Following Thursday's workout, receivers Brandon Marshall and Eric Decker took to the podium along with quarterback Geno Smith. Here are some of the highlights of what they had to say:
Marshall Feels the Love
Entering his 12th training camp and second with the Jets, Brandon Marshall is ready for the dog days of summer.
"Camp is not always great, but I am excited to be back with the guys," he said. "It's fun. You get a little older and you start appreciating it a little more because you know or you see the end of the tunnel, so I'm excited to be back. I just love competing and just love our team."
#ToddBowlesDiet 2.0
Head coach Todd Bowles challenged Marshall to drop his weight down from 244 pounds to 230 pounds following OTAs and minicamp, and the receiver surpassed his own expectations.
"I think I'm in too good of shape, but I think I lost too much weight," said Marshall. "I'm going to add a little bit more protein to my diet and that will naturally pick me up a couple pounds. I came in a pound lower than where I wanted (224) to be, and I'll add some protein and a few more good carbs and I think I'll be right where I need to be."
"He looks like that really big awkward high school kid that's almost too big," joked Decker. "He looks great. I'll tell you what — that's hard to do when you play at that weight the past five or six years and you cut 10 pounds. Demaryius Thomas actually did a similar thing when I was in Denver. I don't know how they do it, but they still look ginormous and fast. He's lucky he has good genes."
Eyes on Geno
Geno Smith, who took a few first-team reps today, will return to his role as the No. 2 QB behind Ryan Fitzpatrick.
"I was a starter from day one in this league and kind of the roles have been shifted, but I have to watch the way I handle things," he said. "Everyone's watching how I react. There are 32 teams in the NFL — everyone's going to watch how I react to this situation. So I have handle that with class always and that's what I want to do."
Like any competitor, Smith wants to play and he plans on taking advantage of every rep this summer.
"Obviously I want to be on the field to show how much better I've gotten as a quarterback, but right now I have to practice patience and keep working, keep my nose to the grind and just keep going at it."
