Washington Commanders cornerback and Baltimore native Kendall Fuller is only 28 years old, but he’s a grizzled veteran considering his experience at the game’s highest level.
Now entering his eighth season in the NFL, Fuller has played in 102 regular-season games and owns a Super Bowl ring from his time with the Kansas City Chiefs.
That resume makes him a valuable resource for younger players on the Commanders.
“When they have a question about something, if they’re not asking a coach they’re coming to ask you,” Fuller said on Glenn Clark Radio Aug. 23. “I think it’s natural, though, especially playing the DB position. … You’re around the younger guys so much, you’re around your teammates so much, you want to see them succeed, you want to see them make plays. You want to give them whatever advice you can to help them go succeed and have great careers.”
Fuller has started 78 games throughout his seven-year career, posting 407 tackles, 14 interceptions and 66 passes defensed. The 5-foot-11, 198-pound cornerback had perhaps the finest season of his career with the Commanders in 2022, when he started all 17 games and intercepted three passes, returning two for touchdowns.
Fuller is entering the final season of a four-year, $40 million contract he signed ahead of the 2020 season. He understands he is on the other side of the mountain, but he also wants to sprint to the finish line, whenever that comes.
“You definitely have that realization that like, ‘Dang, I’ve played most of my years already. I’m in Year Eight. I’m not playing another eight years,'” Fuller said. “You have that realization, but I guess for me, coming out of college early, only being 28, it’s still just like, ‘I want to go out here and compete,’ and you work to compete at the highest level.”
Fuller was drafted by Washington in the third round of the 2016 NFL Draft out of Virginia Tech and spent two years with the team before being sent to Kansas City as part of the trade for veteran quarterback Alex Smith ahead of the 2018 season. After playing for the Chiefs for two years, Fuller circled back to Washington.
The 2023 campaign marks one of the most anticipated football seasons in D.C. in years due to excitement about the change in ownership this offseason. A Josh Harris-led group bought the team for $6.05 billion from Daniel Snyder, who had owned the team since 1999. The team had two playoff wins and myriad scandals during Snyder’s tenure.
Fuller senses how fired up the fan base is for a fresh start.
“You definitely feel it, just the excitement level from the fans, just to be able to get that support,” Fuller said. “A lot of people just coming up to you and saying, ‘We’re going to games now this year, we can’t wait to get back out there,’ and things like that, so just seeing people excited, seeing people wanting to support us, wanting to go out there on Sundays and help us out, we’ll definitely be relying on them and definitely be needing them.”
For more from Fuller, listen to the full interview here:
Photo Credit: Kenya Allen/PressBox