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Vince Wilfork strips down and doesn’t care what y’all have to say

Texans tackle said he’s big but he’s healthy in ESPN’s 2016 Body Issue

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Vince Wilfork finally showed us what it looks like to be heavy but healthy. The Houston Texans defensive tackle takes it all off in ESPN The Magazine’s 2016 Body Issue and is totally unbothered about what internet trolls have to say. Then he called out New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady on Twitter, challenging him to take a dive into the world of sports nudity.

“There will be critics, just like with everything else,” Wilfork told ESPN. “I think a lot of people will get a laugh out of it, I’ll tell you that. A lot of people look at me as a big person. Some people consider me to be obese. Some people consider me fat and sloppy. But I think this shoot will give people a different look at what I am.”

Well, you will get nothing but praise from us! Listed at 6-foot-3, 325 pounds on the Texans’ official roster, the defensive tackle is comfortable in his skin. And he’s not out of shape either.

“I think some people look at a big guy and automatically assume you’re unhealthy,” he said.

The two-time Super Bowl champ is one of 19 athletes who posed for the annual Body Issue.

“It came together well. When they came to me with it, I was like ‘sure, I’ll do it.’ I’m proud of who I am. I had fun with it. It was lights, camera, action when I got there.”

Once the Texans tweeted the image, folks weighed in. While there were a few critics, others praised Wilfork for stripping down proudly. Check out what a few of them said below:

https://twitter.com/TheBenNatan/status/748517698980679680

For more from the 2016 Body Issue, check out espn.com/bodyissue and pick up a copy on newsstands starting July 8.

Kelley Evans is a digital producer at Andscape. She is a food passionista, helicopter mom and an unapologetic Southerner who spends every night with the cast of The Young and the Restless by way of her couch.