DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR RYAN NIELSEN
MEDIA AVAILABILITY
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2024
(On supporting the National Breast Cancer Foundation for ‘My Cause My Cleats’) “So my
wife, Brielle, her battle, she had her last chemo last Wednesday. So, now it’s on to the
radiation and the next part of the treatment and everything. The strongest person I know.
She’s doing good. It’s a huge thing in our family and our lives. I’ll tell you one of the things,
just learning about the disease and what she has, and everything, the big thing to take away
from is get checked. Like she had this for a little while and she didn’t get checked soon
enough. So, everybody we talk to, it’s get checked. Go see the doctor, do your
mammograms and get that taken care of because it could save your life. It’s that important.
But yes, she’s doing good. It’s something you can go through that you never think you’d have
to. But I’ll tell you, she’s unbelievably strong and extremely proud of her and what she’s
done. Our family, it’s been tough, but we’re doing good, it’s awesome. She’s doing good,
and she got her port out today, so she’s all fired up and onto radiation. But yeah, all good.”
(On when his wife, Brielle, was diagnosed with breast cancer) “We thought she had
something when we were in Atlanta. I’m trying to put the timeline together here. So that
would have been last year sometime, and then when we got here to Jacksonville, it was
January, February. So, she saw the doctor here, and then next thing we’ve seen the doctors
and going through all the stuff in the offseason.”
(On if his wife has a family history of breast cancer) “She has a family history of cancer. Her
grandmother and some other people in her family. So, she was hoping that it wouldn’t be
anything, but it kind of festered. When she found the first time, she was pregnant, so she
thought maybe it was something else. So, when she had our last child, they found it and
they said, hey, when you have the baby, come back. So, the move happened and
everything, so she went to the doctor when she was here and it’s going through it and found
it and every had surgery and got to take care of and everything like that.”
(On how old their youngest child is) “She’s going to be two. So we’ve known for a little bit.”
(On if it’s difficult to focus on football while during his wife’s battle with cancer) “Well, the
thing is she’s so strong and it brings you so close together. We’re very close, but something
like this happens, and it’s like, man. But you learn a lot about each other, I’ll tell you. It’s
very interesting when you go through it with a loved one and someone so dear to you—it’s
my wife—those type of things. But it puts everything in perspective—the important things—
and really how important football is in your life. The people in the building, Coach [Head
Coach Doug Pederson] and Trent [General Manager Trent Baalke] and our players here have
been unbelievable. Phenomenal. Like couldn’t be any better. You come to work and they’re
asking and positive and things like that, so it really helps.”
(On self-scouting during the Bye Week and where he feels the defense could make the
largest strides) “When we looked at it, and then you go back to the New England game, like
we started playing better. We did up until this last week. We felt like we were going in the
right direction. We’re starting to take the football away a little bit more. We’re tackling a
little bit better, some of our TFLs, things like this. And then last week happened. We feel like
there’s a bunch of different reasons why it did, but we felt like we were trending, after
Minnesota, going in the right direction. Then you find out your deficiencies, where we need
to pick it up a little bit in certain areas. So that’s kind of where we focused on. You’ll see a
little bit different wrinkle. Look, we can’t change everything, and we are who we are, but
there’ll be a few different wrinkles. We’re at the part of the season, guys have done a good
job with the volume and things like that but moving some guys around and bringing some
guys here, pressuring a little bit here, playing some more coverage in these—you self-
scout—where are we pressuring a lot, where are we playing coverage and things like that.
So, I think that’ll be the biggest change, and then staying positive with the guys is really
important because we’ve gone through stretches where we have played somebody good
defensive football here and it’s just putting it all together. That’s what we’re at. Staying the
course and staying positive. It’s extremely important. So, talking with the guys today and
Monday, like they’re in a good headspace right now. We’ll be prepared for the game and
they’re fired up. It felt like this the last time we played them. There’s a really good football
team and we’re right there toe-to-toe with them. Had an opportunity at the end. We’ve just
got to finish now.”
(On if he would be satisfied with the defense playing like they had been during Weeks 7-10)
“Yeah, for sure, because we felt like we’re going into the right direction, things like that.
