Former New England Patriots running back Corey Dillon is popping back into the news cycle as of late. Due to the recent signing of Antonio Brown, many are looking back at the Patriots' former “reclamation project,” which, to many, started with Dillon.

After famously stating that he “would rather flip burgers than play for the Bengals” in 1999, Dillon's time in Cincinnati was running up, despite being a three-time Pro Bowler for them. The Bengals, on multiple occasions, refused to pay Dillon, nor were they a winning team.

Dillon eventually asked for a trade and got it when he was sent to New England in 2004 for a second-round pick. It was the beginning of the Patriots' long-line of acquiring for disgruntled stars, but Dillon wasn't a reclamation project like some. He said in an interview with The Athletic's Jay Morrison:

“I just find it kind of curious every time the Patriots do something, or bring a guy in, my name comes up like I was a bad guy. I’m trying to set that straight.

First of all, if you go back in time, look who I played for at the time. Are you kidding me? People want to say I was the bad guy in that situation? No. That’s not the case. It comes down to we play this football game to actually win football games. That’s what you play for. I don’t know what was on everybody else’s agenda.

Me personally, I was never a “me” guy, worried about somebody else’s money, worried about getting paid. My main objective was to win football games and my ultimate goal was to win a championship. That’s what I was in the game for. That was my passion. And if you check, go ask former teammates in Cincinnati, I wasn’t a bad guy in the locker room. My whole thing was, “Hey, listen, I’m tired of losing.” And to sum that up and put it in a corporate America, hypothetical situation, if you had a job where you feel you’re going nowhere and you have an opportunity to better yourself and better your career in a different situation, you’re not going to take that opportunity? But I do it and I’m a cancer. I’m a bad guy. I don’t know how people think that. I don’t get it.”

Dillon wanted to win, Cincinnati couldn't offer that, but New England did. He won a Super Bowl in his first season as a Patriot, in the process going to a Pro-Bowl while recording 1,653 yards and 12 touchdowns on the ground.