Assistant General Manager Brandon Brown

Q: What's been your impression of what you've seen from this roster this summer?

BRANDON BROWN: Thinking about the roster right now, it's young. I think when you look at the skill position points right now, look at the receiver room. Call it three of our top four in the receiver and DB (defensive back) room, are 23 years and younger. So, I just think a lot of competition, young guys pushing each other, and just seeing how the rooms are coming together where there aren't a lot of veteran voices as you look to some of these rooms as we get around the roster.

Q: I realize that every draft pick has hindsight. I want to go back to 2022 for a sec. Everybody was screaming you guys needed an offensive tackle externally, probably internally, too. How much of that do you think leads to picking (tackle) Evan Neal and, like, a guy like (New York Jets wide receiver) Garrett Wilson? How much was he on your radar? He goes three picks later.

BRANDON BROWN: Yeah, I think when you talk about building the roster the right way, the way (Senior Vice President and General Manager) Joe (Schoen), myself, (Head Coach Brian) Daboll, all the coordinators talk about it, we want to be firm in the trenches. Then you talk about positions that impact. Before the wide receiver market has a boom and you see guys making $25 million plus, the position that travel is tackle. You've got to protect the quarterback, and the quarterback is king. And I think when you start in the trenches between the tackle and having that synergy, someone to play on the opposite side of (tackle) A.T. (Andrew Thomas) that's how you ensure stability.

Q: I know Joe (Schoen) says he goes back and looks at (tackle) Evan Neal film sometimes to make sure that it was a college film sometimes to make sure that, 'What were we seeing then?' What do you think's been behind Evan Neal's slow development?

BRANDON BROWN: I think when you look at the development of players, not just offensive linemen in general, you always want to give at least a minimum of three years a book of business. I mean, we all lived how A.T. (Andrew Thomas) started, right? And everyone has their own path, whether it's coaching changes, whether it's coaching style, whether it's injuries or just a transition to the style of play. I just think with Evan (Neal), he's working to get healthy right now and I appreciate his mindset right now. He wants to do whatever's best for the team, and I have faith in him. We're not losing any faith in Evan (Neal) right now. I think, right now, him stringing together good days of practice, going into a joint practice tomorrow with the (New York) Jets, and then having that last preseason game, it's all going to be really a springboard for him to get back on the track that he wants to be on.

Q: This question is on behalf of Tom Rock. How did you find Elijah Chatman?

BRANDON BROWN: Well, give him my best, and then ask you a question whenever you're ready. But just with Chatman, I can't talk about Elijah without talking about our area scouts. Again, them leaving no stone unturned. You're talking about (Area Scout) Blaise Bell, you're talking about (College Scout) Justin Markus, (Area Scout) Scott Hamel, and when you go to SMU you do the full discovery process on Elijah, where you figure out, 'Okay, what makes him an outlier at his size?' because you're not going to find many 5'11 defensive tackles. Well, he was a captain. He was actually, for his size, he was a 1,600-yard rusher in high school as a running back slash fullback. He had a pseudo, call it fullback package on offense at SMU, and Scott (Hamel), Justin (Markus), Blaise (Bell) sending back notes on, seeing him run down on punt coverage and kickoff return. And in his background, he's a decorated high school wrestler and powerlifter and he's a son of a lumberjack. You put that all together, there are a lot of characteristics from an intangible standpoint, and then also the metrics, leaning on our analytics department. When you look at Elijah, you go through the spring process, and you have your workout warriors from pro-day. Well, Elijah was a 31-vert(ical) guy, a 4'8 40 (yard dash) guy, a 32 bench rep guy, a 9'4 (nine feet, four inches) broad jump guy. All those explosive metrics give him an opportunity for being an outlier, and even though he's 5'11, he's got almost 33-inch arms. So, there are redeeming traits where you take the intangibles of how he's built, how he's wired, and figure out what he can do best. The coaches are motivated, especially (Defensive Line Coach) Dre (Andre Patterson) and (Assistant Defensive Line Coach) Bryan Cox, and that's why I affectionately call Dre, Dr. Dre because there's probably nobody that he thinks he can't fix. We love that mindset. It was a group effort from scouting, analytics, and coaching. We're glad Elijah (Chatman) is here.

