SAFETY TASHAUN GIPSON SR.
MEDIA AVAILABILITY
TUESDAY, AUGUST 13, 2024
(On the feeling of returning to Jacksonville) “…Five years, so as soon as I got off the plane
and pulled into the stadium, it was just a whole different ball game. I came here last year,
we didn’t see this side of the stadium, obviously. So just seeing this is just super cool, man.
You can see that things are turning around here, obviously on the field and off the field.”
(On what he’s noticed about the energy around the team) “I mean, it’s the youth, obviously,
and just the energy around here. The guys have welcomed me in. I think that a lot of these
guys—I’m old enough to be some of these guys’ dads, man. Some of these guys, I
remember Jarrian [CB Jarrian Jones] was just like, ‘I used to watch you in seventh grade.’
And I was just like, ‘Man, don’t tell me that anymore.’ He’s like, ‘I was in the sixth grade when
you came in the league.’ Obviously, it’s humbling, the respect that the guys have given me
since I stepped foot in this locker room. Obviously just being any sort of assistance to these
guys. Got a lot of great young players, man. I’m excited to just be able to give those guys
what I’ve got physically and mentally for sure.”
(On using the next two weeks to prepare himself) “Yes, obviously they’re huge. They’re
huge, just getting back into the groove of things, obviously. It was a long season last year,
coming off of the Super Bowl loss. But coming here, just getting my body back acclimated
to football and things of that no matter how much you train, you just can never get ready for
football shape or Florida weather. Being here, obviously, the old days back in the day, you
just can’t duplicate this Florida heat. So obviously it’s just huge, just getting myself
acclimated with the playbook, familiar with the team, and just kind of breaking bread with
these guys, showing face. Just tapping in with a lot of the guys and just letting them guys get
a feel for me and getting a feel for these guys. So just moving forward, just being a resource
for everybody.”
(On bringing his playoff experience to the young team) “It’s huge, I think that it is huge. I look
back at the time when I was a young guy here and we had that push in 2017, they brought
guys in like [Miami Dolphins DT] Calais Campbell. You think about those guys were huge for
this team. Those guys, you bring in guys like Calais and guys like Malik [former NFL DT Malik
Jackson] who had that playoff experience. That was huge for us. We were young guys. I was
the oldest guy in the room at 25 years old at the time. Looking back on that, just the
knowledge of the game. Everybody’s physically gifted, but the thing about it, mentally it’s
just the understanding of how the game—just little tidbits that you can give these young
guys. They’re all physically talented or else they wouldn’t be here, but a lot of the things are
above the shoulders. Some things talent can’t do: age and wisdom, and I’m a little long in
the tooth. I try to spread wisdom as much as I can to these young guys and hopefully, it
sticks to them. It could just be that extra play that might be a game changer that could get
us to where we need to go.”
(On what it will be like to miss games) “I’ve been thinking about it ever since it came out.
Just wanted to know what it’d be like watching football from the house in the fall. I had a
scare in 2022. I got signed a couple of days before the last preseason game. That was
probably the closest I’ve had to this. But besides that, it’ll be an unfamiliar territory for me.
But obviously, I’m grateful for the opportunity. I’m grateful that they had enough respect for
me as a man, as a player, as a person to bring me in here and give me an opportunity. Like I
said, nothing but love for the city, the organization from the bottom of my heart. We’re just
going to approach this thing, and right now we’re in the building. I’m just going to try to be a
resource and try to pick these guys’ brains and kind of go from there.”
(On if he’ll try to get his old number, 39, back) “I wish, but I don’t know. Like this right here,
you all are not used to this. I’m not used to this, and don’t get used to this. All right, 47, I
don’t know, man. I would like to get it back, but at this point, if he [K Cam Little] has ties to
it, I think I’m going to have to find another number. But 39 always has a special place in my
heart for sure.”
(On his role on the 2017-18 Jaguars defense and if he’s been on a similar defense) “I tell
people, and I was asked this question in 2022 in San Francisco. That was a collection of
some of the best football players I played with. People ask me all the time, and I say it’s
hard to compare because that 2017 team was special. A lot of those guys are lifelong
friends that I still keep in contact with. I’m neighbors with [former Jaguars safety] Barry
Church. That was my running mate back then. I still talk to J-Ram [Dolphins CB Jalen
Ramsey]. He still is an angry dude all the time. But we just came in here with attitude. There
was just a bunch of guys with attitudes. We wanted to prove ourselves and we were hungry.
We were that young team that nobody gave us respect. We had to go out there and demand
it. That team will always have a special place in my heart, man. I was talking to one of the
trainers about that team. I mean, that year was a special year. You guys witnessed that. It
was a year that I will always remember. It just was different. It was just we bought into it.