We’ve got to get better on third-down. We’ve got to get off the field a little bit better. There’ll
be some little bit different things we go with this game. But in the big scheme of things, the
most important thing is points. When we’re on the field and we’ve got to eliminate some of
the points in the explosive plays to eliminate some of those points. But yeah, I think overall
you felt like, all right, ‘Hey, man, we’re going in the right direction. It wasn’t perfect, but
we’re getting there.’ That’s kind of like when we got out of the building last couple of days,
you come back in, you’re like, all right, let’s focus on these things that we’ve been doing
well. Fix these little bit of areas of improvement, eliminate some of the explosives, tackle a
little bit better and we’ll get this thing turned around.”
(On if having time away after Week 11 vs. Detroit was necessary) “Yeah, absolutely. I mean,
sometimes, you get into the season, you’re 11-straight. You want to get right back on the
field and go play again and get that taste out, but where we were—and Coach said it—look,
we need a little time and recharge and get back to it. We need to recharge and get back to
it. So, you never want anything like that to happen, but I think it was a really good time to
have the Bye and now going forward, finish the season, six games, and then go from there.”
(On if he decided on any defensive changes during the Bye) “Yes.”
(On if he could share those changes) “No. But you’ll see, we will. There’ll be a few different
things that you’ll see. We’ll do a couple of different things and personnel groupings. You’ll
see it and then we can talk about it next week But not until that.”
(On his evaluation of Texans QB C.J. Stroud’s recent play) “I’m really impressed with this
player. He’s a very good quarterback and he’s a competitor. I think that when you watch the
tape and you can feel his energy with the offense and the way he can extend and get off,
break tackles and then get out of the pocket. It’s extremely impressive and throw the ball
down the field. The guy makes every throw. He’s got some really good targets. I can’t say
enough good things about how he sees the field and where he throws in the coverage. I
mean, the arm talent, no question about it. This guy, he’s going to be a premier quarterback
in our league for a long time. There’s no doubt about it. He’s going to be one of the top guys,
and he’s there right now. They won a lot of football games with the guy and he’s been there
for a year and a half. I’ll tell you this though, the way Mixon’s [Texans RB Joe Mixon] running
the ball too, like it’s that combination—we didn’t play him last time. Now he’s back and so
that’ll be another good test. Our guys will be up to it. He’s a good back. We can’t just focus
on the past game and say, ‘Hey, they’re not running the ball because.’ I tell you what now, a
couple of runs, he breaks and he’s gone. It’ll be a good test, real good test. We’ll be ready
for it.”
HEAD COACH DOUG PEDERSON
MEDIA AVAILABILITY
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2024
(On supporting the National Pancreatic Cancer Foundation for My Cause My Cleats) “Yeah,
obviously you guys know, or if you don’t know, my brother passed away from pancreatic
cancer in October ’21. So, obviously, I wear them in honor of him and to bring awareness to
pancreatic cancer, and really all cancers out there because it affects so many people.”
(On if he looks forward to My Cause My Cleats for the opportunity to represent his brother
on the field) “Of course. Of course. He would love to be at a lot of these home games and
be here and support. Yeah, it’s a way to do that and have him here with us.”
(On his relationship with his brother and his brother’s impact on his life) “Yeah, he’s two
years younger than I am. One of the highlights of growing up too with him is we played
sports together. We ultimately got to play in college together. He was my tight end my
senior year for one year. We got to play together. His gripe was that I overthrew him in the
endzone on a wide-open touchdown pass one game. No, it wasn’t on purpose. I was
actually running for my life. But we were close. We have another brother too, a younger
brother. But we were all close growing up. We just loved being outside, loved being around
each other, and every time we could pick up a basketball, a baseball, football, whatever it
was, there was always competition going on. He was always bigger than I was. He also
gravitated toward track when I went baseball, but there was always that support system
that we had as a family and as brothers. Even with David, my younger brother, today. Still
remember those times and like I said earlier, he would love to be a part of this. Obviously,
he followed my career as a player and early on as a coach, and stuff like that. A chance to
just be part of it. So, really close growing up. We were a close family. Again, loved outside,
loved athletics and just loved being around each other.”
(On who was a better golfer) “I would say I was. He didn’t really pick up golf that much,
probably because he was a bigger kid. But definitely me.”
