March 11, 2024 • 51 mins
In a virtual room full of heroes - Dan Hanzus, Gregg Rosenthal, and Marc Sessler take one final look across the NFL as free agency quickly approaches. The heroes start with a discussion about Baker Mayfield returning to the Buccaneers (03:22), then breakdown Chris Jones getting the bag in Kansas City (09:55). The guys then run through Mac Jones being traded to the Jaguars (15:58), Jerry Jeudy being traded to the Browns (22:31), major pieces of the Chargers possibly being traded (28:19), another Eagles legend retiring (37:00) and more!
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
They around the NFL podcast knows there's no basement in
the element.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
From Austin, Texas. It's around the NFL Free Agency Week
special edition Sunday edition.
Speaker 1 (00:20):
Was not the plan.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
And yet here we are in hotel rooms giving you
the information you need. Dan Hans is here, Greg Rosenthal,
Mark Sessler, and we are in Austin, here, the capital
of Texas, the place where I got married to my
beautiful wife twelve years ago. In May for the iHeart
Radio Awards, and we are up for best Sports Podcast.
(00:43):
That's tomorrow night. But that's just a personal journey we're on.
The reason we're here today is to get you caught
up on Free Agency Week, which has already started. And
this is different, Greg Rosenthal and did I mention him
with Mark Sessler? And Greg, I think I did. We've
done this for many years now. This is the twelfth
year of the podcast, uh and we've usually been okay,
(01:06):
starting Monday and go on Monday Tuesday. But there's been
so much churn going on, so much big news, that
it necessitated a clearing of the decks. And that's what
we're gonna do to you do for you guys today,
Bunker style.
Speaker 3 (01:18):
There's nothing better in life than something it's a surprise,
little surprise podcast.
Speaker 1 (01:23):
The NFL wants to just.
Speaker 3 (01:24):
Own our lives every every day, every segment of the year,
and so I think they've kind of extended free agency.
It used to start like on the Wednesday or whatever
when the league year started. Then it went to Tuesday
and Monday, and now it's Sunday. And these are the
biggest awards shows happening in America this week.
Speaker 4 (01:40):
The iHeart Podcast, but also what would you know, what
would the best sportscast podcast do? They would land at
the airport immediately, you know, jet stream to a cab,
get to the hotel, don't even unpack our bags, set
our equipment up, record a mic.
Speaker 1 (01:57):
Club.
Speaker 2 (01:58):
What they do It's like check club, Shay, she is
still coasting off the Cat Williams interview. And here we
are giving you the content that you need. And yeah,
like so much has gone down, we're going to get
into it. And I mentioned, yeah, bunker cast style. If
listeners that were following us during the dark days in
(02:18):
the early days of COVID, remember we would give you
guys a daily news rundown from our garages. And we're
going to kind of get you up to date. So
not a lot of bells will whistles to this up.
It's just what you need to know as the legal
tampering period opens on Monday. Shall we dig into it?
Speaker 1 (02:35):
Please? All right? Hit it? Eric, So if you.
Speaker 5 (02:38):
Ever got a problem with aged eighty nine, I'm sorry
for saying that you're an average wide receiver that they
eventually will move on.
Speaker 1 (02:45):
And when teams called me and.
Speaker 5 (02:47):
Asking should they trade for you, I will say no,
don't trade for Jerry Judy because he's mentally unable to
handle constructive criticism from people who watch. Specifically, can he
be a while receiver? He could be a wide receiver.
He's a Tier three.
Speaker 2 (03:06):
We're and we're gonna get to Jerry Judy, who's on
the move. But there's something so crushing about Steve Smith
having his own little tiers and just dropping it as
the final line. He's a tier three Ouchers Ouchers. So
let's get into the big news though. The lead news
Baker Mayfield. He has signed a big deal with the
(03:30):
Tampa Bay Buccaneers. It is a three year contract, or
at least that's what it is on paper. It is
worth one hundred million at least that's what it says
on paper, but rap sheet says the deal includes fifty
million in guaranteed money and he can earn as much
as one fifteen over the next three years.
Speaker 1 (03:48):
He'll never see one fifteen.
Speaker 2 (03:49):
But Greggie, this contract for Baker which comes after you know,
I don't think he was connected in a couple different places, Atlanta,
New England, but Tampa always felt like the place he
would end up. And both sides of this marriage seem happy,
and they will move forward together for how long we'll see,
but at least for twenty twenty four.
