Head Coach Jay Gruden
On the injury report:
"The only injury of note that I'm going to talk about today is Niles Paul is going on IR with his shoulder. And then we started Derek Carrier back to practice. Other than that we'll do the injuries on Wednesday."
On the team's reaction to T Trent Williams' suspension:
"Well, we react and play with the guys we have ready to play. Ty Nsekhe will step in and do a great job. We have no problem with that. Had a talk with Trent, discussed the situation, what happened, how it happened, and we'll keep that between us. But we stand behind Trent and we know that he's going to be a big help for us when he becomes eligible."
On if Williams's status as a team captain makes the suspension disappointing:
"Yeah, I mean, you hate to lose a player of that magnitude any way, shape or form. It's going to have a little… it's going to have an effect on our football team. But, like I said, I have faith in Ty and I have faith that in four weeks Trent will be back ready to go."
On if TE Niles Paul will need surgery:
"Yeah, it's a labrum issue. So it is surgery, yes."
On who can fill Paul's role:
"Yeah, we're going to look around today, tomorrow and see if we bring another guy in. Hopefully Derek [Carrier] starts his clock, [we will] see if he's ready to go. You know, he played a lot for us when he was up. First action back for a long time with him, but hopefully we get him ready to go."
On if they will consider adding another tackle:
"Yeah, we're thinking about all that. It's something we've been talking about upstairs and hopefully this afternoon we'll get somebody else in here."
On T Morgan Moses:
"He's doing good. He's still sore, but I think in time hopefully the swelling will go down and he'll be ready to go. He's a tough guy and played through worse injuries, but you never know. We've just got to do the best we can and get him as much rehab as we can and see how he's feeling come Wednesday."
On if Williams' suspension impacts his status as a leader:
"No. No, no, and people can take it a lot of different ways but Trent's done a lot for this football team, for this franchise, and he's done a lot for the young guys in this building. The development of a lot of our young, key players – Morgan Moses, Brandon Scherff, Spencer Long – he's been an integral part of that development so it doesn't have any effect what so ever on his captain [status] in my mind."
On Williams' suspension:
"Well, I had a talk about with Trent and he told me the circumstances and it was last year and I believe what happened and I think there was a mix up. I think what we have to do is really take into account for what has actually happened right now. He is suspended for four games. That we know. How it happened, why it happened, that's something between him and the NFLPA but we have to adjust how we coach and who's going to play for the next four weeks and when he does come back he'll be ready to go."
On the play of RB Robert Kelley and the state of the running back position:
"I think he played good, I really do. I've said it all along, we've got three, four good backs – four good backs now that Mack [Brown] is up – so I'm not going to project who's going to get the bulk of the load but right now I think it's going through Robert Kelley as I stand up here right now. And that could change come Thursday or Friday, but Matt [Jones] will get his touches and earn his way back into the role that we think he should be in."
On the plan for Williams during the suspension:
"He's going to be allowed to come to meetings in the morning, work out here at the facility and that's it. He can't come to practice, can't go to games."
*On if S Will Blackmon will be available to play on Sunday: *
"We'll see. We'll address all of those injuries on Wednesday."
On his experience in England:
"How was it in England? It was neutral [laughter]."
On if he has voted:
"I have not voted yet, no."
On for whom he will vote:
"I'll keep that between myself. I don't wanna… I'll make that decision when I get it to the booth, kind of like I did in my tests when I was younger, I'll cheat on the guy next to me [laughter]."
On if he is surprised by how much longer TE Vernon Davis could extend his career:
"I think the shape that Vernon's in and the way he takes care of himself, I think he can play for a few more years, without a doubt. I mean, I have been actually surprised at the impact he's had on this football team both on and off the field. He's a great guy, he works hard, he's good in the running game, he pays attention in meetings. He's obviously got the speed and skillset that you need at the tight end position. So I think he's been just awesome as far as his contributions and we expect that for hopefully years to come."
On his assessment of the first half of the season:
"Yeah, we're excited about the second half. We have a lot of work to do without a doubt. There are areas that we need to improve – red zone offense, red zone defense, third-down defense, protecting the football, getting more turnovers – but I feel like we have the people in-house that we can get the job done, I really do. I feel like we're ascending, and we're in a good spot. We're getting stronger. Our team is playing hard. I love the effort that they play with. And that's something that really as a coach, you can't go out here and coach effort. And we're playing with great effort, which is exciting. We've just got to shore up a few situational-type things and keep moving forward. But now it's all about Minnesota, and studying Minnesota, and putting the game plan together and getting ready to beat a good Viking team."
