Everything Raiders Coach Josh McDaniels Said Today

The Las Vegas Raiders open the regular season this weekend. Coach Josh McDaniels spoke today, and we have everything he said for you.

The Las Vegas Raiders invade the Mile High City with a potent offense and an improved defense to take on their AFC West rival, the Denver Broncos.

Josh McDaniels spoke today about the game and the state of the franchise, and we have everything he said for you.

You can watch the entire press conference below and read the transcript:

Head Coach Josh McDaniels

Q: Will you give just an overview on the roster and the decisions you had to make yesterday and where you guys are? 

Coach McDaniels: "Yeah, I mean we've talked a lot about this time of the year. They're tough decisions and a lot of things go into them, a lot of discussions, a lot of people. We're evaluating our team and what would be best going forward, and just trying to look at everything from all sides and see if we can put together the best group that we can that gives us the best chance to compete every week. So, I think it's still a fluid process. There are still some things that I'd say are up in the air here relative to the practice squad or those kinds of things. But right now I think we've tried to put together the group that we feel best about going forward, and I'm sure there will be some things that get tweaked here." 

Q: You've said it wasn't going to come down to where you came from or who you are. You traded Neil Farrell and released Matthew Butler, two draft picks. Is that kind of a sign of that? 

Coach McDaniels: "I don't think we were trying to make a statement with that. I think we're just trying to have a fair, honest evaluation of where we're at and who's played the best, and what gives our team the best chance to win. Both players were competitive, both players have improved. Anytime you trade a player, especially when you do it in the division, if that's what you think is best, then you make the decision that you think is best for your team. Matthew [Butler] is one of the few that I can confirm is back on the practice squad right now. So, we released him but also have a chance to continue working with him, which is great. And again, I think we've just got to hold ourselves to that standard of whatever is best for the team, those are the decisions we want to try to make regardless of how they got here, what round it was, free agency, not free agency, whatever. We're just trying to do the best thing for the 2023 Raiders." 

Q: I know there's gong to be a lot more movement going on, but a guy like Kristian Wilkerson who you've been working with since he was in New England. How cool was it to kind of see him initially earn his way onto this team with this opportunity? 

Coach McDaniels: "Yeah, K-Wilks [Kristian Wilkerson] worked really hard since I've known him. Had an injury last year, it was kind of an unfortunate situation, and in training camp last year, where he kind of didn't really have an opportunity to have a season last year. So, I think he's worked really hard to put himself in position to compete this year in camp, and I thought he did some good things in the summer. I thought he did some good things in the games, competed hard, and not only on offense, but in the kicking game as well. So, that room was very competitive. It was probably one of the more competitive rooms we've had in the two years we've been here -- tough decisions, and just felt like he had done enough to really earn an opportunity." 

Q: All your draft picks made the initial roster. I know going back to April, you guys said this could possibly be foundational of what you want to build here. I know they're ultimately judged by what they do in the games, but how happy are you with the class as a whole and what you've seen from them last week? 

Coach McDaniels: "Yeah, there's a lot to be determined I'd say. Like you said, none of them have played in a real game yet. So, I think for any young players you need to see it for a few years and kind of what is it going to be. None of them are what they're going to be. So, the development process continues. We had that conversation with the guys this morning, this is not the end, this is the beginning of a different phase of the year. And so, we keep working with them, we keep teaching them, we keep doing extra with them if we can on the field, in the meeting room. They need to get themselves into a professional working routine now that the regular season is close to being here. So, there's another element of teaching that they're going to go through here. How to go through a regular season week, how to understand an opponent, how to learn a game plan. That process is going to be new to all of them, too. So, I'm excited for our coaching staff to keep working with them and coaching them, and those guys are all excited to continue to work and develop, and hopefully some of them are going to contribute here quickly." 

Q: You guys kept more defensive linemen than any other position group. What's the importance of having so much depth at that position? 

Coach McDaniels: "I mean, it's a tough position. Once you let them go, it's just so hard to -- that's not an easy position to go get somebody in October when you need somebody based on an injury. So, young, good, healthy defensive lineman, whether they're tackles, ends or have some kind of versatility to play both. If you have them, you probably ought to keep them, as many of them as you can, within reason. I mean, it's hard to probably keep more than what we have, but I just feel like you've go to give yourself a chance in the trenches. If you don't do that and you start losing there, it doesn't really matter what else you have. So, I felt like we had a competitive group there between the tackles, the ends, the whole room was competitive. I think we had some guys that gave us some versatility, played some inside, played some outside, rushed a little bit from both spots. I think that's important. So our depth overall I think is decent, and we have some young players, obviously, that are going to need to keep developing and improving. But overall, I thought we tried to make the best decision for ourselves under that premise." 

