OFFENSIVE LINEMAN WALKER LITTLE
MEDIA AVAILABILITY
MONDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2024
(On what it means to him to earn his contract extension) “Yeah, I mean obviously super
excited about it. I love Jacksonville. I love this team. I love the group of guys. I love the
people I get to come to work with every day. Really love the city. Always wanted to stay
here. Obviously going into a contract year this year, didn’t know if it would happen or not,
but I was really glad we were able to work something out and I’m going to be able to be here
for a few more years.”
(On when the contract talks started and if he had planned to come to an agreement before
the season ended) “No, I mean I’ll be honest I didn’t anticipate getting anything done before
the season ended but we started talking over the Bye Week and then, yes, over the Bye
Week into last week things just progressed and we were able to get a deal done kind of by
the end of the day Saturday. Was able to sign before the game yesterday.”
(On how he’s gained comfort in his role as starting left tackle) “Yeah, it’s been nice to be
able to start consecutive games in a row. I feel like I’ve been able to steadily play a little
better each game and just get a groove. Yeah, it’s been really nice.”
(On his self-evaluation of his performance yesterday after signing the contract extension)
“Yeah, I mean honestly there wasn’t that much thought about the deal at that point. I’d say
once I signed it just kind of moved on to the game. I wanted to play well in the game
regardless of the deal or not. I obviously didn’t really know that was going to be a piece of
that story I guess, until I was able to sign it Sunday morning. So, I was just prepared to play
the game and go out and try to play well.”
(On the comfort of having security in his left tackle role for the next three years) “It’s nice. I
mean, it’s just nice being able to kind of know where you’re going to be in practice and
prepare in a single position. Honestly, I’m sure it helped me kind of moving around and
learning different parts of the O-line, but it is nice just having one spot now.”
(On how surprised he was to finalize a deal during the season) “Yeah, I guess I was more
surprised just like what you said, just getting done during the season. I was anticipating if I
was going to get an extension done, it would probably after the season. So when they
reached out in the Bye week, I definitely wasn’t expecting, but it was a nice surprise. Then
yeah, we were able to kind of start working on working on it and we’re able to get it done
before the Texans game.”
(On him wanting to stay in Jacksonville had the deal not been done during the season)
“Yeah, I think at that point it’s hard to predict how that would have gone playing six more
games. Obviously, part of the decision to getting extended now is securing myself with six
more games and kind of lessening the threat of getting injured and kind of hurting my own
self. So, I don’t know exactly how that would have gone, but definitely would have been an
option for me to stay here after this season regardless of what happened.”
(On eliminating distractions and staying focused in the last five games of the season)
“Yeah, I would say this team, we’ve done a really good job all year. I mean there’s been a lot
of talk, I feel like, since the beginning of the season about the whole organization, players,
what we’re doing. I think we’ve done a really good job of just focusing each week on the next
opponent and each individually trying to play really well and just win, honestly. I think
everyone in this team really wants to win. So, short answer, no. We have not many
discussions at all about coaching changes, about organization changes, anything like that.”
We’re focused. Last week, we were focused on Houston. Now we’re going to be focused on
Tennessee. It’s a big division opponent that is always tough. We’re going there obviously
and it’s going to be a tough place to play, and they have a really good defense. So, we’re
getting ready for them.”
(On if NFL locker rooms are fragile in terms of sticking together through tough times) “I can’t
really speak for other locker rooms. Obviously, I think our locker rooms really strong. I think
we have really great leaders the top, down. I feel like everyone here works really hard. I
would say that even in a season like this, when we haven’t had the success we wanted, it’s
one thing I’ve been most impressed with this team. It’s just how we come to practice each
week, we work really hard, we stay dedicated to the game plans. Obviously, we’re trying to
figure things out and trying to figure out how to get some these, especially some of these
close games that we think we should have won and actually turn them into wins. I think it’ll
happen. We’re dedicated to changing that through these last five games.”
