Giants free-agent wide receiver and special teams addition Montrell Washington fields some training camp Q&A from Post columnist Steve Serby.<\/p>\n
Q: Why is playing in the NFL so important to you?<\/strong><\/p>\n A: My pop, my mom, my grand \u2026 anybody could tell you like literally at 4 years old, I told \u2019em I wanted to be in the NFL. That\u2019s when I first was put on the field at 4 years old. My pop can be out there, obviously I didn\u2019t know what I was doing, but I told him I was going to the NFL. Kept playing, never stopped playing, kind of was the underdog. Just look at us now.<\/p>\n Q: Why should I root for you?<\/strong><\/p>\n A: I\u2019m a real dawg. I know what it\u2019s like to not be the top guy but still work to try to be a top guy.<\/p>\n Q: Why do you believe you belong?<\/strong><\/p>\n A: I don\u2019t know, I really can\u2019t explain. \u2026 It\u2019s a feeling. It\u2019s something that I just know. Being on different teams, seeing what I\u2019m doing to guys that are big-time guys, or even starters and stuff like that, that\u2019s kind of been that mentality: I belong here. I\u2019m going to keep working, when I get my shot, I\u2019m going to show the world.<\/p>\n Q: You believe you can play with anyone?<\/strong><\/p>\n A: I believe I can play with anybody, yes sir.<\/p>\n Q: Would you buy a ticket to watch you play football?<\/strong><\/p>\n A: I will buy every ticket to watch me play football, yes sir.<\/p>\n Q: Why should fans buy a ticket to watch you play?<\/strong><\/p>\n A: It can be a small, short route, intermediate route, it doesn\u2019t mater what it is, as soon as it touches my hands, just know I\u2019m going to make a play or at least attempt to make a play right then and there. That\u2019s something you want to see.<\/p>\n Giants wide receiver Montrell Washington (80) makes a catch during a joint practice with the Jets at training camp in Florham Park, NJ. Bill Kostroun\/New York Post<\/p>\n Q: Why are you so fearless returning punts?<\/strong><\/p>\n A: I was always the smallest one always growing up, playing outside with the older kids, my older cousins and things like that, so I always had that no fear-type of mentality. Being the smallest you can\u2019t have fear. It always stuck with me \u2026 you got to catch me first (laugh).<\/p>\n Q: So how would you describe your on-field mentality?<\/strong><\/p>\n A: I get in like these little moods when I\u2019m out there, I\u2019m not going to lie to you. You ever play against like a friend or something? Obviously you\u2019re friends and stuff, but when it\u2019s time to compete it\u2019s like, hey, I feel like I turn that switch on just all the time. I\u2019m just a competitor, to be honest with you. We\u2019re not friends, we\u2019re not buddies, I\u2019ll talk to y\u2019all after the game, things like that. I\u2019m out there to take either your job or somebody\u2019s else\u2019s job, simple as that. That\u2019s the mentality I have, to take somebody\u2019s job, to be honest with you.<\/p>\n Q: What is it like when you hear 70,000 people cheering for you?<\/strong><\/p>\n A: It\u2019s no better feeling. It\u2019s something obviously you dream of, you know, growing up you\u2019re like, \u201cOh yeah, I want to play in front of a lot of people.\u201d But to actually hear that crowd, like on a punt return or something, just like go from quiet to roar, it\u2019s like that kids-at-Christmas feeling when you\u2019re running down the steps, go get the presents.<\/p>\n Q: What drives you?<\/strong><\/p>\n A: I\u2019m a big family guy. My grandmother\u2019s grandchild, I\u2019m her first real oldest to get my high school, college, make it to my dream to play in the NFL. \u2026 I\u2019m the one, in my head, keep everybody on lock, so if I can maintain keeping what I do, keep handling my business, show my little brothers and sisters the right way to do it, you can chase your dream, you can graduate all through and be something that nobody thought you could be from the situation that we used to have. \u2026 I\u2019m a role model to my family, and I love that.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Q: What was the situation you used to have?<\/strong><\/p>\n A: Things weren\u2019t always good, I\u2019m not going to say things were just always great. High school I moved in with my godparents, the Luths. My mother and father ended up moving back down to where we were in Marietta [Ga.], and I kind of wanted to stay in Cherokee County and play football. I felt like I would have a better shot of doing what I wanted to do and making it.<\/p>\n Q: Tell me about your grandmother, Bashaba Walker.