HEAD COACH DOUG PEDERSON
MEDIA AVAILABILITY
SATURDAY, AUGUST 5, 2023
(On what it’ll be like having a stadium practice with fans) “It’s going to be a great day, number one. We
get a chance to be able to transition from our new facility particularly on a game day, being able to walk
through and get over here on a game day situation. So, there’s a little bit of that involved, plus having the
military here and the fans here, it’s just going to be a great day and an exciting day for everybody and the
fans. Just looking forward to the next few hours.”
(On what it means for his players and staff to have a dedicated training facility) “It means everything to
us, it’s just exciting to have a place that we call home. It’s an office building, you’re not coming to this
stadium every single day. I was walking in with some players and deep down, you kind of miss it. You
miss walking up and down these hallways. But then, you stop yourself and think, ‘Ah, I don’t know about
that. I kind of like having a window and being able to see the practice fields and all that. Getting back
over here, obviously it’s exciting, the OTA’s were here this spring and all that, but just getting back and
familiar with everything. It’s just a nice little dry run for the season to come.”
(On health status of S Andre Cisco, OL Anton Harrison, and OL Tyler Shatley) “Okay, so Cisco [S Andre
Cisco] is good, he’s back but I wouldn’t put him back in one hundred percent. We’re still going to monitor
him to make sure he’s good to go. Harrison, [OL Anton Harrison] you’re going to see a little more
incorporated today. We’re still progressing him slowly, so he’ll get a couple of reps here and there with the first unit. Shatley [OL Tyler Shatley] is a little different. After practice the other day, he went into A-
Fib, so we got him treated right away. He’s fine, he’s okay, he’s with the team. Everything has calmed down. He’ll be out there today, he’ll be in uniform, but until he’s cleared, he’ll just work on the side and
all that. From a health standpoint, he’s good.”
(On what he wants to find out about his team after the three-day stretch of padded practice) “This is a
grind. This is the grind part of training camp here, and it’s more about the mental toughness at this
point, because we know the season is a long season and things will come up. You have to endorse some
adversity from time-to-time, and there’s going to be some. It’s going to be hot, it’s going to be warm,
guys aren’t going to feel good, coaches aren’t going to feel good. This is what we signed up to do. These
three days are going to show a lot that way, to see who’s really focused and locked in. I’ll take care of
them, with water breaks and different things like that to keep them hydrated and all. This is a good little
stretch. Then, another day off and we prepare for the first preseason game.”
(On if he encourages QB Trevor Lawrence to test receivers’ catch radiuses) “Yeah, you want to try that
stuff. This is the time to do it, to see what guys can and can’t do. Really too, it’s a trust factor for the
quarterback, for Trevor. To be able to put a ball in an area and see a receiver go get it, you remember all
that stuff. We encourage him to try different things, even if a receiver is double-covered, not tightly
double-covered, but covered where he can throw a ball and stick it in there. See what he can get away
with and try to do the same thing with receivers to find out what they can and can’t do.”
(On if the stadium practice today is due to wanting to give fans more than one home preseason game)
“Yeah, a little bit. We got a nice stadium across the way where fans are out there everyday and watching
what we do. This is just a bigger venue to allow more people on a Saturday morning. Just to see the guys
and be around the team and just get that excitement and enthusiasm for the season.”
(On if more snaps will be taken today than a preseason game) “No, not today, no. From a practice
standpoint, we’re still normal. We’re still evaluating and wanting to see everybody practice and get reps.”
(On if any plays will be live at practice today) “Nothing live today, no. Nothing live today.”
(On if anyone is separating themselves in the wide receiver room) “I see Kevin Austin [WR Kevin Austin
Jr.] a little bit, flashing and doing some really good things. Even Elijah Cooks [WR Elijah Cooks] is making
some plays, big, tall guys. Him and Jacob Harris [WR Jacob Harris] both are big, tall guys. Obviously, Tim
Jones [WR Tim Jones] is picking up where he left off a year ago. The other guys are still learning and
improving. I think Kevin has been the one that has done a really nice job embracing that second year,
coming in and understanding what we’re asking him to do in his role. Again, it’s a big training camp for
him and many of those guys.”
