Q. From NFL down to Pop Warner, curious how many concussions have you had, how severe were they, and what led you to the decision to return to playing the game?
GRANT CALCATERRA: I had a couple concussions when I was at Oklahoma. I didn't have a whole lot of knowledge about concussions, I just knew -- obviously we all know there's a big stigma around concussions in football. So that's what led me to step away from the game.
You know, as it goes, coming back to football, really it's just my passion for the game. Ever since I've been a kid, I've only seen myself as a football player. It's all I've ever wanted to do. That's who I am. I'm a football player. I played my whole life. Playing in the NFL is a dream of mine that I've always had.
And I wanted to take one shot at it, and I'm blessed to be in this position and super grateful that the Eagles saw something in me to pick me today.
Q. You threw the ball a lot down there at SMU. How does your game translate to the NFL and basically what the Eagles are trying to do?
GRANT CALCATERRA: Right, yeah, I think when I was at SMU, we used the tight end in a lot of ways, in the pass game and run game, and I think talking with the coach, they used the tight end in a lot of ways, in 12 and 13 personnel, using guys to block and run routes.
Really a complete tight end system, and I think that fits my game well. I think I'm a tight end that can do a lot of different things and I'm a versatile player. Excited to get to work and excited to learn. I'm excited to get better.
Q. I know you were a teammate of Jalen Hurts at Oklahoma for a while. What are your memories of him and have you kept in touch with him over the years?
GRANT CALCATERRA: I'm so excited to get back playing with Jalen. He was a great teammate at Oklahoma. We are definitely good friends. I have a ton of respect for him as a player, off the field as well, and yeah, just at Oklahoma it was evident how he was a leader so fast, coming in as a transfer and excited to get to work with him.
I've kept in touch with him a little bit in my journey back to playing. Just got off the phone with him five minutes ago. I'm so excited to get back playing with him.
Q. Did you have any indication they were going to draft you?
GRANT CALCATERRA: I saw them at the Combine and maybe a couple times between the Combine and now. My agent told me there was consistent interest from them. I wasn't sure if they were going to be the team to pick me, when it was going to be. But I could tell you when they were the team to pick me, I was excited. Really excited to be playing football in Philly.
Q. The year away from football, I guess how would you describe it, and during that time, what did you learn about yourself?
GRANT CALCATERRA: Yeah, it was crazy. And I'll say during that time, I was trying to be a fireman out here in Southern California. So I went to EMT school. Got my license. Got hired as an EMT. Went to fire technology school. Applied for different fire jobs in L.A. and San Diego. Worked construction.
So I guess during that time, I kind of learned that I can kind of do anything I set my mind so. I was able to move up the ranks in the firefighting community really fast.
I learned a lot about myself, how I can deal with adversity, how I can persevere through tough situations. So I think that made me grow as a player and as a person this last year at SMU. Extremely grateful for that experience.
Q. I wanted to ask along those lines, what point did you know while you were training to be a firefighter, working construction that you wanted to give football one more chance, and how did that all come about?
GRANT CALCATERRA: Yeah, I will say the whole time that I was not playing, I kind of kept one foot in the door. My brother and I were working out in the garage every day, trying to stay in shape and things like that.
But I would say the turning point for me was watching the Draft in 2020, seeing some tight ends get picked. I was like, you know, I really thought, I was just as good as these guys and a couple months after that I just decided to go for it.
I thought to myself, you can only have one shot to go to the NFL, and I can't decide to go to the NFL at 30 years old halfway through my fire year. So I decided just to go for it, and it worked out. It worked out in a good way for me.
Q. What's your setup this weekend? Who was watching with you, and what's it been like?
GRANT CALCATERRA: Yeah, it so it was just my family, my parents, my three siblings and my girlfriend and a family friend, one of my oldest brother's best friends was in town from Philly. We just kept it small. I wanted close family and friends there and it's been great. They are all excited for me. Couldn't be happier for me.
Q. How do you view this opportunity to join a room that has Dallas Goedert who has had a few successful seasons over the past few years?
GRANT CALCATERRA: I couldn't be more excited. I think Dallas is obviously one of the best tight ends in the NFL. A great learning opportunity for me. We are actually part of the same agency so I have been able to see him around in the off-season. I haven't been able to talk to him much but from what I hear from everybody who knows him, obviously a great player, somebody that I'm excited to come in and learn from.
Q. Last year, the Eagles obviously led the league in rushing. A lot of that occurred with multi tight end sets. How do you view blocking in general?
GRANT CALCATERRA: I think it's an important part of the game. Especially as a tight end, you have to take pride in run blocking. It's something I try to take tried in my game and make improvements and become a complete, polished tight end. Really excited to get to work improving my game.
Q. We read about the risks of multiple concussions. What did you learn that makes you feel comfortable with the risks that you're taking on by returning to football?
GRANT CALCATERRA: Yeah, I would say I learned all concussions are kind of relative. You know, the severities are very different. There's a lot of guys in my position who have had a couple head injuries here and there, that go on and play a long time in the NFL.
You know, guys would have a lot more injuries than me and then go on to have a long career in the NFL. I know technology is coming nowadays that can kind of help with those symptoms, help prevent concussions and things like that. But I'm very comfortable that I can go and come into Philly and play for a long time.
Q. What kind of medical advice did you get when you stepped away? You said you didn't know a lot about it but obviously you were very concerned. Was there any testing or anything that gave you reason to feel that you were overstating your situation then?
GRANT CALCATERRA: So what I learned was every doctor I talked to, none of these doctors told me I had to stop playing. Ultimately it was up to me to make that decision.
And so like I said, with the big stigma with concussions in football, I was just like, I don't want to take the risk, which is a fair -- it was fair reasoning at that time.
But like I said before, ultimately my passion for the game, my love for the game, you know, the identity I put myself being a football player, overruled that. Everybody has injuries, things that will bother you later in life. But I'm willing to take that risk.
Every doctor I met with was also okay with me taking that risk. I'm excited to be back doing what I love.
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