HEAD COACH LIAM COEN
MEDIA AVAILABILITY
THURSDAY, AUGUST 21, 2025
(On if he felt like the team got enough work out of the joint practice) “Yeah, it is what it is.
They’ve had multiple joints already and we had none, so to be able to come out and
compete against somebody else in general is great. I do think it was good quality work for
us. Could we have been able to go more because we’re not sure what we’re going to do with
this next game, yeah probably, but it’s good to come out of it healthy as well.”
(On how he weighs what he sees in a joint practice vs. a typical practice) “You’re out of a
different comfort zone when you’re against somebody else, in a different arena, seeing
different things. Things that maybe can get let go in practice when you’re going against each
other, well that’s not going to fly, somebody else is probably going to take advantage of it.
That was something, a couple good learning lessons for us in the red zone on both sides of
the ball. So, it was good,”
(On why WR/DB Travis Hunter did not participate in the joint practice) “It was just more like
do we want him now or potentially not against Carolina? More just being smart about the
next few weeks because the ultimate goal is Carolina. That’s the thing that’s at top of mind
right now and for him. Could he have probably gone, I think so. If this was Carolina, would
he have probably played? Yeah. So, we’re moving in the right direction.”
(On why CB Tyson Campbell did not participate) “Yeah, similar type deal. Both those guys
practiced yesterday in red jerseys, Travis didn’t do as much but they could’ve gone. It’s just
a matter of like, it’s not the time. Not the time.”
(On if the competitiveness goes up for players in a joint practice) “Yeah, you see seven [WR
Brian Thomas Jr.] a little bit differently in ways. Which is something we’ve obviously been
told and have seen as well in different points during camp, but you can definitely see his
uptick change a bit, which was nice to see. It was good, it was good quality work. I was
pleased to see the effort and the way they went about it, they took this thing seriously and
tried to have a lot of pride in what they did.”
(On what he gained from his first joint practice as a head coach) “Absolutely, we had a
schedule planned and then that schedule got changed. So, you have to be able to navigate
all these things. We went against them last year in joint in Tampa so I kind of knew what it
was going to be in a lot of ways. So, it’s a good learning experience because it’s like, alright,
do you want to set them up earlier more and not play them in the preseason games or do
you want to do something later? It’ll help us navigate this moving forward.”
(On the importance of getting DL Maason Smith and DT Arik Armstead back this week)
“Absolutely, you felt them yesterday as well in practice, now we weren’t in a padded deal,
we had the spiders on, but you definitely felt them a little bit more. You felt our size inside a
little bit more yesterday. I got to go watch the tape. I didn’t see a ton of the defense, but I
know we stopped the run fairly well from what I understand. So, it’s nice to have those guys
back in. They’re long, big, physical dudes so we know what they can do. What Arik can do in
a lot of ways even though we haven’t seen it, but Maason, man, he’s a second year player
and needs as many reps as possible so this is great work for him.”
(On what he was looking forward to facing about the Dolphins defense) “They do a nice job
with man alignments and playing zone and zone alignments and playing man. So, you can
displace the tight end or the running back and they’ll actually we call it mask coverage,
where they’re showing you one thing and on the snap of the ball, it changes. So, that is
really good experience for us to be able to get that because there are a lot of teams that do
it. They’ve just did it well today and it confused us a few times in the red zone. Not just the
quarterback, but the routes and kind of how those things end of playing out when you think
you’re getting one coverage on the snap of the ball and then it changes.”
(On if that happened on a play involving WR Parker Washington) “In the two-minute just
now? So, they were showing man coverage is exactly what it was, and they flipped it to a
cover two. Really, I think it was cover eight, which we call quarter quarter half to the field or
to the nickel side, and the weak safety didn’t push enough. We had them down the pipe. We
just got to throw and catch but those are the ones that for Trevor [QB Trevor Lawrence] to
see those, it’s great experience before we actually get going into the season. So, I want to
hit it. I want to hit it today more than anything but now we can look at it, learn from it and
then apply it into the next setting.”
