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Press Pass | James Gladstone Breaks Down Jaguars' Initial 53-Man Roster · The Jacksonville Jaguars Official Podcast Network

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: So obviously you guys made the trade for Quinn the
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: other day.
• 0:04
  Speaker 2: Just kind of what went into that process and then
• 0:06
  Speaker 2: I know Carter also had a good read.
• 0:08
  Speaker 3: Was that a factor at.
• 0:09
  Speaker 4: All in your decision?
• 0:11
  Speaker 5: Yeah, you know we were evaluating the quarterback position over
• 0:13
  Speaker 5: the course of the training camp and preseason games and
• 0:17
  Speaker 5: we were exploring a couple different options of which Quinn
• 0:20
  Speaker 5: came to life there Saturday morning and that was really
• 0:22
  Speaker 5: the first time that we had engaged in conversations with
• 0:25
  Speaker 5: the Dolphins and it didn't take long to reach an agreement. Ultimately,
• 0:31
  Speaker 5: between myself and Liam, pouring into some of the games
• 0:35
  Speaker 5: that Quinn had in his rookie campaign, felt good enough
• 0:39
  Speaker 5: about the upward trajectory and really what he showcased over
• 0:42
  Speaker 5: the course of those performances and trying to tap into
• 0:45
  Speaker 5: that and continue to work with him and build with
• 0:48
  Speaker 5: him into the future. As it relates to Carter's injury,
• 0:52
  Speaker 5: it wasn't a specific roll-off of that as a a
• 0:56
  Speaker 5: next step, but nonetheless appreciate what Carter did. I mean,
• 0:59
  Speaker 5: for him to come back to his hometown and be
• 1:01
  Speaker 5: able to throw a touchdown and convert a two-point conversion,
• 1:05
  Speaker 5: I know that that was a really special moment for him,
• 1:07
  Speaker 5: and he was doing it while that injury actually occurred prior.
• 1:10
  Speaker 5: So he was battling through there. So major props to
• 1:13
  Speaker 5: him for coming through for the team.
• 1:14
  Speaker 3: 11 defensive linemen on the initial 53. How did you
• 1:19
  Speaker 3: arrive at that number, which maybe takes one linebacker away?
• 1:23
  Speaker 4: Yeah, that's exactly right.
• 1:24
  Speaker 5: There was a little bit of roster math that looks
• 1:25
  Speaker 5: different than this time last year on that front, so
• 1:28
  Speaker 5: lighter at LB but heavier across the defensive front. We
• 1:31
  Speaker 5: had a real good competition going there and brewing on
• 1:35
  Speaker 5: the edges for our defensive ends, and that consisted of
• 1:38
  Speaker 5: a lot of young guys. So they were doing their
• 1:41
  Speaker 5: parts and earning their paths. Ultimately, Zach Durfee went on
• 1:45
  Speaker 5: IR with a designation for return. Nonetheless, they're certainly happy
• 1:50
  Speaker 5: with what we've seen from that group in particular on
• 1:53
  Speaker 5: the ends. Brian Thomas Jr. 's emergence over the course
• 1:58
  Speaker 5: of this offseason and through the preseason games themselves has
• 2:01
  Speaker 5: certainly lent us to keep him on the 53-man roster.
• 2:05
  Speaker 4: Was keeping Nick Mullens part of.
• 2:10
  Speaker 5: Yeah, Nick's presence here, I mean, it means a ton.
• 2:17
  Speaker 5: His familiarity with the system, it's like having another coach
• 2:20
  Speaker 5: in the room and certainly being able to understand that
• 2:24
  Speaker 5: he can operate our offense in the way that it's
• 2:26
  Speaker 5: intended to is something that we don't want to just
• 2:28
  Speaker 5: separate from. And so that was a real conversation and
• 2:32
  Speaker 5: authentic conversation that we had to have with Nick and
• 2:35
  Speaker 5: appreciate very much just the way that he went about
• 2:38
  Speaker 5: it and the professionalism that he showcased. And he's such
• 2:41
  Speaker 5: a great teammate, such a great partner in this, and
• 2:44
  Speaker 5: is pouring right back in, starting out on a practice.
• 2:46
  Speaker 4: Squad, and we'll see how it all unfolds here as
• 2:48
  Speaker 4: we get into the season.
• 2:49
  Speaker 2: Second year in a.