We bought into it. That was the hardest training camp of our lives, and we complained
every single day. Every day. But the results paid off and the success that we had, it was just
a blessing. So just to be able to be back where that kind of thing started, it’s just super
humbling and I’m excited for the opportunity.”
(On the longevity of his NFL career) “First and foremost, God. First and foremost, I’ll say
that. I’ve always had that chip on my shoulder. Just being an undrafted guy, I thought that
was something that I used to hate. Even after Pro Bowls and accolades, they still referred to
me as an undrafted free agent. That thing just used to always push me and it’s just
something that I always stayed humble and always worked because I always felt like I never
would get the same luxury as those first-round guys. So just staying grounded, no matter
the accolades, no matter the success I’ve had, I just always felt like each year could be that
year. I mean, going through things in your career, you get cut a couple of times and you look
at yourself. Sometimes, I’ll admit, you’ve got to question yourself, like, ‘Man, why is this
happening?’ When those things happen, you’ve just got to put your big boy pants on and
you’ve got to go back to work. I think that everything that I went through in my career from
the time being undrafted to this point, made me humble, made me work hard and just
always understanding that, it’s a blessing to play in the National Football League. Being
here is a blessing of a lifetime and I never take it for granted.”
(On playing with DT Arik Armstead during his time on the San Francisco 49ers) “I love AA,
man. He was kind of like that guy who liked everybody. He was one of the guys that when I
first got to San Francisco, he welcomed me. Just one of those guys that sits at the locker,
breaks bread with you and just kind of get to know you as a player, as a person—and that’s
two years ago in San Francisco. So, to be able to be here with him now, first thing I did when
I’d seen the man, gave him a hug, and we wrapped a little bit, we talked. I’ve got nothing but
the ultimate respect for him. Ultimate pro. Jacksonville got a great one with him. I’m excited
to be back with a guy like that. Not only is he a great player, but he’s a great teammate and
even better leader. These are the type of guys that you want to bring into your organization
to help turn things around. Jacksonville got a good one. I’m excited to be back with my guys
with him.”
OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR PRESS TAYLOR
MEDIA AVAILABILITY
TUESDAY, AUGUST 13, 2024
(On what WR Brian Thomas Jr. accomplished in the game and his confidence moving
forward) “Yeah, I think that catch can go a long way. I mean, I think you saw kind of the
energy that he had after the catch. Then the cool part was our sideline; everybody kind of
erupted at that time and you saw the guys go wild for him, come on the field, give him high
fives, all that type of deal. Because we’ve seen that partially, we see that skill set flash all
the time, he makes plays here and there, he’s done it through spring, done it through camp,
and guys are just excited for him. Anytime a rookie comes in, puts his head down, works
hard, guys can root for that. Everybody wants him to have success—like all of our guys—
and so when a guy makes a play like that, it’s a good thing for him moving forward, but for
everybody around him as well to see that and believe in him.”
(On the difference between calling plays on the field compared to in the coaches’ box)
“There’s a difference just in terms of what you see. Obviously, up in the box, it’s more
sterile, it’s just a calm environment. You can kind of spread out your call sheet, look around
a little bit. Then on the field, there’s more emotion that could be involved, probably not in
the preseason game, but in the regular season games there’s a lot more emotion that goes
into it. It’s nice to be able to look guys in the eye when they come off, talk to them on the
side, go sit next to other coaches as you get going with things, hitting through your next run
list, that’s all stuff we did through the headset, but now just going and having that face-to-
face interaction, that’s nice as well.”
(On if he liked being on the field and if he’s decided where he’ll be) “I liked it on the field,
and we’ll probably do it again this week, I assume, and just keeps seeing how it goes. It’s a
work in progress for everybody as a coaching staff. Okay, now who’s providing down and
distance up top? Who am I going to talk to between plays, between series, how are we
getting through things? When Coach [Head Coach Doug Pederson] is over on defense
during a defensive drive, how are we getting his—am I just going to go talk to him directly?
Do we wait for him to come back and communicate our thoughts at that point in time? So,
there’s a lot that as you work through the preseason of who provides what in the
communication in the headset that you just continue to work through. We’ll change, maybe
somebody else will do down and distance this week as we go and change the order of
communication in between drives and things like that. But we’re testing a lot of things.”
(On if he was in the box or field during his time with the Philadelphia Eagles and
Indianapolis Colts) “In Philly, I think three of my eight years, I was on the field. Then in Indy, I
was in the box.”
