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Press Pass | GM James Gladstone on Jaguars' Free Agency Approach · The Jacksonville Jaguars Official Podcast Network

• 0:01
  Speaker 1: Bi everyone, we have general manager James Gladstone available. Please
• 0:05
  Speaker 1: raise your hand if you have a question, we can
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: start with Jamal then move to Demetrius or.
• 0:12
  Speaker 2: What's going on James?
• 0:12
  Speaker 3: How you doing? Life is good? How are you guys?
• 0:16
  Speaker 2: Pretty good out here at TPC, so we're might have
• 0:19
  Speaker 2: to pull you out here. What do you like about
• 0:21
  Speaker 2: Chris Rodriguez?
• 0:23
  Speaker 3: I think there's a lot to like.
• 0:24
  Speaker 4: You know, obviously Liam has some familiar aarity with him
• 0:30
  Speaker 4: dating back to his time at Kentucky. Beyond that, it's
• 0:34
  Speaker 4: kind of fun like if I unravel sort of diving
• 0:37
  Speaker 4: into who he's been as a professional football player and
• 0:41
  Speaker 4: get into the nuances of our exposure to him and
• 0:45
  Speaker 4: lead up to the decision to prioritize him as an
• 0:48
  Speaker 4: untendered RFA, it was. You know, it's interesting when we
• 0:53
  Speaker 4: watch players. Tony Boselli has been a consistent pen in that.
• 1:00
  Speaker 3: But you know, he's.
• 1:01
  Speaker 4: Fallen into the line of if you watch the tape
• 1:05
  Speaker 4: right before, sharing his perspective on each player, and and
• 1:10
  Speaker 4: we've kind of fallen into that becoming a funny comment
• 1:14
  Speaker 4: knowing that he's usually talking to a group of people
• 1:16
  Speaker 4: that have watched the tape and and so with that,
• 1:19
  Speaker 4: Chris Rodriguez is in fact somebody that if you watch
• 1:23
  Speaker 4: the tape, you understand very quickly exactly who he is
• 1:27
  Speaker 4: as a football player, the superpowers that he taps into consistently,
• 1:31
  Speaker 4: and you know, if you draw back to his time
• 1:34
  Speaker 4: at Kentucky, it's remained a constant he is.
• 1:38
  Speaker 3: He's very physical at the point of attack.
• 1:41
  Speaker 4: He has a really good pace in his approach to
• 1:43
  Speaker 4: the line of scrimmage and finding the lanes. Obviously an
• 1:46
  Speaker 4: intimate understanding of the system.
• 1:48
  Speaker 3: And how Liam likes to call things.
• 1:51
  Speaker 4: So there's a lot of strong matches just generally from
• 1:54
  Speaker 4: how you know those two in tandem can really work together.
• 1:59
  Speaker 4: And then are also our interest in continue to find
• 2:02
  Speaker 4: ways to level up our capacity in.
• 2:05
  Speaker 3: The run game to you know, make it a really.
• 2:07
  Speaker 4: Balanced attack, being able to attack the perimeter and also
• 2:10
  Speaker 4: the inside and really you know, fair and balanced forms.
• 2:14
  Speaker 4: And I think that Chris seamlessly provides that.
• 2:18
  Speaker 2: You talk team building philosophy briefly, I mean kind of
• 2:21
  Speaker 2: quiet through free agency, there's been that frenzy and Jaguars
• 2:24
  Speaker 2: fans not necessarily used to it, so maybe a little
• 2:27
  Speaker 2: bit of frantic waiting for you to do something there and.
• 2:31
  Speaker 3: Quite a bit different than you know a year ago today.
• 2:34
  Speaker 4: Right, we came out the gates what you might call
• 2:36
  Speaker 4: is hot, sign in double digit free agents external free
• 2:41
  Speaker 4: agents right off the bat a year ago, and you know,
• 2:44
  Speaker 4: the whole approach to that cycle.
• 2:46
  Speaker 3: Was raised the floor of the football team, and that
• 2:48
  Speaker 3: was a part of it.
