WR Allen Hurns
(Tell me what a typical Dolphins Sunday was like for you last season. Did you watch the games at home? Did you watch it from the stadium? Were you nervous rooting for the Dolphins and was there ever a time where you said, “Gee, I wish I would have played this season?”) – “I watched it at home with my family. I just had my baby boy in October, so it was a great time. Just watching the game at home and seeing a different perspective. It’s kind of interesting watching it from a different perspective because there would be times where I could see a play, but I don’t know exactly what’s going on. I could say that, ‘Okay, he should’ve had this catch’ or ‘somebody should’ve made this,’ but at the end of the day, I don’t know. So that’s a good thing from watching it from a different perspective.”
(And was there ever a time where you said, “Gee I wish I would have played this year or was there never a time where you questioned that decision?) – “There was never a time. Spending that time with my baby boy, that meant everything to me. That was the reason I opted out, so I never second-guessed that.”
(I don’t have to tell you as a veteran that the NFL can be a business; so as such, how much consideration crossed your mind going into the decision to opt out that “Hey, are they going to hold this against me?” Was that ever a consideration for you?) – “No, not at all. I already knew what was at stake when I made that decision; but I when I came to making that decision I did what was best for me and my family. I weigh all my decision-making and I talked to my agent, talked to everybody I knew; but at the end of the day, I feel like I was making the best decision for me and my family.”
(And second, can you tell me a little bit more about your baby boy? It’s not every day that a football player has a child during the season and you get to watch him grow up, so what’s that like?) – “Man, it’s something that you can’t much explain. I had him October 21, but just being there, being able to help out; that has meant a lot. Just seeing my baby boy grow up. Those first couple months, it’s always tough with the no sleep thing; but with me not playing, I was able to help out. And just being there, building that chemistry, getting that bond, helping my girl out and things like that, it meant everything to me. So as far as being out for a whole season, it kind of flew by because having all the times with your baby boy and your family, it means a lot.”
(You opted out for health reasons for your family and I’m just curious with the vaccination now, where do you stand on what’s going on inside teams and everything like that as far as your vaccination?) – “I got vaccinated in March.”
(Is there any concern inside teams or because some players are and some players aren’t and you’re working with them and…?) – “As far as me, I did it to protect me and family. If there’s people who don’t want to get it, to each his own; but I felt much safer – me getting it and me being around the guys and things like that.”
(What is your son’s name, since we’ll probably all going to be writing about it?) – “Chase Hurns.”
(I wanted to ask you, obviously you got a lot of time and opportunity to spend with your son. What do you think it’s like for – I don’t know if this is your first child while you’re in the NFL – what do you think it’s like for other guys who have children and then really – you get to watch the baby be born then, “I got to go to work, I’m out?”) – “Man, I know it’s tough. I know it’s tough. Even me now – he’s seven months now going on eight and me leaving in the morning, it’s kind of like, ‘Dang, man, I’m leaving my baby boy.’ But I know it’s tough, especially I kind of think about if I did play last year those first couple months, when you’re not sleeping and waking up every two hours; as far as us athletes, we’ve got to get our sleep and things like that. So I can only imagine how it is; but as far as us athletes, we find a way to make it work. I know there’s times where you’re missing the family at home and those guys, but you’ve got to do what’s best for your family. Sometimes that is going to work each and every day; but me having the opportunity to opt out, I feel like I did what’s best for me and mine.”
(To follow up, what did you do to keep your body in shape and to pick up where you left off football-wise?) – “I continued to work out. I never stopped working out. That was one thing that I wanted to do because I knew if I were to take a whole year off, it would be so tough getting back in shape. But even then, with me working out, I wasn’t having practice and things like that so there was going to be some rust coming back, getting familiar with route concepts and things like that, picking up the playbook. But me being here each and every day, being around the guys, I got familiar quick and I’m just getting on the same page with them.”
(I wanted to ask you about the conditions out there the last couple of days and I know you’re a South Florida guy through and through. I‘m wondering if you have certain tips on how to deal with the rain and did you kind of pass that along to any of your teammates that maybe haven’t played in those kind of conditions before?) – “As far as receiver, you’ve just got to take your gloves off because the gloves will get slick. As far as any tips, I’m going to have the same struggles they are. You can never get used to pouring down rain. There’s nothing you can make easier. Just as far as footwork and receivers, be more patient and not trying to rush your routes because you could slip with the wet grass.”
