P Thomas Morstead
(On Damar Hamlin collapsing in the Monday Night Football game) – “Look, it was on the biggest stage – Monday Night Football, the whole world is watching. It’s something that we’re told as players that the teams are prepared for, but I personally have never seen that in action. Just talking to players today, we addressed it as a team. We talked about it before we talked about anything to do with our plan for the week, and really, the message for me personally was he’s fortunate that that happened where it happened. You want to either be on an NFL football field or in the emergency room when something like that happens. I think there’s over 30 medical specialists that have all sorts of different specialties that are on the field. And from everything that we’ve seen and that we’ve been told, the response was about as good and swift and quick as it could have been. Obviously, it’s a scary thing for people to witness. I don’t want to drudge through the details of it, but it’s not just players that you worry about. It’s players’ wives, girlfriends, families and kids that see that. It was just more of a reinforcement that we really do have the best specialists in the world that are looking out for us and caring for us. A lot of times – I know we’ve had some things happen this year medically that have been questioned, and we’re always looking to get better as a league, and I know the players are always wanting to kind of make gains in that area as well. But I hope that the league and the union and everybody would highlight, regardless of the outcome – we’re all praying for a very positive one, and it looks like it’s trending in the right direction, but I would hope that the league and the union and players and everyone would really celebrate and highlight the amazing response and work that all those people did. It really should be an encouragement to players and their families that we have the best people out there, so that was kind of one of the main points. Then another point was really just making sure that players aren’t tough guys. We’re all football players, tough guys but we all have feelings. Making sure that guys are taking care of themselves and getting what they need, whether it’s reaching out to a coach, player, family. Maybe you’re getting pressure from family because you have a worried wife or a worried mom, or dad, or whatever, or kid. We have all the resources available – people you can speak with and if you don’t want to reach out to somebody in person, we put something in everybody’s locker today to be able to email or to call somebody that you don’t really know but that is somebody that’s professional that can kind of help out in that area. Because some people, it hits you immediately and other people, I’m kind of like this, I’m a routine person. What do you do when things go wrong, or you’re kind of out of your norm? You go back to your routine, and then if the season’s over, whether it’s over this week, or over in six weeks, then you’re alone by yourself. That’s more of what my concern would be is once guys get out and away from other guys in locker rooms.”
(You said some of those resources are actually in house?) – “There are some in house. There are also some that are provided by the union and the league. I don’t know what who to give credit to, if that makes sense. But yeah, we’re just making sure that everybody knows that those are available. And those are available regardless of this happening. They’re always available. We’re able to use any of those resources year-round. Your significant other is allowed to use those resources as well. This highlights that and helps us highlight that these are always things that are available, especially right now.”
(What’s your sense of just the locker room and being able to emotionally bottle this and understand that you guys have to win Sunday?) – “I don’t want to speak for anybody else. There’s people in this locker room that have a brother that plays for the Buffalo Bills that was part of that. So his emotions may be different than somebody that has no connection. I know there’s some other people that have played with Damar (Hamlin) in college or played against him. People have relationships all over. So it’s going to hit people differently. Maybe – not that I’m speculating this, but maybe you’re somebody that has a family history of heart issues and that just spooks you. So there’s just things. I think Coach (Mike) McDaniel really said it nicely. It’s not right or wrong to – how you feel is not right or wrong. It’s just how you feel. And whatever that is, it’s okay. But I think the really good pros that I’ve been around are able to compartmentalize things. But again, if this hits you a certain way, that may not matter. And so I think it’s just making sure that – that’s why I thought it was great that coach started today off not about the Jets or our situation as a team, but it was more let’s acknowledge what’s happened and make sure that everybody knows that we have resources available. But the sense for me is for me personally, his is my 221st game this coming weekend and my wife and kids will be here. I don’t have any plans of retiring and I certainly don’t have any plans of this being our last game of the season. But having said all that, I know I still love doing this so it’s always kind of tough at the end of the season, whenever that last game is. Hopefully it’s not this weekend. But I think back to being a high school kid and walking on in college and you just get a chance to play one more time. I try to think about the opportunity and how exciting it is. My kids are old enough to be watching me play and know and they’ll remember it, so I don’t take any of that for granted. I’m just excited to be here and get another shot at it.”
