WEBVTT - Eric DeCosta: Ravens Press Conference 8/29/24 0:00:02.480 --> 0:00:05.360 Welcome to the Ravens Presspass podcast. It is Thursday, August 0:00:05.440 --> 0:00:08.479 twenty ninth. The Ravens opened the regular season a week 0:00:08.960 --> 0:00:12.959 from today in Arrowhead against the Kansas City Chiefs. Before 0:00:13.000 --> 0:00:14.560 we get to that point, we had a chance to 0:00:14.560 --> 0:00:18.480 hear from Ravens general manager Eric Tacosta today. He talked 0:00:18.480 --> 0:00:21.279 with reporters just before the season and here's what he 0:00:21.320 --> 0:00:21.840 had to say. 0:00:24.160 --> 0:00:26.560 Eric, and paring down the Rocks down to fifty three, 0:00:26.760 --> 0:00:29.680 what were kind of some of the more difficult decisions. 0:00:29.080 --> 0:00:30.840 That you feel you had to make to get down 0:00:30.840 --> 0:00:31.480 a different. 0:00:32.440 --> 0:00:34.599 Well, I mean we're strong in the secondary, and you know, 0:00:34.760 --> 0:00:39.360 we stayed strong. We kept some additional guys we really 0:00:39.520 --> 0:00:42.239 like our corner group and our safety group, and you know, 0:00:42.320 --> 0:00:45.800 it would have been more challenging really honestly had Trayvon 0:00:46.000 --> 0:00:49.000 Mullin stayed healthy and then Arthur Mallett, two really good 0:00:49.000 --> 0:00:53.000 players who got hurt. So yeah, we're very strong there, 0:00:53.040 --> 0:00:56.040 and you know, we had a few teams call us 0:00:56.160 --> 0:01:00.600 about a few of our players, and you know, mentality 0:01:00.680 --> 0:01:02.960 is just if you're strong, stay strong. And you know, 0:01:03.080 --> 0:01:06.240 some years we've traded players and then you get a 0:01:06.240 --> 0:01:07.840 couple of injuries and you look at it and you 0:01:07.880 --> 0:01:10.600 kind of regret it now you're happy at draft time, 0:01:10.640 --> 0:01:13.720 but it makes for you know, some challenges in season. 0:01:13.840 --> 0:01:16.480 So we just decided this year that we liked our 0:01:16.520 --> 0:01:18.160 team and we were going to stand put with the 0:01:18.200 --> 0:01:21.000 players that we had. We felt there was a chance 0:01:21.040 --> 0:01:22.880 we get some really good players to the practice squad 0:01:22.880 --> 0:01:24.319 and we were fortunately able to do that. 0:01:25.280 --> 0:01:28.160 But the rule that carried a third quarterback when you 0:01:28.200 --> 0:01:30.720 may roster they're going to two quarterbacks. Is that sort 0:01:30.720 --> 0:01:31.119 of an issue. 0:01:31.120 --> 0:01:33.080 You'll deal with it if if your issue comes comes 0:01:33.120 --> 0:01:35.160 up or you know what kind of plan you got 0:01:35.160 --> 0:01:35.720 in place for that. 0:01:36.400 --> 0:01:39.560 Well, we have three qbs, so you know, heaven forbid 0:01:39.560 --> 0:01:41.959 we get an injury, and if that happens, then we'll 0:01:41.959 --> 0:01:44.119 have to adjust the roster, you know, if we get 0:01:44.120 --> 0:01:50.120 a long term injury at quarterback. You know, that was 0:01:50.160 --> 0:01:55.720 an interesting dynamic. The rule passed at the owners meetings, 0:01:56.320 --> 0:01:59.560 and then we were notified I believe on July eleventh 0:02:00.360 --> 0:02:03.640 that the NFL p A had UH had not agreed 0:02:03.640 --> 0:02:06.440 to that rule change. So it was a little complicated, 0:02:06.480 --> 0:02:10.800 I think, especially for you know, teams that potentially drafted 0:02:10.800 --> 0:02:11.480 the QB. 0:02:12.760 --> 0:02:13.359 In the draft. 