Trent Green Q&A
Chiefs quarterback Trent Green showed up at the first day of OTA sessions today and afterwards continued his campaign to get out of K.C. and onto the Dolphins.
This is the Chiefs team-released transcript of Green's media session.
Q: What do you think is holding up the trade with Miami?
GREEN: "I just wish that there was more communication. I know that Carl (Peterson) and Randy (Mueller) do talk and I'm more anxious than anybody else, more so from a family standpoint and a football standpoint as well. There are a lot of things that need to be cleared up in the next couple of months and I guess that I have a little more sense of urgency. The two sides are talking and I guess that's good that they are at least communicating still."
Q: You said that you would not be in a Chiefs uniform. What made you change your mind and come to OTAs?
GREEN: "It's different. Uniform means during the season. It's the off-season and I still have a responsibility to be ready to play wherever that is. My job is a professional football player and it doesn't do me any good to go out to Arizona or Florida and spend time at these workout facilities when you can do it right here. I have guys that I've had a relationship with for six years, guys that I'm used to throwing with and an offense that is similar to what we've done in previous years and similar to what they are doing in Miami, so there are a lot of reasons to be here. I'm just trying to work out and get ready for next season."
Q: Is an uncomfortable situation in terms of the end working out with the Chiefs?
GREEN: "There are other scenarios that could be much worse, but just the awkwardness of this. You look at the last six years and the things that we were a part of here, just the community, my family living here and the football part of it; there were obviously a lot of positive things that have happened over the last six years. I'm not looking to burn bridges in a lot of those arenas. This is a community that no matter where I go and play, that we could potentially come back and make our home. We have really enjoyed our six years here, it's a great community, it's a great place to raise a family and you never say never. From a family standpoint, if we go to South Florida and we fit into that community and our community involvement kicks in and our foundation kicks in and the kids enjoy it, then that is some place we think we could stay. Right now we've had such a good six years here that this is our intent and we'll just see where it all goes from here."
Q: If a deal is not worked out, would you think about retirement?
GREEN: "I'm still leaning on the fact that it is going to get done. I really haven't had that discussion with my family or my wife and I haven't had that discussion with my agent because I'm still banking on the fact that the deal that was made back in February would get done. I guess when that time comes I'll have to cross that bridge, but right now we're planning on the deal getting done."
Q: Is it important that you get to Miami to become acclimated with the system and players?
GREEN: "Cam Cameron is someone that I feel very comfortable with. He was my quarterback coach during my first two years in Washington when Norv Turner was the head coach, so that offense is basically the same. It's probably 80-90% the same as to what I have been used to the last few years, so there wouldn't be much of an adjustment from that standpoint. Obviously Terry Shea is there now, who I've been with in Kansas City, so there are a lot of things that would make that transition smooth. So when choosing the team, the best fit from an offensive standpoint was Miami and that's why we focused in on them and they focused in on me because I have a familiarity with that offense."
Q: As far as a time element, when do you think you need to be there?
GREEN: "I'd like to be there tomorrow because I value the off-season and relationships; trying to build relationships from a leadership standpoint and from an on-field and off-field presence there is a lot that can be accomplished in the off-season. If it doesn't work out, I know that there have been teams that have had success. If you look at San Diego in '92, QB John Friesz blew his knee out in the second or third game and they made the trade for QB Stan Humphries from Washington. He came in during week three or four of the preseason and they went on to win the division. It has been proven, at least in my experiences, but I hope it doesn't drag on that long for your sake and mine, but it is possible."
Q: Have you had any requests by the organization that you not participate in the OTAs?
GREEN: "No, they were completely fine with it."
Q: Do you think you will automatically be the starting quarterback in Miami or do you think that you will face competition there as well?
GREEN: "(Miami) has never said, 'you're the guy and come right in.' They haven't discussed with me what the QB Daunte Culpepper situation is; they haven't told me one way or another. I just know that I would have a much more fair chance, because here it's obviously weighted. (In Miami), because of my knowledge of the offense and the quarterbacks that are there and their knowledge of the offense, I just think that it would be a much more fair competition."
Q: What is the hold-up on the deal getting done?
GREEN: "I wish that I could tell you. The Chiefs don't feel that it's fair compensation and the Dolphins are like, 'well, you've expressed to everybody in the league that your intentions are to go younger and move on in a different direction from Trent,' so the Dolphins feel like they have leverage and the Chiefs feel like they have leverage. So I guess that's the hold-up."
Q: Is Miami the only team that you want to go to?
GREEN: "That's the only team that we've come to a contract agreement with. We haven't even gotten into contract talks with other teams."
Q: If something didn't happen with Miami, would you be interested in going to Cleveland?
GREEN: "A lot of those situations were done before the draft and now that the draft has happened, a lot of those needs have been met or trades have been made. It seems to me that the most logical fit is Miami."
Q: Have your conversations been awkward with Brodie?
GREEN: "I can't say that I've been in his shoes, but I do know that as a young player some of it can be overwhelming, so I've tried to keep my lines of communication open to him as much as possible. Just like I expressed a moment ago that I was frustrated about not knowing about things going on, so I called him to find out how much he knew that was going on and he didn't know anything, so I just told him. I just said, 'listen, I'm not going to keep anything from you that's going on, I'm going to let you know what's going on the whole way.' You have to know because you have to be able to get yourself prepared whether it is as the starter or the back-up, develop yourself as a leader and those types of things. Brodie has a lot of talent and can be a very good player in this league, he's just young and you don't gain that experience because they just say you are getting more reps in practice or that you are going to be the starter. Those are all things that have to come and I've been through quite a bit in my career, so I just try and share as much of that with him as I can. I've been very open to him in his time here that if he has any questions, I'm more than willing to share that with him. I'm not trying to volunteer information or overload him with information, but if there is some stuff that I can help him with in the process I don't have a problem with that."
Q: What do you think is fair compensation for a starting quarterback like yourself?
GREEN: "You start factoring in the age thing. Everyone wants to talk about your age and that Baltimore gave this for QB Steve McNair and he was a few years younger than I am at this time, so you try and get some play off that, but I don't know. Considering that the Chiefs have said what they have since February about where they want to go, they tend to lose of that leverage when they play their hand that quick. When they resigned Damon and say that they want to get younger it kind of shows their hand a little bit, so I don't know how it works out and that's what has been so incredibly frustrating. Everybody has expressed which direction that they want to go and it's just not getting done. That's really frustrating."
Q: What did you do today at practice? Did Herm give you reps or did you just stand around?
GREEN: "They came in and they told us right at the start that everyone was going to get reps. I went first, Damon went second, Brodie went third, Casey Printers went fourth and we all took the same number of reps. I took three plays and we just rotated through right on down the line. Tomorrow Damon will be first, Brodie will be second, Casey will be third and I'll be fourth. Every day we are going to shift around and that's how they said we are going to do it. They are going to try and keep it as even as can be and go from there. But it's not a ton of work going on, it's more seven-on-seven and routes vs. air and that kind of thing."
Do you think Green will be the Dolphins starting quarterback or do you think they'll wait for Daunte Culpepper to improve?
Harvey Fialkov
Sun-Sentinel Dolphins beat reporter
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