(On if his family will be at the game this weekend) “No. They’re actually at the ULM
[University of Louisiana-Monroe] game this weekend for my brother back in Monroe.”
(On if QB Trevor Lawrence will practice today and how his shoulder is progressing) “Good,
and yes.”
(On if that is an encouraging sign that Lawrence could play vs. Houston) “It’s encouraging.
We’ll get through today, obviously. I’m not going to commit but it was a good start to the
week, so we’ll see how he handles much more of a workload today.”
(On how he will distribute the reps between Lawrence and QB Mac Jones in practice) “It
probably wouldn’t be 50-50 but still Mac will get opportunities to take first-team reps just to
keep him fresh and keep him engaged. But would love to see Trevor get the bulk of the work
when the ones are out there today.”
(On if there are concerns about impact to Lawrence’s left shoulder) “Each week is going to
be that. Each week is going to be the contact and physicality, but I think it’s just the comfort
level of what he can tolerate and go from there. We know that playing that position, you’re
going to get hit and take hits, but I don’t think that’s necessarily the issue as much as just
tolerating the pain level.”
(On if Lawrence’s presence brings energy for the rest of the offense) “Yes.”
(On RB Tank Bigsby’s progress and practice workload this week) “Should be a full workload,
should be good to go.”
(On RB Travis Etienne Jr. feeling fully healthy and getting the run game going this week)
“That’s something that we have to do better as an offense. We have to run the ball better.
It’s not just the running backs, it’s all 11, right? It’s the quarterback putting us in the right
run if we have run checks. It’s obviously the offensive line, the tight ends, and we know the
running backs. So that’s an area that we’ve got to improve, but having two healthy running
backs right now definitely helps that. Travis can definitely be explosive and get you some
tough yards when needed. We’ve seen what Tank has done early in the season and all of
that. So, it’s good to get them both out there and get them both back in the offense.”
(On his evaluation of Texans QB C.J. Stroud’s play last season compared to recently) “It’s
the NFL. It’s just the way the league is, it’s the way the game is. It’s hard. It’s hard to play at
a high level each week. I know he does and he leads that football team. He still does some
great things. I mean, you put the film on and listen, it’s not for taking shots away from him
or pulling back. The offense is still the offense. They’re still trying to push the ball down the
field. Like anybody, they may have a protection breakdown, or the defense covers him up
and there’s nowhere to go with the ball. So, it’s just the NFL. But he’s done an outstanding
job. He’s still making some great throws, not only to his tight end, but I think, Nico [Texans
WR Nico Collins], you look at what he did last week and Tank [Texans WR Tank Dell], some
of the explosiveness down the field. Ultimately, I know they’re probably in the same
situation, want to get their run game going, and that opens up a lot of things for him too. So,
look, he’s still a great player, a young player, still learning the game. Going to be around for a
long time.”
(On the opportunity to win divisional games in this last stretch of the season) “Where we
are with six games left, I mean, these are all sort of must-win games, in order for us to even
have a shot. So, they just happen to be division games—four of the last six. So, we’ve got to
take each one week by week. We’ve got a good Houston team that’s coming in here. We
understand what happened last game down in Houston. As a team, I think we’ve just got to
learn to finish and do some little things a little bit better and strain and all of that. But yeah,
it doesn’t get any easier. I mean, I think Tennessee is playing good—big win last week.
Defensively, they’re playing outstanding. So, it’s tough. It’s a tough sled, but we’ve just got
to go one at a time.”
(On the impact of Texans RB Joe Mixon returning from injury and how to stop him on
defense) “I think with him, first contact. You’ve got to be able to get him on the ground.
You’ve got to be able to tackle. I think he’s strong, powerful and explosive that way. If you
don’t get him on the ground, he can punish you and make you pay. So, whether you’re
playing a six-man box or seven-man box or potentially eight, you’ve got to be in the right
spot and you’ve got to tackle. That’s something that we haven’t done a great job of, and so
you just look at these next couple of weeks and some of the running backs that we’re going
to face. I mean, it starts this weekend with Joe and making sure that we can get him on the
ground.”
