QUARTERBACK TREVOR LAWRENCE
MEDIA AVAILABILITY
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 27, 2023
(On how his shoulder feels) “It’s feeling decent, a little bit better today. The last couple of days has been
progressing pretty good. Still sore but it’s feeling a little bit better.”
(On if this is the most beat up his body has been in his football career) “Yeah, I would say collectively. It’s
when one thing starts feeling a little better, something else happens. It’s been one of those years, but it’s
just this game sometimes. It’s unfortunate, but keep battling through it and get back as soon as I can.”
(On if he’ll be throwing much this week) “Yeah, that’s the plan right now, obviously things can change,
but as of right now, I don’t plan on doing much today and we’ll see tomorrow. Taking it day by day, but
yeah, not really going to throw any today and from there, you never know how things are going to heal
up and how quickly you’re going to recover. Right now, it’s still pretty sore and still working through the
beginning stages of getting back. We’ll see how it goes, but that’s the plan right now.”
(On how he’s able to heal from injuries quickly) “I don’t know, I think I’m blessed with some good genes.
I’m young too, that helps. I’m still young and can recover quickly. I’m sure as I get older, maybe that
changes a little bit. I think it’s partly that, stuff that I have no control over. I think I’ve been blessed to
where I do heal quicker than some people. Our training staff does a great job, our medical team. I think
we have great plans for coming back and being able to get back quickly. They’ve done a great job of
taking me through different protocols and strengthening, treatment, whatever it is. All of those things to
stay on top of it, I think that’s part of it too. Preparing your body a certain way to where you limit injuries
but when they do come up, you kind of minimize them. I think it’s a mixture of all of those things.”
(On if he feels like he will play this weekend) “I honestly can’t even answer that question right now. Of
course, I’ll do anything I can to be out there and play. This is a little unique because it’s my throwing
shoulder which can make things a little more challenging as a quarterback. It’s kind of hard to work
around that, other body parts and things that are bothering you, I feel like you can work around a little
bit. That makes it a little tough. We’ll just have to see how it feels each day, I can’t really answer that
now. Of course, I’m doing everything I can to be able to play. I don’t know what that looks like quite yet
here on Wednesday and it’s still early.”
(On frustration of bad plays during the game and having to keep playing) “Yeah, it’s a good question. It
can be challenging depending on the situation, how the game is going, all those things play a factor. You
have to handle them the same way, you have to be able to address it and what happened, whether it
was a bad decision or bad ball security and I put the ball on the ground or maybe it was a
miscommunication, maybe the defense just made a great play. There are different ways that turnovers
happen and I think you’ve got to address what it is, deal with it if it’s something with another player and
communicate. Make sure you’re all good on the same page, if it’s something that’s my mistake and just
really on me, if I fumble or something like that, that’s just stuff where I got to be able to make the
corrections and improve. But, be able to flush it and not let it affect the rest of the game moving
forward. I think you’ve got to have amnesia in a certain sense so that it doesn’t affect you, but you also
got to take care of the ball. That’s the main thing in this game, is ball control and not turning it over and
winning the turnover margin. That’s something we haven’t been very good at this year. We need to make
some improvements.”
(On where he can be better with turnover avoidance) “Yeah, I’d be wrong if I said I didn’t think I could be
better. Obviously I’ve had a lot of turnovers this year, it’s something where I know just ball security in
and out of the pocket, mostly in the pocket this year, I’ve had some fumbles. That’s something I’ve got to
improve on, that’s something that every game there’s going to be some guys back there, I’m going to
have to take care of the ball and not give the ball away in those situations. That’s something where I’ve
got to get better, I got to take the responsibility and accountability for that. I know I’ve got to be better.
Then, just decision making. There’s plays where things happen and maybe I saw something and the
defense gave a certain look, maybe you chalk it up to the defense making a good play or making a bad
decision or miss a throw. I had one of those in the game where I missed a throw to Evan [TE Evan
Engram] a little bit high, and stuff like that happens. It’s unfortunate, but you’ve got to be able to move
on. You can’t do anything about it. You can’t change it. Moving forward, just really knowing that’s been
our Achilles heel as an offense is turnovers this year, just understanding how important it is to hold onto
the ball and just making it even more of an emphasis. We do already, but obviously I need to be better.