(It’s been your first week formally working with QB Tua Tagovailoa and QB Jacoby Brissett. What are your observations on the two quarterbacks? QB Reid Sinnett there as well, but mostly on Tua and Jacoby?) – “Those guys are doing a good job. They both look really comfortable calling plays in the huddle, taking control of the offense. That’s the main thing I look for when I come in the huddle. Those guys are confident. They’re able to make all the throws and things like that; so us being out there, everybody getting on the same page, we’re just building that chemistry and taking it one day at a time.”
(And if I could just follow up really quick on that, what was it like to end practice today on a good note there to celebrate at the end?) – “It was great. Great feeling just being back in the end zone. It is a great feeling always, but me just getting back out there, being with the guys – it feels good. Like I said, I took a year off, but being back, seeing the guys, being out there with them, competing; that’s what it’s all about.”
(I have two quick ones for you. The first one is what was the feeling like when you did get back to the facility after that one year off? What were the emotions like? What was the feeling like?) – “I kind of felt like a rookie. Just coming in, trying to figure out like what we’re doing, what’s next and things like that. Not familiar with the schedule and things like that, so just filling in, following the older guys or the guys that have been here like ‘Vante’ (DeVante Parker), ‘Keem’ (Jakeem Grant) and things like that. Just getting in line with those guys; but it felt good just being back out there, competing with those guys. Us as a receiver group, we’re all together. There’s never any jealousy and things like that. We all compete with each other. We’re always with each other when it’s time to work out, whatever it is, so that’s what I love about us.”
(And also, can you tell us how you wound up with No. 8 after wearing No. 17 your first year here?) – “Yeah, that number was given to me. I didn’t pick it.”
(I just wanted to ask you a little bit about your time you got to spend with your child. What a blessing it is to have all that time, so I’m just curious of all the daddy duties that there are – bath time, story time – what was your favorite part of getting all that time at home with your child?) – “My favorite part probably was just putting him down for a nap in my arms. Just seeing him just sleep. Watching a baby sleep is like the most precious thing for me. Even when they’re crying and you can console them, that means everything especially with them being so young. That won’t happen forever. As time goes on, they won’t want the cuddles and things like that, but that moment means a lot to me just being there. Of course, not the changing Pampers and things like that. That wouldn’t be my favorite, (laughter) but anything for my baby boy.”
(One last thing on the game day experience for you last year. Was it at all like watching a Hurricanes game for you in terms of when something bad happened, would you get frustrated and ever curse? If something good happened, would you get really excited? How was that watching the Dolphins from home experience like?) – “For sure. For sure, like a Hurricanes game. You’ve got emotional ties to it because you feel like you’re a part of it. Just watching those guys with the highs and lows, the main thing is just keeping that faith, trusting my guys. It was a great season. They had highs and lows, but at the end of the day, I was riding with them no matter what.”
(Going back to your decision to opt out, there was so much uncertainty last spring when the pandemic was first breaking out. It seemed like nobody knew what they could do, should do and how contagious this thing was. Knowing how it turned out that the league was able to get through 256 games and there weren’t any games canceled or anything, if you had to make the decision all over again would you make the same decision do you think?) – “One-hundred percent.”
CB Nik Needham
(I wanted to ask you about a comment that QB Tua Tagavailoa may yesterday about being aggressive on offense and testing the waters in practice, and then Head Coach Brian Flores talked about it this morning with every position group doing that. I wanted to get your perspective on the defensive side of that in terms of how you gauge how aggressive to be in practice and the value of testing the waters at practice to see where you’ll be on game day?) – “Sometimes, like you said, coach gives us a lot of tools we can use. So in practice, that’s the perfect time to use them tools and just see how they work in different situations. Sometimes you try to test different things and it may not work, or it may work, it may not. So you see it on film, then you adjust, and that’s when you make the corrections.”
(Last year I know you had the competition of scooping up footballs and picks and batted passes, and stuff. Anything like that going on this year?) – “Oh, yeah. It’s going on again. We’ve already chosen the teams and everything. The hood versus the ‘burbs.”
(I’m assuming you’re still in the hood right Nik?) – “Oh, yeah. Still in the hood.”
(One thing that I admire about you is that you’ve earned everything that you’ve been given. What’s it like to see the team bring in two guys to possibly play the nickel spot, especially after having a productive year like you did last year?) – “Just stick by the same motto I said. I’m happy to have those guys here. ‘J Coleman’ (Justin Coleman) is a real cool dude. I’m trying to just focus on myself, put in time into my craft and then just whatever happens, happens. I’m just here to help the team. I’m not worried about playing any position or a certain position. I’m just here to help and do whatever they need me to do to win, for sure.”
