August 27, 2025 • 18 mins
Dave Canales speaks with the media following Wednesday's practice.
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
For the review.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
All Right, Well, an eventful couple of days, you know,
with UH, with Adam being traded to the Vikings. I
first wanted to just talk about, you know, my time
with him here and just you know, the competitive spirit,
you know, the toughness and really just the energy he
brought every day professionalism and how it really impacted and affected,
you know, a really young group of Whiteouts and UH
(00:27):
and a young coach.
Speaker 3 (00:28):
You know.
Speaker 2 (00:29):
It's something that you know, I'll take with me forever,
just to kind of see, like, you know, what it
means to him to go out there every day and
to get after it. And I remember him coming off
the field in games, He's just like, at the end
of the day, doesn't matter what you call, we got
to make the play, you know, and just challenging me,
challenging the group, you know, and that kind of fire
you know that'll be missed here, but you know there
(00:51):
was there. I think this was kind of a transaction
that happened where everybody, you know, we met in a
common ground, you know, all across the board, and so
you know, it just happened to work out this way.
And he and I had a long conversation today where
you know, it's just like it's about patience and it's
about the right thing being done, you know. And I
think we come away with this and all of us
(01:12):
the Vikings Adam ourselves, you know, I think we all
come away with this thing feeling like we're in a
good spot.
Speaker 4 (01:19):
Reports that he wanted to go back to Minnesota. Did
he express that desire to you?
Speaker 2 (01:23):
He never expressed that to me. I appreciate that about him.
Speaker 3 (01:28):
You know.
Speaker 2 (01:28):
For me, it was like he just couldn't wait to
get back on the field. And he really kept it
professional with me as far as just like I play
for you, I played for the Panthers, And so that's
the approach he really took with me, and so that's
the approach I took with him, you know. And really
up until you know, the last you know, couple of
days where the conversation started to get more extended and
(01:49):
and we had to like, you know, get a make
sure we were all on the same page, because this
thing couldn't have happened. It might not have happened, you
know what I mean, And we had to be able
to be in a good place from a relationship standpoint
where when we do move forward we got to make
sure we're moving.
Speaker 3 (02:01):
Forward together, and I felt like we were. We were there.
Speaker 2 (02:04):
And then over the course of a couple of days,
and you know, Dan and Brant and the crew in Minnesota,
you know, working through this thing. You know, they we
found a common ground.
Speaker 5 (02:13):
You said. I think you said you wanted to do
right by Adam. We know what the Vikings game, they
needed a receiver, Adam wanted to go home. How do
you guys benefit with this trade?
Speaker 2 (02:26):
Yeah, I think it's just obviously the what was exchanged
in the you know, just in the details of the agreement,
you know, I think that's going to help us for
a team that we're building and for our future.
Speaker 3 (02:37):
So we feel great about that part.
Speaker 2 (02:38):
And then I think it's just that receiver room, you know,
that continued to impress me, you know, in different ways,
different guys. And now the opportunity for guys like Jalen Cocher,
like bryceon Tremaine, David Moore, Jimmy Horn, these guys to
step up and to find a huge void, you know.
Speaker 3 (02:54):
A role that needs to be filled.
Speaker 2 (02:56):
And so again I think competition brings the best out
and all of us. And here's another opportunity for us
to compete for that, and and we felt strongly enough
about a young, talented group that that we can do that.
And I got to give credit to Rob Moore, you know,
who's really poured into this young group and really developed
these guys, you know, in in the last year. And
so you know, I just Keishan Coleman is NonStop with
(03:18):
these guys, you know, and so I just really feel
great about where that group is at and I'm excited
to see what comes out of it.
Speaker 5 (03:24):
Bryce really trusted to Adam out there and maybe the
most offendable years. Yeah, once the will has to trade him.
Speaker 1 (03:34):
Say about what Bryce.
Speaker 2 (03:35):
Is, you know, I just feel confident about Bryce's leadership,
you know. I keep coming back to that, but it
really is you know, this is this is Bryce bringing
guys together and making different attributes of our players, our
skill players speaking specifically about the receivers come alive, you know,
and and the guys that have flashed. It's all on
our film every day, you know. And these are guys
that Andy and that Bryce have learned to trust, and
(03:58):
so it allows them to you know, get excited about
where we're going. But at the same time, we're you know,
this is we know who Adam is, we know what
he could have brought to this team, you know, and
so we know that he's going to be missed in
that regard. But there's also an excitement for the guys
that are here.
Speaker 6 (04:14):
I was going to you reference the void that is
down there now that he's going to specify exactly what
it is that you where you would like to see
other guys step up.
Speaker 3 (04:22):
Yeah, honestly.
Speaker 2 (04:23):
So we added t ma Ac, So there's another guy
that we want to get the ball to, you know,
and he's going to have his specific role, and I
think it really just comes down to who's gonna make
the plays.
Speaker 3 (04:33):
You know.
