Head Coach Brian Daboll

BRIAN DABOLL: Tough couple of days. Roster is still fluid. (I'm) not going to get into any specifics, at this point. Still got a couple days here to make adjustments if we need to, practice squad wise, claims and all those types of things. But certainly appreciate the players, like I told them. But in terms of specifics or individual players, we'll deal with more of that tomorrow.

Q: You're at 53 though, right now, right?

BRIAN DABOLL: Yeah.

Q: Dd you intend to keep three quarterbacks, at least originally?

BRIAN DABOLL: Again, I'm not going to get into any specifics. They'll be out here.

Q: But we're going to see three quarterbacks, right?

BRIAN DABOLL: Yep.

Q: But you won't say you intend to keep three quarterbacks?

BRIAN DABOLL: The roster's fluid. I'll say what I said. There's a lot of things that are still being discussed right now. But this is the original, if you will, 53 (man roster).

BRIAN DABOLL: (We) Named captains today, or voted for captains today. There'll be five of them. (Long Snapper) Casey Kreiter on special teams, (quarterback) Daniel Jones and (tackle) Andrew Thomas on offense and (defensive lineman) Dexter (Lawrence) and (inside linebacker) Bobby (Okereke) on defense. Those were voted by their teammates.

Q: What do you look for when you're making a waiver claim on somebody? Is it just their film?

BRIAN DABOLL: Our scouts have been watching every preseason game. There's college tape we've watched before. Anyone we think that can help improve our roster at any spot, that's what we'll try to do.

Q: How do you try to find out how quickly somebody can learn?

BRIAN DABOLL: Sometimes you have some experience dealing with them with the pre-draft process. Sometimes coaches have experience with them. And if you don't, then you get them into your building and try to catch them up as quickly as you can. That's how you figure it out.

Q: Will (wide receiver) Gunner (Olszewski) and (wide receiver) Isaiah McKenzie be out here today?

BRIAN DABOLL: No. Gunner (Olszewski) is still nursing his injury. Again, with players out here, you'll see who's out here right now, but I'm not going to get into specific guys.

Q: Does Gunner (Olszewski) have a chance to be ready for week one?

BRIAN DABOLL: Yeah, I think there's a chance for all those guys in terms of (inside linebacker Micah) McFadden, (wide receiver) Gunner (Olszewski), (linebacker) Matt Adams. But it's 13 days or 12 days away. That's part of the discussions that we're having to see where guys are at, and we'll know more here in the next couple days.

Q: Are you putting anyone on IR (injured reserve) today?

BRIAN DABOLL: Possibly. I don't know. We'll see. These are all discussions we're still having. It's great questions. I appreciate the questions. But I'm not going to get into details.

Q: What's the status of (tackle) Evan Neal and (center) John Michael Schmitz (Jr.)?

BRIAN DABOLL: They'll practice. Evan Neal is good. John Michael (Schmitz Jr.) is good. (Quarterback) Drew (Lock) is coming back out. (Drew) Lock doing more. (Cornerback) Dru Phillips. (Cornerback Cor'Dale) Flott. We've pretty much got most everybody.

Q: Will you have (guard Jon) Runyan (Jr.) on the field today?

BRIAN DABOLL: We will.

Q: That was a yes on (Jon) Runyan (Jr.)?

BRIAN DABOLL: It is. I took a picture of those guys in walk-through. The five of them out there doing their first drill together. Walk-through drill.

Q: What about other guys that were dealing with injuries? (Safety) Gervarrius Owens? (Inside linebacker) Dyontae Johnson?

BRIAN DABOLL: GO (Gervarrius Owens) will be out there doing stuff. Dyontae (Johnson), still nothing today.

Q: Did you really take a picture?

BRIAN DABOLL: Yeah, I did.