(What is a trait you have, either physical or mental, that you think has allowed you to succeed at this level? Is there anything in particular you can point to?) – “I think just having an understanding of the game a lot – just growing up with my dad. He’s a big football guy, so just being around it at a young age. He’s a quarterbacks coach, so I just get in the mind of an offensive player and he’s always breaking down film with offensive guys, so I’d just always look at that. I think throughout the years, I’ve developed more and more and become more instinctive, I guess, you can say that.”
(I wanted to know, how is your dad a quarterback coach and you end up a cornerback?) – “(laughter) See, that’s the thing. We tried it out one time but you know how that goes sometimes. It just didn’t really work out. And I wasn’t tall. At quarterback, you kind of have to be a tall dude and have a good arm. I didn’t really have that. (laughter) He just switched me to receiver and he trained receivers too, so I started to do that. I think that’s what helped with my feet a little bit.”
(You had the interception yesterday. If you could walk us through that, and also you’re getting the opportunity because CB Xavien Howard is not around. Do you guys miss him? Do you talk about him? Is he on your minds at all?) – “X’ (Xavien Howard) is my dude, but I haven’t talked to him recently. I’m not sure. But just getting out there, trying to compete and make plays out there whenever the opportunity is present. That’s what I’m trying to do.”
(What did you learn or gain from that season finale against Buffalo?) – “I would say I gained from that mental toughness. I guess that’s the best word to use for that. Stick to the script, because when stuff gets hard, you have to keep pushing because the rest of the 10 guys.. – the whole team really, but the 10 guys on defense are relying on you. You’ve got to go out there and put your best game on every time.”
(I wanted to ask you about Charles Burks, who got the promotion this year to cornerbacks coach. I’m just curious how he’s benefited your game so far as a pro?) – “’Chuck’ (Charles Burks) has definitely helped me out a lot. I think we came in here at the same time. My rookie year was his first year here as well. We were always getting together extra time and putting in a little extra work. He’s always hard on me, but it’s helped improve my game. I’m really realizing it now, from my rookie year to Year 3, how much everything that he’s said has applied and how I’ve applied it and how it came out beneficial. ‘Chuck’ is a great coach and I love being around him. Great dude. Always brings that energy. He’s always going to be the loudest guy, so that’s a great guy to have around.”
WR Albert Wilson
(I want to ask you what I asked WR Allen Hurns, which is what was the game-day experience like for you watching the Dolphins last year? Would you be rooting for them? Would you get nervous when the game was tight? Was there ever a time where you wish you had played last season?) – “Every game. It wasn’t too different from when I went out (with an injury) in 2018, when I had to sit home and kind of watch the games from there. I can say I kind of became more of a student of the game, and was able to kind of watch the overall game instead of just being the receiver, and just knowing what I have to do kind of set back in, overall watching football – offense and defense. So it was a good experience.”
(Was there ever a time you wish you had played at all?) – “Aw, man. Every single game.”
(I’ll ask the same thing I asked WR Allen Hurns as well. Knowing the NFL can be a business, when you made your decision to opt out, how much of that was in the back of your mind? Sort of, ‘Are they going to hold this against me down the road?’) – “None. I just feel like if I get the opportunity to go out on the field, I’m going to be ok. And that’s what I went with. I wasn’t too worried about anything else – just the safety of my family and myself.”
(Knowing that the league was able to get through the entire season – we all had concerns when the pandemic broke out, but we now know how it turned out. If you knew then what you know now about the level of how contagious it was and so forth, would you make the same decision over again, do you think?) – “I don’t think I ever thought I made a bad decision, even with what was going on and how successful the NFL was going last year. I stand by my decision.”
(I wanted to ask you what went into your thought process when you did make that decision? I know it’s all a personal individual decision that everybody had to make, but what were some of the factors that went into your mind?) – “Just mostly the uncertainty of what was going on and not having facts on what was going on in the world. It was kind of scary with what we had (going) on in my household. I totally based the decision off that.”
(Earlier in the offseason, there was some social media floating around that you were getting some reps in with QB Tua Tagovailoa? What did it mean to get off to a head start with him and what has it been like working out with him on the side and now in practice?) – “It was good. It’s all about having that chemistry and being on the same page, so the more time we have to do that, the better we’ll become. He did a great job of proposing and holding practices during the offseason and when guys were in town, and getting together to show up and get some stuff going early.”
