Yeah, yeah, he just briefly walking out there. I don't know. I mean I think I went talking to him last night. I think he was stunned. Um, he was disappointed. I think he really liked it here, very close with his teammates. Um I and I told him I thought the timing itself wasn't a real good time. But uh, they actively pursued him. They tried to They wanted to trade for him at the draft, and we turned it down, and they had called last week and turned it down again.
And then when we sat down with Corey and Billy and Ed and has a group and you know, looked at the offer that they made for us, and kind of really it's more speaks to what our depth was UM at the position. UM, we felt like it was a move to make so I would get released all the time, you know, put a couple of times. Why is it when you got when you get rid of a guy like that, it always seems to come back to you different way. You know, that's a question for
those guys. I really don't know, you know, I'm yeah, I did it, really did. I mean, when he left here last night, Uh shook my end. Gave me a hug so I didn't say anything. Billy felt the same way when he left, you know, And I like Brandon. I just don't know. I really don't know. No, I'm not I mean, talk to our players. Those are the guys I'm concerned with. And I have great confidence in those guys in that in that locker room that are
getting ready to come train it right now. So this job and how yeah, he had a great Brandon has a great work ethic. You know, he did everything that we asked him to do here and never had an issue with him. It was a great teammate, very well liked here. So we got a lot of depth to depth position. I think it's it's more to our confidence and in Byron, Maxwell and Carol and Row and Shepherd
and Biggers and Watkins and Rice and Evans. You know, we're gonna have to make some tough decisions at corner and we're not gonna be able to keep them all. And we had nine and we're probably gonna keep five, you know. So the fact that you don't get to the end of camp and you're releasing somebody you had a chance to to get a trade acquisition for him, or you got something on on the other end of it,
you know, And he was the one. Um. We had another call in the summer about Nolan, but we weren't trade and Nolan, so he was the one guy I think that was attractive to people and other teams out there. So there's a lot. I mean, we're gonna run everybody through there to be also honest with you, and we'll figure that out. We have so many training sessions between now and when we play against the Falcons. Um, well, we'll we'll get enough ups at at who will end
up being the Nickel at that point in time. But there's a lot of candidates. Will we'll stay at safety right now. You won't see him at Nickel, um, you know, Jacorey Shephard will be in there. You'll see uh Watkins in there, who's done a lot of thing. E J. Biggers just played in there, you know. So um, you know, we'll we'll mix and match and try to get as many as we possibly can for those guys. You know, Malcolm has played it before, um, so we got some
versatility we feel in that position. So if Brandon weren't entering the last few year, would the thinking be a little bit different time probably. Yeah, yeah, that probably would have been. That's a factor that that weighs into it all, all all those things way inward. That's a good question. Yeah, it got better from it just kept progressing. You know, it was a now we're not interested, but it just
kept getting better. So considering how much time these guys, does it bother you personally that they you know, multiple guys have made these comments on the way out, Yeah, it does. But you know the reality is we have ninety guys and you're gonna have to cut to fifty three. So thirty seven guys are going to be disappointed. And obviously I would imagine all thirty seven of those guys have a different opinion than we have as a staff. But that's what you have to do, and that's what
we're charged to do. So Sam will do everything. Sam's cleared to go full go. Every every guy we have, all eighty nine guys are full go. They're up and they're going. So there's not anybody that has any restrictions or is being held back today at all. We haven't even taught. Ryan's just gonna roll him, so they'll they'll all go through there. I think, I mean, I we didn't even have a We're gonna try to get as many reps as we can in today and in the
amount of time around the field. And you know, we talked about I don't care if he's were the ones, the twos are the threes. We're just ripping and running and let's get let's let's get some stuff on tape to get in the meetings this afternoon and coach him up on. Part of Brady's quote was that thinks that you're uncomfortable around brown man of our culture and that you need total control. And just wonder what your interpretation
of that quote is and what you're so. I haven't really had time to digest that, but I don't I don't believe that. I mean, talk to Demiko, talk to the other guys here. I think those are the guys you should talk to. It's it's too easy the first season games. Bradford, yeah, barring anything happened to now. But he's full go one hundred percent. You know when you talk to him, he had a great offseason. I think from when we left on June eighteenth to now, he
feels really confident. You know, he's not going to play with a brace, not gonna at least in our training sessions out here. It feels comfortable without it. He's ready to go. So John, what that, UM, I have no idea about the starting part of it. You know. Well, our first chance to see him live will be today. You know, didn't didn't uh do anything with him before that because it came after the the offseason program ended.
So UM, you know obviously has gone through some things. UM, but felt confident when he came here and visited in June and met with myself, We met with uh, Jeff Stoutlin. He felt really comfortable with him, James Harris had everybody that was around him. Felt like he's made some mistakes in the past, and we're hopeful, you know that he's gone beyond that. I think he's got a plan in place to be successful and we'll see. We're gonna throw him into the mix there with with the rest of
those guys and see how it plays itself out. We're really really impressed with him. I think he slipt probably a little bit in the draft because he was hurt. UM had a hamstring kind of a lingering thing. UM didn't work out as well as probably people expected. In the off season. You know in the testing time when all the college coach around didn't run a great time, But when you turn the tape on, he's a legitimate
football player. And then what we saw on tape is what we saw during OTA's and mini camp in the off season program. So I think we're excited about his development and his growth to go along with those other guys. I think we've we really believe we've got some really good young corners here, um, and that that gave us I think a little bit more of a comfort level when when the opportunity to get something for Brandon came up, is that you know we're gonna we got some young guys.