• 2:50
  Speaker 4: We're at a stage now where you know, a higher
• 2:54
  Speaker 4: volume of draft capital is what we're hunting up in
• 2:56
  Speaker 4: those compensatory picks. When you think about high price free
• 3:00
  Speaker 4: agency of ours ended up signing elsewhere well deserved contracts.
• 3:05
  Speaker 3: I mean a lot of guys that have already.
• 3:08
  Speaker 4: Announced his signing, I mean they did their part to
• 3:10
  Speaker 4: put themselves in really sound positions to earn that and
• 3:14
  Speaker 4: excited for all those guys. In return, by not signing
• 3:18
  Speaker 4: any outside.
• 3:19
  Speaker 3: Free agents, we recoup twenty.
• 3:21
  Speaker 4: Twenty seven draft capital, and I think on its surface,
• 3:24
  Speaker 4: you would think, oh, Okay, you're going to make picks
• 3:26
  Speaker 4: in twenty twenty seven, whereas in reality those draft picks
• 3:30
  Speaker 4: and having more of them actually allows you the luxury
• 3:33
  Speaker 4: of remaining in the hunt at different intervals throughout the
• 3:37
  Speaker 4: entire calendar year for acquiring players. You think about training camp,
• 3:42
  Speaker 4: a year ago and using a Day three pick to
• 3:44
  Speaker 4: acquire a wide receiver and Tim Patrick, you think about
• 3:47
  Speaker 4: ahead of the trade deadline and being able to use
• 3:49
  Speaker 4: two picks on Day three to acquire a wide receiver
• 3:52
  Speaker 4: in Jacobe Myers. Without that draft capital at your disposal,
• 3:57
  Speaker 4: you may not be as willing or able to relinquish
• 4:01
  Speaker 4: some of those future picks. So by building that up now,
• 4:04
  Speaker 4: it allows us the luxury of remaining sort of with
• 4:08
  Speaker 4: the flexibility to do those sorts of things as we
• 4:11
  Speaker 4: move into the next stages of the offseason and into
• 4:14
  Speaker 4: the regular season.
• 4:16
  Speaker 1: Chad James, we'll go to Petrius then to Brent.
• 4:21
  Speaker 5: Hey, James, you you sort of touched her on this
• 4:23
  Speaker 5: with the comp picks, But in terms of I guess letting,
• 4:28
  Speaker 5: for lack of a better term, Devin Lloyd Walk, how
• 4:31
  Speaker 5: challenging was that for you guys, And just you know,
• 4:34
  Speaker 5: how does that sort of change the outlook of the
• 4:36
  Speaker 5: linebacker room moving forward?
• 4:38
  Speaker 4: Yeah? I think Devin's impact on our football team over
• 4:42
  Speaker 4: the course of the last year was nothing short of,
• 4:46
  Speaker 4: you know, significant, and without him, without his on ball production,
• 4:51
  Speaker 4: games are gonna look a lot different. The results of
• 4:54
  Speaker 4: those games are gonna look a lot different, and I
• 4:57
  Speaker 4: know that our coaching staff had such.
• 4:59
  Speaker 3: A high appreciate for what he did.
• 5:01
  Speaker 4: The players in the locker room loved to play beside
• 5:04
  Speaker 4: him and appreciate all the pieces.
• 5:06
  Speaker 3: That he brought to the puzzle.
• 5:08
  Speaker 4: Beyond that, I think we can look at our own
• 5:12
  Speaker 4: that we still have as people that can step in
• 5:15
  Speaker 4: and have stepped in over the course of their rookie contracts.
• 5:19
  Speaker 4: A Ventro Miller, he started multiple games at linebacker for
• 5:23
  Speaker 4: US and did so even last year.
• 5:25
  Speaker 3: And beyond that, Branson Combs.
