Head Coach Kevin Stefanski (8.11.25)
Opening Statement:
“Good to be back out here. Haven’t been back in a week. So, we got a good practice out here today, then we’ll head on the road again, head to Philly (Philadelphia) tomorrow. Two good days of practice versus them Wednesday, Thursday, play them on Saturday. You know this will be the third time we have a joint practice with the Eagles. We went to Philly (Philadelphia) a couple of years ago, had them out here three years ago. So, we do this with organizations that we have a ton of respect for. I think Coach (Nick) Sirianni does an amazing job with those guys. Obviously, it’s a very, very good football team, defending champs, but it’s a great challenge for our football team. But looking forward to getting a lot of good work done in Philly (Philadelphia). But before that, we got a good day out here on these fields and then we’ll get on the airplane tomorrow. But with that, I’ll take any questions.”
How about Dillon (Gabriel) and Kenny (Pickett)? Do you think they’ll be able to do any 11-on-11s this week?
“Dillon (Gabriel) can do some 11-on-11. Obviously, we’re still mindful of his tightness in the hamstring. Kenny (Pickett), not just yet in 11-on-11, but both guys are progressing well.”
Do you expect Shedeur (Sanders) to start Saturday?
“I’m not there on the game itself, by Wednesday, Thursday, I’ll have a better feel for the game and how we’re going to handle that, and I’ll update you guys. But we’re not there yet.”
Kevin, what does the additional day of practice give you the chance to do?
“Probably a little bit more of everything, Tony (Grossi). I thought that one day in Carolina was good and that was week one, so I think that was the right amount of work. I think in week two of the preseason, I think both – I know our team is probably ready for a second day. We’ve done that – outside of last week, Tony (Grossi), all of our joint practices have been two days. So obviously it allows you to get more of everything. It’s more one-on-one work. It’s two-minute drill, it’s red zone. It just allows you to hit a little bit more situational ball.”
Kevin, how serious is Luke Floriea’s hamstrings?
“Serious. We’ll update you guys on Luke (Floriea) later.”
Kevin, with the practices in Philly (Philadelphia) yet, do you know how you want to handle the quarterback reps against the Philly (Philadelphia) first team defense and team drills?
“We’ll kind of map that out here in the next couple days. But it’s a great challenge for all of our guys going up against a really good defense.”
Kevin, you’ve historically used these joint practices to get the work in for your starters and then use the preseason game for the younger players. Do you anticipate that changing this week at all?
“No, that won’t change. I mean, that’s why you do these practices, I think. And both sides view it that way, typically, because you script the practice so that the ones get the vast majority so that then your guys that are getting the twos and threes reps can get the majority of their reps in the game.”
What do you think of some of the running backs on Friday night? Hadn’t seen a lot of those guys in it. Does that room feel kind of wide open right now?
“I hope every room feels that these guys are pushing each other and we’re still in training camp mode, so I think that’s the mentality that these guys have. I think the running back room in particular, Scott (Petrak), I was really pleased with how hard those guys run. As, you know, in practice, if you’re not going live, it’s hard for runners to show, truly, because they get thudded or they get tagged off and the ball stops. But you get to see guys break tackles, and I thought you saw that the other night.”
Do you expect to name your starter for the season after this Philadelphia week? At quarterback?
“I’m not there yet, Tony (Grossi), but certainly those are all things I’m thinking about.”
Has that timeline on naming a quarterback shifted at all with the injuries? I understand you maybe haven’t gotten a full evaluation of the guys.
“I think you take everything into account, but we’ll see how we get through this week and then make a decision… make a decision on when to make a decision.”
Kevin, how good of a test this week is it for both sides of your lines — your offensive line and your defensive line?
“It’s a great test. I can’t imagine there’s a better combination of offensive line, defensive line, than the (Philadelphia) Eagles, who we’re facing. So, it’s an awesome test for our guys. And again, I’ve been up close and seen this line when we practice against them, they’re really well coached, they got great players. So, it’s a great challenge for our guys.”
Any update on Quinshon (Judkins)? Do you expect him back this week?
“I don’t have an update.”
What did you like about the joint practice in Carolina that you might carry over into these two in Philly?
“I think most joint practices follow a similar structure, if you will, and I think credit to Coach (Dave) Canales down there. And then obviously Nick (Sirianni) and I have talked, and we’ve done these type of structures before. So, I think you want to be really organized, real efficient with your time and make sure that you’re getting all the looks that you need to get for both sides.”
Mike Hall (Jr.), do you have any update on when he might be back?
“I really don’t have an update other than he’s doing awesome. He’s really working very hard.”
Do you know if week one is still in play?
“I’m going to keep it day to day, but he’s doing really well.”
And what did you see, I know they were limited snapshots, what do you see out of Mason (Graham) on Friday night?
“Yeah, limited snaps, but really good first step for those guys. Like we talked about, it’s just getting in uniform, getting through pregame, get on the field. There’s a lot of adrenaline that kicks in there for those guys. So, I thought he was by and large pretty good and plenty of stuff to clean up.”
