Skins Quotes 7/31/19: Jay Gruden

July 31st, 2019

Head Coach Jay Gruden

On if the team added any offensive linemen:
"Yeah. Hugh Thornton and Donald Penn."

On OL Hugh Thornton's potential role:
"He's going to come in and compete at guard. He's played some football. He had a really good workout. He's in good shape, so we decided to give him a shot."

On the status of the guard position:
"Yeah right now we're playing people in multiple spots. We had [Wes] Martin at right guard a little bit yesterday. We're trying to get these guys something different – different spots, different looks, some flexibility. Obviously [Ereck] Flowers is at guard and tackle. [Geron] Christian got back, he got some reps yesterday and it's good to have Chase Roullier back. These guys are; Bill [Callahan], (Assistant Head Coach and Offensive Line Coach) does a really good job of getting these guys working multiple spots because at the end of the day when you dress five lineman like I've said many a time, those other two swing guys on game day they've got to be able to play multiple spots. We're trying to find the best guys who are most flexible and can help us."

On if T Donald Penn will be out at practice today:
"I don't know if he's going to be out there today or not. We'll wait and see if he's ready to go or not. We'll check him out give him a little; make sure he's good to go. He doesn't know any of the offense yet, so we will see."

On if the team waived OL Tyler Catalina:
"Yeah we did. We waived Tyler. Tyler did some good things for us. He played some significant minutes for us both at tackle and at guard. Like I said it was a tough decision, but we chose to go a different way. I imagine Tyler will get picked up somewhere else – good football player, great kid."

On the status of the players on PUP and NFI lists:
"Yeah Bryce [Love] is on NFI still. He's still recovering. It will be a little while for him. [Jordan] Brailford, we're hoping that comes along sooner than later. Hopefully another week or so for Brailford."

On RB Bryce Love's availability heading into Week 1:
"I don't think he'll be on our active roster Week One. No."

On if Penn having so much experience in the league will allow him to pick up the offense quicker:
"Oh for sure, It'll take him about 30 minutes probably. He's a bright guy. He played with the Raiders last year, obviously for my brother, so he'll have some familiarity with some of the schemes. It won't take him long at all, the big thing is, we don't want to just thrust him in there and have him do 25 team reps on his first day here. So, get him acclimated a little bit, maybe get him some individual and throw him in there a couple of times on teams, get him some one-on-ones, see where he's at."

On what Raiders Head Coach Jon Gruden said about him:
"He's on Hard Knocks, I didn't ask him. I was with Donald in Tampa Bay. (Wide receivers coach) Ike [Hillard] played with him, (quarterbacks coach) Tim [Ratty] played with him; we've known Donald for a long time."

On the pending roster move regarding the Thornton signing:
"Yes. It will probably be announced here shortly."

On possibly acquiring a veteran outside linebacker to add some experience to a relatively young room:
"Not right now. I feel really good about the outside backers, really. I think Ryan Anderson, [Ryan] Kerrigan, Montez Sweat, and Cassanova [McKinzy] – those four guys are doing a great job. Marcus Smith has had a good camp. He's probably going to be down today he's got a little bit of a groin, or a hamstring, one of the two. Obviously [Jordan] Brailford showed a lot of promise in OTA's. I think it's a solid group."

On Penn's career progression from an undrafted free agent to a Pro Bowler:
"That happens to a lot of guys. There's a lot of guys that are undrafted that made it. Not many, but he's one of them. I remember at Tampa Bay, we stole him off of Minnesota's practice squad. He came in and played pretty well for us for quite a number of years. He's just a guy who is solid in technique, he played a couple games last year and they tried to move him to right tackle, probably was not ready for that so much. [He's] more of a left tackle I think. He is just a good, solid veteran to have.”

On WR Trey Quinn's role as the primary returner and slot receiver:
"Yeah, we'll have to wait and see if someone else can emerge as a return guy, whether it's [Jimmy] Moreland or we like [Greg] Stroman back there, he did some good things. So we have a couple other options we could look at. But, you know, at the end of the day, if he's our best returner then he'll be our return guy. If he's our best inside slot player, he'll be our inside slot player. We still have a long way to go before we announce any starters or anything like that, but he's doing a fine job."

On Kerrigan never missing a game in his career:
"You trying to jinx him?"

On what he thinks the root is of Kerrigan's starting streak:
"Well, when you talk about the definition of a professional athlete, Ryan Kerrigan will be at the top of your list. I mean, he's in here pre-practice, getting ready for practice, post-practice, taking care of his body, meetings – practice he's working hard. He's always staying loose. He is just the ultimate pro. And, you know, there is good fortune, too, involved in that. He plays with great leverage, great hands, stays out of harm's way pretty much. He's just been fortunate and a great player and a great pro."

On the on-field relationship between LBs Shaun Dion Hamilton and Jon Bostic:
"It's been great, it's been great. Jon, I didn't really know Jon from Adam, I didn't really know a lot about him. But him coming in here and taking over as far as – he's a great communicator, great communicator, knows the defense, you hear him calling out things pre-snap, loud, confidently knowing what to do, that goes a long way. Communication is one of the most important things you can have on defense other than talent. You've got to be able to communicate with all the things going on, with formation and personnel groups and he's been a great surprise for us. Shaun Dion [Hamilton] is coming along on his second year, obviously Cole Holcomb, very, very smart player and instinctive so far, Josh Harvey-Clemons doing a good job, [Marquis] Flowers had a pick-six yesterday, he's coming along, [B.J.] Blunt as a rookie getting his first reps, doing a good job. It really starts if you have a middle linebacker, that guy has to communicate the defense. He has to communicate the strong right, all the things he's got to do, coverages, coverage changes if we have them, sometimes we'll have multiple calls and depending on formation and what play we're going in to and he's got to communicate it. He's been super so far."