• 5:26
  Speaker 4: Who is an undrafted college free agent, found his mark
• 5:29
  Speaker 4: on special teams and still has a lot of upside
• 5:33
  Speaker 4: that can be built upon. You know, beyond that, you
• 5:35
  Speaker 4: look at the middle linebacker spot and Foyer, who's held
• 5:38
  Speaker 4: that down for quite a few years and is the
• 5:41
  Speaker 4: leader of that crew, is you know, it's really exciting
• 5:43
  Speaker 4: to know that he can continue to evolve in that
• 5:46
  Speaker 4: capacity with Jack Kiser right behind him. And then you
• 5:49
  Speaker 4: know the fact that we were able to get Dennis
• 5:51
  Speaker 4: Back who wasn't assigning until after the draft last year
• 5:54
  Speaker 4: and really made his dent within the really flexible role
• 5:59
  Speaker 4: that is sam backer, being able to rush, being able
• 6:02
  Speaker 4: to drop being able to really be active on special
• 6:04
  Speaker 4: teams and bring a competitive fire that you know, anybody
• 6:07
  Speaker 4: who loves football will love Dennis Gardak And you know,
• 6:11
  Speaker 4: I think that was pretty clear, and he you know,
• 6:12
  Speaker 4: he allowed Campy, who really appreciates that sam backer position,
• 6:17
  Speaker 4: to grow it and really make it so that was
• 6:19
  Speaker 4: suited for you know, what Dennis does best. And then
• 6:22
  Speaker 4: right behind him, you got you know McLeod who's coming
• 6:26
  Speaker 4: off of really a red shirt year dealing with his injuries.
• 6:30
  Speaker 3: And then also yes.
• 6:31
  Speaker 4: Her Abdullah who's obviously been such a critical piece in
• 6:34
  Speaker 4: particular on special teams. So there's a lot of experience
• 6:38
  Speaker 4: coming back with you know, obviously still room to find
• 6:41
  Speaker 4: ways to improve over the course of the offseason, not
• 6:44
  Speaker 4: including just the draft.
• 6:46
  Speaker 5: Thank you.
• 6:48
  Speaker 1: We'll go to Brent, then to O'Halloran.
• 6:52
  Speaker 6: Hey, James.
• 6:52
  Speaker 7: As you know, there are a lot of rumors that
• 6:55
  Speaker 7: fly around and reports this time of year, but there
• 6:59
  Speaker 7: was some you know, reputable reports over the weekend about
• 7:02
  Speaker 7: you guys being linked to Crosby before he got traded
• 7:06
  Speaker 7: or when he got traded to the Ravens. Is there
• 7:09
  Speaker 7: any merit to it and how much are you guys
• 7:13
  Speaker 7: still actively trying to fortify potentially that defensive front.
• 7:19
  Speaker 4: Yeah, I think that's going to be an ongoing process
• 7:21
  Speaker 4: where we're continuing to map out how we can level up,
• 7:25
  Speaker 4: and you know, that's a pairing of personnel and scheme
• 7:28
  Speaker 4: and also the back end being tied to rush plans
• 7:33
  Speaker 4: and continuing to ensure that we're able to stop the
• 7:36
  Speaker 4: run at such a high tick like we were last
• 7:38
  Speaker 4: year without diluting that element, but still improving the pass rush.
• 7:43
  Speaker 4: So that's a fun piece to this offseason to try
• 7:47
  Speaker 4: to really map out that wasn't necessarily something that we
• 7:51
  Speaker 4: were actively engaged in. We're always communicating with other clubs
• 7:55
  Speaker 4: on you know, the landscape of their thoughts, and I
• 7:58
  Speaker 4: can tell you, in particular, never got down to a.
• 8:02
  Speaker 3: Real dialogue exploring.
• 8:04
  Speaker 7: That one follow up, if you don't mind up, you
• 8:08
  Speaker 7: guys were active last year, you spent a good amount
• 8:10
  Speaker 7: of money. It's a chance to get better this time
• 8:13
  Speaker 7: of year as a football team. Potentially, is it hard
• 8:16
  Speaker 7: to be disciplined the way you guys were this week
• 8:20
  Speaker 7: or are you just almost kind of forced to be
• 8:22
  Speaker 7: disciplined with the nature of your cap situation.
• 8:25
  Speaker 3: Yeah, I think Fomo sets in a little bit. You
• 8:28
  Speaker 3: know we're all human.
• 8:30
  Speaker 4: Well at the same time, it's not uncharted territory for me.