Q: Do you take the time to celebrate some guys that may have made the roster that came in here and weren't necessarily viewed as guys who would make the team? Undrafted guys or anything like that? Will you do that or is it because it's fluid…

BRIAN DABOLL: I congratulated the guys that are here right now. I told them exactly what I'm telling you all, it's a fluid situation. There could be more changes. There could not be. That's why these next few days are going to be important. But as of right now, this is the original guys we kept, but that's not to say there won't be changes. Additions, subtractions, injuries, all those types of things.

Q: So it's kind of a balance of tempering their excitement…

BRIAN DABOLL: What I told them today is we got an hour of practice. We cut down a lot of the reps because we're obviously down a lot of numbers without practice squad players and the players we just released, but let's go out there and work on some situations we need to improve on.

Q: When you look at your wide receiver room, how much do you rely on (wide receiver Darius) Slayton to lead?

BRIAN DABOLL: I would say a good amount. He's been here for a while. He's been consistent. He's a dependable player. The quarterback has a lot of trust in him. He's done everything we've asked him to do since I've been here. Was productive before I got here. He's been Mr. Steady for us. One of the steady guys offensively we've had here the last couple years.

Q: Do you get the impression, if you've thought about it at all, that the younger receivers feel really confident and comfortable asking him to show them the way a little bit?

BRIAN DABOLL: Yeah, absolutely. Again, he's got a lot of experience playing, been productive, knows our system, and (they) have a lot of confidence in (Darius) Slay(ton).

Offensive Tackle Andrew Thomas

Q: (Head Coach) Dabs (Brian Daboll) joked with us earlier that he took a picture of the first team offensive line. Was that discussed as you guys were going through walk-throughs?

ANDREW THOMAS: Yeah, he did that on the walk-through today. It was kind of funny. We joked on (center) John Michael (Schmitz Jr.) a little bit just because he's young and missed some time. It's great to have everybody back. We need these reps. I think we have seven or eight practices before the first game so we need every rep we can get.

Q: Is there enough time to get the continuity you'd like with the first group?

ANDREW THOMAS: I think so. I think we have a good group. A lot of veterans which I think that helps with the group. And then (center) John Michael (Schmitz Jr.) it's his second year, in this system so just making the Mike points, I think he's going to do a good job for us.

Q: Did you notice that you guys hadn't been together at all?

ANDREW THOMAS: I noticed, yeah (laughs).

Q: What stands out when you get these guys as a group, I guess what was different today?

ANDREW THOMAS: Honestly, not much difference. I think that's a credit to all the guys in the room that we have. The nature of the business, guys are going to go down and we need people to come in and be able to run the ship as it was going before. So, like I said, we have some veteran guys, (that have) played a lot of ball in this league, so I think we're going to have a good group up front.

Q: When you mentioned the number of veterans that are up there, how much easier does that make when you guys are trying to gel quick?

ANDREW THOMAS: I think it makes a huge difference. (Guard) GV (Greg Van Roten) and (tackle) Jermaine (Eluemunor), they were with (Offensive Line Coach) Carm (Carmen Bricillo) in a similar system in (Las) Vegas, so I think that helps a lot. And (guard Jon) Runyan (Jr.) has obviously played a lot of ball for Green Bay. I think it's just a matter of being on the same page as far as language. But the schemes… Everybody, they've seen every play there is. So, I think we're going be okay.

Q: Is there anything tangible that you can look at? You've been in the room for a while now. Unfortunately, we've talked about it time and again, not to go back, but you know when you look around and things don't feel right. That guys are scrambling, guys are young, they don't understand what's going on… Is there anything tangible that you can point to that you know, 'All right, we're at ease even if this guy's not here or that guy's not here'?

ANDREW THOMAS: I think they did a good job in the offseason. Adding in guys, some older guys and just with some of the younger guys that we have, they've made a lot of progress this offseason with the new staff, with (Offensive Line Coach) Carm (Carmen Bricillo). I think he's done a good job for us, so I'm excited for this year.

Q: Is this the most confident you are heading into a season for your position group?

ANDREW THOMAS: Yeah, but it's easy to be confident now. We'll see once we get into the season, because that's when you'll really be tested. But I think we have a group of guys that will battle to get to the right person, no M-E, stuff like that, not beating ourselves. Hopefully we can be dominant.

