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Press Pass | Jaguars GM James Gladstone on 2025 Free Agency Moves · The Jacksonville Jaguars Official Podcast Network

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Of these guys that you brought us that she liked, well,
• 0:05
  Speaker 1: I think it's pretty simple.
• 0:07
  Speaker 2: What we were seeking to do in pro free agency was.
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: To raise the floor of this football team, and every
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: player that we pursued and that we've now acquired is
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: meeting that standard.
• 0:20
  Speaker 2: And by being nothing more than who they are and
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  Speaker 2: who we know.
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: Them to be both on and off the field, they're
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: gonna do exactly what we would hope they do, and
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: that's level up this ecosystem.
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  Speaker 2: Lewis, what is it about in the stands out to
• 0:35
  Speaker 2: use a footballer? You know?
• 0:36
  Speaker 1: One of the most exciting elements to Jordan Lewis is
• 0:39
  Speaker 1: that every offensive coordinator that I've come in contact with
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  Speaker 1: has always highlighted him as somebody that they have to
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  Speaker 1: account for in their game planning, and when you turn
• 0:48
  Speaker 1: on the film, it's easy to see why. Now, one
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  Speaker 1: of the things that we really wanted to do for
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  Speaker 1: our defensive backfield is bring a veteran presence with a
• 0:57
  Speaker 1: level of doggedness and roughness that was gonna level up
• 1:02
  Speaker 1: our current style of play. And Jordan's somebody who we
• 1:05
  Speaker 1: believe highly in to bring that and offer that skill
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  Speaker 1: set to our football team.
• 1:11
  Speaker 3: With Jordan. You have Jari and Ari on the team,
• 1:14
  Speaker 3: and Jordan just said that they trained together, and just
• 1:18
  Speaker 3: does that mean Jardian might be looking at an outside
• 1:21
  Speaker 3: or what's the kind of thought process.
• 1:23
  Speaker 1: One of the things that we're valuing is versatility, and
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  Speaker 1: with both of those guys, we feel like they have
• 1:27
  Speaker 1: the flexibility to play both inside and out. I think
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  Speaker 1: we'll see how that takes shape over the course of
• 1:33
  Speaker 1: this offseason and in the beginning of next season. But
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  Speaker 1: between the two of them, both of them are players
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  Speaker 1: that we find value in and just the versatility between
• 1:41
  Speaker 1: the two of them just allows us a little bit
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  Speaker 1: more flexibility find goy like.
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  Speaker 4: Patrick has that fersatility across all five positions.
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  Speaker 2: That was insanely rare.
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  Speaker 1: I don't know that that's something that typically comes up
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  Speaker 1: on the market at cost point that's affordable enough to pursue. Really,
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  Speaker 1: we were very disciplined and in our approach and how
• 2:01
  Speaker 1: we spent this offseason. And Patrick is somebody that you know,
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  Speaker 1: he didn't he wasn't offered the opportunity or the backdrop
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  Speaker 1: of being a draft pick coming out. He's earned everything
• 2:15
  Speaker 1: he's gotten, and he earned this opportunity and his versatility. Obviously,
• 2:19
  Speaker 1: you know there's always attrition on the offensive line throughout
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  Speaker 1: the course of a season, and obviously he'll allow us
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  Speaker 1: a lot of flexibility on the offensive side of the
• 2:27
  Speaker 1: ball to feel like we're never in a bind because
• 2:30
  Speaker 1: we can move him around if necessary.
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  Speaker 2: But at the same time, he's going to be.
• 2:33
  Speaker 1: Slotted in as a starter on the interior of rol
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  Speaker 1: at this point he's building.
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  Speaker 3: Through the draft.
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  Speaker 5: Is that velosity or is an edict from the owner
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  Speaker 5: or both.
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  Speaker 1: Or you know, that's my experience most recently with the
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  Speaker 1: Los Angeles Rams, and it's something that I feel like
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  Speaker 1: I have a unique capacity to take on with the
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  Speaker 1: current position that we hold, which is ten picks this year,
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  Speaker 1: eleven picks next year.
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  Speaker 2: And so with pro free agency, we wanted to.
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  Speaker 1: Set ourselves up so we felt like we we had
• 3:02
  Speaker 1: the flexibility to address any position that we wanted to
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  Speaker 1: at any pickpoint that lies on the horizon, and feel
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  Speaker 1: like we're currently in a position to do just that.
• 3:10
  Speaker 5: And then you guys said everything's about making Trevor, putting
• 3:14
  Speaker 5: all pieces around Trevor, Well, then you trade and release
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  Speaker 5: two of his top pass catchers post it, thinking.