(On how the running back’s workload will be distributed) “We’re still right in the thick of it,
honestly. I think that we’ve seen great things from all four of those guys really, knowing that
it’s going to be darn near impossible to have four with a jersey on gameday. That’s the
challenge that we have to work through over the next few weeks. Tuten, I thought he had a
better day than he did yesterday at practice. He stepped it up a little bit better today. One
[RB Travis Etienne Jr.] and four [RB Tank Bigsby] got some got some quality work, but they’ve
continued to kind of do the right thing for us. Then, Quint [RB LeQuint Allen], man, in pass
protection continues to do a nice job. So, we’ve got some work to do over the next few
weeks here before Carolina to figure out who’s going get a jersey, and special teams has a
lot to do with that as well.”
(On if he can apply anything from his backfield last year as Buccaneers Offensive
Coordinator) “It’s hard to keep a lot of them happy, but if they understand that injuries are
going to occur, things are going to happen. What we learned last year in Tampa was you
need three. You need three good ones that you can feel like can go and step in and your
offense doesn’t change. That is kind of what we were trying to do with acquiring those two
in the draft was make sure that we have a stable. Is it sometimes hard to keep them all
happy? Sure, but I’d rather have more than less.”
(On if it is unusual for a player to elevate his play in game-like settings) “It is a little. You
would absolutely prefer that than shoot you see so many, whether it’s quarterbacks or any
position look great in practice or an ROA [routes on air] and it’s great and then when the
bullets start flying, they can’t play the game. So, you would much prefer that. My only
challenge to him [WR Brian Thomas Jr.] is, and it has been, well think about what if you can
become a dominant player in practice, what will that actually do to your game? Knowing
that, shoot, you’re not surprising anybody this year. They’re all going to know who you are.
You’re going to see different defensive structures and coverages and doubles. For you to be
able to dominate every single day you walk on the grass, regardless of who it’s against, you
will get better. And he needs to continue to get better if he wants to go where he wants to
go.”
(On if starters will play on Saturday) “We are not going to play our starters. We got them the
two weeks of work in the first two games. In an ideal world looking back, if you had the
joints earlier on, you wouldn’t play them. Would play maybe a series in the third, and that’s
what we did in Tampa last year, and I liked it. It’ll be a lot of young guys getting some quality
work, and there’s a lot of guys that are going to play that are fighting for a roster spot or
fighting for a roster spot potentially on somebody else’s team. So, this is valuable tape, a
great challenge. That’s something we’re going to obviously go up against. We’re all going to
go up against, but it’s a good opportunity for those guys as well.”
(On if he has already decided how he envisions the initial 53-man roster) “I think the guys
that are on our team, I think there’s a lot of clarity. I would assume there’s probably going to
be some players on other people’s rosters that will be on our roster. That’s the reality of this
thing. So, at multiple positions, we have guys that are either on the border or, hey, man,
we’re going to have to go and look elsewhere when the time comes. That’s just the reality of
this time that we’re in, this phase but there are some guys that are going to be playing this
weekend that are fighting for roster spots.”
(On how balances Thomas Jr.’s ability to win one-on-ones and draw double coverage to
open up teammates) “That was something that we saw in L.A. with Cooper [former Rams
WR Cooper Kupp] a lot was you can kind of dictate some things knowing maybe what their
answer will be. Then last year with [Buccaneers WR] Mike Evans, that that was so much of
our red zone game plan was based on him. It was like, alright. Put him over there three by
one. If they double him, we should have numbers to the front side or run it. If they single
him, well, the ball needs to go there and that was a lot of kind of what we tried to do,
whether it was red zone, third down, whatever it is. So, it’s a challenge for him. It’s a
challenge for us as coaches to be able to okay, he is getting doubled. We need to move him
so that he doesn’t get a double, or let’s use him as a decoy here to get somebody else a
matchup that may be favorable for us.”
QUARTERBACK TREVOR LAWRENCE
MEDIA AVAILABILITY
THURSDAY AUGUST 21, 2025
(On how he felt about today’s performance) “A little sloppy. Speaking individually, there
was a couple throws I missed and then just a couple miscommunications. It’s good to go
against a different defense. We’ve been going against our defense all camp, so just to see
different looks, different disguises, to have to really play each play as its own and go back
to some of our base rules is good for us as an offense. Kind of just as a measuring stick like
hey, this is where we’re at. This is kind of what we showed today. Let’s learn from it and get
better. So, I think that’s just an honest assessment of the day. There’s some stuff to clean
up, but I thought guys competed hard, flew around. We just got to clean up some of the
details.”
