Read the full transcript from S Zayne Anderson's media availability on August 7, 2026.

How do you think your familiarity with Hafley's defense helps you as you get into this season?

Zayne Anderson: It's huge. I think having some years of experience just building on it and then relearning it, I think it's always good to relearn it. This is supposed to be my third or fourth time relearning it. We installed in the spring, installed in the fall. And so it's nice, I love it. I feel like I'm able to take steps ahead of just knowing the basics of the defense.

If other safeties approach you about what they need to know, what's the most important thing you think you need to impart on them?

Zayne Anderson: As a safety, we have to communicate and that takes with each other, but that also takes with the whole defense. With young guys, new guys coming in, I love to talk ball with them. There's no secrets out there. We're on one page, and we play the best ball when we're on the same page. So I think it's being on one accord, and within that, it's them asking those questions. The simple questions of what they need to do, how they see certain looks. And same thing for me too, I'm able to pick other guys brains as well.

How about Dante Trader Jr. specifically? He'll come up here and talk to us about the dimensions of the splits and where he's at in the field. He's very cerebral that way. What's your guys' relationship like in terms of just learning this defense and learning how to play together?

Zayne Anderson: I love surrounding myself around guys that love football and Dante Trader is that guy. He's always asking questions. I'm asking questions to him as well. He's very analytical about the game, but when it comes down to play like he's not analytical, he just plays ball. But he's able to ask those questions to me and I'm able to ask those questions to him. He's a great guy to lean on.

You got a chance to get a little bit of playing time in 2024 defensively when Coach Hafley first got there with that Detroit game. How hard was it to kind of get that sampling and then have a different role this past year? And then how excited does that make you for the competition to have a larger membership?

Zayne Anderson: It's kind of been my whole career, right? It's been about patience. I'm all for – the guys that were in front of me, I wanted them to do well and wanted them to stay healthy. It's awesome for this opportunity to go out and compete for a starting job. It's all I've wanted and what I've been looking forward to.

On that vibe, is it important for you to start this year?

Zayne Anderson: Yeah, absolutely. As a competitor, that's what you want to do, right? That's what I'm here for and that's what we're doing.

And how do you measure yourself? In light of that? Is it a day by day, play by play, or is it every three practices you gauge how you're doing? I mean, you're a vet.

Zayne Anderson: I think it's day by day. If you have a great day one day, it's a new day the next day. You got to do it all over again. And so for me, it's stacking those good days, building off the last. If you make a bad play one day, correct it the next day and fix it. And if you have a good play, keep stacking it. And so for me, it's a day-to-day thing. We're not looking forward to anything. It's be a better football player this day. Be a better safety, be a better teammate. And that's kind of how I'm rolling.

Seems like every day you and Caleb Douglas are competing for a 50/50 ball. What stands out about this game so far?

Zayne Anderson: For him coming in, you can tell – his route running doesn't feel like a rookie. I noticed that in OTAs when I first covered him, I was like, okay, this guy's got something to him. There's a lot of guys like that on our team. I think Caleb has done that from the start, and I've been able to pick up on that and starting to gain some respect for him. He's a stud.

What difference did you notice in Jeff Hafley from his time as a DC and now head coach?

Zayne Anderson: You know what, people ask me that, he hasn't changed. Like he was that same guy, the defensive coordinator. He lets guys be themselves, but he also demands a certain standard of excellence from each guy. It was like that from a defensive room and now being able to see him take that to the whole team, it's been cool to see.

Is there any different aspect of your game that you feel that you need to work on more at this point in your career?

Zayne Anderson: Absolutely. I think there's always room to improve on everything. Our coaches do a good job of being transparent about what we need to work on exactly. Every day there's something and there's some things that I'm working on right now, and by the time season comes around, we'll hopefully have rolled.

Made a couple of plays in coverage on the Malik Willis throughout the course of the first 10 days. Is there any tangible difference that you feel in him, with the different opportunity that he has and the different opportunity that you have, to have those that elevated opportunity here in Miami versus what it was in Green Bay?

Zayne Anderson: Malik, we would go against each other in practice, and he would always he would throw some of these balls and he puts so much spin on the ball, throws it so hard. There were some of them I missed. And so we were honestly, every day after practice like, dang, bro, you got me on that one. It's the same thing now. We sit together right next to each other in team meeting. He's like, you got me yesterday, but we're going back and forth. We're competing every day, and that's what I love about him. I want him to be the most confident, the best quarterback because I believe he's that dude. And he obviously sees the same in me. And so being able to go back and forth, he has a good day. He might get something on me. I might get something on him. It's been cool.

How valuable is that to have an offensive player and your defensive player kind of guys that are competing, but then to be able to come off the field and go in the film room and kind of have that relationship with each other?

Zayne Anderson: It's huge. Being able to talk looks. We talk a lot about disguise and I'm able to ask Malik, what do you see on this one? Was it a true disguise? Did we really sell what we're trying to sell or did you see it how it unfolded? And so he's very transparent about that, and he'll tell us straight. He's like, yeah, that wasn't a good look, or you guys need to do this better. I think it's great being able to have that communication with one another.

What's the message to the young guys as we enter into the dog days of training camp? The newness of pads has kind of worn off, just being back has worn off. How do you keep those guys motivated?

Zayne Anderson: I think consistency, that's the hardest thing to measure. Everybody can come out day one, be excited. You know, first game, it doesn't matter what it is. Everyone's excited for the first time. But can you do it day in and day out? I think it's consistency. That's what I would stress to the young guys. And that goes off the field too. How are you taking care of your body? What are you doing to stay healthy? It's hot out here. I think that's most important for guys to stay with a certain standard and just keep doing it.

I actually wanted to ask you about what you just said, the heat and humidity here. How does that compare to a Green Bay training camp?

Zayne Anderson: It's completely different. I think if you were to practice here, our practice and if you were to go do it, I think you could probably do it twice. I think you could practice twice somewhere else versus here. It's like you do four reps. Four reps here is different than four reps somewhere else. I've noticed that. I was asking him on the way over here, I'm like, do you get used to that like overtime? Because every day it's like, I'm rolling. I don't know if you get used to it, but it's good. It's our edge. I think that's what Coach has stress to us. Build our edge. Teams are gonna have to come down here and play in it and we'll be used to it.

It seems like every day Louis Moore makes a play. What jumps out to you about him?

Zayne Anderson: He's tenacious, he's a football player. You can just see like his aggression. He can cover. He's physical. I think he's going to be a dawg on special teams. I think he could play a huge role on defense from an early start. Just watching him, I haven't even talked to him that much honestly, but watching him play football, it's cool to see.