Just making sure that I don’t put our team in any tougher situations than we’ve already been in and just
taking care of it. That gives us the best chance to win more than anything, if we can hold onto the ball
and make all of our possessions count.”
(On if he regrets his postgame comments about the team looking like they don’t practice) “I don’t regret
saying it, you have emotions after the game and you’re disappointed. Kind of where we’re at in our year,
the past few weeks we’ve been hoping to turn it around and play better and right the ship, get back on
track. We haven’t been able to do that so it’s frustrating. I don’t mean anything about our process and
about the way we do things, I don’t think any of that is wrong. I think that we practice the right way. We
work hard, I think our coaches do a great job of preparing us and our plans in practice and the way we
rep different things. I feel like we get every look, I just mean the way it’s carrying over to the field looks
like a team that doesn’t practice. That’s really what I meant after the game on Sunday. I don’t regret
saying that, I think it’s true. For myself, it’s not like I’m saying I’m playing great and it’s everybody else.
It’s myself too and there’s things that are happening that can’t happen, like I talked about, taking care of
the ball, the simple things. Just being more consistent, more efficient, not missing some of those throws,
not turning the ball over, the list goes on. It’s a lot of things that go into that. Obviously, I’d probably not
prefer to say that going back, just to not stir anything up. We’ve got enough going on where we just need
to focus on ourselves and not let any outside noise affect us. I think there’s no issues with us and the
guys and I don’t think guys will take any offense to that. They know that I’m speaking for myself and all
of us when I say things like that.”
(On difficulty of not being able to consistently practice in recent weeks) “It definitely adds a challenge
when you just talk about preparing and the plan, all those things. It’s nice to be able to get the reps in
practice, the full speed reps with the receivers, the running backs, the line up front, the communication
aspect of it. That’s important to get. On the other end of it too, I’ve played well in games I didn’t practice
in the past. There’s no avoiding the fact that it is important to practice and get the reps. I’d love to be
able to get out there as soon as I can because I know that’s important and that’s something that we
need. We need to clean up some stuff. That’s something I’ve definitely missed and I’m excited to be able
to do that soon. I need to get back out there and get working with the guys. It’s just one of those things
where there’s no excuses, when you step on the field on Sunday, you got a job to do and you’ve got to
get the result. It’s all about winning and we haven’t been able to find a way to do that. There’s no excuse
of not being able to practice and that. When you go out there on Sunday, you got to perform and you’ve
got to play well.”
(On how to fix miscommunication so late in the season) “I just think it’s just to keep communicating.
Review the things that went wrong on Sunday which we’ve already done, then be able to turn the page
and move on to our plan this week against Carolina. Things that could possibly come up, all the different
ins and outs of our system. We’re used to playing with veteran guys that have been in the system now
for almost two years, obviously we’ve been a little banged up this year. Guys are having to play and step
up. The chemistry just isn’t all the way there because we haven’t played together as much. That’s
something where we’ve got to continue to improve the way this year has gone, we’ve had some injuries.
Guys are going to have to step up. I think guys have done a nice job at times, but overall, including
myself, we just need to be more consistent. I think that starts with me and just really hammering home
the details during the week, making sure that all the communication is dialed up, that we’re really clear
coming in and going out of the huddle. Whether that’s personnels, plays, kills, alerts, all those things,
just really overdoing the communication aspect so that when you’re out there, you can play free and you
know what you’re doing, you play with confidence and you’re not having to think. That’s a little bit of the
issue and we’ve just got to continue to work the small details. It’s one of those things that lately they’ve
all been popping up. It happens from time to time in a lot of games with every different offense in the
NFL. If you knew what was going on with the scheme, you’d see some mistakes here and there.
Unfortunately for us, it’s been at crucial times, and it’s been stuff we haven’t been able to overcome.
We’ve got to fix those things and you’re never going to be perfect, but we talk about controlling the
things you control, whether that’s my decision, the play I get us into, the routes we run, the way we
block it up front, the cadence. That’s stuff that you directly control and you’ve got to be pretty close to
perfect on that if you want to have a chance. We’ve just got to clean up some of that stuff.”