I think that we can rely on. So he's explosive, he's got great ball skills. It was really quick in and out of cuts. Um. He seems like he's got a real knack to being around the ball all the time. Uh showed up a lot when you when you turn the tape on, and I think, um, we were surprised that he was still around on the six. We kind
of held our breath. If I think back, I don't think we had a fifth we did it, so U we were kind of holding our breath but he was a guy that we had targeted and we were excited that when he was still there on the sixth, we had a chance to get him. He's gonna stay at corner right now, Paul and Nicol. Right now, he's not I mean for the first we we we've kind of planned these first three days before we take that first day off, So for the next three days he'll stay outside.
But um, all those guys are in the same room, so they're taught corner. Nicol's safety there. You know, it's not like when Corey's teaching. He just talks to these guys here and then says, Okay, you guys be quiet, and now we'll talk to these guys. So he's good. He's a real sharp kid. He's got a great understanding of um of the defense so far, and he's another guy that we're excited about how he's going to progress
and compete with Nolan for that spot across from Byron. Yeah, it'll go to a fourth if he plays sixty percent of the snaps. So that was the part that I thought, uh kind of put it over the top for us. I'm always been a Brandon Boyco fan, you know, I think he's he did an unbelievable job in the two and two and a half years I was with him, and UM, I wish him nothing but success. You know, I still go back to the pick he had against Cowboys, you know, to seal it for us to win a
division uh, two years ago. But I wish him the best. I told him that last night. I wipe be successful. Um. They seem like they've got a couple of guys banged up in the secondary right now. We may have a shot at me and not only a nickel for them, but an outside corner. Their nickel last year is with Miami. Um, but there nickel played sixty percent of snaps from last year, so we thought it was probably too good a deal for us to turn down at that point in time.
I think Nolan really grew uh in his year in this program. He watched him when we first got here, um to where he is now. He's made some great strides. If you ask any guy you know, any of these players who was uh. We talk about our competitions in the Waiterman all these other things, the guy who won
him all was Nolan. I mean, he really kind of set the tone for the defensive backgroup, and I think his game really stepped up, and we're excited to see kind of where he can can he take that next step into becoming a full time starter out there, And I think it's gonna be a really good battle to watch because I think Eric rose right in that mix too. But they're, you know, kind of what we're looking for. A corner, taller, longer, um physical guys, and UM, we're
excited to see what he can do situations. Now, we haven't any haven't had any other questions. But Mike Hendricks is not going anywhere. I can tell you that right now and write that down in ink, not pencil. Mike's not going anywhere. You said multiple times you want guys you love playing football with one of those guys. What happened? I think he and it's love for you guys to sit down and talk with him. I think he's, uh, he made some mistakes in his life, and I think
he's he understands him, he owns them. Um, he didn't deflect him, he didn't blame anybody else. He takes full responsibility for what's gone on. UM. And I feel like after meeting with him, you know that that that he deserves a second chance, and I think us investigating him and talking to other people that been around him and who we worked. They actually worked out with Lane Johnson extensively in the offseason. We talked to Lane about him and his interactions with him and spent a lot of
time with UM. They're kind of figuring out what he's all about. UM. We felt comfortable in it, and we're hopeful that that he has turned the corner and he's got an opportunity and then really the balls in his court. It's it's up to him in terms of what he wants to do with his career in the National Football League. We're giving him an opportunity, UM to come in Area's on a one year contract. UM, there's no incensors, no guarantees. It's just we'll give you a shot and see what
you can do. And several other players trained in MMA during the offseason. I was curious what your attitude is towards that. As far as being helpful, I think it's really helpful. I actually had gone out there. UM it took a visit to go talk to Tom House and then went by were those guys trained. They were done during the day, and I obviously didn't see them training, but spent some time with the people that they were training with, and I was there's a lot of flexibility,
hip stuff, there's a lot of leverage that they earned. Uh, there's a lot of mental toughness. UM. I think it's interesting. Zach Hurtz was there also. But remember Zach and he can share the story with you. But I think when he lined up and he was either agust across from Randy Kator or Chuck Ladell, that's a pretty good matchup for a guy that's never been involved in any MMA competitions.
But uh, Jay Glazier and Brian Urlacher haveing a gym out there and they've they've done a great job and they have really, uh, you know, given these guys a solid foundation when it comes to leverage, hips and a lot of different things. So I'm a big proponent of it. He's one hundred percent to go in training in practice. I don't know if he'll tell you what exactly it is, but he's full go. We'll see you know he didn't
he did. He passed the conditioning test yesterday. UM. We don't have any restrictions in talking to the trainers and the doctors on him right now, but that doesn't mean two days from now, something flares up, we're gon we're gonna have to handle it. But right now we're not anticipating. Hey, he's gonna practice today and then tomorrow we're gonna take him off. Right now, he's gonna go until you know, we see how is his knee response. But he's had
a great When you talk to him, he feels really confident. Um, I think he's right on track to where he wanted to be. And as we said, we expected, uh, we expected Donnie coming over the walls there. Um when Matthew Tucker, how do you feel about your death? Obviously a tough break, and really felt bad for talk. You know, he's got a I think it's a tendon not not just a muscle tear. So he's out for he would be out for six to nine months. How to have surgery on it.
So um first thought has felt bad for him, But we feel like we have some depth there and we'll see how it plays out. Obviously with DeMarco and Ryan and there, and you feel really confident and then really what the battle is for number four? Um, Kenyon's been here for a year been on the practice squad with us, real comfortable and know all about him. And then uh, Mostre did a really good job and and we're excited about him. You know, he's a real speed guy. Could
could factor in the kick return game. You know, was the one hundred met your champ in the Big ten. I think he's a is an interesting guy to keep an eye on here in the in this in this preseason camera. Thanks not h