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  Speaker 3: There and an Ingram Christian Curve.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, really have so much respect for the people and
• 3:25
  Speaker 1: the players that both Christian and Evan are right, and
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  Speaker 1: they meant a lot to the locker room, and you know,
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  Speaker 1: we'll continue to bring those types of people and players
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  Speaker 1: into our ecosystem.
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  Speaker 2: But we needed a little bit more flexibility to.
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  Speaker 1: Address the larger scale roster after you know, some departures
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  Speaker 1: across the OL as well, So that was a big
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  Speaker 1: part in that. But we do feel like we're in
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  Speaker 1: a better position today than we were a couple of
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  Speaker 1: weeks ago to make it so that when we enter, uh,
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  Speaker 1: you know, each decision at each pickpoint in April, that
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  Speaker 1: we can continue to level up, you know, where we
• 4:00
  Speaker 1: are from a personnel perspective.
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  Speaker 5: Brown, what does he do for that?
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  Speaker 3: What does he do for stretching the field?
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, I think it's easy to look at Diami's career
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  Speaker 1: path in trajectory and know that he's ascending right. The
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  Speaker 1: way that he closed out last season was nothing short
• 4:17
  Speaker 1: of impressive, and we look for him to carry that
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  Speaker 1: into Really his one year contract with us. He took
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  Speaker 1: a bet on himself that a year from now, given
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  Speaker 1: the opportunity that he sees here with the Jacksonville Jaguars
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  Speaker 1: that he's going to take another step and earn an
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  Speaker 1: even larger contract. And you know what he provides just
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  Speaker 1: on a vertical plane and in run after catch scenarios
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  Speaker 1: is something that is extremely exciting, extremely alluring for our
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  Speaker 1: offensive staff. And I think that he'll be able to
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  Speaker 1: take another step to expand his game and we'll see
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  Speaker 1: him come to life in the same ways that he
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  Speaker 1: did towards the end of the season with Washington this
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  Speaker 1: last season right off the bat well, also expanding his
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  Speaker 1: role to fit what we're intending on doing this coming season.
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  Speaker 2: After long you're with him in Los Angeles.
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  Speaker 1: See another guy who's still kind of scratching the surface
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  Speaker 1: of what he can't be a.
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  Speaker 2: More opportunity to do. Yeah, I think.
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  Speaker 1: So. You know, Hunter is somebody who also has you know,
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  Speaker 1: dealt with adversity throughout his time dating back to Boston College.
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  Speaker 1: You know, his early onboarding in Miami, gets traded to
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  Speaker 1: Los Angeles and he suffers an injury there and it
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  Speaker 1: wasn't until last season that he was really able to
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  Speaker 1: you know, be a participant from start to finish of
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  Speaker 1: a regular season and really showed what his skill set
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  Speaker 1: can be in the NFL, and it's something that we value,
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  Speaker 1: and that's an inline presence that also isn't below the
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  Speaker 1: line as a pass catcher and can certainly take another
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  Speaker 1: step in that phase of the game. But his familiarity
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  Speaker 1: as well as Johnny Muntz with the system is something
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  Speaker 1: that we value and you know, allow that group as
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  Speaker 1: a whole to continue to be interchangeable and not feel
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  Speaker 1: like wherever hamstrung in anyone fit of the game. Offensively,
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  Speaker 1: you mentioned the great strange expectations for him after all
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  Speaker 1: the boves, etcetera. Yeah, I think any fan that's following
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  Speaker 1: closely would label Brenton as somebody who's ascending and ready
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  Speaker 1: to take another step given the opportunity to do so.
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  Speaker 1: He is someone who embodies exactly what we're hunting up.
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  Speaker 1: So we're glad to have him already on roster. His strain,
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  Speaker 1: his finish on blocks is something that we're really excited about.
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  Speaker 1: When he's got the ball in his hands, he's not
• 6:31
  Speaker 1: interested in going down when the first defender approaches James.
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  Speaker 4: With the addition of Eric, how would you evaluate the
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  Speaker 4: safety room as right now?
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, I think the defensive backfield as a whole has
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  Speaker 1: gotten better with the addition of Jordan and Eric, and
• 6:46
  Speaker 1: you know, one of the things between the two of
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  Speaker 1: them is that their experience, their stability, it offers exactly
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  Speaker 1: what's needed on that back end. When you look at
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  Speaker 1: safety in particular, the root word there is safe and
• 7:00
  Speaker 1: that's exactly what Eric provides.
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  Speaker 2: And so we're excited to bring.
