Opening Statements:
AP: "What's up everybody? Welcome. It's awesome to be back. Really, really excited about this year. Had a great break and now we're refreshed and ready to go. [ We're ] really pumped about the team we put together and the staff and the whole building. So, it's going to be a really fun year. It was good seeing most of you guys last night, if not all of you. Yeah, that was a fun time, so thanks for putting that together, [Vice President of Football Communications] Sean [DeBarbieri] , and thank you guys for coming. I will start off with a couple of just procedural moves. In addition to the moves we made earlier in the week, [P] Tress Way and [LB] Kain they won't be dressed up tomorrow. Tres s M e drano are both dealing with injuries, so suffered a pectoral injury. He'll be rehabbing off to the side. It's not expected to keep him out for an extended period of time, though, so not too worried about that. And then the same thing with Medrano , just a minor hamstring training in the off season and he should be back shortly. So, those are the two pieces of news, and I'll hand it over to [injury] DQ."
DQ: "For me, reporting day, the first thing that I noticed was the energy. This looks to be a team that is in very good physical condition. You can just see this is a lot of guys that absolutely worked their asses off to put themself in a good space. Leavi ng in the spring, it was not, you know, you're going to play your way back into shape. And so, we knew that conditioning was going to be key. So, that fired us up for sure. But nobody's more pumped than me and the guy sitting next to me to get this thing rocking with the team. And so, let's get it rocking with you guys."
On parting ways with former TE Coach Ben Steele:
DQ: "Yeah, not going to lead on that. I know the team issued a statement and we definitely wish Ben the best, him and his family. It was the best decision for us at the time. We're excited to get rolling on training camp tomorrow. [Offensive Assistant] Wes Welker will be working with the tight ends, and that's how we'll proceed forward." AP: "Yeah, certainly really wish the best for Ben and his family. A lot of thought was put into that decision and, you know, it was unfortunate but hoping for the best for him and his family.
On acquiring as much talent as possible to surround QB Jayden Daniels this season:
AP: "I think I'd start by saying I'm really happy with what we've done in the offseason, throughout the offseason. Our staff did a great job working together and identifying guys that would help us both offensively and defensively. Specifically wide receiverwise, I think I've said to you guys before, re ally happy with who's in that room. Really happy with how the guys progressed in the offseason and stepped up. And I think they're going to take another step in this training camp. But just like with any other room, any other place, if we have ways to get better, we 're always going to look into that and really assess the decision, if it's the right move for our team or not. And if we do think it is, then we're not afraid to do that."
On Wes W e lker's title and on if it's changing:
DQ: He's going to work with the tight ends. We haven't discussed it all the way through yet, but that's where we're headed in to that space. He's working with the tight ends moving forward here."
On cornerbacks and starter level talent going into training camp:
DQ: It's actually a deep group that we feel going into it Nicki . And so, I think kind of the secret sauce is how do we fit in? Well, who's going to play inside? Who's going to play outside? How can we work through that? And I think that in itself is going to be some intrigue, and it'll take a few weeks for us to get to that spac e. So much of seeing different looks, different plays, it'll take us a minute to go. Take some time."
On helping QB Jayden Daniels be the best version of himself going into year three:
AP: "Yeah, I think there's a lot that goes into it. And like you said, first and foremost, it's him. He's had an incredible offseason. You know, really from the jump, as soon as he got healthy, he's been working his tail off, working on his body, working o n his throwing, working with his teammates even before he got here. Now working with his teammates after we left out in LA. So, he's shown leadership and picked up the offense really well. So, really happy great with what he's been doing. And he's always been doing that since he got here, but really even at another level now. And then, in terms of surrounding himself, kind of like what we said earlier, is just on offense, on defense, making the defense as good as possible so he doesn't have to always make every play at the end of the game, and putting tha t together. Our defensive coaches have done a great job installing the defense. And then same thing on the offensive side of the ball, with the players we brought in. The scheme, the coaching. Really been pleased with everything that's gone on. There's a great energy in the building on both sides. So, I think when you bring all those things together, I think that the staff has done a really good job of surrounding himself with the opportunity to win."
On OC David Blough and DC Daronte Jones and what they'll bring this season:
AP: "Me personally, you know, I think first off, just watching those guys coach and teach. It's been really impressive to see both of those guys live and in action, in the meeting rooms, and then on the practice field. The way they coach and they teach and really the whole staff. with Q [Head Coach Dan Quinn] Obviously, at the top and then those guys as it trickles it starts down. But then offensively, we're going to be more multiple. We have a lot of different personnel groupings and a lot of different ways to attack you. I think it really, it's more quarterback friendly in a way, and I think that'll really help Jayden. Like I said earlier, he doesn't have to always make a play. We're going to try to scheme up things and have answers, so he doesn't always have to make a play. And I think the same way on defense. The defense is designed to, you always want to have the pen last. And so the defense, we have a lot of different ways to attack you and different things we can change up. So you know, we have answers going into the play and then at the line of scrimmage as well. So yeah, couldn't be happier with how everything went in the offseason. Really, really excited for it, really."