• 8:34
  Speaker 4: You know, it's not uncharted territory for Liam. He was
• 8:36
  Speaker 4: with us at the RAMS, and you know, this was
• 8:39
  Speaker 4: an approach that we took in multiple cycles and it's
• 8:45
  Speaker 4: really one that I know well and feel confident can
• 8:49
  Speaker 4: navigate and really be able to use all the different
• 8:53
  Speaker 4: intervals that lie in front of us to continue to
• 8:55
  Speaker 4: shape what will be the twenty twenty six Jacksonville Jaguar.
• 9:00
  Speaker 4: It's exciting for my vantage point to know that, you know,
• 9:03
  Speaker 4: the start of the league year began yesterday, roughly twenty
• 9:06
  Speaker 4: four hours ago, a little less and it's nothing more
• 9:10
  Speaker 4: than the start.
• 9:11
  Speaker 7: Thanks appreciate it, Ohhalleran, And to.
• 9:14
  Speaker 3: D Rock, Hey, James, I got two for you.
• 9:18
  Speaker 8: First one is Brian Thomas Junior, so intense interest from
• 9:21
  Speaker 8: other teams been in trading for him.
• 9:23
  Speaker 3: And have you even got an offer yet?
• 9:26
  Speaker 4: No, we haven't, and there hasn't been a ton of
• 9:29
  Speaker 4: dialogue around that front as teams check in simply because
• 9:32
  Speaker 4: it seems like there's another word reputable came up earlier.
• 9:36
  Speaker 4: I don't think there's been any reputable statement. We don't
• 9:41
  Speaker 4: have any real action on any of those fronts. And
• 9:45
  Speaker 4: you know, as I think you think back to where
• 9:47
  Speaker 4: we landed at the end of the season, where our
• 9:50
  Speaker 4: passing attack was, we have no interest in disrupting the momentum.
• 9:55
  Speaker 3: We look forward to continuing.
• 9:57
  Speaker 4: To build off of where we left things and know
• 10:00
  Speaker 4: that Brian Thomas is a big piece to that puzzle
• 10:03
  Speaker 4: and we don't want to make sure that that gets
• 10:07
  Speaker 4: disrupted at any time.
• 10:10
  Speaker 8: Then secondly, for me, where you are in the draft process,
• 10:14
  Speaker 8: you have four picks from fifty six to one. Where
• 10:17
  Speaker 8: you're at with your evaluations, are your needs going to
• 10:19
  Speaker 8: match up with the strengths and the sweet spots of
• 10:21
  Speaker 8: those rounds two and three?
• 10:24
  Speaker 3: That is a really fair question. I think the best.
• 10:27
  Speaker 4: Way to sort of think about that is right now,
• 10:29
  Speaker 4: what we've structured it to be is that we don't
• 10:34
  Speaker 4: have to pick based off of need necessarily at any
• 10:37
  Speaker 4: specific spot.
• 10:39
  Speaker 3: That's a luxury.
• 10:39
  Speaker 4: I think when I was with the Los Angeles Rams,
• 10:43
  Speaker 4: there were too many drafts and I got to live
• 10:47
  Speaker 4: this where you felt pressed to take a specific position,
• 10:50
  Speaker 4: and there were instances where it worked out fine for us.
• 10:53
  Speaker 4: There were instances where it didn't, and that may just
• 10:56
  Speaker 4: be the draft. It may just be the way that
• 10:58
  Speaker 4: those Pacific situations unfolded. But I think walking into the
• 11:03
  Speaker 4: door on day two, as it stands right now, we're
• 11:07
  Speaker 4: not saying that we need this position at this spot,
• 11:10
  Speaker 4: which is a luxury, and I'm excited about that. It
• 11:12
  Speaker 4: means that we can really take somebody that we understand
• 11:15
  Speaker 4: that we have a clear vision for alignment on and
• 11:18
  Speaker 4: it doesn't have to be dependent on it's got to
• 11:20
  Speaker 4: be at this specific spot or this side of ball.
• 11:24
  Speaker 3: Gotrick, Thanks Javis, thank.
• 11:25
  Speaker 9: You, Sorry Emily James. Was there an attempt to try
• 11:33
  Speaker 9: and get or try and resign Travis etn And obviously
• 11:38
  Speaker 9: with him being gone, what's the level of confidence you
• 11:41
  Speaker 9: guys have in too and being able to kind of be,
• 11:44
  Speaker 9: you know, for lack of a better term than number
• 11:46
  Speaker 9: one guy.