(On if he feels confident in CB Tyson Campbell’s ability to defend Collins) “I do. I mean, I
love the fact that Tyson’s back, but I’m going to tell you something, you put the film on and
you see Nico running all over the place. It doesn’t matter who’s over there covering him.
He’s an outstanding player and he made some plays late in our game the first time. That’s
probably why they won that football game. But getting Tyson back gives you confidence in
the secondary and looking forward to that matchup this weekend.”
(On how confident he is in the team’s pass protection) “I mean, Danielle [Texans DE
Danielle Hunter] and Will [Texans DE Will Anderson Jr.], these are two really good defensive
ends. The way they coach their scheme, this wide-nine scheme, it’s a jet rush front. I mean,
these guys are rolling off the ball. Just really good tandem together and especially in that
scheme. Again, it’s a game where you’ve got to account for them, right? If you can put four
hands, you put four hands. You cover them up with tackles. Tight ends have a hard time and
struggle to block them. And then pass protection, you’ve got to be in the right spot, or
they’ll beat you over the edge and around the corner. So, two really good players that are
playing well. As a team, they had eight sacks last week and did a nice job getting after the
quarterback. So, work is cut out for our O-line and tight ends and backs this week.”
(On what dimension Texans DE Denico Autry gives Houston’s defense) “I think it’s just the
versatility that he brings, right? Foley’s [Texans DT Folorunso Fatukasi] missed the last
couple of weeks, so if he doesn’t play, I mean, that’s the only thing about Denico, he can go
inside and outside. So, he gives them that versatility with that. And again, he’s another
veteran player, big, powerful. He’s long. Another good tandem and whether he and [Texans
DE] Derek Barnett are in the game together, it’s almost like two hammers on the edges and
what they do. They can still rush the passer. So, with Denico, I think just having the
versatility for them being able to move inside and outside.”
(On what his expectation for pass rush will be) “Yeah, I think the rotational thing has helped
us, has kept some guys fresh. We’ve got to continue that. We’ve got to continue to find
ways of, I think, moving our guys around a little bit. Without giving away a game plan just
being able to put our guys in positions to be successful, to try to get an advantage if you
can. If Arik [DE Arik Armstead] plays more inside, great. If he’s outside, great. Wherever they
line up, right? So, it’s a matter of too, just trusting the scheme, trusting the technique and
just playing with a lot of strain and finish.”
(On why DT Maason Smith has not had game action over the last several weeks) “I think
lately it’s just been the ankle. He’s feeling good. He’s coming off the bye. He’s fresh. We’ll
see this week how he goes. I’d love to see if he can be able to play and get a uniform this
week. Ledbetter [DT Jeremiah Ledbetter] has played well, played consistent. He’s been a
good addition there as well. Jordan [DT Jordan Jefferson] has improved each week. So, it’s a
good mix of young and old in those positions and trying to find the right combinations. But
Maason will get a chance, hopefully an opportunity this week in practice to show that.”
OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR PRESS TAYLOR
MEDIA AVAILABILITY
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2024
(On supporting Jax Hope Inc. for ‘My Cause My Cleats’) “My dad was diagnosed with
Parkinson’s—I don’t even know how long ago now. Has been doing really well with it, but
that’s obviously a thing that’s been near and dear to my heart—just Parkinson’s research,
cancer research, all the different things like that. Last year, I did Special Olympics. I have an
older sister that was born with Down syndrome, so Special Olympics has been a huge part
of our family since I can remember. My dad’s been Winter Games chairman in Oklahoma
for Special Olympics, and that’s something that I’ve always been involved in. But this year,
switched it up and went with Parkinson’s.”
(On self-scouting the offense during the bye week) “Really you kind of want to do an
autopsy of everything. You assign different points. Now, throughout the process of us for a
week, everybody has their area of expertise, whether it’s run game, short yardage, third
down, red zone. We kind of divvy all these different divisions up. So, then we kind of want
everybody to do a self-scout of your area. What are we doing well? What are we not doing
well? Who are we utilizing? What are we getting from people? Are we getting what we’re
expecting to get going into a game in that situation? Why have we been successful? Why
have we not? How do we do more of this? How do we feature more of this person, protect
this situation. You kind of just go every single section. You spend a lot of time in that early in
the week. Towards the end of the week, all right, let’s get together. Let’s talk through it. OK,
what adjustments are we going to make in the back half of this season or how are we going
to dive a little deeper into the things that we’ve done well and maximize more of that?
