Chris Grier – November 2, 2022
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Tuesday, November 2, 2022
General Manager Chris Grier
(In getting LB Bradley Chubb can you kind of walk us through the timeline of that deal? We know that you had talked about premium picks being so important, but can you just walk us through how that all came together?) – “Yeah, we talked about here a bunch, you guys heard me say that we’re always looking for opportunities to upgrade the roster and do things that we thought could benefit us not just today, but long term as well. He’s a 26-year-old player at a premium position. He’s a very good football player. We had some very casual conversations a couple weeks ago about it, but probably until like the last couple days when they got back from London is when things really heated up between George (Paton) and I just having conversations, multiple conversations throughout the days trying to see if we could get a deal done.”
(LB Bradley Chubb in the final year of his contract. Are you in a place where you’re confident you’ll be able to reach an extension with him?) – “Yes. When you do a deal like that for a player, you always would like to – from our perspective when we do business –we would like to have something done and we anticipate having something finished up here shortly.”
(Obviously LB Bradley Chubb has had several incidences throughout his career where granted he’s been very productive, but he’s also had a string of injuries. What gives you confidence that he’s going to be able to stay on the field in Miami?) – “Yeah, we did a lot of research and analytics looking at that as well. With him obviously the ACL, but if you go around the league and look at some of the other guys that are premium pass rushers, historically there’s been guys that have had ACLs and multiple ACL injuries, too, as well. So with him, he’s 26 years old. He’s a tough kid. He keeps himself in great shape. Everything that the research – talking to people about him, talked about his character and love for football and drive and it matched everything we had had on him. We studied him coming out of college a few years back. Listen, injuries happen. But we feel good that at his age and how he plays and the things we do that it was a risk worth taking.”
(You guys have now a lot of big contracts on your book so 2023 could be a little dicey from a cap situation. Why are you confident this can all work? That you can continue to add to the team like you’ll probably need to in the offseason?) – “I think when you do these type of deals, you always have to have an eye for the future like we’re talking about. For us, adding Bradley (Chubb) – he’s a good player – but we also feel good about Jaelan (Phillips), Andrew (Van Ginkel) and Melvin (Ingram). So we’re adding a piece to that group. But you always have to look for the future. We haven’t really done anything here since I’ve been in charge of I guess not having that eye of being very aware of where money and limiting our chances to make a move in the future to help us.”
(These two moves with RB Jeff Wilson Jr. and LB Bradley Chubb, do you consider your team a Super Bowl favorite or Super Bowl contender in the AFC? How do you view yourselves in that respect?) – “I’ve always just viewed it as always just trying for us to put together the best team we can. So for us, I think we have a lot of good players. I think Mike (McDaniel) and this coaching staff have done a great job of working with these guys, implementing their scheme and doing things that give us a chance to win. I’m not into predictions and everything, but I do think we have a good team that has a chance to compete and win some games in the future.”
(This was the busiest trade deadline that the NFL has seen and obviously you were very involved yesterday. You’ve been involved in your tenure here as general manager. So this is a big picture question, but can you kind of explain how we got here? Like why are we seeing so many more trades? What has changed within the NFL landscape that’s gotten us here?) – “I think analytics has played a big part. I think you’ve seen a lot of GMs come in that are much more open to trading. Like it’s always – when you see an inter-division trade. We did one with DeVante (Parker) earlier and then now you see that with Minnesota and Detroit. I just think now teams are much more willing if they feel there’s an opportunity to help their team not just now, but long-term as well in terms of draft capital, which is where we were a few years ago – we had a ton of picks, picked some good players – and now just feel we’re at a point where we can afford to give up a pick here and there to pick up a player like Bradley Chubb.”
(All transactions are obviously made with the quarterback situation in the front or back of your mind. So by not having first-round picks next year, has your perspective on a question you answered before the season for us altered? The question was of course, “can Tua be elite?” Now that you have some more evidence, what do you think?) – “I will say we are very, very happy with how Tua (Tagovailoa) is playing and what he’s done for us. It’s been really exciting to watch him blossom on and off the field. He does so much work here behind the scenes that people don’t see in terms of all the stuff to prepare to make himself take that leap. Him and Mike (McDaniel), their connection is really special. I think you guys kind of feel it being around them and it’s been really fun watching them. That’s why we drafted him where we did. We believed and so we’re very, very happy with him.”
(The team hasn’t made a move for a cornerback or a safety with all the injuries at those positions. Can you explain why? Is there something still possibly in the works or do you anticipate a return from CB Byron Jones pretty soon potentially?) – “Again, we’ll always keep looking for those opportunities. When you get to the trade deadline, another thing is everyone is looking for the same position. They’re looking for corners, pass rushers and offensive linemen. And so for us, we didn’t make the move. Our coaching staff feels very strongly, as I do, that we have a good group of guys. The guys have played well that have been inserted and asked to do more than some guys have ever done for a few years, but they’re all team guys. They fit very well in the scheme, so we’re happy with the group, but we’re always looking still. And in terms of Byron (Jones), he’s still working his way back. He’s here, he works hard and so for us. we’re just letting him get back to trying to be back as soon as he can.”