DT Christian Wilkins
(On what happened on Monday Night Football with Damar Hamlin) – “That was definitely a tough situation. I’m still dealing with it. Guys are still dealing with it in their own ways. It was definitely a tough situation to see, because at the end of the day – no matter how much we might have a rivalry with Buffalo, or you might go at it with other teams, when you’re out there for 60 minutes competing, you’re going as hard as you can. But at the end of the day, we’re all brothers in arms. We’re all from different places in our lives, different backgrounds, but a lot of us come from the same situation. So you definitely feel for a lot of dudes. You’re just out there competing and bringing it every day, trying to be your best, living out your dream and things like that can happen. So that’s definitely tough. At this time, I just hope people are just praying, continuing to pray for him, his family, his teammates and everybody involved, because that’s obviously tragic situation. They’ve all been in my thoughts and my prayers as we go along.”
(It’s obviously a violent game. How do you guys kind of, I don’t want to say move on and you don’t want to not think about it, but how do you go forward?) – “Again, luckily for us, we have a lot of people, resources and things like that who we could talk to and talk about it, because it is a tough situation and it does affect us all. The NFL and NFLPA, everyone is working hard to get the right people in place, the right people to talk to, everything like that and just help everyone heal from the situation. Because although you see a lot of injuries and things like that, we’ve never seen anything really of this magnitude.”
(I know that obviously the main concern is with Damar Hamlin, but there were a lot of questions and still some uncertainty about how the NFL is going to move forward with the rest of the regular season. Is that something that you’ve kind of been on some calls about?) – “Yeah, there’s been some talks about that, but again, the main priority and the main focus right now is just making sure that that is taken care of and things like that. We haven’t talked about as far as figuring out that game. We’re just focusing on and moving forward with Week 18.”
(With the magnitude of this game coming up, how difficult is it for you guys to focus on the task at hand knowing that you need to make the playoffs, need help from other teams? How do you guys make sure you’re focused on that?) – “We’re all professionals. You’ve got to be professional in this situation (and) try as much as you can to just focus on the things we have to and on things we can control, be your best this week and finish this thing out the right way. So regardless of what happens or however it goes, it’s our last regular season opportunity for the 2022-2023 Dolphins, so you want to finish it the right way regardless.”
(No scoreboard watching for you on Sunday looking for the other result?) – “Absolutely not. I’m just – like I said, control what you can control, take care of the things you can take care of and let the chips fall where they may.”
WR Jaylen Waddle
(Obviously we all saw what happened on Monday Night Football. As a football player, how difficult was it to see and witness that?) – “It’s definitely difficult. We kind of get normal to how the game of football is played and don’t really look at how violent the game is. So seeing a play like that, it’s hard. I’m praying for him, his family, the Bills organization, his teammates and everyone involved in it. It’s tough but everyone’s praying for him. Our team our family is praying for him.”
(How tough is it for you to basically focus on your task at hand after what transpired? You guys have a big game coming up this Sunday as well.) – “It’s definitely tough after something so traumatic happens like that to go out there and obviously focus on competing and playing the same sport that something like that can happen. It’s definitely tough. We’re working through it. I think we did a good job of talking about it and coming together as a team, and just talking about what happened and getting back and trying to stay focused on our game.”
(With this game of so much magnitude, it looks like QB Skylar Thomson may be the starter. How much confidence do you guys have going in with him up against the Jets?) – “We’re definitely confident. We’re confident in Skylar, confident in our players and playmakers to help build him up and go out there and compete and try to execute our game plan.”
(What do you think QB Skylar Thompson does very well?) – “I think Skylar doesn’t try to be no one else but himself. He goes out there and tries to play his game. He doesn’t try to be Tua (Tagovailoa) or Teddy (Bridgewater). He just goes out there and just plays his own game.”
(How much would it help for QB Skylar Thompson to play an entire game for once because as you know, they’ve never started a game and ended a game this season that QB Tua Tagovailoa hasn’t started?) – “I think it’s just going to help him out on just confidence. His confidence level going throughout the game, starting, knowing he’s going to go out there and play and hopefully finishing the game. It’s just more for him to go out there and just kind of get a view of in-game plays.”
