Head Coach Kevin Stefanski (7.26.24)
Hey Kevin, Myles (Garrett) looked like he didn’t practice yesterday. Do you expect him to practice today and what’s going on?
“Yeah, just gonna ramp him up. We’ll continue to work off to the side with him for now, but he’ll be out there shortly.”
Still dealing with the hamstring?
“Yeah. Just gonna be smart about ramping him up, but he’ll be out there soon.”
Does the fact that (Nick) Chubb is out here on the field and not under wraps, does that represent a threshold in his progress at all?
“I don’t know specifically to that, Tony (Grossi). I’d say he’s progressing exactly where he should be. You know Nick. I know Nick. I mean, he’s pushing it. He’s doing everything that they’re asking him to do, and as much as he can do more than that, within reason, within what the medical side wants him to do, but it’s good to have him out here, period. We always love when Nick’s out there at practice. He’s somebody that, even though, even when he’s not in the give or play, he can make a big impact on it. But I wouldn’t say him being out there is an indication of when he’s back. He’ll be back when he’s back.”
The one-on-one time with a trainer inside, is that over with?
“I think he’s still doing it. I mean, you should see how much he’s doing day-to-day. I mean, he’s up early, working with the trainers, working with the strength and conditioning staff. So, all that happens in the morning, in the evening, around practice as well.”
Kevin, Deshaun Watson left minicamp with his strongest day, the last day was slinging 50-yard balls and stuff like that. How much does that help him heading into this training camp?
“He’s excited, Mary Kay (Cabot). Just sitting down and talking with him. He feels that he’s ready to go again. Again, we’ll be smart with all of our guys, especially our quarterback, we’ll be smart with what we ask him to do and as we bring him along, if you will. But he’s very excited and feels good.”
Kevin, what’s your plan ahead with him when you’re considering playing him in the preseason. Can you just talk about the pros and cons that you’re weighing?
“Yeah, I think you always have to look at every decision and what’s in the best interest of the club and the best interest of the player. We have some time before we make that decision. You know, I’ve done it a bunch of different ways for different players over the years, and really, the whole goal is to get ready for the season and beyond and get ready for September 8th. So, if we feel like it’s important to play, we’ll do that. If we feel like it’s not, we’ll do that. But still taking in information. I want to talk to the coaches as we get closer to those preseason games.”
Kevin, is the fact that he hasn’t played since November a new factor into your decision?
“All of it factors in for sure.”
Kevin, when it comes to guys playing in the preseason, how many contact practices, things like that. Have you developed a philosophy over five years or is every situation unique?
“It’s really interesting, Zac (Jackson). I look at all of it. I look at what we’ve done over the years. I look at what other teams do. You really have to do what you feel is best for your team. There’s teams that I would say are very conservative. There are teams that are not. And guess what, both of it works. I think back, you know, there’s teams that go to the Super Bowl and do it one way and the team they’re playing in the Super Bowl did it another way. So I don’t think one way is right per se. I think you just have to do what’s right for your football team.”
Kevin, off of that is game timing sort of overrated in some regards going into the regular season, you know, getting quarterback and receiver, you know, actual game reps, that sort of thing…?
“That’s a good question. I think it all matters. I think what you do in walk through matters. I think what you do in your individual period, throwing to your receivers matters. Certainly, game reps can be helpful and then you have to weigh those game reps. Are you necessarily showing things that you’re going to be doing in the season? You have to weigh all those. Again, we’ve done it different ways over the course of my career. I’ve seen it done different ways as an assistant coach. So, we’ll make those decisions as we get closer. But I do think all of it is really the sum of the parts in my mind.”
Kevin, with this being the third year for Deshaun (Watson) here. In fact, he’s only been able to play twelve games. What have you noticed as far as just his approach this offseason coming into training camp? Feels like all eyes are on him.
“He’s been diligent about his rehab. He’s worked very hard to put himself in position where he is right this minute. All eyes on him. I think that’s nothing new for the quarterback and the quarterback in any franchise. I think he’s used to that. So, I think for him, it’s been a big offseason of making sure his body’s right and certainly his mind is right and he’s got the right mindset as we get going.”
We know a little adjustment on the defensive front is using that other tackle, the nose tackle, more this year. And since (Dalvin) Tomlinson filled that role, does that mean could Michael Hall go into that role or not?
“We’re very, very multiple in that regard, Tony. I think we can do it either way. Jim’s (Schwartz) done it both ways. So, it’s really a matter who are the players. That’s we’re constantly thinking about players and not plays. So, when we find out who’s available to us, especially going into week one, that’s when we’ll make determinations. But to your question, our interior guys can play the two I or the three. They’re interchangeable for us.”
When we talk to Jim this spring, he mentioned adding some change ups in year two, right. How could that mean an expanded role or anything different for Myles?
“As you know, there’s no shortage of defensive playbook, offensive playbook. For us as coaches, and I think Jim does a great job of is, understanding where we are as a unit, understanding year two now versus year one, a veteran player versus a rookie. So, when it comes to Myles, there’s certainly things that we can continue to do with them that we’ve shown, and then there’s always things that Jim and the defensive staff look at that maybe this would be a good compliment to something we’ve done. So that happens really weekly with Myles, and it’s helpful to have a smart player, a versatile player that can do both things. You can drop them into coverage, you can rush them. You can rush them on the inside, on the outside. So, I think there’s really no limit to what you do. I think, again, going back, I think Jim does a great job of giving the guys a plan that they can all understand and then execute on gameday.”