0:02:13.480 --> 0:02:15.079 You know, it just we didn't find out. We found 0:02:15.080 --> 0:02:19.320 out so late in the game. But in the end, we. 0:02:19.320 --> 0:02:20.239 Have three qbs. 0:02:20.480 --> 0:02:22.360 We just have one of the practice squad and we 0:02:22.440 --> 0:02:24.200 have a mechanism for getting that player up if we 0:02:24.240 --> 0:02:27.960 need to get them up. So I guess the one 0:02:28.240 --> 0:02:31.720 scenario would be if both qbs got hurt in a game, 0:02:32.840 --> 0:02:34.440 and we've dealt with that. We've dealt with that for 0:02:34.520 --> 0:02:37.560 years up until last year, so so we'll be ready 0:02:37.560 --> 0:02:38.480 to go regardless. 0:02:38.919 --> 0:02:42.519 If you're happy your quarterback situation, I think there is 0:02:43.560 --> 0:02:45.800 for rating quarterback who's the least earlier to the. 0:02:47.320 --> 0:02:51.079 But you think you're pretty good with what you have there, Well. 0:02:50.919 --> 0:02:53.880 We have an MVP, so I think we're pretty happy there. 0:02:54.320 --> 0:02:57.680 With Josh, we have a really experienced guy. He's like 0:02:57.760 --> 0:03:02.720 having another coach, you know, and he's great with Lamar. 0:03:02.919 --> 0:03:06.160 The players love him, he's what, he's highly respected, he's 0:03:06.160 --> 0:03:10.880 a talented player. So we love Josh. And with Devin, 0:03:10.919 --> 0:03:13.240 we have a young player and he had his moments 0:03:13.280 --> 0:03:16.480 and just certainly as we've seen with quarterbacks, a lot 0:03:16.480 --> 0:03:18.200 of things that he can improve on and get better at, 0:03:18.240 --> 0:03:21.120 and we believe you will. But yeah, we like the room. 0:03:21.440 --> 0:03:23.679 It doesn't mean that we won't add another guy, which 0:03:23.720 --> 0:03:26.920 we could do at some point. 0:03:27.120 --> 0:03:27.320 You know. 0:03:27.360 --> 0:03:29.560 It's like any position on the team will continue to 0:03:29.600 --> 0:03:31.760 evaluate and look at players that become available and make 0:03:31.800 --> 0:03:32.800 decisions based off of that. 0:03:33.320 --> 0:03:35.440 Eric with the offensive line a lot of turnover this 0:03:35.520 --> 0:03:37.560 off season, I'm sure it was a big point of 0:03:37.560 --> 0:03:39.960 emphasis for you guys this offseason. How do you feel 0:03:39.960 --> 0:03:43.200 about them now compared to going into the off season. 0:03:44.400 --> 0:03:45.920 Well, I mean, I think we're still there's a little 0:03:45.920 --> 0:03:47.960 bit of an unknown just because we haven't played as 0:03:47.960 --> 0:03:52.200 a unit in games. We've seen him in practice, you know, Tyler, 0:03:53.040 --> 0:03:56.560 you know, getting hurt early on the camp probably wasn't ideal. 0:03:57.800 --> 0:04:00.720 We're very excited to get him back, but you know, 0:04:00.760 --> 0:04:03.880 not having a Pro Bowl center out there. That's kind 0:04:03.880 --> 0:04:05.480 of the guy that drives the car in a lot 0:04:05.480 --> 0:04:07.760 of ways on the offensive line. He's the guy that 0:04:07.800 --> 0:04:11.320 typically will adjust the line and works hand in hand 0:04:11.320 --> 0:04:13.960 with the quarterback on things like protections and stuff. Very 0:04:14.000 --> 0:04:15.640 important position, and we're blessed to have one of the 0:04:15.640 --> 0:04:18.880 best guys in the league. You know, I think across 0:04:18.880 --> 0:04:23.640 the board, we made the decision to start to build 0:04:23.680 --> 0:04:26.520 up the offensive line with young players and that was 0:04:26.560 --> 0:04:30.400 a you know, unfortunately, with a salary cap league, you know, 0:04:30.440 --> 0:04:33.160 you just can't build a team with veterans at every position. 0:04:33.920 --> 0:04:34.720 If you could be. 0:04:34.680 --> 0:04:37.440 Great, you know it would be you know, I always 0:04:37.480 --> 0:04:40.080 tell people I grew up a Cowboys fan, and the 0:04:40.160 --> 0:04:44.080 nineteen ninety three Dallas Cowboys. It was one of the 0:04:44.120 --> 0:04:46.880 great teams of all time that period with the Cowboys. 