Tyler ButlerOpening Statement:
“I appreciate you guys adjusting there. Obviously wanted to practice outside, but got some weather coming through so going to go inside. Obviously, I feel bad for our fans that were coming to watch us practice and I hope they are all taking cover with some weather coming through here. We’ll go inside and get a good day’s work and then an off day and start the rest of our preparation for the week. But with that, I’ll take any questions.”
Kevin, have you made a decision on starters, including Deshaun (Watson) on Saturday?
“Yeah. So we’re going to play some starters, about ten players. Very similar to – I talked to Coach (Mike) LaFleur, very similar to Coach LaFleur’s plan. Some guys will not play. Whether they’re injured or coming back from an injury or my decision. Deshaun will not play in this game, but you will have some starters out there on Saturday night.”
Did that change after they announced their starting players?
“No, no. We always, as a courtesy, talk to the other team to see what they’re doing. You know, I don’t know if he (LaFleur) heard Myles (Garrett) wasn’t playing and changed his mind. I’m just kidding. But we talk and see what we need to get done, what they’re going to do, those type of things. But Coach LaFleur and I see it very similarly in terms of this game.”
Has there been a decision made for Deshaun for the rest of the preseason?
“I’d say we have a plan, Scott (Petrak), but we’ll just work that day by day but not going to get too far ahead of ourselves.”
Do you have an update on Za’Darius (Smith)?
“No update, I think he’ll be okay. He banged knees there with Jerome Ford. Kind of a weird injury, but ultimately he’ll be okay, but pretty sore.”
Will Jameis (Winston) start Saturday?
“Yes.”
Can you explain your reasoning for, weather aside, scheduling practice for 4:25 p.m.? Because your kickoff time?
“Yeah, it is. So, we want to just get the body clock used to a 4:25 p.m. start. That’s week one for us, home against Dallas at 4:25 p.m. So, we scheduled the two preseason games at 4:25 p.m. Wanted to get practice here at 4:25 p.m. Obviously wanted to be outside and acclimate to the heat, but Mother Nature had a different idea.”
Kevin, you probably can’t address players that are not on the team, but there are reports out there that I think you guys are interested in trading for Brandon Aiyuk. Is that a player that you think could help this football team?
“As you know, Mary Kay (Cabot), I don’t really get into reports. Respectfully, and I understand the question, but I’m really just focused on today and the practice. I don’t concern myself with reports.”
Kevin, along those lines, have you said anything to Amari Cooper?
“Yeah, as you can imagine, any conversations I have with our guys I keep to ourselves, if you will. We really focus on what’s going on in our building, not necessarily what’s going on outside the building.”
But with Amari, we all know what he does on the field. So, what kind of a leader is he in the meeting rooms that we don’t get to see?
“We talked a lot about Amari over the years, somebody that I’ve gotten to know. When we first got him, you don’t know much about the player, you know, having watched him, the type of caliber of player he is. But just seeing him around the building, how he works in the meeting room. Lead by example is really the way he does it. It’s very similar to a lot of guys on our team. You know, Nick Chubb’s similar, not real vocal, but is certainly a leader by example.”
How much is a guy like Mike Hall, I mean, with the number of injuries you have currently at that position, how much does that put more on Mike to kind of accelerate his development at this point?
“Yeah, I don’t think you can as a young player accelerate the process just based on what’s going on with injuries or the roster. Every player kind of develops at their own pace, some faster than others. With Mike, we’re just going to keep bringing him along. He’s doing a nice job. There’s miles to go for him. There’s a lot of work that needs to be done, and I promise you, Jacques (Cesaire) and Jordan Thomas are going to work very hard with him. But with young players, they really have to keep up and keep pace. But we really have to work at their own pace in terms of how quickly they’re picking things up mentally, physically, if you will.”
We saw Sam Kamara walk off yesterday, was wondering if he’s back?
“He’s back. Yeah, he’s good.”
We didn’t see Michael Dunn yesterday, is he back today?
“He’s not back just yet, but I’ll update you guys when appropriate.”
We talked to Quinton (Jefferson) today, Jim (Schwartz) talked about him yesterday, being on the field early and being on late, having young guys with him. I know you talked about the value of veterans, but especially maybe a guy with a new perspective just comes in, how good can that be for the team?
“I mean, he’s a good player. So excited about, you know, what he can potentially bring to this football team. But then that leadership that guy’s pass on and you’ve been through different camps, you’ve been through different schemes, different teams. You can use a lot of those lessons that you’ve learned and pass along to the guys. And, you know, you mentioned him being out there early in the field. I tell the guys all the time, ‘The first guy out on the field and the last guy to leave the field is never a bad player.’ It just is always a guy that’s a pro that’s trying to get better. So it’s something I love to see. I love to watch and see who’s on the field first and also keep an eye on who’s on the field last.”
Kevin, how do you feel just about your receiving corps as a whole?
“Yeah, feel really good about that room. Mary Kay (Cabot), I think we have a bunch of different types of skill sets in there and I think that’s important to have variety. I think Coach (Chad) O’Shea and Coach (Callie) Brownson do a great job with that group. They’re working hard, but it’s a good mix of young guys, older guys. You have some speed, you have ability to separate those type of things. I think there’s some really good traits in there.”
Is it safe to say that with Jerry (Jeudy) and Elijah (Moore) both kind of dinged up a little bit that they might rest on Saturday?
“Yeah, I’m not going to go into each guy per se, but there are definitely starters that I want to be careful with if they’re dealing with something.”
Kevin, you’ve got a number of positions again, defensive tackle, linebacker, where there have been a lot of guys out with injuries. What kind of opportunity, because, like last year, Dawand (Jones) played every offensive snap against in the Hall of Fame Game. Is there potential for some guys that could get that type of work on Saturday?
“Absolutely. Yeah, and that’s the beauty of the preseason. It’s opportunities for guys and its opportunities for us to evaluate them and the rest of the NFL. Everybody’s watching those reps, whereas you don’t get to watch these practice reps. It is a great opportunity. It is great for our players to put on their resume and the guys that are out there, we expect to compete like crazy.”
Traditionally, you pretty much had six receivers with the 53 with the change in the offense, will that stay the same this year?
“Good question, Tony (Grossi). I think we’ll get to those type of discussions later on down the road, but those are all types of things that Andrew (Berry) and I will talk about.”
And Kevin, asking about Jedrick Willis, do you expect to have him for the opener?
“We’ll see. Yeah, I mean, he’s progressing like he’s supposed to, but I’m not making any predictions past today.”
And so, would it be (James) Hudson if he can’t go out?
“It’s been James out there right now, yeah.”
