Head Coach John Harbaugh
Q: You guys obviously made a trade today. Can you tell us what you like about (defensive lineman) C.J. (Okoye) and where he might fit with you guys?
JOHN HARBAUGH: C.J. Okoye, just traded for him with the Ravens for a '28 seventh-round pick. He's a guy that we got to know recently, last year. Came in and was with the Chargers actually with my brother for a couple of years in the international program. So, a guy who had been a developmental-type guy, learning the game and tremendous physical skills, hard worker. Really dedicated himself over the last few years to learning the game, really, because he didn't it growing up. And made great strides, made great strides with Dennis Johnson, our defensive line coach, last year. That's where he kind of broke through and had a really good season. We see him as an inside defender, defensive tackle, A-gap, B-gap player, run stopper, pocket pusher in terms of the pass game, and just a real big, physical player. So, kind of a type of guy we've been looking for, and we're really excited to get him up here. Funny story, he was on the train today, just now actually, he's still on the train, because he didn't get off at Newark. He went all the way through to New York. As we all know, that's easy to do, right? So, he's on his way back from New York as we speak.
Q: With the deadline tomorrow, have you guys made any cuts yet?
JOHN HARBAUGH: We're in the process of that right now. We'll make a few here in the next hour or two. And then tomorrow we'll still have some. We won't be finished today. We'll have some more to make tomorrow.
Q: You mentioned yesterday – you announced yesterday – that (kicker) Dominic (Zvada) is your kicker. You explained why you're going with a rookie. Are you going to go with a rookie long snapper?
JOHN HARBAUGH: As of now, yes, we are. We don't have any other options, and we think he did a great job. So, that was our guy. We gave him kind of an opportunity through camp to win the job. If things had not gone well, if he had not been up to the standard, we would have been looking for somebody, but we never had to do that. He met every day in a way that was above standard. We think he's going to be ascending and we think he's going to do a great job for us this year.
Q: And no trepidation about a rookie? First time, Sunday night against the Cowboys, lights are on, all that stuff?
JOHN HARBAUGH: No, just all the usual trepidation that you'd have with any rookie starter in a situation like that. We're not immune to that for sure, but we feel like he's definitely up to the challenge.
Q: Obviously, C.J. addresses defensive tackle. Is that still a position you look at as a waiver wire place or another trade? Because, obviously, that's a place where you guys have had some, I don't know, depth concerns maybe throughout the summer. Does C.J. fix that or is that still a place you're looking?
JOHN HARBAUGH: Well, yeah, we're still looking, but I don't want to rule out anything else either. It's not like we aren't looking everywhere. I don't think we have – it's not like we're scouring the waiver wire for players. We're really happy with our roster. I feel like we've got all the players in place that we need. At the same time, if there's an opportunity to improve ourselves somewhere along the way, we will. We know all the names. We'll be looking real closely at that list.
Q: Is there any – obviously you can't say if something's not done yet – but are you guys getting a lot of calls about guys on your roster that maybe you see as expendable from your 53-man roster, too?
JOHN HARBAUGH: Well yeah, we're getting calls. We're making calls. I wouldn't say it's anything inordinate. We're just doing the usual due diligence, I think, on all that stuff. There's interest in guys that we have and we have interest in guys out there, too. So, it's just part of the process, I would say.
Q: Hey, John. I know you said last night that (wide receiver) Odell Beckham (Jr.) had done enough to make a roster. Is it safe to say that he's done enough to make your guys' roster?
JOHN HARBAUGH: Well, we can talk about words. We'll have to see throughout the weekend if he does make the roster. We're working through that right now. We have a pretty good idea, in all honesty, but we're not ready to make that announcement or any other announcement as far as who's making the team at this point.
Q: On that note, can we infer that the guys who didn't play or played little, their spots are maybe, perhaps, a little more secure than others?
JOHN HARBAUGH: Yeah, you can infer that.
Q: I'm curious, where do you expect the most difficult decisions to be made? What positions are you – I mean, I'm sure you've gone through this by now – are maybe the most difficult or that you're kind of pondering back and forth?
JOHN HARBAUGH: No, I didn't make that list up before the press conference. I don't really have that ranking order right now. And also to say this probably in answering that, which is a good – a fair question. I won't say a good question because I get in trouble for that now, for saying good question. But they're all tough. To say that one's tougher than another or more challenging or more difficult, in all honesty, they're all tough. Because all these guys are really good players. I mean, there are so many good players in this league. There are so many good players on this team. As we said, every player in the National Football League is a great football player. Every one of them. And we had a bunch of guys put out tremendous performances throughout camp. Another bunch of guys put out great performances last night. And guys who'll make it, this team at this time, or won't make it or they'll make the practice squad or they'll get picked up by another team. I mean, all these things are moving parts. So, one's not really tougher than the other, so to speak. It's just all – it's all challenging, and in a good way – in a great way. Because guys have an opportunity to play and kind of make their dreams come true, and building your team, which is exciting, and who you're going to have and how it's going to go. It's just – it's all a big configuration of all these factors. If that's a good way to explain it. So, I just don't think you can put a ranking on it. It's just impossible to answer it kind of in those terms.
Q: And there was a report out there that (wide receiver) Darius Slayton might be an expendable piece here. I was wondering what you thought of that, and what have you seen from him this summer?
JOHN HARBAUGH: Yeah, I mean, like I said, we're not really making any announcements about any of that at this time. We're making our plans. We're figuring out what our options are. And I thought he played well. Had a heck of a camp. He's a great guy, great player, hard worker, and did a heck of a job like he's always done here.
Q: John, you've spent the last seven months now building towards this, right? In 24 hours, you're going to have your initial 53. What do you like about what you have now, and do you feel like you've got the identity and the pieces that you wanted when you first took this job?
JOHN HARBAUGH: Well, I'm excited about it. I'm excited about the team. I'm excited about the players, the coaches. I was really fired up in the stadium. To be a part of that last night, the Giants-Jets preseason rivalry was – I mean, it was pointed out to me by you guys and by people in the building, there is no greater preseason type of a game than this game. It was really fun to be a part of it. The crowd was into it. It was an electric environment. The players were into it. It was a very physical game. It was just really fun to be a part of it. So, all those things kind of come together. And now, what is the end of the offseason, the training camp program, is the beginning of the regular season. It's the beginning of the journey. And I'm looking forward to it. I like our team a lot. I really feel like this is a team that is very determined to be a great football team. Now let's see if we can go make something of it.