Speaker 2 (04:33):
I don't have to get into specific schemes. Adam makes place,
you know, he consistently did that for his career, you know,
and certainly last year at the end of the season
when he came back to us, he made plays. And
so this is just an opportunity for guys to be
there and to be available for Bryce, you know, whether
it's on a critical third down or whether it's to
win the game, you know, And these are these are
(04:54):
incredible opportunities for them.
Speaker 4 (04:56):
As much as you know what Adam brings to the offense.
You've also seen the offense with out Adam and Jalen
Cocher got a lot of playing time in his stead.
How much did his performance down the stretch last year
or at least what Adam was out playing to the
conversations that you said, hey, we feel comfortable going and.
Speaker 3 (05:12):
Yeah, it's a big part of it.
Speaker 2 (05:13):
Right There's there's guys that we're excited to see play
more and to have those opportunities, you know, and Jalen
Cocher certainly is one of those guys. And and that
was our message to all of them, you know, like
you know, right after the decisions were made, it's like, Okay,
here's an opportunity guys, you know, and so I'm excited
to see, you know, who steps up for us and
who plays in those roles.
Speaker 4 (05:33):
You have brought in a wide receiver and a cornerback
who ever has experienced with What did those guys bring
to the table.
Speaker 2 (05:40):
Yeah, So you know, big strong athletes.
Speaker 3 (05:44):
You know, we're trying to just elevate the speed the
size of our roster.
Speaker 2 (05:48):
We're continuing to look at all the practice squads and
you know, while we have our initial fifty three set
right now.
Speaker 3 (05:55):
You know, we're going to keep looking.
Speaker 2 (05:56):
We're gonna keep looking at in all positions, you know,
throughout the course of the sea and to see if
there's somebody that can help us in a specific way. So,
you know, I think Mathis has the traits you know,
as a cover corner, and he's been in the league
for a little while. And then it's I can't it's
is it, yes, Cambell?
Speaker 3 (06:12):
But is it? Is it? Delv Delvon Devon de Levon Campbell? Yeah?
Speaker 2 (06:17):
So, but he's a guy that flashed as a as
a gunner and he made some plays down the field.
You know, he's got great speed and size. This is
a fantastic player to be able to work with, you know,
and his physical ability will give him time to develop
as a wide receiver. I do think he's a raw
receiver right now. So but again he comes into the
group and he gives us another element of speed, uh,
(06:39):
to be able to work with.
Speaker 5 (06:40):
I went into the decision to leave renfro off the
fifty three and have you all offered him a spot
on the practice squad.
Speaker 2 (06:48):
We've been in constant communication with with Hunters since yesterday.
He's talking to his family, he's talking to his agent,
you know, and we're all just kind of we have
we have a couple of things on the table for him,
and we're just to keep taking kind of one day
at a time and see where he's at, you know.
And I just felt like, you know, towards the end,
like the last stretch of what I saw, I want
to be able to count on Hunter to be as
(07:10):
good as he was the whole time, and I just
saw I just saw some peaks and then I just
saw some dips also in terms of his performance, and
I just felt like, in fairness to the whole group,
in fairness to the team, I wanted to make sure
that he knew I want to be a part of
your future. I don't think right now is the time
initially for this team, and so we just he just
(07:30):
kind of said, you know, I have to think about
what I want to do. And so we're in we're
in communication right now. We're going to kind of take
it day by day and see where we're at. Hey,
this is a pretty young wide receason, and you know,
I touched on this a little bit, but I means
being very developmentally minded, how much does that help you
observe the.
Speaker 4 (07:46):
Alls like this.
Speaker 2 (07:48):
Absolutely, it's it's the nature of this thing is that
if we coach our guys well and we accumulate the
right talent, that we should see growth, we should see
stride from our players, you know. And that's the charge
of our coaching staff to pour into these guys so
that we get to a point where we can make
(08:09):
moves that makes sense for everybody, that we can make
moves and the next guy can come in and perform
for us. And so it's an attribute to the to
the atmosphere, to the culture, and again to you know,
to Rob More and to Brad, you know, and and Keishaan,
who are working with these guys all the time.
Speaker 4 (08:23):
He went with four inside linebackers for safeties. Do you
feel comfortable with those numbers as well as the talent
that's in there.
Speaker 2 (08:30):
I feel comfortable with the guys who are here. But again,
we're gonna keep looking all across the league, and you know,
transactions happen weekly, you know, and these rosters they're not
set in stone by any stretch, and so we're going
to continue to see, you know, based on the film
that we watched and where people ended up, you know,
to see if people can come in and help us,
and the premium is going to be on special teams.
(08:51):
You know, are these guys that we can count on
game day who have the attributes that we can develop
as coaches.
Speaker 3 (08:57):
From a positional standpoint, go back to the wide.
Speaker 1 (09:00):
Receivers for a second. Bryson Tremaine ultimately made the team. Yeah,
can you explain why why you thought he was deserving
of the spot And is this a trend of this
front office saying, hey, if you perform in training camp,
you get your chance.