0:04:46.920 --> 0:04:48.880 And if that team had been able to stay together forever, 0:04:49.240 --> 0:04:51.760 they dodn't won Super Bowls every year, I think. But 0:04:51.839 --> 0:04:54.320 there is a salary cap, and there is free agency 0:04:54.360 --> 0:04:56.800 and things, and so you have to pay players. But 0:04:56.839 --> 0:04:58.880 you also understand you've got a draft and you've got 0:04:58.920 --> 0:05:01.760 to develop young players as well well. And we have 0:05:01.839 --> 0:05:06.200 started to do that on the offensive line. Excited about Roger, 0:05:06.480 --> 0:05:13.080 excited about four He's Andrew, excited for the future. We 0:05:13.120 --> 0:05:15.200 may have a couple of hiccups across along the way, 0:05:15.800 --> 0:05:19.000 but I think we've started to build from the bottom up, 0:05:19.080 --> 0:05:21.000 and I think a year from that will be in 0:05:21.040 --> 0:05:21.559 a great place. 0:05:21.640 --> 0:05:23.720 Did you know going into the offseason that would be 0:05:23.720 --> 0:05:26.520 the play with that group, or if the rate value 0:05:26.560 --> 0:05:27.880 had come up with a veteran, might. 0:05:27.839 --> 0:05:29.039 You have adjusted. 0:05:30.200 --> 0:05:34.360 It's hard because again, we went into this year knowing 0:05:34.400 --> 0:05:38.880 that when you pay your quarterback, your MVP quarterback, and 0:05:38.880 --> 0:05:43.760 make them the highest paid, you pay your basically the 0:05:43.760 --> 0:05:47.040 heart of your defense, Roquan, make them the highest paid linebacker, 0:05:47.520 --> 0:05:51.600 you pay arguably one of the top three defensive tackles 0:05:51.600 --> 0:05:55.479 in football last year, justin Mattabek. You realize you're going 0:05:55.560 --> 0:05:57.240 to have to make some changes in the way that 0:05:57.279 --> 0:06:00.920 you do business, and that's going to affects. It's affecting 0:06:00.960 --> 0:06:02.719 other teams. I could give you ten different teams that 0:06:02.760 --> 0:06:05.279 are all dealing with that exact same phenomenon. 0:06:05.040 --> 0:06:05.840 And you see it. 0:06:06.760 --> 0:06:10.760 So it's just one of the realities of this business. 0:06:12.240 --> 0:06:12.480 You know. 0:06:13.000 --> 0:06:15.440 I can think of multiple teams right now that are 0:06:15.440 --> 0:06:18.719 struggling with this dynamic and they're gonna have to probably 0:06:18.760 --> 0:06:22.080 make major, massive changes in the next coming years. And 0:06:22.160 --> 0:06:24.880 so we're aware of that. You just simply can't pay everybody. 0:06:24.920 --> 0:06:28.560 And so we made the decision that we were gonna 0:06:28.600 --> 0:06:30.479 go young on the offensive lines as best as we 0:06:30.520 --> 0:06:33.640 could develop our guys. We've had a lot of success 0:06:33.640 --> 0:06:36.080 developing offensive linemen in the past. I give you a 0:06:36.120 --> 0:06:40.039 bunch of players that we took in the draft or 0:06:40.120 --> 0:06:44.800 even got you know, off the streets, you know, and 0:06:44.839 --> 0:06:46.799 those guys became good players for us. 0:06:47.160 --> 0:06:50.680 When you were constructing this offensive line, How did having 0:06:50.720 --> 0:06:53.320 a guy like Patrick Mutari affect the way that you 0:06:53.360 --> 0:06:53.880 look at it? 0:06:54.760 --> 0:06:57.320 Well, it's Patrick's great. He can play multiple spots. I mean, 0:06:57.320 --> 0:07:00.600 he's played probably all five spots on the offensive line. 0:07:00.680 --> 0:07:04.479 So having that, you know, flexible chess piece, I think 0:07:04.520 --> 0:07:08.400 really helps us on game days especially. 0:07:08.480 --> 0:07:10.760 You know, it's great. 