“I cherished my time there,” Guy said.

They did, too. A few months after his club cut him, Patriots owner Rober Kraft cut a $20,000 check for the Lawrence Guy Family Foundation that brought so much to New England’s disadvantaged families with a focus the last three years on single mothers.

One of his last Patriotic acts back in January became one of the most memorable. Lawrence and Andrea hosted 16 families impacted by the Lewiston, Maine mass shooting for player autographs and a tour of Gillette Stadium.

The manager of the Schemengees Bar and Grill was killed that night and his daughter received a surprise $5,000 gift from the Guys.

“Every year we focus on being more impactful and when this happened our hearts were broken and torn about the families and we got the idea to make these families feel special that have been affected by this tragedy, ” Andrea Guy said at the event.

Her husband is not surprised at the role an old Patriot teammate has embraced with the Bengals, 2023 Walter Payton nominee Ted Karras.

“Teddy’s got the kind of personality that has made him a leader everywhere he’s been,” Guy said.

Guy can be that guy, but right now he’s just trying to get on the same page with Bengals defensive line coach Marion Hobby. Hobby isn’t concerned.

“I’ve watched him for a long time. That’s why he’s here. He’s played a lot of football,” Hobby said.

How much? He was a teammate of old friend Vontaze Burfict at Arizona State.

Since Wednesday was a short day, Hobby told Guy if he wanted, he could come into the D-Line room Thursday, and they’d go over any questions he had. But this is why Guy has played a long time. He went into Hobby’s room for about a half-hour Wednesday and was the last guy out of the locker room after eating lunch.

“So many legends have come through this locker room. You embraced what you saw,” Guy said. “Tez was here. I got to watch people here. Old teammates. It was always a rough game. Bengals-Steelers is always going to be hard-fought, smashmouth.”

They don’t play until December. The Ravens aren’t here for three more weeks. But the new guy brings the sentiment Monday night for an NFC game.

“I love the AFC North,” Guy said.