(On potentially not having QB Trevor Lawrence playing the last five games of the season) “I
mean, I don’t know. I mean that’s a decision obviously that Trevor’s going to have to make,
and that the medical staff is going to have to make. I’m sure coaches will be involved a little
in that. I’d love to see him play again, but you know, it’s a decision for them to make.”
LINEBACKER FOYE OLUOKUN
MEDIA AVAILABILITY
MONDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2024
(On his perspective on the late hit on QB Trevor Lawrence) “I can talk from both sides. As a
defensive player, he’s running for the first down. I can see you’re running, giving your max
effort, but just the way that he went about the actual tackle part of it. Trevor slid, you know
quarterbacks slide, and it was—he slid. So, you going low anyway, like, what were you
aiming for? And then, you made that—it was a dirty play. I’m not going to say he’s a dirty
person, but it was a dirty play. He knows better. I think in his mind, he knows he shouldn’t
have done that. As a defender, I understand being aggressive and wanting to make every
play. I saw he said something about trying to hit everybody as hard as he can. For sure, I
understand that mindset. But you understand how the game is played especially today, and
there’s no room for that in the game right now.”
(On what the challenge is for a linebacker when a quarterback is about to slide) “I
understand being aggressive. I understand making sure, running, he doesn’t get the first
down. He slid. He slid, and you went low. Like, if he didn’t slide, he was going low. If that’s
how you’re going to tackle a quarterback, that’s just weird anyway. He’s a quarterback, he’s
not going—you’re going to stand him up and run the feet, drive him back. Instead, you saw
him slide, and he went down after he slid, basically. So, mindset-wise, I understand the
attacking mindset. I don’t understand the finish of the play. I’m not trying to throw him
under the bus, but as a defender, I understand playing on defense, the mindset we have
while trying to run up and make a tackle. But he did, he slid pretty—you understand that
you messed up. He understands that he messed up.”
(On the attitude of the team this morning) “I think we’re more just trying to get it right on our
end. I think that division title race, I think that was going to be taken care of if we got things
right on our end. We haven’t done that yet. So, still, we’ve got five games to try to make stuff
look right in our preparation and just the way that we take our preparation to the game.
There’s bigger fish to fry than the division championship right now. I think as us being
professionals and the talent that we have not being able to get it right is what we need to
focus on week-in and week-out.”
(On what his personal frustration level is right now) “My personal frustration is I feel like I
want to be not only a player that plays well, I want to be a player that can lead his team to
win, and that people can look at and it’s like, alright, he’s been a winner in the league. So,
my personal frustration is that it kind of haunts your head, like, ‘What am I not doing right?”
Obviously done a lot of good things up until this point in my career, what do I need to keep
getting better at? It’s just those little questions that creep into your head, but you’ve got to
stay confident out there. But clearly, I’ve got to look at myself in the mirror, go back to the
drawing board, whenever that time comes, and see what I have to do differently coming
into the year or during the year, during these next five weeks, just to get people going the
right way.”
(On if there are talks within the team about potential staffing changes) “There are no talks
of it. That would be handled when it’s handled. I think everybody right now is just trying to
get these next five weeks right, starting with this week up. I think you’ve got to understand,
this is a pretty good locker room in terms of focusing on the next play. Nobody’s pointing
fingers at stuff. I definitely have a lot of respect for the guys in the locker room because
you’ve heard about other teams and these types of situations kind of cave and start
becoming a crapshoot, I would say. So, everybody’s kind of being professional about it and
we’re searching, but we need to take ownership and get these things right.”
