NATCHEZ — After one of the most strenuous seasons of his football career, Steven Ridley has little to complain about these days.

Why would he when his offseason consisted of hanging out with a UFC champion, spending quality time with teammates, both old and new, and a visit onto a movie set in Hollywood?

The winding down time was much needed for Ridley, as he prepares to face another grinding season in the NFL.

“It’s important to get away from football for two months and then really start training when April comes around,” Ridley said.

Following the New England Patriots’ loss to the Denver Broncos in the AFC Championship Game, Ridley started his offseason by traveling to Jamaica with teammate Chandler Jones and his older brother Jon “Bones” Jones, who is the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in Mixed Martial Arts.

Ridley and a select number of teammates went scuba diving with Jones and 18 other fighters. Ridley was smart enough not to attempt any double-leg takedowns on his vacation with the UFC champion.

“All athletes are the same — we like to take it easy on our days off,” Ridley said. “I certainly worked on my elbow defense before messing with (Jones).”

Following his four days in Jamaica, Ridley revisited Boston, where he sat through flight cancellations before meeting up with former LSU Tiger teammate Kelvin Shepherd in Las Vegas. Ridley then rented a car and drove to Los Angeles, where he spent February and March living in a house with Patriot teammate Julian Edelman, who posted 1,056 receiving yards and six touchdown receptions for the Patriots last season.

There, Ridley met up with another teammate, Rob Gronkowski, en route to a movie set where Hollywood officials were filming a movie adaptation of the popular HBO show “Entourage.” Ridley participated in an onscreen cameo with Gronkowski.

“Everyone from my generation at least knows what Entourage is, so it was cool to go out and be on the movie set for it,” Ridley said.

Ridley loved the California lifestyle, but once the month of March ended, it was back to the grind, as the former Trinity Saint put it.

On April 1, Ridley went to Baton Rouge to begin training for his fourth year in the league before reporting to the Patriots facility on April 21 for Organized Team Activities “OTAs,” where Ridley worked on his conditioning.

Ridley, who is coming off of a season where he had three fumbles, is in a good place mentally following the most challenging season of his life.

“It was a big deal,” Ridley said. “I had higher expectations of myself. I like to hit 1,000 yards in a season every time, but it was my own fault as to why I didn’t reach that. You just can’t put the ball on the ground like that. I feel like I’ve grown and matured through it, though. I just had to hold my head up high and keep battling.”

This came after his 1,263 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns in 2012, where the Patriots focused on a ground attack, despite having Tom Brady at quarterback.

“When I got here, it was the Brady show,” Ridley said. “And when you meet the guy, you’re blown away with how he just wants to win. Coach (Bill) Belichick likes to play matchups, and when you have one of the best players in the history of the league, (defenses) have to respect him. So with defenses preparing for him, I get to make my reads and do what I do best — run the football.”

Because of the adversity Ridley faced, he’s come into this offseason with a chip on his shoulder, reinvigorated and as hungry as he was when he was a rookie. With this being the last season under contract with the Patriots, Ridley is on a mission to prove something to himself and the Patriot organization.

He’ll be alongside familiar faces in the process. His former LSU teammate Brandon LaFell will be along for the ride with him this year, as the Patriots made a free agency move to bring LaFell to New England.

“I’ve been talking to Coach (Josh) McDaniels since I’ve been here about getting an LSU guy out here,” Ridley said. “They like to draft people out of the SEC, but they need more LSU players. The LaFell addition is going to be great, and him being with the greatest quarterback to ever play the game, you’ll get to really see LaFell’s potential.”

The addition also comes with subtraction for the Patriots, as LeGarrette Blount left the Patriots in the offseason. Though Blount signed a two-year deal with the Pittsburgh Steelers, the running back room will be full of old counterparts like Brandon Bolden and Shane Vereen. It’s a room Ridley respects, and it’s a room that respects him for the contributions he’s made.

With everything Ridley has accomplished thus far and all of the adversity he’s faced this past season, he said he’s as eager to succeed as he’s ever been.

That road to his coveted 1,000-yard mark will only intensify with every passing month.