• 2:50
  Speaker 5: Row, getting the team down to that 53 number, how
• 2:53
  Speaker 5: hard were those last.
• 2:54
  Speaker 4: Couple of spots? Was it more challenging this go-around since
• 2:58
  Speaker 4: I guess more of these are guys.
• 2:59
  Speaker 3: You've brought in?
• 3:00
  Speaker 4: You know what?
• 3:01
  Speaker 5: It doesn't matter whether or not I was a part
• 3:02
  Speaker 5: of acquiring a player. more time you spend with them,
• 3:07
  Speaker 5: the deeper the connection is.
• 3:09
  Speaker 4: So yeah, there's a little bit deeper rooted dialogue as a.
• 3:13
  Speaker 5: Part of these conversations. It's not a surface level. Some
• 3:15
  Speaker 5: of them may have been a year ago, but in
• 3:18
  Speaker 5: the same breath, you know, that day that we go
• 3:22
  Speaker 5: through those roster reductions, it's really met with a wide
• 3:26
  Speaker 5: range of.
• 3:28
  Speaker 4: Conversations.
• 3:29
  Speaker 5: You got some players who are really excited and fulfilled
• 3:32
  Speaker 5: with the fact that they earned a 53-man roster and
• 3:34
  Speaker 5: others who may be facing a path coming to an end.
• 3:39
  Speaker 5: And so vacillating between those two ends of the spectrum
• 3:43
  Speaker 5: and everything in between is certainly an interesting dynamic to
• 3:47
  Speaker 5: walk through, but can't thank the guys that came through
• 3:51
  Speaker 5: over the course of this offseason and training camp enough,
• 3:54
  Speaker 5: those that are still with us and those who are
• 3:55
  Speaker 5: going in a different direction, to get us to a
• 3:58
  Speaker 5: place where we feel good about where we are heading
• 4:00
  Speaker 5: into the season.
• 4:02
  Speaker 2: Heading into Friday's preseason game, was Brian Thomas Jr. someone
• 4:05
  Speaker 2: you kind of had circled on the 53, or how
• 4:07
  Speaker 2: much did his performance on Friday really sell you that.
• 4:10
  Speaker 4: He had to be on the roster?
• 4:11
  Speaker 5: Yeah, there was still more to be done, and I
• 4:13
  Speaker 5: think he went out there and continued to prove it.
• 4:16
  Speaker 4: He left no doubt.
• 4:17
  Speaker 5: I think anybody that was on that sideline in those
• 4:20
  Speaker 5: stands or watching on TV could feel that. I think
• 4:24
  Speaker 5: he himself probably felt that it wasn't shortly thereafter the
• 4:28
  Speaker 5: next morning that that I walked past him and it
• 4:31
  Speaker 5: was a very brief interaction and all I said was congrats.
• 4:34
  Speaker 4: And he said, I really appreciate it. And all I
• 4:36
  Speaker 4: said was earned. And he said, yeah, I feel that.
• 4:38
  Speaker 5: And you could just sense his confidence on the grass
• 4:42
  Speaker 5: that night in the locker room post and that next
• 4:45
  Speaker 5: morning because that's something that we preach. And I think
• 4:48
  Speaker 5: our players certainly are coming to grips with it. But
• 4:52
  Speaker 5: when you earn it, you're going to get it. And
• 4:54
  Speaker 5: we're not afraid or going to shy away from the
• 4:56
  Speaker 5: fact that when that is something that surfaces to the
• 5:00
  Speaker 5: top to pursue it, regardless of where you started, regardless
• 5:03
  Speaker 5: of how much you make, we're trying to win football games,
• 5:06
  Speaker 5: and we're going to do what we feel like is
• 5:08
  Speaker 5: in the best interest of the Jacksonville Jaguars and our
• 5:11
  Speaker 5: team heading into 2026, and best 11 are going to
• 5:14
  Speaker 5: get out there.
• 5:15
  Speaker 2: James, when camp got underway, did you have a 53
• 5:18
  Speaker 2: or a number that you had either written down or
• 5:21
  Speaker 2: in your head, and how much did that change Sunday?
• 5:25
  Speaker 4: Did I have a 53-man roster set ahead of training camp?
• 5:28
  Speaker 2: How did you get in your head what you thought
• 5:30
  Speaker 2: the 53 would be as camp began, and how much
• 5:32
  Speaker 2: did that change?
• 5:33
  Speaker 4: I did not.