0:07:10.840 --> 0:07:16.040 He's like having an elite six man in basketball. You 0:07:16.080 --> 0:07:18.960 know Kevin McHale when I was a Celtic Celtics fan 0:07:19.000 --> 0:07:20.480 back in the eighties, who was the six man at 0:07:20.520 --> 0:07:22.920 one point. You know, Patrick's kind of like that. He 0:07:22.920 --> 0:07:24.400 can play all five spots and plays them. 0:07:24.440 --> 0:07:27.600 Well, you're no stranger to the trades you made him 0:07:27.720 --> 0:07:29.600 many times over the years. Do you feel like you 0:07:29.640 --> 0:07:31.440 have the flexibility if there's a player that you want 0:07:31.760 --> 0:07:33.080 at some point this season to. 0:07:33.000 --> 0:07:33.920 Pull off the trade. 0:07:34.560 --> 0:07:37.160 Well, we don't right now because I think we're probably 0:07:37.480 --> 0:07:41.000 over the cap when you factor in practice squads and 0:07:41.080 --> 0:07:44.280 things like that. But at some point we will have 0:07:44.360 --> 0:07:46.640 to make some moves in the coming days and weeks, 0:07:48.200 --> 0:07:50.240 and we've been planning for all that, you know, So 0:07:50.360 --> 0:07:51.720 there's a lot of things we'll be able to do. 0:07:52.200 --> 0:07:53.680 We will be cap. 0:07:53.520 --> 0:07:56.920 Compliant, and we will have at least some money to 0:07:57.000 --> 0:07:59.240 spend if a player is available that we think will 0:07:59.240 --> 0:08:00.480 help us be the best team we can be. 0:08:01.320 --> 0:08:03.680 You've been watching the preseason for a while now. 0:08:04.640 --> 0:08:07.720 How much value do you get out of watching these games? 0:08:07.720 --> 0:08:10.160 And do you think we're closer to ending at all 0:08:10.200 --> 0:08:12.720 and just going to seventeen games altogether? 0:08:15.040 --> 0:08:16.760 Oh, I don't know, Jerry, I don't have an opinion 0:08:16.800 --> 0:08:19.320 on that, but I do think that for us, looking 0:08:19.360 --> 0:08:21.920 at the practice, I mean, looking at the preseason games 0:08:22.480 --> 0:08:26.360 is really about looking at the lower end roster players 0:08:26.400 --> 0:08:28.760 and undrafted free agents and guys like that, and getting 0:08:28.760 --> 0:08:29.120 a chance to. 0:08:29.120 --> 0:08:31.200 Evaluate those guys. You know. 0:08:31.240 --> 0:08:32.480 We know we're not going to have a chance to 0:08:32.480 --> 0:08:34.079 look at really the starters and to get much of 0:08:34.120 --> 0:08:35.959 a feel. It's not like the old days when guys 0:08:35.960 --> 0:08:38.880 played in the first couple of preseason games, but it's 0:08:38.920 --> 0:08:41.160 still a great opportunity for us to evaluate the talent 0:08:41.240 --> 0:08:43.200 the back end of rosters, to look at those players 0:08:43.200 --> 0:08:45.720 that we may not know a lot about, to assess 0:08:45.760 --> 0:08:50.040 those players to help us, you know, find a couple 0:08:50.120 --> 0:08:52.040 guys here and there. I mean, I think our pro department, 0:08:52.760 --> 0:08:54.960 led by George Cokeenis and Marc as Sabada do as 0:08:55.000 --> 0:08:56.800 good a job as anybody in the NFL. And I 0:08:56.840 --> 0:09:01.560 think that's proven every single year. They find players at 0:09:01.600 --> 0:09:05.680 all different levels of football, and we'll have a chance 0:09:05.720 --> 0:09:08.400 to at some point probably churn our practice squad and 0:09:08.400 --> 0:09:09.880 find some guys that we think are better than what 0:09:09.920 --> 0:09:11.960 we have, and those guys will probably help us win 0:09:12.000 --> 0:09:14.160 some football games. 0:09:14.600 --> 0:09:16.960 Player making a team of both raide is that a 0:09:16.960 --> 0:09:20.960 specific pride? And finding again that undrafted player to get 0:09:21.000 --> 0:09:21.640 to the fifty three. 