Q: So you were not overly surprised when he made that play in Houston?

BRANDON BROWN: No, no. The effort and the want to, we see that every day. And there's a cool transition when you start seeing teammates root for guys. When you start seeing (defensive lineman) Dex (Dexter Lawrence) rooting for Elijah, taking him to the side, giving him some pointers because it's like, 'Hey, I could be playing with this guy.' or 'There's something here that I like that I want to help develop.' So, it's been really cool to see.

Q: Is there a lesson that you guys can take then in your evaluation? I know it's part of your process, but just the idea of a guy like this can go off the board, undrafted and then come here all of a sudden and he was even a tryout here for your rookie camp. So, it wasn't even like you guys said right after the draft, 'We've got to sign him.' Are there lessons to be had in moving forward about a guy like this? Does he become like the, well, remember what happened with Chatman?

BRANDON BROWN: It's funny you say that. We look at every piece of the acquisition process as an opportunity. When you talk about whether it's the draft, whether it's an undrafted free agency or rookie minicamp tryouts. We want to have as many guys in and around the building that have an opportunity to make the roster. When you look at Elija, you look at him as, 'Okay, what are the factors that are working against him?' Knowing that he's an outlier. You're not going to find many subs, six-foot defensive tackles. So, we want to acquire him where we guard ourselves against the risk. Knowing how he may be viewed in the open market for 31 other teams, we want to get in front of him and get him around us and not just him, but all players at the right price point. I think it was low-cost, low risk when we got Elijah. We were excited to get him here for minicamp. That chase play that you saw, you saw that effort and relentless attitude here during rookie minicamp, it stood out. It's implementing the same process. Not going to change. We believe in it. It's just taking everything seriously. Rookie minicamp isn't an afterthought. It's an opportunity to find a good player that can contribute to the roster at some point, whether it's active, whether it's practice squad, whether it's developmental.

Q: What do you remember about his tryout specifically?

BRANDON BROWN: When you look at Elijah during rookie minicamp, he stands out as being smaller than the traditional defensive tackle. But you look at what he can do. Don't focus on what he can't do. Quickness off the ball, has twitch, and for a guy that's sub-six-foot, just power. When he strikes a bag, you almost feel the air kind of compress out of the bag. It sounds different. When (defensive lineman) Dex strikes a bag, you hear it. When certain guys strike a bag, you hear it. I can turn my back to the pad, and I can know it's being struck. He put his best foot forward. I think that's part of, you know, Joe's mindset and philosophy is a good player can come from anywhere. The coaches have adopted that where they don't care how we acquire them. The best guys are going to play. I think when you look at what Elijah's done, the platform that he's been given, the more reps that he's been given, it's because he's earned it.

Q: What's your comfort level with that second corner(back) spot? And I think people on the outside would say, 'Why haven't they spent and signed someone off the street who's like a proven guy to fill that spot?'

BRANDON BROWN: When you look at the corner position, no different than the wide receiver room, very young. When I told you three out of the projected top four are guys that are 23 years and younger. I think there's a maturation process where there's a synergy between development and the actual physical tools and talent. We're hedging on the upside of that bet, but there's also still time between now and the cut-down process to add pieces. We've done this in the past two years ago, adding (cornerback) Fabian Moreau, who ends up playing for us. (Or) Whether it's having (safety) Jason Pinnock or (cornerback) Nick McCloud, they are still on the roster. There are still opportunity points to add if we do feel it's needed, but we want to give our players that are in the building, our young guys, like I said, that aren't even 24 yet, all the opportunity to assert themselves and take reigns of a position.

Q: You have significant cap space to make pretty much any move you so desire here as you move forward the next few weeks, how active do you expect the team and the organization to be overall?

