([CB Byron Jones’] pair of Tweets saying that he can’t run or jump from the injuries, said not to take pills or injections from the team. Do you have any response to that? Has he ever expressed any concern or frustration with his rehab in terms of how it was handled and will he be on the team in 2023?) – “Yeah, I said – I was like everyone, I think I was on a flight here (when I heard about it). I was on my way because I had to come in early for some committee meetings. I talked with his agent. We had a good conversation and with Byron (Jones), we’ve always had great communication in terms of he has a very good relationship with our training staff and doctors. So from our end, it’s been very transparent. A lot of really good communication between him, his agent and our trainers and doctors. I think we’re in a good spot. He’s working hard trying to get back and play and he’s been in communication with us through the process. I know you want a reaction, but I really didn’t because we talked to the agent and he was good and I told him, I said we’ll talk to Byron just to check in again with our doctors, once they get through the Combine with all the medicals and stuff here. But no, we’ve had no indication of anything that’s – it’s been a really good working relationship with him.”
(Is the expectation that CB Byron Jones will be on the team in 2023?) – “He’s under contract with us. Right now Vic (Fangio) is back in Florida just looking over the team so obviously he’s going to have some say in this because I think with his scheme and what we’re doing, and we’ll also talk with Byron (Jones), too. So a lot of moving parts right now. I’m not running around the answer, but that’s just kind of where we are right now.”
(Is there confidence CB Byron Jones can play again?) – “I’m not a doctor. I don’t know. I don’t want to speak and not – but we’ve seen him. When I last saw him, he was working out, doing everything he can to try and get back.”
(So do you go on the assumption that if you get CB Byron Jones able to play in 2023, it’s like extra? Or are you counting him as your starter opposite CB Xavien Howard?) – “No, I think you have to look at every option. You always have to look at all the different scenarios and try and plan for best-case and worst-case scenarios. So right now, we’re not making any assumptions on anything and just letting him continue to attack his rehab and see what happens.”
(Have you had discussions with DT Christian Wilkins’ agent about an extension and how much of a priority is that this offseason?) – “Christian, ever since we drafted him, has done nothing but get better each year. He is a tireless worker, as we’ve talked about. You guys have heard me talk about how he works around the building. He’s in every day. He’s still in the offseason. I’ve seen him around more than anyone. He loves the game. He loves our organization. We love him. We’d like to have him here for a long time. But in terms of conversations with agents, we don’t really talk publicly about it, but we would like to have him here a long time.”
(Where do you stand on QB Tua Tagovailoa’s fifth-year option…?) – “Yeah, I think with us, we’re still having all those conversations because there’s a lot of factors that go into that. And I think now that we’re finally finishing up the coaching staff, we’ll focus on some of these answers and coming together with Mike (McDaniel) and I, we’ll sit and talk about it as well as with Mr. (Stephen) Ross and Brandon Shore. So we’ll go through it and we’ll make our decision then. But all expectations, he’s our quarterback and he’s our quarterback here to be successful for a long time.”
(Are the dynamics different for the quarterback position when you have that fifth-year option given how … people are going to take it one way or the other?) – “Yeah, but you try and take that out of it. You just kind of make the decisions that are best for the organization and the team. So there are always factors as a quarterback. That’s the position that everyone talks about. But for us, you just try and remove emotion and try and make good, sound, smart decisions, and hopefully it’s the right one.”
(How big of a priority is finding a starting-caliber offensive lineman? Or do you feel that you have five guys in place?) – “I think the offensive lines we showed last year – we went out and we added Eric Fisher and signed guys and injuries happen, especially at that position. So for us, it’s continuing to add depth at that position and the competition and create spots. The guys made tremendous strides last year. You guys have heard Mike (McDaniel) and Frank Smith talk about how happy he is with the development of some of the young players. Obviously like with Austin (Jackson), he just needs to stay healthy so we can get a full evaluation of him, but with Connor (Williams), Liam (Eichenberg), Rob (Hunt) and obviously Terron (Armstead), we feel we have a good core of guys right there to start with. And Rob Jones and Lester Cotton coming in a playoff game, a young player. So excited about some of the development and potential of some of the players.”
(Are you guys a little more open-minded about OL Robert Hunt as a tackle or do you still personally believe that he has a very high ceiling mostly at guard?) – “Yeah, that’s the great thing about Rob, is that he can play both and excel, but I think where he is at guard, he has a potential to be a special player at guard. And I think he can have the chance to play tackle and he’s done it multiple times. So his versatility and position flexibility as well as Rob Jones, all those guys across the line – Connor can play guard, center. Liam can play tackle if he had to. The position flexibility that those guys all provide is all something, too, that’s exciting for us.”