<\/strong><\/p>\n A: I\u2019m a Granny baby, ah man, my granny\u2019s my everything.<\/p>\n Q: Why did she become so important to you?<\/strong><\/p>\n A: Growing up, I always wanted to be with my granny, I always stayed with my granny. Some people are Mama\u2019s boys, I\u2019m a Granny boy (laugh). Even if me and my granny wasn\u2019t doing nothing, I want to be around my granny \u2014 she\u2019s going to cook, or we\u2019re just going to be listening to her music, hanging out, we\u2019ll go fish.<\/p>\n Q: Has she watched you in person play football?<\/strong><\/p>\n A: Yes sir, yes sir, she has. She\u2019s actually down in Georgia now, but when I was back in Kansas City she was staying with me. I had my grandmother move in with me. I love my granny (laugh).<\/p>\n Q: She would cook for you in Kansas City?<\/strong><\/p>\n A: Oh, cook for me, the boys on the team had granny cooking.<\/p>\n Q: Did she cook for Patrick Mahomes?<\/strong><\/p>\n A: Well, she didn\u2019t cook for Mahomes, some of the receivers would come over, JuJu [Smith-Schuster] came over a couple of times, Skyy Moore, Rashee [Rice] would come over. They know about Granny\u2019s cooking. Granny could cook (laugh).<\/p>\n Giants wide receiver Montrell Washington (80) is tackled by Buffalo Bills cornerback Christian Benford (47) in the first quarter at Highmark Stadium. Mark Konezny-Imagn Images<\/p>\n Q: Did she make cheeseburgers for Andy Reid or no?<\/strong><\/p>\n A: That was one person I did want to get to try to some of Granny\u2019s food, Coach Reid. I never got to make that happen.<\/p>\n Q: What is Granny\u2019s best dish?<\/strong><\/p>\n A: Aw man, my go-to, we go fried chicken, we go yams, macaroni, I like collard greens, gotta have my cornbread \u2014 got to have my cornbread. It\u2019s a real southern-style good Sunday meal.<\/p>\n Q: You can\u2019t get cornbread here can you?<\/strong><\/p>\n A: They made some, I want to say last week, and it was actually good! I had to ask who made this, because they know something. I thought it was from down south. They said it was from up here. Hey, y\u2019all got the recipe (laugh).<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\tGo behind the scenes with Big Blue\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSign up for Inside the Giants by Paul Schwartz, a weekly Sports+ exclusive.\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\tThank you\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n Q: What is the biggest obstacle or adversity you had to overcome?<\/strong><\/p>\n A: He\u2019s my cousin but we were so close I call him my brother.<\/p>\n Q: What happened?<\/strong><\/p>\n A: He was killed. \u2026 He was shot, and he didn\u2019t make it. That happened when I was in college [Samford]. I really didn\u2019t even want to even finish college. I didn\u2019t want to do nothing. It\u2019s my dawg, we grew up together, every summer he\u2019d come stay with us, things like that. It was a bond that\u2019s just unbreakable. When he passed in college, that kind of hit me real hard, I\u2019m not going to lie to you. I wanted to go home, I didn\u2019t really care about going to class. Luckily I had good friends, not even just friends, my brothers at Samford University that I was able to talk to. They were definitely able to help me out and get through it.<\/p>\n Q: What was his name?<\/strong><\/p>\n A: We called him Meco. His real name was Tyon Gorman.<\/p>\n Q: Did you think about quitting football?<\/strong><\/p>\n A: I wouldn\u2019t say quit, but it wasn\u2019t something that was on my mind as heavy. When he passed, I was just hurt. It just didn\u2019t feel right because I was always thinking about him. \u2026 I\u2019m still here to this day. I know I\u2019m making him proud.<\/p>\n Q: So that\u2019s important to you to make Meco proud.<\/strong><\/p>\n A: That\u2019s very important, yes sir.<\/p>\n Montrell Washington of the New York Giants catches the ball during the second quarter of an NFL Preseason 2025 game at Highmark Stadium on August 9, 2025 in Orchard Park. Getty Images<\/p>\n Q: What happened exactly?<\/strong><\/p>\n A: He was shot like in front of a store. Some of my brothers and cousins went down the wrong path, as some people would say.<\/p>\n Q: Describe the kind of ball Jaxson Dart throws.<\/strong><\/p>\n A: Just a dart (laugh). It\u2019s a beautiful ball. You drop one of those, you\u2019re mad at yourself. I dropped one in the game [last week at Buffalo], told him it\u2019ll never happen again.<\/p>\n Q: What can you tell Giants fans about what they can expect from Jaxson Dart?