(On how he would feel if the team shut Lawrence down for the rest of the year) “I don’t
know what he has. I don’t know the grade of the shoulder and I don’t know the severity of
the concussion. That’s up to Trevor, don’t ask me about Trevor’s thing. If he feels that he
can come out and play well and make the team better, I’d say he can do it. If the Jaguars, as
a business, if you want to talk to me about the business side of football, I don’t think I’ll do
that on this podcast. But if he feels he can come out and make the team better and he
really wants to do that, then he should be allowed to do it. If he feels like he’s—like you
said, that shoulder, I don’t know what he’s going to do in the offseason with it, and the
concussion, and we’ve got five games. As a team, I said we’re already trying to get stuff
right. If he feels like he’s not able to help that and the team wants to sit him down, that’s
their decision to make.”
(On if it’s nice to see guys like OL Walker Little get extended) “Yeah, it’s always good to see
the next guy get their reward like that. That’s a guy who comes in and works every week and
he’s playing better and better. It’s always good, and I’m always pro-teammate. I’ve seen him
work. I’ve seen him put in those hours and stuff. I’ve been with him in the training room and
stuff. It’s always cool to see somebody get what they deserve coming up.”
HEAD COACH DOUG PEDERSON
MEDIA AVAILABILITY
MONDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2024
(On how the team responded to the late hit on QB Trevor Lawrence) “I definitely appreciate
how our team responded, protecting the quarterback and all of that, obviously. You hate to
see it escalate to where it went, but the second half of the football game, the officials
basically warned both teams it was no tolerance. It was zero tolerance in the second half.
So, if there was anything that transpired, that player was going to be ejected as well. I
thought both teams played the second half as they should. It was a tough, physical football
game in the second half and there wasn’t anything that escalated from that hit in the first
half.”
(On injury updates to S Darnell Savage and CB Tyson Campbell) “Yeah, Savage, ankle.
Returned to play. Should be fine. He’ll be day-to-day. Tyson’s the same thing. Tyson will be
day-to-day with his quad this week.”
(On updates to P Logan Cooke’s left knee) “Just some soreness.”
(On why WR Parker Washington briefly came out of the game) “Yeah, he just fell kind of
face-down that one time I believe on a second down. Kind of landed on his face-shoulder
area, but came out, got checked on and went back. He’s fine.”
(On what he saw QB Mac Jones and WR Brian Thomas Jr. do well vs. Houston) “Mac played
well. Got us back in the game, did some really nice things. Stood in the pocket, played
tough, scrambles. Just what you ask as the backup quarterback to do: just run the offense.
He did a nice job. Did a nice job there. I’m sure he’d love to have that throw to BT [WR Brian
Thomas Jr.] back. He just overthrew that one. He had another touchdown I think to Parker,
he kind of threw that high, so I think he’d love to have those back. Then BT, again, going into
the football game, you make a conscious effort to try to get him targets and get the ball in
his hands, because he can be explosive. We were able to do that really with him and Parker.
BT’s hard on himself. He’s going to remember the one he dropped, too. But I think about the
ones we missed. You think about the couple of deep throws that we had opportunities to,
again, execute and have some explosives there. But I thought BT played really well. Him and
Parker both played really well.”
(On if the hit that Lawrence took affected his left shoulder injury) “No.”
(On if the left shoulder will be taken into consideration when deciding when Lawrence will
return to play) “I mean, you’ve got to take it all into consideration, obviously, and make a
smart choice, make a headsy sort of determination with him and his health, and obviously
where we are as a team right now.”
(On how Lawrence has responded having dealt with multiple injuries the last two seasons)
“He plays the game in a manner that you can appreciate, right? It’s a tough, physical sport.
The quarterback position is going to get hit and he’s a mobile guy and he’s going to run and
he was in a position yesterday to protect himself. He was going to slide and get down,
which he did. You have conversations every year like, ‘Hey, OK, we’ve got to do a better job
of sliding, better job of getting out of bounds. We’ve got to throw the ball away. Just live to
punt, live to play another down.’ All those different conversations come up. You don’t like to
see it with your quarterback, the amount of injuries. But at the same time, he bounces right
back. He’s tough. He’s tough mentally, he’s tough physically. He does a great job getting
himself ready to go again when the time comes, and he definitely wants to be out there with
his teammates.”
