HOUSTON (SportsRadio 610) -- Justin Britt spent the entire 2020 season at home as a free agent.
The Seattle Seahawks had released him, and Britt did not sign with the Green Bay Packers after a tryout last September.
Instead, Britt spent his Sundays doing 10-mile bike rides, then diving into the NFL action of the day.
Britt told In The Loop on Thursday he'd watch NFL game on multiple screens and he stayed locked in.
"People might have thought I was retiring, but I knew I wasn't done," he said.
Britt suffered a torn ACL in October 2019. He expected to rehabilitate the knee and be back the next season, but Seattle moved on.
Meanwhile, Britt said he taught his ACL how to work again, slowly teaching it football, like telling to be there when he wants to kick slide.
"But I mean mentally, I never really let it escape me," Britt said. "So it's more physical than anything, just kind of creating that routine throughout the week and what my game day is going to look like now. But that's the fun part, building the routine you want to follow and just being at your best."
Not only does Britt, now 30, expect to start at center for Houston, he's also provided mentorship to younger players.
Take Tytus Howard, for example, moving from right tackle to left guard.
Britt made the exact same transition from 2014 to 2015. He started all 16 regular season games at right tackle as a rookie for the Seahawks, and was graded as one of the worst pass blocking tackles in the league that year.
In 2015, Britt's second season, he was moved to left guard, where he still wasn't great but showed improvement.
It wasn't until his third season, in 2016, when Britt found a home a center, earning Pro Bowl alternate recognition.
"Failure's all right, as long as you grow from it," Britt said. "Now's the time to experiment and find how you do your job best."
Britt is looking at this opportunity a bit differently than other veterans, like two-time Pro Bowl left tackle Laremy Tunsil.
Britt said he was talking to rookie teammate and fellow center Ryan McCollum about the excitement of his first preseason game.
Then Britt realized how much this feels like playing for the first time.
"That's kind of the story of my whole season, is everything I'm doing, I'm approaching a little differently," Britt said. "I'm excited to get out there, get my feet wet again and get the rhythm of the game again."