Again, every game is its own. There’s sometimes where we were really good at this, this
week. Well, who we’re playing that just done line up this week. So, you’re trying to find all
the different areas you can do those. Dive into the things you do well, maximize those.
Maybe there’s certain things that we’re not good at that, OK, how do we get better? We
need to do this. How do we get better at this what situations we put people in versus let’s
table that one for a while. Let’s move forward with something else.”
(On if the changes are large-scale or fine-tuning) “Correct. Yeah. Yeah, it’s more just fine-
tuning. You go into the season thinking you’re going to be one certain thing in one certain
area or this is what we’re going to do, then you’ve got to be real and honest with yourself
and critical of yourself of, we’re not good at this. Ok, well it’s one thing to say we’re not good
at—why are we not good at? How do we get better at doing, do we need it? Is it something
so that it just leads to deeper thought, deeper discussion into each area.”
(On if there’s a challenge to plan not knowing who will be starting at quarterback) “Yeah, it’s
always hard to not fully know exactly who’s available to you on game day on Wednesday
because you want—ideal world—this is who’s going to run this play, this is going to do this
throw, this type of ball to this type of player. So, you just get the majority or the bulk or all
the reps. So, with Trevor [QB Trevor Lawrence] just being day-to-day, we’ll just kind of play it
day-to-day and see where we’re at and do our best to get Mac [QB Mac Jones] prepared.
We trust that Mac will get himself very prepared. Regardless of him getting physical reps or
not on certain plays. We do a lot post-practice, pre-practice to make sure those guys are
very comfortable with the entire plan. There’s communication throughout the course of the
week.”
(On who will step into WR Gabe Davis’ role) “Again, somebody will get a role that they
probably didn’t have previous weeks just because Gabe was in that position. And then each
play you kind of look through who gives us what we need to accomplish that play. There’s
times where it may be more 12 personnel. But again, if you’re going down the rabbit hole of
being in 12 personal as opposed to 11 personnel, what is the defense going to do now do?
No do we get based, we get nickel, we get different defenses? So, every single play you’re
always looking at whoever we put out there. What are they going to put out there? What’s
the situation? They’re going to play a certain defense in and how do we respond to give
ourselves the best possible position on that play.”
(On if he feels the running game has regressed) “I mean it’s hard to run the ball. I think it’s
just because it’s coordination of 11 people a lot of times. It’s different sometimes than
throwing the ball where maybe I get one guy in space and I get it ability to get the ball of out
of our hand to make a play, where 11 guys getting synced up has just been tough. But also,
game situations have been tough. You get behind in a game, it’s harder to stick with runs or
if you’re three-and-out. It’s hard to continue to try to run the ball because you don’t get that
rhythm of it. Sometimes it’s just calling runs. I’ve got to do better to have calling more runs
for us giving us those opportunities. But obviously first and second-down efficiency gives
you the opportunity to get more first-downs, more plays and then you kind of let everybody
get a lather going, get into certain situations that you really tried to maximize on
Wednesday when you’re putting in your first and second down plan.”
(On how much pressure not having the running game puts on a quarterback) “Playing
second-and-long, third-and-long, I think that’s hard on a lot of people, if that’s what you’re
doing. That’s hard on your line. You don’t want to be in drop-back scenarios against the
defense lines across the league these days. It makes things tougher from that standpoint.
But obviously running the ball does a lot of good for our entire team, I think, of us being able
to stay on the field. But whatever we do run, pass, screen, movement, we want to be
efficient. I mean, that’s the number one goal. Whether it’s running for four yards on first-
down, then we’ll take that. We’d love to be able to do that consistently. If we throw it, we
need to put it in play. We need to do a good job (with) protection. We need to do a good job
being we’re supposed to be catching the ball, advancing forward. It’s not necessarily just
the run game. I mean, there’s a lot of things that our first and second-down efficiency
needs to be better.”