(On what it looks like to get back on track) “Figuring out a way to win. A lot of that is what we’ve been
talking about, the details, the execution, taking care of the ball, that’s the number one thing. I feel like if
we just don’t have turnovers, we have a good shot at winning the game. Of course, there’s other stuff
you’ve got to do. You’ve got to be able to move the ball efficiently, you’ve got to have some explosives,
you got be pretty good on third down, you’ve got to be good in the redzone when you get opportunities.
All that falls into it, but it starts with taking care of the ball. Not giving them short fields, not giving them
momentum, all those things. I think that’s where you start and from there it’s just homing in on the
details and the plans so you can do all those things.”
(On if he needs to change his communication tone) “That’s a good question. Not necessarily, I think
we’ve had myself and other guys step up and show some emotion at times when needed. Whether it’s in
games or outside of games, stuff that not everybody sees. I think that we have the right voices and the
right guys that are saying the right things, it’s just more of we got to go do it now. There becomes a point
where it doesn’t really matter what you say, you’ve got to go do it. That’s kind of where we’re at and I
have all the confidence in this team that we’re going to respond the right way. I know we get some guys
back this week, so I’m excited for that too and to see those guys out there. They’re going to bring some
juice. That’s part of it too, getting some of our guys back that are a big part of this team and are going to
help us. I think the biggest thing is the message has to be consistent. You can’t be up and down and
going all over the place one week and changing the next week, I try to be consistent and I’m confident
we’re going to come out of this and we’re going to be better for it. The sense of urgency is really high
right now and we’ve got some work to do. I’m excited to attack this week and get better.”
(On how he would feel having to watch the game from the sideline if he can’t play) “It is what it is. I’m
going to do everything I can to help the team if that’s the case and help C.J. [QB C.J. Beathard], I’ve got a
ton of confidence in him and his ability to operate the system and the offense, and to play well. You saw
he did that on Sunday in the Bucs game when he had to come in and he played well. At the point, it’s not
going to be about me, it’s going to be about what I can do to help the team to win. At that point, it’s
encouraging, leading, talking to guys, helping C.J. communicate whatever he needs to communicate. The
coaches, same thing. Doing whatever I need to do, but we’ll see how the week goes. Whatever the case
is, I’m going to be there and do whatever I need to do to help.”
(On his thoughts towards facing another rookie Panthers QB Bryce Young) “Yeah, that’s a good question.
It seems like our rookie years are kind of going similar up until this point. I would just say for him to just
stay the course, I think there’s no denying he’s a super talented guy. He has all the tools and tangibles it
seems like. I don’t know Bryce super well, but I’ve met him before and I really enjoyed talking to him and
spending a little bit of time with him. He’s a guy that I think is easy to root for, just his personality and
the way he carries himself. Those are things that I appreciate. Just to stay the course, hopefully he’s
going to have a long career. I think he’s definitely got the talent and the abilities to do that. Obviously,
things are a little grey with how the season has gone but continue to plug away. Things will get better, I
got confidence in that. If he just continues to be the same guy every day, then I think that’s what you
need in those situations; a consistent leader, a guy that’s going to be the same. Your play on the field is
important too, but off the field, just keeping everybody together and keeping the team tight and intact.”
(On importance of trust level between him and TE Evan Engram) “Yeah, it’s Evan and it’s Calvin [WR
Calvin Ridley] too. Also, some of the younger guys that are going to have to play. Parker [WR Parker
Washington] and Elijah [WR Elijah Cooks] and Tim [WR Tim Jones] and Ag [WR Jamal Agnew] as well.
That’s a guy that’s been in the offense, who is smart and knows the system. Evan and Calvin, those are
guys that we talk a lot, along with others too, it takes everybody, but you’ve got to step up and you’ve
got to play well this time of year. We’ve got to take over and we’ve got to make sure everything is
running how we want it. I think that message has been spread, it’s been talked about, we’re on the same
page and I think those guys are going to do a great job this week. They have up until this point, but even
us all taking on more of a role and owning it and just taking the bull by the horns, going in and taking it.
We’ve got two games, nothing more important than this one right here. We control what we earn; if we
can go win this game and next week, we’re going to be in the playoffs. We understand what’s in front of
us and what we’ve got to go do, it’s no secret. We’re excited for the opportunity and it’s time to go.”
OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR PRESS TAYLOR
MEDIA AVAILABILITY
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 27, 2023
(On how many avoidable turnovers there were in the last game) “I don’t know if I could put a number on
it. Like you said to start, I think every turnover is different. I think there’s a number of different reasons
for each play particularly. Sometimes again, it’s not all him [QB Trevor Lawrence], but at the same time,
he understands the importance of protecting the football, ending the down with the football. There’s
times you’re fighting for a couple more seconds potentially, you’re fighting through to get out of traffic in
the pocket, where those are all what we describe as danger zones. There’s a number of different areas.
Again, it’s not all him. We as a unit, I think we’re 31st in giveaways. That’s just unacceptable and that’s
been the reason we’ve been on the slide that we’ve been on, is what we believe.”
(On how the turnovers weighs on QB Trevor Lawrence compared to other quarterbacks) “In terms of
weighing on, I don’t know how much it compares to anybody else. I think he takes that very personal,
he’s very accountable, that’s one of the things that we really like about Trevor. He understands where his
responsibilities lie in terms of protecting the football for this team. He takes responsibility of that.”
(On envisioning TE Evan Engram to produce almost 100 receptions this season) “In terms of who catches
what and where they’re aligned and all that, it really doesn’t matter. We utilize Evan in whatever role we
see fit. He plays outside receiver, he plays single, he plays the one or the two, in three by one formations
he plays all the way out at one. He just happens to be a tight end, we just view him as one of our five
eligibles. The fact that he’s caught all these balls is a credit to him and the way he prepares and the way
he works and the chemistry with the quarterbacks. I think one of the more impressive things is his catch
percentage when he’s targeted. He’s got 98 catches, I think he has 130 targets which is pretty impressive
numbers of when we’re throwing the ball to him, he’s catching it. He’s open, he’s just got a good
chemistry with our quarterbacks so far.”
(On the trust level between TE Evan Engram and QB Trevor Lawrence) “I don’t know if I’d compare it to
one or the other, I know he trusts him a lot. He’s proven that over two years time them working
together, he’s going to be where he’s supposed to be and he’s going to catch it when he needs to. We all
have a lot of confidence in Evan.”
(On challenge of offensive line changing so much due to injuries) “Like we’ve said, that’s always tough.
You want continuity with the group, you want to put the best five out there. That’s the biggest thing, and
how they work together impacts the way things go. We’re excited to have Cam [OL Cam Robinson] back;
if he makes it up to the game on Sunday, Cam is a great player for us. If he makes it and fits that five and
gives us the best opportunity, then he’ll be out there and ready to roll.”
(On concern of miscommunication and how to simplify it) “That was certainly an issue that receivers had
the other day. They’re not subtle hand signals, there’s kills and alerts. We’ve just got to be on the same
page of what we’re killing and what we’re alerting to. That’s just spending time in the huddle, making
sure as you approach the line, you know. A lot of times, it gives us the right play versus the right look. It’s
not worth it if we’re not going to be able to understand what we’re doing. We got back, we always show
them game reps, where things went wrong, the practice reps; did it go wrong there? We review that
ourselves. We’ll continue to try to do everything we can to put our players in the best positions.
Sometimes, that’s getting to the right play, sometimes that’s just taking one more thing away from them
for their mental load to play quickly.”
(On if miscommunication is due to younger guys in the lineup) “I think everybody has their hand in a
number of issues. We certainly haven’t played well enough as a unit and I think everybody has their
hand in that.”
(On if miscommunicating on kills and alerts have been an issue all year) “In terms of kills and alerts, I
wouldn’t say that necessarily. There were a couple this game that showed up.”
(On comfortability of handling a questionable quarterback due to injury through the week) “Yeah, we all
have ultimate confidence in C.J. [QB C.J. Beathard] that he’ll get himself ready to play the game, same
with Trevor [QB Trevor Lawrence]. He will get himself as ready as he possibly can, we’ll figure out where
he is in terms of getting physical reps, where he is in terms of making it on gameday, but we expect both
of those guys to be prepared and ready to play.”
