DEFENSIVE END TRAVON WALKER
MEDIA AVAILABILITY
JUNE 1, 2026
(On having a fresh start this offseason after dealing with injuries last year) “It’s been good
being around the guys, being around the team and obviously being able to start to get back
healthy. I’ve been on that journey ever since probably the middle of the season last year. It’s
definitely been a grind, but it’s been great so far.”
(On the difficulty of evaluating himself last year having dealt with injuries) “I wouldn’t even
say it’s tough now because this is a time of year where we can be really critical of ourself
and continuously sharpen our iron, sharpen wherever I need to be better at. And for me, I
feel like right now that’s my grip strength, just grabbing, things of that nature. So, I wouldn’t
say it’s hard. It’s just always emphasized coming into each practice, emphasizing coming in
with something that I need to emphasize to work on every day.”
(On how close his grip strength is to being back to where it was) “Very close, very close. I’m
looking pretty good out there, but like I said, I’m always going to be very critical on myself. I
can still obviously grab and tug a little bit more, but it’s feeling good.”
(On DE Josh Hines-Allen calling him one of the most physically gifted defensive ends that
he’s seen) “Me and him get together, we talk a lot of trash to each other, but obviously that’s
because we want each other to be great. We hold each other to a very high standard, but
obviously he felt that way about me and he stated it to the national media. So, I really do
appreciate him for that. And like you said, that’s my counterpart. He does the same thing as
well. He’s very physical as well, and he can rush the passer. So, jack of all trades.”
(On the importance and benefit of having Defensive Coordinator Anthony Campanile return
after head coach interviews) “It’s very important. For him to go even do those interviews,
that’s a statement for this team as well. Obviously, that’s a part of the business, but I’m
glad we got him back and I feel like everything that we want in this organization, I feel like
the trajectory is still on the rise. So, I’m very thankful for him being able to come back.”
(On if regaining his grip strength is the last hurdle to clear injury-wise) “They’ll never be a
last hurdle. So, for that, like I said, there’ll never be a last hurdle. That’s going to be
something that I emphasize this offseason as well, but I’m still emphasizing, sharpening,
getting deeper into my pass-rush bag and even continuously playing the run even better.
So, it’s always going to be something that I have to improve on every day.”
(On whether his knee is back to 100 percent) “To me it feels 100. So, yeah. I about forgot
about it, so we’re good.”
(On if his hand feels 100 percent other than the grip strength) “Yes sir. Yes sir.”
(On why grip strength is important in game) “Man, I’m a defensive lineman, so I’m always
using my hands. So obviously it kind of puts me at a disadvantage to where I’m not able to
strike, or my hands are slipping out of the block, not being able to grab and control but
that’s the main thing. I need my hands to control the blocks, whether it’s in the run or the
pass. So like I said, I’m going to continually emphasize that every day.”
(On DE B.J. Green II off the field) “Man, B.J., he’s one of those guys, he’s very exciting to be
around. He kind of has that same personality, like me and Josh [DE Josh Hines-Allen], we all
like to play around. That’s what I kind of like about the defensive line room. I feel like all of
our characteristic traits kind of match each other. And B.J., he’s one of those guys. Off the
field, he’s just going to have fun. He’s going to do what he has to do, sit back a little bit, he’ll
talk a little trash, too. But he’s one of those guys to kind of sit back, observe, and then he’ll
kind of jump in and have some fun as well.”
(On his ideal positioning along the defensive line) “Sometimes I ask myself that as well, but
for me, I really don’t care, man. Like you said, I’m a team guy, so I want to be in any position
wherever they put me to be able to help the team and I feel like wherever they put me at on
the line, no matter where it’s at, I feel like I can dominate whatever position it is. So, I just
want to come in at practice and work on whatever, wherever it is that they put me.”
(On the energy of the defensive end room) “It’s been great, man. Like you said, we’ve got a
lot of great rookies too that came in. They’re willing to learn. I feel like everybody’s kind of,
even the young guys, if they see something in the drills that some guys might take a step too
far inside, everybody’s being very critical of each other, so I feel like we’re kind of raising
that standard in the room itself to where you don’t have to be a veteran to come in and kind
of critique some things. You’ve been playing football for a while, you can critique these little
bit of details in here, so I feel like the trajectory in the defensive line room, the chemistry
amongst each other, everybody’s willing to take that culture from anybody. So, it is going
great.”
(On how beneficial it is to be in year two of the system and not learning things for the first
time) “Very beneficial. Obviously, we’re coming in from doing some of the things we did last
year, obviously it’s going to be some kind of change up a little bit, but being able to hit the
ground running, remembering some of the things that we did last year and just kind of
taking what we did last year and building on it. Not saying doing exactly what we did last
year, but taking it and advancing it to the next level. I feel like that kind of helps the team get
to where we want to go a little bit faster than we did last year.”