Speaker 4 (09:16):
To do it.
Speaker 2 (09:17):
I think it was the whole body of work for
me with Bryson. It was our ability to trust him
in a bunch of different roles. He played a couple
of positions, So for people who don't know how hard
that is, you know, when you come into a first
his first camp. He was in the meetings all spring,
but he wasn't on the field to be able to
come in play multiple spots, to be able to show
(09:37):
us that he can do some stuff on special teams.
That's exactly what we're looking for, you know. The toughness
in his style of play, the way he shows up
in the run game, blocking just the high level effort
that he gives every time he's on the field. It's
exactly what we're looking for in the character of a player,
a Panthers player. And so these are the guys that
get rewarded, are the ones we can who are dependable
(09:58):
and who are physical, you know, and bring a variety
of things that they can help us with on game day.
Speaker 4 (10:03):
Is he a Brad suggestion or a personnel suggestion? I know,
Brad's got stand.
Speaker 3 (10:07):
It was a personnel move.
Speaker 2 (10:09):
So this is somebody that Dan identified that we uh,
that we gave a futures contract to from the commanders,
you know, and someone that they had their eye on
from last year. And uh, you know, just you know,
we we didn't even get to see him in the spring,
so we really wouldn't weren't sure what we had.
Speaker 3 (10:26):
But he showed up healthy.
Speaker 2 (10:27):
And in great shape, and and his conditioning was at
such a level that he can give maximum effort and
anything everything he did, which is such a great uh,
you know, just a great note for everybody, like your
fitness level allows you to do more, you know, And
and he just consistently got himself out there and gave
gave great effort.
Speaker 4 (10:45):
With Adam leaving, how much does David Moore step up
as the veteran, kind of veteran voice in that room.
Speaker 3 (10:51):
Yeah, Dave.
Speaker 2 (10:51):
David's been a kind of steady, consistent, uh, calming presence
for the younger receivers. He knows what it's like to
battle his way onto a roster. We drafted him in
the seventh round in twenty seventeen. He was on our
practice squad for most of that year and really didn't
start to see significant snaps until the second year. So
he knows what the grind looks like, and he understands
(11:12):
the frustrations of a young player who is on the
practice squad and they can't just kind of give in too.
Speaker 3 (11:19):
Just a role on practice squad.
Speaker 2 (11:21):
You're trying to show us that you can help us
on game day at some point. And so, you know,
he's kind of just been a really just a sounding
board for me in terms of the style, the effort,
the characteristics, the attitude.
Speaker 3 (11:34):
That we're looking for every day.
Speaker 2 (11:35):
And so I'm just I'm glad demos here and I know,
like he plays both sides, both he plays both outside
spots for us, So he's got versatility and he's able
to show the guys too. He'll also go in and
catch a punt, he'll go in and cover, He'll go
be a gunner at times, he'll cover a kickoff at times,
you know, and just the ability to learn more, to
be able to do more gives you a chance to
(11:57):
develop and make plays in this league.
Speaker 5 (12:00):
Where are you with Ryan Fitzgerald?
Speaker 2 (12:03):
He's our kicker right now, But again, we're going to
take this thing week to week, you know, and look
see how he's doing and kind of just continue to
look at what's out there and we'll make the right
decisions for the Panthers as we go along with this thing.
Speaker 5 (12:15):
Doesn't sound like a real strong vote of confidence. Was
there something in preseason that gave you pause?
Speaker 2 (12:21):
I would say the same thing for any other kicker
that was here. This is a performance type of league,
you know, and these opportunities there are so many guys
out there that want these jobs. There's more kickers than
there are spots, you know, on the thirty two teams,
and so again it's that competition and this is a
good moment for him to take advantage of this opportunity
that he has.
Speaker 3 (12:42):
Too.
Speaker 1 (12:42):
Promising developments at practice today, Nick s Gordon, I seem
to be full, a full participate of those Tommy tremble.
Can you just give an update on their status.
Speaker 2 (12:51):
Yeah, so Nick was cleared to be back into practice.
He took about fifty percent of the snaps he would
normally take, but he handled it well. I'll follow back
up with a need to see how he comes out,
you know, just following the practice.
Speaker 3 (13:02):
But he looked good. He was out there running around
Tommy same thing. You know.
Speaker 2 (13:06):
I was excited to just get him to put hands
on some people today and and fill that part out
because again that's the next step for him as we
get ready for game week. And yes, so Ikey Ikey
had appendectomy. So he he had appendicides. He wasn't feeling
good and then ultimately went to the hospital and they said,
(13:27):
all right, well we gotta we gotta do surgery here.
We have to remove this, and so he had his
appendix removed.
Speaker 3 (13:33):
He's day to day.
