| November 2, 2022 Opening Statement: “Injuries, so we’ll see where (Lions RB D’Andre) Swift’s at. I do think he feels better now than he kind of was last week, so that’s a good sign. I think we see him working through the week, and I think he’s going to be better. But we’ll gauge that today. (Lions DL) Charles Harris will work back into practice. (Lions S) DeShon Elliott will work back into practice. (Lions CB) Mike Hughes will work back into practice. We start (Lions FB Jason) Cabinda’s clock today, so he’ll start practicing. So that’s the state of the roster, where we’re at.” On how he keeps players focused on the schedule in front of them instead of all the personnel moves happening: “Yeah, you just emphasize it that this is reality of the situation. You don’t sugarcoat it. You say it for what it is, and these are the things we have to do moving forward. It’s still – in terms of playing the game and getting better, it’s still about improving. It’s still about all the little details, the fundamentals, turnovers, takeaways, penalties, and that all happens in practice, starts in practice, started in the walkthrough and then it goes to our practice, so it’s all about staying focused on those things.” On why the trade sending former Lions TE T.J. Hockenson to the Vikings had to happen: “Well, I think (Executive Vice President and General Manager) Brad (Holmes)’s going to address you guys later is my understanding, so I know he’s going to answer a lot of those things.” On how involved he was in trading former Lions TE T.J. Hockenson to the Vikings and if he had any insight that it was happening: “Yeah, (Executive Vice President and General Manager) Brad (Holmes) and I, I mean, we are in constant contact, so I was aware of it.’ On his message to the players after trading former Lions TE T.J. Hockenson: “Yeah look, I’ve simply told them that this is a business decision, and there’s nothing personal, and I’ve got a lot of respect for T.J. as does everybody and wish him the best until we play him again. And no hard feelings, man. We talked yesterday, all’s great, and I just told him that and told them that what I have to judge is, well, where does his production go now? And I have to feel OK with that production going to (Lions WR Amon-Ra) St. Brown, (Lions WR Kalif Raymond) Leaf, (Lions WR Josh) Reynolds, (Lions RB D’Andre) Swift, another carry for (Lions RB) Jamaal (Williams) and the other tight ends. And I feel OK with that.” On if the trade sends a message to the current players that the team is playing for next season: “No, I told them exactly verbatim what I just – what I just told you is what I told them, and that’s how I view it and that’s how I told them. And so, there’s more food on the table now for our other skill players on offense.” On the readiness of Lions TEs Brock Wright and James Mitchell to replace the production left by former Lions TE T.J. Hockenson: “Yeah, so Brock is – he’s been in the concussion protocol. We expect him to pass. He’s already – Phase 2 has passed, so he’ll work in a little bit today, move around and so we anticipate having him for the game. Mitchell is – every week gotten a little bit better. He hasn’t gotten a heavy load, but this will be – he’s going to get more on his plate now, and we think he’ll be ready for that. We think he’s going to be ready for that. He works hard, he’s smart, and then there’s a chance we bring (Lions TE Shane) Zylstra or we’ll look at (Lions FB Jason) Cabinda too, see how he practices through the week. So, we have some flexibility here to decide what we’re going to do.” On if there were any changes to the offensive scheme after former Lions TE T.J. Hockenson was traded: “Not necessarily. I mean certainly there will be things that we’ll do that’ll revolve around the other players more than what he was to an extent, but we’re going to still do what we do if that makes sense.” On if Lions TE Brock Wright was ruled unable to play by a spotter in Sunday’s game against the Dolphins and if it was similar to Lions WR Amon-Ra St. Brown’s concussion protocol case: “Yes, I would say that he had a little more symptoms than really Saint had. So, there was a little something that he had, but I know Monday, or excuse me, Tuesday, yesterday, he was pretty clear. I mean he felt good. He didn’t feel anything, and now it’s just about going through the protocol.” On the difficultly of preparing for Packers QB Aaron Rodgers this week: “Well, we all know what kind of quarterback he is. It’s the same song and dance. He’s seen every look you can see. He’s always three steps ahead. He’s mobile, he can move in the pocket. He’s got a great arm. I mean, he just – he’s one of the greats for a reason. So, he’s somebody that we know the damage that can be done with him. And so, certainly trying to close the pocket in on him will go a long way. And we’ve got to challenge these receivers.” On Lions LB Alex Anzalone saying Packers QB Aaron Rodgers is still