0:09:23.040 --> 0:09:23.240 Uh. 0:09:23.320 --> 0:09:26.000 You know, someone said maybe we had twenty out of 0:09:26.040 --> 0:09:28.200 twenty one years we had a guy make it. That's 0:09:28.240 --> 0:09:30.559 not necessarily like a streak that like we're trying to 0:09:30.920 --> 0:09:36.440 uh address. I mean, even that one year, I don't 0:09:36.440 --> 0:09:38.000 know who it was. Had I been aware of that streak, 0:09:38.000 --> 0:09:39.320 I probably would have kept a guy just to. 0:09:39.360 --> 0:09:40.160 Keep the streak going. 0:09:40.240 --> 0:09:44.280 So I really didn't know about that streak. But in 0:09:44.320 --> 0:09:46.120 this year, I just think with bo, I mean, that 0:09:46.160 --> 0:09:48.200 guy just really earned it. And if you looked at 0:09:48.200 --> 0:09:52.520 our games, you know, the Packers game, let's face it, it 0:09:52.559 --> 0:09:55.920 was kind of a joke. It was hard to watch 0:09:55.960 --> 0:09:57.880 in a lot of ways. I couldn't wait for the 0:09:57.920 --> 0:10:01.520 game to be over really, just you know, to get 0:10:01.520 --> 0:10:05.080 the pop Eyce chicken sandwich on the plane. But the 0:10:05.120 --> 0:10:09.360 reality is like bo actually just played great and he 0:10:09.400 --> 0:10:12.480 did it consistently. He won the job, he took the job, 0:10:13.080 --> 0:10:15.640 and in the end he deserved to be on the team. 0:10:15.679 --> 0:10:16.720 And that's what it was all about. 0:10:17.559 --> 0:10:21.240 Intentioned Sally cafin compliance projection sites out of it between 0:10:21.760 --> 0:10:23.640 two million to three and half million over. 0:10:24.000 --> 0:10:26.959 Are you expecting his significant restructures? You have to make 0:10:27.320 --> 0:10:31.480 more white sweeping moves to get cap rempliant where kind 0:10:31.480 --> 0:10:32.160 of to. 0:10:32.240 --> 0:10:33.440 Be comfortable for in. 0:10:33.559 --> 0:10:36.960 Season moves in a potential trade that you pretend to 0:10:37.520 --> 0:10:39.280 have an affinity for the season. 0:10:39.360 --> 0:10:41.520 Just or are you expecting significant moves. 0:10:41.240 --> 0:10:42.920 To get cap repliant and. 0:10:42.760 --> 0:10:43.720 Buck Cup with the season? 0:10:44.679 --> 0:10:47.079 Well I think I answered that, but I'll we have 0:10:47.240 --> 0:10:50.240 some flexibility to make some moves and we will in 0:10:50.280 --> 0:10:52.360 the next probably week be cap compliant. 0:10:53.720 --> 0:10:55.000 A lot of different things we can do. 0:10:55.440 --> 0:10:58.800 We've been pretty conservative and I'm blessed to have Nick Matteo, 0:10:58.840 --> 0:11:02.960 who's a great salary cap guy in pat Moriarty, who's 0:11:04.200 --> 0:11:07.520 kind of like the conciliarity of salary cap guys. So 0:11:07.880 --> 0:11:10.520 we're in good shape upstairs, and we'll have a good plan. 0:11:10.679 --> 0:11:12.960 Eric when you feel like where you are at. 0:11:12.920 --> 0:11:16.400 Edge rusher and specifically with David Agado and Tavius Robinson. 0:11:16.520 --> 0:11:19.120 So yeah, I think both those guys really kind of 0:11:19.280 --> 0:11:21.760 made a jump this year. I mean, David has really 0:11:21.760 --> 0:11:25.560 been snake bitten by injuries. He's worked extremely hard. I mean, 0:11:25.600 --> 0:11:29.080 you guys know, coming back from an ACL terrorist challenging 0:11:29.360 --> 0:11:32.480 and this is a guy that did that in started 0:11:32.480 --> 0:11:34.760 practice in probably in eight months. 0:11:34.920 --> 0:11:36.160 Which is pretty remarkable. 0:11:37.880 --> 0:11:40.720 He is showing me that he has got his quickness 0:11:40.760 --> 0:11:42.760 back in his twitch and his suddenness. 0:11:43.280 --> 0:11:44.800 Uh, he's playing with heavy. 