Speaker 2 (13:34):
We've seen these things turn around and a little over
a week. They can be longer, you know, just depends
on each individual body, how you respond to the surgery,
how your body heals the right way. So he's going
to be day to day, you know, all the way
up until the game. So that's something that we have
to keep our eye on as we go. That was
(13:55):
Sunday night, so he started to feel sick a little
bit before that, and then finally some night he went
in and then was diagnosed with you know, pendicitis, and
so they removed his appendix.
Speaker 6 (14:06):
Understanding that all of this is a part of the business,
including the Adam field and trade. What if the last
forty eight seventy two hour has been in addition to
the trade, really just the process of getting down.
Speaker 3 (14:17):
To fifty three. Yeah, it's always the hardest part for me.
Speaker 2 (14:20):
I think the week leading up to the last game,
you know, I feel it more. I can feel the
I can feel the stress, I can feel how important
this is for all the guys, and so we can
all feel that, you know, and I just try to
encourage the guys in that to just enjoy the day,
gratitude for this moment, for all the hard work we've
(14:40):
done together, you know, and to make this last game
a celebration of the work we've done to throw a
great camp. And then you turn around to make these decisions,
and they're really hard, but it's a really beautiful moment
to be able to connect with the player. And I
know it's a really hard day, but it's it's an
opportunity to be able to speak some truth, at least
my truth from what I all, from what the coaches saw,
(15:01):
for what their next steps might be. We talk about
being developmentally minded, and my hope is that they leave
this place better than when they got here. And you know,
there was just a lot of appreciation for each other,
and we were able to get a number of our
guys you know, back on practice squad. But of course,
you know, it's not the full group that was here,
and that takes a toll, you know, on all of us,
(15:23):
everyone around the building, you know, and it's always and
I love a party, so it's also just way less people,
you know, and so then it just it just feels different,
you know. And the thing that always brings us back
is just getting back on the grass, you know, regardless
of what happens before, when we get out there, at
some point during that practice, we're just playing football again.
And we were able to do that for the last
two days. It's it feels different, you know, and it
(15:45):
feels there's all the emotions that are involved and guys
that you know, people spend a lot of time with
who aren't here. But you know, to get back on
the grass, to make it about football. To know that
we're working towards something brings us back.
Speaker 4 (16:00):
A couple more. You're also bringing in a couple of
new faces too. I don't know how much you can
talk about him, but Head and Hooker and Jay Dallas.
You have a background with What can you say.
Speaker 1 (16:08):
About those guys?
Speaker 2 (16:09):
Yeah, I'll talk about DJ first. You know, it was
with DJ for a bunch of years in Seattle. A
high character guy, a great teammate, A jack of all trades.
You know, He's a guy who can return a kick,
he can cover, you know, he can get in there
and play running back, carry the ball for you. You know,
he'll catch it out of the backfield. So he does
a lot and I think just in general too, just
(16:30):
the culture piece of of who we are. He fits
right into the guys that we have here. Hendon Hooker
is a guy that I loved in the process coming
out of Tennessee. I had some great meetings with him.
He really impressed me as a man, you know, and
a really high character guy with a lot of talent,
a beautiful motion, you know, a big strapping guy who
can run, you know, and I think, you know, sometimes
(16:53):
I think coach Campbell said it right. Sometimes guys need
to change of scenery, you know, And and he's had
great training up there. I'm I'm very grateful that we
get a player who's had professional training you know, for
a while now, with set and protections and run game
alerts and a lot of the different things that you know,
the offense that Detroit was able to build like that,
(17:14):
I really admire, you know. And to be able to
bring a guy in who's had exposure in that, you know,
and the talent and the character that that I'm excited about.
Speaker 3 (17:23):
You know, I'm glad he's gonna be here.
Speaker 5 (17:25):
Last question to move forward with your rips at left
tackle until you know what if you said.
Speaker 2 (17:29):
It, yeah, Yoash will practice that left left tackle right now, Brady,
You'll get get in some Also, Brandon Walton, who was
on our practice squad, played a little tackle in the
in the preseason game. So we have some options you
know that for guys that we can be able to
kind of you know, spot fill that and then we
have to make decisions and if he doesn't make it.
We have to make decisions on who's up on game day.
But again, I'm going to be super hopeful on this.
(17:52):
We're going to take it day to day and just
connect with Ikey and you know, hopefully you can get
him back out there on the grass at some point
game week and and be able to you know, count that.
Speaker 5 (18:02):
You said you had a couple options on the table,
or any of them non playing options could be.
Speaker 2 (18:08):
I mean, we're just talking about everything right now. I
just want to be a part of his future of
what he wants to do. I just told him that,
you know, like in whatever capacity that is, whether it's
the fifty three or practice squad. You know, that was
just kind of the conversations that we left on right well,
I'm just talking about wanting to be a part of him,
like the guy that I remember, you know, and I
(18:29):
think that he's on his way back there, and I
truly believe that, and I believe in him as a guy.
I mean, I had such a blast, you know, working
with him in this you know, short amount of time.
But you know, I'd love to see him back out
there at some point, and so just a matter of
us continuing to stay in touch and see where we're at.
