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Punter Tress Way has spent his whole career in Washington, enduring even the toughest moments of the organization's history. With this likely being his last year, he says it won't be easy to walk away.
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00:00That was Tress Way in the locker room yesterday saying this could be his last ride with the Washington Commanders.
00:06And with us right now, it's Spanky's Shenanigans in Leesburg.
00:10The People's Punter, Tress Way, ladies and gentlemen, on Grant and Danny.
00:15Now I noticed, you said you think it could be.
00:17Yeah.
00:18That's a very soft, hedgy, not definitive way of saying this is the end of the road.
00:25Like, do we get a Brady year here from you? What's the deal there?
00:27Well, when I think a Brady year, that'd be going somewhere else.
00:31Oh, I see what you're saying.
00:32That is absolutely off.
00:34But, yeah, it's mostly just to be extra safe of like, dude, you never say never.
00:41But I definitely have got the feels that we're leaning this way.
00:45But it comes with so much excitement for the season and just ridiculous gratitude that my career has been here.
00:53So when you think about this being it, is it a physical thing?
00:57Like, are you not punting it like you want to?
00:59Is it a mental thing where you just go, in the back of my head, I kind of feel like
01:02I've done what I want to do.
01:04And like the flame isn't burning the same way.
01:06How did we get here?
01:08It's really great to see you.
01:09Way to just give me the softball questions right out the gate.
01:12No, I think it's – honestly, man, whenever I came into the league and cut by Chicago, I didn't even
01:19know if I was – thank you, dude.
01:20I didn't even know if I was going to make a team.
01:23I didn't know if I was going to play in the NFL.
01:24And you look up and you've had 13 seasons with the same franchise.
01:28And the memories I have and the time that I've had here, it is – we know one day we
01:34want to move back to Oklahoma.
01:36I kind of had in my head like when I was young, hot shot, thinking, oh, I made a team,
01:40maybe I'll make a career out of this thing.
01:42We'll see how long it goes.
01:42It's like, hey, before the kids are in middle school, we want to go just set the roots up and
01:47start in Oklahoma.
01:48And then a lot of seasons go by and you look up and it's like, uh-oh, that's sneaking up.
01:53That's right now, yeah.
01:53It is – it's just kind of what I always had in mind.
01:56But I cannot stress enough – dude, it's not like – it's not like this is, yep, I'm good, I'm
02:01right.
02:02It's going to hurt.
02:03Like, man, just going to miss it every day, things like that.
02:05But, yeah, looking forward to both this season and what's next.
02:09You've got one final season, though, ahead of you, which we'll talk about for sure in year 13.
02:14But when you say that, 13 years.
02:17First of all, that's insane.
02:18That's incredible, isn't it?
02:19Like, I was telling Danny, I was watching college football this weekend, and it was just a brick to the
02:24junk of, like, how old I am.
02:26You know what I'm saying?
02:27The giblets.
02:28Exactly.
02:28Like, I'm watching these dudes, kids of players that I love, that I'm like, you old bastard.
02:34Like, I'm in my mid-30s.
02:36I feel 800.
02:36It hurts when it happens.
02:38So, for you to say 13 years, and I remember your first year, we're at a sports bar, we're trying
02:43to get you to the Pro Bowl.
02:45You're just a sweet little boy from Oklahoma, 24 years old.
02:48Like, Puma Let's Rage was, like, a decade and a half ago.
02:51Puma.
02:51I remember, I was thinking about this.
02:53I remember listening to you guys my rookie year, and you guys were doing, like, your favorite things just about,
02:59like, life.
02:59And you had Fountain Coca-Cola.
03:01Still do.
03:02You said bread because you were off carbs.
03:04Yeah.
03:04And then, the one that stuck with me that I still say to this day, when we play an indoor
03:09team late in the year, like we have Minnesota late in the year, you said air conditioning.
03:13And the way you said it, the way you said it, you go, the ability to give Mother Nature the
03:17middle finger.
03:18Right.
03:18And I've stolen that.
03:19That's what I used that.
