Julius Peppers

“I was never focused on winning individual awards. I just tried to help the team out and do all that I could do.”

“Each season and each team is different. It takes on a different personality every year.”

“I didn't grow up playing football. I wanted to be a basketball player.”

“I'm not above criticism.”

“I don't know too many pass rushers playing at 40.”

“When you get to the big games you never know when you are going to be back so you've got to try as best as you can to take advantage of those opportunities.”

“If you're playing 55 to 60 snaps, you have opportunities to pace yourself, pick spots. When you're not playing as many and you don't know necessarily when you're going to be in, you do have to sometimes make it happen when you're out there.”

“I like to run in the offseason.”

“Bears fans... man... I could not have chosen a better place to make my first stop outside of North Carolina.”

“Finding real friends - that's something that was an obstacle for me. And learning how to deal with my problems and talking about them.”

“It's tough to find the words to say to someone who has lost everything. I can't imagine how it feels.”

“In Charlotte, it was all about the Panthers.”

“I'll always love the city of Chicago.”

“People who are given a lot, a lot is expected out of them. I realize that, but I also realize expectations are unrealistic sometimes.”

“I wouldn't change a thing about this journey. It was the best teacher I've ever had and was everything I could've hoped for.”

“Sometimes you've got to do things you don't want to do. Doing the right thing is not always comfortable; it doesn't always feel good.”

“Sometimes you've got to just dig down deep and be accountable for the role that you have on the team.”

“I got booed a lot of places.”

“Tom Brady is a great player who can beat you.”

“I want to have an impact on the game. Instead of a sack, how about an interception for a touchdown? I could get 15 tackles. I'm just using those as examples, but any kind of impact would be fine, whether it's a sack or anything else.”