BRANDON BROWN: When you talk about the cap space, it's not just for the cut-down, but to me, it's also in-season spending. You want, you want to make sure that you're covering your bases regardless of if it's now, or you're talking about pre-trade deadline or anything that may happen in the first four to six weeks. You want to cover all your bases. But we're going to do our due diligence. Anything that may come about in terms of opportunity of a position in need, a player that's going to be available for trade that we may not pursue, we're going to do due diligence and figure out, 'Does it make sense for us?'

Q: You restructured (tackle) Andrew Thomas. I'm just curious what went into that and the timing and the amount and all that…

BRANDON BROWN: When you talk about the restructuring, I think you look at, in my opinion, and Joe and myself and the cap guys we all share it, is when you have the opportunity to restructure guys that are premium level players, that are durable and they're what the organization wants to be about from a character standpoint, it's a win-win. So that's really what went into it for AT.

Q: One of the things that surprised people was in recent weeks, you had a trade with Dallas. How does that come about? I mean, because most people didn't expect that. And is that, they have a need, you have a plethora?

BRANDON BROWN: You almost always look at where, when you're making a trade, one, what does it do for obviously your competitor? Is it in division? You mentioned it's a rarity. Then you look at the current makeup of the room. If you know a player may be on the outside looking in sometimes it's better to get ahead of some of those moves. And if you know that it's not going to hurt the way we're building things or our plans going towards (the) 53 (man roster). Sometimes it works out for everybody. Yeah, trading in the division is a rarity, but sometimes it worked out for all parties.

Q: Is there a different feeling this year, as opposed to last year, with the waivers that, you're sitting there at six and last year you admitted as much work as you guys were going to put into it, you kind of knew if you weren't going to make any deals, it was going to be hard to get… you're probably going to be fifth or sixth on most guys you claimed. Different feel this year, knowing that you probably are looking for some players that, that might have to contribute right away?

BRANDON BROWN: We're always going to be aggressive. Last year we were further down in the claim order, but going back to our first year, we were able to take those swings and get Fabian Monroe, Nick McCloud, get Jason Pinnock. We're going to do the same thing again. It may be, obviously, at different positions, but we want to make sure that if there is an opportunity to bolster, especially the backend of the roster, depth, and special team contributors, we're not going to apologize for trying to do that. I think it's going to be meticulous. (Director of Pro Scouting) Chris Rossetti, leading us in pro meetings, as well as Tim McDonnell canvassing the pro landscape myself, (Executive Advisor to the General Manager) Ryan Cowden, (Assistant Director of Player Personnel) Dennis Hickey. That's what we're doing. Between these first two weeks that have been gone from the film plus the Hall of Fame game and this last week coming up. It's just figuring out those, 'Where is surplus in the market? Where are teams that may have guys that are on the bubble or the trade block? How thick does it look? Where would we be versus our competitors that may be ahead of us in the claim order or those that may be behind us?'

Q: Have joint practices made it harder in that evaluation? It seems like most teams are using the middle of the week where you may not necessarily have film on guys to go into this process versus the preseason, where it seems like it's really the bottom of the rosters that people are turning around…

BRANDON BROWN: There's a strategic component that can be involved in that. If there's a guy that you want to potentially stash from 31 other teams, you may be more comfortable letting one other team have exposure to it versus putting them in a competitive game situation. But I think for the most part, when you're looking at the joint practices, it's a good way to identify guys that are taking hidden reps. Same thing we did when we had joint practice with the Jets a couple of years ago, you see Jason Pinnock, you see what he's doing on special teams and say, 'Hey, can he transition from being a tweener corner/safety to just being a safety?' And it gives you a certain comfort level for guys on the other team's roster. From exposure to the rest of the league, there could be a strategic component there, but then also we account for it. We look at which guys were given high signing bonuses or guaranteed money after the draft or were drafted in the past couple of years, rounds five, six, or seven. Why are they not playing? Have they suffered an injury? Are they getting pushed out? Is there a new coaching regime, or new General Manager regime in the front office where this guy has fallen out of favor? We try to find the reason or rationale behind the player not getting reps anymore and then we vet it.