Speaker 1 (04:09):
Yeah, at least one year.
Speaker 3 (04:10):
And we'll circle back to the contractual details, which I
think are interesting kind of inform how in they are
on Baker. But to me, that's not as interesting as
this journey he's been on to sign a one year,
three to four million dollar contract a year ago. At
this time, nobody wanted him to this moment where I
think he is smartly realizing his best chance for success
(04:31):
is just to stay where he is in Tampa. It's
not going to be the same offensive coordinator, so that's
a little bit of a concern. But to stay with
Mike Evan, stay with this organization, and I just can't
remember a guy having this much of an up and
down career this early into his career. And if you're
Mark Sessler, a big Baker fan, I think this is
best case scenario. I mean, he's flying, he's crushing the
(04:53):
Sam Darnold debate right now, and this is his chance,
I think, to be.
Speaker 1 (04:59):
Quarterback.
Speaker 3 (04:59):
That just it's been ups, there's been downs, but right
now Baker's making a lot of money.
Speaker 4 (05:04):
In foolish comment, go ahead, Mark, I would say that,
you know, quarterbacks are like cats on some level because
they do have a chance to overcome what appears to
be death. I mean, we are two seasons removed from
Baker being axed by the woebegone Carolina Panthers that had
no other answers at quarterback, and we're willing just to
move on from him. And he goes to that Rams
(05:25):
and has that you know three quarters of like you know,
milk toast play and then that magical final fourth quarter
where he slays the Raiders after being there for a
couple of days. But then the Rams didn't want him
ultimately either. It seemed like, oh, that would be a
place where he'd stayed behind Matthew Stafford. So he goes
to Tampa Bay pulls off arguably his finest season. I
would say his rookie season had this sort of magic
(05:45):
to it where you're like the ceiling, we don't even
know what the ceiling is, but to go do what
he did with the Bucks. I really think the best
situation and the money for him is a surprise after
where he was a year ago. Certainly is that he
is in a place that wants him. And that wasn't
true of Cleveland, that wasn't true of Carolina, that wasn't
true of the Rams. Ultimately, and I think what he
went through with the Browns was, you know, certainly humbling,
(06:09):
certainly almost on the border of humiliating after the way
he started. So to be here it just tells you
the story of these quarterbacks is about as unpredictable as
any position in sports.
Speaker 2 (06:19):
I think, even though it is short term and it
is more or less Greg, you and I were talking
about at the airport the Geno Smith contract, and Gino's
probably in his second and final year with Seattle after
signing that deal. I don't like it. I don't, and
I think it's a bad deal for the Bucks. It's
one of those deals that make sense after last year.
(06:40):
But then it's like, you know, and you said it,
like you want Baker on the deal when he's trying
to prove it. Now you're paying him as a guy that's,
you know, supposed to actually lead you potentially to the
promised land. I know he's not paid at the top
tier of quarterbacks, but that for me, that's way too
much for Baker where I can and you bring up
guys like Jake Briskett all the time, and players are
(07:02):
those of that ilk in terms of what Baker actually
gives you over the course of a seventeen game season.
I think they'll regret this contract, but I also understand
why they did it.
Speaker 1 (07:12):
It was a safe move.
Speaker 2 (07:14):
It will be seen mostly as a logical move, but
I have a feeling this time next year it won't
be remembered as a wise one.
Speaker 4 (07:21):
But Dan, what if he gives you what he gave
them a year ago for an NFL quarterback? Is the
price out of hand at that point?
Speaker 1 (07:28):
I guess.
Speaker 2 (07:29):
I think it's like one of those things good is
the enemy of great. I think he is a solution
where it's he is in a way kind of the
progress stopper for them finding the next true quarterback after Brady.
But also I say that knowing you know the Bucks's history.
For the most part, they they've been combing the desert
(07:50):
looking for a quarterback.
Speaker 1 (07:51):
Brady was this outlier.
Speaker 2 (07:53):
They won the super Bowl with Brad Johnson and that
was a huge defense that really got that done. So
he brings them a level. He was obviously a professional,
competent quarterback this year, but it's just like he has
to repeat that, and I he consistency has never been
Baker's things. Staying healthy has never been Baker's thing. It's
just a deal that I feel like is a major
(08:15):
red flag for me. And where's gonna be a lot
of deals over the next five days.