(On whom will assume former Running Backs Coach Jerry Mack’s duties for the remainder
of the season) “That’s a little of both. Right now, first of all, let me just say with Jerry,
appreciate what he did with that running back room. Did a great job coming in and getting
those guys prepared each week and wish him nothing but the best. This will be a great
opportunity for Jerry to be a head coach again in college football and get that program
going, and excited to watch him there. Then, internally [Assistant Wide Receivers Coach]
Tyler Tettleton, who’s been in that room before, we’re going to just sort of give him some
running back responsibilities. He’s coached them a little bit on the side the last couple of
years. Been in that room, understands what we’re doing offensively. So, we’ll spread it out a
little bit, but Tyler will be the main focal point there.”
(On if he’s excited for Tettleton’s opportunity) “I am. I think he and Jamel [Offensive Quality
Control Jamel Mutunga] are two guys that it’ll be a great opportunity with the workload and
being able to spread it out and handle that position. Tyler will be the point person in there,
but it’ll be a good opportunity for him these next couple of weeks to really have a position
group and then coach them and lead those guys.”
(On the attitude of the team today) “I didn’t meet with them today. All they had to do today
was basically come in, get their lift, treatment and all that kind of stuff. I didn’t meet with
them today. I won’t meet with them tomorrow. See them on Wednesday. I just want them to
kind of clear their heads of this one and really let’s focus on Tennessee this week and these
next five. But I’ll say this after the game, I mean, it’s a locker room that they’re hurting,
they’re disappointed, frustrated. They’re scratching their heads like we all are trying to
figure this thing out. But it’s a resilient group, too. They’ll bounce back on Wednesday.
They’ll prepare for Tennessee, another division game on the road, all that stuff. They’ll
bounce back. So, a couple of days here to kind of think about it, put it behind us and move
forward.”
(On how OL Walker Little responded in the game to securing his contract extension that
morning) “I thought he responded great. Again, Houston has really two really good edge
rushers. And again, I don’t think they got near the quarterback. One time I think they got a
hit on Mac, spun out of a block that Brenton [TE Brenton Strange] had, but guys are going to
make plays like that. But other than that, I thought Walker did an outstanding job yesterday,
both in the pass and run game and excited for him. Excited for him and his family for this
opportunity to have this extension and lock him up for the next several years. But he
responded well.”
(On if he thinks there is an appropriate disciplinary action that the NFL could take on
Texans LB Azeez Al-Shaair) “I’m not going to really comment on that. I think the league is
going to handle these situations as they come up. I mean, just look at what happened even
in college football, some of these rivalry games and things of that nature over the weekend.
It’s just unfortunate because it escalates to a level that doesn’t need to be on the field. We
hold ourselves to a high regard. We’re in the National Football League, defend the shield, all
that stuff. We’ve got to figure out a way as a league, I think, to somehow minimize or at
least get these plays out of the game, if possible. But it’s up to the NFL, obviously the
Players Association, to determine what’s going to happen. At the same time, I’ve got to keep
coaching our guys and Jarrian [CB Jarrian Jones] was kicked out of the game as well. So,
I’ve got to deal with him and have a conversation with him. Again, emotions run high. It’s a
division game. It’s a must-win for us. Obviously for them, too. Everybody’s putting their best
foot forward. It’s something you just don’t like to see on any—I don’t care, the quarterback,
running back, it doesn’t matter, the receiver—you just don’t like to see these types of plays
made in the game.”
(On if he anticipates any potential further punishment for CB Jarrian Jones) “I don’t know.
Obviously, I’ll look at it and go back and watch everything and make a determination on
that. I know the league will step in and fine him and whoever else. We’ll probably get fine
letters or whatever. But maybe that’s all, because that’s going to be a significant hit, I think,
coming down from the NFL. So, that might be punishment enough.”
