HEAD COACH LIAM COEN
MEDIA AVAILABILITY
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2025
(Opening statement) “Just a quick update. [WR/DB] Travis Hunter was injured during
practice on Thursday. He will be placed on IR here shortly, will miss at least four games.
We’re currently assessing the injury just to determine the best course of action moving
forward for Travis and for the team.”
(On his initial thoughts about Hunter’s absence) “Yeah, you just feel bad for the guy, for the
kid, for our team, for everything. But he’s in good spirits right now, and minor setback for a
major comeback. That’s just the way it’s got to be.”
(On who has to step up at receiver now) “I don’t know if it’s anybody, necessarily specific.
It’s the whole crew. Go out and let’s go perform. Go back to training camp days that Travis
was on defense and it was Dyami [WR Dyami Brown], BT [WR Brian Thomas Jr.] and Parker
[WR Parker Washington] rolling at the receiver positions and did some really good things.
So, I have a lot of confidence in these guys. It’s a great opportunity for all of us to work
through a little adversity and the guys to go out and perform at a high level.”
(On timing of Hunter’s injury both to him and the team) “It’s definitely not ideal timing, not
that any injury is ever ideal timing. But you got to believe his mental, the makeup, his
general attitude towards life and how he handles dealing with specific situations. I have a
lot of belief in Travis as a person, as a competitor to come back better than ever.”
(On how losing Hunter shifts the roster with him playing two positions) “Yeah, we’re already
heavy at corner in terms of how many we carried during the game, so really it’s not going to
affect that much in terms of a number standpoint at corner. We’re good there in terms of
the numbers. Now receiver position, we’ll elevate a couple guys this week in terms of
getting back ready to play, have a backup F and be able to supplement some of those
guys.”
(On if Hunter will be back this season) “That I don’t know. We’re still assessing. We haven’t
gotten all of the information. This all kind of got going last night when we got some
information, so we’re still waiting on further information to be able to determine how long it
could be.”
(On if the injury was non-contact) “Yeah.”
(On if CB Greg Newsome II has earned a bigger role) “I had a great talk with Greg yesterday,
actually, pre-practice and man, he’s just feels so much more comfortable with the calls,
the communication in the backend with those guys, the comfort level of playing in the
system a little bit longer. Man, he definitely has a lot of confidence right now and I was like,
‘man hey, now that you feel that way—’ everybody knows it’s hard to just step in and play at
any position, but especially back there where it’s got to be the goldfish mentality of the next
play and keep rolling. Got a lot of confidence in Greg right now. I think he’s going to
continue to ascend.”
(On if LB Devin Lloyd will play) “Yeah, we’re still waiting to see on that right now. We will
have a better feel today on the grass and see where we’re at there.”
(On if S Eric Murray will play) “Yeah, probably not right now.”
(On S Antonio Johnson) “Man Antonio, I thought he had a really good week of practice. Guy
obviously made a huge play for us at Houston, has been a big part of our dime packages
throughout the year. Being able to move him around in different positions in terms of
playing that linebacker, the safety, a lot of talent and he knows, ‘Hey man, I got a great
opportunity here.’ And I have a lot of confidence in him, great athlete, long, rangey. And the
more he gets comfortable with the communication back there and playing with Dewey [S
Andrew Wingard] and those guys in the backend, I think you look for Antonio to have a good
week and step up this week as well.”
(On his evaluation of the depth at safety) “Yeah, we’ll see if Eric’s able to go or not, we’re
still kind of working through it. But Kahlef [S Kahlef Hailassie] and [DB] Rayuan Lane [III] are
back there being able to—Rayuan had a great week of practice as well. Kahlef still has been
getting onboarded within the systems, done a great job staying here late, working through
the details, working with Perk [Defensive Backs Coach Anthony Perkins] a ton, so got
confidence in those guys and they know what’s at stake as well.”
(On the adjustment to the game plan losing Hunter just a few days prior to the game) “Yeah,
there was some tweaks that had to be made for sure. But I really do—it’s not like anything
like this is ever seamless. But we have dealt with in training camp all the way through, all
spring of days that he was on defense, the offense didn’t have him and vice versa. And so,
we’ve operated. Now, I’m not saying it’s ever easy, but I do believe and have a lot of
confidence that man go out guys, let’s go, let it rip, play, have fun, cut it loose and it’s on us
obviously to put them in a position to be successful and the plan has to do with that. So,
there was a little tweaking that had to be done, but honestly the guys all handled the great.”
(On K Cam Little in practice) “Hasn’t missed a kick in three weeks. So, he hit the ball better
than, not better, he’s been hitting the ball really well in practice. He has. You definitely felt—
he never is a guy that walks around with little confidence. Really, he’s got confidence and
everybody has confidence in him. So, I think it’s just an opportunity of going, getting an op
[opportunity] in the game, getting that thing through the uprights and feeling good again.
That’s just the reality. He was kicking the heck out of the thing yesterday, so excited about
the op for Cam.”
(On the opportunity for WR Brian Thoms Jr.) “I really think watching this week’s practice,
feeling B.T. out there, specifically Wednesday, Thursday, not as much counting the bonus
day. He practiced the best I’ve seen him practice. I mean that. Truly believe that. Told him
that and really expect him to show up and make some huge plays for us as we go. And look,
you don’t have to go and be anybody but the best version of B.T.J. and that’s going to be
damn good enough.”
(On if Hunter’s injury forces them to be more aggressive at the trade deadline) “No, I think
we’ll look at, assess some of those situations, but again I’ve got confidence in the guys that
we have. And getting them these opportunities and sometimes it’s like, ‘Man, guys, let’s just
go play ball.’ Let’s just go execute what we know how to go execute at a high level. I have a
lot of faith in these guys to be able to step up and regardless of the situation, it’s never fun
dealing with it. And I know those guys feel for Trav, but they know what’s at stake in terms of
the opportunity that they all have but I don’t think they’re all going to go looking out like
they’ve got to go be anything but the best version of themselves.”
(On if it helps to have been through something similar) “A little bit. Yeah, we talked.
Definitely, James [General Manager James Gladstone] and I and Tony [Executive Vice
President of Football Operations Tony Boselli] talked about that a little bit, especially last
year in Tampa losing Mike [Buccaneers WR Mike Evans] and Chris [Buccaneers WR Chris
Godwin] and it is truly a next man up mentality. You feel terrible. You feel pretty crappy
about how it goes down, but ultimately, it’s next man up opportunity. And we’ve got a job to
do, and this is a great chance for us to get back on track, go out on the road, cross the
country again, and go try to put our best product on the field because at the end of the day
it’s about the W.”
(On if losing a pass catcher like Hunter emphasizes the run game more) “Yeah, I think that
we want to get back to being balanced. It’s like we’re not going to just force one thing or the
other and bang our heads against the wall. So that’s been a part of our thought process
regardless of what this just occurred. So, you lose a guy that’s been able to make some
plays for you with the ball in his hands, which is always a challenge. But look, from us as
coaches and players that’s the time where you’ve really got to make sure you’re putting
them in a great position to be successful. And look man, we’ve got to go make some plays
when we’re out there and our number’s called, but we want to be able to get back to that
balance regardless of the Travis thing.”
(On if personnel groupings will be re-thought with an injury like Hunter’s) “Yeah, there’s only
so many ones you can use. You got 11, 12, 21, so we’re—obviously we got the two tight
ends still at the moment in terms of working through some of that. But no, I don’t think it’ll
alter too much. Like you’re ultimately going to live in those personnel groupings until
otherwise, and it won’t affect too much I don’t think.”