• 5:34
  Speaker 5: I can tell you that I like to keep things
• 5:36
  Speaker 5: pretty fluid and organic, and as you inch through it,
• 5:42
  Speaker 5: you kind of set certain thresholds and dates on the
• 5:45
  Speaker 5: calendar for check-ins to begin building that out and shaping
• 5:49
  Speaker 5: it and shaping some of the dynamics in a more
• 5:51
  Speaker 5: formal manner. But walking in the door at training camp,
• 5:54
  Speaker 5: that wasn't the case. and all the way up until
• 5:58
  Speaker 5: the day we had to make the calls to players
• 5:59
  Speaker 5: to bring them back into the building and let them
• 6:01
  Speaker 5: know that we were moving in a direction or not.
• 6:05
  Speaker 4: Was something that we kept on the table and remained
• 6:08
  Speaker 4: fluid with from start to finish.
• 6:09
  Speaker 3: James, a little bit off topic, but a couple parts
• 6:11
  Speaker 3: of this. Parker Washington, how would you describe the tone
• 6:14
  Speaker 3: and the progress, talks between team and player?
• 6:17
  Speaker 5: Yeah, there's been a lot of positive progress, a lot
• 6:20
  Speaker 5: of good back and forth. I think, you know, as
• 6:22
  Speaker 5: I think back to this time last year, Parker was
• 6:25
  Speaker 5: coming off a really strong training camp. And over the
• 6:27
  Speaker 5: course of the first half of the season, he had
• 6:30
  Speaker 5: certain games really, really showed up and made a significant dent.
• 6:35
  Speaker 4: And it was a little sporadic.
• 6:36
  Speaker 5: By the time mid-season hit, started to feel his presence
• 6:38
  Speaker 5: a little bit more and more.
• 6:41
  Speaker 4: Really down the stretch in.
• 6:41
  Speaker 5: Those final four games, his impact was notable. And he's
• 6:47
  Speaker 5: carried that momentum through the off-season program and into training camp.
• 6:51
  Speaker 5: So certainly love where he's had at heading into the season.
• 6:54
  Speaker 5: Look forward to seeing that show itself once we get
• 6:56
  Speaker 5: into games and for so many other people to see it.
• 6:59
  Speaker 4: But really in a good spot with that.
• 7:02
  Speaker 3: Are both sides comfortable with talks going into the regular season?
• 7:05
  Speaker 3: And what is about his makeup that says he can
• 7:08
  Speaker 3: handle that?
• 7:09
  Speaker 5: Yeah, I think there's a ton that, you know, he
• 7:11
  Speaker 5: showcases just on a daily basis about who he is,
• 7:15
  Speaker 5: how he operates, the focus, the determination and the consistency.
• 7:19
  Speaker 5: All that stuff is rooted in just his actions more
• 7:22
  Speaker 5: than any words that he speaks. In terms of any
• 7:25
  Speaker 5: discussions around contract extension or what his future holds, I
• 7:30
  Speaker 5: think we're certainly in a position where we're not going
• 7:32
  Speaker 5: to stop talking and trying to figure something out. I
• 7:35
  Speaker 5: think we've certainly not shown any unwillingness to do stuff
• 7:39
  Speaker 5: even during the course of the season, as you point
• 7:41
  Speaker 5: back to last year.
• 7:43
  Speaker 1: With the trade for Daniel a couple weeks ago, Did
• 7:46
  Speaker 1: the flexibility of knowing your projected top picks in the
• 7:49
  Speaker 1: future kind of help you guys be able to make
• 7:51
  Speaker 1: a move like that? Does that kind of show the
• 7:52
  Speaker 1: value of what they can give you guys moving forward?
• 7:55
  Speaker 4: I appreciate the question.
• 7:56
  Speaker 5: I think that's something in the spring we highlighted quite
• 7:58
  Speaker 5: a bit about the idea of going down the compensatory
• 8:03
  Speaker 5: pick formula approach and not signing immediately some.
• 8:07
  Speaker 4: Of the street-free agents.
• 8:11
  Speaker 5: Really where we were going to turn our attention to
• 8:13
  Speaker 5: was during training camp in the regular season, knowing that
• 8:17
  Speaker 5: we had a larger stock of future draft picks to
• 8:20
  Speaker 5: utilize to answer any questions that we might need to
• 8:24
  Speaker 5: in those moments. So, yeah, that gives us more flexibility
• 8:26
  Speaker 5: to pursue those paths and those options. And, you know,
• 8:29
  Speaker 5: I think that that's an ever-evolving strategy as to whether
• 8:32
  Speaker 5: or not you're going to deploy that one year after
• 8:35
  Speaker 5: the next. It was where we found ourselves this past cycle.
