TRANSCRIPT: Jerod Mayo’s Press Conference 8/1
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Here’s the full transcript of what New England Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo had to say on Thursday, August 1, 2024:
OPENING STATEMENT:
“It’s good to be back out here. It’s good to have the players back in the building. Yesterday, we gave them the day off. I know a lot of questions today will be about [Matthew] Judon and things like that, but just so you guys know, my philosophy and our philosophy is to keep as much internal as possible.”
“Had a great meeting with Judon, and we’re all moving forward. I remember as a player, it’s always a difficult time. It’s always a difficult time when you go through contract negotiations and things like that. In saying that for the rest of the team, we’re pushing forward. Fully expect Matthew to be out here today and participate in practice, but we’re looking forward to getting better out here today. And honestly, we’re a week away from playing football. I’m excited to watch the Hall of Fame game tonight. So the guys are ready to come out here and compete.”
On how he looks back on what happened out there on Monday with Judon:
“I’ll tell you this. First-time head coach and first-time in pads, I always remember what happened that day. In saying that, look, we had a conversation. I have a great relationship with Matthew, have a great relationship with the players, but we’re moving forward and we’re trying to work at it.”
On how he would characterize his conversation with Judon:
“It was good. It was healthy. I always encourage those guys to come in and speak with me or speak with Elliot [Wolf]. That’s what it is. And those things should happen inside of the walls.”
On finally getting some closure with Godchaux:
“Oh, absolutely. Look, that was a long process, but I’m glad we got that deal finished. And once again, it goes to the point of we want to sign players that we know that still have good ball.”
On how much being an ex-player helped with what happened on Monday and his experience going through contract negotiations:
“It’s helped a lot. And in saying that, I will say each situation is unique to itself. And so we can sit here and say, ‘You should do this or do that’ – they’re all different situations. But like I said earlier, I feel good about where we are right now. I feel good about the way the players are operating out here on the field. I feel good about the way that Elliot and his staff are going about this stuff because obviously, he’s very heavily involved. So we’re in a good place.”
On Tuesday’s absence and the report Judon wasn’t on the field and that he was away from the facility, if that was team-driven and if he was fined:
“I’m not ready to talk about that right now. What I will say is we gave the guys a day off yesterday to come out here today and be energized. And once again, we fully expect every player to come out here and participate and get better.”
On the report Wednesday that there was a contract offer, which Judon disputed on “X” and if that’s something that’s been addressed:
“For me and for Elliot as well, look, those are internal conversations. And once again, we always think about these as long term relationships, whether we sign a player to an extension, whether we sign a player off the street, whether we release a player. These are long term relationships. And that’s something that I’ve always taken great pride in. All of those things aside, I mean, look, at some point in time, you’ll talk to Matthew, but right now we just want to keep that in-house from our perspective.”
On what went into the decision to give Godchaux a new contract:
“Well, the thing about Godchaux, he’s a huge piece of what we do. Look, it’s never a… well, at least for me, at least, it has never been just a clean process of, ‘All right, you want a deal? Here’s a deal. All right, we’re done.’ And so this was a little bit more extensive, but I’m happy to have him here. I’m happy to have Davon here. Happy and ready to go. So it’s good.”
On if the way he carried himself early on in training camp, being out there contributing every day, played a part in getting his deal done:
“Yeah, that is our philosophy. And once again, this isn’t unique to the New England Patriots as far as guys wanting a new contract, but he handled it like a professional in the classroom and out here on the field. He was out here full pads, participating in everything. And that definitely helps.”
On if Christian Barmore’s situation provided a sense of urgency when it came to getting the deal done:
“Honestly, those are two different types of players. The one thing about having DG back, it does provide some stability up front. Now, in saying that, by committee, we’ll have to try to replace the production of Christian. And honestly, just talking about Christian, I’ve had a couple of conversations with him. He’s in good spirits. It’s one of those things that you really can’t control, but when he’s ready to go, he’ll be here.”