03:20It's a good line.
03:20To triumph over what's going on outside with our ingenuity and power.
03:24Yeah, so lots of, yeah.
03:25People outside of this area wouldn't understand.
03:27They don't get it.
03:28Like, 13 years here, there's, like, dog years.
03:31That's 196 years for someone in a, like, it's better now, but through what you went through, like, a model
03:37organization.
03:38Yeah.
03:38No one's here for more than eight minutes.
03:40Yeah.
03:40You've been through name changes and coaches and controversies and Washington Post reporting.
03:45Yeah.
03:45I mean, you have seen it all.
03:46The book that you've got, man.
03:48When does it come out?
03:49That's what I want to know.
03:49No, no, no.
03:50I might do, you know, I might do a song.
03:52I might do, you know, like, a slam poetry, but not a book.
03:56I don't think I'm a writer.
03:57Like, one of those late night, like, MTV when I was 20.
04:00You guys will get the text.
04:01We'll do a slam poetry.
04:02Oh, I love it.
04:02Yeah, yeah.
04:0413 years.
04:05It's amazing, dude.
04:05Final season with the Commanders loading.
04:08So, when you made the announcement in the locker room yesterday, obviously the media runs around everybody and talks to
04:12them.
04:12And your right-hand man, the guy that is probably the closest you would have to tell me on the
04:18team.
04:18Yeah.
04:19I think, were you the officiant in Jeremy Reeves' wedding?
04:21I was.
04:21Because, and you want to talk about, like, being puckered up, like, punting or holding for a game winner versus
04:26doing one of your best friend's weddings.
04:28Oh, I was so much more nervous.
04:30Did you have to get ordained?
04:31I did.
04:32Yeah, the certification, right?
04:33Yeah.
04:33See, I did such a great job that I got ordained before my sister-in-law's wedding.
04:38I got to do that one before Revo's.
04:40And my wife and I are about to fly down to Pensacola the day before the wedding.
04:44And I just think, I should make sure that this also crosses over for Florida.
04:50Thank God it did.
04:50But I was like.
04:51What if it didn't?
04:52Exactly.
04:52I'm like, dude, what kind of ordained minister am I?
04:57Only ordained in Oklahoma.
04:58Yeah, exactly.
04:59They just moved the wedding.
05:00Guys, I know you got some people coming.
05:02We're going to need to road trip it west a little bit.
05:04But, yeah, so, yeah, Revo, I mean, that dude, dude, he's just the best.
05:09Yeah, kids call him Uncle Revo for a reason.
05:11Well, I bring it up because he had me in my feels because he's, like, breaking down in tears in
05:16the locker room.
05:17Which I think is, number one, a testament to the kind of guy you are, what you've been for him
05:22as a rock and a mainstay.
05:23I mean, he's been through the loss of his mother and so many things.
05:25Oh, yeah, yeah.
05:25But also, it just speaks to, and I want you to talk about this, like, how special a locker room
05:30is.
05:31That does not happen here.
05:32Yeah.
05:32With all due respect to Danny or Toby, like, that doesn't happen when one of us walks away.
05:37You know what I'm saying?
05:37It's just a different thing.
05:38Here's Jeremy Reeves yesterday in the locker room.
05:41I thought he was joking.
05:43You know, I had heard a few times before, you know, this could possibly be the last one.
05:5250% of me didn't want to believe it, and then 50% of me felt that it was actually
05:58real this time.
06:02It was a gut punch.
06:03It sucked.
06:04It was a tough one.
06:07You know, that's my brother.
06:09You know, his family is my family.
06:11Vice versa.
06:14I've seen his kids grow up from three and four to, you know, seven and eight years old now, and
06:19they're a more carrievo to them, you know, and they've become such a big part of my life and vice
06:28versa.
06:28So, I mean, he, you know, married me and my wife.
06:33You know, every big moment in my life he's been a part of.
06:45What does it mean for you guys to both the captains this season?
06:52Send them off on a hot note, you know.
07:06What's that mean to you?
