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After the Patriots released defensive tackle Dominique Easley this offseason, some anonymous teammates went to the media with critical comments about Easley’s personality and the way he fit in the team’s locker room.

Others had nicer things to say about Easley, but the fact that the Patriots dispatched a first-round pick before he played his third season with the team seemed to suggest that there were issues with Easley, who has also dealt with several injuries, that the team didn’t see improving over time. When asked about his detractors, Easley says they’re entitled to their opinions even though he’s quick to point out how uninformed those opinions are.

“People are people. I can’t be mad at who they are. If they feel like that, they feel like that,” Easley said, via the Los Angeles Daily News. “They don’t know who I am. They didn’t grow up with me. They didn’t live with me. They didn’t live through things that I’ve been through. So how are you going to tell me who I am?”

Easley landed a one-year deal with a non-guaranteed salary of $600,000 with the Rams, which suggests that there were other doubts around the league about how much Easley will contribute despite his obvious on-field talent. Easley says his job this year is to “show them otherwise” while helping the Rams settle into life in Los Angeles.