(On if it helps that Lawrence’s injury is not to his throwing shoulder) “Yeah, I mean really
any of this stuff, whether it’s the quarterback or anybody else, we’re just referring to the
medical staff. If he’s puts himself in a position where he can protect himself, he’s not going
to injure himself further, whatever the limitations are and they tell us the guy’s available to
play, we’ll communicate them with that player, make sure he’s on board with everything
we’ve got going forward and move forward there. Whether it’s quarterback, anybody. It’s
really what they can tolerate and what the medical opinion is. Our biggest deal is, I don’t
know what he has what he’s got what’s the diagnosis, anything. Can he play? Yes? OK, here
you go. Then we go from there. If they give us the clearance that a guy can play or can’t play,
then we’ll just move forward with our plan from that standpoint.”
(On not having to worry about Lawrence not making throws as the injury is to his non-
throwing shoulder) “As far as I know, yes. I don’t know. We’ll kind of see as we go and again,
it’s just feedback involvement from him and the medical staff as well.”
(On what he wants to see from WR Brian Thomas Jr. in the last six games) “I mean the
biggest thing is just continued growth every single week, which is what he’s done. I think
one of the coolest things was him playing through injury because that was something you
didn’t necessarily know. We didn’t know how bad his injury was, what he could tolerate,
what he could do. We tried to keep him out of certain situations for probably two weeks
there just to protect him from himself a little bit, but he was fired up ready to go. He gets
better every single week. We’ve been able to move them all around the formation, do a
number of different things with him, hand him the ball. He’s probably been a better ball-
carrier than we anticipated even coming out of college. So, that’s been cool to see but just
his overall maturation throughout the course of when we got him back in April to the first
time we got him in the building with us, to where he is now has been really, really cool to
see. Just watching him continue to grow every single week.”
(On how different the Texans’ defense is than in Week 4) “I mean they have different players
available and different players down throughout the course of it. Obviously, getting Danico
[Texans DE Danico Autry] available, losing Pitre [Texans S Jalen Pitre] in there, [Texans S]
Jimmie Ward, I don’t believe played against us the first time we played them as well. But
you watch just they’ve kind of made some adjustments in the back end with who’s playing
there. They’ve added [LB] Devin White. They’re really good. They’re really fast. It’s not an
overly complicated scheme. You pretty much have an idea who’s going to be where. Now,
obviously they have their mixers in there. They’ve played us coverage-wise a little differently
than they play some other people at times. So, that’s kind of the cat-and-mouse throughout
the course of the game of, all right, we came in thinking this, we’re getting a little more this
we adjust, how quickly do they adjust out. So they’re really well coached, they play really
really hard. It really starts with the defense ends and they do a great job getting up the field
kind of ruining everything you’re trying to get outside the tackles and things like that. Then
the interior just firing off the ball, jumping up, getting vertical. Causing issues in the back
field. I think that everything kind of starts with their defensive line and really the two ends to
start.”
QUARTERBACK TREVOR LAWRENCE
MEDIA AVAILABILITY
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2024
(On supporting Wolfson Children’s Hospital for ‘My Cause My Cleats’) “These are sweet.
These might be the coolest looking pair I’ve had so far doing this. Me and Marissa
[Lawrence’s wife Marissa Lawrence], we’re partnered with Wolfson Children’s Hospital and
we try to go over there and visit with the kids and staff whenever we get the opportunities to
during the season, offseason, just to build that relationship and be a part of the
community, obviously. They do amazing work over there and those kids are awesome. So,
we just wanted to represent them. Kennedy [current patient at Wolfson], we met a few
months ago, she designed these herself and then two brothers, Corbin and Kai [current
patients at Wolfson], did these. So, they look pretty sweet. I’m excited about it. Excited to
wear them and happy for the kids that got to design it. Hopefully they see them on TV or
whatever it is. I’m sure they’re going to be excited.”
(On how his shoulder is) “I’m feeling better. It’s been three, a little over three weeks. So, it’s
good for me to be able to rest and try to heal up as much as possible. I’ve definitely made
some progress. I’m feeling better, been able to do a little bit more. It’s taken longer than I
wanted it to. Obviously, I want to be out there, and I want to be playing, and it honestly just
sucks watching and then being there at the game, being on the sideline, not even dressed
out the last two games. So that’s been tough. I’m hoping I’m back out there this week. It’d
be great. That’s what I want. I want to be back on the field playing with my teammates and
that’s the plan.”
