Tyrann Mathieu could be somewhere else besides the Crescent City. However, the "Honey Badger" chose to stay with the New Orleans Saints for another season.
"It's bigger than me. I probably could've gone somewhere else and done something else, but I think for me, man, it's all about my community and my family," Mathieu said after the first day of the team's mandatory minicamp earlier this week. "Just trying to pour into that as much as I can. So outside of the football, I think the big reason I'm here is the community."
He has managed to give back to the community he knows and loves through the Tyrann Mathieu Foundation, which was formed back in 2017. As it says on their website, he established his foundation to impact the lives of financially disadvantaged children and youth through encouragement, opportunities, and resources to achieve their dreams in his hometown of New Orleans.
Mathieu and his foundation have hosted community events like Tyrann's Turkeys, a back-to-school jamboree, and the Heart of a Badger football camp.
New Orleans Saints safety Tyrann Mathieu wears his heart on his sleeve
The New Orleans native will be entering his 13th year in the NFL in 2025 and his fourth year with his hometown team. Drafted by the Arizona Cardinals back in 2013, he's also been with the Houston Texans (2018) and Kansas City Chiefs (2019-2021).
With the Saints, Mathieu has gathered 228 total tackles, one sack, and 10 interceptions. He has amassed 837 total tackles, 11 sacks, and 36 interceptions over his entire career. Mathieu is also a Super Bowl champion (Super Bowl LIV in 2019), a three-time pro-bowler, and a three-time First-Team All-Pro.
His nickname "Honey Badger" originated back during his college career at LSU in 2011 during a game against West Virginia, according to former LSU defensive back coach Jon Cooper. And at first, the 5-foot-9 Mathieu wasn't a fan of the name.
"The PA announcer, after he made a couple of plays—I don't know where it came from—called him the Honey Badger," Cooper said on an episode of "The Golden Broom Podcast.
"Tyrann Mathieu is mad on the bus; he's upset, and John Chaves, the defensive coordinator, takes his iPad, and we Google 'honey badger,' and we looked up that animal, and we're like, 'wow, look what they're calling him.' Getting after it, fighting, scratching, and biting, and it's the smallest animal there is. So we called Tyrann up to the bus and said, 'this is what they called you,' and he said, 'oh wow, I'll take that.'"