(This is the first time in a couple years where you guys maybe don’t have an abundance of cap space now entering an offseason. I was curious where you are in the process of freeing up money? It seems like you’re going to have to restructure some guys. What is that dynamic and balance like these three or four weeks?) – “Yeah, this is nothing that’s unexpected for us. We’ve done a good job communicating that and Mr. Ross, we’ve talked to him and knows as well. Brandon Shore and Max Napolitano do a great job of looking at all scenarios for us. But when we make moves and we do trades like we did with (Bradley) Chubb midseason, it’s always with an eye of what things are going to look like and what we have to do. We’ll be fine. It’s always working from that position flexibility that we like and we’ll continue to do that, which provides us opportunities to continue to make moves.”
(On the possibility of RB Raheem Mostert and RB Jeff Wilson Jr. returning) – “Yeah, that was the one we talked about the other day for just a little bit because obviously we traded for Jeff (Wilson) and obviously Raheem (Mostert) and Mike’s (McDaniel) relationship as well, too. So yeah, we’re very open to those guys coming back. We’ve talked about that scenario where they may be back. We may have the same backfield back next year. Obviously they’re free agents and that’ll play a part of it, but we’d be very excited to have them back.”
(When you talk about QB Tua Tagovailoa being the quarterback for a long time, does that include the thought of an extension before the season starts?) – “Yeah, I think all options like I said, we’ll go through it here and we’re going to spend a lot of time here and that’s a good thing, is we’re not rushed to make anything right now. And so we’ll be in touch with Tua’s representatives and Mike (McDaniel) and I and Brandon (Shore) will sit and Steve (Ross) and we’ll make a push for things and we’ll talk and we’ll see where they stand. But like I said, we’re very excited for him. The strides he made this year with Mike (McDaniel) and the offense, you guys have been here and seen it. It was really exciting. And to see the work he’s put in that you guys don’t see at the facility and around, it’s been really incredible. And the dialogue between him and Mike just talking football. I’ve never heard as much football as he talks about Mike (McDaniel) and stuff he sees even from other games. It’s pretty cool to see.”
(And when you’re talking about like a fifth-year option and an extension, durability starts to be a factor because obviously you’re committing for a long time. Do you have any concern about his durability?) – “I can’t lie and say no. But it’s not something that is going to make us afraid to do something long-term with him. The one thing he’s had, he’s been banged up, but he always comes back and bounces back and plays hard and performs, so excited for his future. Excited for watching him doing all the work he’s been doing in the offseason right now to prepare for 2023 and he’s very excited to get back on the field with his teammates.”
(I wanted to ask your thoughts on … last year. Were you self-scouting? What did you learn? What did you do right? What do you need to work on?) – “It’s like everything. We felt we made some good moves, some good players we brought in that impacted us. We were a young team so adding some veteran guys that were leaders but also good players to show these guys how to do things we thought was important. Every move that you make, you’d love for them all to be home runs. We thought we had a really good free agent class last year. Obviously a player like Cedrick Wilson was signed, but then the Tyreek (Hill) trade happened. So that was just different which impacted him. But then end of the year we probably don’t win games without him returning the punts, stepping up to do that and then giving us a chance to win games. So all the guys contributed pretty much, so happy with that. But at the end of the day, I was really proud of the work the scouting staff did in season like with Brandon Shell and those guys that come in and impact us to help us win. So it’s just trying to make good decisions to create depth and competition at positions to keep us in a position to try and win games.”
(When it comes to running backs, could you potentially be more open to taking like an earlier high draft selection than you have in recent drafts?) – “Yeah, I think if there’s a really good player, an opportunity to get a really good player, we can’t pass up anything right now. We need some depth at some spots and at running back, obviously with no one under contract on the roster right now, would be one. And there are some good players in this draft. So we’ll always keep looking and you guys know how Mike (McDaniel) loves his running backs.”
