My legacy isn't about what I did playing football, but how I use the opportunities that came from playing football.

I love basketball players for what they do for their size - so graceful.

I was always geared towards either wanting to finish number one or be number one as far as the best player that I could be, or be the best player at my position in the league. I wanted that to be a constant reminder to my teammates that they looked to their leader who is wearing that number, this is what you should strive for as well.

Basketball players want contact to get a foul called. Slaps on the wrist and bumps on the shoulder are big time to them, and they don't like that. In football, you get that all the time. The whole mental makeup is different.

Even though my mother had told me growing up that, 'If you win, nobody cares what color you are,' that wasn't necessarily true in the N.F.L.

To me, being in your prime means playing your best and feeling your best, too.

It was about being wanted, it was about winning, and it was about my passion for the game. I just loved it. I absolutely loved to compete and to step out onto that football field with my teammates.