On the scale of dreaded Super Bowl week “distractions,” Falcons running back Devonta Freeman created a mild one earlier this week by saying he was ready to get paid after the season.
But on his own personal scale, that barely registers.
Asked yesterday about the potential “distractions” this week, Freeman gave a frank description of his life growing up in Miami which put it in perspective for him.
“Where I come from, where I grew up at, you know I could be playing in the middle of the field — we called it ‘The O’ in the Pork ‘n’ Beans projects [in Miami] — and a shootout might start,” Freeman told reporters, via the NFL Network. “You know, that’s a distraction. Dodging a bullet or something like that, that’s a distraction. That’s frustration, going to sleep every night thinking you might hear gun shots. That was the stuff that was distracting to me. This is football. Ain’t no distraction.”
So, there.
The Falcons have said they want to talk to Freeman about a new deal — starting next week. But providing him a sense of security might mean more than handing him a stack of money.
