Patrick Laird – August 27, 2021
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Friday, August 27, 2021
RB Patrick Laird
(Obviously you’ve been through this whole process before. Now that you’re a veteran, what’s it like the be a ‘bubble guy’ or a player that has to wait out these decisions?) – “It’s just what I’ve been used to. I was a walk-on in college, kind of a very similar situation as an undrafted guy. I knew since I tried out for the NFL that I was probably going to have to fight for a spot every year and that’s the way I like it. It’s challenging but it’s one of the best job interviews you can be a part of. It’s a long job interview process; but I like it, I enjoy it and I’m still loving football. I’m just going to focus on playing the best football I can and hopefully help the Dolphins win this year.”
(Did you get any insight from Running Backs Coach Eric Studesville or Assistant Head Coach/Special Teams Coach Danny Crossman about where you are in things or do you let it fall where it may?) – “I think the general idea with this coaching staff or the advice they give is don’t be that guy that counts roster spots, so I don’t do that. I just get the reps I do, do as well as I can and let the chips fall where they may.”
(Does this time of year get easier the longer you are in the league?) – “I’d say it’s less stressful because you know how everything goes, what it takes, what an NFL game is like, how long the preseason is. Obviously last year was different but I remember my rookie season. You know what the coaches are looking for and you know what you need to do on the field to earn their trust. In that aspect, that part is easier but at the end of the day it’s still always a challenge. There’s a lot of good NFL players on this team and around the league. You’re always competing against everyone.”
(You said, ‘fighting for a roster spot, that’s the way I like it.’ I mean surly you don’t like this better than absolutely knowing you’re locked in on the roster, right?) – “I feel like everyone has to earn their keep every year. Obviously, there’s the big contract guys that have a higher probability of making the team. Everyone still has to make the team every year. Whether I like it or not, that’s the way the system is set up. I understand that’s how it is. I’m not going to wish that the coaches guarantee me a spot because I understand no one really has a guaranteed spot at the end of the day.”
(How would you best describe what the emotions are like for a lot of the guys going through this for the first time right now?) – “I think for rookies it’s probably stressful. We have a good group of young guys right now and the rookies have looked really good. I don’t think I can give them much advice. They’re doing really well. I think they understand too that it’s a challenge. They’re doing a good job.”
(Going into the last game, is there anything different around this week in the locker room, talking with guys knowing that you are fighting for spots?) – “I know ‘Coach Flo’ (Brian Flores) mentioned that some of the starters are going to be held out and its going to be the younger guys playing more. Maybe the guys that aren’t playing, they’re going to spend more time on recovery this weekend? But we have a good group of guys in the locker room that are just supportive. They know the guys that are going to play more this weekend and since we have a good group of guys, they’re always supporting us.”
(Do you notice any difference in the mood of the team? I don’t know if confidence or swagger is the right word based on where you are after the big jump that you took from 2019 to 2020, and now heading into this year with outside expectations being a lot higher than they were in the past two years?) – “I’d say that we still have a young team but we have an older team that’s kind of been around the league for a little while. I remember my rookie season, it felt like there were a lot of young guys on the team every week competing for spots, bringing guys in. I’d say now I think there is more continuity. It’s hard to judge the overall, like you said, confidence of the team; but I think there’s just guys that we all know each other better. That’s always going to build and create more chemistry.”
(You mentioned in that year, you and RB Myles Gaskin came in that year. Then RB Salvon Ahmed came in a little later. How is it that running back room it kind of feels like you all grew up together?) – “I actually trained with Myles before the draft and everything up in Seattle. I trained with him so we were friends before we even came on the team together. Salvon was there. He was still in college but he trained at the same gym. I’ve known those guys for a while. Those two are just grinders. Everyone in the running back room are hard-working guys. It’s been fun. We’re always texting each other, sending each other videos of workouts and stuff that we should try. It’s fun playing with those two.”
(What are your impressions of the rookie, RB Gerrid Doaks?) – “Like I said, all the rookies are good. I think he’s done a really good job of transitioning into the NFL. I think you guys have seen the clips. He runs hard. Gerrid is a good running back.”
(How different is what you’re asked to do in this new offense as a back compared to last year?) – “I think for me, in my role, it’s been similar. Every offense is going to have it’s nuances and things that make it different. At the end of the day, you are just trying to move the ball down the field. As a running back, there’s different ways you can do that; you can help block in pass protection, you can run the ball or you can catch it. At the end of the day, I’m doing all three of those things. I was doing that last year and will hopefully continue to do that this year.”
(I want to know, I know you are not done playing any time soon, but what is next for you after your playing days are over? What do you want to do?) – “Like you said, I love this game and I’m going to try and play it as long as I can. Nothing is set in stone but there are tons of things I’m interested in. I studied business, studied political science at (Cal) Berkeley. There’s so many things I’m interested in but maybe somewhere in the business world. We’ll see.”
(Do your teammates still call you the accountant?) – “The intern? (laughter) Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, the intern comes up a little bit. I was actually checking out at Chipotle a couple weeks ago and the guy looks at me and goes, ‘Are you the intern?’ (laughter) Right then I was like I want to text Fitz (Ryan Fitzpatrick) that I’m mad that he told the media about that. It’s a fun nickname and some people still call me that. I always have to explain the story to some of the new guys around the facility how I got that name.”
(What did you tell the guy at Chipotle?) – “At first, I was confused because I was like ‘I’m not an intern here,’ thinking he was talking about at Chipotle (laughter). Then I realized he was talking about, he’s like, ‘I’m a fan of the Dolphins,’ and then it kind of clicked. But yeah, I just introduced myself and said hello. I don’t even know if he knew my real name. He just knew me as the intern (laughter).”
