Going into his tenth season with the Patriots, Dan Koppen is no stranger to training camp.
Speaking with CSNNE's Mike Giardi, Koppen was asked if he's at the stage in his career where he can enjoy it, or is it just a "necessary evil"?
"It's probably both," Koppen said. "It's a necessary evil but as you get older you start to appreciate it more and have more fun with it. So just out here having a good time and working to get better."
But Koppen knows not to have too much fun -- after all, there are always other players on the team after his job, and it often times comes down to who wants it more
"Since I've been here there's been competition," he said.
Regardless of his tenure with the team, Koppen still doesn't have that "comfortable" feeling when it comes to a spot on the roster.
"That's just the group of guys that we have," he said. "You never know. No one is guaranteed a spot. It's about how you perform, how consistent you are. You just have to earn your spot on this team."
New England Patriots
But one person he doesn't have to worry about taking up a roster spot is former teammate and lineman, Matt Light. Light is hanging them up, and taking his talents -- and personality -- to the television set. Not having Light around is an adjustment that Koppen is trying to make now.
"It's different. Matt is just one of those guys," Koppen said. "He's a great guy to have around. He's a great teammate and I'm sure he's going to be wonderful on the air with ESPN now. He's a good friend and a good player, so anytime you lose those type of guys it's tough. But a lot of us have been around here a long time and seen some great players go, so we understand it and nothing stays the same in this league so everybody deals with it."