Buffalo Bills’ Richie Incognito says he’s learned from his mistakes

The Buffalo Bills made a controversial move earlier this week by signing Richie Incognito, the former Miami Dolphins guard who was at the center of the team’s bullying scandal in 2013.

Incognito, who sat out 2014 after a suspension by the NFL cut short his 2013 season, has shed some light into what led to the Bills taking a chance on him.

Incognito told the league’s website Tuesday that before signing he met with Bills owner Terry Pegula; Pegula’s wife, Kim; and Bills executives and convinced them that he was a changed man.

“I told them what I had learned from the whole situation,” Incognito wrote in a text message to NFL.com’s Jeff Darlington. “That I needed to respect those around me more and that I needed to realize I may find things funny that other find offensive. This whole learning process was about becoming self-aware. About becoming a better person/teammate/leader.

“We mutually expressed that this would be my last chance and we should look at it as a positive. Take the opportunity to bring attention to a sensitive subject while proving to people that I’m not a racist jerk. We talked about possible ways to turn this situation around and ways we can impact the community. We had a good talk for about an hour. They met separately. They then came back and said they would like me to be part of the organization.”

Incognito also said he spent six weeks last summer in a treatment program at McLean Hospital in Boston.

Incognito’s statements mesh with what Terry Pegula said after the Bills made Incognito’s signing official Monday.

“We are convinced that Richie is prepared to move forward and has and will continue to take the necessary steps to improve himself as a person and a teammate,” Pegula said.