• 8:38
  Speaker 5: But I think that's why you probably saw some willingness there,
• 8:41
  Speaker 5: not to say that we weren't unwilling a year ago
• 8:43
  Speaker 5: because we were, I think the equivalent to that was
• 8:46
  Speaker 5: probably Tim Patrick and using a six-round pick to get
• 8:50
  Speaker 5: him from Detroit. We still have avenues for pursuing those
• 8:56
  Speaker 5: into the regular season as well.
• 8:58
  Speaker 3: Is Brighton a little bit ahead of schedule and maybe
• 9:00
  Speaker 3: where you thought he would be at this point?
• 9:02
  Speaker 4: I think he's in a really good spot.
• 9:05
  Speaker 5: He has earned a lot of trust, a lot of
• 9:07
  Speaker 5: equity from both teammates and coaches. over the course of
• 9:11
  Speaker 5: the offseason and training camp. It was really down the
• 9:13
  Speaker 5: back stretch of training camp that you start to see
• 9:17
  Speaker 5: his superpowers show up and his flaws begin to diminish.
• 9:23
  Speaker 5: And I think he really settled in and has put
• 9:25
  Speaker 5: himself in a position to really help our team right
• 9:28
  Speaker 5: off the bat.
• 9:30
  Speaker 4: What did you think about the receivers?
• 9:33
  Speaker 5: Yeah, those guys have done a great job, and I
• 9:36
  Speaker 5: think that room as a whole has done a great
• 9:38
  Speaker 5: job together, and all of them give a lot to
• 9:43
  Speaker 5: the one beside them, and they've done a great job
• 9:46
  Speaker 5: of absorbing information, really soaking up and observing the way
• 9:51
  Speaker 5: that others go about business and have tried to put
• 9:54
  Speaker 5: that into action. Now, innately, the two of them are
• 9:58
  Speaker 5: certainly in the category of really, and intangibles, and I
• 10:02
  Speaker 5: think that shows up in their routines and in their consistency.
• 10:07
  Speaker 5: I think other than that, it's just getting out on
• 10:10
  Speaker 5: game days and performing in a way that their preparation
• 10:13
  Speaker 5: allows them to with quieted mind, but they certainly round
• 10:17
  Speaker 5: that group out in a real way and have earned
• 10:20
  Speaker 5: trust from so many in a rapid manner. It's not
• 10:24
  Speaker 5: easy to do up until this point as a rookie,
• 10:28
  Speaker 5: and I don't think that there's anybody that would talk
• 10:31
  Speaker 5: about those two and flinch at the idea of really
• 10:34
  Speaker 5: contributing over the course of this season. Both of them
• 10:40
  Speaker 5: have continued to climb and get comfortable in their roles
• 10:43
  Speaker 5: and how they're operating, how they're moving.
• 10:45
  Speaker 4: From a perspective.
• 10:47
  Speaker 5: pointing to Trevor, there have been quite a few more
• 10:50
  Speaker 5: wow moments throughout the course of this training camp than
• 10:54
  Speaker 5: we may have seen a year ago today. I think
• 10:57
  Speaker 5: that speaks to his comfort in testing things and really
• 11:03
  Speaker 5: not ever second-guessing himself because of his familiarity and understanding
• 11:08
  Speaker 5: of intent behind plays and what he can get away with.
• 11:11
  Speaker 5: So that element has certainly been something that I've been
• 11:15
  Speaker 5: inspired by I think that'll show itself over the course
• 11:18
  Speaker 5: of the regular season as well as he continues to
• 11:21
  Speaker 5: build game chemistry with our pass catchers, knowing that that
• 11:25
  Speaker 5: spreads across receivers, tight ends, and running backs. I think
• 11:29
  Speaker 5: from Travis's perspective, I think that's a great work in progress,
• 11:33
  Speaker 5: knowing that he's put a lot more focus on the
• 11:35
  Speaker 5: defensive side down the back end of training camp stretch
• 11:39
  Speaker 5: and still getting his plays on offense but really settling
• 11:42
  Speaker 5: in so that that defensive backfield can have the continuity
• 11:45
  Speaker 5: that it needs.
