that game. We went on the road. You know, my, my, my, my whole career just went and, and took off from there. But if it wasn't for that moment with him and, and trying, and kind of going through that low in my career, I,

• 47:33Speaker 02

  I wouldn't be where I'm at today. So.

• 47:35Ryan Clark?

  Man, that's a, that's an amazing story. It's really dope, man. Listen, we've been trying to do this for a long time. So I really appreciate you taking the time, uh, during camp. Like I think that says a lot about your character, but also how you appreciate us. So we're very, very thankful.

• 47:50Speaker 02

  I'm a fan, dog. I listen.

• 47:51Ryan Clark?

  Nah, we're very, very thankful. Bro, all the things you accomplished, I often have this conversation. It's like, man, what's some of the biggest separation between who I believe is the best at something and who is number two? And I think in our game, it's Fred Warner and the next best linebacker. No disrespect to them. So I'm extremely excited, bro, just to get to cut the TV on again, man, and watch a person who I believe is setting the standard at doing something, do what he loves. That brings us all so much joy, man. So best of luck this season, man. Can't wait to see it.

• 48:23Speaker 02

  Hey, man, I appreciate y'all boys. Thanks for having me.

• 48:25Ryan Clark?

  No, dog.

• 48:26Speaker 02

  Yes, sir.

• 48:26Ryan Clark?

  Excellent, man. Appreciate you.

• 48:27Speaker 02

  Absolutely, man. You got it.

• 48:29Ryan Clark?

  No, what was your, what was the position called at BYU? Did they say like flash or something like that?

• 48:33Speaker 02

  They called it the blast, dog. Yeah, it was crazy.

• 48:35Ryan Clark?

  So you basically, it, it was like a nickel, like a, a Rover almost?

• 48:39Speaker 02

  Yeah, it was, it was definitely, uh, unorthodox to say the least.

• 48:43Ryan Clark?

  I can imagine being like a 5'10" slot.

• 48:46Speaker 02

  You got me about who BYU playing. 6'3", my, my stance was like this. Literally, I'm out, I'm out there on two like this. And the Miko was always, was, oh yeah, exactly. My stance was like a DB stance. I'm like, bro, looking back, I don't know. It crazy.

• 48:58Ryan Clark?

  But nah, we appreciate you, brother.

• 48:59Fred Taylor?

  You have a black girl, Fred?

• 49:01Speaker 02

  I got one of each. Yeah, I got a two-year-old boy and then a seven-month-old baby girl, man. It's a dream.

• 49:06Ryan Clark?

  But that's crazy though. You be sitting in the, watching the game in the, in the hospital room, having that conversation with your old lady.

• 49:12Speaker 02

  No, it was wild, bro. It was. Cause I'm like, dang, like I really wasn't been, gonna be able to make the, the birth. Like I was gonna, supposed to be playing in the game. And then I was like, but I never, I never had to make that decision. You know what I'm saying?

• 49:24Ryan Clark?

  That'd have been crazy. She, but the thing is though, your, your spouse, they understand

• 49:28Speaker 02

  Yes, 1,000%.

• 49:30Ryan Clark?

  If you don't, if you don't have one that understands this, you actually can't be good at it.

• 49:33Speaker 02

  For sure. 1,000%. She let me just be me out, over here. She, there's an expectation. I, I come through them doors, I'm daddy. Yeah, I'm, I'm a husband.

• 49:43Ryan Clark?

  Right.

• 49:43Speaker 02

  But she's like, you go do what you gotta do, be that person. You be a, I don't know that man. I don't know who that is out there.

• 49:49Ryan Clark?

  Don't bring him home.

• 49:49Channing Crowder?

  I like what he said. He said, I'm gonna be in a different place then.

• 49:52Ryan Clark?

  I love that. He said, he's, he's gonna be in a dark place.

• 49:55Speaker 02

  I'll be in a dark place. I, I just, listen, talk, people talk about like, okay, how did you become who you become? Like I had to find that. You know what I'm saying? And that's really what you see.

• 50:29Speaker 05

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

• 50:40Speaker 06

  Ask your prescriber about Wegovy. Somemagnitide injection 2.4 milligrams a GLP-1. Call 1-833-4-WEGOVY or visit wegovy.com to view the medication guide and to learn more about Wegovy. Why wait?