Why new Patriots defender carries a football everywhere he goes
Sometimes, people ask if the inanimate object he's holding is his child. Instead, he explained, it represented his dream.
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On Saturday, the Patriots helped Swinson realize that goal when they drafted him in the fifth round with pick 146. A talented edge rusher, he comes to New England from LSU where he picked up an interesting habit.
Last year, Swinson started to carry an NFL football with him everywhere he went. That included routine shopping trips where people gave him funny looks. On Saturday, he explained it started after he saw LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels do the same thing.
'I got it from Jayden Daniels. He used to carry his dream everywhere, so you always want to carry your dream everywhere. I started doing it my last year at LSU, carrying it around with me,' Swinson said. 'I go to the grocery store. I go to the mall. I go anywhere and just have the ball with me. I keep the ball close. The ball is the program.'
When that started, Swinson's college career took off. Last season marked his first as a starter at LSU. He spent his first three seasons in Oregon and the 2023 season in Baton Rouge. All four seasons he came off the bench.
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Last year, after carrying that football with him everywhere, Swinson led LSU in sacks (8.5), pressures (59), and tackles for loss (13). He earned Second Team All-SEC honors and said carrying a football with him everywhere helped his game.
'When I started doing that and got to game day, everything started surreal when you start punching the ball out and you're used to seeing the ball,' Swinson said. 'When you're holding the ball so much, you get to know the different spots on the ball.'
There are only a couple of problems with that ball. Swinson explained that thanks to Daniels, his football has a Washington Commanders logo on it.
'It's actually upstairs right now,' Swinson said. 'But I can't walk around with it no more. That's a Washington Commanders ball. I need a Patriots ball.'
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He also admitted that routine trips shopping often resulted in others thinking he was a bit off.
'Oh yeah, I always get some type of reaction,' Swinson said. 'They always look at me at me like I'm crazy – like, 'Ok, you must be obsessed or something.' They'll be like, 'Is that your child?' I always have it. I bring it to the pool. I bring it anywhere.'
Swinson wanted to keep his dream close. On Saturday, the Patriots helped him realize it.
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