• 11:47
  Speaker 3: Yeah, it's a fair question. We engage with his reps
• 11:49
  Speaker 3: and monitored his market.
• 11:51
  Speaker 4: We approached it knowing that his his contract was going
• 11:56
  Speaker 4: to be pretty pretty high and wanted to make sure
• 11:59
  Speaker 4: that we were never out of the loop on that.
• 12:02
  Speaker 4: And you know, as things progressed, we obviously made the
• 12:06
  Speaker 4: decision to to sort of step aside and have him
• 12:10
  Speaker 4: get what was earned, and I think he's pretty darn excited,
• 12:13
  Speaker 4: it seems to be back in his home state and
• 12:16
  Speaker 4: be able to step into that that that stadium, and
• 12:20
  Speaker 4: I know for us, it's really exciting because you know,
• 12:25
  Speaker 4: base Shall was in a spot obviously where he didn't
• 12:27
  Speaker 4: receive the bulk of the carries, but certainly had his
• 12:30
  Speaker 4: moments to shine throughout the course of the year and showcase,
• 12:33
  Speaker 4: you know, a good chunk of what he has to offer.
• 12:36
  Speaker 4: And outside of just base Shall, you got Laquin who
• 12:40
  Speaker 4: carved out a very clear role in contribution to the
• 12:43
  Speaker 4: football team. Bringing Chris and you got a nice little
• 12:47
  Speaker 4: trio alongside DJ Dallas.
• 12:50
  Speaker 3: And Jacquintin Jackson.
• 12:51
  Speaker 4: So it's a it's a really good crew that we
• 12:53
  Speaker 4: feel confident in at this stage. Look forward to seeing
• 12:56
  Speaker 4: how things unfold throughout the course of the spring, and
• 12:59
  Speaker 4: you know, a lot on our coaches to get get
• 13:01
  Speaker 4: hands on with Chris and see how that all takes shape.
• 13:04
  Speaker 3: But as it stands, it's a it's a fairly.
• 13:07
  Speaker 4: Well rounded, complimentary group and we're excited about it.
• 13:12
  Speaker 10: And back to Brian Thomas real quick, are you amused
• 13:16
  Speaker 10: when you see rumors like that just sort of take
• 13:19
  Speaker 10: a life, take on a life of their home around
• 13:21
  Speaker 10: the league. When you get to free agency or whatever,
• 13:24
  Speaker 10: it's like this, and then the next thing you know,
• 13:26
  Speaker 10: there's like seven or eight people that are talking about,
• 13:28
  Speaker 10: you know, Brian Thomas available on the market. I mean,
• 13:30
  Speaker 10: do you guys even do you care?
• 13:33
  Speaker 3: Does it bother you when that's out there?
• 13:34
  Speaker 10: What's the reaction when all that happens?
• 13:37
  Speaker 3: It can be very strange, for sure. I care more
• 13:40
  Speaker 3: for you know, what weight that might.
• 13:42
  Speaker 4: Put on Brian himself right when you know it's it's
• 13:46
  Speaker 4: something that's entirely out of his control and unnecessary. So
• 13:50
  Speaker 4: I think that's where my mind would go, if anything,
• 13:53
  Speaker 4: But uh, you know, when it's fraudulent claims, it's.
• 13:58
  Speaker 3: You just keep it.
• 13:59
  Speaker 4: You get you know, keep your mind on what you
• 14:01
  Speaker 4: can you can focus on and you can actually control and.
• 14:04
  Speaker 3: Try to do what's best for the Jacksonville Jaguars.
• 14:06
  Speaker 4: And ultimately that's not the hardest thing to do when
• 14:09
  Speaker 4: you know that's the role and where you can try
• 14:12
  Speaker 4: to compartimentalize things. But yeah, if anything, it's it's hopefully
• 14:16
  Speaker 4: it's not a wait that comes with the player that
• 14:19
  Speaker 4: ever would be involved in.
• 14:20
  Speaker 3: Such a thing.
• 14:22
  Speaker 1: Thank you, we're working under time constraints. We have time
• 14:26
  Speaker 1: for just two more quick questions. We can go to
• 14:30
  Speaker 1: Rick and then to Shipley.