• 11:47
  Speaker 2: What's true about Christian Braswell to beat.
• 11:49
  Speaker 4: Out a guy like Jabbar Muhammad?
• 11:51
  Speaker 5: You know, I think there's tough dynamics with a lot
• 11:53
  Speaker 5: of those decisions. Christian's been there, done that, has a
• 11:58
  Speaker 5: notable role on special teams come game day, and you
• 12:01
  Speaker 5: talk about actives versus inactives and what it is that
• 12:04
  Speaker 5: is going to differentiate guys, whereas Jabbar, clearly a hungry
• 12:09
  Speaker 5: player who has made his presence felt in a few
• 12:12
  Speaker 5: different settings, whether that's our own internal practices, joints, or
• 12:16
  Speaker 5: preseason games. I think the fun thing about the cornerback
• 12:19
  Speaker 5: position in particular is they all give up receptions. They
• 12:25
  Speaker 5: all have a chance at giving up points. Inherently, they're
• 12:29
  Speaker 5: going to fail. What I appreciate so much about the
• 12:33
  Speaker 5: guys that sign up for that position and what Jabbar
• 12:36
  Speaker 5: did at the end of the New Orleans game, you
• 12:39
  Speaker 5: go from a play where you get a reception caught
• 12:42
  Speaker 5: on you as New Orleans is trying to mount a
• 12:45
  Speaker 5: a final drive to win. And then you end up
• 12:49
  Speaker 5: getting a DPI. So back-to-back negative plays. And then we
• 12:53
  Speaker 5: get an op where the ball is coming your way
• 12:55
  Speaker 5: and you end up with a PBU. The buzzer sounds
• 13:00
  Speaker 5: and game's over. He looks around like, why the heck
• 13:02
  Speaker 5: would they even try me? You know, that level of
• 13:04
  Speaker 5: confidence to continue to perform at a high clip despite
• 13:10
  Speaker 5: negative plays having just happened is a really– unique thing
• 13:14
  Speaker 5: that many that play that position possess. And so that
• 13:17
  Speaker 5: certainly stood out to me specifically with Jabbar. But nonetheless,
• 13:21
  Speaker 5: when it comes down to Christian, his experience, his comfort
• 13:24
  Speaker 5: in our system, all those things, when we think about
• 13:27
  Speaker 5: the game day active list, really jump out and lend
• 13:31
  Speaker 5: itself to the decision to keep him in that place.
• 13:35
  Speaker 2: You look at three defensive ends over the last couple
• 13:38
  Speaker 2: of years, making it as undrafted free agents. Is that
• 13:41
  Speaker 2: just like the super rare situation that's happened here?
• 13:44
  Speaker 5: It's not a position that typically lends itself to undrafted
• 13:48
  Speaker 5: college free agents making it on initial 53-man rosters or
• 13:54
  Speaker 5: be performing in games through that. So, yeah, to have
• 13:58
  Speaker 5: that happen back-to-back cycles is unique. I've got to give
• 14:01
  Speaker 5: a ton of credit to our coaches and scouts who
• 14:05
  Speaker 5: were paired together in that process. and executing those signings post-draft,
• 14:11
  Speaker 5: prioritizing the list of players who they're going to pursue.
• 14:14
  Speaker 4: I think that that's a very sound approach that we take,
• 14:19
  Speaker 4: but it's a collaborative approach and it's not any different than.
• 14:24
  Speaker 5: In comparison to the decisions we make across the roster
• 14:27
  Speaker 5: through other avenues of acquisition.
• 14:30
  Speaker 4: So I think it's a.
• 14:30
  Speaker 5: Reflection of that collaboration for sure, those individuals themselves and
• 14:35
  Speaker 5: earning the ops.
• 14:37
  Speaker 4: But at this point in time, got to say.
• 14:39
  Speaker 5: Excited to see what the real output shows once we
• 14:42
  Speaker 5: get into some true action. But yeah, I don't think
• 14:45
  Speaker 5: that that's a normal result.
• 14:48
  Speaker 4: How has Anton settled in at left tackle?
• 14:51
  Speaker 3: And if Cole wasn't injured, would you have made that move?
• 14:54
  Speaker 4: That's a good question.
