"This is my office."

Those were the first words out of Myles Price's mouth as he first stepped onto the field in Chicago, stadium lights washing over his still-clean uniform.

"I just remember when I walked out of the tunnel and everyone was screaming, I was like, 'Wow. This is my place of work. This is my office.' "

A division-rival game, the raucous atmosphere of Soldier Field and nationally televised stage could prompt some level of nerves for just about anyone, let alone a first-year player. But when asked about it, Price thoughtfully considered for a moment before responding, "You know, I really didn't feel nervous."

"It almost felt like I'd been there before," he said, smiling.

Maybe because Price believes this is exactly what he was born to do.

Take, for example, earlier this offseason when players during a team meeting were taking turns sharing what they'd received as a signing bonus. When it came around to the rookie returner, Price put it simply: "I'm here for the love of the game."

"That was me basically saying, there's nothing attached to it," he explained Wednesday. "I really do it because I love to play football. And I knew, at the end of the day, I would eventually get to this point. I knew it."

Price grinded every day throughout the offseason program and training camp, most days being the final player off the practice field. He made his chances count during Minnesota's three preseason games, and when roster cuts came around, he joined six other undrafted free agents in making the initial 53-man roster.

And on Monday, he made his NFL regular-season debut.

Price averaged 17.0 yards on four punt returns, which ranked second over the weekend behind only Cincinnati's Charlie Jones, who returned one punt 23 yards. Price also returned two kickoffs for 49 yards, while Ty Chandler returned three for 84 yards.

Worth noting is that this season marks the second of the "dynamic kickoff" play, designed to promote more returns and resemble a play from scrimmage, with players lining up closer together and restricting movement to reduce space and speed between the kicking team and the return team. According to NFL Media Research, there were 152 dynamic kickoffs league-wide in Week 1, with 118 of them being returned. That return rate more than doubled from opening weekend of 2024.

Price's kick return just before halftime placed the Vikings at their 31-yard line, from which one deep pass from J.J. McCarthy to Jalen Nailor set up Will Reichard's 59-yard field goal, a career-best and tied for the longest ever at Soldier Field.

Price's longest punt return of the evening occurred early in the fourth quarter, when he returned the boot 22 yards to midfield. The Vikings on their ensuing series scored their second touchdown in three minutes, a pass from McCarthy to Aaron Jones, Sr.

Whether Price is returning punts or kickoffs, it's a skill he's confident in and prides himself in.

Though, it wasn't always that way.

Price noted he started learning how to return punts in high school; the results were less than ideal.

"At first, I wasn't very good at it, though. I was terrible at tracking the ball. I would let it hit the ground," he laughed. "But then finally, I fell in love with it.

"Once I got to college and realized how much fun it was, it took me back to when I was a child playing in the yard with all my friends and my cousins," he added.

Since then, Price says he's practiced "a trillion punts" (we'll allow for some hyperbole here) and is just as passionate about the craft.

Vikings Head Coach Kevin O'Connell and Special Teams Coordinator Matt Daniels appreciate that hunger which, paired with impeccable work ethic, have helped Price arrive at the opportunity he's seizing now.

Daniels noted Price's Monday Night Football performance continued over from what he put on tape in the preseason.

"He made great decisions back there. What you love most about this guy is his ability to create on his own," Daniels told media members Thursday. "We stole a lot of hidden yardage in that football game.

"You really appreciate the energy he brings as a returner. I mean, you see him, hoppin', skippin', jumpin' — and you can see our sideline and see the guys really feed off his energy," Daniels added. "That's what we really want, is an overflow of energy from the field onto the sideline as the offense or defense is running onto the field. And Myles does that."

Price also carries a certain sense of fearlessness necessary for the position — explaining the lack of nerves he experienced walking into his first-ever regular season game.

O'Connell emphasized Wednesday something he's recognized for a while:

"There's not going to be a moment too big for Myles."

In similar appreciation for Prices' pluckiness, Daniels referenced the blockbuster film Gladiator, which illustrates "The Man in the Arena," a concept originally shared during a speech by the late President Theodore Roosevelt.

"There's only so many 'Man in the Arenas' in the NFL, when you start talking about 70,000 people looking at one person on a play, and really, the returner is that," Daniels said. "The quarterback is that, the kicker is that. It takes a lot of mental toughness and grit to be that person.

"The mental makeup of Myles says a lot about who he is and what you really appreciate," Daniels added, "and it's something you really look for in that position."

Price will be looked to at both returner positions, particularly considering Thursday's news of Chandler — who has displayed a similar toughness — going to Injured Reserve with a knee injury.

Price doesn't take it for granted, nor will he scale back on any of the prep that's got him this far.

But he's ready. He was born ready.

"This is my office," Price said again, smiling. "I just think that's a blessing. You know, not everybody gets to say that, so I'm just glad I'm able to do this."

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