(On if today’s practice is a gauge for his availability on Sunday vs. Houston) “Yeah, I mean,
every day, honestly. Monday was a big day just coming off the break and obviously taking
some time off before that for myself. Monday was a big day, and I was able to do some stuff
on the field, which is the first time in a while that I was able to do really anything significant.
So that was great. Today will be the same thing, kind of ramp it up a little bit more and just
move around and try to simulate some game tempo speed stuff for me and just see how I
move. I felt pretty good up to this point. It’s kind of a balancing act. You don’t want to push it
too hard and set it back, but you also want to get yourself ready to play. So that’s what we’re
doing today and tomorrow and just going to see how it responds and how I feel. I feel like
we have a great plan and just take a day-by-day.”
(On which day he anticipates knowing if he’s ready to play on Sunday) “I don’t know the
answer to that, to be honest. I think the sooner you can decide the better, just for
everybody. I’m preparing to play and preparing like I normally would to play a full game and
to go so that if that happens or when that happens, I’m ready to go. But also, if that’s not
going to happen, you want to make sure that if Mac’s [QB Mac Jones] going to play he gets
some reps and is prepared as well. So, I think it’s something you have to assess every day.
Yeah, I think there are a lot of things to consider, but definitely I’m going to factor it everyday
and kind of see how I feel and obviously talk to our staff and see how it’s progressing. But I
feel the best I’ve felt in the past few weeks. So, I’m excited about it.”
(On if he knew how serious the injury was during Week 9’s game vs. Philadelphia) “No, not
really. We knew what happened because I’ve done it similar on my right shoulder last year.
This one’s just worse. It felt a lot worse, but it was a similar type of deal. So, I was a little bit
familiar and was able to finish that game. But overnight, and I guess in the second half,
might have got a little worse. Then overnight, the next day, it’s always kind of a rude
awakening when you wake up with an injury the next day because it hurts a lot worse than
when you get the adrenaline and everything flowing in the game. So that was obviously kind
of took a step back and talked to our doctors, talked through everything and just all the
scenarios and just kind of trying to make the best decisions for obviously our team, myself.
There are so many factors into it. If I’m going to play too, I want to be able to play my best
and be close to 100 percent and go out there and play well. So, there are a lot of factors
that went into it. I’m glad that, like I said, I’m feeling better now and progressing, which is
positive. But yeah, it was definitely a little bit more than we initially thought.”
(On how he can protect his shoulder) “I think pad-wise, there’s definitely some stuff you
can do. You can add some padding in there and you can protect it a little bit more. But yeah,
I mean, besides that, it’s just kind of like, you just get hit a certain way. It’s kind of funny how
it happens. Usually, you land on this one, I just got hit from a different side, which is a little
bit different. But you’ve got to get hit the right way, so I’m hoping that it’s not an issue, just
any hit, you know. Hopefully, that’s not a problem. But obviously, if you hit the right way it’s
not going to feel great. But yeah, we’ll just see how it goes the rest of the week.”
(On if the precaution is mostly due to pain) “Yeah, I mean, it’s a tough question. Yes and no.
I think there are other effects in that area of having this injury of especially the severity of
where it’s at. It does affect other muscles, it affects kind of the whole, that side and that’s
why I haven’t been able to do much until recently, which has been positive that I’ve been
getting rid of some of the pain, which has been good and being able to move and do more in
my strength is pretty good. So yeah, I mean, a lot of it is pain tolerance as far as the actual
AC goes. I mean, that injury is fairly common in football, but they’re all different. Like I said,
I had this one, it kept me out a week because it was the throwing shoulder. I couldn’t throw
with it and then after the two weeks of rest, once we got to play Tennessee Week 18, I felt a
good bit better enough to play. This one’s just taking longer. They’re all different.”