Kevin when you look at the outlook for the wide receiver position outside of Amari (Cooper) and maybe Jerry (Jeudy), do you it as an open competition to really pick up snaps?
“It should be. Yeah, the depth chart, it should be open at this point in July. Obviously, you know, you mentioned Amari and there’s guys that are veterans that have done it. But we really don’t have to set a depth chart. We don’t think about it in that regard. I think you’ll see the coaches rotating a bunch of guys in there throughout practice. And I think that wide receiver room in particular is an exciting room for coach (Chad) O’Shea, for us, where we have a bunch of guys that can do different things and that versatility is so important when you’re talking about offensive football because you can jump in and out of different things offensively and you feel like you have the guys that can work through different schemes, if you will.”
Kevin, how is Deshaun Watson adapting to or picking up some of the newer concepts that Ken Dorsey is bringing in? I’m assuming plenty of them were things he had done at Clemson and Houston, but how’s he assimilating?
“Yeah, Deshaun is doing great with everything. I would point to Dorsey, he does a great job of including the wide receivers. Just this morning, sitting with the quarterbacks and the wide receivers in meetings together, talking through different concepts that are new for all of us, maybe new for one or two of the players and really having a dialogue from player to player, player to coach, making sure we all see it the same way. All of those guys, in particular Deshaun, they’ve really done a great job of working hard at that.”
Why did you go and change the offense? Why was now the right time to do that?
“I think going back, you know, for us the whole focus is just trying to get better. For me, I’m excited about the coaches we’re able to add to the staff. Talked yesterday about coach Dorsey, but I think really highly of the entire staff we were able to put together with him.”
Kevin, going back to Myles, it’s your fifth year with him, is there ever points where he still surprises you with what he’s able to do out there?
Yes, [laughs]. Every Sunday I think. Just physical abilities is unmatched.”
Last year you had four preseason games, this year you’ll have three. Would you like more or less?
“Whatever they put on the schedule, Tony, we’ll play. You know, I go back to last year, that was a different schedule for us, allowed us to ramp up, but whatever it is.”
It seems pretty crystal clear that they’re going to, at some point, add an 18th game and adjust the schedule. Just getting through 17 games, getting a team through 17 games healthy and whatnot is challenging enough. What’s your thought on the league moving in this direction where they want to add that 18th game?
“We’ll adjust. If and when that happens, we’ll adjust. We think long and hard about that when you put together a plan, but we’ll adjust whatever the league does.”
When Amari talked yesterday about Ken’s offense, he mentioned trying to run as many places as possible. Is an increase in tempo something you’re looking to add when you talk about changes in the offenses?
“Potentially. Yeah, that’s one area I think Ken has a lot of experience with and no huddles. So certainly it’s one area.”
How fast can you go in the NFL game?
“Chip Kelly showed you can go pretty fast.
But is it sustainable at that tempo, that speed?
“It’s an interesting question. I think the ability to go in and out of tempo can be really effective when you’re going against the defense. Sometimes, if you stay going fast all the time or going slow all the time, I think that can make it easier on the defense.”
You guys didn’t have Amari or Jerry Jeudy, for almost all off season. How eager are you to see Deshaun with those two guys back up?
“Yeah, I’m excited about that. Those guys have reps together, they’ve worked together, but anytime you can get your full complement out there, it is important.”
What does it mean to you to have a guy like Rodney McLeod, who is coming back here? Decided to call it his career, one last ride and he wants to do it in Orange and Brown. As a coach, what does that mean to you?
“Yeah, I’m a huge fan of number twelve. He’s been great for our culture, he’s been great for our team. He played really well for us last year before he was injured. He’s an energy multiplier. You know, he’s a champion. I can’t say enough great superlatives about Rodney and what he means to this team.”
Is Jerome [Ford] going to be here?
“He won’t be here today, but he’ll be here shortly. He’s got some great news to share with you when he gets here.”
You talked about the wide receiver a little bit, what are you guys expecting and hoping to see in year two with Cedric Tillman as he tries to make a name for himself?
“Excited about Ced. Young player, you know, got started about midway through the season when he started playing more last season, so got some good game reps under his belt. Works very, very, very hard. I think I mentioned it before, didn’t miss a day in the offseason. Has the right attitude. Quarterbacks like throwing him the ball, which I think is a good thing to remember. He’s very quarterback friendly with his body and the way he is dependable on how he runs his route. Excited about him taking the next step, but I can promise you he’s been working very hard.”
How important is this week of training camp, especially for the rookies as they get out and kind of building off of rookie minicamp and routines?
“I think the organization does an outstanding job of putting resources around them. I would highlight Ron Brewer does a really good job in the spring and then, of course, into the summer of programming with them and sitting with them and making sure that they’re understand all the resources that are available to them. We keep them one week longer in the off season program, so they stay for an extra week so their summer break is a bit shorter. But we try to give them every opportunity to understand the things that go into playing this game because it’s hard. A lot about this is hard, not just the physical aspect of it, but all the things off the field. So I would highlight Ron and our team that do a really nice job of supporting those young men as they get started here.”
Is David [Njoku] on the same kind of trajectory as Myles (Garrett) in terms of playing?
“Correct. Yeah, we’ll see him soon.”
Will coach [Mike] Vrabel be in pads today? [Laughing]
“I think it’s a violation of the CBA, but he would do it if he could.”
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