• 14:34
  Speaker 11: How you doing, James?
• 14:35
  Speaker 3: Life is good. How are you good?
• 14:37
  Speaker 12: I'm doing great? Just overall? How are things different for
• 14:42
  Speaker 12: you right now? You are really thrown into it a
• 14:44
  Speaker 12: year ago when you got here with free agency and
• 14:47
  Speaker 12: you guys made such a dramatic turn as far as
• 14:50
  Speaker 12: your roster and then what forty two days away from
• 14:53
  Speaker 12: the draft just to have your own scouts in place,
• 14:55
  Speaker 12: pro personnel directors in place. How different is this compared
• 14:59
  Speaker 12: to one year ago?
• 15:01
  Speaker 6: Yeah, I think last year you were there was a
• 15:04
  Speaker 6: lot of translation in comparison, not everybody speaking the same
• 15:09
  Speaker 6: language and trying to bridge that gap.
• 15:11
  Speaker 3: This year, it's very seamless.
• 15:14
  Speaker 4: Dialogue is you know, on the same plane, and it
• 15:18
  Speaker 4: allows for you know, when communications operating at a high tick,
• 15:22
  Speaker 4: it allows decisions to you know, unfold in a way
• 15:26
  Speaker 4: that you would, you know, feel really confident in because
• 15:28
  Speaker 4: of that, right, there's clarity that comes with that. So
• 15:31
  Speaker 4: there's a lot of energy that I look back on
• 15:33
  Speaker 4: a year ago that was applied to bridging the gap,
• 15:36
  Speaker 4: and you know, a lot of parallel modes of operation
• 15:41
  Speaker 4: that were being brought together, but this is now a
• 15:44
  Speaker 4: situation where everybody's walking down the same track, so that
• 15:48
  Speaker 4: allows it to be a little bit more efficient.
• 15:51
  Speaker 3: Thank you, thanks for asking last one.
• 15:54
  Speaker 11: Shipley, Hey James, thanks for doing this just because I
• 15:59
  Speaker 11: don't believe asked about him yet, Buster Brown bringing him
• 16:02
  Speaker 11: back because how much flexibility does I give you? You mentioned
• 16:05
  Speaker 11: that you know you don't feel like you have a
• 16:06
  Speaker 11: need really being forced, I mean just knowing you guys
• 16:09
  Speaker 11: know several guys that cornerback to where that's not like
• 16:12
  Speaker 11: something glaring heading into April.
• 16:14
  Speaker 4: Yeah, a time so Jack to have Buster back, and
• 16:17
  Speaker 4: you know his interest in being back existed, and you know,
• 16:21
  Speaker 4: when it's such a strong match, both parties really interested
• 16:26
  Speaker 4: in bringing that to life. You know, Busters in a
• 16:28
  Speaker 4: position where he's finally got a chance to play with
• 16:31
  Speaker 4: the same defensive coordinator and back to back seasons and
• 16:33
  Speaker 4: build off of what was a really strong schematic and
• 16:36
  Speaker 4: skill set. You know, Tie and I know him and
• 16:40
  Speaker 4: Coach Camp have a really close relationship. You know, he's
• 16:44
  Speaker 4: just starting a family and to have consistency is not
• 16:48
  Speaker 4: a bad thing.
• 16:48
  Speaker 3: And you know everybody feels like you.
• 16:50
  Speaker 4: Know, he's just touching the floor what he can do
• 16:54
  Speaker 4: in this system, and you know, feel really excited about
• 16:57
  Speaker 4: what he'll be able to do as he builds off
• 16:59
  Speaker 4: of the momentum that you know he was able to showcase,
• 17:01
  Speaker 4: and then the rest of the group as a whole.
• 17:03
  Speaker 4: It just it brings with it some stability that you
• 17:07
  Speaker 4: know allows everybody to operate at a high clip, and
• 17:10
  Speaker 4: you know feel assured going into the off season that
• 17:14
  Speaker 4: you know, that's not something that we got to be
• 17:17
  Speaker 4: thinking much of as it relates to.
• 17:19
  Speaker 3: Decisions moving forward. Thanks checks, Thank yeah, thanks for asking