HEAD COACH LIAM COEN
MEDIA AVAILABILITY
JUNE 1, 2026
(On the importance of getting mental reps during OTAs) “So many, as we know, one-score
games in this league that come down to situational execution, situational knowledge.
We’re trying to put these guys in situations to challenge them above the neck because so
much of this time is not physically as challenging, maybe as training camp or in season is.
So really trying to stress them above the neck, go through situations that we had come up
over the season, what around the league came up that we know could come up and show
up for us come this fall. So, a lot of situational work. Two-minute, end of half, end of game,
third down, a lot of third down and get back on track emphasis today. Did red zone on
Friday, had backed-up as well. A ton of situational work, and really we’re just trying to run
ball plays, but also have an understanding of, guys, what’s the sticks? What’s the
understanding of the call that we’re making in this situation? So that they can truly start to
know the why behind what we’re trying to do in situations and not just go execute a call.”
(On improving depth across position groups in the offseason) “I mean, like you said, it’s a
good problem to have and the best will rise and play. But having depth and competition at
every position was something that we were trying to do with the draft. I think ultimately
you’re seeing guys practice harder and play harder and compete harder. Look, when your
safety room is that deep and you have a lot of competition at that position, knowing where
the league is somewhat trending in ways with some of the heavier personnel groupings and
what do you need to do to combat that? As well as having special teams emphasis with
that big, athletic body type and then at the defensive line positions, you’re constantly
looking for guys that can disrupt, but also special teams again, right, comes up and shows
up to where you need to make sure the way that you’re building the roster, you’re trying to
get hats on game day. If they can only play defense or only do this one thing, it makes it a lot
harder to get a hat on game day, unless you’re just sacking the quarterback or making a
million plays on Sundays. Ultimately your backups have to have special teams value. And I
think that was something that we were trying to be intentional about as well throughout the
draft. Hard to see how it’s shaking up now, but pleased with the depth and competition that
it has created.”
(On what he learned about WR Brian Thomas Jr. last season) “Yeah, I mean, I think that
anytime you have a, I guess, quote-unquote setback, I don’t know. I mean, I guess fantasy
and people care a lot about that, but I know we won 13 games, so I’m sure if you’re a
competitor, I know you want your stats and your contributions to be at an all-time high. And
yes, that is a part of this, it’s a part of the puzzle. But the ball gets spread out in this offense
to multiple different players. It doesn’t really just feed through one person. So, I think that
that’s something that he had to work through, we all had to work through. And I’ve been
very pleased with the way that he has attacked this offseason, the way that he takes the
meeting room to the practice and how that’s looked. We’re being a little bit more intentional
about usage and chemistry with him this spring and trying to get a true connection that we
didn’t quite have last spring or last training camp, if you will. So, I’ve been very pleased with
how he’s taken the things that we asked him to do, to get better at, and to be intentional
about those reps. But I know everybody’s, ‘Ah, it’s a down year,’ and fantasy and this, that
and the third. I mean, when you’re on a good team, I think that typically matters a little bit
more.”
(On what it says about Thomas Jr. to record 700-plus yards in a “down year”) “I guess it
speaks to what he definitely—I mean, if that’s his low, right? I think it was more some of the
situational things and taking care of the football and just attacking it in some ways is
something that he’s been working on. When you’re not getting 15 targets a game, it’s kind of
hard to simulate 1300 yards. So, I think he would rather take 800 and 13-4 than 1,300 and
4-13.”
(On if there’s a plan to get OL Anton Harrison snaps at left tackle) “A little. We actually did
talk about it a little bit last week. It’s something that you don’t want to mess with too much
unless you’re going to make a change. I think you look at what Detroit’s doing with [Lions OL
Penei] Sewell, I mean, that’s going to be a long-term change that they’re making. Look, that
was something that we wanted to do a little bit throughout training camp, specifically I
remember in the mock game we did it. That was a little bit more to see how the guys would
react and see what that would look like. We absolutely will do that again. But just also
trying to get him—it’s OTA No. 4, so we’re just trying to get a little bit more of that continuity
and chemistry back before doing that. And look, if that was something he was super like,
‘Man, I want to go play left, this is where I see myself as a player,’ that would probably push
us more in that direction. But we’ve had conversations about it. He’s very comfortable on
the right side. So, I would imagine we would do it again at some point.”
