Eight players addressed the media following the Washington Commanders' second day of minicamp. Here are some of the highlights from their press conferences.
Chris Paul
On where he thinks his progress has shown the most:
"It's really shown really in all aspects. Every aspect of offensive line play, and I think I'm just really grateful for the opportunity. I get to progress day in and day out, every day, every single day, no matter where I'm at in my career, it's gonna be a competition."
On if he feels prepared for the competition:
"Yes, absolutely. Definitely better prepared. And that just comes with being a veteran now at this point and continuing to improve and knowing the scheme and knowing the terminology."
On what it's like working with Travelle Wharton:
"It's been amazing. He's a wonderful coach and really has taken the offensive line by the helm and we're working on every type of detailed thing that you could work on in this game and we've really, really, really emphasized that. And so he's a wonderful coach and all of our assistant coaches are wonderful as well."
Joey Slye
On what he has worked on this offseason:
"Staying a little bit taller, better contact, just a couple things here and there that I can work on just to make sure that every single time the ball comes off my foot [so] it's farther, straighter, higher, all those things like that."
John Bates
On how it feels to be back out on the field:
"It feels really good. I think there's a whole new energy this year with the offense, and I think the team in general. Just a lot of excitement, a lot of energy that EB's bringing to this team and guys are excited. It's not necessarily that everyone's out there talking about it, but it's kind of the unsung, unsung energy that is kind of just all throughout the team right now.
On what Eric Bieniemy brings to the offense:
"He brings a lot of explosiveness to this offense and a lot of versatility to all the position groups. Everyone's touching the ball at practice, a lot of different routes and route combinations that we're running. And I feel like doing it at a really high level. So, we have a lot of stuff to work on still, but it's just a really exciting time."
On the growth of Cole Turner and Curtis Hodges:
"They've grown a lot from last year and those guys are doing some really, really awesome things right now for our offense. And so it's really exciting to see where they've come from the rookie year to this year and excited to watch those guys play."
Benjamin St-Juste
On Quan Martin:
"Fits pretty much everywhere, which is what we need, which what we want. I fit pretty much everywhere in terms of corner, nickel blitz and all that stuff. That's what Quan does. So this is where he can do my job, I can do his job, and this is where we create a lot more value for the defense."
On his confidence heading into Year 3:
"Time flies by. I'm teaching the youngins how to do certain things, how to be a vet, how to take care of your body, how to do all those things, which is crazy because I felt like I was just here doing my first interview talking about like I'm here competing for a spot and all that stuff. So now I get to show the way for the young guys."
On playing in the slot:
"I think it was already given that I was gonna do both. I did it last year, didn't like what they saw and I think that was something that was even mentioned when I was getting drafted...The fact that I can do that, it's a blessing because you get to keep Forbes on the outside or bring Quan on the inside, put me on the outside This is where we're gonna really win throughout the season instead of having just players that can only play one position."