(Another question about a move you didn’t make. How much attention, how many phone calls, did you receive maybe inquiring about TE Mike Gesicki’s availability?) – “I received no phone calls about Mike (Gesicki) and we were not actively shopping him. Mike (Gesicki) has done a good job. I know it’s been chronicled here, his journey, but he’s made plays for us. He’s a valued member here. I know he and Mike (McDaniel) have really been working and talking and spending time with each other, and it’s been fun watching Mike. I think you see the joy he’s having playing, especially the touchdown last week. So very happy, but we did not have any calls and we did not pursue any trades.”
(After the WR Tyreek Hill trade, your kids showed you some memes that were circulating about a quote from maybe the Rams GM with your face on it. Did you see any of that re-circulation and if your kids came back to you with anything?) – “No. (laughter) No, I didn’t see anything yesterday. We were still in here getting ready for Chicago.”
(Going back on that – Les Snead gets the reputation of what he did with draft picks, but you’ve been doing this since 2018, 2019, even before. The wheeling and dealing you’ve done, turning every single trade into the team that you’ve had now – I guess big picture, to be in this position, how does it feel after everything that you’ve done to maneuver this team into this place?) – “For me, I’m just doing a job. I don’t really think about it that way. I think I’m just trying to do everything I can and I have great support with (Chairman of the Board/Managing General Partner) Stephen Ross, (Senior Vice President of Football and Business Administration) Brandon Shore and (Head Coach) Mike (McDaniel) and (Vice Chairman, President and CEO) Tom Garfinkel. So I think just working through all that, doing that, and Steve (Ross) being willing to listen and trust me to do these things. (He) is unbelievably supportive for me and I appreciate and won’t forget it. But I think for us, it’s just doing a job. I don’t think any of us, including myself, will be happy unless we ultimately win a Super Bowl, which is what every team is trying to do.”
(Do you feel a bit of satisfaction though because obviously there was talk in December, January, there have been coaching changes made – was it the players or the coaches the reason you guys didn’t reach your goals – the fact now that the players, particularly your quarterback, are showing up as you kind of envisioned from the start, at least give a sense of satisfaction for you that it’s all kind of coming together?) – “I really don’t give myself time to do that and I’m not trying to avoid the question or deflect it. We’re just in the moment working trying to win as many games as we can and it’s a very competitive league. We’re in a great division. Buffalo is a great team and the Jets are playing well and New England is coming on, so for us we’re just trying to win as many games and give us a chance to get to the postseason.”
(Do you have a piece of paper or dry-erase board or something with Laremy Tunsil at the top and then all the picks and players you’ve gotten from that trade? We tried to figure it out and it’s really hard, but obviously there’s a lot of players that have come out of these transactions. Do you have it written down somewhere and now that it’s almost over, what do you think about the Tunsil trade in retrospect?) – “Well, I always go back to – Laremy (Tunsil) is a very good player and he and I still, we’ll text every once in a while and I’ll joke with him and guys will tell me like, ‘Laremy is like, bring me back.’ (laughter) Just joking in the offseason about stuff. But listen, at the end of the day, I don’t really think about it. Someone sent me a text or (the football communications staff) showed me something that said something about the three picks from last year, how they turned into (Jaylen) Waddle, Tyreek (Hill) and Bradley (Chubb). But I really don’t think about it other than if someone shows me that. That’s just who I am. I think you guys know me. I said I’m not out here seeking attention to talk to you guys. I very much prefer to stay in the background. (laughter)”
(What are you guys getting about of RB Jeff Wilson Jr. and did Head Coach Mike McDaniel have some influence on that acquisition?) – “He probably had a little bit of influence on that one. (laughter) Jeff (Wilson Jr.) is a guy we’ve watched. He’s a tough kid. He’s physical. We had talked about him in the offseason as well. So when the opportunity came, when Denver asked for Chase (Edmonds) specifically to get the deal done – they wanted Chase (Edmonds) – so we had to find a running back and fortunately John (Lynch) and Kyle (Shanahan), in talking to them, we were able to get a deal done to get Jeff here. I know he and Mike (McDaniel) and Raheem (Mostert) were all hugging and having their kumbaya moment together, being back together, but it’s cool. He has toughness. He’s familiar with the system so I’m very excited to get him here and see what he adds to the team.”
(Coming back to QB Tua Tagovailoa, how much did his development this season and success this season accelerate this team’s timeline in your perspective?) – “Yeah, I would say it has an effect on it. But I don’t think we looked at it – because you heard us from Day 1, especially Mike (McDaniel) from Day 1 was like, ‘this is the guy and we’re going to win a lot of games with him.’ So for us, this was just about making a move to add a really good player at a premium position that is 26 years old and get them to a deal here to have them here long term as well. So this was again, looking at now, but also the future for this team.”
(We saw the reaction from WR Tyreek Hill. He was on Twitch yesterday and he’s like, “Man, we got Bradley Chubb. Let’s go.” Can you talk about what it means to add an impact player for not just the future but also the stretch run and kind of reinforcing that this team is going for it?) – “Yeah, I think any time you add a player of you know Bradley’s caliber and even adding Jeff – guys were excited about Jeff Wilson that have played against him. They know how tough he is. He is a physical runner. It does. It gives everyone a boost. Guys were very excited today. They were talking about it. We’re very excited. The locker room was very excited. The coaching staff, too. The defensive guys are running into Mike (McDaniel) and I and hugging us. So it’s pretty cool. The guys were excited. We’re just looking forward to seeing how everything turns out.”
(Laremy Tunsil – Ring of Honor. Is that in the works?) – “(laughter) That’s a question for Steve (Ross).”