(On performance in the first half by WR Elijah Cooks) “Yeah, he did a good job with the opportunities
that went his way. He did a good job, he caught a big dagger on third down, he made a checkdown as
well on third down. As we build it, we’re continuing to be mindful of who we have, how they’re available
and what their skillset is, what they do really well and what meshes with how we want to attack the
defense. Guys will continue to get opportunities as they prove worthy of that as it goes through the rest
of the season.”
(On the last time he felt the offense was in a rhythm) “Yeah, I think there’s been bits and pieces. There’s
been plays, drives here and there. Then, ultimately I think there were times against Baltimore we moved
the ball but we didn’t get in the endzone. That’s the ultimate goal. Whether you’re moving it or not, the
goal is to score and to score more than the other team. We haven’t been able to do that the last couple
of weeks. I think there’s just been bits and pieces, but there hasn’t been the consistency we’re striving
for in terms of finishing the drive with points.”
(On difficulty of play calling with inconsistent offensive rhythm) “Yeah, I think one of the toughest things
is the dynamics of the game have gotten us out of the way we want to play. We want to be in first and
second down, we want to be attacking with all of the stuff we spend Wednesday building and putting in
and practicing and repping. But you fall behind quickly, you’re counting the number of possessions you
have remaining in the game and maybe you have to get away from some of the plan you’d hope to put in
and attack a certain way. Sometimes the game dictates that way, that makes it tough. We want to be
aggressive, attacking, utilizing the run, utilizing the threat of the run, then find yourself behind with
limited possessions and behind however many scores. You maybe have to get away from that plan
initially.”
(On if QB Trevor Lawrence has lost confidence in some of the offense) “I don’t think he’s lost confidence.
I don’t think anybody in our group has lost confidence. I think there’s frustration because we’re not
performing to the level we expect of ourselves and the standard that we hold ourselves at as a unit. I
think it’s all that, I don’t think there’s a loss of confidence, a lack of trust, anything like that. It just needs
to carry over and we need to play our best.”
(On talent of Carolina’s defense) “Their defense is really good. They’ve been top 10 pretty much all year.
Great respect for Coach Evero [Panthers Defensive Coordinator Ejiro Evero] and the way he’s coordinated
his defense. We played them in Denver, and they gave us a ton of fits. Structure wise is still very similar
with a different group of personnel. Obviously, they have really good players. [Panthers OLB] Brian Burns
and [Panthers DE] Derrick Brown are as good as anybody we see in terms of d-tackles and defensive ends
or outside linebackers, whatever you want to call them there. They have a great defensive unit, they’ve
done a great job all season long of giving people tons of fits. We certainly have our work cut out for us.”
DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR MIKE CALDWELL
MEDIA AVAILABILITY
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 27, 2023
(On how to maintain mental strength despite recent losses) “You got to have confidence in yourself.
You’ve been doing this a long time, they’ve put in so much work, and they understand that it’s time to go
out there and let the work pay off. It hasn’t these last few games and it’s frustrating. You go back to
work, you grind, you go back out there and give it another go. Mentally, every time you step out on the
field, you need to know that you’re able to get the job done. It’s an opportunity to go get it done.”
(On where he evaluates CB Tyson Campbell and S Andre Cisco after Sunday’s game) “I think both of
those guys are going in the right direction. Anytime you miss time, football is such a muscle memory job
and anytime you miss it, you miss the day-to-day movements and it takes awhile to get back into that.
Those guys are working hard and they’re getting ready to go again this week.”
(On reasoning why CB Tyson Campbell and S Andre Cisco sat out in the second half) “No, they were
ready, it’s just that anytime you’re dealing with a certain type of injuries, you want to not let fatigue be a
factor in it. I don’t want to say a pitch count, but just let the guys work their way back into it. The thing
about it is we’ve talked, and we’ve stressed next man up. We have confidence in the guys behind them.
You look at it, you look at Cisco and you look at Dewey [S Andrew Wingard]. You can put them out there
and sometimes you don’t even know the difference. You see Buster [CB Montaric Brown], he’s done such
a good job. Give him an opportunity and let Tyson not have a setback. It’s just opportunities for our guys
that we trust, and they came in and did a good job for us. It’s always next man up here, and that’s just
another way to use it.”
