Quips and Quotes from Indianapolis; Tuesday's Postcards from the Combine
![Tua Tagovailoa looking for Cedrick Wilson, Jr. during an AFC Wild Card Playoff Game at Kansas City in January. Tua Tagovailoa looking for Cedrick Wilson, Jr. during an AFC Wild Card Playoff Game at Kansas City in January.](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_4171,h_2346,x_0,y_0/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/GettyImages/mmsport/136/01hqq4e41d7z4rqt2zf4.jpg)
Mike McDaniel was very enthusiastic about the contract negotiations between the team and Tua Tagovailoa.
" I’m very encouraged. Both Tua’s representation and our organization are hard at work… my main concern this off-season has been communicating what Tua needs from his head coach and his offensive staff."
- Mike McDaniel, Dolphins Head Coach
🎥 Mike McDaniel on Tua Tagovailoa’s contract negotiations: “I’m very encouraged. Both Tua’s representation and our organization are hard at work… my main concern this off-season has been communicating what Tua needs from his head coach and his offensive staff.” #FinsUp pic.twitter.com/D1fOTBE1sV
— FinsXtra (@FinsXtra) February 27, 2024
Sean Payton is very comfortable with the quarterback evaluation process that is going on in Denver right now. They will be evaluating the quarterback talent on Saturday when they throw and Payton believes that Denver is better than other teams at evaluating talent.
"Sometimes it’s not as difficult as we make it out to be. And sometimes it’s very difficult. I think we’ll be really good at this and I think to some degree we’re glad that a lot of people aren’t."
- Sean Payton, Broncos Head Coach
Payton also might have tipped his hand and gave away the fact that the Broncos will look for a quarterback with the 12th pick of the draft when he said that he saw a meme that a fan had a jersey that had a list of quarterbacks the Broncos tried since John Elway retired and they all were crossed out.
"Our job is to make sure this next one doesn’t have a line through it."
- Sean Payton, Broncos Head Coach
#Broncos coach Sean Payton says he saw a meme recently with a guy wearing a jersey and a bunch of QB names crossed off: “Our job is to make sure this next one doesn’t have a line through it.” pic.twitter.com/pBoUHpT1U0
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) February 27, 2024
John Harbaugh, the Baltimore Ravens head coach, could not stop raving about Anthony Weaver on Tuesday, who left his staff and joined the Miami Dolphins as their new defensive coordinator.
"Anthony is just an absolute star; Harbaugh said. You see him, I mean, he lights up a room. He fills up room too. Fills up a room and lights up a room, right? And then the way you reacts, treats people, the way he responds to problems, the way he coaches the guys, the way he presents, his understanding of defense generally is really good. I mean, high level but also his leadership ability, the way he manages players, he coaches and works with the people. I just think he's a great leader and he'll do a great job, whatever he does."
- John Harbaugh, Ravens Head Coach
From ESPN's Adam Schefter: North Carolina QB Drake Maye, who is in Indianapolis for the combine this week and projected to be a top pick in the draft in April, has been spending time working with and learning from eight-time Pro-Bowl QB Philip Rivers.
North Carolina QB Drake Maye, who is in Indianapolis for the combine this week and projected to be a top pick in the draft in April, has been spending time working with and learning from eight-time Pro-Bowl QB Philip Rivers.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) February 27, 2024
🎧 https://t.co/qhzWPr4Vw4 pic.twitter.com/pDRfrwamY6
The Falcons are emerging as the No. 1 trade option for Justin Fields and have contacted the Bears about JF1, a source tells NBC Sports Chicago. Per Pro Football Talk, based on things said by G.M. Ryan Poles and coach Matt Eberflus at the Scouting Combine on Tuesday, signs seem to be pointing to the Bears trading Justin Fields and drafting Caleb Williams.
Per Dov Kleiman, Falcons have contacted the Bears about Fields and want to get a deal done. Poles also said that if they are going to make a deal, they want to do one quickly, before free agency begins.
" .... if we go down that road, I want to do right by Justin. No one wants to live in grey."
- Ryan Poles, Bears General Manager
Buffalo Bills General Manager Brandon Beane had this to say on Tuesday about trading up for Josh Allen.
"If he doesn’t work out, I’m not going to be here anyway. And if he does work out, nobody’s gonna give a sh*t."
- Brandon Beane, BIlls General Manager
#Bills GM Brandon Beane explaining his thought process when he traded up for Josh Allen is hilarious. 😂😂pic.twitter.com/YpvQZkwStw
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) February 28, 2024
Denver Broncos General Manager George Paton has been asked about moving up and down in the draft. Paton said he wasn't sure they had the capital to move up, but said moving down provides several advantages.
This does not bode well for any quarterback currently on the Atlanta Falcons roster. New coach Raheem Morris had this to say about the state of the Falcons quarterback play.
"If we had better quarterback play, I probably will not be standing here at this podium."
- Raheem Morris, Falcons Head Coach