Speaker 1 (08:18):
That are you're gonna put your eyebrow up on. This
is one of them for me.
Speaker 3 (08:21):
Yeah, I do worry that his play will go down
because he's been streaky.
Speaker 1 (08:25):
Now.
Speaker 3 (08:26):
I actually thought he played his best ball at the
end of the season. He was the playoffs and whatnot.
Was kind of like, Okay, this is almost the Baker
people were talking about how he was playing the whole year,
where I thought he was a little uneven without Dave Canalis.
Speaker 1 (08:39):
That's a big concern.
Speaker 3 (08:40):
But if he does decline, Dan, He's not gonna be
on the team next year. It's very, very similar to
not just the Gino contract, but the Derek Carr contract
that the Raiders gave Derek Carr before the twenty twenty
two season. Both of those contracts with Gino, they gave
like a round ten million. In this case to Baker.
I think Gino's was like twelve to the second year
(09:01):
Derek Carrs was similar, and the Raiders just decided to
eat that money and they cut him because he didn't
play well.
Speaker 1 (09:05):
Gino was like just over the line.
Speaker 3 (09:07):
I believe for Seattle to just be like, Okay, let's
kick the let's keep Gino and who knows, he might
even get a third year if he plays great. But
they're in a spot where they can draft someone, and
I don't think the Bucks would eliminate that. To answer
your question, Mark though, where you said would it be
worth it if he does play at that level, I
think it would be if you actually do like the
average quarterback salary. Now, Baker's still only sixteenth or seventeenth
(09:30):
at the time of signing it, So this is your
middle class. There has to be something between superstar and
you know, like Jacoby Brissett, and it doesn't seem fair
that it's like that huge of a drop. So I
think it's fine if he plays at that level. I
think it's worth it, and I think it shouldn't eliminate
them from even thinking about drafting someone like in the
second round.
Speaker 1 (09:48):
So when I woke up this morning, I was feeling
pretty dangerous.
Speaker 2 (09:52):
In other big news, other big signings, Chris Jones and
the Chiefs get it done Kansas City. He agreed to
terms with the defensive tackle on a five year extension
through twenty twenty eight. It's a deal that includes ninety
five million guaranteed, So that is different. That is kind
(10:15):
of I feel like where things are continuing to head
in the NFL, where players, at least the superstars are
getting massive guaranteed deals on shorter contracts, and for a
player like Chris Jones mark who's thirty two years old,
excuse me, he's thirty years old now, this contract maybe
(10:35):
even sets him up for one more big deal after this,
But I think everybody wins here.
Speaker 4 (10:40):
The last time we saw Chris Jones, he's pressuring brock
Purty on that critical overtime third down that forces them
the forty nine ers, into a field goal that sets
up the Chiefs to go do what they did. He
is a direct reason they got to the Super Bowl,
won all the games they did, won the Super Bowl.
He is arguably the best defensive tackle in the league
right now. And I think if you're Kansas City, you're
(11:03):
in one of the rare positions in sports where it's
like you look out over the length of this contract
and say, it is not ridiculous to suggest that we
win four Super Bowls. Three super Bowls would even be
like to me, just like the over runners sitting there
at three with all the pieces they have, you don't
just let Chris Jones walk away. I think was a trick.
They walked into this offseason with a tricky situation on defense, Like.
Speaker 1 (11:24):
Wait three more during Chris Jones' contract, I.
Speaker 4 (11:27):
Am saying they could win three of the next four
Super Bowls, And I'd have no problem with saying that
that is not an outrageous claim. It's like back during
the Yankees heyday saying they win three of four World Series,
like they're that kind of football team with what they
have right now, and it's like, you let guys like
this go. We've seen three different types of chiefs offenses
and defenses win Super Bowls in the past half decade,
(11:49):
and like, so at, keep adding to what you have,
keep your star players around. Jones wanted to be there.
He said that emphatically during their parade. And he's sticking around,
and it's like, it's a lot of my but it
won't look that. None of these contracts look bad, you know,
seven hundred days from now, they're fine and he's worth it.
Speaker 1 (12:07):
This one worries me less.
Speaker 3 (12:08):
Greg, it worries me less, But the history of the
NFL would say that giving a thirty year old defensive
tackle quarterback money, though I guess it's like Baker quarterback money,
you know, has some sort of risk in it.
