Read the full transcript from HC Jeff Hafley 's postgame media availability on August 23, 2026

Any word on Trey Moore, if it looks like a long-term injury?

Jeff Hafley: Getting back to you from last night. You asked me last night about three guys. Trey will miss some time. I don't see him back being soon. I'm not sure how long it will be. I think we'll determine that later when all the testing is done. But Trey will definitely miss some time with an ankle. Ollie got hit in the ribs. He was cleared to go back into the game. We just decided not to put him back in the game, but he was cleared to go back in. And then the other one you asked me about was Ronnie. It was Ronnie's hamstring on that one, he actually made a really nice play, he cut the cross, we got off the field on a third down. But he felt his hamstring. I would say Ronnie will probably be unlikely this week.

Obviously you went into the second game trying, wanting to take a look at some of the deeper players on your bench. What did you learn about that unit and those players and also the rookies?

Jeff Hafley: You talk about that, you're talking about every single player. Some I was really pleased with – I thought some guys stood out and helped their cases and made some plays. I thought the rookies who we asked to play, I thought a lot of those were in and out quickly. And then clearly we have some work to do. There were some mental mistakes, there was some physical mistakes. A lot of those guys got a lot of time for the first time together. Certainly the outcome wasn't what we wanted. I think that's coaching. I think that's playing and it needs to be better in a lot of those cases. What it really does help though, is when you sit down today and you take a deep breath and you get away from it's a preseason game and the score was the score; and now you have this chance to really evaluate these players. It is such a good evaluation tool for Sully and I to sit down and talk to where this roster is at, where it needs to go, what needs to get better, who we feel like moved up and down. And it's why preseason games to play all these guys is really, really important.

Jeff Hafley: You're talking about Stephen Dix who just got here yesterday. It means a lot for him, right? I'd like to actually sit down with him today and have a conversation with him. I think I've said two words to him other than talking to him about the calls on defense. So get to know a guy like that. But this last week is going to be different for a lot of guys. Our starters didn't really play, none of them. They barely played on Friday. Some of the guys who will start got a handful of snaps. So for those guys we got to get back to work. We got to continue to build off of our scheme and what we want to do going into the actual season. The practices are going to be a little bit different now. The guys who haven't played football, we need to ramp up their reps tomorrow in practice. But then you get a lot of guys who just played. We have to be really careful there because they're just coming off a game and they're not going to be ready to practice, so their practice will be more like a jog through. So tomorrow, when you guys are out there, you're going to see full speed with some guys, jog through for some others to get their bodies back, because a lot of those guys are going to play more on Friday night. The ones now, the starters, we got to ramp this up and really get ready for the season. Some more situational football, some more move the ball and just play ball where there's less scripting and more thinking from the players. And then like you're saying, there's some guys who are on the bubble that they're fighting for their jobs and we need to do everything we can as coaches to help them. And then they need to put in the work so we can kind of let Sully and I sit down and evaluate where we're at with the roster. But certainly probably a stressful time for some players and you got to respect all of them and what they're trying to do.

Two questions for you. The first, I know you said you wanted to review the film on the quarterback. So what did you see from them after you reviewed the film?

Jeff Hafley: There were 37 offensive snaps, which is probably the lowest that I've ever seen in my whole entire life as a coach on offense. So you're talking about minimal snaps for both of them and some really hard situations that we put them in. Being backed up, playing from the minus 5-yard line multiple times, trying to throw the ball backed up in there. It was hard. There are things where I think they were put into some tough situations. But then truthfully, there were times where it just, it wasn't good enough and it needs to be played better and it needs to be coached better and you don't always want to put it all in the quarterback. It's did the wideout run the right route? Did he drop the ball? Was the protection okay? Just really a tough night to get a really clear eval, but certainly it needs to improve.

And then I wanted to ask about the trio of rookie receivers. Kevin Coleman Jr. was obviously fed the ball a lot last night. Caleb Douglas had the highlight play in the first preseason game. And obviously Chris Bell is still working back from injury, but there's some promise there. What do you want to see ideally like in a perfect scenario, what would you like to see from your trio of rookie receivers this year?

Jeff Hafley: From the whole year? Improvement. I'd like to see them push one another and I'd like to see them develop good chemistry with Malik (Willis) and really find out what their role is going to be and who they are what type of receiver they are in the NFL and who they're going to become. And I'd like to see them develop a level of consistency where we can trust them. Playing as a rookie is not the easiest thing in the world. I'm sure there will be some highlight moments like you talked about last week with Caleb and then there's going to be some moments where we're going to have to grow and learn from. And then it's going to be a lot of our rookies this year. I mean, if you look at guys who are going to be playing, there's probably going to be quite a few of them on the field. So that's what I'm looking for. I'm excited for them.

Guys that have just joined this team and are going to be fighting for a roster spot this last week, how realistic is it for those as opposed to players who have been in your system since OTAs and the start of camp?

Jeff Hafley: Certainly it's going to be just by the nature of it, it's going to be a little bit harder because they're going to have limited reps, in practice this week, but then they're going to get another shot Friday night to play a lot. So we'll give them a fair chance. Watch the tape. See if we see the talent in the individual, the makeup of the player. So we're going to have to dig in as coaches and they're going to have to give us everything they have. It's just going to be a much smaller sample size. But at the end of the day if we feel those players can make us better then we got to really think hard about that. I mean, harder, but they'll have a chance.

The other question I had for you on an unrelated note, is Quinn Ewers. Is there any chance he can practice this week?

Jeff Hafley: Yeah, I'm hopeful that we'll get to see him at practice this week.