(On how missed tackles have become frequent compared to the start of the season) “I don’t know. It’s
something that it’s hard to put your finger on. Again, my message to the guys this morning and again this
afternoon, we work it every Wednesday, we’re going to work it Wednesday and Thursday. We got to get
back to tackling. The only way you get back to it is you go out there, you drill it, you focus on it, you get
guys to take the extra step and it’s all 11 guys. It’s not just one guy missing that tackle, all 11 guys have to
get there to get the guy on the ground.”
(On confidence tackling can improve) “Well, my confidence is in the guys. They’re going to come back,
they’re going to work hard, they’re going to do what we ask and they’re going to get another
opportunity to right the ship. That’s what you look for; guys that want to get it right, guys that work hard
and we have those guys.”
(On talent of Panthers QB Bryce Young this season) “He’s grinding. It’s a tough situation, he’s on a team
that has a bunch of talent offensively and they had some tough breaks. He’s grinding, he’s making
progress. You’ve seen him, his progressions are starting to be smoother, he’s getting the ball out of his
hands faster, he has some weapons around him. We’ve faced a bunch of young quarterbacks this year,
and haven’t fared well against a bunch of them. Now is another opportunity for us to get back. Anybody
that roles in here this week, we need to be ready to play. It’s more about us making sure we’re ready to
play than whoever we play.”
(On if he gets the vibe from the team that they’re ready to get back on the right foot) “We just want to
win. No matter what. The only thing we’re focused on this week is being 1-0 at the end of the week.
Anything else doesn’t matter, we have to right our ship and get back to having a good feeling on
Mondays. That’s what we’re working for and that’s what we’re going to try to do.”
HEAD COACH DOUG PEDERSON
MEDIA AVAILABILITY
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2023
(On injury update of QB Trevor Lawrence) “Trevor is progressing, he’s a little bit sore. He’s doing better
today than he did yesterday and we’ll see where he’s at again tomorrow.”
(On if QB Trevor Lawrence will practice much this week) “Yeah, it’s a little bit early to tell. He may do a
little something tomorrow, but I would doubt that tomorrow because it’s a little bit too soon. We’ll see
as the day and as the week goes on.”
(On how to remedy feeling a win more than the other team) “Yeah, you get in situations like that where
you feel or you come away with a feeling that a team was playing for the same things that we were
playing for and they did everything they needed to win the game, we didn’t. You lean on the leadership
council and leaders of your team, lean on the coaches more and just lock in and focus during the week.
Prepare for another game this Sunday.”
(On if the remainder of the team came out healthy from the game) “Actually, no. [S] Daniel Thomas
broke his forearm, we’ll verify it, but he broke his forearm in the game and he’s going to miss some time.
Everybody else came out okay.”
(On difficulty of getting confidence back in the locker room after consistent losses) “Well, no, not really. I
just got to keep reminding them of our goals and keep encouraging the guys to stay focused on that.
Everything’s still right in front of us, got a great opportunity this week to just go 1-0 and that’s our goal.”
(On importance of the team keeping a positive perspective) “I think you’ve got to keep that perspective.
The bottom line, too, we just got to play better. We didn’t play good on Sunday and there were too many
mistakes that we have to fix as coaches and players. It’s something we’ve got to address and we’ve got to
make a conscious effort to do that this week.”
(On if QB Trevor Lawrence’s shoulder injury is a strain or sprain) “I believe the technical word is a sprain,
AC sprain I think is the technical word for it.”
(On if it’s too early to tell if QB Trevor Lawrence will play this weekend) “Correct.”
(On concern level of the team starting to tune out) “I don’t think that’s happening. I’ve had
conversations with players the last couple of days and guys are still locked in and focused. They know, I
might’ve said this after the game, it’s not like they’re going out there and trying to make these mistakes.
We just have to be more aware of what’s happening. As coaches, we’ve got to continue to coach them
up and put our players in positions to be successful on gameday. I don’t feel like they’re tuning out at
all.”
(On what QB Trevor Lawrence’s multiple injuries this season could be attributed to) “Well no, we know
this game is physical and it’s a tough, violent sport. Injuries are going to happen and especially to the
quarterback position. All the other injuries that he has sustained are all hits, all contact stuff. It’s part of
it. That’s his style and that’s his aggressiveness, he’s been fortunate enough to bounce back from all of
them. We’ll see as he goes this week of where he’s at, but we’ve been fortunate that he’s been able to
be available every week so far.”
