Head Coach Kevin Stefanski (8.29.24)
Opening Statement:
“Okay. Really solid work. I’m glad it’s hot, we need to work in the heat, so that’s been good for us this week. So then the guys are off this weekend, then we’re back at it on Labor Day. But really good week, this week was important part of our preparation, so that was good. And then on the captains this year just announced to the team; your captains are Charley Hughlett, Joel Bitonio, Deshaun Watson, Myles Garrett and Denzel Ward, are your captains for this year. So that’s a great honor for those guys that’s voted on by their teammates. So, I just wanted to let you guys know that, but with that, I’ll take any questions.”
Denzel, completely clear with the protocol?
“Yes.”
Denzel, I know Martin (Emerson jr.) stayed with him in the offseason. Does it feel like he’s really taken on more of a leadership role? I mean, to be named captain it would seem to.
“Yeah, it does. You know, I think he leads in his own way. Obviously, Denzel is a guy… He’s a great example of a guy that just does it the right way all the time. Was here all off season. Didn’t miss, I don’t think a thing; a lift, a meeting, a practice. And I think his teammates noticed that.”
What about Deshaun? What captain qualities does he have?
“Yeah. I mean, Deshaun as the quarterback, obviously, he’s been doing this his whole life, leading, which is very natural for him and his teammates. Again, another guy that… They recognize, hard work. I think that’s a big piece of it.”
So you’re down to three quarterbacks again and was that a tough decision for you guys?
“They’re all tough decisions. Yeah, they’re all tough. You guys know, I love Snoop (Tyler Huntley), the person, the player. Would love to keep all our guys, but it wasn’t the case.”
What did Dorian (Thompson-Robinson) do to show you guys that he deserves this roster spot?
“Yeah, like we’ve talked about Mary Kay (Cabot), it’s such a competitive roster in general, but that room was very, very competitive, and those guys all had really good moments. Dorian coming off of his injury, to be able to put himself in position to go play like he did in the games, perform like he did in practice, I think was a big part of it.”
So would the depth chart show, Dorian three?
“When do we have to put the depth chart out? Stay tuned.”
You know, you talked about in terms of Denzel’s concussion history and how the medical staff has researched and talked to him about it. Did they recommend him wearing the cap in games?
“I don’t know that. Yeah, I would ask Denzel. I think I’d let him speak for himself.”
Do you anticipate that you’ll have some players wear those during games?
“I don’t know, yeah, I don’t know. I have not heard yet. Obviously, we message the guys about they have to wear them in practice, and you see a lot of guys are wearing newer helmets that if you wear those helmets that have tested really well, you don’t have to wear the guardian cap. But I don’t know how it’s gonna work out for the games just yet.”
I realize you’re not a medical and equipment expert here, but just how effective do you think those guardian caps have been? I mean, you know, D’Onta (Foreman) got hurt in camp, Denzel got a concussion in camp. Do you feel that they’re as effective as they intend to be?
“Yeah, I’m not equipped, pun intended, to answer that. I’d say other than I’ve seen the studies and those type of things and you just got to trust in that.”
Kevin, there might be a lot of layers to this, but the injuries to the quarterbacks last year, how did that impact now, the way you coach that position?
“I don’t know that it impacts how we’ve always coached it, Tom (Withers), in terms of they’re really important and we want them to stay on the field. And there’s decisions that you make certainly towards the end of plays and that type of thing, where we want to keep our quarterbacks upright. This is also a contact game, and the guys understand what they’re signing up for in that regard. So it’s not like you can get out of many games unscathed, but when you can take care of yourself, you always want to do that. So it’s something we’ve always talked about with our guys.”
I think your practice squad is loaded to capacity right now, but is there a desire to bring Huntley back to that practice squad?
“I think all options are on the table. We’ll see how it shakes out.”
You’ve got a third tight end now on your practice squad. Is that something that, in a perfect world, you’d like to keep three on the 53 for game day, or are you cool with two?
“You have to work through all those things, Mary Kay. I think you have to see where the game plan is and what guys you need. So, I’d say we’re working through it.”
What do you know about this guy (Blake Whiteheart)?
“Not much, not much. I know him enough to say ‘hello’ and I introduced myself. He comes from a similar system, so there’s some things that he’ll pick up real fast.”
Kevin, didn’t see Quinton Jefferson out there today. What’s going on with him?
“He’s fine. Yeah, he’s fine.”
Do you expect any of the, whether it’s Jed (Wills) or Bookie (Nathaniel Watson) or (David) Bell to be back when you start practicing Monday?
“We’ll have to see Monday. Yeah, I’m not sure, as you know, so many of these things are day-to-day.”
Do your coaches also kind of disperse for the weekend or is this more…?
“We’re going to work. You know, you’re not going to work, you know, normal hours or maybe work banker hours, but there’s still things that we need to get ahead of for next week.”
And what message did you send forth your players with?
“Yeah, just anytime you go on a break, whether it’s at the end of minicamp going into June or this little mini break, anybody who’s, whether they’re leaving town or staying here, just want to be safe and protect themselves and protect the team.”