On the WR position being open to potential new starters this year:
AP: "I mean, I think just watching those guys, the way they work, the way they've worked in the classroom, and really, I'm glad you pointed out [WR] Terry [McLaurin]. His leadership has been fantastic throughout the offseason and carrying the young guys al ong and teaching them and coaching them and being that type of guy in the room. But just the way the guys have progressed, how much we've invested in that position in terms of draft capital, I think we've invested a lot, and then our guys have done a really good job in the free age nt market too, bringing in some real good competition there. So what it does is create great competition, and great competition will, you know, the cream will rise to the top. I'm confident that those guys will take a step up."
On finalizing the roster:
AP: "We're all involved and that's what's great about this place. We all talk daily and we have meetings all the time about the roster and just the 53. And it's really, we've said it a bunch of times that it's really 70, not 53. We look at those practice s quad guys as an extension of our team, and oftentimes they're playing quite a bit. So, that makes it a little easier to look at and understand, okay, we have these guys on the 53, but we also have these guys that are really, they're all C ommanders, and they're all going to be expected to play at some time. But guys every day. We're watching practice during practice. We're watching we're evaluating these the tape after practice. We're meeting on it. We're meeting on how they do in the classroom, how they're learning, how they're understanding their positions, how versatile they are. Can they play more than one position? You know, can they be more versatil e on game day? Do they play special teams? Does that help their roster value? And those types of things. I could probably go on and on, but there's a lot of conversations and just back and forth and really tons of different things that go into that equation to get the best team for us."
On finalizing the roster:
AP: "We're all involved and that's what's great about this place. We all talk daily and we have meetings all the time about the roster and just the 53. And it's really, we've said it a bunch of times that it's really 70, not 53. We look at those practice s quad guys as an extension of our team, and oftentimes they're playing quite a bit. So, that makes it a little easier to look at and understand, okay, we have these guys on the 53, but we also have these guys that are really, they're all C ommanders, and they're all going to be expected to play at some time. But guys every day. We're watching practice during practice. We're watching we're evaluating these the tape after practice. We're meeting on it. We're meeting on how they do in the classroom, how they're learning, how they're understanding their positions, how versatile they are. Can they play more than one position? You know, can they be more versatil e on game day? Do they play special teams? Does that help their roster value? And those types of things. I could probably go on and on, but there's a lot of conversations and just back and forth and really tons of different things that go into that equation to get the best team for us."
On the weight of a player's social media when evaluating them:
AP: "That's a good roundabout question. [Laughs] I mean, we look at everything, JP. I mean, it's a great question, but we do look at everything and, you know, we want to make sure it's the right player to be in our locker room, in our bloodstream, and in our culture. And we often, we look at that stuff. It's not always the first thing we look at. Obviously, you're looking at the tape and you talk to the teams that the players have been on and how they were in the locker room, the players that have played with them and so on and so forth to make those decisions. But, you know, that's not usually a huge part of it. Usually."
On how HC Dan Quinn defines a successful training camp:
DQ: "That's a good way to go about it. And sometimes we'll start at the end and work back. You know, what are some of the things that we want to gain in that space? When you're talking about new systems, you really want to say, how elevated can we get our exec ution? You know, because through the spring, you're developing your individual skills so much with the players. It's so devoted to them developing their skills. When you get into the fall, and then training camp and in the fall, it's really about the team development and the team growth. And so much of the offseason we try to make so specific about this player, the skills you need for this thing, and then as you get into camp. So if we're going to work back from the end, how did our team grow? How did our execution go in all three phases? By that point, you're hopeful some roles begin to emerge. It's way too early to call into that. And so let's let that play. And we're ready to do that. And so we'd like to see that execution go. We won't be the February version of our team. We'll be much better than the August version, but the September one will be much better than the one today. And it'll take a lot of work to get there. The hunger, the competitiveness, the camp that we're going to throw, all that leads into that."
On how unscripted periods during practice impact the value of training camp: DQ:
"It's not just for the players. That's also for the staff as well. Calling the different downand distances, the personnel groups that you have to put in. So as much as we can to get gamelike without it being in the game, you want to dig into that space. You'll see shot clocks. You're going to see us trying to fit into that space from officials being here to the joint practices. Having as many of those unscripted as you can, it's not just for the players to put the stress. It's for us as the staff as well. And so that's why in some of these competitions, I won't tell the players or the staff what is going to be the scenario. I want us to have to think quickly on our feet. And so, there's some examples of that where the call it."
On the decision to bring in CB Rasul Douglas:
AP: "Yeah, I think it kind of goes back to what we were saying before, too. We're always looking to add really good players, and Rasul's been a really good player in this league for a long time. He's played at a high level. He's started a lot of games. He started a lot of games recently, and he always performs. So, when you have an opportunity to add to that room, it's not a deficiency in the room at all. You just want to make each room as strong as it can be. So, getting him in, we're really excited about that. A nd we just got a chance to meet him yesterday. He's big, and he's played a lot of good ball. We're excited to have him."
On TE Chig Okonkwo's ability at the receiver position
AP : " Yeah : that's a great observation. He's an outstanding receiver. He's outstanding in the pas game. He's great after the catch, you know, and he's also a really good blocker . A s good competitive blocker. He's not the biggest tight end. He's not [TE] John Bates but really love the way he competes as a blocker and how he executes there too. So, he's got a really good skill set does help us quite a bit in the pas s game. So, , but he he allows you to be a little bit more multiple. You know, you can go more two tight end sets, you can go one tight end set. It's like you almost have, almost have four receivers on the field. So, he provides a lot of versatility in where he can line up an d what he can do for us and how he, when he gets the ball in his hands magical. "