(On facing Miami’s defense) “They do some great stuff. I think just some of the disguises
they do. You get used to playing against your own defense and you see kind of the same
disguises, so you start to pick up on certain things and you can protect it but when you’re
seeing things for the first time, because you can’t really game plan all the time when it’s
preseason and joint practice, you don’t know what they’re going to do. They could do new
stuff, that’s why I said having to play and then react, sometimes you get in some bad
situations because you might of sent the protection one way, they bring the pressure the
other way. Then what do you do from there? As a quarterback with the ball, but also guys
running their routes, how do they run their routes, speed them up, all those things and we
had some great looks that didn’t all go our way, but that we’ll learn from.”
(On the highs and lows of training camp) “I feel good. I think the work we put in will show
during the season, the work we put in during camp. Today wasn’t our best showing, but you
know, Grant [Offensive Coordinator Grant Udinski] made a great point to the quarterbacks
after practice. At the end of the day, we’re not going to be judged on how today went. This is
just today, you put it in a box, you learn from it, you move on. That doesn’t determine what
we do in Week 1 versus Carolina. Just like tomorrow won’t determine necessarily what we
do against Carolina. It’s just an accumulation of all the days and taking all the information
in and learning from it, growing from it, and understanding that it’s all making us better to
get us to a place to where by Week 1, we’re ready to go. We’re counting down the days now.
There’s not many more prices left. So, he made a great point of just making every rep count,
and that doesn’t mean that it’s going to be perfect but really learning from it and being
focused and dialed in and having a standard for how we play.”
(On the work that still needs to be done prior to Week 1) “It’s just taking it one day at a time,
truly. It’s cliche, but it really is. That’s what you have to do in camp when you feel the season
right around the corner and kind of now we’re going be, after this game against Miami, we’ll
be in that little awkward phase right between game planning and camp. You’re right in
between it. So, I think the good teams take care of business that week and really find ways
to get better. We might not start game planning. We might start game planning a little bit,
but make those reps count and take care of our bodies and really maximize all the days that
we do have.”
(On WR Brian Thomas Jr.’s competitiveness when going against other opponents) “For
sure. You see him do it enough. You’ve just seen the guy make a ton of plays when it
matters. When the lights are bright, I guess, so to speak, he comes to play. A guy I have a lot
of trust, and I think our relationship has grown a lot this offseason and this camp. So, it’s
exciting to feel that relationship coming along and not just on the field, but off the field
because I think it all ties in together. The more you know someone, the more chemistry you
have, the more you can talk to someone a certain way, see what’s going on. I think that’s
been one of the best parts about camp for me is building those relationships with guys like
Brian and guys like Travis [Hunter] and Parker’s [Washington] been here but Dyami [Brown],
guys that are newer, I think it’s been really good.”
(On how he feels physically) “I feel really good. Physically, I feel very good. Shoulder haven’t
had any issues. Rest of my body feels good. I think I’ve thrown it really well in camp. Like I
said, missed a couple today but I’ll go o back, watch the tape, see some of the
fundamentals. Can sometimes get a little out of whack when you start seeing some
different pressures and stuff, so it’ll be good to learn from the tape. But I really feel like I’m
throwing it well and just got to continue that going into Week 1. Like I said, take care of my
body, and coach has done a great job with the camp schedule. I think he’s pushed us, but
he’s kept us fresh enough to where we still get good work and guys are ready to roll and feel
fresh.”
(On the intensity of practice today) “For sure. There’s times where you got to get the work
in, and it’s like, alright, guys, come on, let’s get some work in. But that goes both ways and I
think that’s something you want in your team. You’re not going to get pushed around. So,
you never want to encourage fighting, but every team should be saying the same thing. It’s
like you don’t encourage fighting, but someone’s going to fight, you don’t just let that
happen to your teammate, let that happen to yourself. You’re never the nail, so I think both
teams kind of showed that today and you see some pushback, and that’s fine. Like, we’ve
got to keep it between the lines, but there’s going to be some of that, and I think that’s part
of the sport. It’s a violent sport.”