(On his thoughts of QB Trevor Lawrence saying it looks like the team doesn’t even practice) “Yeah, it is.
You’re absolutely right, when he doesn’t practice, maybe he feels that way. I can see that, when your
quarterback doesn’t get the reps he needs during the week and you’re trying to get the mental reps for
him, he’s alsoworking on the concussion protocol and getting cleared from that. I can see where he
would say something like that, but you guys are at practice, you see the way we go and what we’ve
done. The guys are working hard. We’ve got some new faces on offense that they’ve got to pay attention
to if we’re doing kills and alerts and different things that the quarterback wants to get us into. They’ve
got to pay attention, they’ve got to focus and lock in. We’ve got to coach them up better, we’ve got to
make sure that they’re on the same page with Trevor and our quarterbacks. We can’t make those
mistakes in game, because as you know, they compound and that’s where negative plays and/or
turnovers have occurred. We’ve got to do our part as a staff to make sure that these things don’t happen
in the future.”
(On performance of CB Tyson Campbell, S Andre Cisco and TE Brenton Strange after injuries) “Yeah, I
think all three cases, they’ve missed some football, they’ve missed some time, I think it’s just getting
back to game shape and understanding that. All of them came out healthy, it’ll be a big week this week
for them in practice to knock off some of the rust or whatever, to get back out there again and continue
to help our team. They all did well, look forward to getting back on the field tomorrow with these guys
and continuing to work. DT [S Daniel Thomas] has a left forearm [injury].”
(On if OL Anton Harrison is healthy) “Yes, he’s fine. Everything checked out. He got hit in the back, was
just sore, but he’s fine.”
(On if OL Cam Robinson is coming off injured reserve this week) “Yeah, this is the week we can open his
window. We’ll get him back on the practice field tomorrow, yes.”
(On if OL Cam Robinson will play Sunday if this week goes well) “I hope so. Again, it’s a still ways away,
but hopeful and optimistic that he’ll be ready to go, yes.”
(On injury status of WR Zay Jones) “Zay will be back on the practice field tomorrow as well, again same
thing. Optimistic and hopeful that he can get back out there.”
(On if the team has done enough to build up the offensive line going into the season) “I do. Look, we’ve
had our share of lineup changes. Cam [OL Cam Robinson] was going in as our starter but had the four-
game suspension, then Walker [OL Walker Little] is out there. Walker goes to guard, he gets hurt. Shatley
[OL Tyler Shatley] is back in there and we trade for [OL] Ezra Cleveland and we move Walker back to
tackle. Now, here’s Ezra playing left guard. Then, here comes Cam back. There’s been no share of a
revolving door over on the left side. I think we’ve got the right guys up front. We’ve just got to get them
all playing together, the same five guys playing together. That’s where you get continuity and the
consistency. We’re hopeful this week we’ll get Cam and plug him back in. Cam brings a level of
physicality, he brings some excitement and enthusiasm to that O-line, so something that we’re looking
forward to.”
(On OL Walker Little being the swing tackle if all goes well) “I believe at this time, yes. As we head into it,
we’ll see where he’s at. Obviously, he’s really sore right now too. Ezra [OL Ezra Cleveland] is sore, we’ve
got some opportunities, whether he’s the left guard or Ezra or Shatley [OL Tyler Shatley] moving forward.
If need be, Walker or [OL] Blake Hance could be those two tackles.”
(On if he feels like he doesn’t know the team right now) “Yeah, it’s tough. It’s tough because it’s the
things that are within our grasp or within our control that we’re not doing. A month or so ago, we were
doing some things extremely well and right now, we’re not. The turnovers are the biggest thing. That’s
the biggest thing right now, that’s what’s kept us from scoring points in the redzone and kicking field
goals. Putting ourselves in chances and positions to win some of these games here. To me, that’s the
glaring statistic. We get behind in these football games, especially these last two, you’ve got to throw the
ball a little bit more. It’s been tough, but the bottom line is, we’ve got to do a better job of taking care of
the football and go from there.”