<\/strong><\/p>\n A: He\u2019s like that \u2014 that\u2019s a term that we say when you\u2019re real good. He\u2019s the real deal.<\/p>\n Q: What is Russell Wilson like in the huddle?<\/strong><\/p>\n A: Russ is a real leader in the huddle. He\u2019s vocal, obviously. That\u2019s somebody you want to be around, want to learn from.<\/p>\n Q: Malik Nabers?<\/strong><\/p>\n A: Malik is a real playmaker, Malik is a real route-runner, Malik is a dawg. That\u2019s a football player, for real.<\/p>\n Q: Who\u2019s taller, you or 5-foot-8 Wan\u2019Dale Robinson?<\/strong><\/p>\n A: (Laugh) I\u2019m not sure.<\/p>\n Q: How tall are you?<\/strong><\/p>\n A: I\u2019m going to say 5-9. But they\u2019re going to get to 5-10 with cleats.<\/p>\n Giants wide receiver Montrell Washington speaking to the media after practice at the Giants Training Facility in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Q: Brian Daboll.<\/strong><\/p>\n A: I love the way Coach coaches. I love the enthusiasm, I love the vibe he brings.<\/p>\n Q: When did you start doing backflips?<\/strong><\/p>\n A: I was always the young one flipping outside. I\u2019ve been flipping since I was 4 or 5 years old.<\/p>\n Q: Have you flipped for your teammates here?<\/strong><\/p>\n A: OTAs I did it once.<\/p>\n Q: If you score a touchdown, would you flip?<\/strong><\/p>\n A: It\u2019s crazy you say that, I told my fianc\u00e9e I\u2019m going to wait till like the regular season, so if I make 53 and things go good, I got to flip in the regular season and show the fans.<\/p>\n Q: Who are kick returners today you like to watch?<\/strong><\/p>\n A: [KaVontae] Turpin at the Cowboys \u2026 he is elite.<\/p>\n Q: Do you like punt or kickoff return better?<\/strong><\/p>\n A: I like punt just because I feel like punt is more riskier. Kickoff return you can look and still see the guys coming; punt I don\u2019t know until I really like look back down, and he can be right there. I like that feeling \u2014you gotta make a play when it touches your hand.<\/p>\n Q: You almost have to be a little crazy to be a punt returner.<\/strong><\/p>\n A: That\u2019s what they all say. I guess so. I might be (laugh).<\/p>\n New York Giants wide receiver Montrell Washington makes a catch during training camp. Corey Sipkin for the NY POST<\/p>\n Q: Describe your game against Florida in 2021.<\/strong><\/p>\n A: That changed my life. That whole week of preparation and all that, my head coach can tell you, Chris Hatcher, I told everybody, I was letting them know, \u201cI\u2019m going to go crazy.\u201d I told everybody, \u201cI\u2019m going to the NFL.\u201d That was the first thing I told him when he came to my high school \u2014 I quote \u2014 \u201cI\u2019m going to the NFL, Coach.\u201d I told him, and I told everybody at Samford when I first stepped foot on there, everybody can vouch for that.<\/p>\n Q: What possessed you that day against the Gators \u2014 322 all-purpose yards, 179 returning, 124 receiving, 19 rushing and three touchdowns?<\/strong><\/p>\n A: I just knew that was my shot. If I can do something crazy that\u2019s unheard of against an SEC team, I gotta get a shot, they gotta give me an opportunity.<\/p>\n Q: The highlight was your 98-yard kickoff return.<\/strong><\/p>\n A: I just blanked out, let\u2019s go. Once I seen it open, you got to catch me now. It\u2019s not too many people in this world that\u2019s going to catch me.<\/p>\n Q: Did you get to meet Taylor Swift in Kansas City?<\/strong><\/p>\n A: I didn\u2019t get to shake her hand and meet Taylor Swift, but I did see her, for sure.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Q: What was it like standing on the sideline when the 2023 Chiefs won the Super Bowl LVIII?<\/strong><\/p>\n A: It\u2019s the first time I\u2019ve ever won a championship. Obviously you want to play in that Super Bowl game, things like that. But I was blessed to just be there, to be honest with you.<\/p>\n Q: Where do you keep your Super Bowl ring?<\/strong><\/p>\n A: My safe (laugh). It\u2019s with Granny.<\/p>\n Q: Your godparents, brother Riley and sister Taylor, came up for Saturday night\u2019s game. Your fianc\u00e9e Angelian is in Kansas City. Have you set a wedding date?<\/strong><\/p>\n A: Yes sir, we plan to get married in April in 2026. I can\u2019t stop smiling. She\u2019s my everything.<\/p>\n Q: Describe My Cause My Cleats your rookie year in Denver.<\/strong><\/p>\n A: My aunt, her daughter\u2019s son has a rare disease, and he\u2019s like in a wheelchair and he doesn\u2019t talk, but he\u2019ll smile. He loves SpongeBob. So I made SpongeBob cleats and I gave it to him. We call him Juice Man. He\u2019s doing great right now.