(On how DE Travon Walker has attacked the offseason) “Yeah, I mean, anytime you deal
with a bunch of injuries and don’t have as much a production as you’d like… I think he’s
attacked it the right way. It’s so hard in this setting. Like I told him, I want to be able to take
you off the field, and it’s very challenging until we get pads on to actually do that without
disrupting everything we’re doing. And so, I’ve been pleased with him. I still want him to,
when he is in those situations and settings, just go. That’s something we want to continue
to see. Look, we were number one rush defense last year for a reason. He was a huge part
of that. Now it’s like, alright, we’ve got to be able to stop the run at a high clip and rush the
passer as well at a high clip, which is not going to be fully seen right now. But I’ve been very
pleased with the competitor in terms of the way he’s approached it. His three better, [three]
best, film study is something he’s trying to improve upon and get better at, not just of the
opponent, but of himself. And we’ve actually had him doing some mock game evaluation
throughout the spring of future fall opponents and then watching himself as well. So, just
continuing to educate. But I’ve been pleased with the way that I think he’s in a place where
it’s like, ‘Alright, they like me,’ and not just that, ‘Do they like me? Do they not?’ I think he
knows that he’s somebody that we want to have here for a while and it’s like, dude, just now
let’s go be you and just go let it rip and cut it loose. And hopefully we’ll see more of that
when we get the pads on and he can actually go play.”
(On if there’s any concern with having so many mouths to feed on offense) “No. The job and
goal is to win games, so wherever the ball goes is—I think I saw something over the
weekend that we have a problem because we have pass catchers, just trying to have a
coffee understanding where that could be an issue, but truly don’t care. I mean, I
appreciate and hope every player gets as many touches and yards and touchdowns and
stats as humanly possible. I’d like for every player to get paid and to get new contracts,
whether it’s here or somewhere else. You want that for guys, but not at the expense of wins
and losses. It’s just never going to be the case. So, it’s always really about spreading the
wealth and not just to spread it, but to keep the defense on their toes, not to know where
the ball’s going to go in certain situations, what down and distances that we’re attacking
and who we’re targeting in specific down and distances. I’ve been places and had teams
where you don’t have anybody and they know where you’re throwing the ball and that can
be challenging in and of itself. So, it’s not something that is ever a problem. You’re hoping to
have weapons, you’re hoping to be able to continue to replenish your roster and bring
people in that are going to help your cause. And now it’s about just finding out truly what
they do best all the time, creating that chemistry with Trevor [QB Trevor Lawrence] of what
those guys do best and then leaning into maybe some of the areas in which we need to
improve. And so no, not an issue.”
(On how he feels about the back and forth between offensive success and defensive
success in team periods) “Happier. I mean, I’m happier after practice today than I was
probably on Friday. So, I’m always going to trend or lean my probably attitude and
disposition towards the offense’s success. That’s quite natural for me, I think. But when a
defensive player or a special teamer makes a great play or does something really well,
yeah, sometimes I’ve got to go remind myself to go celebrate that and to be juiced up about
that. But when you’re a football coach, it’s football, right, at the end of the day. I know that
for our team to go where it needs to go, our defense and special teams have to be playing at
a high level and you have to sometimes allow for the defense to have success without it
frustrating you or letting the players see that as well is something that I think I’ve had to
combat a little bit personally. It’s definitely a frustration at times because you’re like, you
just want to see the offense have continued success and to do this every day. It’s not truly
realistic when you have a good defense. If our defense stunk, then I would be a lot happier
probably on a day-to-day basis about the offense, but maybe not as the head football
coach. And so, when you have a defense that’s done some nice things and it continues to
hopefully get better, it’s going to only create competition as you mentioned that we saw
today.
(On how DE Josh Hines-Allen’s overall game has evolved) “I think that was something that I
didn’t quite know about him coming in, his overall game. I had familiarity at Kentucky,
noticed him or followed him from afar as a pass rusher. Then you get around him and you
see the impact and effect that he had on our defense’s culture, their ability to stop the run,
to chase plays down, chase screens down on the perimeter, some of the hustle and plays
that he’s making that aren’t I guess just sacking the quarterback. That was definitely
something that I didn’t have an impression of at first, so to be a year in now and to know
how much impact he had on us being able to stop the run the way we were able to, the
competitor, the chase down, and then also, the leadership aspect of getting guys to play to
our style of play and teaching young guys what that looks like. I’ve been very pleased with
him a year in so far, and hopefully we continue to build on that. It can’t just be him, and I
don’t think it is; it’s a group effort to stop the run and sack the quarterback. It’s not just ever
going to be one guy and I think he’s done a nice job of playing his role and doing a good job
doing that. So, yeah, very pleased with Josh so far.”