On if there’s any anticipation that he’ll be ready to go this season at all:
“Honestly, I’m not sure. I’ll leave that to the medical professionals. I’m really not sure. I’m just happy that he’s doing better.”
On what he’s observed from Ja’Lynn Polk:
“Yeah, so I’ll tell you this. I’ve been a huge fan of Polk since scouting all those other players. And he’s just one of those guys. When he puts the pads on, he’s that much better. He does the dirty work. He also can run great routes, has great hands. He’s one of those just all-around players that you want to build your team around. And I would also say he does flash some leadership ability, which I definitely appreciate.”
On how much he appreciates guys that keep showing up on film every day when he goes back and looks at the practice film:
“Yeah, there are definitely guys that are showing up in really two phases – let’s count special teams as well. And it’s good to see those guys get better. I told you guys this during my presser that I’m in the business of developing good men before good players. But if we want to win games, we have to have good players. And it’s exciting to see guys like Ox [Oshane Ximines] take that step forward. Those guys are doing a good job just getting better and contributing.”
On the fact he said earlier in camp about Drake Maye, there’ll be ups and downs, and through the first two padded practices, it feels like a little bit of a roller coaster and what he’s learned about him so far:
“Let’s rewind a little bit. I got this feeling when we met with Drake in Carolina, just his overall mental toughness and competitiveness. And he understands that it’s not always going to be clean. I will say this, he’s handled it very well. I know that the players really enjoy working with him, and he’s a competitor.”
On selecting captains and if he’s decided about how he’s going to do it, or if it’s going to be the same way it’s previously been done:
“I think it’s always important to allow their peers to vote on captains. I don’t want anything to do with it. I know in my head who I think the leaders of the team are. Hopefully, that marries up with what the players say. But I think the peers should have the opportunity to vote on their captains. One thing I will say on that, I’ve never been a huge fan of having 10 captains or 8 captains or anything like that. I don’t know what that number looks like, but it will be up to the players.”
On starting his second week of training camp and if he feels like the team is where he needs them to be right now:
“100%. Look, we have to realize we have to get better each and every day. Even when we go through the regular season. Where we are week one should not be where we are week eight. And that’s the approach that we’re taking.”
On Maye and the fact the media is charting his passes and if it’s fair to say he is battling through a little bit and that the last couple of days were tough for him:
“I would say all the rookies are battling through things. It’s a different scheme. It’s a different state for… There’s just so much change for these guys. But what you want to see as those guys go through adversity, you want to see them handle it the right way. You don’t want to see the explosions on the sideline. You don’t want to see any of that. It’s all about the next page and turning the page. That’s what I’m looking at.”
On those early struggles and what his message would be to people about those, because he is a rookie:
“Look, people are going to have their opinions. I would say the opinions inside of the four walls matter most. And I would say people inside the four walls know what they’re talking about. And so you can take that for what it is. We all support Drake. We all know what it’s like to be a rookie in this league. Not you guys, obviously, but I do. I know what it’s like to be a rookie. And it’s not all peaches and cream. You probably remember this, San Francisco, my rookie year, I got benched on third down. I only played early downs because I just wasn’t ready. And that was like week 10, right? It was like week 10, week 11. But it was a wake-up call for me to get benched. And from there on – and I was rookie of the year – I still got benched. So whatever we want to talk about with Drake, there will be ups and downs, and hopefully ends on up.”
On if he’s thought about giving Maye reps with the top offensive group that Jacoby Brissett has worked with just to see what he can do:
“Like you guys said, it’s the second week of training camp. We have a game here a week from now. He’ll have an opportunity to participate with, if you want to call him the ones, the ones, but we mix and match.”
“All right. Thanks, guys.”
“I thought you guys were going to be harder than that. I was ready.”
(Editor’s Note: This transcript is done via the available footage and is subject to typos. If you spot something, please take a moment to let me know in the comments below.)
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