Q: What have you seen from (quarterback) Daniel (Jones)… What did you see from him in the preseason game that either gave you confidence or coming back from that injury and his decision-making?

BRANDON BROWN: I think when you look at Daniel (Jones) in the preseason game, I highly respect and his teammates both new and old see how he rehabbed and came back in this timeframe. The one thing I take comfort in, and I know there will be continued development in, is his ability to push the ball down the field, being more aggressive, and taking those deep shots. You saw the throw to (wide receiver Darius) Slayton. I think this is the first time in his career (that) Daniel (Jones) has had four receivers that could line up on a 4x100m track team and are creating natural separation. I think the more that we have the gelling, the cohesiveness, especially with that top group, it's going to be the best outcome for everybody involved. I think DJ (Daniel Jones) is going to get used to seeing that separation and having more anticipation on some of these throws. So, I'm happy where he's at. I'm glad that he was able to get his feet wet after eight months and really attacking rehab.

Q: Where are you at cornerback, particularly behind obviously Deonte?

BRANDON BROWN: I think when you look him at the joint practices, (he's) just a premier matchup. Look at our rookie (cornerback) Dru Phillips and him matching up with (Detroit Lions wide receiver) Amon-Ra St. Brown. He didn't flinch. I think the toughness, the quiet toughness that Dru has, and his ability to be sticky in the nickel, him getting really good work every day, going against (wide receiver) Wan'Dale (Robinson), and matching that twitch at the top of routes. Seeing a savvy polished route runner like Amon-Ra and not flinching and being able to match up for two consecutive days. It was really good to see. Like I said, it's young. You look at Flott. Flott has had flashes in the past where he moved from the inside now to the perimeter it's getting just more reps there. You look at Nick McCloud too. Nick McCloud is the elder statesman in that group, being 26. So, it's one of those things where the room is so young. It's great seeing them, those guys, push each other every day. There isn't a comfort level where guys are taking their foot off the pedal. They know they have to earn it every day. One thing I appreciate about Nick is that he's kind of the Swiss army knife. He's played some nickel. He's played some perimeter corner. He's played some safety. He brings it every single day with a level of toughness where it doesn't matter what you put on this plate; he'll line up wherever we need. I'm glad to see him continuing to progress. Glad to see the young guys in Flott and Dru Phillips do what they do alongside Tae Banks and Tae is up for the challenge of wanting to prove that he can be a number one corner in this league. He knows that he's got to earn it and that's not going to be given to him.

Q: Are you in the quarterback market?

BRANDON BROWN: Why would we be in the quarterback market right now? DJ coming eight months off his ACL injury and having his feet wet for the first time against Houston, it's all a part of the progression process and it's him getting used to his weapons and us being able to protect them. I think what the offensive line has shown in the preseason right now, is there's continued continuity. We all think that there's going to be an evolution process here where we can continue to build continuity and DJ gets comfortable as we get more reps.

Q: So you're comfortable with the quarterback depth chart being Daniel (Jones) and Drew (Lock) for Week 1?

BRANDON BROWN: And (quarterback) Tommy (DeVito). I think when you look at the three guys we have right now, I trust Dabs, (I) trust (Assistant Head Coach/Offensive Coordinator Mike) Kafka, trust (Offensive Passing Game Coordinator/Quarterbacks Coach) Shea (Tierney), (Tight Ends Coach) Tim Kelly. I think right now where we're at, they have a plan, and we haven't gotten to game plan-specific stuff yet. I think as you get into week one against Minnesota, we'll start getting into more of those game plan-specific things and scheming guys in a way that we can attack a defense.

Q: The offensive line was such an emphasis for the front office all offseason and the five starters haven't played a snap, if my count's right, in their spots together all camp, what's the concern level there after what happened last year at the offensive line?

