HEAD COACH JESSE MINTER
Opening Statement: "First, [I] want to start off — it is the 25th anniversary of 9/11, and I remember when it happened. I was telling the team today just a brief thing about it, and to me, it is a great example of just how you respond when something happens to you. Like, when you get hit in the mouth, how [do] you respond? [We saw that with] the leadership at the time [in] the country. So, just a shoutout to all the people that are still affected by that, that had family members [and] all those things. [I] just wanted to say that to start. Second thing: the only guy injury-wise I am really going to talk about today is Nnamdi [Madubuike]. Nnamdi is not going to play this game. You guys will actually get a chance to talk to him here soon. He is really, really close. It has been a great process for him to return from the injury that he had. [I] feel great about where he is at, but we are not going to play him this week. This is the only time I would ever do this, but I think it benefits Nnamdi and us as he is kind of working through this process."
Does anybody else have a chance of not playing? (Josh Tolentino) "[With] everybody else, I think we will see what the injuries look like later today. [With] everybody else, we will see how it shakes out."
With DL Nnamdi Madubuike, was there a chance he could play? Was it an 11th-hour thing, or did you kind of get the sense he would not play? (Brian Wacker) "I think as the timing has gone, [we] probably have had a pretty good idea. Obviously, like we mentioned this before, we did not put [Nnamdi Madubuike] on the IR. He is definitely really, really close, but I think this is just the best [decision] for him, most importantly. It is the best decision for him, and I think he is going to be ready to roll here soon."
What have the conversations been like with DL Nnamdi Madubuike more recently? What have those been like? Have you sensed that he feels he is getting that much closer? (Luke Jones) "Yes, definitely. [Nnamdi Madubuike] has been doing a lot in practice the last couple weeks as he has worked himself back. He has taken a lot of reps, so he has been really involved and getting himself back into that part of the game with contact and football and double teams and pass rushing and all those things against people. So, again, he is in a really, really good place, and [I] just love where he is at."
Was the practice schedule for this week just like a one-off thing? (Jonas Shaffer) "Yes, it is a one-off from having extra time. So, we did a normal week. We built in the extra day in between a normal Thursday practice and a normal Friday practice. So, that was the schedule for this week."
Just a day off for DL Calais Campbell today? (Luke Jones) "Yes, I feel great about [Calais Campbell]. He will be ready to roll."
There is so much attention on the travel schedules for these games given what happened with the Los Angeles Rams and their decision. Are you set with what you guys are going to do? I know you are focused on this game, but obviously those plans for that Rio game had to be made long ago. Do you feel as good about your plans as you did even before any of this happened? (Jonas Shaffer) "Yes, and I have a ton of respect for both of those coaches and both those organizations making decisions that they felt was best for their particular teams. That is the same thing we will do. We have put a lot of time into looking into it. [The Los Angeles Chargers] played [in Brazil] last year, so I feel like I have a little bit of experience there, although we were obviously traveling from — we had to cross more time zones from LA, so this one is a little bit more unique in a sense that it is a long flight, but it is only a one-hour time difference. So, I think there is a little bit of [ability] to keep a little bit of your week similar, and trying to figure out when to fly is probably the biggest challenge. So, we feel good about what we are going to do, and, again, [we] put a lot of [thought] into it, [we'll] study it [and] figure it out. I do not think there is a perfect answer for any of that stuff. It is all about how the team plays when the ball is kicked off. So, we feel good about that though."
DL NNAMDI MADUBUIKE
Opening Statement: "Before I start, I want to say thank you to the whole Ravens organization, my family, my great teammates and my close friends for the support through this process. Over the past year, it has been definitely one of the hardest points of my life, but I am very grateful to be where I am at right now. I am not going to get into the details of it, but I would definitely say it was pretty grueling. I am looking forward right now. I am just definitely thankful to be back and looking forward to what is ahead — like everybody here is as well. I know everybody has a lot of questions and wants to know details about my situation, but respectfully, I am going to keep the specifics out of it. I am going to be here to answer football questions. It is great to see everybody's faces again. It has been a while."
Was there any point where you thought you might not be able to play football? (Jamison Hensley) "No. There are a lot of rumors out there, but I always knew I was going to be back. It was just a process of coming back just like any other injury. This was my time in which I had to deal with it. I went through it, and now we are here."
What does it mean to you to get back on the field? (Garrett Downing) "When you play for such a long time, and you have taken care of your body and done everything the right way, and it has been a while that you have been out, you really start to appreciate what this really means to you and what it means to be in this building, what it means to be around your guys and being out there on the field. You really do not know what you have until it is gone. That was one of those moments that I was just really thankful to be back. I worked my butt off to come back. It was a process, but I am here now. I am very grateful and very thankful to be here."
