Chris Grier – August 30, 2023
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Wednesday, August 30, 2023
General Manager Chris Grier
(Opening statement) – “Hope the people are safe up north and prayers to people affected by the hurricane. Just make sure they stay safe, be smart and our thoughts are with them.”
(No GM has made more impactful moves on the trade market in the last year and a half than you. You’ve put together a good roster. I was curious about this – the AFC is so loaded. There are like, 10 or 11 teams that can say, “we think we’re a playoff team.” I’m curious, did you and Chairman of the Board/Managing General Partner Stephen Ross and Vice Chairman, President and CEO Tom Garfinkel and Head Coach Mike McDaniel discuss the question of do we have enough or do we have to be desperate to acquire yet another Pro Bowler, especially after CB Jalen Ramsey was injured? Because clearly there was a point you would not cross or were not in desperate pursuit with the available guys in recent weeks like Dalvin Cook and Jonathan Taylor. It was never the desperation stage. So why did you all decide not to be desperate? Is it because of cap consequences or because you feel like you have a championship-caliber roster as constituted or a little bit of both?) – “I think we feel good about the roster we have. We like the players on the roster. Yesterday was an exciting day with the 53 and we’re still working through the practice squad additions. But when you build a team, like we’ve always talked, you look long term, short term. So yeah, we’re always aggressive to do it, but we’re also going to be mindful and (Senior Vice President of Football and Business Administration) Brandon (Shore) and (Director of Football Administration and Strategy) Max (Napolitano) do a great job as we talk through things salary cap-related. So for us, we’re able to do a lot of moves, we can do moves or not, but you’re also aware of your roster. Like we’ve been consistent in saying, we feel good about our running back room. I think it showed in the preseason. Those guys have done a nice job. Mike (McDaniel) has always expressed confidence in them as well as myself. So for us, again, my job is when players are available, whoever they are, whether it’s a Pro Bowler, journeyman on the streets that’s bounced around, we’re going to talk to people, make calls and do it. And so for us, we felt good about the roster and very fortunate to have Steve (Ross) and Tom (Garfinkel) allow us to be aggressive at times we want to do it.”
(Do you believe this roster is talented enough, good enough to compete with the best of the best in the AFC? Even with the caliber of Kansas City, Buffalo, Cincinnati?) – “I do. I think we compete with them. It’ll be to be determined this season, but we do. We feel good about the players. Mike (McDaniel) and the coaching staff do a fantastic job. I think this group is a very close group that’s focused. They’ve had a great camp in here and working together. It’s a very close unit and it’s fun to be around them, and they enjoy being around each other. And I think that’s always a big key when you’re building a team.”
(How close did something come to happening with the Colts? Just please tell us everything please.) – “Why don’t you just ask Mike’s (McDaniel) daughter? She’ll tell you. (laughter) No, it’s like everything like I just talked about. Chris (Ballard) is a friend of mine. We’ve had conversations. And again, it was a lot of exploratory talks. I can say there was no exchange of offers from either one of us. It was just general talks. So a lot of the stuff reported, I could tell you guys that 95 percent of it’s wrong. So we’ve had some discussions, but it’s no different than any player that’s ever released or available that we know about and have a discussion with the GM about it. Chris was very professional as he always is, and so in terms of being close or anything, there was nothing really close.”
(Can you talk about your level of frustration with the CB Jalen Ramsey injury because this team and this offseason look a lot different with a healthy Jalen Ramsey out there on the field?) – “Jalen (Ramsey) has made an impact since he’s been here. He’s been fantastic in the room with the young guys, even the veterans, just his energy when he’s around. I mean, you guys have seen him, he comes around still when he doesn’t have to, watching practice, standing on the sidelines. He’s been fantastic. Obviously his talent on the field we miss, but it’s also an opportunity for these young guys to step up and make plays and so we’re excited for the guys in the room and they’re going to hopefully take advantage of their opportunity and hold the fort until Jalen is back here at some point this season.”