capable of being himself despite Green Bay’s performance this season: “Yeah, I agree with that. But I agree with it for their team too. That’s what they’ve known, and so they’ve got plenty of guys over there that are capable of making plays. They have some good players. And look, they’ve got a lot of pride. They want to get out of the mess no different than we do. So, we’re both seeking the same thing is to break a losing streak.” On how he navigates the feeling of exhaustion given the team’s record so far this season: “Yeah look – listen it’s a – nobody will tell you it’s easy. But I do know this, man, if we don’t come back in on a day like today, on a Wednesday and have a great game plan ready, and for them to believe that we believe in this game plan, and them in the game plan doing these jobs that we feel like fit them perfectly against our opponent with enthusiasm and energy, you’ll never get there. And so, that falls on us and that’s what we do. It’s a – today was – it’s a restart, man. No different than any Wednesday, we came in, we’ve got to have energy and we believe in the plan that we put together. And we want the players to know we believe in them and this plan with them involved in it.” On how he personally internalizes trading former Lions TE T.J. Hockenson to the Vikings: “Yeah, look honestly I look at it for it’s an opportunity for other guys and as good as T.J. was, there’s things that we’ll be able to do better potentially, having other guys on the field. I mean, that’s – there is always some of that give and take no matter what player’s out there.” On where he thinks the team could be better without former Lions TE T.J. Hockenson: “I’m not answering that. I’ll be giving away a game plan.” On if there is a constant theme with the team’s performance in the second half of games and if he likes the adjustments he is making at halftime: “Yeah, listen it’s – here’s what I do know is that game for example, we lost our momentum. And well, why did we lose it? And I think one of the first things that does come to mind is the penalties. And now that being said, we’ve got to be able to overcome that. That’s what good teams are able to do. They can overcome those penalties and really offensively, in particular we’ve been able to do that early in the year at times. I mean, we’ve – better than we were last year. But we can’t let something negative that does happen – because look, inevitably there are going to be some penalties that happen in a game. If you’re playing it the right way you’ll have a couple. Now, we’re not talking about a slew of them. But you’ll have to be able to overcome those and certainly, when that happens we can’t let them stunt our momentum. And at that point if it’s not happening there, it’s got to happen from the defense. They’ve got to pick up the slack. Get the ball back to the offense and vice versa. So, you guys have heard me talk about it. There’s so much about complementary football, or our special teams have to come up with a big play. We have to get a blocked punt or we – create a takeaway. Things of those nature.” On what he thinks the secondary’s identity could be under new oversight of the group: “Yeah, look I think really a hybrid, a little bit of both. And I think we’re going to cater to our players’ strength is what we’re really going to hone in on particularly this week.” On Lions Safeties Coach Brian Duker and what he brings to the defensive backs room: “Yeah, listen he’s highly intelligent. He’s a good teacher. He’s really good in game situations as well. I think there’s – just him in general will be – look, he and (Lions Defensive Coordinator Aaron Glenn) AG worked together at Cleveland years ago and I know he’s got a lot of faith in him. But there’s – I think there’s some things that they both believe in and there’s ways that we can really just simplify the tools in their toolbox is the best way to say that, that’ll help. It’ll help everybody back there.” LIONS QB JARED GOFF QUOTE SHEET November 2, 2022 Opening Statement: “I’ll just open up talking about (former Lions TE) T.J. (Hockenson) right now. Yeah, obviously I’ll miss him. He’s a tremendous player and a guy that I grew close with. And it sucks going through that with a teammate. Mostly, just seeing him in the building every day and not being able to be around him. But yeah, wish him the best and I’ll know he’ll be successful and do his thing, and happy for him and hope everything works out for him. But if you have any questions about the Green Bay Packers, I’d love to answer them.” On what the team loses offensively after trading former Lions TE T.J. Hockenson: “He’s a good playmaker. He’s a good player. I hate it, he’s a good player.” On other skill players being able to get more opportunities after trading former Lions TE T.J. Hockenson to the Vikings: “Yeah, there’s more food on the table, right? That’s just kind of the way it is and yeah, certainly for those guys.” On what