Stevan Ridley: Bill Belichick Put Me in 'Fat Camp' Before Rookie Season with Patriots

Stevan Ridley got quite the welcome to the NFL after the New England Patriots selected him with a third-round pick in 2011.

During a Tuesday appearance on the Games With Names podcast (h/t Jenna Lemoncelli of the New York Post), the former NFL running back discussed then-Patriots head coach Bill Belichick putting him in what he deemed "fat camp" to help him cut weight ahead of his rookie season.

Ridley said he played at 230 pounds at the collegiate level with LSU, but he measured in around 235 to 238 pounds after New England drafted him.

He also said he raised concerns about whether he could lose enough weight to get to the 220-pound mark Belichick was looking for, which sparked the following conversation with the head coach:

"He kinda smacked his lips and said, 'Well Rid, I mean, really I think it's only about $563 per pound, per day that you're overweight so it's really up to you.' … He was like, 'per pound, per day,' and he doubled down on it."

Ridley said he agreed because "I ain't got money like that" and ultimately took a number of steps, including changing his diet with a nutritionist, running before practice and changing up his training, which made him "quick as a cat" early in his NFL career.

"You get to New England and of course you're going in there and it's Bill Belichick—Bill is intimidating," he said. "You gotta give it to him. He knows what he's doing. He has a system in place. You don't mess with him. You respect him."

The LSU product was largely a secondary contributor in his rookie season but then exploded for 1,263 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns in his second campaign.

Yet he remained with the Patriots for only four seasons and was limited to six games in his last year with the team because of injuries. New England went on to win the Super Bowl during that 2014 campaign.

After parting ways with the Patriots, Ridley played for the New York Jets, Atlanta Falcons and Pittsburgh Steelers before retiring after the 2018 campaign.

He struggled to find his footing elsewhere and was never able to replicate his production from his peak when he was on the Patriots.

As for Belichick, he won six Super Bowls as the head coach of the Patriots and will coach at the college level for the first time during the upcoming season with North Carolina.