07:07Dude, why'd you play it?
07:07That makes me sad.
07:08I'm sitting here, I can't even see his face.
07:10I'm just listening to the sadness.
07:12Uh-huh.
07:12There was a weather system in everyone's eyes last night.
07:14Oh, my God.
07:15You took an extra swig of that beer there.
07:17I did.
07:17Yeah, what a great Friday.
07:19Yeah, no, whenever I first told Revo going into the season, so I had told Revo, a bunch of other
07:27teammates I played with for a long time, AP, DQ, Mr. Rails, Mr. Harris, Mr. Klaus.
07:34Like, I kind of, like, kind of started to make some rounds just, like, because I wanted to do it
07:39before the season because, one, I wanted – I know this sounds really cheesy.
07:44I wanted – I just – I wanted fans to know so that, like, if I see fans, like, at
07:48the games and things like that, and I get to wave or I get to take a picture or sign
07:51an autograph and, like, things like that, I just wanted – it's, like, my way of, like, saying thank you,
07:56too, because this has been my career.
07:58But when I first told Revo, we were at the training room, I go, hey, man, you know, I really
08:03think this is it.
08:04He looks at me and he just goes, nope, and walks out.
08:09Nah.
08:09Yeah, yeah.
08:10Nah, no thanks, man.
08:11But, no, yeah, it – that's just – that's a special dude.
08:15Yeah, you could – but you could just say you like attention.
08:18That's fine.
08:18Although, the victory –
08:19I hope that's not it.
08:21That would not be a good look.
08:23Are you a, like, post-career car dealership guy?
08:27Like, come on down to Tressway Chevrolet kind of a thing?
08:29Like, is that your thing?
08:30Are you a restaurant guy?
08:32Have you talked to my mom?
08:33Are you a Bass and Pro Shop guy?
08:34My mom's pitches.
08:35Tressway Chevrolet, come on down.
08:36I'm like, no, what are you talking about?
08:38No, I have a very cheesy answer to that, so bear with me.
08:432018 is where, like, I feel like if you were to kind of look back at my stats,
08:47and they were pretty good before, but in 2018,
08:50I had an awesome conversation with my wife, Bree,
08:53and I was really, really focused on numbers and stats and everything like that,
08:57and I was hoping maybe I'd get an extension or I'd want –
09:00they'd want me to stick around.
09:01And she just said, you're so competitive and you work so hard.
09:05Just try to make the good play for whatever's at hand.
09:09Just, like, be in the moment, whatever punt it calls.
09:11If it calls for a 25-yard short punt to put them on the five, do that.
09:14If it calls for a bomb, try and bomb it, things like that.
09:17And in 2018, I just focused only on football.
09:21It was like, hey, I'm playing ball right now.
09:23I'm just going to lean in.
09:24I don't know what's next.
09:25I love – and I feel like it changed me just as a teammate, as a punter,
09:29being around the facility.
09:31And, like, that conversation I had with her in the kitchen
09:34just kind of changed the whole trajectory of my career, which is today at practice.
09:37It's like, dude, I'm here right now.
09:39Like, why not just make it fun?
09:41Why not be, like, who you are, cut it loose,
09:43and then try and flip the field or make some plays when you can
09:46and just kind of being in the moment sort of thing.
09:48All right, so enough with the sad stuff.
09:50Let's make it fun.
09:51You're getting ready for a week one.
09:52Heck, yeah.
09:53As a fan of football, the unbelievable jitters and excitement
09:59and anticipation of this week is my happy place.
10:02Oh, yeah.
10:02As a player, what is this like?
10:05Oh, yeah.
10:07I think that the happy place is real.
10:10Like, it's like a – that's a good way to say it, kind of happy Gilmore style,
10:14like go to your happy place.
10:15You're in first place.
10:15We're in first place, yeah.
10:17We're undefeated against Philly this year.
10:19Yes.
10:19You know, so it is – going into that game, we have a strength coach
10:25that put it in, like, a cool way.