On the first sack of Bryce Young, did Mason Graham contribute in pushing, moving the quarterback?
“Absolutely. And that’s, you know, so many sacks, sometimes, it’s just one guy beats him clean and makes a sack. A lot of times it’s the push of the pocket forces a quarterback to get out or the edge rush forces the quarterback to step up. So, I think your pass rush really does work together, even though one guy sometimes gets that statistic with the sack.”
Kevin, with Gage (Larvadain) and seeing him make plays, how much – him and Shedeur (Sanders) have worked together so much throughout the offseason, like, how have you seen them develop the chemistry and how has that benefited both of them?
“Yeah, I thought Gage (Larvadain) has done a really nice job again going back to rookie minicamp. He’s a kid that you can really depend on. He knows what to do. And then he’s fast. He’s made plays with the ball in his hand, and it’s good for that to show up in games. And quarterbacks love throwing to guys they can trust.”
With Dillon (Gabriel) returning to practice or 11-on-11s today, can you share if he was taking first team reps in 11-on-11 with the starters before he got the hamstring injury – will he do some of that today, and will Shedeur (Sanders) also perhaps maybe take any of those?
“Yeah, I’m not going to get into reps, Mary Kay (Cabot), other than to say we’re going to continue to mix these guys and also say, I’m trying to be very, we are trying to be very intentional about our quarterbacks’ development, and I’m really pleased with where both our young guys are, and I could say that about our entire rookie class. They’re all working very hard. They’re all taking coaching and understanding that this is a, you know, a progression for them.”
When you leave those practices last year with Philly (Philadelphia), do you think, “Hey, this could be a team that goes with this Super Bowl?” Do you know that they’re that good that early?
“I think in these settings, you definitely get a feel for the skill set of the teams you’re facing. Yeah, I think you do. Now, Philly was a couple of years ago. We were in Minnesota last year, right? Yeah, Minnesota here. But, I mean, two years ago, that was still the same offensive line, quarterback, receivers. So, I think you can definitely get a feel for personnel when you step on the field versus some of these teams, yes.”
Dylan Sampson, through this point of camp, what have you seen for him and what are you looking forward to as these next two games?
“Yeah, he’s done a very good job. He’s been assignment sound, I think, throughout all of camp. He’s caught the ball well; he’s run it well. He’s done a nice job. And it’s just for all these guys; it’s earning a role. It’s our job to find out what they can do and then expand upon that role.”
Kevin, we always hear preseason there’s a ton of game planning going, but on a scale of like one to 10, one being not a lot, 10 being a lot, how much are you guys actually game planning for these games?
“Not a lot. Hard to put it on the scale, but not a lot. I think what we’re trying to do is you want your guys to have core concepts that they can go out and play fast, and there’s not a lot of thinking. I mean, we’ve been through our installs, quote, unquote, I think six times. So, they’ve heard it so many times. So, for especially the first two games, we want to keep it very simple. Third game, you game plan, you give them a game plan. You may not call all those plays in the game, but you want them to go through the process of hearing all those play calls. And, hey, this is a new concept that we’re going to introduce to you guys. So, you do go through that process in the third game, but definitely the first two are very basic.”
Given the fact that Shedeur (Sanders) had a good night, given the fact that (Dillon) Gabriel has been out and you’re short of time. Is it fair to say this is the most critical week for (Dillon) Gabriel?
“Honestly, Tony (Grossi), I feel like every day is critical for all these players. We want to stack these days and make sure we’re getting better. So, I really view every day as very important.”
I have some injury questions.
“Yes. Thank you, Daniel (Oyefusi).”
How’s Zak’s (Zinter) doing?
“Yeah, Zak will be out there. He’s feeling better, so we’ll see how he does.’
Mohamoud (Diabate) and Pierre (Strong Jr.)?
“Yeah. Mohamoud (Diabate) still dealing with his injury. Pierre (Strong Jr.) will be out here in some limited capacity.”
And I feel like we haven’t asked you, but, like, did you ever get asked about the Rayshawn Jenkins, kind of was your take on that? How did you address that?
“Good teaching moment for our football team. We never, ever, ever want to throw a punch that gets you thrown out immediately. I saw the whole thing happen. They were locked up. Their player got off, I think, three punches before Rayshawn (Jenkins) threw a punch, and that’s a great opportunity for them to lose their guy. We keep our guy. It’s our advantage. We negated that advantage by retaliating. So that was not a smart play by a smart football player, a smart man who I have a ton of respect for. But we got to learn from that, and we can’t let another player, their aggression, bait us into getting thrown out of a game.”
Greg Newsome II will be back full-go today?
“I would not say full go, but getting better.”
Do you expect at least one of those days in Philly that he’ll be able to get up?
“We’ll see. You know, we’re trying to be smart about how we rep these guys and progress through the injuries.”
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