(On if WR Parker Washington’s skillset is different than others in the receiver room) “Yeah, I
think all those—I don’t think any of those guys are the same which is cool. That’s kind of
what you want. A lot of teams, a lot of places I’ve been, we talk about building a receiver
room, we talk about building a basketball team. You need your guy that has different roles
within the offense that they can do things. But you also want a little bit of blend, where if
somebody can’t do something or to keep away from tendencies, this guy has to have some
sort of aspect. So, I think they all have their own unique traits and things they do really,
really well. Then there’s enough crossover that it’s not going to be this guy that can only run
this. If we don’t have that guy available, we can’t run these schemes, we can’t run this
route, whatever that may be. Parker’s certainly one of those guys. He’s got a lot of play
strength, a lot of good quickness. We’re kind of trying to find the role he could play and
maximize throughout the year. You want everybody that’s available to you on game day to
have some sort of role. I think we’ve tested him and we’ve been very pleased with what
we’ve seen so far of him playing out of the slot necessarily—I’m talking about outside
receiver. He’s provided a role out there throughout camp that’s encouraging to see because
obviously we feel very good about our slot receiver right now and Evan [TE Evan Engram]
working out of the slot as well. For Parker to have a role and have something on game day
contributing outside is going to be another part of the game he can bring to us.”
(On this team having the most offensive depth of all his years in Jacksonville) “Yeah, that’s
probably fair to say. Yeah, I think the back end of your roster really shows in the preseason
obviously and we feel good about the development we’ve had throughout the course
across a lot of position groups. The back end of the offensive line, it didn’t feel like there
was much of a drop-off when those guys came in the game, which is what you really want
to see. And a lot of it, which is cool to see, is just they’re carrying things that we’ve tried to
emphasize since April over out into the field. That’s something that you want to go from the
meeting room to the practice field, from the practice field to the game, and we were
encouraged with what we saw so far.”
(On what he saw from QB Mac Jones and QB C.J. Beathard and their expected play time vs.
Tampa Bay) “Yeah, I think part of the success you see, or not quite the drop off you see, is
we have capable guys leading the huddle there. Guys that have played a lot of football, that
have a lot of starts under their belt, which is probably pretty rare for a preseason game that
you have so many guys that have so much starting experience in the NFL. I think that’s a big
thing. I think there’s a lot of confidence when they call plays in the huddle, the guys know
they know what they’re doing, they execute really well. I think those guys playing well helps
a lot of other guys play really well. The joint practice is a really good opportunity for us to
put our quarterback in a lot of situations without exposing them to taking hits. We can work
a lot of third-and-long type things that you may have to hold the ball. We can introduce
some new concepts that we’ve been trying to invest in a lot through camp that now we get a
new defense to test them against, but maybe we don’t want them out there to the world yet
and we’re still working through some things. Then, I think as far as reps with those guys in
the game, I think there’s a good chance, however it sorts out—and Coach will make the
final decision on it—I think there’s a good chance you probably see those guys play a little
bit more than you did the other day, at least.”
(On how much he can learn from offenses during joint practices) “Well, that’s a good
question. I think a big part of it is for us, we want our guys to see guys that they haven’t
played against a lot. You start to get a Darby [CB Ronald Darby] against Brian Thomas so
many times, they have a good feel for each other. There’s less risk involved from both sides
of what we’re trying to do here. They know it, we know it, we’re trying something different.
You tend to play a little bit differently. So, it amps up the competitiveness, it amps up kind
of the unknown, which is the cool part—that’s football for us. But there’s still a protected
environment, which is a good thing. But I think for us too, as an offensive staff, there’s a lot
of things we want to see if they’re good, see if we’re good at these certain things. Maybe we
need to see a new scheme to test some of them. We’re trying to build tapes and learn
about it and teach it for our guys as we get into this stuff. There’s a lot to learn. I really enjoy
it. I think we get a lot out of it. Again, it’s who you’re working with and the environment they
have on their staff, and the way they work and what you’re getting out of it. I think it will be a
great experience.”
(On if joint practice would be a good chance to figure out the state of the offensive line)
“Yeah, I still think there’s no live periods in it, so I think, ultimately, that’s what it is. It’s
taking us to the ground as football. So, there’s not that, but I think you’ll see just, this has
been a very good defense for a really long time. I think we’re excited for that challenge going
against these guys.”
(On what stood out about RB Tank Bigsby’s performance) “I think it’s just a continuation of
the development we’ve seen from him and what we expected. He got in training camp, he
runs hard. He’s very physical. Tank is an appropriate name for him. I think he’s just
continued to grow and develop, and you see that confidence just like all these second-year
players. They look like different players. They’re the same guy, but things slow down.
