Read the full transcript from DC Sean Duggan's media availability on August 26, 2026.

We saw Jacob didn't practice today. Can you tell us as much as you can of his chances of playing on Friday?

Sean Duggan: Yeah, playing time stuff, I'm just going to push all that to Coach Haf. Whatever he decides is the best interest of the team is what we'll do.

So one more in pursuit of that that might get shot down. Atlanta has said that they'll probably play their starters. Will that affect how you approach the game?

Sean Duggan: No, I mean the way we've been approaching preseason is it's an evaluation tool and it's a big opportunity for guys right to go out there and play against their ones or their twos or threes. Whoever we put out there, what an opportunity, right? It's another chance to go play football. So no, really to be honest with you it doesn't change how we go about it. We're just trying to become a more consistent defense. It just can get better. Whether it's a game or practice that's always the goal for us.

Well, we didn't see him today. In what ways have you seen Jacob Rodriguez grow over camp?

Sean Duggan: I think the game's slowing down for Jacob. Just the understanding of the call, understanding what's going on not only in front of him as it pertains to the run game, but what's going on around him and whether it's zone coverage or man coverage. I think when you play defense, the more understanding you have of what's going on around you, the faster you can play and you can start anticipating. So I've seen that, and it's something he needs to continue to get better at, too.

What's the ceiling for this front seven?

Sean Duggan: I think we have a lot of talented guys who play physical, play the right way. I never like putting a ceiling on a group of whether it's a defense or a certain player. To me, I'm just always looking for continually getting better, right. We should be playing better football today than we played yesterday. Week 17, we should be better than Week 1. It's just all to me about getting better. Not necessarily a set ceiling, or we could be this or we should be this. We need to see steady improvement every single day.

In what areas do you see Chris Johnson growing?

Sean Duggan: Yeah, I think Chris has done a nice job. It's similar to what I was saying about J-Rod (Rodriguez). It's the understanding of the techniques of what's going on around him, of issues and coverage. How he can be attacked in certain coverages or techniques and that understanding, and again, he's a guy that has gotten better every single day.

What would you say, or could you say you've seen in regards to his instincts?

Sean Duggan: I think you just kind of when you see it, you're like, he has a feel for the game. It's one of those things when you talk about instincts, for me, just sometimes it's a little hard to explain, but it's one of those when you see it, you know, it. So I think him just listening to himself as a football player and then executing the techniques within the call is, is he's definitely an instinctual player.

So regarding Chop from the untrained eye, it seems like he's improved in both setting the edge and attacking the passer. What have you seen?

Sean Duggan: I think Chop's done a great job this camp. Again, I don't mean to sound like a broken record, but he's put in the work and he's gotten better every day. You see the growth from OTAs to now and that's a huge credit to him and the work he's put in, not only on the field but transforming his body in the weight room, being in the shape you need to be in down here to play in this heat and be an every down player. Because everybody wants to have the gas on third down and rush the passer. If you ask d-linemen, that's fun for them, but you got to earn the right to do that. And I think he's put in so much work on the field and off the field. And then I think the coaches have done a really nice job with him, getting him to understand where to put his eyes, where to put his hands. Situational football. Obviously third down is very different than first and second. Wen I can take a shot, you know what I mean? So I think he's done a nice job and again just getting better every single day.

When this staff first took him in, what was the first thing you wanted to either emphasize to him or whether it's a change or just emphasize to him?

Sean Duggan: I think the first thing we did with Chop is just tell them we're going to demand from them, right? We're going to demand a lot from that guy because he's capable. He's capable of doing playing first, second, early down, playing the run, setting edges, then rushing the passer. We're not just going to let a guy off the hook and say, 'oh, you can only do this.' And it's really the same for a lot of guys, right? We're not just going to say, 'oh, he's a one trick pony, he can do this.' We're going to demand that he gets better at his weaknesses and then continue to grow on his strengths.

Is Kyle Louis a safety or linebacker, big nickel safety? How do you classify him nowadays?

Sean Duggan: How do you classify him?

All of the above. All three really.

Sean Duggan: I think Kyle's a really good football player. He's a guy who plays with instincts, plays with passion and physicality and really plays the game the right way, and being able to move him around has been pretty fun.

We all know what Zach Sieler can do, but with him being out the last couple of weeks, was there someone who really benefited from those extra reps filling in?

Sean Duggan: I think a lot of guys benefitted. Zach brings a lot to the table. His leadership, obviously he's played a lot of football at a high level. You see guys stepping up in the communication aspect that goes along with the front. When Zach's not in there, other guys have had to kind of learn how to do that without him and you've seen a lot of guys step up as far as reps and taking advantage of their opportunity.

You've been upstairs the first two, right?

Sean Duggan: Yes, sir.

What have you and Jeff Hafley learned relative to you being upstairs and him calling it from the field, working together?

Sean Duggan: Honestly, it's really the same communication it's been since I've been with him. The only difference is he's in the heat and I'm in the air conditioning, but it's been good. (laughter) You know, we have really good communication between the two of us and the rest of the staff. So it's been good and it's been getting cleaner every game.

Do some play callers like noise in their ears from their friends more than others?

Sean Duggan: You'd have to ask them. I'm sure it's a personal preference.

With Kyle Louis obviously, he hasn't played safety that much. How long do you think that process or that transition takes for a player?

Sean Duggan: Oh, that's a good question. I think, you know, we said he's an instinctual player so you do definitely see some instincts show up whether it's him playing in coverage, reading the quarterback or him coming down fitting the run. You definitely can see that. I think with any position, it's the details of the position. You just need reps and you need coaching and you just got to keep doing it because, you know, I'm a big believer in not only do you learn from success and let's say I came down and fit the run and I fit it perfectly. Okay, now in my brain, I can go, okay, I can do this again. I got to feel for when to come down, where are my eyes? But I think you learn a lot from scars too, right? You learn if okay, maybe on this one I wasn't wide enough in my drop. Or maybe I'm looking at routes too much here. So I think just the more reps he gets, I think he'll learn. As far as putting a timetable on it, I think it's based on the player and how many reps they get.

And Michael Taaffe, what have you seen from him this training camp?

Sean Duggan: Again, I really don't mean to sound like a broken record here, but he's a guy that's gotten better and better and continued to learn the scheme. He knows when he can play fast. He knows when he can take a shot, he understands what's going on around him. I think he's a really good communicator, which I think is very important at the safety position. But I think he's a guy that just, I think he loves football. He loves learning. And he's gotten better every day.

What have you liked from Keith Cooper Jr.?

Sean Duggan: Keith's done a lot of good things. I've really got a lot of respect for the guy because when he first got here, it was not what you're seeing right now when you watch practice. So the work he's put in, the techniques and same thing. Understanding when I can, whether I can loosen up, whether I need to play thicker here, okay, where are my eyes here? What is the backfield set telling me he's taking in all that coaching and playing faster and faster and faster. As far as what I see, I see a quick guy who uses his hands who can do a good job anchoring in the run game. And he's got some juice in the pass game, which I think with him the confidence is showing, right? He made a couple plays. Now he has some confidence. Now he's playing faster, and I think that's building upon itself with him.

What can having a trio of linebackers like JB (Jordyn Brooks), Dot (Tyrel Dodson) and Jacob do for your defense as a whole?

Sean Duggan: I think the more good players you can have on the field, the better. As far as specifically linebackers, it's a position where depth is you're going to – you always want depth at every position, right? It just allows you to get good players on the football field.