LB Anthony Walker Jr. (11.15.23)
What’s kind of the mood in the locker room? Obviously, the news came out for Deshaun (Watson). What’s kind of been the mood?
“I mean, anytime you lose any brother on a football field, it hurts, right? Franchise quarterback obviously is never ideal, but I feel like the mood in our locker room is opportunity. We all understand that it sucks losing Deshaun, but we have the opportunity to keep the season going. We’re in a great position right now. We control our own destiny and that’s our mindset right now. So obviously, we love our brother. We want him to be out there with us. But right now, we got to focus on going 1-0 this week.”
Is it hard to keep the goals the same given he’s such a big piece?
“Not at all. We play the game. It’s the greatest team sport ever invented. Guys go down. Shoot, I went down last year. I understand how it feels for him, but they don’t say next man up for no reason. And we all have a job to do. We’re professionals and that’s what we got to do.”
When you think about the fact that he came out in that Ravens game and went 14 for 14 on a high ankle strain and a broken shoulder, what does that say to you about Deshaun (Watson)?
“Yeah, we all know he’s a tough guy being able to play through that. He’s an elite quarterback, so obviously that performance wasn’t a shocker to me. It hurts more that he’s just not able to continue the journey that he was on, just playing good football and helping our team win. So obviously praying for him and his health and his recovery.”
The team seemed, when (Nick) Chubb went down, seemed to dedicate things to him. Now the quarterback is (Deshaun Watson) down, we got anything left?
“Can’t dedicate the season to everybody. He’s a part of us. He knows that just like Chubb is like all our injured guys, a lot of guys still be around and he’s going to be a crucial part, you know, obviously in our success as we continue to move forward, and he’ll do everything can to be back next year. But, yeah, it sucks, right? But we got a job to do.”
Anthony, you said the goals don’t change. What makes you say that about this team? That you can still get to where you want to get to without Deshaun (Watson)?
“Yeah, I think just the resilience of this, you know, the guys that we have in this locker room, I believe in everybody. Everybody believes in one another. Defensively. We got to control what we can control, and that’s us going out there. Get stops and how we feel. If a team doesn’t score, they don’t win the game. So, we got to play elite defense like we’ve been trying to do every game, no matter who’s our quarterback. And then we trust whoever does line up at quarterback for us that they’re going to put their best foot forward. I mean, we got guys on the offense now. It’s not like we don’t have guys. So, we’re excited for the opportunity for those guys.”
When you had to go through that rehab with that major injury you had last year, were there times when you got discouraged and if so, how did you fight through that?
“Yeah, a lot of times. Obviously, you never want to be injured while your team’s going through a season. I think what helped me a lot was being around the guys last year, coming back to Cleveland, you know, going to meetings, being a part, still feeling like I was a part of the team. Obviously, you know, you’re not out there going through the ground with those guys, but you’re still here. And Deshaun understands that he’s a leader, right? He’s a captain for a reason. And I know once he has surgery, he’ll still be around the guys and be around us and like I said, be helping that quarterback room a lot.”
If DTR (Dorian Thompson-Robinson) starts the game on Sunday against the Steelers, how do you think he’ll do and how much do you think he probably has grown since when he started against the Ravens?
“Yeah, again, I think the Ravens game was a tough spot for him. Anytime you’re just thrown into the fire like that against a defense like that, it’s always tough. Right. But like you said, just the growth, the maturity. I’ve seen it throughout his preparation, throughout the weeks. He was scout team Player of the Week last week, giving us a great look of Lamar Jackson. So again, the growth and maturity of the preparation is what I’ve seen the most, and that’s what I think is going to help him take that next step forward.”
What was Kevin’s (Stefanski) message? I assume with something like an injury like this, he gets in front of the team and has a message for everyone. So, what was this to you?
“Yea, you know, 1-0. That’s all we can control, right? And then we got to be there for our brother Deshaun (Watson). Obviously, he’s hurting. Again, he wants to be out there, but again, he’s going to lead and he’s still going to be a captain for this team. right. So, I think that was the most consistent message of it. And again, we got a job to do. We’re professionals. We still have all our goals right in front of us and we got to handle our business.”
Andrew Berry mentioned that the Eagles won a Super Bowl with a backup quarterback. 49ers were down, I think their fifth or sixth quarterback in that NFC Championship game. How much do you guys lean on that knowledge? Looking at recent history with teams that have had to deal with these types of situations, still being able to have success, how much does that help you guys?
“Yeah, well, you got the DC (Jim Schwartz) that was on that Philly team and the starting safety on our team now, Rod McLeod, they were both on that team and got to play good defense, man, which is what we want to do every week anyway. It breeds encouragement and just the feeling that we got your back as the offense goes and as the quarterback situation plays itself out. But like I said, man, crazier things have happened, right? I think we’re in a great spot. We believe in anybody that gets back there at quarterback that they’re going to get the job done. And I got to tell them, man, we don’t have to be pretty. It wasn’t always pretty with Deshaun (Watson). He had to go through some times, and we had to win games ugly, 13 to three. Whatever it is, you got to do that sometimes in the NFL and as it gets to the December, January, it’s going to be about stopping the running, the football and I think we do those two things really well.”
How have they changed since week two? And it seems like (Jaylen) Warren is getting more run for them. What do you see out of him?
“Yeah, offense getting healthy, a lot of guys coming back for them. Like you said, Jaylen Warren picking up. The run game is really picking up. I think they had over 200 yards last week, so we understand what type of game this is going to be. Like I said, the quarterback has gotten better, they’ve gotten healthier, so the offense overall has gotten better.”
You mentioned it doesn’t have to be pretty. Pittsburgh seems to be the poster child, though for it doesn’t have to be pretty. They’re 6-3 and they’ve had their issues. What do you see from them on film that has allowed them to win ugly?
“Yeah, the same thing I just said, running the football well and stopping the run and playing good defense and then just find a way, whatever it takes to get the win. That’s what they do and that’s what we have to do.”
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