Head Coach Kevin Stefanski (10.25.24)

Opening Statement:

“Okay, good Friday practice out there. Excited to get back in front of our fans. Playing some good football versus a very good football team as we know. AFC North opponent, they know us, we know them, that type of thing. So, it’s going to be a great spirited battle, and we’re excited for it. So, with that, I’ll take any questions.”

 

Does Dawand (Jones) start at left tackle with Jed (Jedrick Wills) out?

“We have options. That’s one of them.”

 

How strange was the practice week not calling the plays? 

“Not strange. Yeah, we’ve done that before where the coordinators called it. So not strange.”

 

With Wyatt (Teller), what did you see from him this week? 

“Yeah, he looks like himself. He’s moving well.”

 

So just kind of waiting the next couple days to make sure?

“Yeah, and you also just based on the rules, if I’m not mistaken, before they’re elevated, you have to list them as questionable.”

 

What roles do you think, and responsibilities do you plan on assuming or honing in on Sunday that you think will give this team a better chance to win on Sunday? 

“You’re saying with me, Daniel (Oyefusi)?

 

Yeah, with not calling not calling plays, like what responsibilities or role do you think you’re really honing in on?

“Yeah, obviously it’s not something that I’ve done as a head coach before. But obviously if you’re standing there and you’re not calling the plays, you’re not staring at the call sheet, it gives you the ability to maybe impact the game elsewhere and help a coach or give a pointer to a player, that type of thing.”

 

I know yesterday Ken (Dorsey) said that he was leaning on calling plays from upstairs. Do you anticipate, because he’s been working with the quarterbacks, do you anticipate Ashton Grant will kind of have a bigger role? 

“That’s a potential — yes.”

 

I know Jerome (Ford) is out, but he was out at practice today for the first time this week. So just what did you guys see from him? 

“Yeah, naturally he’s starting to get back where he can move around. Having him out there for individual period is the next progression in that rehab. So, he’s getting there.”

 

You mentioned Dawand as an option at the left tackle. How much has he worked over the course of this training camp in this season at that position? I know that position has been kind of a rotating door this year.

“A lot of times with swing tackles when you’re not starting, you have to be able to get reps on both sides with different players. Some guys have played over there in college or maybe have played there a little bit in the preseason. So, we just have to mix those guys in.”

 

This is the sixth straight week where you have had to shuffle your offensive line. How much of a factor has that been for some of the struggles that you guys have had finding some continuity offensively?

“Yeah, obviously, as you guys can imagine, you want all five to play the entire season. That’s not realistic. Doesn’t happen very often. I don’t know that it’s happened since I’ve been here. Have we played all five? Probably not. So, yeah, it’s just part of it. But we don’t look at that as anything other than it’s an opportunity for somebody else to step up.”

 

You said you wanted to see how Dorian (Thompson-Robinson) threw this week with the finger. How did he look?

“Yeah, he looked good to me. He’ll be the backup on Sunday. Yes.”

 

Kevin, how have you seen Jameis (Winston) kind of embrace this opportunity throughout the week?

“Yeah, honestly, I’ve seen the same Jameis every single day. He embraces every day. He’s one of, if not the first guy in the building, last guy to leave type of player. He works hard at his craft, so I don’t see a big difference in his day to day, but he’s ready for the opportunity.”

 

How fast has Bailey Zappe picked up on things? 

“Yeah, very quickly. Yeah, he’ll be the emergency quarterback, but he’s picked it up very quickly.”

 

If Dorian continues to come along like this, do you think he’ll get back in the starting lineup at some point soon? 

“I’m so week-to-week with that, Mary Kay (Cabot). Like I’ve told you guys many times, I feel very strongly about both guys. So, we’ll deal with it week-to-week.”

 

After Elijah’s snaps were limited last week, do you anticipate him kind of getting back to the normal reps? 

“I do. He will.”

 

With Jed, is it the same knee…

“Yeah, I’m not going to go speculate there, but just wasn’t ready this week.”

 

When you look at kind of how the players felt about the fan reaction to Deshaun (Watson) going up down with the Achilles, how do you think the mindset is going in? Did you address that with your players at all and can you just talk about the fans and the relationship? 

“We talked — well, I talked about it previously. We have the best fans in the National Football League. They have supported us; they’ve supported this football team since I’ve been here. Home field advantage is a very real thing with how our group responds and how hard they make it on the other side. I’m not thinking much about last week other than to say we’re excited to get back in front of our fans.”

 

Ken sort of mentioned or alluded to yesterday that for this week, he’s the play caller with each week that could potentially change. Is that something that’s on the table or do you envision him being the…

“Yeah, I envision him being (the play caller) for the rest of the season. I think as coaches, if you can believe this, we’re day-to-day.”

 

This is kind of a miscellaneous question, but it looked like you guys had a Winston Reid package with him kind of taking the role that Nick Harris had a bit. Just what kind of went into that? Why did you kind of decide to put him in that role? 

“I think you’re always looking for players that can fill different roles. We’ve put defensive players back on that side before, I believe. At least I’ve done in the past, we’ve used offensive linemen in different spaces. So sometimes with the roster, you’re looking at guys that can be physical, especially on the goal line. I thought Winston gave us that last week. We’ll see if that’s something that we can do this week as well. But it’s nice having smart, tough football players like Winston.”

 

When you do that, do you look in to see if he’s played offense in the past or you just see if he can do it? 

“No, good thought. I will next time. No, with Winston, I’ve seen him. I know he’s tough, I know he’s smart, I know he can catch the football, those type of things. Can he block, can he move on his feet, those type of things. And there’s plenty of defensive linemen and defensive players that have been pining for that role for years.”

 

You said that you’d provide a little more clarity on Nyheim Hines situation later in the week. 

“No more clarity other than he’s just maybe not responding how we needed him to.”