0:11:44.520 --> 0:11:47.679 Hands and I'm very excited about what he's gonna bring 0:11:47.720 --> 0:11:49.440 to the team this year. And then Tavius is a 0:11:49.480 --> 0:11:52.840 guy that just keeps getting better and he plays with 0:11:52.880 --> 0:11:53.440 a passion. 0:11:53.520 --> 0:11:56.440 He's very very physical, stout edgestter. 0:11:57.520 --> 0:12:00.600 He plays with a relentless energy about him, you know, 0:12:00.679 --> 0:12:02.920 and I think his best football is on the common. 0:12:03.040 --> 0:12:05.520 He's going to be one of these guys that probably 0:12:05.559 --> 0:12:07.160 a year from now, two years from now, we're going 0:12:07.240 --> 0:12:09.199 to say it was one of our better fourth round picks. 0:12:09.400 --> 0:12:10.000 Along those lines. 0:12:10.000 --> 0:12:11.840 I don't think we asked you yet about a da 0:12:11.920 --> 0:12:13.600 FE and the decision to pick up that fifth year option. 0:12:13.679 --> 0:12:15.599 I guess, what have you seen to give him a 0:12:15.600 --> 0:12:17.640 pretty significant check of money for twenty twenty five? 0:12:18.080 --> 0:12:20.320 Well, that I did from what I've seen. You know, 0:12:20.559 --> 0:12:22.120 we were kind of betting on the come with him. 0:12:22.400 --> 0:12:25.000 He's a guy last year. You know, everybody wants to 0:12:25.080 --> 0:12:28.480 kind of evaluate a player based on just a sack production, 0:12:28.640 --> 0:12:31.640 which you know, I get that that's what we do 0:12:31.679 --> 0:12:34.319 as fans. But this is a guy that impacts games 0:12:34.320 --> 0:12:37.520 and played well last year, and we felt like he 0:12:37.600 --> 0:12:40.200 was going to make another jump, and we've seen it 0:12:40.200 --> 0:12:42.160 in the training camp. We've seen him every day you 0:12:42.200 --> 0:12:44.040 guys are out there. You've seen the energy that he 0:12:44.040 --> 0:12:47.600 plays with his ability to disrupt and make things happen. 0:12:48.000 --> 0:12:51.640 And you know, it's it's always it's never easy when 0:12:51.679 --> 0:12:53.720 you're talking about a fifth year option. That's why you 0:12:53.760 --> 0:12:56.960 see so many fifth year options not get picked up 0:12:57.000 --> 0:12:58.960 around the league. I mean, it's kind of surprising when 0:12:59.000 --> 0:13:00.640 you think about it. We do for a living, and 0:13:00.720 --> 0:13:03.000 yet we draft these guys and then we don't pick 0:13:03.040 --> 0:13:05.439 up their fifty year option almost probably half the time, 0:13:05.880 --> 0:13:08.600 I'm guessing without any I don't know the stats on that. 0:13:08.679 --> 0:13:12.160 But but with o'dafe, we just felt like this was 0:13:12.160 --> 0:13:13.400 a guy that has all the tools. 0:13:13.440 --> 0:13:14.480 He plays hard, he's. 0:13:14.320 --> 0:13:17.840 Got a great energy about him, he wants to be good, 0:13:18.080 --> 0:13:20.400 he's got all the talent to be one of the 0:13:20.440 --> 0:13:23.200 better guys at his position, and uh, and we just 0:13:23.280 --> 0:13:25.320 decide to make a bet on him, and he was 0:13:25.360 --> 0:13:26.920 gonna do it, and so far I feel really good 0:13:26.920 --> 0:13:27.800 about it. 0:13:27.840 --> 0:13:29.920 Is when you were deciding to make Rashaan Bateman a 0:13:29.960 --> 0:13:32.240 part of the team's future and you're evaluating what you 0:13:32.280 --> 0:13:34.719 thought could make him a success, how much of that 0:13:34.760 --> 0:13:36.840 comes down to chemistry with Lamar and how do you 0:13:36.840 --> 0:13:38.120 think they can continue building that. 0:13:39.679 --> 0:13:41.719 It's just really an opportunity, you know, for him to 0:13:41.720 --> 0:13:43.679 show what he can do consistently. I think a big 0:13:43.720 --> 0:13:46.040 part of that is him staying