BRANDON BROWN: I think when you look at the offensive line right now, there is starting to have that gel and continuity. It's a different feel in the room. Hats off to (Offensive Line Coach) Carmen Bricillo. The way Carm teaches it, he doesn't take anything for granted. He's stripping the rep down, working stunts and games and in practice, and then when you can add guys like Jermaine Eluemunor and Runyan and guys that have had that continuity together. And you add a Greg Van Roten later on. There's a level of maturity and accountability in that room that feels a little bit different. I'm happy where it's at. And John Michael (Schmitz Jr.), Evan, even some of our young guys that are lesser known in terms of depth players, I'm happy where they're going because there's a level of accountability in that room right now where I think it's pointing in the right direction.

Head Coach Brian Daboll

Q: Can you go over the injuries that happened over the weekend?

BRIAN DABOLL: Sure, who do you want to know about?

Q: Micah (McFadden)?

BRIAN DABOLL: Micah won't practice today.

Q: Long term?

BRIAN DABOLL: What's long term?

Q: Week to week?

BRIAN DABOLL: Week to week.

Q: Jon Runyan coming back today?

BRIAN DABOLL: No, we'll keep him down again today, he's close.

Q: I assume tomorrow then he probably won't go and enjoy practice then?

BRIAN DABOLL: Let's see how it is today. Possibly, I wouldn't count on it, but he'll be okay.

Q: How about (cornerback Cor'Dale) Flott?

BRIAN DABOLL: Flott will not go today. (He's) Getting close.

Q: How much of a concern is (quarterback) Drew (Lock)?

BRIAN DABOLL: Drew will go today.

Q:(cornerback Dru) Phillips or Lock?

BRIAN DABOLL: Both of them.

Q: Drew, you're talking Lock or (Phillips)?

BRIAN DABOLL: Both.

Q: How much of a concern is your inside linebacker depth right now? If Micah's week-to-week, (inside linebacker) Dyontae Johnson's week-to-week, (linebacker Matthew) Matt Adams got hurt, and (inside linebacker) Carter Coughlin, you can tell us if he's back or not.

BRIAN DABOLL: He will come back today, but certainly we're down some guys there. So, we'll see what happens down the road.

Q: What about Matt Adams?

BRIAN DABOLL: Week to week.

Q: How's Dyontae Johnson doing?

BRIAN DABOLL: Week to week.

Q: (Running back Dante Miller) Turbo?

BRIAN DABOLL: He'll be doing stuff today.

Q: Is (defensive tackle Elijah) Chatman, okay? Is he practicing?

BRIAN DABOLL: Yep.

Q: Is there a guy on the roster...

BRIAN DABOLL: I've got a long list here of people.

Q: Anyone else we didn't mention?

BRIAN DABOLL: Sure.

Q: Who won't be going today?

BRIAN DABOLL: Good question, Charlotte. Runyan will not. (tackle Evan) Neal will take more reps than he has. John Michael (Schmitz Jr.) will as well. Drew will do stuff today, Lock. (tight end Lawrence) Cager will not. He's week to week. (wide receiver) Gunner (Olszewski), week to week. (running back Tyrone) Tracy will practice. He's good. He's fine. Flott, (safety Gervarrius Owens) G.O., Dru Phillips will be limited. Matt Adams week to week. Micah, Carter will come back. That's where we're at.

Q: Is there a guy on the team that plays a different position that you're going to have to move to inside linebacker to cover, like a (cornerback) Nick McCloud or something to cover?

BRIAN DABOLL: No.

Q: How much closer are you at this point to settling on who the cornerback is going to be opposite of (cornerback) Deonte Banks?

BRIAN DABOLL: Yeah, we'll still get Flott back here. Those guys will still work in and out. So, we haven't made that decision yet.

Q: What do you think is going to determine that decision in your mind?

BRIAN DABOLL: Whoever we think is going to give us the best chance after training camp.

Q: How much of that is preseason? How much of that is practice?