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  Speaker 1: Him into the ecosystem, and I know he's excited to
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  Speaker 1: take on a more notable leadership role.
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  Speaker 2: Than what he's had in previous years.
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  Speaker 3: You talk a lot about setting the dish for Trevor
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  Speaker 3: at the combine, and.
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  Speaker 5: So now with the free agency you Gus brought in,
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  Speaker 5: how do you feel like you've done with the center?
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  Speaker 2: And then obviously in.
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  Speaker 1: Regard to yeah, I do think that we answered some
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  Speaker 1: questions there with our decisions here in pro free agency,
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  Speaker 1: addressing both center and guard as well as the tackle position,
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  Speaker 1: and clearly by signing three of those players and that
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  Speaker 1: being the most at any one position over the course
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  Speaker 1: of the free agent window, we're setting, you know, the
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  Speaker 1: standard for what we're actually looking to do. And that
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  Speaker 1: doesn't count offensive line out of the equation in the
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  Speaker 1: draft either. But at the same time, you know that's
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  Speaker 1: another position that does have attrition and throughout the course
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  Speaker 1: of a season, so we'll never feel like we've got
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  Speaker 1: enough go ahead of.
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  Speaker 3: Going back to the diamond round thing. And how do
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  Speaker 3: you view him in terms of of where he is
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  Speaker 3: on the roster, And I know it's early, but just
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  Speaker 3: in terms of how much of an impact do you
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  Speaker 3: expect him.
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  Speaker 4: To make ten million over one year?
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  Speaker 2: Seems like a significant one. Yeah, I think you know,
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  Speaker 2: the market dictates a lot of the.
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  Speaker 1: Price points, and and when you got a receiver who
• 8:20
  Speaker 1: gets a contract elsewhere, everybody's going to start working off
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  Speaker 1: of that. So it's not like you're necessarily in control
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  Speaker 1: of what that looks like on a on an annual
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  Speaker 1: basis necessarily. I will say that we do expect him
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  Speaker 1: to have a strong output and one that, given the
• 8:38
  Speaker 1: opportunity that currently lies in front of him, is very vivid,
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  Speaker 1: and that he'll be getting plugged a bit more than
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  Speaker 1: he was probably used to in years prior. Still interested
• 8:47
  Speaker 1: and to that receiver room, maybe a guy like a.
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  Speaker 2: I got a ton of respect for Cooper.
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  Speaker 1: He was actually in the first draft that I ever
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  Speaker 1: had the chance to be a part of, and throughout
• 9:01
  Speaker 1: the course of his career in Los Angeles, he is
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  Speaker 1: one of the purest to form wide receivers change the
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  Speaker 1: dynamic for what's actually asked to those guys in modern football.
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  Speaker 1: And you know, I think at this point in time,
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  Speaker 1: it's fair to say in pro free agency, we're always
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  Speaker 1: open to every opportunity that presents itself.
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  Speaker 2: But time will truly tell.
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  Speaker 4: In terms of last time we spoke to you with
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  Speaker 4: the combine, I guess it's been what two and a
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  Speaker 4: half three weeks. Describe what it's been like for you,
• 9:33
  Speaker 4: assimilating into the staff, kind of what went into the
• 9:35
  Speaker 4: throw creagency process and working with the staff that was
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  Speaker 4: already built here for you.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, it's been an absolute blast. I think the collaboration
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  Speaker 1: over the course of the last three weeks has been
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  Speaker 1: something we've held at a premium, and you know, looking
• 9:48
  Speaker 1: at our pro scouting staff and our football administration staff,
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  Speaker 1: blending with our coaching staff over that window of time,
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  Speaker 1: it you know, it's something that I feel a level
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  Speaker 1: of pride and being able to sort of engage with
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  Speaker 1: all of those groups in such a short window of
• 10:04
  Speaker 1: time and actually walking into the pro free agency window,
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  Speaker 1: you know, with some unknowns, right there were some holes
• 10:12
  Speaker 1: on our roster, and unlike the draft, right an NFL
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  Speaker 1: pro free agent has the chance to say, you know what,
• 10:19
  Speaker 1: I appreciate the offer, but I'm going somewhere else. Right
• 10:21
  Speaker 1: in the draft, you send a name into a system
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  Speaker 1: and they're now a part of your team. So that
• 10:27
  Speaker 1: was a dynamic that walking into that door on Monday,
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  Speaker 1: you feel like, you know what we're gonna have to
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  Speaker 1: adjust today. Well, lo and behold, we had nine names
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  Speaker 1: that we were prioritizing, and we ended up with nine
• 10:38
  Speaker 1: players that ended up on our roster as of today.