on the field playing 0:13:46.400 --> 0:13:50.959 catching the ball. He runs great routes, he's he's tough, he. 0:13:50.960 --> 0:13:51.800 Wants to be good. 0:13:52.480 --> 0:13:56.080 He he has the talent to do it, and uh, 0:13:56.200 --> 0:13:58.760 he needs the opportunities. But and then half of that 0:13:58.920 --> 0:14:01.240 is really getting the opportunities the other half of that 0:14:01.360 --> 0:14:03.440 is staying healthy and doing being the best he can be. 0:14:03.520 --> 0:14:06.800 But I am very bullish on Rashad. I've said that repeatedly. 0:14:08.000 --> 0:14:10.120 It was a no brainer for us to extend him, 0:14:10.640 --> 0:14:12.080 to give him the chance to be what we all 0:14:12.160 --> 0:14:14.440 know he's going to become. He is a great kid, 0:14:15.280 --> 0:14:17.840 an awesome guy. I love having him here in the building. 0:14:18.280 --> 0:14:20.360 He's got a great opportunity and I believe he's going 0:14:20.400 --> 0:14:22.080 to show the fans this year what he can be 0:14:22.920 --> 0:14:23.320 on paper. 0:14:23.560 --> 0:14:25.960 What do you like about the roster that you constructed. 0:14:27.840 --> 0:14:29.280 We got a lot of guys that love the game. 0:14:29.400 --> 0:14:33.040 They play hard, relentless. The camaraderie is great, the culture 0:14:33.120 --> 0:14:37.680 is awesome. These guys really get along well together. And 0:14:37.720 --> 0:14:40.000 we have a lot of really good young players. And 0:14:40.000 --> 0:14:42.480 we're going to have more challenges because looking out, you know, 0:14:42.520 --> 0:14:45.320 in the next couple of years, starting after this season, 0:14:45.360 --> 0:14:47.280 we're going to have some really, really good players that 0:14:47.320 --> 0:14:50.800 we can extend and it's gonna be challenging, but we're 0:14:50.800 --> 0:14:52.600 gonna try to do it because we're going to try 0:14:52.640 --> 0:14:55.920 to keep I think I said this back in twenty nineteen, 0:14:56.440 --> 0:14:58.120 We're gonna try to keep as much of our young 0:14:58.160 --> 0:15:00.680 talent here in Baltimore as we can. We can't do 0:15:00.720 --> 0:15:02.480 it all the time, but that's a mission. 0:15:02.160 --> 0:15:02.640 That we have. 0:15:04.120 --> 0:15:05.720 And I love that we have so many good young 0:15:05.760 --> 0:15:09.320 players and you know, they just keep emerging and we 0:15:09.400 --> 0:15:13.120 keep seeing these guys develop in our training staff and 0:15:13.280 --> 0:15:16.160 strength and conditioning staff and our coaches just they do 0:15:16.200 --> 0:15:19.200 a great job taking young players and helping them be 0:15:19.240 --> 0:15:22.560 the very best that they can be. And it's it's 0:15:22.680 --> 0:15:25.040 great in one way, but in the other way, it's 0:15:25.080 --> 0:15:28.400 it's hard because we can't keep every single player, but 0:15:28.480 --> 0:15:30.280 we're gonna try to keep as many guys as we can, 0:15:30.320 --> 0:15:32.400 and so I think our future is very bright a 0:15:32.480 --> 0:15:33.240 lot of lines. 0:15:33.320 --> 0:15:35.280 Brandon Stevens is going to be his fourth year. 0:15:35.320 --> 0:15:37.120 Is he a guy that you're really watching this year 0:15:37.120 --> 0:15:39.040 and say, hey, maybe this is somebody I want to 0:15:39.080 --> 0:15:40.880 have this contract aggreciations with this year. 0:15:41.560 --> 0:15:41.800 Yeah. 0:15:41.840 --> 0:15:44.920 I mean, Brandon had as good a year last year 0:15:44.920 --> 0:15:47.720 as anybody on the team, and I love his attitude, 0:15:48.000 --> 0:15:50.800 love how he just takes care of his business as 0:15:50.840 --> 0:15:54.560 a player, and I think he's gonna make another jump 0:15:54.560 --> 0:15:58.160 this year. So again, you know, he's a guy that 0:15:58.520 --> 0:16:01.280 you know, we certainly want to keep him here. Long term. 0:16:01.560 --> 0:16:04.200 It's not without a challenge. He plays a position where 0:16:04.200 --> 0:16:08.240 the best players are highly compensated. But we'll do our best. 0:16:08.360 --> 0:16:10.600 And I just I admire so many things about Brandon. 