Q: At what point do you start looking at the (Minnesota) Vikings defense or have you already?

ANDREW THOMAS: So, in the offseason, I do a little bit of scouting myself just to see the rushers I'm going against. But as a group, I think we'll probably start up this week just going into depth of their fronts, their schemes, and things of that nature. I don't know how far they got into game planning but, hopefully, we'll get a good look at them soon.

Q: You've played with (quarterback) Daniel (Jones) all summer, but he's only had a half of the preseason. Does he still need work, or is he ready?

ANDREW THOMAS: I think we all need work. I don't think you can ever be satisfied. And obviously he's coming off an injury, missing time. But I think he's going to be prepared. He does the most work out of anybody. I think he's going to be ready to go.

Q: What have you noticed in (center) John Michael (Schmitz Jr.) coming back this year?

ANDREW THOMAS: He's missed a little time being injured but I think his confidence has definitely grown. He's going against (defensive lineman) Dex (Dexter Lawrence) every day, so I don't think it gets much harder than that. I think he's going to be ready.

Q: With the offense overall, how do you get a feel of the speed that's been added and maybe Daniel (Jones)'s comfort as training camp has gone along?

ANDREW THOMAS: Yeah, it looks a little different than last year. We added some guys on the outside, like you said, that are explosive and made some changes up front. We're excited to see what we're going to do this year.

Q: At the risk of asking a dumb question, and it would not be my first… When you're huddled up and the play is being called and everything else, do you react any differently based on the play call?

ANDREW THOMAS: As far as like whether it's run or pass or who the ball's going to…

Q: With the receiver position, I'm sorry, I meant to say that part.

ANDREW THOMAS: For me, honestly, when the pass is called, I'm just worried about where the MIike point is, where we're sorting to and then my individual technique. If we do our jobs up front, then we have plenty of playmakers, and I trust (quarterback) DJ (Daniel Jones) to get the ball to them. I definitely get excited.

Q: You were very open last year, when last year ended, about, you wanted to come back, be healthy, stay healthy. When you come out of the summer, the way you did, again, by my count, I don't know if you missed one rep in camp, does that add to your confidence or are you one of those, 'Now it's all about tomorrow. It's not about what happened the last couple of weeks.' Does that matter for you in the grand scheme of things?

ANDREW THOMAS: It definitely matters. In OTAs, I missed some time and didn't get to do some of the live periods. For an offensive lineman, you take every rep… it's the best thing you can have. You can do all the training you want in the off season, but until the bullets are flying, you don't know if your technique is working. So, to not miss any practices, this training camp, is huge for me.

Q: Just to double check his math, did you miss any reps?

ANDREW THOMAS: I think it was one team period that (Head Coach) Dabs (Brian Daboll) pulled a few of the veteran guys out but none due to injury.

Q: You were captain last year, right?

ANDREW THOMAS: Yeah.

Q: So how much different is it now, this year, where a lot of those guys that were here last year are gone, some bigger voices. Who has stepped up into those leader roles?

ANDREW THOMAS: I think for one, this year there is less captains. So, I think that holds a little bit more weight. Guys respect you a lot more. We brought a lot of other veteran guys along, even if they're not captains, that have done a good job on both sides of the ball, just being leaders and trying to get everybody on the same page.

Linebacker Bobby Okereke

Q: Does today change everything in the sense that all summer it's been preparing and now it's who you see ahead of you in Minnesota?

BOBBY OKEREKE: Yeah, a heightened anticipation for sure, but this week we're still focusing on us, hammering down our techniques, fundamentals, really laying that final foundation before Week 1.

Q: I think we saw six inside backers out there today and you probably have had at least one play with all five of the other guys that were with you. I know there's something about familiarity, but how big is it for you to have some continuity here going forward?

BOBBY OKEREKE: It's good, that speaks to the talent in our room. I think every guy in the room is plug and play, can play Mike or Will and play well for us. As we get into season, like you said, continuity is great, communication, hammering that in. So on gameday, it's seamless, but I feel confident with all the guys.