BRIAN DABOLL: One is availability. So, 'can you stay out there and do it and be dependable doing it'? And then performance. So, when Flott comes back out, he'll take as many reps as he can get. And then we'll sit down and make a decision on what we think.

Q: I think back to a conversation I had with (wide receiver) Allen Robinson (II) at the beginning of training camp. He said that when he decided to sign here, you were pretty upfront with him, and laid out everything. I would assume you do that with a lot of players when they come in. When guys sign last week the way (tight end/fullback) Jakob Johnson did, (running back Joshua) Kelley did, how realistic are you with their chances? Telling them what they need to do to make this team? Because I've got to imagine nobody wants to come here and just be a body.

BRIAN DABOLL: At this time of the year when there are guys out on the street that are trying to get jobs, there's a lot of guys that come and work out for us on a weekly basis that want to get their foot in the door. So, some of those guys just come here, take as many reps as you can get, learn it. It's a little bit different than I sat down with Allen, but I expect all the coaches to 'Here's what it is. This is what we expect out of you'. Be very clear with them. And then let them go out there and do it. When it happens this time of year and you're bringing guys in, sometimes the day of or the day before, and there's not a lot of long conversations that I have with them, it might be short in the hallway, but their position coaches certainly do.

Q: What does a play like Chatman's rundown do for the players' roster chances?

BRIAN DABOLL: That was a heck of an effort play. So, that's something you evaluate is people's effort, how they run to the football. Same thing offensively, clean in the pocket, chasing the ball. So, effort is certainly something that you evaluate. That was a great effort play by him.

Q: When you bring in guys this time, a lot of them don't have a lot of experience, but Jakob Johnson is different. He plays a very specialized role. You haven't had a fullback, so why bring him in now? I guess.

BRIAN DABOLL: Yeah, we worked out a few people for that. I wouldn't just say specifically fullback role, but he can do some other things too. He was able to pick things up pretty quickly when we put him in. We needed some legs, to be honest with you, where we were at, the tight end room. So, he had some familiarity with (Offensive Line Coach Carmen Bricillo) Carm. He's also had some other people that I know who have coached him or played with him. (Assistant Offensive Line Coach) James Ferentz was with him. So, it was pretty seamless just for that day to get him in. And now we'll give him some opportunity on special teams, some core things that he can do and try to do some of the things that he does well. But he can do some other things. He's played in the backfield a bunch, but he's flexible enough to, I'm not saying just put him on the line like you would with (tight end) Theo (Johnson). You can put him off the line and do some things with him. So, he has some experience. He's a tough guy, which is something that we covet.

Q: For your young defense, I guess particularly with the secondary, what kind of opportunity challenges tomorrow against (Jets quarterback) Aaron Rodgers?

BRIAN DABOLL: Every opportunity is great. He's one of the better players to ever play at that position. So, I look forward to the competition. I've got a ton of respect for Aaron and his game. He's done it in a long time at a very high level. So, it'll be good.

Q: How excited are you for tomorrow? And what do you really hope to accomplish?

BRIAN DABOLL: The same thing that we did against Detroit. Go out there and practice against another team. Let the 1s get a lot of reps with the 1s. So, you're practicing against another team. Continue the evaluation process. So, you don't have to get on an airplane to do it. So, it's good.

Q: How valuable can the opportunity for a player like (wide receiver) Malik Nabers be to go against (cornerback) Sauce Gardner tomorrow?

BRIAN DABOLL: Good. Again, another heck of a player. Malik hasn't played in an NFL game yet. So, he's had training camp, and he's done well with everything we've asked him to do. But certainly, when you're playing against a guy of that caliber, Sauce's caliber, it'll be good competition.

Q: There were several fights against the Lions. How do you prevent that against the Jets?

BRIAN DABOLL: Talk about it again. We don't want to fight.

Q: Do you intend to sit the starters in this final game the way that you have in the past?

BRIAN DABOLL: Not there yet. Be there at the end of the week like normal. Sit down and talk about it.