Q: On the other side of the line, what did Greg Van Roten show you? And we talked so much about the cohesion and the continuity, where is he in that process of kind of integrating himself in that group? 

Coach McDaniels: "I think he's right there. He's been a really important cog for us here as we've kind of gone through training camp. He acclimated quickly to our terminology. He is a physical guy who practices well every day and does a good job of communicating with the guys on either side of him; understands the offense, has played a lot of football, has multiple-position value for us. So, if something were ever to happen, you'd have some flexibility there with both him and Dylan [Parham] and really all the guys inside other than Andre [James] have some flexibility to center there. So, just a good football player, glad we have him." 

Q: How was that evaluation for the offensive line? It looked like it was pretty deep, and then also putting Dalton Wagner on IR. 

Coach McDaniels: "The offensive line was very similar to the defensive line. There was a lot of guys that were playing a lot of football in the preseason to try to really get a good evaluation of them. I thought the joint practices really helped us try to figure out exactly what the right concoction of those guys was going to be here. We're able to get a couple of these guys -- I think we're headed toward getting a couple of these guys back to our practice squad, which is good. And then Wags [Dalton Wagner], I thought he was really competitive. He's been dealing with something that finally kind of looks like we needed to address it, which we did. But he'll eventually be back and working out and doing all the things he needs to do here while he's able to be in the meetings, which is good, and hopefully get himself ready for another year next year." 

Q: What were the processes for all these months you've been kind of preparing for a season to decide a roster, and now it's to practice and prepare for an opponent? Something kind of has to switch over from the coaching staff to the players. What is that process like? Do you feel that in the building where it's starting to get to that point? 

Coach McDaniels: "Yeah, it's getting there. These next few days are really going to continue to be a little bit more about us and what we need to do and kind of finalizing everything with the roster. There's some things we can get done here for sure, but I'd say that energy will completely shift obviously over the weekend and into next week when the players are back on Tuesday. So, yeah you haven't really done this. As I was saying about the rookies, they've never done it. So, the coaches are already starting to go through that scouting report process, the initial stages of what that might look like. We're hard at work at trying to evaluate their roster and kind of what they have. They have some moving parts, we have some moving parts, like every team does at this point. So, the evaluation and the competition about who you're going to be working against and what that's going to look like is still up in the air a little bit. That'll get kind of firmed up here in the next so many days, and then you turn all your effort and energy towards what do we've got to do to win, how we've got to play the game. So, we'll get into that obviously next week, but they're going to be well coached, I know that for sure. It's a different style of play, different culture, they have different coaches. So, this is going to be a big challenge, but this week we'll put the finishing touches on what we've been working on here in terms of trying to complete our roster and focus on ourselves here for another couple of days and then really shift toward them next week." 

Q: Was the plan always to go with three quarterbacks or was there any discussion of going with two? 

Coach McDaniels: "No, I mean not really. It was to go with three, and not for any specific reason other than we felt like we had three guys who were capable of being roster players. Aidan [O'Connell] has obviously got a lot of developing in front of him, Brian has played plenty of football, and obviously excited about Jimmy [Garoppolo]. So, feel like we've got a good room. We'll figure all that out as we head into next week and beyond relative to how we'll do that. But I like what those guys are doing, they work well together. The guys with some experience offer their hand to Aidan when he has opportunity to learn from them, and those guys are hard at work trying to get ready themselves. So, that's a position that's important obviously, as we know, and having some depth there is never a bad thing." 

Q: You kept five safeties. Is that kind of a sign of where football has sort of gone at that position? It seems like you're asking safety more maybe than in the past. 

Coach McDaniels: "Yeah, I think we have five decent football players, and we probably had more than that -- we did have more than that, honestly. So, it depends on how you want to use them. If you're going to play some of them down there at the nickel spot at times -- again, some of the multiple tight end groups. Some people are playing some of those guys down there at linebacker a little bit more. So, each team is different. Some teams are very simple in terms of how they use their personnel, and other teams try to get a little bit more match-up oriented. We just felt like we had guys who can compete in the kicking game, help us win there and compete on defense. We've got 11 guys in the secondary that have some version of roles, flexibility, etc., and try to use them the best we can." 

Q: How difficult of a decision was Drake Thomas? Was there disappointment that he wasn't able to clear waivers? 

