HEAD COACH ANDY REID
OPENING STATEMENT: “Alright, as far as the injuries go, (Harrison) Butker is the main one there. He did this in practice, tried it on Thursday and tried to warm up and get going and then wasn’t able to do it. Then, we took care of that. Then, it was confirmed what it was and so we – he ended up having surgery this morning. Surgery was successful and we’ll just see how it all goes time wise. I can’t tell you time wise. Within that, we brought in Spencer Shrader to come in and do the kicking. He’s a young guy so his resume isn’t long but the ones he’s had, he’s done a nice job with and (General Manager Brett) Veach felt comfortable with that along with (Assistant Head Coach/Special Teams Coordinator) Dave Toub. We invite him in, and he can do the kicking going forward here until Butker is able to return. With that, the time is yours.”
Q: It was his meniscus, right?
REID: “Yeah.”
Q: You said you don’t have a timetable, but you are expecting him back this season, correct?
REID: “Yeah.”
Q: What do you guys like about Spencer Shrader?
REID: “He’s got a very strong leg and he’s done well. He ended up – they used him obviously – elevated him at the Jets. They had a couple kickers there and obviously they favored him.”
Q: Are there any challenges for a young guy like Spencer Shrader to come in late in the week to do this job?
REID: “I don’t think it’s much of that, it’s just being a young guy in this situation. The kid (Spencer Shrader) has traveled around the world here a little bit, playing soccer and has a strong leg, and kicked at Notre Dame his last year so it’s not his first big crowd he’ll be in front of. He’ll be alright.”
Q: Can you talk about how your confidence in Harrison Butker has affected your late game decisions?
REID: “Listen, he’s (Harrison Butker) done phenomenal – he’s a great kicker. Arguably going to be a hall of fame kicker going forward. It’s great. Again, we welcome this kid (Spencer Shrader) in and give him a shot.”
Q: On the status of Isiah Pacheco and Charles Omenihu.
REID: “Yeah and both those guys (Isiah Pacheco and Charles Omenihu)– listen both those guys I thought did a nice job with this week. They were working on scout team and moved around well. They’ll be listed as out and then JuJu’s (Smith-Schuster) had a good week as our other guys have in for preparation against a good football team.”
Q: Does it feel like you’ve had more than a normal amount of injuries this season?
REID: “As a coach, you’re not – you go forward, that’s what you do. You don’t sit there and let that stall you, you move forward, and you stay optimistic with it. In this case, I don’t really know the kid (Spencer Shrader) but I look forward to seeing him do his thing and he’s supposed to be a pretty good player.”
Q: Since you don’t know him, does that change your in-game decisions?