Q: Anything we should expect to see? Like, obviously you turned the ball over five times the other day. You weren't happy about it after the game. Do you plan on addressing that out here in practice?

BRIAN DABOLL: Yeah, we do it every day. It's something we don't want to do. We drill it. We coach it. We teach it on tape. It happened for a variety of reasons. We go through it. We show them. We continue to do it out here. It's something we do every day.

Q: (Safety/inside linebacker) Isaiah Simmons, he's obviously kind of an anomaly to play that nickel position. Can he match up with speedy slot corners? Or does he have to be specialized if you're going to use him there in terms of the matchup?

BRIAN DABOLL: I think (Defensive Coordinator) Shane's (Bowen) done a good job of doing different things with him, calling different things. The one thing that he does have is length. And you could see that on some of the plays earlier on training camp where they might have had a step on him, but his length makes up for maybe the quickness element of a shifty receiver. So, matchups, things that go into it. But he's done a nice job.

Q: (cornerback) David Long (Jr.) is he going to practice?

BRIAN DABOLL: Possibly. I'm not sure on that one yet. I would probably lean right now towards no. I guess I skipped him. There's a lot of DBs on it.

Q: So, I guess I'll ask it this way. Do you rely on that part of their game to get them through where there hasn't been the continuity that you probably would have preferred?

BRIAN DABOLL: That's a good question. So, that's probably one of our more veteran groups now on our team. So, with those four players, and I'd say five include (guard Aaron) Stinnie, you have people that have played a lot of football, some at different spots, some together at other teams as well, and (tackle Anrew Thomas) A.T. who's been here and done it at a high level for the years he's been in this league. So, I would say those four players that are communicating well with one another. I have a lot of confidence in that group. Their experience, their communication, their style of play, they've been good additions to our football team.

Q: If I could just follow up quickly, what have you learned about their position coach? You hired him, so I understand that you got to know him, but what have you learned during this camp about him?

BRIAN DABOLL: Carm's a good coach. We have crossed paths with him, not working, but with a lot of people that I've worked with. He's done a nice job with them. I think they respect him. He's coached two of them and got a good way about him. He's got good leadership traits, good communication skills, good at the fundamentals, and I've thrown him in there every time. James Ferentz has been a good addition as well, who has played in this system for quite some time and played center, he can see it through their eyes. They've worked well together.

Q: On the opposite end of the spectrum from the offensive line, you talked about they have the experience. (Assistant General Manager) Brandon Brown was talking about how your defensive back, your cornerback room particular, is super young.

BRIAN DABOLL: There's a lot of spots that are young.

Q: When can it be too young for you? How important do you think it is to have a veteran voice?

BRIAN DABOLL: I think the most important thing is to play well, so whether you're a 10-year vet or a two-year guy, but experience helps. It definitely does. We're young at receiver. We've got two young tight ends with (tight end Daniel Bellinger) Belly and Theo. We're young at running back with (running back Eric) Gray and Tracy. (running back Devin Singletary) Motor's been in the system for a while, so we're young. These guys are going to continue to improve. We like them. We've drafted most of them or brought them on board. So, the communication, the experience, the most important thing is playing well, regardless of how many years you've played.

Running Back Tryone Tracy

Q: Can you take us through last week, that scene on the practice field. What that was like for you to go through it?

TYRONE TRACY: It was definitely something scary. The best thing that happened was, you know, I only had very little damage to my ankle. I'm really just happy to be back out here on the football field. Like I said, it was very scary. The medical staff did a great job of making sure that I'm recovering. And I'm in their daily making sure that I'm doing my treatments and making sure that I'm doing everything I can to come back 100 percent healthy.

Q: When you first went down, did you get an initial diagnosis of, 'We're worried it's this?' Because usually when you're carted off in the air cast. It very seldom is that it's a low ankle issue…

TYRONE TRACY: It was definitely something scary. The doctors took precautionary actions. So, I didn't know what was wrong. They didn't directly know what was wrong. They just did what they thought was right in the moment.