(You opted out for health reasons like WR Allen Hurns did. Now that there’s a vaccine, do you feel that things are safer? Where do you feel as you come back to the locker room and the workplace right now?) – “Yeah, for sure. I think things are a lot safer with the vaccine and how things are playing out.”
(Did you get vaccinated?) – “Yes.”
(I can’t believe it was 2018 when you got hurt. That seems like so long ago – three years. Then of course, you did play in 2019. My question is how does your whole body feel now in comparison to how it felt at this point in 2019?) – “For sure, night and day. I feel great right now, just my whole body including the hip. I feel like there’s nothing I can’t do out there so it’s exciting just going into the season truly healthy and just knowing you can do anything you want.”
(One of the things you always did, whether it was with the Chiefs or the Dolphins, was gain a lot of yards after catch. And I think especially in 2018, you had high yards per reception and high yards after catch; but then in 2019 when you came back, it decreased a little bit. Why do you think it decreased a little bit and do you expect that it will increase, assuming you’re on the team this year?) – “Yeah, it was just some things. I just wasn’t pretty much comfortable with doing things that year, and then just getting myself back to where I was. The coaches do a great job. They were aware of what I was able to do and now that we’re fully healthy, going into camp and to see what we can make shape.”
(This morning, Head Coach Brian Flores talked about adding competition to the receivers room; and obviously plenty of guys in that room now have accomplished NFL resumes. I’m wondering what the mood in that room is like in terms of the competition and how that positively impacts your game?) – “I think just overall, the more people you get in to compete, the better your overall team is. I’m just speaking for myself but when you bring a ton of guys into the room that are veterans and know what they’re doing, you’re just going to get the best out of everybody. It isn’t going to do anything but help the team.”
(Obviously you weren’t here last year with Wide Receivers Coach Josh Grizzard in the receivers room. How has your relationship been with him and getting to know him and feeling him out so far?) – “He’s been around so he’s my guy. Everything has been going great. It doesn’t feel like I’ve missed a beat since I’ve been back.”
(WR Jaylen Waddle is kind of a similar style player to you. I wanted to get your early impressions of him and if you’ve thought of the idea of how much fun it might be for you and him to be on the field at the same time, and the possibilities that could bring to the offense?) – “Man, I’m excited to see the kid go to work. Like you said, I see myself in him; so anything I can do to help him get going right now, I’m here for him. And then to see somebody that can work the slot just as well as me on the other side of the ball, and we’re all just going at it; it will be a lot of fun.”
(What was your anticipation level to get things started for you in 2021 after sitting out last year?) – “I’m just trying to get in and be able to compete and go to work. I’m not too caught onto how things are going to play out. I’m just looking for that opportunity.”
Head Coach Brian Flores
(We get to talk to WR Allen Hurns and WR Albert Wilson today. Did it look to you like there’s been any rust at all with them or anything that would suggest that they sat out last season? Or did they pick up where they left off in 2019 basically?) – “First I want to say sorry, guys, for being a little late. But as far as Allen (Hurns) and Albert (Wilson), I think that they’re both in good shape. I think they both look good. I think they both – there’s always a little rust from any player after having some time off – but I think they look really good. They’re both in good shape. I think they’re both running well, moving well, picking up the offensive concepts well. Yeah, I’m pleased with both guys.”
(And one last quick thing about receivers in general. The fact that you kept so many, at least at this point, instead of maybe paring down the roster of what you have there, you could very well have eight to 10 NFL-quality receivers. What’s the thinking of you and General Manager Chris Grier to keep that many as opposed to maybe cutting one or two of them to clear out cap space?) – “I think we like the depth in the room and the competition in the room, and we’ll see how it all plays out. We always talk about creating a competitive environment for each position room and I think that’s the case in the receiver room. We’ll see how it shakes out through training camp and preseason games. The best five, six, seven guys will be on the team.”
