QB Shedeur Sanders (8.12.26)
Opening statement:
“How’s everybody doing? Good, good? First, I want to apologize for how things were last time I came up here before you all. I think dearly, I dislike when there’s a lot of separation, and when something gets between the team and people get painted a certain way and all this different type of stuff. So, that’s where I get frustrated and I shut down, because this doesn’t help us win. So, it’s kind of like an option, but not an option. I feel drained when I express myself to people in places and cameras when it’s not received and taken the right way, or it’s trying to divide the team or something like that. So, that’s where I was just trying to preserve my energy from going in depth with a lot of things.”
Shedeur, how do you think you’ve played the last couple weeks in relation to how you started?
“I think each and every day we improve as a team. I got more comfortable within the offense. There’s definitely still challenges every day that you got to correct and focus on and be able to improve.”
Do you know when you’ll be going into the game Saturday?
“Coach (Todd) Monken, he’s going to tell you. He told you all. You all will know as soon as we know.”
Coaches talk so much about the pre-snap operation, and yesterday Coach (Travis) Switzer talked about trying to save those eight seconds. How important is that in your role, and how much improvement do you think you’ve made? The coaches all say you’ve gotten so much better.
“It’s very important. That’s why I talk about saving your energy. Throughout my day, I find ways I can save my energy to be able to be a battery out there, to be able to operate fast and do everything with a purpose, very quickly. You can’t do all that when you’re being pulled in a lot of different directions because that’s how I feel drained. I feel drained that way. And I tested it, so I know what helps me and what puts me in the best situation to operate how the coaches would like.”
Is there one thing in particular, in a game situation, that you’re really looking forward to seeing where you’ve grown the most from last year? Like from that Cincinnati game to finally getting back out there in a real game setting and see what’s improved the most?
“We approach practice like a game, so it’s the same amount of focus and seriousness that it is. That’s why I’m excited to feel how similar it feels to practice, honestly, because there’s a different type of intention and mentality that we go out there every day with.”
I saw that you have a blister or blisters on your hand, which might make it a little difficult to throw. Is there any truth to that?
“No, that happened this past offseason, getting back into it, just from throwing a lot. Honestly, that’s where it came from. They’ve all healed up now. That was the thing at the start of training camp and everything that we just had to work through and figure out.”
If you had a walkout-of-the-tunnel song, what would it be?
“Could be ‘Perfect Timing.’ I hope yours will be that too.”
You said you treat practice like a game. What specific areas do you think you’ve improved most in since the last game last season?
“I would say being a great teammate, especially to that guy [Quincy Williams] right there.”
Quincy: I have a question for you though.
“What’s your question?”
Quincy: If you had a walkout-of-the-tunnel song, what song would it be?
“It would be ‘Perfect Timing.’ I hope yours will be that too.”
You said you treat practice like a game. So, my question was what specific areas do you think you’ve improved most in since the end of last season?
“I wouldn’t really say I’ve improved most. I’d say every area I try to improve. It’s like a chart within myself and saying, ‘Okay, if I’ve got 10 different areas to improve, let’s improve each area every day until it gets to max threshold.’ Max threshold, that’s going to take some time, a couple of years, but I think I’m improving in every area overall.”
Coach Monken said the other day that he wants to see you and Deshaun (Watson) in preseason games, because it’s a little different when a quarterback can get hit. Maybe an extra layer of evaluation there. How, if at all, does the game change for you when you know you can get hit?
“You got to think of how many times I got hit in college. They don’t really faze me at all at this point in life. And obviously it’s the league, and I got hit multiple times last year. I like the challenge of going out there to get the ball out of my hand, so I don’t get hit. That’s the challenge for me, to be able to make the right reads, to be able to go through progressions and figure it out. Even in practice, I don’t take it lightly when I could possibly get hit, because I’m trying to improve the process and speed everything up. It’s extremely tough, but it’s definitely a challenge I look forward to every day going out there.”
With the switching of the reps every day, how do you think you’ve handled that these first few weeks?