I wanted to follow up a little bit on what you were just talking about with Isaiah regarding the offense. Obviously we've only seen them, really the starters, for like 14 plays in a game situation. Have you learned as much as you would have liked at this point in the preseason about your offense and what stands out most, either on the positive side or negative side, regarding your ideal offense?

Jeff Hafley: I'd always like to learn more and know more, but there's a fine line as we deal with some injuries and decide how much we're going to play these guys in the preseason games. I think you learn a lot in practice. I think you learn a lot in joint practices. I think it's still a work in progress and it's going to be, but you find out a lot about your guys. And we'll continue to do that this week and we'll continue to do that … even we have a week after to get ready for that first game. So just continue to build on it. What was the second part of your question?

What stands out in terms of what you've liked and maybe what you've been concerned about offensively.

Jeff Hafley: The things that I like I think you know you look at the quarterback and I think there's been constant improvement and confidence. There's been times when we've run the ball really well. I mean if you look back at the Washington game with the ones and then you even look back closely, there were some good runs against the Giants and there's been some good runs against us each week as we practice against each other. I think the overall consistency, it has to get better, and I think that has a lot to do with finding out the depth of the team and then getting these guys to play together more and more. That's why it has to be this year. It has to be constant improvement as we gel together and find out who the guys are and get them playing together.

I want to ask you about Dante Trader. He got some run last night primarily with the second or third or I don't know how we figure out what unit that was. What did you hope to see and what do you feel like you saw?

Jeff Hafley: I wanted to see him, one, I was hopeful that he was healthy and I could see him go full speed. I liked his physicality. I thought he did a really nice job and I'm glad you brought him up because he's a guy, I think, that deserves to be talked about. You guys asked if there were any bright spots, I thought he was one of them. He was physical. He tackled well. I thought his effort was outstanding. He came up in the run game multiple times. He saved us on a play early on in the game where there was a bust in coverage, and he came out of the middle of the field and he got it down, which would have been a huge play if he didn't. I think that that puts him right back where he left off, in a great spot to be in the mix and compete for that starting position. But I was proud of him last night.

I want to ask you about the waiver wire. I guess you guys have been active on the waiver wire already before the season starts. How much do you feel like you can help this roster throughout the season, by picking up players, maybe on practice squads and players that get cut on August 30?

Jeff Hafley: Another really fair question. It's conversations that Sully and I have constantly have. I think we owe it to this team and to the organization. If we feel like there are players out there that can help our roster, then we need to be aggressive. I know Sully and his entire staff, they're working really hard on that. But that's something that I think that we're going to have to look at throughout the season as we look to move forward.

I'd love to hear about the last like 12 hours or so for you is. When it's time to sit down after a game and review the tape, how do you go about tackling all of that volume of reps? Is that chronologically? Do you do that personnel groupings, situationally? Just how do you filter through all this volume, especially in the preseason here where so many guys are getting reps?

Jeff Hafley: You mean like me personally?

Yeah, like you and the coaching staff. Is that something that it's chronological throughout the game, or do you watch the film with your personnel packages or third downs and red zone?

Jeff Hafley: For preseason game when it's more about evaluation of the player – I'll use me for an example – last night when I got home and my family was in bed, I watched the offense, I watched the defense and I watched the special teams. And I'm sure our coaching staff did the same thing. I told them to have the players graded by 7:30 this morning and we got in and I watched it all with the defense and then we went over every single player. We talked about each player and they gave me their opinions and I gave them my opinion. Then I called in the offense and they had already watched it as an offensive staff and they had it graded. I called them in and I said, all right, give me your thoughts on this guy, this guy, this guy. Where do you rank him? Did he move up? Did he move down? Then let's watch the film and I'll tell you if I agree or disagree. And then I do the same thing with special teams. And then I met with Anne and I rushed over here to talk to you guys. So that was kind of my since the game ended, that's kind of been my really 12 hours. It's not like when I watch a game, when I watch a season game, a real game, and I look at the players; I'm always evaluating the players, but I'm also evaluating the calls and I'm evaluating the scheme. I'm evaluating, that was open, we're probably going to get that next week or wow, that's a problem, we better fix this, or that really worked and let's run it again. We're not trying to win the call, and we're very, very simple so we can evaluate the players right now. Now there's some around the league right now, I'm seeing some people are going all out and zero blitzing. I get that, but I just think for us, it's we have to evaluate our players. And that's what's been so important. And as hard as yesterday was as a competitor and it doesn't sit right how the game was. That film is invaluable and will help us moving forward and that is a positive because we have to figure it out in who this 53 is going to be. So win, lose, it doesn't matter. It does, right, as a competitor, but the most important part right now is finding out which guys we can count on moving forward.

I wanted to ask you about a player I don't believe any of us has ever asked you about since you became head coach, but I just can't cannot help but notice him on a regular basis, whether at practice in the preseason games. I wanted to ask you what you've seen and where he stands. And I mean, he came into training camp as a very much of a long shot. I think all of us would agree. But what can you tell me about Keith Cooper Jr.?

Jeff Hafley: You know what? I'm actually, I'm really glad you asked about him. This guy has gotten better and better. He is a guy that, in my opinion, has made one of the biggest jumps from where he started to where he is right now. He played that way last night too, and we played him on the inside, we played him on the outside and I'm really proud of him. He has really, really done a nice job and I think it's really cool that you notice that with him. He has strained in his fundamentals and techniques, he's gotten physical, he's developed some pass rush moves and he has totally put himself in a different position than like you said when he started. And that's a cool deal for a guy to work hard and regardless of what happens, he should have no regrets because of everything that he's done. So thank you for asking about him.