Speaker 1 (12:21):
He hasn't shown any decline to play. I love it.
It is a reminder, you know, when people are saying.
Speaker 3 (12:25):
Oh, the caps, see how real the cap is, like
you have to make moves, It's like, no, he's yes.
Speaker 1 (12:31):
I am.
Speaker 3 (12:32):
My main thing is like teams ultimately keep the players
they want to if they really want. And I'm really
glad that this is a marriage that continues because I
started thinking about during that playoff run and he had
the pressure that forced Josh Allen to miss that throw
that would have maybe won the game for them in
the division around the Bills, and then he had another
(12:53):
great Super Bowl. And if you just go through game
by game, he's the guy making the plays game after
game and Dante high Tower would have, you know, a
case for this, But like, I don't think any defensive
player in the last twenty years has made more championship
and playoff winning plays than Chris Jones. So if you
can't reward him, like, who are you going to reward it?
(13:14):
And they got to keep they got to keep the guy.
Speaker 2 (13:16):
I think you made kind of the point I was
going to make that he's you know, he's under that category.
Aaron Donalds is obviously seen as probably the best defensive player,
certainly the best defensive lignement of his generation. But Jones
now has certainly a case to be in that group.
And those are the guys that you maybe take the
chance on the age thirty contract with. And it does
(13:39):
not to circle back to Baker, but it also does
show you how strange it is that so Chris Jones
and Baker got about the same money. I mean, the
difference in player and in the impact those players have,
it's a no brainer.
Speaker 3 (13:52):
And well, the guaranteed money is quite different now it
says practically guaranteed. And this is one deal where the
details haven't come out, which is when they don't come
out totally, it usually means it's not great for the players.
I want to see what practically guarantee mean this This
stuff annoys me. But either way, ninety five million guaranteed
is quite a lot more than like forty for Baker,
(14:12):
and so that that's a difference in terms.
Speaker 4 (14:14):
Of it, and there is a risk and like he
is thirty and also to the thirty today for athletes
meets something different than it did, you know, in nineteen
ninety five. But also like the other parallel universe we're
talking about, is that the Raiders sign them for this
and pull them away from the Chiefs and make them
the centerpiece of their forgettable defense probably for the next
four or five years. Like I like him on the Chiefs.
I like him part of this team, like keep it going,
(14:36):
and they're a team that can take risks, has taken
risks all along, and like it seems to work out
for him time and again.
Speaker 3 (14:42):
And to be fair, defensive tackles have has started to
age better. Like Fletcher Cox, who were going to get
to in a minute, like he's still playing. He was
still playing at a high level at thirty five. A
lot of these guys do play very well thirty two
to thirty three. I mean, it's a question with Aaron Donald,
which there's some whispers out there. We haven't put it
in a news rundown, but there's some whispers of like
what's going on with Aaron Donald? He might want more money,
he might be retiring.
Speaker 1 (15:02):
How of those this is?
Speaker 2 (15:04):
If this is Chris Jones at age thirty three, I
think it's a conversation.
Speaker 1 (15:08):
This, I mean just seems like a no brainer to me.
Speaker 2 (15:11):
And then if he continues to play at this level
a couple of years from now, yes, then they really
have to think whether they want to continue that everybody wins,
and and remember they already tagged Lagarius Snead and he's
open to finding a trade partner. So I think their
game plan continues to come into focus. Is now you
got Chris Jones under contract. He's the Patrick Mahomes of
(15:31):
your defense. You're gonna tag and try to get assets
for the cornerback, and now they're gonna build around Mahomes.
Speaker 1 (15:38):
It's scary.
Speaker 2 (15:38):
It's scary because the Chiefs are one really good offseason
away from really distancing themselves from the pack. And so
far so good, at least if you're a Chiefs fan.
So far not so good for mac Jones in the NFL,
at least after his rookie year he was a pro bowler.
It looked like the Patriots had found an immediate successor
(16:00):
to Tom Brady. But then it all fell apart over
the ensuing years for Jones, and on Sunday.
Speaker 1 (16:08):
The Patriots moved on.
Speaker 2 (16:10):
It was reported first by Adam Schefter that the Jaguars
have agreed to acquire mac Jones from the Patriots in
exchange for a late draft pick.