(I wanted to ask about QB Mike Glennon. How much do you know about him coming in?) – “I know a little bit about Mike. I know he’s an ‘OG’. I think it’s like his (10th) year. He’s played for a couple of teams. He can come in and help us out in the back end. I know a little bit about him”
(You’ve seen this Jets rivalry. It’s your second year. We know a lot of New Yorkers live down here in South Florida. How important is it for the South Florida fans, the Dolphins fans especially, to flood the field on Sunday to make sure it’s a true home-field advantage?) – “Definitely. We want all our fans to come out and support us. It’s going to be a good game. We definitely need all the support and all the help we can get to get this W this week. Everyone needs to come out and show support.”
S Jevon Holland
(On his reaction to the Damar Hamlin injury) – “It was tough. Damar is a great individual, a great player. It was pretty surreal to see that happen in live time and not know what was going on. The situation is out of everybody’s hands. And the first responders that were there, that were handling that, that was really huge and props to them for being able to execute such a serious situation. I really hope he gets better really soon.”
(Reports are that Damar Hamlin is progressing. When you hear stuff like that, I’m sure for the football fraternity, that definitely makes you feel good.) – “Absolutely. Any time somebody gets hurt, you want them to be better, want them to get well. But this is a super serious situation. I’m really happy that he’s progressing forward.”
(You took to Twitter and a lot of players took to Twitter and just kind of the way the fan base is and the brotherhood of the NFL, just kind of rallying around him. Is that special for you guys to see a beautiful thing in tragedy?) – “Yeah, absolutely. It’s known that the NFL is a brotherhood and everybody supports everybody. But when stuff like that happens and you see the response from everybody, it’s heartwarming to know that everybody just wants everybody to be ok. That’s the bottom line. But yeah, it was super dope, for sure.”
(I know it varies from player to player but how difficult is it to compartmentalize all of this and have to focus on a very important game this week and for you guys? How do you go about doing that?) – “You kind of have to separate off the field and on the field in your head. For me personally, it’s not necessarily difficult. It’s just about staying disciplined. Things happen in day-to-day life every day throughout the whole year. Something catastrophic like this is very unique and it has not happened before. It’s serious and you kind of have to face it head on but also understand that you’re also in a situation where you have to be at your best and you have to continue to play hard because if you don’t, then that’s when you risk injury as well. You kind of just have to take it how it is and keep on walking forward. That’s basically how I see it.”
(Being this is your second season, you know a lot of New Yorkers live down here in South Florida. How important is it for Dolphins fans to flood the stadium this Sunday so you guys have a home-field advantage?) – “It’s very important. We need y’all at the game, for sure. Yeah, we’re trying to win so I need y’all there. It’s always great when they’re there and it really livens up the atmosphere when they’re there.”
RB Raheem Mostert
(What are the emotions for you as an NFL brother of Damar Hamlin?) – “I was just talking to somebody a little while ago. When you see a guy collapse on the field and need CPR and stuff like that, it’s very nerve-wracking, especially in the magnitude that it happened in that way. It’s definitely eye opening. That play is going to live with me for the rest of my life and it’s scary. You always want the best for guys even if you don’t like them or anything like that. I’m not saying I didn’t like him. I think he’s a great guy. I know several people around the Pittsburgh area that talk highly about him. I know Dan Marino is a Pitt guy too so I’m sure he has a great connection with him as well. But when you see a brother out there on the field and collapsing the way he did, it’s nerve-wracking. Scary. I know I grasped for air. It took my breath away just seeing that happen and unfold. It’s always good to know that he’s going to be ok. Right now in this instance, that’s about the only information that they’re giving us, that he is improving and he’s doing his part. All we can do is just pray and let God take the wheel. I know that’s kind of the thing that you want to see and you want to hear, but that’s all we can do right now.”
