Clinton Portis said he wanted out of Washington

Clinton Portis says he's now happy to be with the Redskins under the Allen/Shanahan regime, but in a recent interview with Dan Hellie, the running back said he briefly wanted out before Shanahan took over.

"You become nonchalant, you become a whatever, and I think I just became a whatever-type guy," Portis told Hellie at Donovan McNabb's football camp last week. "The consideration of walking away, the idea of wanting to be traded, wanting to be out of D.C., all of the sudden it was like the people who you think know you buy into the outside conversation, like hmm, maybe he should be gone. I think that was more eye-opening, like I guess people really wanted me out of there. And I think there was a point, up until Coach Shanahan coming in, I really wanted out of there."

NBC Washington has posted a few clips from the interview, along with an assortment of quotes, delivered in Portis's typically frank style.

"I've never been a 'me' guy," Portis said, according to NBC Washington's transcription. "You all have been around me long enough to know what I'm about....Of course, I'm going to stand for what I believe in. I'll take up for myself. If that makes me a 'me' guy, then I guess I was a 'me' guy."

Portis also repeated one of his frequent claims -- that he actually practiced more under Jim Zorn than he had under Joe Gibbs -- but said that this year, there won't be any complaints about the amount of time he practices.

"This year I'm practicing, this year I feel great, this year I got a good feeling about our team," Portis told Hellie. "I think buying into the system, buying into the organization, knowing my role. Having Donovan, I mean, that's really gonna take a lot of pressure off, because everybody is so worried about where Donovan is in his career. So having Donovan, having guys who are coming in and wanting to prove [themselves], and then having young guys such as Fred Davis who eager and who on fire right now, having those guys around, it take the pressure off of me.

"Only thing I've got to do is go and play football now, and that's all I want to do. I don't have to be the center of attention, I don't' have to be the face of the Redskins, I don't have to be Oooooh, Clinton. When I get on the field, you'll know my name. You'll cheer for Clinton when I get on the field."

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(washingtonpost.com)