• 14:55
  Speaker 5: Don't know about the second part of that question, but
• 14:59
  Speaker 5: think that he is naturally someone who fits the bill
• 15:03
  Speaker 5: for the left tackle spot. And I think he would
• 15:05
  Speaker 5: tell you that as well is where he's, most comfortable naturally.
• 15:10
  Speaker 5: I don't think anybody would say that they're concerned or
• 15:14
  Speaker 5: have some sense of questioning whether or not he can
• 15:19
  Speaker 5: perform at a high level there or any different than
• 15:21
  Speaker 5: he did at right tackle. Cole, on the other hand,
• 15:24
  Speaker 5: says something really similar. Look, I can do either. Naturally,
• 15:29
  Speaker 5: I feel best suited at right tackle, but from a
• 15:32
  Speaker 5: Cole's perspective, he can play any position across the offensive
• 15:35
  Speaker 5: line regardless of what side it's on. So I think
• 15:38
  Speaker 5: it's certainly a new take, but one that we feel
• 15:41
  Speaker 5: really strongly about heading into this season.
• 15:44
  Speaker 3: I think that that's a move to make so that
• 15:45
  Speaker 3: we're not forced to do anything should we pursue an avenue.
• 15:48
  Speaker 3: And so we want to make sure that we have
• 15:50
  Speaker 3: the flexibility that we need to keep things on the table.
• 16:06
  Speaker 5: As the season progresses. In the same breath, we're always
• 16:10
  Speaker 5: going to do our part to consider all options. Through
• 16:16
  Speaker 5: that lens, not all those are going to come to
• 16:20
  Speaker 5: the table or to public's understanding. I think the understanding
• 16:24
  Speaker 5: that we are always going to turn over every stone
• 16:29
  Speaker 5: is certainly going to be the case. Have the guys
• 16:31
  Speaker 5: in the.
• 16:31
  Speaker 3: Running back room shown you enough to feel really comfortable
• 16:33
  Speaker 3: at the end of the season?
• 16:34
  Speaker 4: Look, I don't know if anybody feels... what you might
• 16:36
  Speaker 4: call comfortable.
• 16:38
  Speaker 5: I think there's certainly still a sense of urgency that
• 16:40
  Speaker 5: I feel across the team, the roster, and each position group.
• 16:45
  Speaker 5: But I do think that the combination of those guys
• 16:48
  Speaker 5: is certainly showing itself in a positive way.
• 16:52
  Speaker 4: As I think back.
• 16:53
  Speaker 5: To New Orleans and the joint against them, to Carolina,
• 16:57
  Speaker 5: the joint against them, and then Tampa Bay closing things
• 16:59
  Speaker 5: out in that joint, our run game certainly became a
• 17:04
  Speaker 5: focal point. in each of those progressively. And I think
• 17:08
  Speaker 5: that that's a really positive element because a year ago
• 17:12
  Speaker 5: we were in a position where we were relying heavily
• 17:14
  Speaker 5: on a run game over the course of that first
• 17:17
  Speaker 5: half of the season. And so to get out on
• 17:19
  Speaker 5: a fast start in that phase of the game will
• 17:21
  Speaker 5: be really important.
• 17:22
  Speaker 4: And I think that that group of RBs.
• 17:25
  Speaker 5: Right now feels confident, but certainly urgently attacking the op
• 17:30
  Speaker 5: that lies in front of them.
• 17:32
  Speaker 1: When it comes to Cole, are you happy with the
• 17:33
  Speaker 1: progress he's made in his recovery? I mean, the fact
• 17:36
  Speaker 1: that he's on the active 53, no condescension or anything?
• 17:39
  Speaker 2: Yeah, certainly.
• 17:40
  Speaker 5: I think he's in as good of a spot as
• 17:41
  Speaker 5: we could hope for, and obviously we've got about a
• 17:44
  Speaker 5: week and a half's more time to get him work
• 17:46
  Speaker 5: in a more authentic football environment, team settings, and those
• 17:51
  Speaker 5: sorts of things, but he's in a great place.
• 17:53
  Speaker 1: Amir Abdullah, just seeing what he did over the course
• 17:55
  Speaker 1: of training camp and his experience, what stood out to
• 17:58
  Speaker 1: you the most when you're like, this guy can kind
• 18:00
  Speaker 1: of complete that route?