(And when do you guys think he’ll be back?) – “I don’t want to put a timetable on it, but we do expect him back this season.”
(You said 95 percent of what was reported is inaccurate, so I got to ask you. Did the words “Jaylen Waddle” come out of Indianapolis Colts General Manager Chris Ballard’s mouth?) – “Again, I’m not going to go into discussions that were talked about with stuff, but man, you’re a dog on this. (laughter) But yeah, Jaylen Waddle would not be available to anybody. It wouldn’t matter who they called about.”
(Where do things stand in regards to contract talks with DT Christian Wilkins? Just given the nature of the cap situation you guys are in, you’re projected to be $30 million over the cap in 2024. Is that feasible at this point?) – “I would say where we are today and where we are in March is always dramatically different. As you watch every team around the league, there’s some teams $100 million over and all of a sudden, they find a way to get under. So I’m not worried about that. Again, like I said, Brandon (Shore) and Max (Napolitano) do a fantastic job and we have a lot of discussions on not just short term, but long term. We have a lot of good players coming available, not just Christian. But we have a lot of guys here in the pipeline here over the next couple of years that are going to be expensive players. But in terms of Christian, we’ve had a lot of great dialogue with him and his agent. Very positive. We made an offer that we thought was fair. And there’s times when you do things like that, it has to work for both sides. So there was never any ill-will from each side. I’ve had a lot of great communication. I enjoy his agent. We have good conversations. For right now, we’re going to hold off until, in my mind, at the end of the season, because I don’t think it’s fair to distract Christian from his goal of what he wants to achieve and for the team.”
(Is this situation the same with QB Tua Tagovailoa? The last time we asked him, he said there hadn’t been any contract talks beyond the fifth-year extension. I’m assuming that’s still the same. What’s the philosophy on the wait and see play right now?) – “I just think for him, it’s just letting Tua play. Again, those things can be a big distraction. You have family, friends, you guys, everyone constantly asking about it. His agents and I have had discussions, just general but not really about that. We just kind of agreed let’s just let him play out the season and then we’ll attack that in the offseason.”
(Whether with DT Christian Wilkins or QB Tua Tagovailoa, there’s been deals in those position groups with other teams. How much do those factor in whether in negotiations or the pressure to appease a player given his peers might be…) – “It’s always tricky when you do negotiations and you’re always honest. And I think people around you can say we’re not cheap on how we handle stuff. So, we do great structure. Brandon (Shore) does a great job in his job. And as we talk through things, our relationships with agents are always very good. So yeah, when you look at things around the league and where contracts are, I think that’s just kind of what the market is, and then you kind of use that as your parameter. But I think all deals are unique and different from who the individuals are. So that’s why there are always nuances to getting the deal done to where both sides feel good about it.”
(The two trades that you did pull off yesterday, how did those evolve? What can you say about CB Noah Igbinoghene, who was your first-round pick, and now getting a change of scenery?) – “First, with Dan Feeney, we signed Dan here to be our backup center. So we were excited to have him and it just happened to be an opportunity when Chicago reached out, and so he has an opportunity to go play. I guess they’ve had some bumps and bruises on the offensive line. So for us, Dan did a great job here. He’s got some personality as you know, with the mullet and mustache. He’s a good dude. I was happy for him. He’s from Chicago, so it worked out for him. And then in terms of Noah, Vic (Fangio) here as we’ve been going, we’ve been kind of looking for another nickel player. And so I did some searching around, talked to Dallas, and then they called and they asked about Noah because they need some help on the outside, I assume. We don’t really go into each other’s needs. But for us, the chance to add Kelvin (Joseph) as a guy that can play inside and out but has played the nickel and did in the preseason here well – and he’s played special teams, which was something we needed. It was tough. Noah has worked hard here since he’s been here. He’s had ups and downs, but he’s a competitive kid. I’m so proud of him. He won us a game last year with a big pick on Sunday night to end the game. And making the transition from receiver to corner is not an easy thing for a kid. He was so young, I think 20 years old when he got here. So I’m happy for him. We were both a little sad leaving, but I’m very happy for the opportunity for him because they really wanted him, so I’m excited for him. And we’re excited to have Kelvin.”