Q: What is (inside linebacker) Darius (Muasau) able to handle? If he's starting Week 1 next to you, what can he do, what can he bring to the defense?

BOBBY OKEREKE: He's an old school football player. I don't know if you saw it, but you might have heard it – that big hit against the Jets. He ran that running back right over. He plays physical, he plays fast, he plays the game the right way and he's smart. He's a plug and play guy for sure.

Q: Does it put any more on your plate if in Week 1 you have a rookie next to you, with a guy prepared for his first debut rather than somebody maybe with a little bit more experience?

BOBBY OKEREKE: Potentially, just communication. Obviously, it's his first live game, so jitters, excitement there. But there is a such thing as youthful exuberance. So that's what he brings to the table, that excitement, that energy. He flies around with his hair on fire.

Q: How different does the defense look to you with (outside linebacker) Brian Burns as part of it, right now (outside linebacker Kayvon) Thibodeaux's in kind of a different role as someone that they got a different guy that they have to double for the middle linebacker. How different overall are you guys just by adding him?

BOBBY OKEREKE: Yeah, we'll see in game speed. Obviously, we saw in the Texans game, the ball was getting out quick. Quarterback really doesn't have an option, but he just adds an extra dynamic of flexibility, speed, athleticism on the edge that we haven't had.

Q: Do you think it makes a big difference to have a sort of, lack of a better term, star or edge rusher or all-pro type edge rusher?

BOBBY OKEREKE: When you add it to the group, for sure. Now you can't just double decks and decide to have one-on-ones. You've got KT, who finished 11 and a half sacks last year. You've got Burns, who's signed to a big contract. You've got (defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence II) Dex, so it's a kind of pick-your-poison right there.

Q: Since the Jet practice, it seems (Jets quarterback) Aaron Rodgers did very well. There's been questions about the secondary. Are there questions for you?

BOBBY OKEREKE: No. We have a young group, like I said, but we have a lot of talent. We've got a lot of youth, and those guys are growing and maturing really well. (Safety) Jason Pinnock's doing a great job leading that group. Obviously, (cornerback) Deonte Banks, first-round pick. He's locked down – so those guys are coming along. Extra communication from my end and a great pass rush will help everybody.

Q: Does it put more pressure on the front seven?

BOBBY OKEREKE: It can. As we figure out our game plan, figure out how teams are starting to attack us, we'll figure out our strategy.

Q: Last year you had, I think it was 10 captains. (Head Coach Brian Daboll) Dabs told us, (tackle) Andrew (Thomas) just said you guys have five this year. About half the amount. Does it add weight to the idea of the captains, knowing that it's not 10 guys, now it's just the five of you guys with the 'C' on your chest?

BOBBY OKEREKE: Not necessarily. Every year is a different year. Every team's a new team. I think the best fit for our team this year was the five captains. Great guys who have different leadership styles, different experiences and wisdom, and I think we'll do a great job.

Q: Why do you think the best fit is five this year compared to 10 last year?

BOBBY OKEREKE: I mean, just obviously coming off the 2022 season, having established leadership there and having a successful year, then bringing in free agents like me and (former tight end Darren) Waller, it was kind of a room of a lot of leaders. But with the departure of some guys, obviously (Eagles running back) Saquon (Barkley), (Packers safety Xavier McKinney) X aren't here. Just based off everything that's unfolded, it's kind of the right fit.

Q: Is that something Dabs talked about with you guys, that you maybe gave input on, that maybe it was better to pare the number down to?

BOBBY OKEREKE: No, not necessarily. We all voted as a team today, and I think that's just how the votes came out.

Q: You mentioned about differing personalities. Is that important when you have captains, that not everybody leads the same way, talks the same way?

BOBBY OKEREKE: Not necessarily. You kind of deal with what you have. Like if we all have the same personality, we figure it out too. But different leadership styles, some guys lead by example, some guys are rah-rah guys. It just adds to the collective.