It was only a few months ago when reporters crowded around Vinny Curry in the Eagles' locker room asking the defensive end about his future in Philadelphia. Was he going to be traded? Had the coaches spoken with him?

The scene was much different on Wednesday afternoon as Curry stood at the front of auditorium of the NovaCare Complex. He was once again answering questions about his status with the team, but this time it was a much different tone.

With the Eagles' backdrop behind him, Curry grinned from ear to ear while talking about his new five-year contract. He is set to be in Philadelphia through 2020. No more wondering. No more speculating. Vinny Curry is here to stay.

"I really can't see myself playing anywhere else," Curry said. "At the end of the day, I bleed green."

"I knew I was coming back because I know how I am. I mean, I don't want to say I knew I was coming back but I wanted to come back. You know everybody here. This is where you belong. Imagine next year I played for a different team and light it up. It's not the same."

Now preparing for his fifth NFL season, Curry's time in the NFL has been far from easy. A second-round pick of the Eagles in 2012, Curry began life in the NFL as a 4-3 defensive end, but the transition to a 3-4 base in his sophomore season brought along its own set of challenges.

In 2014, he notched nine sacks and four forced fumbles while playing only 32 percent of the defensive snaps. The story was similar this past season. Curry saw the field for merely 35 percent of the defensive snaps, but still finished the year with three sacks, 4.5 tackles for loss and a career-high 21 quarterback hurries, good for second on the team.

"I still gave out the maximum effort. I still went out there and tried hard. If that's what it was going to be, that's what it was going to be. I can't jump up and down and cry and say, 'Why?' It is what it is," he said of the last three seasons. "I'm looking forward. The past is the past."

With the Eagles returning to a 4-3 base in 2016, Curry is excited to get back to doing what he loves. He is elated to have five more years playing in Philadelphia, the city he's loved his entire life, with his teammates who have been here with him from the beginning.

Throughout the entire decision process, Curry was in constant contact with one teammate specifically, Fletcher Cox. Curry explained his teammate "definitely had a big influence on" his choice to remain an Eagle.

With his signature inked on the dotted line, the defensive end is now focused on his expanded his role and getting this team back on track in 2016.

"I'm going to say it again for Year 5," Curry said with a smile on his face. "I'm going to be the starter this year. That's my goal. That's the way I prepare and that's the way I train. It's good for our room. It's good for our competition."

In the words of Ric Flair, his favorite all-time wrestler, "To be the man, you gotta beat the man," and Curry is certainly ready to do just that for the Philadelphia Eagles.