(Why were the three quarterbacks you have on your roster the right three for this team? There were obviously some options you had out there on the waiver wire.) – “Yeah, I think, first of all, that room, it’s a very close room. The three of them get along extremely well. They support each other, they push each other, they communicate well with each other. I think that’s a big part of it. I think Mike (White) has done a good job operating the offense as well as Skylar (Thompson). I think some of the familiarity with obviously Skylar, helps being here. This is his second year in the system. But Mike’s done a nice job coming in here as well and supporting Tua (Tagovailoa). So for us, we thought it was the right group to keep those three.”
(Regarding your offensive line, you pretty much have the same group of starters as last season. T Terron Armstead is a year older with one more surgery on his body. Where are you counting on improvement coming from with this unit?) – “With the offensive line, we’re happy with it. I think you’ve seen the progress from the last two years with the fundamentals and the teaching in this offense in the preseason. In the run game, they’ve done some good thing. Pass pro(taction). So we’re excited for the guys with the group we have here, the 53. Like anything, we’ll always keep looking here and on the roster, but we’re very happy with the guys here. Coaches are very happy. So I think this is a group that we feel we can win with and we’ll continue to just keep building and working.”
(On the offensive line, what did T Kion Smith show to make team?) – “Kion, small college, HBCU, and then worked hard. He came here and needed a lot of work. (He was) very raw in everything he had. He just puts his head down and grinds every day. He’s gone and worked each year and battled to where he was on and off practice squads, back-and-forth. Then this year, I think the second year in a system helped him a lot. But it’s a testament to him and his work ethic, how he’s done, because he just comes in and grinds. ‘T-Stead’ (Terron Armstead) was talking about how he just loved his effort and how he approached every day. He just wants to be better. He loves ball, loves being here. I was very proud of him and happy for him to make the team.”
(CB Jalen Ramsey, OL Robert Jones and DB Elijah Campbell, are they all injured reserve bound?) – “No.”
(I’ve got a guess; OL Robert Jones is not?) – “Elijah Campbell is on the active roster.”
(Can you help me understand the rules on the two guys that were placed on injured reserve yesterday? Are TE Eric Saubert and DB Keion Crossen, according to the rules, could they technically injure-settle and return to the club at a later date? Is that an option?) – “Keion Crossen yesterday suffered a freak injury. He’s out for the year, to let you guys know. Then Saubert, we’ll wait and see here what happens.”
(I wanted to ask you about TE Tanner Conner and WR Robbie Chosen. Are you bringing them back to the practice squad? How tough of a call were those two in particular?) – “We’re still working through it. Tanner (Conner) is back. With Robbie (Chosen), because he’s a veteran and he has options, we’ll see what happens there.”
(I was curious with the NFL changing from three cut-down dates to one, how that changed this for your process? Because it seemed like there were some decisions that really did come down to the last minute.) – “It’s an interesting one, just because like I said, I’ve been doing this in the scouting room since 1995. We’ve always had the three multiple cut-down days before you go from 90 to 75. We said now it’s weird, we have 90, and you talk to every GM around the league, we’re like, ‘We don’t have enough players. Everyone is hurt all the time.’ (laughter) When I started in New England with (Bill) Parcells, it was a different time, different era. Guys were like, ‘Oh, you’re hurt, are you? OK.’ And the guy is out there limping, and you’re like, ‘What’s this guy out here?’ These kids are tough. They work hard. And I do think it’s a credit to the NFL and all the safety stuff we’re doing to make sure these guys have the best healthcare they can in this tough game. It does make it hard, but with 90 players, we need the 90 players to get through the three preseason games. Because if you had to go down to 75, I think it’d be a challenge for a lot of teams to get through it.”