For the review.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
All Right, Well, an eventful couple of days, you know,
with UH, with Adam being traded to the Vikings. I
first wanted to just talk about, you know, my time
with him here and just you know, the competitive spirit,
you know, the toughness and really just the energy he
brought every day professionalism and how it really impacted and affected,
you know, a really young group of Whiteouts and UH
(00:27):
and a young coach.
Speaker 3 (00:28):
You know.
Speaker 2 (00:29):
It's something that you know, I'll take with me forever,
just to kind of see, like, you know, what it
means to him to go out there every day and
to get after it. And I remember him coming off
the field in games, He's just like, at the end
of the day, doesn't matter what you call, we got
to make the play, you know, and just challenging me,
challenging the group, you know, and that kind of fire
you know that'll be missed here, but you know there
(00:51):
was there. I think this was kind of a transaction
that happened where everybody, you know, we met in a
common ground, you know, all across the board, and so
you know, it just happened to work out this way.
And he and I had a long conversation today where
you know, it's just like it's about patience and it's
about the right thing being done, you know. And I
think we come away with this and all of us
(01:12):
the Vikings Adam ourselves, you know, I think we all
come away with this thing feeling like we're in a
good spot.
Speaker 4 (01:19):
Reports that he wanted to go back to Minnesota. Did
he express that desire to you?
Speaker 2 (01:23):
He never expressed that to me. I appreciate that about him.
Speaker 3 (01:28):
You know.
Speaker 2 (01:28):
For me, it was like he just couldn't wait to
get back on the field. And he really kept it
professional with me as far as just like I play
for you, I played for the Panthers, And so that's
the approach he really took with me, and so that's
the approach I took with him, you know. And really
up until you know, the last you know, couple of
days where the conversation started to get more extended and
(01:49):
and we had to like, you know, get a make
sure we were all on the same page, because this
thing couldn't have happened. It might not have happened, you
know what I mean, And we had to be able
to be in a good place from a relationship standpoint
where when we do move forward we got to make
sure we're moving.
Speaker 3 (02:01):
Forward together, and I felt like we were. We were there.
Speaker 2 (02:04):
And then over the course of a couple of days,
and you know, Dan and Brant and the crew in Minnesota,
you know, working through this thing. You know, they we
found a common ground.
Speaker 5 (02:13):
You said. I think you said you wanted to do
right by Adam. We know what the Vikings game, they
needed a receiver, Adam wanted to go home. How do
you guys benefit with this trade?
Speaker 2 (02:26):
Yeah, I think it's just obviously the what was exchanged
in the you know, just in the details of the agreement,
you know, I think that's going to help us for
a team that we're building and for our future.
Speaker 3 (02:37):
So we feel great about that part.
Speaker 2 (02:38):
And then I think it's just that receiver room, you know,
that continued to impress me, you know, in different ways,
different guys. And now the opportunity for guys like Jalen Cocher,
like bryceon Tremaine, David Moore, Jimmy Horn, these guys to
step up and to find a huge void, you know.
Speaker 3 (02:54):
A role that needs to be filled.
Speaker 2 (02:56):
And so again I think competition brings the best out
and all of us. And here's another opportunity for us
to compete for that, and and we felt strongly enough
about a young, talented group that that we can do that.
And I got to give credit to Rob Moore, you know,
who's really poured into this young group and really developed
these guys, you know, in in the last year. And
so you know, I just Keishan Coleman is NonStop with
(03:18):
these guys, you know, and so I just really feel
great about where that group is at and I'm excited
to see what comes out of it.
Speaker 5 (03:24):
Bryce really trusted to Adam out there and maybe the
most offendable years. Yeah, once the will has to trade him.
Speaker 1 (03:34):
Say about what Bryce.
Speaker 2 (03:35):
Is, you know, I just feel confident about Bryce's leadership,
you know. I keep coming back to that, but it
really is you know, this is this is Bryce bringing
guys together and making different attributes of our players, our
skill players speaking specifically about the receivers come alive, you know,
and and the guys that have flashed. It's all on
our film every day, you know. And these are guys
that Andy and that Bryce have learned to trust, and
(03:58):
so it allows them to you know, get excited about
where we're going. But at the same time, we're you know,
this is we know who Adam is, we know what
he could have brought to this team, you know, and
so we know that he's going to be missed in
that regard. But there's also an excitement for the guys
that are here.
Speaker 6 (04:14):
I was going to you reference the void that is
down there now that he's going to specify exactly what
it is that you where you would like to see
other guys step up.
Speaker 3 (04:22):
Yeah, honestly.
Speaker 2 (04:23):
So we added t ma Ac, So there's another guy
that we want to get the ball to, you know,
and he's going to have his specific role, and I
think it really just comes down to who's gonna make
the plays.
Speaker 3 (04:33):
You know.
