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METAIRIE, La. — Day 8 of training camp marked the first time we would hear from safety Tyrann Mathieu since his return to the New Orleans Saints Wednesday.

Since being excused from the start of camp to tend to a personal family matter

“I’m feeling good. I’m in great spirits. Really healthy. Everything that’s important is going good,” says New Orleans Saints safety Tyrann Mathieu.

Head coach Dennis Allen said Wednesday there would be a ramp up process in regards to Mathieu’s participation in practice.

“It’s a fair adjustment. Obviously, you want to take coach’s advice. So, I listen to those guys. I embrace it but, you know, I think in my spirit I know where I belong. You know, and it’s in between those lines. So, it’s just kind of getting all of that out of my head and realizing that a lot of people around me have my best interest going forward,” says Mathieu.

Mathieu took part in team OTAs and minicamp, grasping as much knowledge of the New Orleans Saints defensive scheme as possible.

He says he’s itching to get out on the field and do as much as possible with his new teammates.

“I joked with my coach yesterday, I said what if I just run out there? Like who’s going to get in trouble? You know what I mean? So, we laughed about it but those guys are going to take their time. Obviously I’m still learning the system. I feel like I’m pretty far along in the system. So, like I said, it’s all about getting the body right, getting my feet under me and not going too fast because I think if you go to fast sometimes, bad things can happen. If you can take it slow, you can kind of control the bad things,” says Mathieu.

The full press conference with Tyrann Mathieu is available in the link below:

The Saints will be back at practice Friday morning at 9 a.m.