Adam Teicher (ESPN):Do you feel like you appreciate how far you've come in the last year?* *

WARE: "Oh, absolutely. It was a process and it's just a blessing. Hard work paid off and all things go to the people who believed in me."

Teicher:Did you know Charcandrick West was signing today as well?* *

WARE: "I knew today. We had flown in yesterday. I didn't know he was going to be there yesterday. Once we got into town and I saw him, we were at the same hotel, then it kind of dawned on me that he might be signing tomorrow as well."

Teicher:So you bumped into him in the hotel and were like 'What are you doing here?' Is that how that worked?* *

WARE: "Yeah, he had called me earlier that day. We're pretty good friends, so we've been checking in with each other all through the offseason. It was just one of those days where he called me and said 'What are you doing?' I'm like 'I'm on my way to Kansas City.' Later on that day, it's funny, he's coming to Kansas City as well. So I kind of figured it was for the same thing."

Teicher:But you didn't ask him?* *

WARE: "No, no, I didn't ask him."

Teicher:And he didn't ask you either?

WARE: "No, it was pretty much just how are you doing, what's going on. I think, in our heads, we both kind of knew what was going on, but we didn't want to ask each other because that's his personal business, things like that. That's his life, that's his contract, whatever he has going on. If he wants to discuss that with me, then I'm open to it, and vice versa."

Teicher:What do you see your role as being this year?

WARE: "I feel like my role is going to be similar to last year. I'm going to go out there and they're going to put me in situations and I'm just going to do my best to try to help the team the best way I can. Try to get over that last hump and continue to go deeper and deeper into the playoffs and hopefully win a championship."

Teicher:Do you feel like there's going to be enough footballs to go around?

WARE: "Absolutely, absolutely. That's one thing with the running back room for the Kansas City Chiefs, we're not real selfish. We're a team, we want to do the best for the team and that's all that matters. As far as your own success, everyone has their own goals and things that they're trying to accomplish personally. But as a team and as a unit, we have to come together, collectively, to try to reach that one goal, which is a championship. And we can't do that if one person's mad about some touches or whatever the case may be. So whenever your number is called, you have to go out there and you have to execute the play and get the job done."

Teicher:How's your ankle doing?

WARE: "Ankle's fine, ankle's fine."

Teicher:How bad was it in the playoff game? Can you talk about how limited you were?

WARE: "It was pretty bad, but I gave it all that I could. I tried to help my team out as much as I could, but at the same time, I didn't want to hurt the team having myself out there as well when some guys are 100 percent. As far as Coach (Reid), it was like what are you going to do, what can you do to help us. And I let him know. We communicated with each other throughout the game and we just went with that. I know I didn't get any carries, but that was Coach Andy's decision to put me in or to keep me out."

Teicher:If you had won the game in New England, do you fee like you would have been close to 100 percent the next week? Is there any way of knowing?

WARE: "There's really no way of knowing. I felt like I would have been able to play a significant amount of snaps. Definitely a lot more."

Teicher:What have you been doing since the season's been over?

WARE: "Really just hanging back at home with the family, spending time with them. Just getting things back on track. Back at home with my mom, my family, my little brother, my daughter, my girl. Just things like that. Really just hanging and then a little bit after the Super Bowl, maybe a couple days after the Super Bowl, that's when I started back up with my training to get ready for the season."

Teicher:Is home still in Cincinnati?

WARE: "Yes, home's still in Cincinnati."

Herbie Teope (Topeka Capital-Journal):Given your path to the NFL, what kind of vindication does this contract give to you personally and professionally?

WARE: "It just lets me know that the things I've been doing and the changes in my life have been for the good. I'm starting to see the results from that. As far as me, I'm just going to continue to keep things simple and just try to get better and be able to help my team later on and put myself in the best position to help my team."

Teope:How much of a sense of stability does that offer you?

WARE: "Yeah, that helps tremendously because now I can put more focus and emphasis on my skillset, on my craft and get better in those areas, learn the offense more in-depth and learn to develop those relationships with not just my offensive lineman or the offensive unit, but the entire locker room and the entire ball club and the whole team itself. It's a collective effort for everybody to do their job. And I feel like having that relationship with everybody and being able to focus on that aspect of the game can help and can carry over."

Teope:Between you and Charcandrick, who's buying dinner tonight?

WARE: "I don't know. I know he's already gone, so I think dinner is out. We ate at the facility."

Terez Paylor (Kansas City Star):Did you know that you and Charcandrick got the exact same contract? What do you think about that, is that kind of crazy?

WARE: "I don't think it's crazy. I did know about it, but it doesn't affect me in any kind of way. I'm happy with my deal and I'm pretty sure he's happy with his. Now that that's out of the way, we can focus on this season, which is what's important."

Paylor:How important was it for you to lock yourself in to a place where they believed in you and gave you a chance and stay here as long as you could if it made sense for you monetarily?

WARE: "I just believed in my ability and controlled the things that I could control. So getting that opportunity, I know my chances were limited and had to make the most of it, have to take some risks in some areas on the field to allow those big plays and allow some of those talents to be shown to other people and also my teammates and my coaching staff and the Kansas City Chiefs fans to let them know I can play football and I can get the job done and I can help this team."

Pete Sweeney (Chiefs.com):When Charcandrick got hurt in the Chargers game, is that the moment when you thought this could be possible?* *

WARE: "Absolutely. Anything could have been possible when I signed the futures deal to come here. So I was just grateful for that opportunity. I knew it was going to be a long road ahead before I got that chance. And I just wanted to make sure when I got that chance that I was prepared. So I prepared for that as much as I can. So when Charcandrick went down, it wasn't, as far as how can I put myself on the map. I went out there and played my game and I figured how can I best help my team right now? We still have a game to play. How do I finish this game without missing a beat from the starters. I just took it one step at a time and stuck to my preparation and it kind of worked itself out."

BJ Kissel (Chiefs.com):How much have you been in communication with Coach Bieniemy? Did you have a chance to talk to him yesterday or today?

WARE: "Yes, I talked to him earlier today. It was pretty short, but we've talked a few times since we broke this offseason. He's very intense and he understands how close we were last year and how good our team and our guys and our running back room can actually be. There were a lot of areas where we could have been better in and there's things that we will fix. So he just keeps us conscious of those things that there's always room for improvement and to not become comfortable with everything that's going on around you, being normal and content. That's one thing, he's very intense and he's a great coach. He takes it from in the film room onto the field and also in life as well."