Speaker 2 (04:33):
I don't have to get into specific schemes. Adam makes place,
you know, he consistently did that for his career, you know,
and certainly last year at the end of the season
when he came back to us, he made plays. And
so this is just an opportunity for guys to be
there and to be available for Bryce, you know, whether
it's on a critical third down or whether it's to
win the game, you know, And these are these are
(04:54):
incredible opportunities for them.
Speaker 4 (04:56):
As much as you know what Adam brings to the offense.
You've also seen the offense with out Adam and Jalen
Cocher got a lot of playing time in his stead.
How much did his performance down the stretch last year
or at least what Adam was out playing to the
conversations that you said, hey, we feel comfortable going and.
Speaker 3 (05:12):
Yeah, it's a big part of it.
Speaker 2 (05:13):
Right There's there's guys that we're excited to see play
more and to have those opportunities, you know, and Jalen
Cocher certainly is one of those guys. And and that
was our message to all of them, you know, like
you know, right after the decisions were made, it's like, Okay,
here's an opportunity guys, you know, and so I'm excited
to see, you know, who steps up for us and
who plays in those roles.
Speaker 4 (05:33):
You have brought in a wide receiver and a cornerback
who ever has experienced with What did those guys bring
to the table.
Speaker 2 (05:40):
Yeah, So you know, big strong athletes.
Speaker 3 (05:44):
You know, we're trying to just elevate the speed the
size of our roster.
Speaker 2 (05:48):
We're continuing to look at all the practice squads and
you know, while we have our initial fifty three set
right now.
Speaker 3 (05:55):
You know, we're going to keep looking.
Speaker 2 (05:56):
We're gonna keep looking at in all positions, you know,
throughout the course of the sea and to see if
there's somebody that can help us in a specific way. So,
you know, I think Mathis has the traits you know,
as a cover corner, and he's been in the league
for a little while. And then it's I can't it's
is it, yes, Cambell?
Speaker 3 (06:12):
But is it? Is it? Delv Delvon Devon de Levon Campbell? Yeah?
Speaker 2 (06:17):
So, but he's a guy that flashed as a as
a gunner and he made some plays down the field.
You know, he's got great speed and size. This is
a fantastic player to be able to work with, you know,
and his physical ability will give him time to develop
as a wide receiver. I do think he's a raw
receiver right now. So but again he comes into the
group and he gives us another element of speed, uh,
(06:39):
to be able to work with.
Speaker 5 (06:40):
I went into the decision to leave renfro off the
fifty three and have you all offered him a spot
on the practice squad.
Speaker 2 (06:48):
We've been in constant communication with with Hunters since yesterday.
He's talking to his family, he's talking to his agent,
you know, and we're all just kind of we have
we have a couple of things on the table for him,
and we're just to keep taking kind of one day
at a time and see where he's at, you know.
And I just felt like, you know, towards the end,
like the last stretch of what I saw, I want
to be able to count on Hunter to be as
(07:10):
good as he was the whole time, and I just
saw I just saw some peaks and then I just
saw some dips also in terms of his performance, and
I just felt like, in fairness to the whole group,
in fairness to the team, I wanted to make sure
that he knew I want to be a part of
your future. I don't think right now is the time
initially for this team, and so we just he just
(07:30):
kind of said, you know, I have to think about
what I want to do. And so we're in we're
in communication right now. We're going to kind of take
it day by day and see where we're at. Hey,
this is a pretty young wide receason, and you know,
I touched on this a little bit, but I means
being very developmentally minded, how much does that help you
observe the.
Speaker 4 (07:46):
Alls like this.
Speaker 2 (07:48):
Absolutely, it's it's the nature of this thing is that
if we coach our guys well and we accumulate the
right talent, that we should see growth, we should see
stride from our players, you know. And that's the charge
of our coaching staff to pour into these guys so
that we get to a point where we can make
(08:09):
moves that makes sense for everybody, that we can make
moves and the next guy can come in and perform
for us. And so it's an attribute to the to
the atmosphere, to the culture, and again to you know,
to Rob More and to Brad, you know, and and Keishaan,
who are working with these guys all the time.
Speaker 4 (08:23):
He went with four inside linebackers for safeties. Do you
feel comfortable with those numbers as well as the talent
that's in there.
Speaker 2 (08:30):
I feel comfortable with the guys who are here. But again,
we're gonna keep looking all across the league, and you know,
transactions happen weekly, you know, and these rosters they're not
set in stone by any stretch, and so we're going
to continue to see, you know, based on the film
that we watched and where people ended up, you know,
to see if people can come in and help us,
and the premium is going to be on special teams.
(08:51):
You know, are these guys that we can count on
game day who have the attributes that we can develop
as coaches.
Speaker 3 (08:57):
From a positional standpoint, go back to the wide.
Speaker 1 (09:00):
Receivers for a second. Bryson Tremaine ultimately made the team. Yeah,
can you explain why why you thought he was deserving
of the spot And is this a trend of this
front office saying, hey, if you perform in training camp,
you get your chance.
