(On the chances that CB C.J. Henderson might come back to play in the next few weeks) “Actually, we’ve met with the medical staff and we just don’t feel like he’s going to be recovered to be able to play. So, we don’t feel he’ll be back.
(On the plan for the secondary position) “Well, I mean, we get [Chris] Claybrooks back, so that’s one. And obviously, Luq Barcoo and Josiah Scott. I mean, Quenton Meeks, he’ll be up [on] game day for us. So, it’ll look like that. And obviously, [Greg] Mabin is up.”
(On reason for leading the league with 79 total players used this season) “Yeah, I didn’t know that number until last night. I remember, I looked at Alex like, ‘Where did that come from?’ Because I don’t think as a coach, Mark, you’re going through and you’re doing it. And I’ve always guarded myself to understand the situation, but to never really try to use it to be a crutch. I mean, and it’s probably the way I was brought up. I feel fortunate, I grew up in a tough area with tough coaches and no one ever let us get away with making an excuse or anything like that. I think, obviously, those numbers are staggering, when I first heard them and it’s unfortunate because—and I don’t know, I’m not into those numbers a lot. But it’s almost like you would look at it and say, ‘Hey listen, the team that has the least amount of that, has the best chance of winning, if they have the right people.’ I think that a lot of it is caused by injuries, one, it’s the first thing that comes off the top of your mind. And the other is obviously performance, what you can do there. So, I really don’t know. I was shocked yesterday when I heard that, too. I didn’t follow. And then the number will go up, too. I mean, it’s not not going to go up.”
(On the shock factor of that statistic) “The other day, Keelan Cole came up to me, he’s like, ‘Every week it seems like there’s a different guy next to me in the locker room.’ And I said, ‘Well, I get it.’”
(On whether he had final say on the 53-man roster after training week) “No, I was asked that question during the week and I know that that is out there. I told the person—Albert Breer [from Sports Illustrated] came out and asked me that and said that I have control. And I told him that I’ve got a contract to show that I don’t. So, I don’t—No. I have control of the game day roster.”
(On whether they expected to have more soft tissue injuries this season) “No, I actually thought, going into it, that it was going to be better. And the reason why I thought that, was because I understood that there wasn’t an offseason, but I really liked the way the set the ramp up period, of how we ramped it up with the amount of time on the practice field, and kind of just building your way up. It reminded me—because I go back and forth with it—it reminded of in the 80s when I played, we would have passing camps before we brought the linemen in. So, the receivers and everyone would start to run a little bit. And then when we went into camp, where it was a little bit more—we picked up the intensity. They were ready to go and we didn’t have a lot of injuries. Kind of like baseball, when they bring in their pitchers and catchers. So, in my mind, I was thinking to myself, ‘Gosh,’ because when I go back and I don’t remember a lot of these types of injuries, as a player in the 80s. It just seems a very common thing now. So, I thought the ramp up was going to really take care of that. Whereas I think if you would’ve not had that period and, let’s say, go in and we would’ve kept things the same way, I do believe that injuries would’ve increased in my mind. But I don’t really know. I’m sure there will be a bunch of numbers and everything that comes out afterwards on injuries. And the NFL and the NFLPA, obviously they do a really good job of looking at all of that stuff. So, they’re probably better equipped than me to answer that. But I thought they did do a good job at the ramp up, honestly.”
(On LB Myles Jack showing his support for him to be back as coach next year) “You know, I always caution the players not to really comment on anything like that. I mean, honestly, because it’s something that they don’t control. And I don’t think it ever looks good for the coach when things like that come out, either way, I really don’t. I respect Myles and—Myles and I, and a couple of other guys, there’s about 8 or 9 guys on this team, we’ve been through a lot. They’ve been there from the beginning, so I think I have a great respect for them because they went through a lot of the things, obviously. We all went through them all together. And at the end of the day, I feel like there’s a professional relationship there. I feel like I’ve always shot them straight and I’ve always felt that they’ve been upfront and honest with me. So, I think from that standpoint, I have a great deal of respect for them.”
(On evaluation of CB C.J. Henderson’s performance) “I think he started off … I mean, the first game, I was really excited—we were all excited. I thought he played really well, at a really high level. And I think that we’ve seen the athleticism on the field, John. Then there was a little bit of a stretch there where he was playing probably like a first-year player coming in there. And then really his last game, I thought he played well before the injury. So, I think it’s way too early to really give a whole deal. If he goes out and plays sixteen games like he did the first game, I think you’ve got—he would have an unbelievable year. I think that if you’re injured and you can’t come back, and your availability becomes a factor, then it’s going to be up and down. I think it’s hard to keep becoming a good player when you don’t have the two things that I’ve always talked about: coachability and availability. I was talking to [Chris] Claybrooks today, who obviously will be back, and I was telling him and I said, ‘Hey how was it?’ You know, he’s worked his butt off to get back. And he was like, ‘Oh it was awful, I couldn’t stand it, being around.’ He goes, ‘It reminded me of a time when I was at Memphis and I was injured.’ And I told him, I said, ‘Look, you worked your butt of and you’ve got a chance to stay in this league at some capacity.’ I said, ‘But that’s the thing you’re going to have to solve. Being able to take care of your body, being available, and being coachable, because then, if you—that gives you an opportunity to make it, it doesn’t guarantee it. But I can tell you this, if you’re always injured and always hurt, not a lot of people are going to want you around.’ And I think that’s the truth. I think I try to make sure the players understand that from a coaching perspective, but also from a management perspective. It’s difficult to keep them, resign them and stuff, if they’re not available and can’t prove that they can play throughout a season.”
(On whether he has a lot of interaction with Jaguars Interim General Manager Trent Baalke) “No, just the same as I did with Dave. During the season, it’s not much interaction. It’s more of the injuries, I usually tell him who’s up, who’s down. They tell me what players they’re bringing in to workout or what the list is if we have injuries like that. So, really not a lot. But that’s not [uncommon], that’s probably the norm.”
(On LB Joe Giles-Harris’ performance thus far) “I’ve really—he’s really done a great job. I mean, he’s made plays just by knowing what to do, just by doing his job. I don’t want to say ‘shocked’, I don’t want to say that, because that’s criticizing the player. I mean, he’s worked extremely hard. And he’s gotten himself an opportunity and he’s taking advantage of it. You’ve seen him pull people up … you’ve seen him with good eyes, he’s a smart football player. You saw a little pass rush out of him last week, with his speed-to-power move that got to the quarterback on the sack. So, we’ve been really, really happy with that and I don’t know—again, he’s one of those guys I chalk up. He’s always worked, he’s always done anything, got an opportunity and kind of took advantage of it. And I’m happy to see where it goes for him.”
(On why LB Kamalei Correa left the team) “Yeah, I mean, I would just say that obviously [the reason] he left the team is personal. So, I’m trying to give him as much privacy as possible. It’s not an issue that occurred in here or within the building.”
(On WR Terry Godwin’s performance standing in as Ravens QB Lamar Jackson during practice) “He did well until he went on the COVID list. I mean, he’s an ex-baseball player, so—I didn’t realize how well he threw the ball. Well, we really did a good job and then today, we were struggling with—and then obviously everyone wants to go in there and play quarterback. So, we had [Nathan] Cottrell in there, we had [Keelan] Cole jumped in there today. So, I mean, in reality we’re trying to give our defense kind of, at least somewhat, of what to expect. But you can’t be able to show them the speed and the arm and all those things. You try to simulate it as much as you can.”