They’re confident in the system. They’re confident in the things they’re asked to do. They’re
confident in their ability to go play. You see a little bit more looseness, I guess, with the guys
and the way they operate in pregame, the way they play. It’s not the big eyes. It’s kind of—
they know they belong at this point in time. That was cool to see as each quarter went on,
different guys made plays and had opportunities. That was just fun to see, and you expect
another week of that now as we get into it and more guys to do that.”
(On OL Cooper Hodges’ debut performance) “I think he showed physicality, which across
the board was something we were excited to see with our guys. Coming off the football,
putting their hands on people, finishing blocks. There’s a lot to improve on, which is what
we’d expect after Preseason 1, but it was good to see Cooper out there being physical,
covering the football down the field, and I thought he did a good job.”
(On QB Trevor Lawrence taking ownership of the offensive schemes) “That’s been going on
since we started the offense. It’s empowering your quarterback. We’ve tried to make that
clear to him from the get-go, and I would think he has accepted that and understands that.
But there is constant dialogue with all those guys. I mean, whether it’s text messages, face-
to-face meetings, whatever that may be, let’s talk through this. I mean, as we go through
camp, we’ll spend time meeting. We might watch one concept for an hour and talk through
the details of it. When do we like it? When do we not? What’s our issue with this concept?
How do we change it? So, they have a great deeper understanding of what we’re trying to
accomplish. We’ll talk through personnel. Who’s good at this? Who’s not? How do you like
this? What does it complement? What complements it? Then that just allows him to now,
he’s fully confident in a certain play. Or, ‘Hey, let’s try this with a different route.’ Then we’ll
go into camp and try it against our defense with something else. It may be, ‘Hey, we have to
ask Ryan [Defensive Coordinator Ryan Nielsen] for a certain coverage,’ ‘Hey, can you give us
this look and we want to see how something plays out?’ But now as you get into Tampa, you
try some of those things. You’re getting new defenses, you’re getting new coverages, and so
you kind of test some of the things you’ve been talking about since April, May, June,
whatever that was.”
(On what he’s seen from RB Jalen Jackson) “He’s done a good job like all these young guys,
just getting better every single day. Understanding our targeting, the synchronization of
some of the combination blocks in the zone run scheme. And then all these guys just—
things happen fast. The game the other night happened a little faster than practice has
been happening. Joint practice will be a little step up from some of the looks we’ve had,
and then they’ll get an opportunity to play in this game again. You see those guys all kind of
settle in and understand that. I go back to a wide zone run we had earlier in camp. He
makes one cut, he makes another cut at the second level, and we’re trying to explain to
him, ‘You’re probably not going to get that second cut off.’ Then you get in a game, you see
him put his foot in the ground, get vertical, run behind his pads. It’s encouraging to see the
things that maybe happened in week one of training camp, and he improved in week two,
and then it carries over to the game field. He’s done a good job with the opportunities he’s
had, and we’re excited to see his development moving forward.”
WIDE RECEIVER PARKER WASHINGTON
MEDIA AVAILABILITY
TUESDAY, AUGUST 13, 2024
(On having a fresh start this season) “Definitely. Offseason, being able to get some good
work in. I mean, I was coming off of injury, coming into my rookie year, so I’ve been just
trying to build from that and grow, and develop and continue to get more healthy. That
offseason time was good for me. It does feel like a fresh start being pretty much fully
healthy and just ready to roll.”
(On building trust with QB Trevor Lawrence) “Everything’s earned. Respect is earned. Put a
lot of good work in this off season and I just wanted to put my best foot forward each day
during OTAs and now to the start of training camp. That’s what it’s all about. You want to
earn trust from your teammates and continue to build that trust as you continue to go. So,
it’s been exciting and I just want to continue to build on that and continue to grow.”
(On the challenge of adjusting to the new kickoff rules) “No doubt. It’s definitely different. I
don’t know if it’s like a punt return, backyard, playground—I don’t know. It’s just kind of
crazy. It feels like players are just all over the place. But I feel like it’s more exciting. You can
make more exciting plays and it’s no more fair catching. It’s going to be fun. But like I said,
we’re still trying to figure that process out. But it’s been real fun.”
(On WR Elijah Cooks’ potential) “No doubt. I’m about to say, even from last year, he catches
everything. If we talk about who I want to catch the go route or the fade ball at the end of
the game, game on the line, I’m picking E. Cooks. I’m about to say, I wish I could catch like
that or I wish I was 6’4″, 6’5″ like that. But that’s what he does, he just catches everything. I
mean, he’s always looking to grow. Always looking to develop, asking questions, learning
from the vets. We’ve both done a good job with that. I’m excited for him.”
