(On if there are plans to fly up Head Coach Bruce Arians and other players on the Reserve/COVID-19 list to the game once they have met their five-day quarantine minimum)

"As far as to my knowledge, if those guys meet that five-day window, they are eligible to come back. The only thing is I don't think they can fly with us. They would have to fly their own and I don't know if the team will do something towards that of if they would have to pay for it themselves. That's probably out of my realm right now, but if they met that five-day window, they are eligible to return."

(On if he has talked to Arians to see how he is feeling)

"I talked to him last night. I haven't talked to him today. Usually, I'll call him after practice, but yesterday he sounded really good, so there's probably a chance that he makes it back. [We] always want our leader around. He's the head guy so if we can get him back, [we'll] get him back and keep our mojo going."

(On how WR Mike Evans is doing after being activated from the Reserve/COVID-19 list)

"He was out there a little bit today. He got some individual [drills in] and did a few things offensively. There's a chance he may play. At the end of the day, it will probably be a game-time decision between myself, Jason [Licht] and if BA (Bruce Arians) if he is around, then he will most likely be a part of that decision, as well. Mike looked good today so hopefully – cross our fingers – he might be out there."

(On the health status of the team heading into Sunday's game and if any injured players are expected to be back)

"I think those decisions are still being made. I think right now, Shaq [Barrett] and 'JPP' (Jason Pierre-Paul) are the only two that are out."

(On the mindset of the offensive line going into the game against the Jets)

"They know it's a big game because we're trying to get to that magic number where we have that possibility of getting that second seed, so we have to win these two games. They know they have to play well. Obviously, we have some issues as far as skilled players going in and out as far as injuries and things of that nature. We just have to play to our level and play the way we're capable. Give Tom [Brady] a good pocket and when we run it, just make sure we give holes to the backs. The backs do a great job at running protection. We just have to give them an opportunity to do their job."

(On C Ryan Jensen, G Ali Marpet and T Tristan Wirfs making the Pro Bowl)

"Me and Joe Gilbert are like two proud dads. We're two old, crusty dads, but we're still two proud dads. Ali is probably a guy that should have been making it for years. He's been consistent throughout his career, even starting as a young guy. For him to finally get that recognition – I'm so happy for him because he deserves it. Ryan Jensen works his butt off. He is – as you guys know – our number one hit guy as far as the way he plays the game. Referees come up to him before every game and warn him about being overly aggressive and I'm trying not to take that away from him. Tristan, we all know how he played last year, and he deserved to be on there last year, but he's been consistent throughout his two years in the NFL. Hopefully, we can maintain him there. Hopefully, he keeps climbing and maybe way down the road possibly be a Hall of Fame player."

(On if T Donovan Smith should have been added to the Pro Bowl)

"Yes, but, you know, we can't be greedy. They're not going to give us all five of the guys, even though I think that I have the best line in the league."

(On how the offensive line and tight ends stepping up in the game against the Panthers)

"Yeah, we did. The crazy thing about our line is they're greedy. They always want to run the ball, but I was like, 'Hey, we have a lot of good receivers, a lot of good skill players, we can't run it every time.' Going into last week's game, I'm like hey Byron [Leftwich] is probably going to put this thing on your shoulders and you guys have to respond and they did. Anything that Byron calls, we're able to execute whether it is run or pass. We just have to be ready to go. Last week, we did lean a little bit heavier on the run side, especially using two-tight end, three-tight end formations."

(On RB Le'Veon Bell's progression)

"He's done a great job. Obviously last week, coming in on short notice it was probably a little difficult for him. We tried to get him some snaps at the end of the game. I'm not quite sure, but I would think Byron [Leftwich] will probably try to get him a little bit more involved. Obviously, all of our backs we think are top notch and having him in the fold is good for us especially down the long haul here getting close to the playoffs. I think he's game ready, but we'll see how it goes."

(On if OLB Jason Pierre-Paul suffered a setback)

"I'm not quite sure because I don't know all the ins and outs. I just know he's been out here working out the last couple of days. I know for a fact he was here yesterday conditioning and trying to keep his body in shape. I know he is banged up. He's not a young, spring chicken anymore. At the end of the day, we just need to try and take care of him and hopefully he comes back when we start the playoffs and plays the way he did toward the end of last year during that Super Bowl run."

(On how the tight ends and jumbo-package players like Josh Wells have helped in the run game)

"They've done a great job. Last week, we did a lot of things to attack the edges. You saw that run that 'Sneak' (Ke'Shawn Vaughn) had for the 55-yard [touchdown]. The tight ends did a great job of collapsing everything down. I don't know if you guys noticed that we ran a couple of more plays where we pulled guys out on the edge. That gets started by the tight ends doing a great job on the edge securing it and getting the guards around the corner. They've been fabulous and obviously they were making plays in the throwing game as well. Didn't quite give it to them as much last week in the [passing] game but hopefully they come back and do a great job this week as far as getting the ball as receivers."

(On the status of WR Antonio Brown)

"I think he might have tweaked it (his ankle) a little bit. I don't know the severity of it, but he still has a chance to play on Sunday. Obviously, he's no spring chicken either, so we have to do a great job of taking care of him. At the long run, as we look at this thing, there's a long way to go from where we're trying to go. We just have to make sure we're all hands on deck when we need them. But he has a chance to play this weekend, as well."

(On what the week has been like for him as the interim head coach)

"It's been fun. As far as walking around the field and all of that, that's not me. At the end of the day, I have to take care of my job and that's making sure the O-line is right. Plus, we have two good coordinators on offense and defense in Todd [Bowles] and Byron [Leftwich], and then we have Keith [Armstrong]. Really and truly, they know how to run their ship and I just stayed out of the way. At the end of the day, all I did was control the team meeting, control any decisions that needed to be made between myself and the trainer, or if Jason [Licht] needed me. I just had the post-practice walk-up as far as everyone coming up and saying a few words to break practice down."

-BUCCANEERS-