• 18:02
  Speaker 5: Yeah, I think similar to some of the other comments
• 18:05
  Speaker 5: I've already made, his daily routine, his mode of operation,
• 18:11
  Speaker 5: when you get a chance to see it firsthand, it's
• 18:14
  Speaker 5: no surprise why he's still in the league a dozen
• 18:17
  Speaker 5: years later. He carries that routine out into his performance
• 18:22
  Speaker 5: each and every day in practice. We gave him a
• 18:25
  Speaker 5: ton of work against New Orleans in the joint, didn't
• 18:27
  Speaker 5: play him in that preseason game, just being mindful of
• 18:30
  Speaker 5: where he's at in his career. He comes out in
• 18:32
  Speaker 5: the next against Carolina and just looks like he's operating
• 18:36
  Speaker 5: at a little different pace than a lot of the
• 18:38
  Speaker 5: other guys that are playing against him. So I think
• 18:41
  Speaker 5: he's still got plenty left in the tank, but his
• 18:44
  Speaker 5: knowledge base is certainly one that's good for a relatively
• 18:48
  Speaker 5: inexperienced and young running back room that's surrounding him. So
• 18:53
  Speaker 5: I think he's certainly played his part up to this
• 18:55
  Speaker 5: point and look forward to seeing how that unfolds over
• 18:57
  Speaker 5: the course of the regular season.
• 19:03
  Speaker 4: Yeah, I think he slotted right in as expected.
• 19:06
  Speaker 5: In 12 personnel groupings, you'll see him out there with
• 19:11
  Speaker 5: Strange right away and really has come into his own
• 19:15
  Speaker 5: and is showcasing his personality. You can feel that tight
• 19:18
  Speaker 5: end room, especially between him and Tanner, really bring some
• 19:25
  Speaker 5: youthful energy. And I think that that's a good thing.
• 19:28
  Speaker 5: It continues to make it so that we have position
• 19:31
  Speaker 5: groups that are, you know, built in depth that aren't just.
• 19:37
  Speaker 4: Young or old or veteran and youthful.
• 19:40
  Speaker 5: I think that combination of those two in conjunction with
• 19:42
  Speaker 5: Brenton and Quinton is a really good pairing.
• 19:46
  Speaker 3: The Miller-Cubs competition, how pleased were you with the way
• 19:49
  Speaker 3: that played out that both of them can't help you?
• 19:52
  Speaker 5: Yeah, I think it's really exciting to know that neither
• 19:55
  Speaker 5: one of them, if thrust into a full-time role, is
• 20:00
  Speaker 5: going to be in a position that we feel like
• 20:01
  Speaker 5: there's a void. At this point in time, we're really
• 20:05
  Speaker 5: excited about the progression of each and knowing that Ventrell's
• 20:10
  Speaker 5: Walking in the door with a more experienced standing, I
• 20:15
  Speaker 5: think that'll certainly show itself in a positive light and
• 20:18
  Speaker 5: Branson continuing to take steps, knowing that his contributions on
• 20:22
  Speaker 5: special teams are still going to be something that really
• 20:25
  Speaker 5: adds value on a game day operation. I don't think
• 20:41
  Speaker 5: that that vision has shifted in any way. I think
• 20:44
  Speaker 5: the great part about having him on our roster is
• 20:47
  Speaker 5: that as dynamics shift over the course of an offseason
• 20:51
  Speaker 5: or over the course of the regular season, you get
• 20:53
  Speaker 5: to use him in different ways. And as it stands,
• 20:56
  Speaker 5: the composition of our Our roster would indicate, hey, defensive
• 21:01
  Speaker 5: output full-time is going to be where we see him
• 21:04
  Speaker 5: contributing in the most ways and then supplementing that on
• 21:07
  Speaker 5: offense in the instances that it makes sense to be
• 21:10
  Speaker 5: in as productive and efficient as we can be while
• 21:13
  Speaker 5: also threatening any defense that lines up against him when
• 21:16
  Speaker 5: he's at wide receiver is certainly something that we're looking
• 21:19
  Speaker 5: forward to.
• 21:20
  Speaker 2: James, a former general manager here said that rookies are
• 21:24
  Speaker 2: not drafted to play immediately unless they're.
• 21:27
  Speaker 3: A top pick.
• 21:28
  Speaker 2: I look at the roster here, six or seven guys
• 21:32
  Speaker 2: could really be major contributors. Has this changed? And even
• 21:36
  Speaker 2: with 19 returning starters, is the game change where rookies
• 21:39
  Speaker 2: are expected to be this early on, or is it
• 21:42
  Speaker 2: just kind of set up that way because of the
• 21:45
  Speaker 2: decisions that you've made?
