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).
