Patriots rookie Devin Asiasi did not play against the Bills on Nov. 1 due to personal reasons. It was later learned that his close friend Ueta Savelio Muasika Jr. was shot and killed back home in San Mateo, California.
Asiasi was placed on injured reserve Nov. 4 and the rookie tight end spoke for the first time Friday after being activated off IR prior to the game against the Rams.
"I'm doing well," he said via video conference. "You know, I had that incident that happened in the middle of the season, don't want to go too much into it. But I got time to spend with my family and deal with that situation. But I'm glad to be back. I'm glad to be back with the team and going on with the season."
Asiasi got emotional speaking about Muasika, who was 30 years old.
"It's not something I really want to go into," he said. "This is such a sensitive topic. But he was a great man to me. He was a very close family member to me. I considered him a family member because we were all in the same community. We all grew up with each other. I've known him as damn near a big brother to me. So it was like, it's all of us, growing up where I grew up. He was just a hard-working man, an inspiration to all of us, in my neighborhood, in my city of San Mateo. The situation is just tragic. It's just something I would never ever want to relive ever in my life. I know he's in a better place. He's in a better place and that's my peace with it.
"On top of that, I don't want to add on top of it, but his father also passed away a couple of days ago. So I just want to send my prayers once again to my family back home and the Muasika family back home in San Mateo. I'm always thinking about you all and I'm always praying for you, always hear for you."
Asiasi has yet to catch a pass this season, but will look to change that over the final three games with Ryan Izzo on injured reserve.
