HEAD COACH DOUG PEDERSON
MEDIA AVAILABILITY
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2023
(On QB Trevor Lawrence’s injury being easier if it weren’t his throwing shoulder) “Yeah, obviously if it
were a defensive guy like [S] Andre Cisco who had a shoulder earlier, you can harness those things and
keep things nice and tight. He can still practice. As long as you don’t bang him around and all of that.
Well, the quarterback, you’re handing the ball off with that right arm, you’re throwing with the right
arm. You’re stressing the shoulder a bit more, so those are all thing you’ve got to be careful of. It’s really
a tolerance thing more than anything else, but you still want to be careful everyday you’re out there.”
(On what stands out about the Panthers) “The one thing that stands out is this team plays hard. This
team plays fast, it’s a physical group. It’s a four-quarter game, quite honestly. Coach Tabor [Panthers
Interim Head Coach Chris Tabor] has done a nice job of keeping everybody together, keeping everybody
on the same page and just locked in week to week. Who cares about the win-loss record right now, these
guys have played much better last week against Green Bay. This is a physical, fast group that they’re
competing every day.”
(On what he’s seen from Panthers QB Bryce Young) “I think you see improvement from the beginning of
the year to where they are now. The team around him is playing better, getting more out of the skill
position guys. They’ve done a nice job with it. He’s settled in and doing the things they’re asking him to
do, he’s been good. Teams that try to rush him, he does a nice job of getting out of it and escaping the
pocket where he can either run, extend drives or first downs, or complete a pass. You’re just seeing that
constant improvement that I know they want to see throughout the year.”
(On how to balance the decision of QB Trevor Lawrence while QB C.J. Beathard gets practice reps) “I
think you’ve got to consider where we are in the season, what we have moving forward. Obviously, the
biggest thing, and we’ve talked about this too, is you don’t want to risk further injury. That’s the big
thing. If Trevor plays, we’re all in on that. If C.J. plays, we’re all in on that. The one thing about C.J. is in
Trevor’s absence during the week, it’s valuable that C.J. has gotten all the reps and he’s prepared that
way. He’s ready to go in a moment’s notice, he stepped in last week and obviously did a nice job for us
last week at the end of that game. It’s a tough decision, but sometimes, I have to make those decisions
based on Trevor’s health and where we are as a team.”
(On RB Fred Taylor being named a Hall of Fame finalist) “Yeah, we were in the league about the same
time. Just a lot of respect for him and he’s the leading running back in Jags history and all of that. He was
just a great player, great teammate, very explosive. He was in a league and a division back then that had
a lot of good running backs. For him to be one of the finalists for ’24, says a lot about him as a person,
obviously his character, and what he did on the field. I’m very happy for him and congratulations on
being one of the finalists.”
(On how QB Trevor Lawrence has handled the effect of turnovers in recent games) “I would say he’s
handled it extremely well, I know it bothers him. He doesn’t want to turn the ball over, you’re right,
sometimes it’s not always the quarterback, but it’s always in the stats and things lean towards the
quarterback. We, the coaches, have got to make sure that all of our skill players are on the same page
with our quarterback. What Trevor sees are the same things that they’re seeing. That just comes through
repetition in practice, film study during the week, then obviously playing in games. Some of the mistakes
we made in the Tampa game were just some guys just not on the same page, that’s something that we
have to look at as a staff and fix those. At the same time, embrace the fact that this is where we are and
now it’s up to us to get ourselves out of it and fix it.”
(On what he saw from OL Cam Robinson at practice and the health status of the offensive line) “Well, we
know Walker [OL Walker Little] and Ezra [OL Ezra Cleveland] are both sore and banged up this time of
year. Cam, it was great to get Cam out there. He brings a lot of energy and excitement out there,
enthusiasm. He did a nice job. It appears that he’s ready to go. That was obviously a positive. The other
two guys, whatever happens, at least one of them whether it’s Walker or Ezra, gets a chance to heal a
little bit this week depending on the decision we make there at left guard. It’s a good time for Cam to be
back and it’s also a good time for these guys to get healthy.”
(On what has impressed him with OL Anton Harrison) “I go all the way back to training camp, really I
think it was even in the offseason, I know in training camp he had the shoulder issue that was going on.
Back then, you would’ve thought that this was going to bother him all year and things. But, he fought
through that and he’s here at the end of the season. He’s battled through a few more injuries. I’ve been
really impressed with him, how he has one handled it, he has not let it affect him. He’s working through
it and he still practices every day. He practices through the injury. He’s been a pro about it. Rightfully so
because he’s got some really good guys in the O-line room to coach him up and get him on the right
track. I’ve been really impressed with him as a young player. He hasn’t played this much football in a long
time, if ever. He still has a couple of games left this season. He’s done a nice job taking care of himself
and being available for our team.”
(On how to balance the continuity and changing around the offensive line) “I think that’s where every
team is right now this time of year, honestly. Everybody is battling through injury, even some of your top
teams are battling through. Whether it’s a loss or an injury or something is going on, everybody is kind of
shifting and working through different things. We’re no different obviously. Nobody cares, Carolina
doesn’t care, Tennessee isn’t going to care. We’ve just got to put the best 11 on the field, offense,
defense and special teams, and go play. It’s up to the coaches to have everybody ready to go, it’s up to
the player to be prepared. That’s where everybody is right now.”
(On sacks starting to show up for OLB Travon Walker) “He keeps battling, he keeps fighting. Good things
begin to take shape. He’s doing a nice job of pressuring the quarterback, whether it be on a straight rush
or gain. We need him, we need him to come through this time of year. We need Josh [OLB Josh Allen] to
keep coming through this time of year. Those two together can be tough to stop.”
(On there’s a need for a lineup or schematic change) “Those are all great questions, but I look at it is as
things we can control. Number one, we can tackle better on defense. That’s in our control. We can take
care of the football better. That’s in our control. Pre-snap penalties, those are things that are in our
control. We can coach better, we can call better offense and defensive plays. Put our players in better
situations, all things that are within our grasp and within our control. There’s going to be lineup changes
based on injury this time of year, but our goals are still right in front of us. We have to eliminate some of
that stuff that I mentioned and get back to figuring out and finding a way just to win a game. I don’t think
you have to necessarily make that big spark change in order to do that.”
(On if there will be any changes to the starters this weekend) “I don’t anticipate, it’s all going to be injury
related if anything this week.”
(On CB Tyson Campbell’s finger injury) “He just broke the tip of his finger in the game the other day. He
can still write.”
(On CB Tyson Campbell not playing in the second half of last game due to finger injury) “No, that’s part
of it, but no. Last week, just to address Tyson, it was his first game back in a while. I wanted to progress
him in the game, kind of get his feet back underneath him. There were some things in the game where it
was just uncharacteristic of Tyson, just from not playing. Made the switch at halftime and this week will
be different, he’ll get more opportunity this week, get another full week of practice. He’s doing a good
job.”
(On if CB Tyson Campbell’s situation last game is the same as S Andre Cisco) “Yeah.”
(Statement on High School Coach of the Year) “Coach [Brian] Braddock at St. Augustine, the Yellow
Jackets, High School Coach of the Year. This is a pretty special for a high school coach to be in this
category. I was once a high school coach and know what it’s like to coach a bunch of 15-, 16- and 17-
year-olds. Congratulations to him, I know he’s one of the finalists or is the actual coach of the year.
Shoutout to him and his team and congratulations. I think they were 13-1 this past year, almost state
champs, he gets a couple of tickets to the Super Bowl. Congratulations to him.”