Speaker 1 (16:19):
I believe it turned out to.
Speaker 2 (16:20):
Be what a sixth and a seventh sixth round pick
for mac Jones, who went fifteenth overall a couple of
years back. The twenty twenty one draft class. No great shakes.
Even Trevor Lawrence, who now Mac Jones will back up,
hasn't quite lived up to the hype, but he's certainly
been better than all the other players taken in the
first round. Greg, I know, as a Patriots fan, whatever
(16:43):
you are, you were ready to move on from mac Jones.
But it is crazy to think from where we were
when they got to the playoffs in that first year
and even made some throws in that lost to the Bills.
Just a really good first year to a couple of
years later being shipped out of town for a six
That's about as sudden a turn as you get.
Speaker 1 (17:02):
Right, I was.
Speaker 3 (17:02):
Saying, Baker has had the most up and down career possible.
I don't know if mac Jones is ever going to
get the ups again, but man, his has been like
a rollercoaster that he The tape he put out there
his rookie year was real like when when you see
someone play at that level, and I thought he did
a lot of things, well, you tend to think that
(17:23):
they can have a career, even if it's a career
as like a bridge quarterback.
Speaker 1 (17:27):
Type of guy, like a middling guy.
Speaker 3 (17:29):
But I can't remember a quarterback looking more that had
shown a high level before looking as obviously broken as
mac Jones did last year. So this deal actually seems
curious to me. For the Jaguars. I mean, they get
him for one year, like two and a half million.
It's fine, it's a one year deal essentially to be
your backup quarterback, but they're not going to pick up
his fifth year option and then he's just a free
(17:50):
agent again. It I guess it's it's fine, it's just
a backup quarterback. But I'm almost surprised that they did it,
and it hurt. It hurt my feelings. When Walker into
the bathroom this morning as I was shaving on the
way getting ready to come out, and he goes breaking
news the Patriots have traded Mac Jones. He's gotten really
into the free agency period. He's typing it up on
(18:11):
his typewriter as he must earn your love.
Speaker 1 (18:13):
Yes, he buss.
Speaker 4 (18:15):
I did notice like a literally a full gigantic page
of typewritten notes coming from Walker's typewriter, which is like,
this is an old school journal operating at this point.
I'm I'm proud of your son.
Speaker 1 (18:25):
Yeah, it really makes me.
Speaker 3 (18:27):
But he's really gotten into this, but it's we're a
long way from doing the gritty. He used to think
Mac Jones was like the best player ever. When Mac
Jones was doing the gritty at the Pro Bowl. Now
he thinks, I.
Speaker 4 (18:35):
Mean, I'm also I'm almost willing to give Mac Jones
like which is a rare thing, like two mulligans, because
I think two years ago they could have mismanaged him
in their entire offense with more of a botched you know, mindset.
Last year was a disaster in New England. It's like
when Josh McDaniel's who I think, you know, Peter Principle
can be an offensive coordinator, like was his tutor. Like
(18:55):
he showed the promise of an organized you know, game
plan and organized process each week. And it's like, you know,
for all that Bill Belichick has done, like the way
that his apathy towards Mac Jones verbally down the stretch too,
it's like disliked him. They just did not like each other.
And he was from Alabama of all things. So it's
like he's getting he you know, got the seal of
approval from Nick Stavens. So I would just say that,
like Mac Jones of anyone, I don't we're not going
(19:16):
He's going to be a backup, but he deserves a
new start. But I said, some of these backups sometimes
it's like he might have to come in and play
three critical games and put a new stamp on what
we think about him.
Speaker 2 (19:26):
I think he was exactly the type of he's a
tear below Baker to me, but exactly the type of
quarterback of everything around him. As Greg strips off, Oh
my god, we just saw Craig's bare chest.
Speaker 4 (19:39):
You're gonna see that in his hotel room. Anything could happen.
Speaker 1 (19:42):
Anything goes in a hotel room on a business trip.
Speaker 2 (19:44):
And Greg just showed you it's hot.
Speaker 4 (19:48):
There's no air in these rooms. We all have, like Greg,
like cherry tomatoes.
Speaker 1 (19:52):
I should turn down or something like that.
Speaker 3 (19:54):
But yeah, it's hot, and I'm just trying to raise
our YouTube subscribers.