Coach McDaniels: "Yeah, I mean you take a chance obviously with every player that you release, and you try to get back to your practice squad. I think there were 24 players claimed out of 1200, whatever it was. So, the odds are technically in your favor until they're not. Just saw Drake [Thomas]. He was a great kid, gave us everything he had. He's going to contribute to an NFL roster. I think Seattle is the team that claimed him. He was competitive in the kicking game, competitive on defense. It's just one of those things where you try to create the right 53, and sometimes you're going to miss out on a guy here if you want to keep working with them on the practice squad. Wish him nothing but the best, he'll do a great job there. They got a good football player." 

Q: How beneficial is it then to have that roster exemption spot for Josh Jacobs in terms of working him back in but also still dealing with the roster? 

Coach McDaniels: "I mean it gives you a little bit of flexibility for a little bit. So, I'm eager to have him on the practice field and just get him started and get him acclimated here the next couple of days and then into next week. There's always things you're sorting through whether it's injuries or just other decisions that you want to try to make sure you've got the right thing going into the season. So, we'll take our time and try to make the right choice on that." 

Q: You guys have a handful of guys who have been working through some stuff trying to get back. Are they getting a little bit closer, Chandler Jones and Dylan Parham? 

Coach McDaniels: "Yeah we're close. You're going to see a bunch of them out there today. So, we're nearing -- we'll never be at full health it seems like, but we're getting closer. There's going to be a bunch of them out there, you'll see them today. They are working back in, and that's generally how it works. If you're trying to make smart decisions and get them back, a lot of times it doesn't pay to get them back too early, and then they're out for the beginning of the season. So, a lot of these guys are turning the corner." 

Q: What do you have to do with the offense here in the next couple of days with Josh Jacobs back before you get into game week practices next week? What do you do with these next few days to make sure that things get implemented completely? 

Coach McDaniels: "Yeah, like I said, he's one of the smartest football players that you're going to coach. We didn't change our vernacular, our terminology much, so I think just for him in general just getting re-acclimated to certain things, in terms of his footwork and seeing certain schemes, etc. Really getting a great opportunity to meet a few of his teammates that he hasn't had an opportunity to meet. Offensively, I know I've said this many times, I don't think you go into the beginning of the season and kind of reinvent the wheel. So, we've been doing certain things and getting ready for the season and that's probably what we're going to spend most of our time on between now and next week. And I think he'll acclimate very easily back into the system and what he's doing, and then we'll just see how the overall conditioning and readiness to play, how many snaps is that going to be, etc. We'll figure that out here in the next 10 days.” 

Q: Is it kind of a lift to everyone having him back in here? Do you think it kind of uplift lifts everyone? 

Coach McDaniels: "Yeah, there's nobody in our building who doesn't love him. Coaches, players, support staff; everybody's excited to see him. I think he's excited to be here. Loves being a Raider. So, yeah, it's exciting. Whenever you get a player back, whether it's from injury or something like this, it always gives you a little bit of a boost.” 

Q: Did you guys do a captain's voting yet? 

Coach McDaniels: "No. Not yet.” 

Q: Who won the backup quarterback position or is that still ongoing? 

Coach McDaniels: "I don't know that we are ever going to say we won one or not. To me, I've always looked at it like, we have a starter and then everybody behind him is going to be ready to go. Obviously, we’ll have to declare what we're going to do as we head into the regular season on a week-to-week basis. I think Brian [Hoyer] has done a good job with his opportunities; he knows that. And then Aidan [O’Connell] is continuing to learn and develop. There are some other factors there that I would say that sometimes you don't look at it that way because you're evaluating the play on the field, but as you head into the regular season, nobody but the starter gets many opportunities in practice. And so, you just got to take into consideration what that would be like because to me playing a game with repetitions in practice is different than playing in a game with no repetitions in practice. And so, just making smart choices about how that would work and what the right thing for the team would be, putting the right players in the right position if that were to occur. I think that's always something I think about relative to this position, and that's different there if you know you have an injury and we're going to play three weeks here without our starter, now we have an opportunity to go ahead and figure out what we want to do with practice, and that's a different conversation. So, we'll work through it here in the next 10 days. We know we're going to have to declare something there and then try to make the best decision for the team.” 

Q: When you say declare, you mean like who’s going to be active? 

Coach McDaniels: "Well, on game day we have to have somebody as the third quarterback. So, as we do that, we're not going to have all three of them inside the 47. I mean, not unless we have a bunch of injuries, so we'll have to declare that.” 

The Silver and Black open the regular season at the Denver Broncos on Sunday, Sept. 10, at 4:25 p.m. EDT/1:25 p.m. PDT.

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