(QB Marcus Mariota and QB Carson Wentz are examples of a couple veterans with pedigree. Interest in potentially one or the other, or someone very much like that?) – “Yeah, we’ve had some preliminary talks, Mike (McDaniel and I, just about the guy to come in and to be the right guy to fit for this offense and what we’re doing. So yeah, every player is on the table. We’ll talk about every one of them. We’ve talked about a couple of them already. But we’ll keep turning it over and try and find the right guy to come in. And the good thing is, I think a lot of people want to come in. They see the excitement of the offense and what Mike’s done. I know the Heisman winner made some noise with his tweet about wanting to play for Miami, which is always pretty cool because they see what Mike has done and his coaching staff has done offensively for us.”
(I was curious as you look to shape this defense in Defensive Coordinator Vic Fangio’s vision and mold, how important of a priority is upgrading inside linebacker and safety this offseason?) – “You’ve heard Vic (Fangio) talk about Jevon Holland, how much he loves Jevon and getting some depth at that position will help with a couple guys there still, and then obviously with Brandon (Jones) coming back off his injury at some point here. The inside linebacker position, yeah, we really have two guys under contract there, so we need to build some depth and create some competition there. And we’ll do that. We’ve had some preliminary talks about stuff, but when we get back, we’ll really hit it with Vic here in these last couple of weeks before the start of free agency.”
(It’s a late-breaking story, obviously with Jalen Carter – is this something that scouting circles thought might be coming? Was it a surprise? And also, when a news like this breaks once before the draft, how much does it kind of rearrange workflow for a player like that?) – “I really just heard it walking over from a previous engagement, so I really can’t comment on it because I don’t really know about, and it’s a situation that if I don’t know anything like that, I don’t really want to comment. But in terms of when a story breaks on a prospect or player, it’s just at the end of the day, you just got to do your work and let it all play out. I mean, obviously, Laremy Tunsil was a situation we had here that we were able to take advantage of a situation that happened. So I don’t really judge anything until you know the facts and what’s going on. It would just be hard to comment.”
(I know you do a lot with the competition committee. Can you maybe detail what that looks like …?) – “It’s interesting to, I guess, kind of get behind the curtain a little bit. I think Troy (Vincent), and Rich McKay, who is the chairman of the committee, do a great job in the room. But it’s really cool to be there and listen to Coach (Mike) Tomlin, and Coach (Mike) Vrabel, the coaches there, Coach (Frank) Reich. And just talk about John Mara, and Stephen Jones, Katie Blackburn, and just talk about everything. You really see how they’re trying to drive the game for improvements. But really it’s a lot of debate, it’s a lot of listening and learning. And then you just have to have an opinion on stuff. You kind of talk to some of the other GMs and or head coaches to see where they feel about things. But at the end of the day, our group, we’re charged with making decisions of whether a proposal should move forward or not. It’s exciting. I’ve enjoyed it. A really good time. Like I said, Troy and Rich have been great and it’s been fun.”
(On the QB sneak and roughing the passer) – “(laughter) Well, I said it, I still think Jaelan’s (Phillips) wasn’t a roughing the passer, but I was in the minority of that one.”
(I want to ask you about your thinking on tight end. First, is what TE Mike Gesicki might be asking outside of your price range or does he not fit this offense? And then going back to price thing, given the salary cap situation, if you do pursue one in the draft, what would your prototype tight end look like? What’s your main quality you’re looking for?) – “I think the great thing about Mike McDaniel is that we’re just talking about what he looks at each position, and he says he can work with any type of tight end. So there’s really not a ‘we have to have this kind.’ So his flexibility in working with having just good players is the one thing that always makes things easier. Mike Gesicki has earned the right to become a free agent, as you heard me say, and he and I had a really good conversation before we left the building. And with him, I said, price range and what it is, I don’t know what his price range would be, but he’s been a good player in the league. He’s been a productive player and I’m sure he’ll have some suitors and like I said, we always say never say never around anything, but he’s earned the right and I’m sure he’s excited to see what his free agency options are.”
(When it comes to the injured players that were out this season – S Brandon Jones, CB Nik Needham, DE Emmanuel Ogbah – are they expected to be ready for OTAs? Or is there any sort of timeline for their return?) – “Yeah, I think with all those injuries, everything’s kind of fluid on that. It’s kind of always hard to say when someone’s going to be back, with their timelines. But I will say all our guys have been in every day working hard to get back. The good thing about living in South Florida, these guys are always around and Troy (Maurer) and Kyle (Johnston), and Nao (Inoue) do a great job, and Jon Boone working with those guys. They enjoy working with them, which is fun, so they’re always in rehabbing. So for us, it’s not rushing them back. It’s just making sure they come back ready to go.”