Q: At what point did you get that relief to find that it wasn't anything too serious?

TYRONE TRACY: A little bit later that day, actually. We did end up going to the hospital. They checked out my foot and everything. And actually, a little bit later that day, it was feeling way better than what it was earlier. Because when it initially happened, it was very scary. I think that in my head, I didn't know what was going on because they put the air cast on. So, I didn't know if it was broken or not. A lot of stuff was going on. It was definitely scary. But a little bit later that day, I was feeling way better.

Q: So, they put you on the cart. Most guys don't figuratively live to tell about that and say it was a scare…

TYRONE TRACY: Yeah, you're not lying about that one.

Q: So, what's in your head as you're on the cart going back in here? I mean, are you running through things a mile a minute of what you just lost at this point?

TYRONE TRACY: At that point, we're all human. When things happen, you definitely have thoughts in your head. I'm trying to be faithful and I'm trying to be positive in the moment. But it was definitely hard just because I didn't know what was wrong. I didn't know what happened and everything kind of happened really fast. So, when things like that happen, thoughts start creeping in. You start thinking, 'The season's over,' or, 'You're not going to play this year,' or whatever. I have high hopes for my rookie season. So, at that moment, I'm thinking all that kind of went down the drain. So, I thank God that I was able to come back and be able to play again.

Q: And you were back here, what, an hour, two hours back in meetings?

TRYONE TRACY: We were back after everything at the hospital. We were back in meetings fairly quick. It was really just because I didn't want to miss meetings. I didn't want to miss any information that was going in.

Q: Did the guys, when you walked in, saw you come in, what was that reaction like?

TYRONE TRACY: They were pretty hyped for me. They were pretty hyped for me when I was coming in. A lot of the folks around the building started calling me (Boston Celtics forward) Paul Pierce. They said I pulled a Paul Pierce. But it's all good. I know there is very genuine love around the building and I'm happy to be here for real.

Q: How do you feel, now that you're obviously back out there, feeling good to go?

TYRONE TRACY: Yeah, I feel good. I feel really good. Today was kind of like a test to see how good I was. I didn't get really many reps. But they wanted to see me move, wanted to see how well I was moving. And me personally, I think I did fairly well.

Q: When you were down on the ground, was something going through your mind that had never gone through your mind before?

TYRONE TRACY: Yeah, because I've never been seriously injured. I've never had any surgeries. Thank God. But, yeah, at that moment, everything, like you said, everything was going through my head. Just from, not playing, from missing out on opportunities, stuff like that. Because as a football player and as a playmaker, you want to be on the football field. You want to have the opportunities to make plays for the team and put the team in a better position. For that to happen, yeah, things definitely did go through my head.

Q: Do you remember the moment they told you it's not as bad as you thought, or they thought or anything like that?

TYRONE TRACY: I mean, not necessarily. I kind of understood what the doctors was doing and how they took precautionary action. But, at that moment, I don't really remember what else was going on.

Q: Before you got hurt, it seemed like you were really doing well, especially in short yardage situations. How do you feel like you've been playing and why have you been so effective running inside so far?

TYRONE TRACY: Just instincts. Our coach, Coach (Running Backs Coach) JT (Joel Thomas), he does a great job of making sure that we're very detailed in the running back room, making sure that we're on our landmarks, making sure our eyes look at the right things. Then, after you get the ball and hit your landmarks, it's really being a football player. Reaction time, making sure you're reacting to what you're seeing and not just making stuff up. I think that I do a well job of making sure that, I'm seeing the right things and acting accordingly.

Q: Is it encouraging to put that into game action against the Lions?

TYRONE TRACY: Yeah. Because that was my first real live action. For me to get out there and see some type of production coming out of my work that I've been doing off the field and in practices definitely adds to my confidence for sure.

Q: Are you hoping that you're going to get some team reps tomorrow?

TYRONE TRACY: I'm not sure what's going to happen. Whatever the coaching staff puts me in, whatever play they put me in, I'm going to do everything to the best of my ability.