• 21:47
  Speaker 4: That's an interesting question to dive into.
• 21:49
  Speaker 5: I do think that every player's path is going to
• 21:53
  Speaker 5: be quite a bit different, whether they're first round, seventh round,
• 21:57
  Speaker 5: undrafted college.
• 21:58
  Speaker 4: Free agent, second year player, third, fourth.
• 22:01
  Speaker 5: I think while they're on that rookie contract, you can
• 22:04
  Speaker 5: see a number of guys that just last year as
• 22:07
  Speaker 5: they were entering their third seasons really began to come
• 22:11
  Speaker 5: into their own. Whereas before that, there were guys who
• 22:15
  Speaker 5: In their second and first, we're already proving who they were.
• 22:20
  Speaker 5: So I don't know that you can tag a really
• 22:23
  Speaker 5: concrete answer to that. I think everybody's going to show
• 22:26
  Speaker 5: up at different intervals in different ways, and they're not
• 22:30
  Speaker 5: all going to look alike in terms of their contributions.
• 22:32
  Speaker 5: But I certainly feel good about where we are in
• 22:36
  Speaker 5: terms of the rookie class, the volume of guys that
• 22:40
  Speaker 5: are going to be getting hats on game day, walking
• 22:43
  Speaker 5: into week one as it's projected. and certainly can't wait
• 22:47
  Speaker 5: to see what that ends up showing up like and
• 22:49
  Speaker 5: looking like. But in terms of the progress up to
• 22:52
  Speaker 5: this point, I think there's some really positive elements to it.
• 22:56
  Speaker 4: A couple more.
• 22:58
  Speaker 1: For Caleb Branson, how important was it, not just for him,
• 23:00
  Speaker 1: but from your guys' perspective, just to see him this
• 23:02
  Speaker 1: preseason get those kind of game-like reps?
• 23:05
  Speaker 5: That was critical because I think you can fit him
• 23:08
  Speaker 5: in essentially as a rookie this year without any real
• 23:12
  Speaker 5: action a year ago. So to be able to put
• 23:15
  Speaker 5: him under the lights and be able to get the
• 23:17
  Speaker 5: pads pop and tackle again, I think that's a really
• 23:21
  Speaker 5: helpful piece to the puzzle and a necessary piece for
• 23:24
  Speaker 5: his sake. I think he'd tell you as much as well. But,
• 23:27
  Speaker 5: you know, that safety room as a whole, I mean,
• 23:29
  Speaker 5: it's relying heavily on Eric Murray and Antonio Johnson leading
• 23:34
  Speaker 5: the group with a bunch of younger guys behind them.
• 23:37
  Speaker 5: So look forward to their development. Not all that different
• 23:40
  Speaker 5: than what Antonio was able to showcase last year. because
• 23:44
  Speaker 5: at this point, you know, a year ago, he was
• 23:47
  Speaker 5: one of the best gunners that we had on the
• 23:49
  Speaker 5: team and potentially across the league and, you know, continued
• 23:52
  Speaker 5: to level up his play and get comfortable in the
• 23:55
  Speaker 5: defensive system to a spot where he was able to
• 23:58
  Speaker 5: get his hand on the ball a lot, be used
• 24:00
  Speaker 5: in a variety of alignments and really became a weapon
• 24:04
  Speaker 5: through that lens. And, you know, so his progression is
• 24:06
  Speaker 5: something we're really looking forward to, not any different than
• 24:10
  Speaker 5: those guys that are behind him, just on a different timeline.
• 24:12
  Speaker 1: Is that one of the best parts of this job,
• 24:14
  Speaker 1: seeing stories like in turn? Even Branson Combs going from
• 24:16
  Speaker 1: practice squad last year to element 53 this year.
• 24:19
  Speaker 5: I think that's certainly an element that brings some fulfillment
• 24:22
  Speaker 5: with it. Obviously, we're focused on winning football games, but
• 24:25
  Speaker 5: that's an underlying piece of the puzzle that you certainly
• 24:28
  Speaker 5: look at and can get a little grin or a
• 24:30
  Speaker 5: smile to your face when some of that stuff shows itself.
• 24:35
  Speaker 3: I think he'd be quickly there after the threshold for
• 24:38
  Speaker 3: return to get in.