(On WR/DB Travis Hunter missing practice) “I think, we’ve gotten a lot of extra work just
throughout the offseason, after practice, whatever because he’s been doing both so there’s
days where he missed some reps. We’ve been trying to keep up with that, already, but even
more so now that he’s missed some time. So, hopefully, we’ll get him back out there
running around really soon and can kind of make up some ground that we might have
missed. The offense is in, so I wouldn’t say he necessarily missed a lot installation wise.
We’ve already put everything in. It’s just more so getting him back used to hearing
everything because, when you’re out for a little bit, sometimes the brain gets a little foggy.
So just making sure he’s sharp and ready to go and then there are a couple routes that we
haven’t got to throw a ton of this spring just because of the limited time. So, just working
those on air, really. Just timing stuff and then when it comes to man coverage and him going
and winning and making a play, I’m not as worried about that. I’ve just got to give him a
good throw.”
(On his relationship with Head Coach Liam Coen) “It’s been awesome. I think just the
communication is very, forward, upfront. The way he communicates is very direct. It’s been
awesome having him around. He talks to me between a lot of plays at practice. After
practice, he’ll pop in our room. We’ll talk about stuff. I think, obviously, there’s something to
that. It’s getting on the same page as your head coach, one, but also he’s the play caller
too. So, like, that relationship’s really important and knowing how that back and forth goes
because there’s some things that you might see a little bit different because I’m the one
playing. He sees it from a wider view, and we’ve had some good instances where we’ve had
to talk about some stuff where it’s like, I didn’t really see it that way, and then we get on the
same page. So that’s what camps for, what the offseason is for, iron out some of those
things, and he’s been awesome. He’s taught me a lot about ball and, I’m excited to really
start the year.”
CORNERBACK JOURDAN LEWIS
MEDIA AVAILABILITY
THURSDAY AUGUST 21, 2025
(On today’s joint practice) “I know Coach [Head Coach Liam Coen] was pretty pleased with
it. There is some stuff to clean up, like always. I think we did really good competing and
finishing plays.”
(On what he learned about his teammates today) “How resilient they are. It was hot. We
were doing special teams, and the periods were coming fast. It was just back-to-back-to-
back. We didn’t have the offense go, and then we went. It was just us going. So, the way
they fought and went out there and handled business, it means everything. Especially in
this kind of environment. It was hot and muggy, and we just got after it. So, I’m happy with
what we did. Like I said, it’s always something to improve. Always something that we can
get better at, but I think we’re trending the right way.”
(On the intensity of today’s practice) “I think Coach Liam likes that, man. He likes a little
scuffling. The excitement, we only get to see them once, so we’ve got to get it in. We’ve got
to get it in. So, I was happy that guys were protecting each other, going over there and not
just letting guys go out there and fight for themselves. So, just being together. That’s really
what it’s about. Just making sure whatever we do, it’s as a unit. I was happy with that for
sure.”
(On if he looks forward to facing other opponents in practice) “Yeah. I want to practice, I
want to play against anybody, honestly. Just getting looks, sharpening my craft. That’s
something I always want to do. Just making sure that I’m ready for the season. I’m ready to
go out there and compete with the best. So, this is a good benchmark for us to see –
especially our unit – going against a fast group of good guys that can get the ball and be
explosive. So, I feel like we did pretty good.”
(On how having DEs Josh Hines-Allen and Travon Walker as teammates help him)
“Everything. It disrupts the timing of the offense. It disrupts the timing of the quarterback
and makes sure that he knows that he has the time in his in his head that he has to get this
ball out. So that means I can look at the quarterback, sit on a few routes and things like
that. But they make the whole defense better and it makes our job easier. So, I appreciate
those guys going out there and hunting. And not just being one dimensional, stopping the
run and things like that, which I feel like we did really good today too.”
(On how close the defense is to where it needs to be for Week 1) “We’ve just got to keep
ascending, man. That’s all we are worried about. Just keep getting better and wherever the
chips lie when the first week comes, it is. But I feel like I’m really confident in this team, this
defense. I’m confident in our ability and our coaches to put us in the right situation. So
extremely glad to see where we are right now. But like I said, there’s always room for
improvement.”
(On if he is confident that the defense will be successful) “Yeah. It’s about having faith and
believing. Just trusting each other that we can do our job and have each other’s back and
trust that we’re going to do the right things and believing that we can be one of the best
defenses in the league. So that’s really it. Just trusting and believing that we have the right
process and we have the right guys in the room to go get the job done.”