0:16:10.640 --> 0:16:14.160 This guy has had some adversity. He's overcome so many 0:16:14.240 --> 0:16:17.680 different things, position changes, transfers and all these things, and 0:16:17.720 --> 0:16:19.760 he's made himself one of the best corners in the NFL. 0:16:20.000 --> 0:16:22.240 Sorry, Eric, one of the guys that you probably will 0:16:22.280 --> 0:16:25.040 want to extend, you know, when time comes. 0:16:24.560 --> 0:16:27.000 Call Hamilton, do you ever think back to that draft 0:16:27.000 --> 0:16:30.760 and wonder, like, how did this guy still fall to you? 0:16:30.840 --> 0:16:31.160 Guys? 0:16:32.800 --> 0:16:35.480 You know, I just. 0:16:37.440 --> 0:16:40.120 I credit Ozzie because it happened to him so many times. 0:16:40.640 --> 0:16:44.440 We're just the best player fell to him, and it 0:16:44.520 --> 0:16:47.160 happened to me. So I'm blessed we have been around 0:16:47.160 --> 0:16:49.360 Ozzy and sat next to him, and maybe some of 0:16:49.400 --> 0:16:51.120 that magic kind of fell off on us that year 0:16:51.160 --> 0:16:53.120 and we were able to get who I consider to 0:16:53.160 --> 0:16:54.680 be one of the best players in that draft class, 0:16:54.800 --> 0:16:55.840 the Loner's life. 0:16:56.000 --> 0:16:59.000 Hamilton, Steve was very versatile. John and the coaches all 0:16:59.040 --> 0:17:03.080 talk about diversity, flexibility of the roster. Is that something 0:17:03.120 --> 0:17:05.120 you guys are seeing in the college game and you're 0:17:05.160 --> 0:17:08.320 emphasizing to the scouts hows you're developing the players when 0:17:08.320 --> 0:17:11.399 they get here. Every every coach talks about it. 0:17:12.200 --> 0:17:14.680 Well, I think versatility is a skill, you know, it's 0:17:14.680 --> 0:17:16.960 a it's a it's a trait that we look for scouts. 0:17:17.080 --> 0:17:18.800 So when we see a guy that can do multiple 0:17:18.840 --> 0:17:20.960 things or be used in multiple. 0:17:20.680 --> 0:17:23.560 Ways, they get graded for that. They get graded up 0:17:23.600 --> 0:17:23.840 for that. 0:17:24.160 --> 0:17:26.479 And so you know, if you have an offense from 0:17:26.480 --> 0:17:29.639 the lineman who can play multiple spots, uh, you have 0:17:29.920 --> 0:17:32.320 a dB who can play safety or corner or play 0:17:32.320 --> 0:17:34.440 on the nickel, or you have a receiver who can 0:17:34.440 --> 0:17:36.679 return kicks or do different things or be a gunner, 0:17:37.280 --> 0:17:38.920 you get extra credit almost. 0:17:39.760 --> 0:17:41.400 It just it just makes it. 0:17:41.400 --> 0:17:43.879 It makes it easier for the club because we can 0:17:43.920 --> 0:17:45.720 account for game day, and we can account for the 0:17:46.040 --> 0:17:48.520 roster and the forty eight players and all those different things. 0:17:48.880 --> 0:17:50.440 It's really peace of mind when you know you have 0:17:50.480 --> 0:17:52.040 a guy who can do multiple things to get you 0:17:52.080 --> 0:17:55.320 out of a game. Or you can create packages where 0:17:55.359 --> 0:17:57.639 guys moving around quite a bit and keeping the offense 0:17:57.760 --> 0:17:59.520 or the defense kind of on the heels because they're 0:17:59.560 --> 0:18:01.680 not really or how that guy is going to be used. 0:18:02.040 --> 0:18:03.240 So it makes you more. 0:18:03.160 --> 0:18:05.280 Multiple in it, it makes it more confusing for the 0:18:05.280 --> 0:18:08.040