10:26He's like, this is one of the only professions I know where you have these
10:29highly specialized, highly talented individuals that you have no idea
10:34what their outcome is going to be.
10:35You know, it's not like, you know, some CEOs and things like that going into
10:38business deals where it's like, hey, let's make sure everything's in order.
10:41We're going to get the deal done.
10:42But, like, we've got to get everything in order.
10:44This is like, no, we are doing everything we can on our side.
10:47They're doing everything they can on their side.
10:49And no one has any idea what's going to happen.
10:52Dude, that is the funnest, stressful pins and needles.
10:58Like, that is what gets your heart going.
11:00And the boys are juiced up, dude.
11:03The boys are juiced up.
11:05Is the opening on the road as bonding as I would imagine it would be?
11:11Just, like, running out of that tunnel to booze.
11:13Yep, yep.
11:13And I think for all the fans who, like, came out to practice and saw how fast
11:19practice was, how competitive practice was, like, all of the fans, I would say,
11:24ignore anything, everything that you see on TV, freaking predictions, whatever.
11:30If you came out and you saw practice and everybody flying around and saw five
11:34spinning it and you saw, let's just, let's go.
11:37Let's, I love, I love how DQ, it does sound like, I know he didn't coin this
11:41phrase, but that anybody, anywhere, anytime, that dude just fights and he
11:45doesn't care.
11:46Last year through all that crap, like, you guys, I did not hear him make one
11:50excuse.
11:50He, he refused to address anything that was going on that we all knew was going
11:55on.
11:55Right.
11:55Wouldn't even mention it.
11:56He's just, like, freaking line up and you hit him in the mouth.
11:59We're going.
11:59I play for that dude any day and I am very excited for week one.
12:02Well, speaking of this, there is a very real confidence coming that's oozing from
12:08the internal to the external.
12:09We had an event with Adam Peters last week and it's, like, not lip service.
12:14It's not just the thing that you say.
12:15Yeah.
12:15Right?
12:16Where he's like, we like our roster.
12:17That is what my notes say.
12:18Yeah.
12:19This is real.
12:20Yeah.
12:20Does that, do you feel that and how does that compare to last year kind of the
12:24same time that, that, like this, this marriage of DQ and AP of who, who we go
12:31get and bring in, who we draft and then DQ's message and like how receptive those
12:37guys are while also being like incredibly talented.
12:40Like, you got to go get these guys on your football team because they're just great football
12:44players and then watching them like buy in and then that starts to spiral in like a very
12:49good way.
12:50I think that that's where that comes from.
12:52Like, there is the guys in our locker room that were not in the locker room last year.
12:57It, it's like, there's, there's like throughout my seasons, you see guys that are NFL players
13:05and then you see guys who play professional football and like, it's like, there's like
13:10a thing where it's like, yeah, Hey, you know, I made it.
13:12I'm in the league.
13:12Here it is.
13:13Or it's like, Oh no, no, no.
13:14I'm a professional football player.
13:16I'm not, I'm not going to lose.
13:17Like we're in.
13:18And there is that edge, which is, I did not hear anything with AP.
13:22I could guarantee you that's where that's coming from is like, that's just who the guys
13:26are and we've had a very fun camp, very good camp.
13:30Uh, it's a very, what I had a conversation with DQ the other day.
13:33It's also a very tight knit team, like everybody's buddies.
13:37And that, that goes a long way, man.
13:39Like guys enjoy hanging out with each other, joking around with each other.
13:43The, the team meetings are hilarious and fun and competitive and everything like that.
13:48But I would assume that's where it's coming from.
13:51It all matters.
13:52You know, it's a people business.
13:53You're listening to Tress Way.
13:55We're at Spanky's Shenanigans in Leesburg.
13:58If you're in the area, come on over.
13:59We're hanging out today until 6.30.
14:01Tress is hanging out with us until three o'clock.
14:04It is a football Friday on GND presented by Adios Premium Can Margaritas.
14:08Say hello to Adios DC.
14:11The field trip Friday kicking off with Leesburg.
14:15Stop number one today.
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