(When you see something like that, how do you balance your love for football and knowing how dangerous, at the same time, that this game can be?) – “That’s a great question because I had that same incident happen with Tua (Tagovailoa) early on in the season. That play is going to stick with me for the rest of my life, as well. Just seeing how he responded and the way it happened and all of that stuff. Those things can haunt you. But as a player, I was telling my guys in the room, at one point you do have to block that out because there’s still a game that has to be played. I hate to say that. I don’t want to be that guy that says those things. But the reality is it’s part of the job description. That’s something I hate but we’re all human and we all have to come forth and be creative in our own way. Maybe that’s just shutting it out completely. Maybe that’s using motivation to protect yourself even more. Who’s to say as a player what you can and can’t do. But I will say, for me, I’m going to definitely be more cautious on my approach to the game and also be generous to the game and be very cognizant and responsive of what’s going on around me. I just learned today that here at Hard Rock Stadium that there’s a helicopter that takes only six minutes to a hospital if anything goes down. Those are the little things that we probably take for granted but at the same time, we need to understand and educate ourselves in that aspect of trying to heal and get better.”
(What’s your reaction to the response of the brotherhood, the fan base and the way the sports world has kind of rallied together?) – “It’s amazing. You just see not only in the NFL but in other major leagues – like the NBA, you see Donovan Mitchell speaking out and saying great words. You hear all of these outlets that are just using their platforms in order to encourage not only what we got going on but Damar (Hamlin) because that’s the main focus. It’s really encouraging, honestly. I can’t say anything bad about that. It’s a plus, for sure.”
Head Coach Mike McDaniel
(Opening Statement) – “Good morning. I’d feel foolish if you guys had to ask me what’s been going on all of our minds, really, for the immediate present and since Monday night, the tragedy that happened on Monday Night Football to Damar (Hamlin) and his teammates and his family and everything. It’s hard for me to just see all that hurt, all that – I don’t pretend to know exactly what it feels like because I wasn’t there and that would be insulting. But I attempt to be empathetic and my heart just breaks for everyone involved. I think the wake of that is long and strong and ever-pervasive. My heart aches for, like I said, the whole Bills organization, specifically Damar’s family and himself, but also everybody that chooses to play football and the things that that those emotions can elicit. I wish I could do something about it. Unfortunately, I can’t. I do try to – I don’t know, in moments like this, the only slight minute comfort that I do find is there is a there seems to be a pervasive theme when tragedy occurs; for whatever reason, you end up seeing glimmers of the best face of humanity. So I think there has been examples of that, of people really aiding and supporting each other, and that is a slight solace to an otherwise terrible event.”
(The NFL talked about providing mental health resources to all 32 clubs. Can you give us some examples of just kind of the ways that you guys are supporting your players right now?) – “Well, you want to be careful to assume anything. With the team, the challenge today when I was seeing them for the first time since it occurred is to pretend that I know what’s going on in their heads. We started out with a team meeting to address this specific thing and to set the standard that like, ‘Hey, listen. There’s no way that you should feel. How you feel is how you feel and it can affect people in totally different ways. But be there to support each other because you don’t how your teammates are feeling. You may not know who’s been affected, who’s been directly affected, who’s been a teammate of Damar (Hamlin).’ You just don’t know how people are quite affected, so you have to set the standard that there’s no way right, wrong or indifferent how to feel. (We) had them get together and be able to just have a smaller circle open forum to talk about things and then gave them information through our training staff and really resources through our own team of people to talk to whose jobs are to be experts at talking to people about emotions and such. You just try to support. You just try to not fix but listen and adjust as people need and really encourage everyone to utilize it. Part of the reason you get into the sport is to be a part of a team. I know that’s what the same thing is every former player ever has to say about the hardships of retiring and moving past the game. So really rely on that, on each other and embrace all feelings that aren’t exactly yours either way, just because it’s not one of those things that there is a right answer. It’s not one of the things that there’s a pamphlet on. I just think you have to – in times where human beings are vulnerable to being just that – human beings – it’s important for people to collectively be human beings.”
(This is something that the NFL obviously hasn’t dealt with before and it happened on national TV near the end of the season with two of the best teams in the league. Logistically, who knows what’s going to happen the next two weeks. How do you prepare beyond the four days that you have in front of you to what might happen with the schedule and what’s going to come?) – “Shoot, I would short circuit if I was chasing ghosts. I think you address and adjust to whatever is in front of you. I can’t speak on – really, a lot of that’s conjecture. I think sometimes people make the mistake just because they have resource of a microphone to impose thoughts that are out of their paygrade so to speak. I think it’s kind of irresponsible for me to talk about anything but really how we adjust with today. Forecasting for next week or all of those things doesn’t help the people in the organization that I was employed to service.”
