Brian Flores and Chris Grier – April 27, 2019
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Saturday, April 27, 2019
General Manager Chris Grier and Head Coach Brian Flores
Brian Flores:
(General Manager Chris Grier deferred to you on this, is QB Josh Rosen the starting quarterback for the Miami Dolphins?) – “We’re excited to have Josh. We’re excited to have acquired some players this weekend. Look, if you step into this building, you have to be ready to compete. When Josh gets here, he has to compete for any kind of role that he has here. That’s really the case for everyone that enters the building. So, players, coaches, trainers, equipment, journalists … To me, if you step into this building, it’s about competition. Josh will come in and compete. There are no starters. The guys who produce on the practice field and do all of the things that will help this team win, those are the guys who are going to play.”
(What did you see from QB Josh Rosen going through his rookie season that attracted you?) – “He’s a talented player. During his rookie season, I would say there were some up’s, there were some down’s. I think that’s the case for all rookies. But this guy has a lot of arm talent. He has some leadership qualities. We just felt like he was a good addition to our team.”
Chris Grier:
(How would you describe where the organization is situated now compared to three days ago and the progress you’ve made?) – “We’ve made some progress. We feel good about the players we’ve added, the guys we added today. They’ll come in and compete. Like I said, we feel better but there’s still work to do. We still have time to add people post-draft here and free agents as we get going throughout the spring and summer. We’re not where we want to be but we’re happy where we are.”
(What do you like about what you guys were able to accomplish during this draft?) – “I think when Brian (Flores) and I got together with the personnel department and the coaching staff, we wanted to make sure we’re adding guys that had toughness, competitiveness, guys that love football, are very intelligent and (have a) history of production in college, as well. We’ve kind of done that. We feel good. We’ve addressed some holes in the roster maybe that we may have; but again, a lot of work to be done still.”
(Is it fair to include QB Josh Rosen as sort of part of this year’s draft class?) – “If you want to, yeah. That’s fine.”
(Could you give us a little more detail on how that trade for QB Josh Rosen came about? We obviously heard reports elsewhere that it was going on. Were there discussions at pick 48? Did you have to trade back from 48 to make that trade happen in your mind, to make the numbers add up?) – “No. The Cardinals were steadfast in what they wanted for it and they were pretty up front with all of the teams. We hadn’t really talked to them until right at the start of the draft, and I think that’s when they started contacting everyone that might be involved. As we went through, we had talked throughout the day a little bit here and there and we finally got to a point where we were comfortable in making a pick. In terms of picking up, for us, it was huge to get the second-round pick in 2020, with the Saints when we made that trade. Regardless of what was there, we were going to make that trade to get the second-round pick. We went into the draft trying to find either another first or second-round pick in 2020.”
(About how many people, would you estimate, in your organization that you spoke with, who know QB Josh Rosen, and what did you learn about personality and leadership style?) – “I don’t know how many people. We had some, but we really didn’t start doing full talking to people until this became a possibility of happening. Once that happened, we talked a little bit after the first round here. For us, we had done work before. Brian (Flores)’s coaching staff, (Offensive Coordinator) Chad (O’Shea) at New England had done work on him. So we had known some things; but once they were calling around and offering him, that’s when we probably really started digging in and making our phone calls.”
(You guys weren’t super active at the front end of free agency. I assume some of it had to do with the compensatory formula. After May 9, can we assume you guys might ramp it back up at – right tackle, defensive end – positions where we think there might be holes, you might get after?) – “Yeah. We’re going to be aggressive to fill the roster as we feel fit. Brian (Flores) and I have talked about that and we have all those – June 1st, after June 1st cuts – and then we’ll look at all trade options throughout the spring and summer.”
(Is QB Josh Rosen your franchise quarterback, so to speak, for the foreseeable future, or is there still an idea that maybe you need to use a first-round pick next year to get a quarterback?) – “I would say for us, we looked at it as an opportunity to add a good, young football player that has a lot of potential in this league. We didn’t go out saying he has to be a franchise quarterback for us. For us, it was he’s a very talented young player, still has a lot of upside in the league and the terms for us, the value and taking on the contract and etc. For us, the value was tremendous that we couldn’t afford to pass up.”
Brian Flores:
(What were some things that Offensive Coordinator Chad O’Shea had in his evaluation of QB Josh Rosen that made you comfortable with the decision?) – “First, I just kind of want to piggyback on what Chris (Grier) just said. I think you have to earn the right to get that kind of (franchise quarterback) label. You have to do it in the meeting, on the practice field. To label a kid like that right off the bat, I feel like that’s unfair in a lot of ways; but I think that’s just kind of what happens. You have to earn it. We’ll give him the opportunity. We’ll give everyone the opportunity to go out there and reach their potential and try to have some success on the field. That starts obviously in the classroom, in the walkthroughs, in the meetings, and then you have to produce on the practice field and then obviously when we start playing games.”
Chris Grier:
(You picked up a lot of picks in 2020. I think it’s up to 12 if you factor in compensatory picks. How much of that was the game plan coming into this draft to build up the next draft?) – “We’ve talked about our strategy, us going forward, we always want to have the opportunity to move up or down in any draft. For us, adding picks for next year, as we started going through it – like you said the compensatory part – we’re building here together. We’re getting our staff, the personnel, coaches (together). So for us, going forward, the plan was to get as many picks as we can going forward to build this thing right and then after that, we’ll just see where it goes.”
Brian Flores:
(It’s important to you, I’m guessing, to build your culture here the right way. What will you ask of QB Josh Rosen to help implement that at that position?) – “I’m going to ask him the same thing I ask all our players: come in, work hard, put the team first, be attentive, be honest, understand it’s a privilege to sit in these seats and go out here and practice and play in this league. Those are the things I’m going to ask him. I ask that of anyone who walks into the building. That’s just how I handle our players and really anyone who steps into this building.”
(With DT Christian Wilkins, what was it that sold you guys on him? Is there a player that he reminds you of? What impressed you during the pre-draft process?) – “I think he’s full of energy. First off, he’s a great person. He comes from a great family. We really liked that about him. He has got humility about him. And he’s a good football player. (He is) athletic, (has) good strength, does a lot of good things well, a lot of things well on the football field. Again, in order to reach his optimum level, he’s going to have to come in here and do things right, which we expect him to do. If he does those things, he’s got a chance to do some good things.”
(You know more about the players that you’re picking and trading for than we do. QB Josh Rosen consistently has had a cloud about his personality or leadership. I don’t know what it is, but a lot of people don’t like that guy. Are you saying that there’s none of that?) – “First, you said we know. Sometimes I feel like you might know a little bit more. (laughter) You never get to really know a person until you’re sitting with them every day, which we’ll get that opportunity. We’ve done a lot of work on Josh. I think he’s smart, he works hard and football is important to him. I think he’s got an opportunity, just like all the other players we have here, to come in here and help this team win games. That’s really what it boils down to.”
Chris Grier:
“Again, it’s (the) same. Looking at the work we’ve done, we’ve talked to a lot of people that we both know and (they) signed off. Coaches unsolicited have called us that know him, that have worked with him, and say a lot of the stuff is B.S. For us, we don’t know him, because we don’t have our hands on him; but we’re going with the people we trust and know and the coaches and scouts in the building that have called and people have said this is really a good kid that’s smart. Maybe he has some other interests like following the stock market or something; but he’s really smart, he loves football, he studies it and it’s very important to him and he has a chip on his shoulder now.”
(Who were some of the people you said?) – “Just various people we’ve talked to.”