Speaker 4 (09:16):
To do it.
Speaker 2 (09:17):
I think it was the whole body of work for
me with Bryson. It was our ability to trust him
in a bunch of different roles. He played a couple
of positions, So for people who don't know how hard
that is, you know, when you come into a first
his first camp. He was in the meetings all spring,
but he wasn't on the field to be able to
come in play multiple spots, to be able to show
(09:37):
us that he can do some stuff on special teams.
That's exactly what we're looking for, you know. The toughness
in his style of play, the way he shows up
in the run game, blocking just the high level effort
that he gives every time he's on the field. It's
exactly what we're looking for in the character of a player,
a Panthers player. And so these are the guys that
get rewarded, are the ones we can who are dependable
(09:58):
and who are physical, you know, and bring a variety
of things that they can help us with on game day.
Speaker 4 (10:03):
Is he a Brad suggestion or a personnel suggestion? I know,
Brad's got stand.
Speaker 3 (10:07):
It was a personnel move.
Speaker 2 (10:09):
So this is somebody that Dan identified that we uh,
that we gave a futures contract to from the commanders,
you know, and someone that they had their eye on
from last year. And uh, you know, just you know,
we we didn't even get to see him in the spring,
so we really wouldn't weren't sure what we had.
Speaker 3 (10:26):
But he showed up healthy.
Speaker 2 (10:27):
And in great shape, and and his conditioning was at
such a level that he can give maximum effort and
anything everything he did, which is such a great uh,
you know, just a great note for everybody, like your
fitness level allows you to do more, you know, And
and he just consistently got himself out there and gave
gave great effort.
Speaker 4 (10:45):
With Adam leaving, how much does David Moore step up
as the veteran, kind of veteran voice in that room.
Speaker 3 (10:51):
Yeah, Dave.
Speaker 2 (10:51):
David's been a kind of steady, consistent, uh, calming presence
for the younger receivers. He knows what it's like to
battle his way onto a roster. We drafted him in
the seventh round in twenty seventeen. He was on our
practice squad for most of that year and really didn't
start to see significant snaps until the second year. So
he knows what the grind looks like, and he understands
(11:12):
the frustrations of a young player who is on the
practice squad and they can't just kind of give in too.
Speaker 3 (11:19):
Just a role on practice squad.
Speaker 2 (11:21):
You're trying to show us that you can help us
on game day at some point. And so, you know,
he's kind of just been a really just a sounding
board for me in terms of the style, the effort,
the characteristics, the attitude.
Speaker 3 (11:34):
That we're looking for every day.
Speaker 2 (11:35):
And so I'm just I'm glad demos here and I know,
like he plays both sides, both he plays both outside
spots for us, So he's got versatility and he's able
to show the guys too. He'll also go in and
catch a punt, he'll go in and cover, He'll go
be a gunner at times, he'll cover a kickoff at times,
you know, and just the ability to learn more, to
be able to do more gives you a chance to
(11:57):
develop and make plays in this league.
Speaker 5 (12:00):
Where are you with Ryan Fitzgerald?
Speaker 2 (12:03):
He's our kicker right now, But again, we're going to
take this thing week to week, you know, and look
see how he's doing and kind of just continue to
look at what's out there and we'll make the right
decisions for the Panthers as we go along with this thing.
Speaker 5 (12:15):
Doesn't sound like a real strong vote of confidence. Was
there something in preseason that gave you pause?
Speaker 2 (12:21):
I would say the same thing for any other kicker
that was here. This is a performance type of league,
you know, and these opportunities there are so many guys
out there that want these jobs. There's more kickers than
there are spots, you know, on the thirty two teams,
and so again it's that competition and this is a
good moment for him to take advantage of this opportunity
that he has.
Speaker 3 (12:42):
Too.
Speaker 1 (12:42):
Promising developments at practice today, Nick s Gordon, I seem
to be full, a full participate of those Tommy tremble.
Can you just give an update on their status.
Speaker 2 (12:51):
Yeah, so Nick was cleared to be back into practice.
He took about fifty percent of the snaps he would
normally take, but he handled it well. I'll follow back
up with a need to see how he comes out,
you know, just following the practice.
Speaker 3 (13:02):
But he looked good. He was out there running around
Tommy same thing. You know.
Speaker 2 (13:06):
I was excited to just get him to put hands
on some people today and and fill that part out
because again that's the next step for him as we
get ready for game week. And yes, so Ikey Ikey
had appendectomy. So he he had appendicides. He wasn't feeling
good and then ultimately went to the hospital and they said,
(13:27):
all right, well we gotta we gotta do surgery here.
We have to remove this, and so he had his
appendix removed.
Speaker 3 (13:33):
He's day to day.