(Were you watching the game when the incident occurred? I can’t imagine how wrenching it must have been if you were.) – “No, I was asleep actually, but my wife woke me up. Do you guys remember – I think it was the World Cup a couple years ago where (Christian) Eriksen (collapsed)? That messed me up all day when that happened, because it was like 6 (o’clock) in the morning west coast or whatever. I was brought right back to that in different circumstances – you see non-zoomed-in copies and you kind of piece together what’s going on and you’re just immersed with unknown. It’s hard for me – the families, that’s where it gets me. It’s tough because you know that – I don’t want to speak for anyone, but most people, the competition to get to that stage, to get to an NFL team, to be able to perform, the competition is so, so immense that generally you’re safe to say that it’s someone’s dream, because there’s so much stuff goes on that you have to decide to push through. And it’s a very conflicting, odd feeling when someone experiences that kind of event. In that very morning, they’re waking up to do what they’re dreaming of. Again, I can’t necessarily speak exactly nor do I – I’ve just played against him. I don’t know him in that way. But that’s where my brain goes. You’re so invested. What people don’t understand that you see firsthand when you’re in the game long enough and you see people retire, the game is their identity. And I don’t think people truly understand what – you might be able to forecast it in your life, for sure, but when you have an identity for such a long time, you’re talking about guys playing the game (since they were) five or six (years old), you’ve invested so much into that game and when the game brings forth something like that – I think that’s one of the countless number of reasons that people really struggle with knowing how to feel, because the game gives us so much. Then when something that, whether it’s a freak accident or not, it’s just hard to kind of digest.”
(I know it’s tough to shift gears here. You guys signed QB Mike Glennon. What do you like about Mike? Does that make a statement about QB Teddy Bridgewater’s availability?) – “Well, it was just his first name. I thought there was some good there, and he reminded me a lot of myself in his physical appearance. (laughter) I’ve gone up against him numerous times. He’s a quarterback through and through. He’s been through multiple systems (and) understands what it takes for him to be able to speak the language in a fast amount of time. I think he plays the position aggressively with toughness that I really respect, so felt fortunate to get him. I can’t really forecast Teddy’s (Bridgewater) availability, so as a result, (General Manager) Chris (Grier) and I thought that this was the best course. What I do know is Teddy is – nothing is more important to him right now than making himself available for the team. Right now, he will be doing some ball-handling things, but he can’t throw a football yet. So it’s tough to know anything until he can throw football. I know he’s going to do everything in his power. And if I was a betting man, I wouldn’t bet because that’s against my contract. (laughter)”
(When QB Teddy Bridgewater was in concussion protocol, even though he was cleared late in the week, you sat him because he wasn’t able to participate in practice. Is this a similar situation where he needs to be able to throw or physically partake in practice before you’re comfortable playing him in any capacity?) – “I’ve been pretty consistent with my thoughts on that, specifically to the quarterback position. But I don’t think Coach (Robert) Saleh reads or listens to all my press conferences. I think his availability is a primary concern because he just wants to be available. Even if he didn’t start the game, history has shown this year that we haven’t had a game yet that wasn’t started by Tua (Tagovailoa) that was finished by the same quarterback. I don’t think he’s really concerned with that. I think he’s just trying to control what he can control and get to a point where he can feel confident throwing the football while doing all the work that it takes to digest and master the gameplan.”
(Has QB Tua Tagovailoa advanced to the part of the concussion protocol where he can be on the field at all?) – “Today, he will not be on the field. And as we know, today’s the only day that I know. So, forecasting anything outside of that would be irresponsible to what has been communicated to me by medical professionals.”
