New Orleans Saints Tackle Terron Armstead
Video Call with New Orleans Media
Friday, December 11, 2020

So the most pressing matter, did you hold your album to drop against (Kid) Cudi and sources say you got beef? Just what's your comment on that with (Kid) Cudi?
"No, no, I wasn't looking at any outside competition. It was more so, just thinking about my fan base and my team. So, we just dropped today."

How's it feel to finally have it out (his album)?
"It's great. It's great. It's great. It's been done for a long time, man, but it's just a lot of logistics and business that goes into music, that I honestly had no idea about. So, that's what's been the hold up, but it's great to finally have it out."

How are you feeling? You know, missing two weeks is, you know, hard regardless of the reason but, how are you feeling? You feel 100% now?
"Good. I'm good, excited to be back. Great to be back to work, around the guy's, back playing football. These last two weeks I wasn't able to do anything. So, sitting in the house. Didn't see sunlight for two weeks. So, it was a tough, rough little stretch. But, extremely excited to get back and looking forward to this trip tomorrow."

I know you've said in the past, man, that like, you just really want to play a 16-game season. How frustrating was it this year that you've been healthy and haven't had to miss any time but then this is what you had to miss this game for?
"Yeah, yeah it sucked. Initially, that was, a thought. But what could I do and completely out of my control. And then that's been pretty much the trail, the story of the season. There's been things coming up and we've done a great job as a team. The Saints have done a great job as an organization of making judgments and finding ways to get the job done week after week."

You mentioned guys being able to step up and filling different roles. Do you see that depth that you guys have built related to the culture you guys have as a team in any way?
"Yeah, yeah. And I always say, a great job to the guys upstairs, the front office putting, bringing in the right pieces, not just the talent, but the character. The way a guy goes about his business, the importance of being part of a team and a family. I think that has a direct correlation on performance on the field, that we've got a group that doesn't want to let each other down. And we still have bad plays, but we just try our best not to string bad plays along, because you want to be there for your brothers."

Everyone's experiences with COVID have been so vastly different. How long did you feel bad? Did it compare at all to when you were sick last year?
"No, it was nothing like what I was going through last year. But, it was different. Because the first day I tested positive, I was pissed. You know, I felt normal. I'm ready to get on the plane to go to Denver. And then, probably like that Monday, so that was Saturday, probably like Monday, symptoms started to kick in. And I just was extremely exhausted. My body was drained. Just tired, never got a fever or anything. A few more days later, lost my taste and smell, which is weird, and kind of torture for a big guy. So still dealing with that, the smell and taste thing. But, it was nothing like what I dealt with last year."

Going back to your album, man, I know you got the song on there "Super Bowl" and you're talking, you give shout out to a lot of your teammates. What was kind of their reaction to that song?
"They love it. They love it. I got a couple guys that were like, where's my name drop at. It's just all experiences from Super Bowl weekend last year. Going down for Man of the Year (competition) and then seeing Mark Ingram and Lamar Jackson winning MVP, Mike T (Michael Thomas) winning (NFL) Offensive Player of the Year. Walking in with Cam J (Cam Jordan). So, just all experiences from last year in Miami."

Obviously, you said you're still dealing with the loss of smell and taste. But when did you start feeling normal again?
"It took some days, took some days. Probably, you know, four or five days of symptoms. And then, like I said, never crazy. Just was like, my body just real drained and weak. But, I didn't get the fever. I wasn't coughing and sneezing, all those things. But yeah, like Katherine (Terrell) said, the symptoms vary from who you talk to. And I've talked to so many different people that have had COVID or knows somebody that has it. It's just like, no two stories are the same, everyone's symptoms vary. It is a very unique virus, for sure."