At what point do you feel like this accelerated where you got over the hump to the point where you are close to making your debut in a game or returning to a game? (Jeff Zrebiec) "During [training] camp it was more about the ramp-up. I did not really get into the details of the play. It was more about getting back in shape and recovering, all those things. Everybody in this organization just had my back. I felt very supported. I am at a point now where I am really just ramping up and getting [to] a great spot. I believe, and I think everybody could agree in the building, that I am in a really great spot right now. I am just going to take one day at a time."
You called it one of the toughest or darkest periods of your life going through that. How did you get through that? How low were the low points for you? How did you get out of that? (Brian Wacker) "My faith in the Lord got me through it. My family, my teammates — Marlon [Humphrey] is always calling me, Roquan [Smith], Kyle [Hamilton] — all these guys that I go to battle with every Sunday. They have my back, always checking on me. My family, even people from back home. Definitely my faith and my family, my close friends, my teammates helped me get through it."
Head coach Jesse Minter said you are really, really close. How do you feel out there on the practice field? (Ryan Mink) "I feel good. One thing I realized also throughout this process is there is no way to get back in football shape until you are out there playing football over and over and over again. You can run all the hills you want. You can run all the down-and-backs. When you are out there on the football field for the first time, you are just like, 'Ooh, this is actually a little tiring.' I am getting back in that groove and getting back in my zone again. I am in a great place right now."
The team suffered with players having injuries last year. How would you describe your belief in the unit that is put together right now for you guys to get where you want to go? (Josh Tolentino) "Every position has superstars: quarterback, running back, defensive ends, defensive tackles, safeties, corners, offensive line. We have a complete unit — kickers, long snappers, offense, defense, special teams — we have every piece in the puzzle to be the best team in the NFL. It is all about taking it one day at a time, enjoying the process, not really looking too far ahead or not really looking too far behind us from what we did in the past, but being in the now and just staying [in] the process."
Back in January, you tweeted 'good news' and a prayer emoji. Is there anything that you can share about that, maybe you being sure that you were kind of back on the path to recovery? Do you remember that? (Jonas Shaffer) "I do remember that. I was saying 'good news' because there was just a lot of stuff going on — a lot of rumors here and there. I just said 'good news' kind of to take away the pressure from whatever people were saying and stuff like that. It kind of was like, 'What does this mean? What does this mean?' I just kind of was in the process of getting back, so it was just kind of a little thing for people to snack on a little bit online. So, that is really what it was."
So, at that point, you were optimistic? You were confident? (Jonas Shaffer) "I was always confident. I never lost doubt that I was going to be back on the field. It is all about the process of coming back, just like any other injury, and I was going through it. It was a patient process. It took some time, but I am back. I am ramping up and getting back, and I am in a good place right now — a great place, actually."
After not playing this game for a year — an actual game — getting this close, is it kind of that itch? How is that feeling, knowing that you are getting very close? (Jamison Hensley) "I guess you could say it is an itch, but I have been playing football my whole life. It is all about just the preparation — taking care of your body, watching film, just doing everything that I have been doing since I have been a rookie, since I was Calais [Campbell]'s rookie and all that stuff until now. I do not really have that much of an itch, but I am very, very excited to get back on that field and very grateful to be back as well. But it is just same old, same old, which is just watch film, take care of your body, do the little things right, take it one day at a time and stay consistent."
A lot of players talk about when they miss extended time that it gives them a different appreciation for the game of football. Do you have similar feelings? What are your feelings in regard to that? (Ryan Mink) "Oh, definitely. Like I said before, you do not really know what you have until it is taken away from you, and it definitely really put things in perspective for me about how much I love this game, how much I love being here and just how much I love being on that field. In my head, I always knew — I had no doubt I was going to be back. It was just about the process of coming back, and now we are here. Time really does fly, so just doing things right one day at a time kind of gets you in that direction."
Obviously, neck injuries can be serious. For you, are the mental hurdles just as challenging as the physical ones dealing with your kind of new reality? (Jeff Zrebiec) "You could say that, but for me, no. It was just about the process of just doing the little things right and not really rushing it but just taking your time, because when you hear about neck injuries and stuff like that, it is pretty serious. So, you want to take precautions. You want to make sure that you are strong, and you are doing the little things right and taking one day at a time. That is what I did, and that is what this organization helped me to do. I am in the state right now where I feel great, and I am in a great place. I am just taking it one day at a time, and when I get out there, I will get out there pretty soon."
To that point, have you kind of imagined — or how much time have you spent sort of imagining that moment of getting back on the field, hitting another player and all of the stuff that goes into that? (Brian Wacker) "I think about it all the time. I really do. I do not know when that time will be, but I think about it all the time, and I feel [like] the more I think about it, the closer it gets. So, I am thinking about it a lot right now. But right now, I am just in a great place, I am doing the little things right and I am just taking one day at a time. I am feeling good, and I am just happy to be back on the field. [I am] very grateful."