Opening statement:
"A little chilly out there. Other than that, another good day. Good work as we get closer to a big game."
On if DB E.J. Gaines is currently expected to be out on Sunday:
"Yes, I do. He is in the concussion protocol. Once they put him in, nothing that we can do about it."
On Gaines coming to the facility today with symptoms:
"Yeah, did not take a hit or anything like that. Just kind of strange, but that is how that stuff works. We will have to work through it."
On OL JC Tretter's status:
"I still feel good about JC. Still feel good about JC. The plan was to not do too much, as much as we can. Tomorrow, I would like to see a little of something and then go from there."
On if Gaines injured himself at practice yesterday:
"No, Gaines did not hurt himself at practice. Gaines came in and had symptoms. It has nothing to do with practice. Practice was yesterday. This happened today. I just think it was something that had been lingering. Maybe he did not say much. When they put them into the protocol once they check them, that is what it is. That is how it is."
On clarifying that Gaines' did not sustain the concussion yesterday:
"No."
On if Gaines may have sustained the concussions against the Chargers:
"I do not know. Again, I can't answer that. I just know that it was not from yesterday's practice. I just think that these things, sometimes they flare up at different times in different ways with players. We had one of these a year ago that was a little different. Once they check them and put them into the protocol, in they go."
On if it is tough to lose a DB prior to playing Tampa Bay's passing offense:
"Absolutely, it is tough. Next man up. Here we go."
On who will start at CB in place of Gaines:
"(DB T.J.) Carrie. (DB Briean) Boddy(-Calhoun) goes to nickel. On we go."
On stress created on players facing Tampa Bay's WRs:
"It stresses the coaches, too – the guys, coaches, everybody. They are good. Make no doubt about it. We have one that is averaging 23 yards a reception (Buccaneers WR DeSean Jackson), another guy that is 14 yards per reception (Buccaneers WR Mike Evans) and another guy that is [averaging] 13 or 12, whatever he is – (Buccaneers WR Chris) Goodwin. They all are making plays. They have all scored touchdowns. Then you throw the tight ends in there, too. They have some weapons. Guys that can score the ball. It is a big challenge for us. Have to go play well."
On Gaines' performance this season after replacing DB Terrance Mitchell:
"I think that he did some good things. After the Raiders game and Mitch went down, I think that he accepted the challenge. I think that he was doing some good things for us. It is a tough blow. Nothing that you can do about it. When they have these concussion symptoms, you have to make sure that you take care of them."
On Buccaneers QB Jameis Winston as a No. 1 overall selection and his abilities:
"He can throw the football. Obviously, he can throw the football with anybody. He is a true passer in my opinion. He is one of those guys that when he goes back there, he is not going to just die easy. You have to take this guy down because he is still trying to make plays at times when you think that other guys are going down – he still has the ability to still make a play down the field with the ball. He is a tough, competitive guy. Likes to play. Likes to win. He has done some good things. The guy is completing 75 percent of his passes. We have our work cut out for us."
On if the difficulty of taking down Winston is similar to Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger:
"You know how I am about comparing guys. I just think that this is his style. He is not so much the running around, it is that guys fall off of him and he is able to slide to the right, slide to the left and still make plays."
On if the Buccaneers look like a 2-3 team that is on a three-game losing streak:
"I never get so much caught up in the records. It is the way that they are playing. It was a shootout last week with Atlanta on the road. That is a division game. We know how those go. They have scored a lot of points. They move the ball. At times, they have made some plays on defense. They have stopped the run on defense. I know that everybody is saying the pass [defense] has been their Achilles heel. I am sure that they are working their tails off to sure that up. They are good on special teams. I see a good football team. What we want to do is make sure that they do not hit their stride this week. They have talent and they have good coaches. It is a good team."
On TE David Njoku's improvement:
"He is getting better. I think that he is getting better every week. He is getting comfortable. I think that the quarterback is getting comfortable with him. I think that chemistry is starting to develop, which I think is important. I think that David is understanding the demands of playing the position better and making sure that he is ready to go and understanding what his role is in the offense. I think he is doing well."
On matching up against the Buccaneers top three WRs:
"It is a heck of a challenge. You have one guy that is big and fast, another guy that is smaller and fast and the other guy is in between and can do all of those things, too. DeSean Jackson is one of the fastest guys that I have seen play, whether it was high school, college or the National Football League. He can really go. Evans is one of the best players in the league at his position. We understand what the challenge is. That is how they score. I said it yesterday, they have 16 touchdown passes and one rushing touchdown. They are going to throw the football."
On DB Denzel Ward matching up against Tampa Bay WRs:
"He has competed against bigger guys and smaller guys. I think what is going to be important is just our matchups and how we decide to match up with that football team. We will know that on Sunday. I can't tell you guys that today. It is a tall challenge, but we have guys that we feel very confident and comfortable with that we will go out and cover these guys. Obviously, we are going to have to rush the quarterback. We can't let him stand back there and let him make normal, rhythm plays. I think we all get that. We are looking forward to it."
On OL Austin Corbett's improvement and confidence he could play center, if needed:
"He has done a good job. It has been business as usual in practice. I know that the game is a little different when the other team's guys are really going after you in a little different manner. He has handled it really well this week and that was good to see, but he has been coming on that way. Every week, we have continued to push him like that. I think that he has accepted that challenge. I think that if he has to play, he will go out and play well."