(CB Xavien Howard, T Terron Armstead and LB Bradley Chubb, those three – I know that Terron hasn’t practiced on Wednesdays anyway. Are those three ready to practice? Are they still in the same spot they were Saturday, Sunday morning?) – “I wouldn’t say the same exact spot. I think they’ve progressed. Regardless of how much they progressed, my plan wasn’t to have them practice today anyway just for confidence reasons and just for bottom line health. When you’re banged up as a veteran fighting through injuries, it’s not smart on a Wednesday. So I don’t think that really necessarily gives any indication of what they’ll be on Sunday. As we know, we have some guys that really do everything they can to be on that football field, so we’ll see how that progresses. Each day is vitally important for sure.”
(Knowing that your postseason hopes also is dependent on another game, during your game will you want to be privy to the outcome of the other game?) – “Absolutely not. Any focus on something that you can’t control I don’t think helps render the desired result, on top of the fact that – yes, we all know there’s an outcome that as Miami Dolphins, as members of Miami Dolphins organization, as fans, as maybe media members, we know the result of another game that we’d like. But at the same time, my first and foremost priority is trying to get this team through some tough times and feel a win again. Most of our players are doing stuff with each other on a player day off, but let’s just be conservative and say you work six days a week for five weeks in a row, guys deserve to feel a win, the organization, the fan base. So that’s my primary concern. And hopefully things work our way outside of that, but I’m not really concerned about it at all.”
(QB Skylar Thompson, what have you seen regarding these two areas – mobility/athleticism and poise?) – “For a rookie quarterback, I’ve seen very strong examples of both. I think Skylar does his best, like most quarterbacks, especially young in your career and in Year 1 of the system, he does best when he has practice reps. I think we saw a taste of that against Minnesota until he got injured. He’s starting to really get a feel. And I think he has an athletic component to his game that sneaks up on people because he does most of his work in the pocket. That’s typically what people term it – sneaky athletic. The bottom line is you have to be fairly athletic to be able to stand on a football field regardless in the National Football League. But he does have a knack of how to use his athleticism to extend a play and the dude is fearless. When he feels out of sorts or out of rhythm within a play, it’s because of his process that he’s able to correct. But there’s not a mechanism that he gets panicky or whatever. He likes to play confident with deliberate nature and when he isn’t, that annoys him but it generally renders good results.”
(When you drafted QB Skylar Thompson, obviously you were on board with him. But how involved were you in a seventh-round? How involved were you in saying ‘okay, I like this guy?’) – “Well, I think part of the way that Chris (Grier) and I do things is you take the responsibility of everything as though it’s all on you, and it’s not. It’s a shared responsibility of people working together for a common goal. But I look at every everything that we do as though it’s my sole decision because I can at least influence anybody in the organization with an intent and knowledge. So it was trust in Chris and his staff, and trust in who I hired in ‘Bev’ (Darrell Bevell). The reasons they really liked him were the things that resonated with me that I really look for in quarterback play. We felt fortunate to be able to snag him in the seventh like we did and have been happy with the results.”
(Did you talk to him or is it because of where he is…) – “So, you end up talking to guys from this seat if you find an issue with all the information. You basically feel like you know each player’s social security number because you are debriefed by multiple voices at length about each and every thing. So when there’s something that maybe there’s something an inconsistency with something that you see or feel in a description, generally you follow up with those players. Then you have all the guys at the Combine you end up having formal interviews with. There’s certain times you feel like you need to and there’s certain times you don’t. There are certain times that through all the work of the scouts and the coaches that you feel like you know the person. I felt like I knew Skylar piecing together all the little dots. But it’s different with every prospect and you just try to do your best to navigate a boatload of information.”
(Assuming QB Skylar Thompson is the guy, what is your level of confidence that he can get the job done on Sunday? And why do you have that confidence?) – “If he is the guy, I’m very confident because I base my opinions on what I see. And what I see is a guy that can play NFL-caliber football whose teammates believe in him. And a formula for successful offensive play is a quarterback that’s willing to do whatever it takes and a bunch of teammates that fully believe in what he has to offer. And so I see both. This is a team game. It has a lot to do with Skylar, but it also has to do with his collective teammates on the offensive side of the ball as well as the defense side of the ball and special teams. His job is to play a part and I know his part, if directed in the right way and it’s his best effort, is plenty good enough to get done what needs to get done.”
