He misses the rice, potatoes, French fries, fried foods. Couldn't have any of that on his lean-protein, fewer-carbohydrates menu. "All the good stuff that I was on last season to stay around 285 (pounds)," he said.

But it's not so much what New Orleans Saints edge rusher Carl Granderson is missing as it is what he regained while dropping his weight to 272 pounds: He went home, to a position he hasn't visited since 2014, his final season at Grant Union High in Sacramento, Cal.

Back then, "Grando" was a 173-pound outside linebacker, before he went to college at Wyoming and transitioned to a 4-3 defensive end. He played his first six NFL seasons with the Saints at that position before moving to edge this year in New Orleans' 3-4 scheme under coordinator Brandon Staley.

"I just feel like

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