(On if he has to settle down QB Trevor Lawrence due to everything going on) “Yeah, I want to make sure
he’s good and in a good frame of mind. We’ve got to continue to talk to him and the emphasis is always
on ball security. You’re the quarterback that touches the ball, you and Luke [OL Luke Fortner] touch the
ball every snap. Making sure that he’s right, making sure that he’s seeing things, have great
communication with him, put him in position to be successful too. Not put him in bad places or bad
situations, making sure that he’s comfortable with everything that we’re doing. Have great
communication with him. That’s the one thing I know about this team, we’ve seen it in the past, we dig
ourselves out of a hole and it looks like we’re going to have to do that again.”
(On if he would consider taking over play calling duties again) “The one thing that I know being around
this league, everybody wants to point the finger somewhere and we’ve got to do a better job of taking
care of the football. It’s not about the plays, it’s not about it. We’ve got to tackle better, we’ve got to take
care of the football, bottom line. We do those two things, those give us a chance to win football games.
If we don’t, we’re going to be sitting here talking about this again. To me, that’s the glaring differences
right now between winning and losing.”
(On importance of tackling at this point in the season) “Yeah, you thought a month or so ago we were a
good tackling football team. We were doing some good things, stopping the run, or at least slowing the
run down. It’s a conscious effort, it’s making sure you’re doing those things in practice, you’re drilling
those in. Even though you’re out of pads, you’re not doing live tackling drills in practice, but you can still
work the fundamentals and the details of drills and things of that nature. Again, it’s just a mindset,
playing defense is a level of physicality and having a mindset that you’re going to make that tackle. We’ve
got to get back to doing that, you’ve got to get all 11 guys swarming the football and that’s also where
takeaways can come, when they’re punching at the ball or swiping at the ball, are all positives when
you’re gang tackling like that.”
(On receivers not on the same page on the interception plays last game) “Yeah, it was. We always give
Trevor [QB Trevor Lawrence] some outs when it comes to the passing, particularly on third down. We
just missed the signal and those are the things that can’t happen. Again, it makes the play worse. To me,
it falls back on coaches to make sure that our players are prepared that way and that we’ve covered
them in meetings, we’ve covered them in practice so that when they get in the game, they have all eyes
on the quarterback because we have to do that. We have to get ourselves into better plays and out of
bad ones. A lot of the nonverbal hand-signal communication has to take place. It’s something that we’re
going to continue to review, continue to have in our gameplan and we’ve got to get better.”
JAGUARS MAKE ROSTER MOVES
JACKSONVILLE – The Jacksonville Jaguars have signed QB Matt Barkley to the active roster from the New York Giants practice squad, the team announced today. Additionally, the team has placed S Daniel Thomas on the reserve/injured list.
Barkley was originally drafted in the fourth round (98th overall) by the Philadelphia Eagles in the 2013 NFL Draft. He has appeared in 19 games, starting six with Chicago and one with Buffalo since entering the league. Over the last 10 seasons, Barkley has spent time in Philadelphia, Arizona, Chicago, San Francisco, Cincinnati, Buffalo, Tennessee, Carolina, Atlanta and the New York Giants. In his career, he has completed 212-of-363 passes for 2,699 yards and 11 touchdowns.
The Santa Ana, Calif. native played collegiately at the University of Southern California (2009-12) where he recorded 1,001 completions for 12,327 yards and 116 touchdowns. During his junior year (2011), he finished sixth in the voting for the 2011 Heisman Trophy after setting the Pac-12 single-season passing touchdown record (39). He attended Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana where he was named the 2007 Football Gatorade National Player of the Year.
JAGUARS OPEN OL CAM ROBINSON’S 21-DAY PRACTICE PERIOD
JACKSONVILLE – The Jacksonville Jaguars have placed OL Cam Robinson on the Reserve/Injured; Designated for Return List, the team announced today. Robinson was originally placed on the Reserve/Injured list on November 27, 2023.
He has appeared in seven games this season (Week 5-11), all starts at left tackle. Robinson was originally drafted by Jacksonville in the second round (34th overall) of the 2017 Draft. He has played and started in 82 career games with the Jaguars in his seven-year career.
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