Opening Statement: “You guys obviously know that the trade didn’t go through. Anytime you make a trade in the NFL, there’s a lot of different conditions; everywhere from physical to contracts to reporting and everything else. And this one ended up not being executed. Both players revert back to the teams; draft pick comes back. I think that’s about all I’ll say on it.”
On the media reports of Lions RB Jerome Harrison having a brain tumor: “Well, first it’s a privacy issue and I’m not going to comment on it. He’s back on our 53 man roster and we’ll have an injury report at 4 o’clock. We’ll have the information presented then.”
On if Harrison is expected to contribute again at some point this year: “I think I’ll take (the same stance) with every (injured) player that we have: they’ll work hard to get back on the field and when they’re ready they will be.”
On Jahvid Best’s family remarks regarding ending his season: “Well anytime you talk about concussions, the way we’ve talked about before, it’s not a situation you can tough out. I think the NFL has been very proactive in what they’re, you know, what we’re doing with concussions. We’ve had some players that have had them, some guys that have missed time and some guys that have gotten back. I think we’ll just take that same approach with Jahvid. As soon as he gets clearance, he’ll be back.”
On how many concussions is too many in a short period of time: “That’s not up for me to decide. That’s the reason that the NFL has put people that know what they’re doing in those things. Like I said, it’s not a situation where a player can will his way back; it’s not a situation where a coach or anybody else can put a player back before, you know, the independent doctors say he’s able to be able to do those things.”
On under what circumstances would he recommend a player sitting out for the season due to a concussion: “I wouldn’t recommend that (because) it’s not my area to recommend.”
On if Best has expressed concern to him: “Any conversations I have with players are not for media.”
On if Stefan Logan is the third back this week: “He’s a guy that can carry the ball for us, but you know, he’s always done multi-dimensional roles for us.”
On getting TE Tony Scheffler back on the practice field: “He was a guy coming back from a concussion and did a good job sort of, you know, staying active and doing those things and like I said before: when they’re ready, they come back. Obviously (he) passed enough to be back.”
On if it’s the same with LB Justin Durant: “Pretty much the same, yeah.”
On how much Schefflers’s absence hurt in the red zone last week: “Well, he’s a guy that doesn’t have a lot of catches for us, but he has touchdown catches and he’s got great size, and he has a great length to be able to make a lot of plays. Anytime that you have a player that’s missing, you’re going to miss him in some regard on the field, but I think that is an area that Tony excels in and we look forward to having him back.”
On if there is an additional concussion test those players need to pass to get on the game field: “Well, I don’t want to talk anything about their game status for Sunday. I’ll just leave all that stuff to the injury report.”
On if there is a progression in testing: “Yeah, there’s different ways. I mean, you’re cleared for activity, you’re cleared for non-contact (and then) you’re cleared for contact. So there’s different steps along the way for sure.”
On the lack of explosiveness if Best is out: “Well, that remains to be seen. It’s too hypothetical of a situation to comment that way on. I’ll just say this: all our backs are a little bit different, all of them bring a little something different to the offense. We’ll use anybody that we have available on Sunday to the best of their abilities, not necessarily what another player can do and things like that.”
On whether he has spoken with RB Jerome Harrison since the trade was voided: “Yeah again, any conversations I have with players I’m just going to keep to myself.”
On if his conversation with Harrison was awkward: “Any conversation I have with a player, I’m going to keep to myself.”