Speaker 1 (20:00):
He'll tell you. Some of the men you know now
can just my.
Speaker 2 (20:03):
Point being that if everything is perfectly set up around
a quarterback like Mac Jones, you could be all right.
Maybe you'll win ten games if things break.
Speaker 1 (20:09):
The right way. But I think he was exposed. He
got your right mark.
Speaker 2 (20:14):
The whole de facto offensive coordinator Patricia thing was terrible,
kind of in a way ruin Belichick's Patriots career as well,
or at least how it ended. But also I think
you saw with Jones's temperament, which also war on teammates
and coaches. He's not a guy that actually handled adversity well,
and I think that's something that will continue to follow him.
(20:38):
And I don't have high hopes for mac Jones moving forward.
And you know, he's he's better than geez like for instance,
every backup the Jets ran out.
Speaker 3 (20:48):
There and the Jaguars backup last year. I guess I
don't know like he's either better or not. If he's
like he was last year, he's he's worse than every
quarterback in the league, at least Doug Peterson. It's a
little landing spot, you know, for a quarterback.
Speaker 2 (21:02):
All right, So Mac Jones gone, not gone, Hunter Henry.
He re signs with the Patriots three years, twenty seven million,
so that tight end room keeps Henry. Remember he was
one of the big signings by the Pats a couple
of years back in free agency. Although I read that
some of his pop the hood route numbers were among
the worst than the league in terms of explosiveness for
its tight end, but that seems to be in line
(21:22):
with what the Patriots are really aiming for with their offense.
Speaker 1 (21:26):
Post Tom Brady.
Speaker 2 (21:28):
And finally they also added Chakuma Oka four Yeah, I
got that, okor four you got it core for anyway,
former third round pick, he's spent his first six years
with the Steelers.
Speaker 1 (21:44):
He gives them another option on their offensive line.
Speaker 2 (21:47):
They're gonna lose some of their line this offseason, it
looks like in free agency, so Choky comes in.
Speaker 3 (21:54):
They they're as thin on in terms of their skill
position talent as any team in the league. They are
the thinnest, say, and the slowest, and Hunter Henry does
not help there, but he is solid and it's just
like one spot you don't have to worry about as much.
And there's literally no tight ends now on in my
top fifty. There's only one in the top one on
one that's no offense. It's a weirdly scarce position. In
(22:15):
his not so well that group he did not and
they there's none in the draft either that are expected
to go in the first two rounds at Leastah, if
you need o, there's ideas other than breakbon If you needed.
Speaker 2 (22:26):
A tight end, last year was the year to get
one in the draft. All right, let's stop down right
here real quick, and then we'll keep pouring through all
this news. Okay, Jerry Judy, we know that happened when
we were in London in October when Steve Smith went
nuclear with Mike Garifolo on NFL Network about Judy. However,
Judy does have a big time draft pedigree.
Speaker 1 (22:50):
What did what did a Mena call it on the
show last week?
Speaker 2 (22:53):
Pretty pick privilege, pretty pick privilege. He was selected with
the fifteenth overall pick in the twenty twenty NFL Draft.
Remember again, God, we say free agency isn't perfect. How
about the draft? Or was Jerry Judy and Henry Ruggs
as two painted as two can't miss a wide receiver
prospects and Ruggs obviously ruined his career in his life
(23:14):
in a different way, but hadn't done much before that happened.
And Judy just has not been able to get it
going in Denver, so Mark he now goes to the
Browns and the terms. The Browns send back a twenty
four to fifth and sixth round draft pick, so they
didn't give up a lot. They're taking on a player
that's ostensibly very talented.
Speaker 1 (23:34):
It just has not translated at this level for the
most part.
Speaker 4 (23:37):
Look at how they're building their wide out room over
the past couple of seasons because they they leased the
Cowboys for Amari Cooper. I mean, the Cowboys were in
a tough spot and gave Amari Cooper to the Browns
for very little. They took a flyer in Elijah Moore,
and I wouldn't say that there's evidence that that's worked out.
This just seems to me he's been I mean like
(23:58):
to me, Elijah Moore as a piece, But I don't
know what they were expecting. Like Jerry Judy is an experiment.
I could argue that he like didn't have the luxury
of solid quarterback play in Denver during his time there,
but he was, you know, plagued with drops. I think
there were flashes where you'd see, wait a minute, this guy,
if he can string together consistency, there's a lot to
(24:19):
like about him. Cleveland right now has a lot of
whiteouts because they also have you know, they drafted David Bell.