(On how much DL Roy Robertson-Harris has grown as a player since he became coach) “Yeah, I think of
him as one of the strong leaders of our football team. I think he’s really embraced the things that we
started teaching last year in training camp. Obviously, it probably wasn’t what he wanted to start the
season but he was another player as the season went on that got better and better. Just understanding
what the defense is, presented, and the techniques and everything that Coach Caldwell [Defensive
Coordinator Mike Caldwell] and Buck [Defensive Line Coach Brentson Buckner] present to him. You just
saw the fact that he works extremely hard in practice and that pays off to a lot of the young guys in that
room. Even this offseason and now this training camp, he’s really taken his game to another level. That’s
what we got to have in that D-line room.”
(On what’s liked out of RB Tank Bigsby) “Outside of the size, speed, athleticism, and all that this kid is a
sponge. He’s really a smart, young running back. He understands defense. One of the things that’s been
really impressive, too, is taking the coaching. Whether it be from Bernie [Running Backs Coach Bernie
Parmalee] or myself or even Phil Rauscher [Offensive Line Coach Phil Rauscher], being able to take that
and apply it to what he’s doing and he’s just improving every day. It’s a really good, competitive room is
what I’m excited about. There’s some really good talent in that room. He’s shown us some really good
things with the competition, where he’s at, TJ [WR Tim Jones] has done a nice job as well. I would even
say he’s a better pass catcher. Of course, in college, they didn’t throw it to him a bunch, but he’s a really
good pass catcher in the backfield.”
(On what’s been seen out of WR Parker Washington) “Parker is another one who sits behind Christian
[WR Christian Kirk] and Ags [WR Jamal Agnew] all the time, and he sits there and studies them and
watches them. He is strong, he is powerful, he’s another one that’s probably not a blazer, but at the
same time, he’s very quick in and out of breaks and transitions. He’s a smart receiver, he’s learning our
system, he’s getting better there every day. I really see him coming up in these preseason games,
whether he gets a punt return or a kickoff return or something like that, are all things that as a coaching
staff that we can evaluate him and see. But he’s done a really nice job for us.”
(On if WR Parker Washington is similar to WR Christian Kirk) “Not yet, not yet. Christian is lightyears
ahead. I can see him being in that type of role, let’s say. I will say this, he’s probably more of an inside
guy, where Christian can play both inside and out.”
(On what’s been seen out DL Folorunso Fatukasi’s progression) “Just how he’s attacked this training
camp. He came in, great frame of mind, he wanted to get back to the player he was when we evaluated
him as a free agent. He’s done that. He’s been really impressive in these two weeks, he’s coming off the
ball pad-levels low, and you’re starting to see those signs of a second-year player in our system, much
like Roy [DL Roy Robertson-Harris] where their game now can go to the next level. He’s really embraced
that. Again, he understands that, and he knows where he needs to be in and he’s heading in that
direction.”
(On expectations of DL Folorunso Fatukasi) “He’s going to be somebody that can hopefully dominate the
middle or interior of that offensive line. He’s our guy in the middle, and you want him to be able to push
the pocket and generate some power there. Especially if he’s working as a nose and working one-on-one
with centers and things like that. That’s the expectation. It goes back to just keeping players in the right
spots and making sure they can be the best there. That’s what he’s done, and just taking his game one
more notch up. His expectations are high and so are ours and he’s on the right track.”
(On growth that OL Walker Little has shown) “Quite a bit. He’s been a guy that you say, okay, he can play
tackle, he can play guard, we can move him around a little bit. Obviously, we feel like his best position is
tackle. But again, I think the versatility that he has shown us is very valuable. The fact that he can move
inside and play guard if need be. Again, his maturity, he didn’t play a ton of snaps in college, obviously
here, they saw something that excited them, and it’s the same things that excite us. He’s done a nice job
these first couple weeks of camp and he’s another player that’s really embraced his opportunity.”
(On what type of identities he has seen from the team so far) “On offense, just being multiple and
moving our guys around. We talk a lot about the run game, play action, all of that is critical. But our
offense needs to be fluid. That identity needs to be fluid, it needs to be something that’s changing every
week, being able to put our guys in positions to move around our skills guys. That’s something we’ve
been able to establish these first couple of weeks. The guys have done a nice job of that. I think
defensively is being aggressive and physical up front. We do understand that generating pass rush in this
league is a lot of it. Being able to stop the run and all of that, I think is really where our defense’s strong
suit is, being physical. Those are just a couple of areas. Then you look at special teams and where we
finished. We want to pick up where we left off last year. We want to be dominate in the return game, and
then we want to be able to pin our opponents deep in their territory, things like that. Good coverage
units, we pride ourselves on being physical there as well.”