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  Speaker 1: So seeing that plan come to life being executed in
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  Speaker 1: the way that it was certainly something that at this
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  Speaker 1: point in time I'm proud of. But I can't wait
• 10:51
  Speaker 1: for these players to engage with the rest of the
• 10:53
  Speaker 1: team get out on the grass in the fall, because
• 10:55
  Speaker 1: it's not the off season that we're looking to win
• 10:59
  Speaker 1: from a person standpoint. We're looking to win football games
• 11:02
  Speaker 1: this fall and can't wait for the next phase of
• 11:05
  Speaker 1: this in the draft to truly see what the shape
• 11:07
  Speaker 1: of the roster is going to look like and then
• 11:09
  Speaker 1: get everybody out on the grass together here later in
• 11:12
  Speaker 1: the spring. Sorry, but.
• 11:15
  Speaker 4: You said that all nine players that you guys went
• 11:18
  Speaker 4: after you got them.
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  Speaker 5: So just what exactly is it about this group, specifically
• 11:23
  Speaker 5: the individual players, but just the group as a whole
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  Speaker 5: that stands out with why you guys targeted this one.
• 11:29
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I think you've heard me say the phrase intangibly
• 11:32
  Speaker 1: rich quite a few times, right, And that was no
• 11:35
  Speaker 1: different in our approach to pro free agency.
• 11:37
  Speaker 2: It was no different to who it was that we
• 11:40
  Speaker 2: were prioritizing.
• 11:41
  Speaker 1: And we sat down with each of those players individually
• 11:43
  Speaker 1: here today and you know that sentiment and what we
• 11:46
  Speaker 1: knew them to be. Rather it was what was speaking
• 11:49
  Speaker 1: to us on the film or in our sourced information
• 11:53
  Speaker 1: behind the scenes. These guys are built right, and by
• 11:56
  Speaker 1: being nothing more than who they are, we can feel
• 11:58
  Speaker 1: that they're gonna level us up.
• 12:00
  Speaker 3: Knowing how much communication there is at the center position,
• 12:03
  Speaker 3: how important was it bringing in a guy like Robert
• 12:05
  Speaker 3: who already knows Liam knows the scheme.
• 12:07
  Speaker 2: It was a massive priority. Right.
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  Speaker 1: That's some weight off the shoulders of Trevor at the
• 12:12
  Speaker 1: line of scrimmage that now, because of the familiarity from Robert,
• 12:16
  Speaker 1: he doesn't have to bear.
• 12:17
  Speaker 2: As a quarterback.
• 12:18
  Speaker 1: And you know, at the same time, Robert got one
• 12:20
  Speaker 1: opt to start this past season versus the New Orleans Saints,
• 12:24
  Speaker 1: and I'd encourage anybody in everybody to watch that game
• 12:27
  Speaker 1: and understand why it was a player of interest. Think
• 12:31
  Speaker 1: about the intangible elements in the back of your mind
• 12:33
  Speaker 1: as it relates to a performance on the field, and
• 12:36
  Speaker 1: you'll see that clear as day in that game.
• 12:38
  Speaker 2: Robert was not going to allow that opportunity.
• 12:41
  Speaker 1: He didn't know how many he was going to get
• 12:42
  Speaker 1: last season to make it so that by the time
• 12:45
  Speaker 1: that pro free agency kicked off, that bell rang on Monday,
• 12:48
  Speaker 1: that he was going to be given and up because
• 12:50
  Speaker 1: somebody saw exactly what we did in him, and that's
• 12:53
  Speaker 1: a player that does not quit the whistle blows and
• 12:56
  Speaker 1: he's playing through it and that's something that we really
• 12:58
  Speaker 1: really value.
• 13:00
  Speaker 4: I'll just get one more if you could evaluate you
• 13:03
  Speaker 4: guys didn't address defensive line edge in terms of your
• 13:06
  Speaker 4: approach of what is already here and maybe what still
• 13:09
  Speaker 4: needs to be added to the roster of those possessions.
• 13:12
  Speaker 2: Yeah, we got ten picks in this year's drafts.
• 13:15
  Speaker 1: We're gonna have to have some spots that are actually
• 13:17
  Speaker 1: open for them to insert. So you know, if you
• 13:20
  Speaker 1: add a veteran at this point could be just standing
• 13:22
  Speaker 1: in the way. We're gonna allow these rookies to, you know,
• 13:25
  Speaker 1: get a chance to get out on the field and
• 13:27
  Speaker 1: help us this coming fall.
• 13:29
  Speaker 2: Thanks James, Thanks, thank you all. It's great to see it.