Miami Dolphins cornerback Justin Bethel has been one of the best in the league for some time now, but he’s not a household name because most of his big plays don’t come on defense.
Throughout his 12 years in the NFL, he’s been a core special teamer for the five teams he’s played for, making three Pro Bowls early in his first four seasons with the Arizona Cardinals.
Speaking with teammate Raheem Mostert on the running back’s podcast, “Relentlessly Motivated with Raheem Mostert,” Bethel shared that he didn’t always put in the most work to be elite at special teams. In fact, it required a conversation with a veteran during his rookie season that really made him get in line.
“I remember, my rookie year, I had made the team and everything, I was making plays, but I kinda got satisfied,” Bethel shared. “I’m in the league. I made it. I’m on the team. So, I was in meetings. I’d be falling asleep in meetings. I might show up late, or something like that. I remember one meeting I fell asleep. Right after the meeting, one of the older guys, he had probably already been in the league six years, but he was a special teams guy too.
“I remember he took me aside, I’m pretty sure coach told him to say something to me, but he took me to the side and was like ‘Hey, man. You’re coming late to meetings, falling asleep, all that stuff.’ He said, ‘This is how I feed my family. So, for you, you’re telling me you don’t care about me. You don’t care about my kids. You don’t care about my family. Because this is how I eat. This is how I take care of my family, so for you to show up late, fall asleep and not do what you’re supposed to be doing, it’s saying you don’t care about me.’
“I was like ‘Damn. Yeah, you’re right.’ And, after that, that was kinda all she wrote. I bought in. I was doing what I needed to do, watching extra film on all the special teams stuff. That was, for me, that was my moment that I was like ‘It’s not just like I’m here. I made it. It’s just special teams.’ Like, no. A lot of guys, this is how we make our money. This is how we feed our families. This is how we stick around.”
Over the last two seasons with the Dolphins, Bethel has been strong in his kick coverage and even got 124 defensive snaps in 2023, which was the most he had since 2017, his final season with Arizona.
His story, as he goes on to mention, is a good one for young players to learn, as many just want to skip the…
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