WR Rashard Higgins:
On saying he never wants to get cut again:
"It can always happen. Just having something to always motivate me, my past and where I have been. Not only that but the guys that have been pushing me to be better. That is what strives me to do good things."
On who he is referring to when he says guys have been pushing him:
"My teammates, my coaches, family. It is just everybody in my circle. They want to see me do well and not only that, but I want to do well, also. I am going to push myself to the limit."
On how much getting released last year motivated him:
"Going in, I never want to be in that predicament again so I am doing whatever I can to not put myself in that for the coaches to say we need to cut him. That is how I am approaching things."
On parts of his game he wanted to improve on after being released:
"That is something I had asked the coaches because I was not too sure about that. It was just a numbers game at that point, and I was just the odd man out. It was nothing that I could have controlled. I just keep going forward with everything."
QB Baker Mayfield:
On his reaction to QB Drew Stanton telling him to rent the QB RV and not initially believing Stanton was serious:
"I definitely did not get on it right away because he told in the middle of OTAs. It is a place where you can get away since you are up here all day. You do get one break right now between the walkthrough and practice so you have to be able to kind of relax a little bit and unwind before practice, whether it is looking over your scripts and doing it all over again, just getting your mind right. You can do that in the locker room. You can do that in the players' lounge. They have kind of a sleeping area for players. We just decided to make a little fun out of it and have something for us."
On Head Coach Hue Jackson saying he has succeeded the organization's expectations thus far:
"That is exciting to hear, but that does not mean I am satisfied. I always say that I set my own expectations and set my own standard. I have to live up to that. I am not done working. We are going into Day 5 of practice so I am still working. I have a lot of progress to make so if I can get a little bit better each day, then I am doing something right."
On if he is stringing good days together:
"Consistency is definitely key, and that is what I am trying to make sure I am doing. Like I said, trying to get a little bit better each day, whether it is focusing on taking care of the ball or protections. You have over 20 days of training camp so Drew gave me a little piece of advice – focus on a couple things each day and try to take care of that so you are really working on getting better with all the details. That is what I am trying to do."
On an area of focus for today:
"Continue to take care of the ball – that is one that is [a focus] every day – and continuing to be in tune with protections, getting the ball out quick. That is going to help. You talk about being a rookie, it is being able to get by it first, and then you get to learn and grow your game. Right now, that is making sure I know the protections and that we are all on the same page, and I can go from there."
DB Jabrill Peppers:
On if he is excited to get back to practice:
"Absolutely."
On how hard it was to watch from the sideline for the first four practices:
"It is definitely hard. That makes camp way harder when you can't go out there and practice and let loose that energy. It just sucks being on the sideline watching the guys. Today, I get the chance to be out there with them a little bit. After this day off [tomorrow], I will be back in action."
On contributing from the sideline:
"Just have to keep the mind sharp. The body does know the difference between a physical rep and a mental rep. I just stay as in-tune as I can be mentally. When I get out there, there are still going to be some things that I have got to clean up, but I would not have been as far along as I would if I was not be in-tune these last four practices."
On playing closer to the line of scrimmage this season:
"I definitely think that it will be a different dynamic. Very instinctual around the ball. We have a lot of great players on the D line and in the linebacker room who all complement each other very well. Just being around the ball, it just gives you a chance to make more plays, more opportunities. I am looking forward to it."
On what drives his mentality of being active while on the sideline:
"It is just a combination of everything. I know what kind of year I have to have. I know what I have to do to get there. I am just trying to stick to the system and just be as sharp as I can be. I am not a young guy anymore. I have to help the young guys out. The more that I know, the more I can help those guys out."
On the type of year he thinks that he needs to have:
"A year that is filled with production, point blank. I am not going to say what I am going to do, just produce."
On DB Derrick Kindred:
"He was one of, if not the most physical strong safeties in the league, and I watched pretty much all of them. What (defensive coordinator) Coach (Gregg) Williams does is he gets everyone in a positon that best fits their skillset. DK is a maniac down there. He sets the edge for us, makes TFLs (tackles for loss) – he was leading the league in TFLs at one point. Just his overall approach and aggression, his aggression to the game and how he approaches it. It is nice to feed off of each other. 'What do you see? What could I have done there?' At the end of the day, we are competing, but we are also trying to be the best that we can be. We know that there are going to be times when we are both going to be out there. The better we know each other, the better we can play off of one another. That has just been the main thing."