trading away former Lions TE T.J. Hockenson may signal with a 1-6 record: “I opened it up with that so that we didn’t have to do this. And I respectfully – it’s not my decision. It’s – I’m a player here and I do my best every day, and it’s up to them. But again, I’d appreciate it if that would be it, respectfully.” On the Packers defense going into Sunday: “Yeah, they’ve been really good on defense. (Packers Defensive Coordinator) Joe Barry’s a guy I got to know really well in LA and has done a great job with them defensively. And I think they’ve got a lot of good players first of all. They’ve got a lot of studs kind of at every position, front, middle and back. And can do some things to hurt you, so we’ll be aware of (Packers LB Rashan) Gary for sure. See what the status is on (Packers LB De’Vondre) Campbell and I think (Packers LB) Quay Walker’s a great player as well and can do a lot of good things.” On what he has learned about Lions TE Brock Wright as a player since being with the team: “Yeah, I think Brock’s done a good job progressing and becoming a guy that I can rely on. A guy that has really kind of come into his own, he’s playing with some confidence now and can do some good things. He’s developing as a pass-catcher, and I think even back to this time when we played Green Bay last year, he had a nice touchdown catch and another nice catch there in the fourth quarter over the middle. So, he’s becoming that threat in the passing game. He does a tremendous job in run blocking but has developed as a pass-catcher.” On how much practice time he gets with Lions TE James Mitchell compared to Lions TE Brock Wright: “Similar, very similar. I think he’s coming in as more of a pass-catcher for sure. He did a little bit of that in college and has that in his DNA, and so has done a good job with that developing that, and I’ve seen it today, and even on scout team, we kind of saw it develop as this season has gone on. And again, a guy that I’ve slowly started to become very trustworthy with, and it’s really all that matter when these guys are running routes and catching passes for us.” On his experience seeing the Rams trade for former Rams CB Aqib Talib and the impact a trade has on the locker room: “Yeah, I’ve been on both sides of it. Yeah, I’ve been in the acquiring, and I’ve been in the losing a player. I think it’s hard to explain, but each decision is made in the best interest of the team, and you have to trust that, and you have to believe that. And that’s the only you can move forward. And with that, when we acquired in LA, we traded away players too, so like – right, so you don’t know, is this going to work? Who knows? But it’s always trusting upstairs and being a good player and a good teammate.” On the process of forming chemistry with Lions TEs Brock Wright and James Mitchell and if they will put an increased emphasis in practice on establishing a connection between him and the tight ends: “Yeah, I don’t know if that – we have our chemistry. Me and Brock have had a lot of reps together. James would be the one where him and I are catching up to speed a little bit. More so just because he’s just getting heathy in the last couple months here, but Brock and I have a lot of reps together, and specifically going back to last year where he had to play quite a bit at times, and I feel good with Brock. Certainly, there will be some things moving forward that we’ll have to dial in with those guys, but I’m sure we won’t ask them to do anything that they’re not capable of, so it’s all stuff that they’ve been doing.” On if there is a theme with the offense’s second-half struggles: “Yeah, typically self-inflicted it’s been, and that’s kind of the frustrating part. I wish I could say, ‘Yeah, the defense came out and did something we weren’t expecting and it kind of caught us off guard.’ And that hasn’t been the case. It’s been self-inflicted, and for a variety of reasons, but this past week unfortunately, it was some penalties. I think though, with that being said, how can we – like every team is going to have a bad drive here or there. They’re going to have penalties, they’re going to have turnovers. How do we put it away and move on and get back to what we do quicker the next drive, respond? And I think that’s kind of where the emphasis is put, less on, ‘Hey guys, let’s avoid mistakes,’ more on, ‘Hey, let’s respond after them.’” |
| Allen Park, Mich.— The Detroit Lions announced today that they have traded TE T.J. Hockenson to the Minnesota Vikings (pending physical). In addition, Detroit traded a 2023 fourth-round draft selection and a conditional 2024 draft selection to Minnesota in exchange for a 2023 second-round draft selection and a 2024 third-round draft selection. A former first-round pick in the 2019 NFL Draft (eighth overall) out of Iowa, Hockenson appeared in 47 games (42 starts) for Detroit and recorded 186 receptions, 2,068 yards (11.1 avg.) and 15 touchdowns during that span. |
