Devonta Freeman is not trying to get out of Atlanta and understands a new contract will take time.
The Falcons running back told ESPN's Vaughn McClure he won't ask for a trade.
"This is coming out of my mouth: I definitely know I'm going to be playing for the Atlanta Falcons," Freeman said. "This is the team I want to play for. I'm almost 100 percent for sure business will be taken care of because we're all in this thing to win and have success."
Freeman's agent, Kristin Campbell told NFL Network's Michael Silver during Super Bowl week that it was time for the Falcons to pay the runner "like the elite back he is."
Speaking on WZGC-FM in Atlanta on Monday, Falcons GM Thomas Dimitroff said a new deal for Freeman will not happen during this free-agent period. Dimitroff added that any reports noting he would trade Freeman are "ridiculous... we would never trade him."
Freeman is ready to let the situation run its natural course.
"When we talk about contract, we know it's a process," Freeman said. "We're not rushing to get anything done or anything like that. It's something you work hard for and bust your butt for. Of course, anybody wants to get rewarded. But me and my team, we definitely understand it's a process. We understand the cap and the numbers, all the stuff that comes with it.
"On our end, we're just patient. We're just waiting for the right time. God knows my heart. I'm definitely doing this all to take care of my family and help others and even just put my family in a better situation. It's nothing greedy or to be super thirsty like, 'I need this; I need that.' I don't play the game of football for the money. I play the game of football for the love. But fortunately, if you do good in football, you get rewarded very well."
Entering the final year of his deal, Freeman is set to make $1.838 million in 2017. Then Dimitroff will have to decide if he is willing to put his money where his mouth is and pay to keep the 24-year-old playmaking running back in Atlanta.