(A somewhat relatable question with WR Albert Wilson and WR Allen Hurns, my question specifically is about scouting a guy that you guys drafted – S Jevon Holland – who also opted out last season, but you guys showed confidence to pick him pretty high. For guys who did opt out like those three mentioned, do you look at I guess individual training during that period? Is it more so like with Jevon, what he had put on tape previously? How much thought process in the scouting with Jevon went into his individual training during that period of last year?) – “As far as their individual training, we really don’t know what each of those guys – they’re not with us. Obviously Jevon wasn’t with us and neither were Albert and Allen, so we don’t know what they’ve done specifically. I think when you see them in person and watch them work with us, we know that they’ve been doing something and doing something that has kept all three guys in good shape. The ability to move the way they need to move to have success in this league, I think with Jevon specifically, he’s learning. Knowing the defense, the terminology, learning, getting to know his teammates – that’s part of his kind of learning curve. Not necessarily the case for Albert and Allen – older guys who know a lot of the guys on the team already; but I think we can assume. I don’t know exactly what they did from a training standpoint. I think we can assume they all were working – working hard and doing a good job from that standpoint. I know you mentioned kind of as far as how we evaluated Jevon without seeing him, we went off his ’19 tape and a lot of things we liked and we’re happy to have him. Really happy to have all three guys.”
(I wanted to ask you about the decision to stay outside when they elements got kind of rough yesterday. What was the thinking? Was there any thought of going inside and what did you accomplish by being in that weather?) – “We could end up playing in that type of weather. It’s really as simple as that. I think we need to be prepared to play in that type of weather. We live in South Florida. It rains pretty much every day and we could potentially play in that weather, that type of setting, and I think it’s good work for us. People may not want to stand out in the rain, but I think how you – your body mechanics need to change. You’ve got to keep your feet underneath you. You’ve got to be able to keep yourself under control so you can cut and make tackles and make people miss. I think oftentimes when you get into rain-type of situations, that’s the first thing that happens, is you just lose your footing and a tackle that would have been made means the guy was on the ground or a big play you don’t get because the receiver or running back is on the ground. I think you need to practice in those elements, so any time it rains and we have an opportunity to stay out there and there’s no lightning and we’re not forced to go in, I think it’s a good opportunity for guys to practice in those elements, so if they do show up in a game, we can still have success and not turn back and say, ‘Aw man, I wish we practiced in the rain one more time so guys would know what it feels like to make a tackle or make a cut and get vertical or make a break on a pass or get your plant foot down on a field goal.’ We’re not always going to have perfect weather conditions.”
(Quick follow-up if I may – were you pleased with how they responded to the elements yesterday?) – “Yeah, I think any time you get into any type of situation where you have experience, I would say, it helps you. So yeah, we were on the ground a little bit; but offensively, defensively, in the kicking game, they now know what it feels like to play in the rain and they can make some adjustments. And I think the flip side of that is if you’re not practicing in the rain, how do you make those adjustments? You end up making them in the game and hopefully we’ve prevented or maybe gotten one more play because we practiced in those elements versus not practicing in them and not having understood or felt what it’s like to slip, fall and know what those adjustments need to be.”
(I’m sure if it was October or November and your starting quarterback threw five interceptions, you’d be losing your mind. So in June in a minicamp, QB Tua Tagovailoa throws five interceptions and you think what?) – “I think practice is a time where not just at the quarterback position, but at every position you test the waters and see what works, what doesn’t work so that you can go back, learn from it, make adjustments and try to improve. I think that’s the same thing for us as coaches. There’s been many times where I say, ‘Hey, I want to see what this blitz looks like,’ or ‘I want to see what this coverage looks like,’ or ‘let’s see what this pass route looks like or what this punt fake looks like against a certain defense.’ And then we’ll come back and say, ‘We probably shouldn’t do it that way. We should do it this way.’ I think that’s the case for any position. If you’re a DB – hey, let me see if I can jump this route and make this play and let’s see if I can do it in practice versus a game where obviously if you jump and you don’t make it, that’s not what you’re looking for. Or if you never attempt a 60-yard field goal in practice, how do you know you can make it in a game? I think it’s the same thing at every position. I want to punt it inside the 5-yard line. If I never practice it or never try to attempt to do it, then what makes me think I can get it done in a game? I think it’s the same at the quarterback position. We’re going to see if we can fit some throws in and then there might be a minor adjustment that we need to make to make the play. How do you know that if you don’t make the attempt? But at the end of the day, you never want turnovers anywhere so we need to limit those. We always need to limit those. But at the same time – what, this is the first day of practice? We’re not looking for the finished product. Mistakes are going to happen. We’re going to correct them and continue just to improve and get better.”
