Head Coach Kevin Stefanski (8.1.25)
Opening Statement:
“Excited to be back out here. Took a little day off yesterday, as you saw. We got a bunch of rain and it cooled down a little bit. A good couple of practices coming up today and tomorrow, and then we’ll take another break before we get ready to head down to Carolina. Injury front, Kenny Pickett will be back out there in a limited role today. He continues to progress, and the guys are doing a nice job understanding all the work that needs to get done. Their focus, meetings have been excellent. So, I’m looking forward to another good day. I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention Mary Kay (Cabot), who’s not here, right? She’s down in Canton. Unbelievable honor for Mary Kay (Cabot). Well deserved. So, congratulations again to her. With that, I’ll take any questions.”
We saw Dawand (Jones) leave practice Wednesday, is he hurt?
“He’s fine. Yeah.”
On Kenny (Pickett), when you say he’s limited, does that mean he will he not be doing team stuff?
“Correct. Yeah.”
Kevin (Stefanski), with Kenny (Pickett) coming back, is there a possibility that he would be good to go by joint team workouts next week?
“Yeah, I don’t know. I need to see how he looks today. We’re not going to get too far past today.”
Is Kenny (Pickett) still fully in the quarterback competition in your guys eyes?
“For sure, yeah. Kind of mentioned to you guys before, obviously disappointed that he’s not full go, but he’s very, very much involved in everything that we’re doing.”
Is that (injury recovery) a little easier for a guy who’s been in the league?
“Yeah, I think so Chris (Easterling). I think he’s a player that’s had a good amount of NFL game exposure. He’s had a lot of reps going back through the spring and what we’ve gotten accomplished so far through training camp. So yeah, of course you don’t want anybody to be missing action due to any injury or that type of thing, but he’s done a nice job of staying very engaged.”
Kevin (Stefanski), can you explain why you went live tackling this year and will we see it again in training camp?
“I think every year, Tony (Grossi), you’re looking at what your football team needs, where you are from a bunch of different perspectives and feel like that was the thing that we wanted to do. It’s also in a safe, controlled environment. So, we’ve done it here before. It’s something that we’ll look at over the next couple days potentially doing again.”
I saw Dave Canales say that they plan on playing their starters the first couple of preseason games. Do you know yet what you guys’ plan to do?
“Yeah, I have a pretty good feel for what we’re going to do, but I want to, number one, talk to the team about it and then also want to see how it goes over the next few days as well.”
Doesn’t that (Carolina playing their starters) force your hand?
“No.”
Do you guys usually cooperate?
“Well, yeah, certainly we cooperate in terms of the practice that we’re going to have against each other, what we’re going to do when we play each other, but Dave (Canales) is going to do what he thinks is best for his team. I’ll do the same for ours.”
Kevin (Stefanski), do you anticipate narrowing the scope of this quarterback competition before you get to Carolina?
“I think for all of our positions, every single day is an important part of getting ready for the season and part of the evaluation. So, at every position we’ll use these next – today, tomorrow, and Monday when we get down to Carolina. All of it is in an effort to get ready for week one and evaluate our players.”
How much did you see the rookie QBs kind of take advantage of the recent three-day block?
“I would say our entire rookie class is taking advantage of their reps. I’ve been impressed with this group, going all the way back to the spring. I think they’ve worked extremely hard. We brought them in for the early report to get extra reps even in that setting. So, it’s hard to narrow it [down] to one position because I’ve been so impressed by the entire group.”
Kevin (Stefanski), with Maliek Collins, what does he add to your defensive line?
“A veteran player that plays hard, very, very technique sound. He’s made a few plays already in camp where you can see, his ability to run games and stunts is extremely high because he has so many reps at it. I think that goes a long way with some of the young kids at that position as well.”
He (Maliek Collins) talked about working out with Mason (Graham) in the break. How valuable can that be to a young guy like him?
“Yeah, that’s invaluable. Having a guy that’s been there and done it at a high level and can teach you all the tricks of the trade. I give Maliek (Collins) a ton of credit just for his work ethic. Just watching him go out here and seeing how hard he practices.”
Gage Larvadain has found the endzone a number times so far in camp. Has he opened the eyes of anybody?
“Yeah. I think he’s done a nice job Tony (Grossi). I think Gage (Larvadain), like a lot of these rookies, he’s a very smart kid, so we can line him up all over. In football, when you can catch the rock and make somebody miss, those are things that get noticed. So, he’s been where he’s supposed to be, which is a big part of being a rookie and understanding your role. But he’s also made plays with the ball, so he’s done a nice job.”
With Mahmoud (Diabate), what have you seen from a growth standpoint from him these last couple of years?
“Yeah. Mahmoud’s (Diabate) a young player, but I’ve seen him get better each year. He’s becoming more and more comfortable, and you see that, you hear that as a vocal leader, and when you’re in the center of the defense making calls, I think it shows you how much he understands this scheme and how comfortable he is in it. I think he’s a player that’s progressing every single year, every single day he’s out here getting better and better.”
Kevin (Stefanski), I don’t think we’ve seen Grant (Delpit) in team drills the last few practices. Is he dealing with an injury right now?
“He’s limited. He’s coming along, but he’ll be fine.”
Something minor?
“Yeah.”
Any update on guys like Teven (Jenkins) and some of those guys who have been, like Grant (Delpit), out the last few days?
“No real updates. Everybody is right where we need them to be. They’re working hard. They’re all on different timetables, but pleased with the progress everybody’s making.”
Anybody going to be back on the field today?
“Kenny Pickett.”
Are live tackling periods covered by the CBA?
“No.”
How do you feel like the guys took to the live tackling?
“Yeah, they did a nice job. Obviously, it’s our job as coaches to put it in a controlled setting. It’s not live on the quarterback obviously, and there’s still rules where you want to still take care of your teammates – things that you would do in a game that you wouldn’t necessarily do, even in a live period, versus your teammates, so the guys did a nice job.”
Are we going to see the live tackling today and tomorrow?
“Yeah, potentially. It’s really a day-by-day basis of making decisions of what I think the team needs.”
Did they know that was coming?
“Yes.”
Kevin (Stefanski), how do you see David (Njoku) and Harold (Fannin Jr.) getting the most out of each other?
“Yeah, I think Dave’s (Njoku) done a nice job as a teammate already, just with a young player taking him under his wing, encouraging him and ‘showing him the ropes’. So that’s encouraging (to see). We like versatile football players, and I think both of those guys can be that for us, but I think it’s a really good balance between those two guys.”
What’s the reasoning for only one practice against Carolina as opposed to two?
“Yeah, I have not done a (preseason) week one practice versus teams before Tony (Grossi), so it just felt like week one, one day was the right amount.”
How do you feel about the youth players being here today?
“Yeah, we love having the youth football players out here. I remind our players all the time that they play a kid’s game. They’re blessed and fortunate and lucky to play a kid’s game. I’m so lucky to coach this game, so we all can put ourselves in these kids’ positions. I remember going to training camp when I was a kid and what that feeling is like being around your heroes. So, we love having these kids out here.”
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