DeAndre Levy

During the season, Lions linebacker DeAndre Levy will express his thoughts in the Free Press about football and life.

I’m feeling a new energy finally getting back on the field with my teammates. It’s been a long ride but it’s been encouraging watching this defense battle and step up in crunch time. I’m getting caught up and can’t wait to be apart of this push.

The feeling of actually competing with everyone again is unrivaled. It’s especially exciting when I think about playing alongside the teammates that I’ve been lucky to have.

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I want to shout out one of those players. One who has become one of my favorite teammates I’ve ever played with: Darius (Big Play) Slay.

I don’t think there’s been a day since I’ve known him that he hasn’t been joking and laughing. I can never tell if Slay is having a bad day. He shows up, works hard and does it all with a smile. The season gets long and when I need a laugh I find Slay.

I don’t know how many times he’s had me laughing in tears at how he can beat up everybody on the team or something that he’s the best at. You name it — video games, corn hole, best hands on the team, best looking on the team, fastest, hardest hitter — Slay is always the best, according to Slay.

When he was a rookie I used to mistake his playful demeanor as him not taking his job seriously. But I was wrong.

I watch him work, from his technique on the sideline in between series during practice to working his footwork before and after. I watch how eager and fired up he gets from competing. I see the energy and focus that he uses to approach his match up each week. His unwavering confidence and joyful nature have helped him become the player he is today.

There’s no denying that Slay loves what he does and it’s important to him.

Winning makes it easier to laugh and have fun. Being on the losing end can make it easy to lose that joy. I'm glad we have a teammate like Slay, a player that always reminds you to stay loose and stay confident, win or lose.