Dancing with the stars Fans are thrilled by NFL alumnus Daniel Amendolabut he keeps his eye on the goal.

“I ignore the noise,” 38-year-old Amendola said exclusively We weekly after the Tuesday, September 24 episode when asked about the numerous tweets that came in response to his appearances on the show. “I’m not fueling the hype, nor am I believing it. And I’m just worried about dancing. That’s all.”

Amendola and his partner, Whitney Carsonhave impressed the jury so far, achieving 21 out of 30 points on Tuesday and 20 out of 30 points last week at the premiere of season 33. Bruno Tonioli even took a moment to whisper a little praise to the retired athlete after his jive on Tuesday.

“He said, ‘You did it, man.’ That’s all,” Amendola said Us from Tonioli’s comment. “Bruno is the man.”

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While Amendola remains focused on the competition, he also subtly puts an end to speculation that he and DJ Xandra Pohlwhich in the DWTS aaudience last week, are romantically involved.

“She is a great friend and a great person,” said Amendola Us von Pohl, 23. “I am a big fan of what she does and have a lot of respect for her.”

Carson, 30, then jokingly suggested that the couple should celebrate together after the premiere episode.

“You went to dinner, right?” she asked. Amendola didn’t respond.

“No, we don’t, no, we don’t,” he insisted. “She’s just a great friend.”

The former wide receiver has enough on his plate, even without romance rumors. Amendola said exclusively Us last week that his “joints hurt a lot more” from DWTS than during his time in the NFL.

“We play on grass, so it’s a little softer. On the hardwood floor, it’s like I’m eating ice cream,” he explained. “I’m definitely feeling the age now. But it’s fun to go out there, sweat and have fun.”

Amendola, who played for numerous teams during his NFL career, including the New England Patriots from 2013 to 2017, also praised his partner.

“She’s a boss,” he said of Carson. “I still have a lot of room for improvement. We’ll try to be better next week.”

Amendola and Danny were tied with Phaedra Parks and Val Chmerkovskiy And Ilona Maher And Alan Bersten on Tuesday. The three duos scored only three points less than the winners of the evening, Chandler Kinney And Brandon Armstrong. Tori Spelling And Pasha Pashkov And Anna Delvey And Ezra Sosa were eliminated at the end of the double elimination on Tuesday.

Dancing with the stars airs simultaneously on ABC and Disney+ on Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET. You can stream episodes the next day on Disney+. There will be no new episode on Tuesday, October 1.

With reporting by Carly Konsker