(I wanted to ask you about G Solomon Kindley. Where is he, one from a conditioning standpoint; and two, what do you expect to see from his development in the second year? I know you’ve got so many of them grouped in, in terms of second year players; but specifically him, since he started most games last year?) – “You mentioned conditioning and I don’t think anyone is where they need to be from a conditioning standpoint. It’s hard to think anyone on our team is ready to go out there and play 70 to 75 plays in an NFL game right now. We haven’t had enough practice. We haven’t had any preseason games. So collectively across the board – look our guys are in shape, but it’s different type of shape to get into and get ready for an NFL game, which that includes putting pads on and practicing in pads play after play after play. I think Solomon, as well as really everyone on our team, is working to get into condition. We’ll continue to do that. As far as where he is as far as a player – I think you mentioned going into Year 2 – I think he’s a little more comfortable and understands the importance of communication along the offensive line, and how important his techniques and fundamentals are. I think he’s trying to take it one day at a time and improve and get better. I’ve been pleased with where he’s at and hopefully he continues to make strides to get everything – his techniques, his fundamentals, his conditioning, all of it – where it needs to be so we can have a good finish to this minicamp up, then hopefully that springboards us into training camp.”
(My question is similar to the earlier one in terms of how you calibrate aggressiveness in training camp. I’m wondering, when do you kind of pull that back and start to focus on “we have to be more detailed and more sharp in those areas, and not be so aggressive, and play more like a gameday week?”) – “Well, we always want to be detailed. We always want to be detailed. We always want to make the right play; but there is a little bit of – I think you have to practice. I don’t think that’s Day 1 of practice where it’s, ‘everything has to be – the ball has to be perfect, this has got to be –’ I think there is some leeway. I think we try to tell all the players practice is a place where you work your fundamentals and techniques and if there is a specific route technique you want to use to try to get open, let’s see if it works in practice. If there is a specific technique as a DB that you want to work a quick jam, or you want to work press, or you want to work off, or you want to blitz from depth, or you want to get up on the line of scrimmage and blitz them that way – there are a few different ways you can approach any play and I think you use practice as a way to figure out what’s the best thing for you individually. And we, as coaches, will say ‘this is what I think you should try.’ The players have input on that as well. I think that’s when you do it. When do you say – I think you need to try it first before we as a staff say you probably shouldn’t do that, you should do this. I think you just learn from those experiences. Whether it’s football, whether it’s anything – I’m sure it’s journalism, whether it’s any sport – I think you learn from experiences. That’s the case with all of our players. I know we’re talking specific to one position, but we’ve got guys that try different things really at all positions.”
(To follow up on that QB Tua Tagovailoa thing again, he mentioned the aggressiveness and you mentioned his aggressiveness. I think a lot of people who watched last season would know that’s something you guys want him to improve on. What do you say to him after that practice so that he doesn’t go back into a shell as far as aggressiveness?) – “I don’t think Tua is going into a shell. I think – look, I tell him to continue being aggressive. Really, the conversations are a lot of what we’ve already talked about here. It’s using this time to practice pushing the ball down field, then we’ll make the adjustments and the corrections. Then we’ll go at it again the next day. That’s the normal progression of how this goes. My conversations with him are, ‘we’ll look at it, we’ll make the corrections and we’ll get better and come out here and go tomorrow.”
(If I can ask about another second-year player, CB Noah Igbinoghene is obviously getting a lot more reps out there because of CB Xavien Howard’s situation. Where have you seen him going into Year 2? I know he maybe didn’t perform as well as he wanted to as a rookie, but have you seen elements of his game that have made an early jump at this point?) – “I think he’s worked hard this offseason. I’d say from a training standpoint but also just understanding conceptually the defense and all of the things that are going on in the back end. I think he’s made some improvements and I’m pleased with where he’s at. Hopefully he continues on his trajectory.”
(I wanted to ask you about CB Nik Needham’s rise and his improved play over the years. We saw him pick off WR DeVante Parker yesterday on the outside. It seems like he’s always been a consistent player who has practiced well and showed up in games for you. What can you say about his progression over the years?) – “He’s worked hard. He’s tough, he’s competitive, he’s a team-first guy. He’s made improvements really since he’s got here, and he’s continuing to get better. He’s aggressive. He wants to be out there, he wants to compete and normally guys who put all of those things together, they improve. And he’s definitely made a lot of improvement. He’s continuing to improve and I’m very happy with where he’s at. He does everything necessary to continue to make improvement.”
(Is there any news to report on CB Xavien Howard and do you expect him today?) – “I do not expect him today. Obviously we talked in length about him yesterday. There’s really nothing else to report.”