Speaker 2 (13:34):
We've seen these things turn around and a little over
a week. They can be longer, you know, just depends
on each individual body, how you respond to the surgery,
how your body heals the right way. So he's going
to be day to day, you know, all the way
up until the game. So that's something that we have
to keep our eye on as we go. That was
(13:55):
Sunday night, so he started to feel sick a little
bit before that, and then finally some night he went
in and then was diagnosed with you know, pendicitis, and
so they removed his appendix.
Speaker 6 (14:06):
Understanding that all of this is a part of the business,
including the Adam field and trade. What if the last
forty eight seventy two hour has been in addition to
the trade, really just the process of getting down.
Speaker 3 (14:17):
To fifty three. Yeah, it's always the hardest part for me.
Speaker 2 (14:20):
I think the week leading up to the last game,
you know, I feel it more. I can feel the
I can feel the stress, I can feel how important
this is for all the guys, and so we can
all feel that, you know, and I just try to
encourage the guys in that to just enjoy the day,
gratitude for this moment, for all the hard work we've
(14:40):
done together, you know, and to make this last game
a celebration of the work we've done to throw a
great camp. And then you turn around to make these decisions,
and they're really hard, but it's a really beautiful moment
to be able to connect with the player. And I
know it's a really hard day, but it's it's an
opportunity to be able to speak some truth, at least
my truth from what I all, from what the coaches saw,
(15:01):
for what their next steps might be. We talk about
being developmentally minded, and my hope is that they leave
this place better than when they got here. And you know,
there was just a lot of appreciation for each other,
and we were able to get a number of our
guys you know, back on practice squad. But of course,
you know, it's not the full group that was here,
and that takes a toll, you know, on all of us,
(15:23):
everyone around the building, you know, and it's always and
I love a party, so it's also just way less people,
you know, and so then it just it just feels different,
you know. And the thing that always brings us back
is just getting back on the grass, you know, regardless
of what happens before, when we get out there, at
some point during that practice, we're just playing football again.
And we were able to do that for the last
two days. It's it feels different, you know, and it
(15:45):
feels there's all the emotions that are involved and guys
that you know, people spend a lot of time with
who aren't here. But you know, to get back on
the grass, to make it about football. To know that
we're working towards something brings us back.
Speaker 4 (16:00):
A couple more. You're also bringing in a couple of
new faces too. I don't know how much you can
talk about him, but Head and Hooker and Jay Dallas.
You have a background with What can you say.
Speaker 1 (16:08):
About those guys?
Speaker 2 (16:09):
Yeah, I'll talk about DJ first. You know, it was
with DJ for a bunch of years in Seattle. A
high character guy, a great teammate, A jack of all trades.
You know, He's a guy who can return a kick,
he can cover, you know, he can get in there
and play running back, carry the ball for you. You know,
he'll catch it out of the backfield. So he does
a lot and I think just in general too, just
(16:30):
the culture piece of of who we are. He fits
right into the guys that we have here. Hendon Hooker
is a guy that I loved in the process coming
out of Tennessee. I had some great meetings with him.
He really impressed me as a man, you know, and
a really high character guy with a lot of talent,
a beautiful motion, you know, a big strapping guy who
can run, you know, and I think, you know, sometimes
(16:53):
I think coach Campbell said it right. Sometimes guys need
to change of scenery, you know, And and he's had
great training up there. I'm I'm very grateful that we
get a player who's had professional training you know, for
a while now, with set and protections and run game
alerts and a lot of the different things that you know,
the offense that Detroit was able to build like that,
(17:14):
I really admire, you know. And to be able to
bring a guy in who's had exposure in that, you know,
and the talent and the character that that I'm excited about.
Speaker 3 (17:23):
You know, I'm glad he's gonna be here.
Speaker 5 (17:25):
Last question to move forward with your rips at left
tackle until you know what if you said.
Speaker 2 (17:29):
It, yeah, Yoash will practice that left left tackle right now, Brady,
You'll get get in some Also, Brandon Walton, who was
on our practice squad, played a little tackle in the
in the preseason game. So we have some options you
know that for guys that we can be able to
kind of you know, spot fill that and then we
have to make decisions and if he doesn't make it.
We have to make decisions on who's up on game day.
But again, I'm going to be super hopeful on this.
(17:52):
We're going to take it day to day and just
connect with Ikey and you know, hopefully you can get
him back out there on the grass at some point
game week and and be able to you know, count that.
Speaker 5 (18:02):
You said you had a couple options on the table,
or any of them non playing options could be.
Speaker 2 (18:08):
I mean, we're just talking about everything right now. I
just want to be a part of his future of
what he wants to do. I just told him that,
you know, like in whatever capacity that is, whether it's
the fifty three or practice squad. You know, that was
just kind of the conversations that we left on right well,
I'm just talking about wanting to be a part of him,
like the guy that I remember, you know, and I
(18:29):
think that he's on his way back there, and I
truly believe that, and I believe in him as a guy.
I mean, I had such a blast, you know, working
with him in this you know, short amount of time.
But you know, I'd love to see him back out
there at some point, and so just a matter of
us continuing to stay in touch and see where we're at.
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