After spending his entire 10-year career with the Atlanta Falcons, veteran defensive tackle Grady Jarrett signed with the Chicago Bears shortly after he was released by Atlanta back in March.

When Jarrett surprisingly hit the open market, the Bears wasted no time in bringing in the highly-regarded veteran to bolster their defensive line. Beginning a new chapter in his career with an entirely new coaching staff in Chicago, Jarrett is one of many new veterans who will be looked at to help change the culture in the Bears organization.

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During OTAs last week, Jarrett met with the media and spoke about feeling refreshed in the new environment with Chicago and embracing the challenge of bringing the team back to their winning ways.

“It’s been refreshing. It’s been refreshing, for sure,” Jarrett said. “It’s like having the experience of playing the prior 10 years, going on Year 11 now, but the new, refreshing feeling and excitement of being a, not really a rookie because I know how to be in the NFL, but just being in a new place for the first time around new people is really refreshing. It puts you in a position to where you want to put your best foot forward every day.

“Not that I’m saying that I didn’t want to, regardless of where I was prior, but it’s just natural human instinct. I’ve been enjoying it, man, I’ve been enjoying it. My life up here in Chicago has been awesome so far. I’m simple. I go to work, I stay like two minutes from here, the facility, go chill, come back, come to work. It’s a really simplified life for me right now in this transition. I’ve been enjoying it, man. It’s just going to continue to get better the more I continue to put in more work, learn everybody in the building, and, most importantly, start bringing some wins to this program.”

Jarrett’s outlook and mindset should bode well for his first season with the Bears, and as someone who has previously played in a Super Bowl, he’ll have plenty of experience and knowledge to share with his new team.

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This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Grady Jarrett feels refreshed in first year with Bears