SUMMERS: At what point were you like, ‘Honestly what else can happen to me? What else will I have to endure?’
TE’O: That was the thought while I was laying on the field in Indianapolis, ‘this cannot be happening right now, come on.’ I just got my groove and I pop my Achilles. I was so grateful when the Saints signed me. Tearing your Achilles is one thing and an injury that a lot of people think is hard to come back from, but add tearing your Achilles to the career I just had of three years up and down and a lot of it was down. But, Sean Payton and the Saints gave me that opportunity and I was able to come over to the Saints. It was one of those things where I was given a role and I just enjoyed being there. I loved my teammates, I loved the city and they really rallied around me. When I got my shot to go in there, start and lead full time I played some great ball and thought, ‘man this is what it used to feel like.’ I like to call my Saints years my Jay-Z years because it started off with a Jay-Z concert. As I started to play my brand of football again as the Manti people knew from Notre Dame, I used have a joke with all my teammates where I would say ‘I think I got my swagger back.’ I definitely miss those days for sure but it was definitely a journey.
SUMMERS: In talking to so many guys around here with the Saints, they’ve told me so many stories of how great of a locker room guy you were. How you always came in ready to work and always came in smiling. I think that is so admirable considering everything that you’ve been through. How much fun did you have playing here?
TE’O: It was by far the highlight of my NFL career for sure. I will forever be grateful for the New Orleans Saints and for the Bensons. Mr. Benson was there during my time and now he has passed. Mrs. Benson is such a sweetheart. Sean Payton brought me there and Dennis Allen, who was the DC and now the head coach. I had a linebacker coach named Mike Nolan and that man had a huge impact on my life. I’ve tried to tell him many times that he was like a father figure to me. He was my coach for one year at the Chargers and the two and a half years I was with the Saints. He really took me in, helped me transition and feel like myself. Those were the best years. I really wish things had worked out because after my first year I had really played some great ball. I was ready to go and the city and I had the same type of energy. I loved the city, I loved the culture and I could end my career here. I…
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