With the preseason whirlwind of OTAs, training camp, and learning a new system in a new city, it is easy to forget that life is so much more than football for the newest players in the NFL. In their talks with the media ahed of this year’s training camp, first- and second-round picks Garett Bolles and DeMarcus Walker made it clear how important their families really are to their journey.
Bolles, who is married with an infant son, was vocal about their importance to him and how badly he wants to make them proud.
“I love my beautiful wife. As you always see me, my wife is more than my world, and my son, Kingston. They’re the best thing that has ever happened to me. Everyone has a family or kids, and that’s what makes you so happy to go home to or play for. I come here every day to make them proud,” Bolles explained. “I don’t really care about anyone else besides them. I have to make a living for them, and that’s what’s going to happen. I’m going to do whatever it takes to get myself on that field and get myself ready to take care of my family and my teammates around me.”
While Walker doesn’t have a wife or child, his family still comes first. For him, it is all about giving back to the woman who gave him everything: His mother.
“Coming up from where I’m from, I’ve been through the struggle, like every common athlete. Getting my mom out of the ‘hood’ and getting her a car, that was the best thing I’ve done in my life because that women sacrificed and brought me into this world. She took care of me for 22 years. It’s time for me to take care of her now,” Walker told the media.
It’s easy for everyone to forget about life outside of football with training camp upon us and the season right around the corner. The Broncos’ rookies taking the time to talk about their family and what really matters to them is a refreshing reminder that what happens on the field is very much influenced by everything off it.