(On if he’s gained anything from being out and on the sideline) “Yeah, that’s a good
question. You hear things and you see things just from a different perspective. Obviously,
the headset on, you hear the way the game’s called and in a different light, all the
conversations that go into it with the coaches and stuff. That’s obviously stuff you don’t
hear when you’re playing. You just hear the play call. So, some of that stuff, and it just gives
you a different perspective. And that’s how it is in the preseason game, so I’ve heard it, but
obviously, it’s different in the season. That, I think just seeing the way guys respond.
Sometimes when you’re playing, you don’t always feel the momentum shifts or the energy.
You’re just so focused on trying to do your job and trying to execute and do our job of going
and scoring points but being able to have a wider view or whatever, vantage point of
everything. You see it all. I think it’s just, if anything helps, I think leading the guys coming
back and when there are those shifts in the games and whether we lose some momentum,
we gain some momentum, just kind of keeping everybody even-keeled. I think you see a lot
more of that stuff when you’re not playing because you can just watch everything.”
(On if the injury will have to be dealt with in the offseason) “That’s a good question too. It’s
been a pretty difficult thing to gauge, honestly, what’s the best path forward. Definitely
something that I’m considering and not off the table at all. So yeah, it’s something that
we’re going to have to just truly day-by-day, week-by-week. Hopefully, I’m able to get back
out there this week or as soon as possible. Then it’s going to be just every week, kind of
evaluating it and seeing where it’s at. Obviously, up until this point, I’ve been doing
everything I can to avoid that, and want to be back out there with my guys and finish the
season. That’s my goal. That’s what I want to do. Then beyond that, I don’t really—I wish I
had a better answer for you, but I just don’t right now.”
(On if he was referring to getting surgery in the offseason) “Yeah, I figured that’s what he
was asking. Yeah.”
(On his evaluation of the Texans’ defense) “Yeah, their defense has been playing great.
Obviously, the two guys on the edge, those guys have been big players for them. Obviously,
we’ve played against Will [Texans DE Will Anderson Jr.] a few times, just him being there the
last couple of years. And then Danielle [Texans DE Danielle Hunter] on the other side, he’s
having a great year. He’s been a great player for a long time. So those guys, they make
everything go. Not to take anything away from the other guys, they’ve got a good defense.
But they just fly around. They’re well-coached. It’s not the most complicated scheme, but it
helps them play fast and be on the same page and really anticipate and react and kind of
play ahead of some offense as you see on tape. They just play really fast. I think that helps
them. Then obviously, Pitre [Texans S Jalen Pitre] is a big player for them. I heard he’s out
this week, but he’s a guy that does a lot for them. He’s a huge part of that defense and
there’s all the things you got to look at how they’re going to adjust. Obviously, there’s going
to be some changes. But yeah, it’s a good defense. They’re really good up front. Good on
the back end. Stingley [Texans CB Derek Stingley Jr.], he’s been playing great the last couple
of years. Every time we play against him, seems like he’s making plays. Then the rookie
Lassiter [Texans CB Kamari Lassiter] on the other side has been doing a good job, seems
like he’s getting better every week. So, all the way around, it’s a good defense, challenging.
It’s going to be a challenge for us. They’re physical. They play with a certain attitude and
we’re going to have to bring it on Sunday.”
(On how important the four division games left on the schedule are) “Super important.
We’re looking at this, obviously, like you said, the season hasn’t gone how we wanted it to.
We got to regroup and kind of reflect a little bit over the bye week. We’ve got six weeks.
That’s what we’re guaranteed. Beyond that, who knows what can happen. You see some
crazy things. So, we don’t feel like we’re necessarily out of anything. It’s definitely a
challenge. It’s an uphill battle, but that’s what we’ve got in front of us. It’s a situation we put
ourselves in. Four division games, that also adds a wrinkle to a lot can happen at the end of
the season. We just have to take it one week at a time though, and this is a big one.
Houston, a team that we haven’t beaten here at home in a long time. A team that beat us
earlier in the season in a game that we felt like we had every opportunity to win and came
out shorthanded on that one. So, there’s a lot of motivation for us. We just want to go play
our best football on Sunday and find a way to win, and then we’ll move on after that. But
100 percent, four out of six division games. That’s really big for our team. Regardless of how
this thing shapes up in the end, we’ve got six games of football left. So, it doesn’t really
matter what the big picture is. You want to go out there and play your best and really play
better than we have in the past, however many games.”
