Why Jalen Mills is keeping his green hair with Patriots

Share

If there's a time for Jalen Mills to change up his look, it's now.

The veteran cornerback has sported a bright green hairdo ever since the Eagles drafted him in the seventh round out of LSU in 2016 and went by "Green Goblin" in Philadelphia.

But now that Mills left the green-and-white Eagles to join the blue-and-red New England Patriots, it's time to ditch the green dye, right? Not so fast.

"Nah, I’m the Green Goblin, man," Mills told NBC Sports Philadelphia's John Clark on the "Takeoff with John Clark" podcast. "That’s in stone. I’m the Green Goblin, still."

Patriots Talk Podcast: How Bill Belichick got his mojo back | Listen & Subscribe | Watch on YouTube

Mills said he even got permission from Patriots head coach Bill Belichick to keep his look after inking a four-year deal with New England.

"So I talked to Bill, I met with Bill yesterday," Mills said. "I also met with (Patriots owner) Mr. (Robert) Kraft. Great guys, man. They just told me to be myself and that’s why they brought me here. They know what type of player I am. They told me to be myself."

Mills blossomed into a versatile starter with the Eagles, playing cornerback for four seasons before switching to safety in 2020 and tallying a career-high 74 tackles with 1.5 sacks and four tackles for loss.

The 26-year-old also developed a strong fan following in Philly, which is part of why he'll keep his green hair despite the color clash with New England's uniforms.

Curran and Perry rank the Patriots' top 10 free-agent signings

“I think at this point, it’s to the point to where there are Jalen Mills fans, there are Green Goblin fans out there, to where I had people who were either writing in my comments or trying to reach out in the DMs, different things like that, and saying they were Philly fans for however long but they were also Jalen Mills and Green Goblin fans," Mills told Clark. 

"You know, now they’re going to be cheering for me in New England and some even saying that they’re going to convert over to Patriots fans now. I think with that, I have to show that loyalty to those fans who actually sit there and watch me play and come to watch me play."

Mills put it more succinctly on social media -- where his Instagram and Twitter handles are both "@greengoblin."

If Mills wants to switch sports while he's here, he'd fit right in on the Boston Celtics.

Contact Us