<\/p>\n Q: Three dinner guests?<\/strong><\/p>\n A: Devin Hester, Tyreek Hill, Denzel Washington.<\/p>\n Q: What did you love about Hester?<\/strong><\/p>\n A: I just liked the way he made something out of nothing. He was going to make a play as soon as it touches his hands.<\/p>\n Q: Favorite movie?<\/strong><\/p>\n A: \u201cAvatar.\u201d<\/p>\n Q: Favorite rappers?<\/strong><\/p>\n A: Key Glock, AK-Official.<\/p>\n Giants\u2019 Montrell Washington (80), center left, and Antwane Wells Jr. (2), center right, dance during a joint NFL football practice with the New York Jets in East Rutherford, N.J. AP<\/p>\n Q: Favorite meal?<\/strong><\/p>\n A: I can eat that Sunday fried chicken every day (laugh).<\/p>\n Q: Have you found a place around here?<\/strong><\/p>\n A: I\u2019ve been trying different stuff out here, I\u2019m not going to lie. The pizza here? Way better than down where I\u2019m at. Way better (laugh). Katz Deli might be my favorite place out here so far.<\/p>\n Q: What did you have there?<\/strong><\/p>\n A: The sandwich \u2014 it\u2019s huge!<\/p>\n Q: Which one did you have?<\/strong><\/p>\n A: Pastrami. It like just melts. Oh my goodness, 10 out of 10.<\/p>\n Q: When you\u2019re not eating or playing football, what do you like to do?<\/strong><\/p>\n A: I love to fish. Love to fish.<\/p>\n Q: What were your emotions when the Broncos let you go before the 2023 season?<\/strong><\/p>\n A: I wasn\u2019t as locked in, I wasn\u2019t in tune with things.<\/p>\n Q: Was it heartbreaking?<\/strong><\/p>\n A: Yeah, it definitely was. I was drafted there, and it\u2019s like, \u201cI\u2019m not a bad football player.\u201d I didn\u2019t have a good study habit, things like that. But going to the Chiefs, everything changed. With Coach Reid, them guys win over there. So going over there, seeing everybody\u2019s different work ethic, how everybody interact with each other, how everybody studies, different way they study, just seeing how guys go about their day, it made me really open my eye. This is what I got to do to become or attempt to be a Travis Kelce, or attempt to be like a [Mahomes], just in that talk of being great like them guys. It\u2019s crazy to see, but when they turn it on they turn it on. It\u2019s amazing.<\/p>\n Q: How disappointing was it getting let go by the Chiefs?<\/strong><\/p>\n A: I\u2019m not going to lie to you, it wasn\u2019t as disappointing for me just \u2019cause being there at the Chiefs, it kind of changed me completely.<\/p>\n Q: You enjoy silencing the doubters?<\/strong><\/p>\n A: Oh yeah, that\u2019s what it\u2019s all about. That\u2019s one thing I thrive on, I love it when they talk crazy, \u201cOh he should be cut\u201d or \u2026 like the first pass I got from Jaxson, I had an angle route and I dropped it that day, I get back home, I got my friends calling me, texting me like, \u201cBro, they\u2019re talking crazy about you on Twitter,\u201d I\u2019m just smiling. I\u2019m like, \u201cY\u2019all know I love when that happens.\u201d After that everybody be kind of being nice, \u201cOh, you\u2019re a playmaker. Who the heck is 80? Bro, 80\u2019s good.\u201d \u2026 Yeah, I thought so. Once I hear about it or see it, alright perfect, it\u2019s time to show them that I\u2019m a real baller.<\/p>\n Q: How long do you plan on chasing your NFL dream?<\/strong><\/p>\n A: Till I can\u2019t play no more.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Giants free-agent wide receiver and special teams addition Montrell Washington fields some training camp Q&A from Post columnist…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":151267,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[4716,1232,2631,62,20026,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-151266","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nfl","8":"tag-new-york-giants","9":"tag-nfl","10":"tag-serbys-qa","11":"tag-sports","12":"tag-training-camp","13":"tag-united-states","14":"tag-unitedstates","15":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115040110939770192","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/151266","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=151266"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/151266\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/151267"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=151266"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=151266"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=151266"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Charles Wenzelberg \/ New York Post<\/p>\n