“I think that doesn’t even faze me or get to me. I don’t think about that at all. I’m just thankful to be able to practice. Sometimes you’ve got to sit back and reflect on why I would feel negative in this situation. Last year was a totally different situation, so I think about things I’m thankful for in life, and not what I really want. If you live in that ‘want’ world, then you can always be searching.”
There’s been a lot of interceptions at this camp. The defense is doing great, but you have the fewest of the quarterbacks. Why is that?
“I’m not sure. I just try to go about the process every day, make my decisions, and not really second-guess on that. I try to go through the process the right way and try do everything I’m trying to do. So, I think as long as that’s at the forefront of my mind and understanding situations, understanding down and distance, understanding what’s going on, then you’ll know when it’s time to force something and when it’s not time to. I know, being on the field, for me the longest, I’m going to be able get a feel, so it’s like, why put yourself in a situation where you could get taken off the field or anything? That’s what I try to focus on. Obviously, it doesn’t really happen like that. Some things are tipped picks, some things just happen. If I know last year, within the season, I threw some picks, then of course there’s going to be a point of emphasis to be confident with every decision I make. That’s just in life. Any decision I make, I’m fine with it, and I’ve got to stand by it. Life and football translate to each other. Even now, the decisions I make off the field, I’ve got to stand on it, I live by it, and I can’t regret it.”
A few days ago, when you found out maybe before the walkthrough that you weren’t going to be taking the one reps with the pads on that day. I watched you step up in the 11-on-11s and hit three straight passes right away, right where they needed to be. Did you take that as a positive and not let that become anything where you wondered why that was happening like that?
“No, I don’t think with the coaches that we have, you ever wonder. I think whatever is said is direct. We were informed the right way, so it was never a miscommunication between us. I don’t know. I don’t really appreciate sometimes when things happen and you all just jump on it, like ‘he’s just tripping’ or something. I don’t really like that, because it creates extra. I hope we’re all here to want to win, and be a team and be a franchise, so it’s kind of like we got to slow down. That’s what we want. But if we’re just here to make money and get clicks, then we understand that too. That’s why I just appreciate the team, I appreciate everybody, that we don’t let anything online or anything really get to us, because we’re in our own cocoon. We’re a team, so anything outside of that doesn’t really affect us in the building.”
Since Todd got here, you’ve been saying things like that. Whatever the coaches tell you guys, you trust. You mentioned at the beginning of minicamp that he understood you very well. How did he go about building that trust with you?
“I’d say by just letting everybody be themselves. That’s how he is overall. He wants every player, and everybody, to be themselves, because that’s the best way everybody will be able to produce and be able to meet us. I think that’s what it is. Everybody has freedom each and every day. You can be how you want to be within the guidelines of the team, as long as you’re not disrespecting or doing anything negative, then you kind of have that freedom.”
We saw this week that Denzel (Boston) seems to be slotted in as the main X-receiver with the ones.
“I don’t know what ‘ones’ and ‘twos’ are, honestly, I’m telling you. It switches every day. What’s ‘ones’ and what’s ‘twos?’ It’s just work. Which work are we getting today?”
More so, with Denzel, with KC (Concepcion) who has obviously been putting up some good plays as well, what’s your chemistry been like with then, and how have you worked with them throughout camp?
“Yeah, I’ll say it’s good. I’ll say the chemistry is definitely growing with each rep that I take with anybody I would say, because football is just a bunch of different situations that in practice you may hit on one look one time. So, each day you’re growing and building in different areas. Just because you practice, there’s a bunch of different situations in practice, so you look at things from different points of view. It’s way deeper than just, it’s first and ten, I’m going to throw a slant,’ versus, ‘it’s third-and-short doing a slant.’ It’s a big difference between it, because on one, you’re super on the line, the other you may not be as aggressive. It’s all about down and distance, it’s all about managing the game, time on the clock, and I think that’s where, as a team and everybody, we’re trying to get better every day. Being able to handle all the installs and everything it put on us is great. It’s ups and downs, it’s strenuous, sometimes it’s not, but it’s good, because like I said, I feel like the game, when everything is simplified, everything will be a lot more smoother within us.”
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