I think Cedric Tillman is someone who's interesting. They got
David Nijoku. They lost Bill Callahan. I think that's a
big loss for the Cleveland Browns. Nick Chubb's coming off
of injury, and we're another offseason removed, still asking the
same question if the quarterback they traded for can actually
play quarterback at the level they thought they were gonna get.
Speaker 1 (24:41):
It's a weird mix, like the weird room.
Speaker 3 (24:44):
It's a weird room, and these are people, and I
think that's criticism sometimes at least in the NBA, but
in the NFL too of like the analytics crowd, like
they're maybe not taken into account chemistry, and it is
just like kind of a a weird group. Cooper, Judy
Watson certainly, like we'll see Judy's been reasonably productive for
(25:05):
someone who gets, you know, grief for being so disappointed.
He has three thousand yards in his career when he's
been healthy, and three of his four seasons has been healthy,
he's had eight fifty six, six nine seventy two and
seven fifty eight. So it's like he's not great, but
it's not it's not bad, but it's weird because it's
a one year, twelve million dollar contract that he's on
and then after that he's a free agent and they'll
(25:25):
just have to decide what they want to do. So
it's not that cheap, but it's also cheaper than almost
anyone else that you could possibly think of getting with
that sort of production at this time of year. So
Andrew Berry does have a way of like winning the trades.
And I would say it does make sense to me
for what they paid.
Speaker 2 (25:42):
I mean would Yeah, I was gonna say, I I
would like Jerry Judy at that cost for my team
as a team that's looking to fill out a wide
receiver room. So I think the trade is a good
one for the Browns on the surface right now, because
who knows, maybe the light does click and maybe Deshaun
eventually returns amongst the living as a franch quarterback. But
Amari's turning thirty this year, and yeah, now you got
(26:06):
kind of two former high draft picks and more and
Judy that you're hoping to kind of salvage and turn
them into something bigger. It does put a lot of
pressure on in Djoku and the running game and Chubb
coming off a major injury in the offensive line, which
lost kind of there the behind the scenes leader. So
many range of outcomes mark for the Browns on that
side of the ball this year.
Speaker 4 (26:27):
Yeah, I just think it shows how they value the
wide op position because it's like, I guess you could
go give Calvin Ridley a ton of money and wonder
if he's going to be the guy you hope he
is too, And it's like they don't have a ton
of caprom That wasn't the route they were going to go.
And they knew that the Broncos were trying to trade
Judy since the middle of the eighteenth century, so they
you know, they probably got a better cost than you think.
Speaker 3 (26:46):
Right, our guy Kevin Saunders, by the way, like, oh yeah,
keeps looking at L after L. I meant there was
a point where you could have gotten a better return
for Jerry Judy, but they never they kept never making
those trades. And now they're just kind of taking whatever
they could get for him. And they and they got
a year of him starting and he wasn't terrible, like
they did get that out of him. But Kevin Saunders,
(27:08):
I do wonder if Kevin Sondra you never wish referring
to the general manager of the Broncos. Yes, of course
his his alternate name. There is a there is an
outcome where he's no longer with the team after the draft,
and Sean Payton is the one that's kind of calling
the shots here.
Speaker 1 (27:22):
But that is total guesswork. I have not heard anything
like that.
Speaker 2 (27:25):
And for those who may be curious, if he no longer,
if he if his employment is terminated, he gets his
name back. That's that's that's fair. That's the right move,
that's the right play, and and that and that's where
we'll go.
Speaker 3 (27:41):
On that, all right. In other news, right, that seems fair.
It doesn't think you made it. It was a unilateral
decision by you, but I think it was fair.
Speaker 1 (27:52):
There was a report.
Speaker 2 (27:52):
Out there in terms of Saunders taking the yel that
there was a third and a fifth offered for Judy
as recently as the fall, and they're like, now we're
holding out, and now they give up two day three picks.
So let's see if the Browns could turn that into
chicken salad. All right, and but we shouldn't Steve Smith.
That was that was fun and we enjoyed it, and
(28:12):
the headlines were great and everything. But I also trust
Steve Smith's judgment on players as well, and.
Speaker 3 (28:17):
He kind of was proven right by the The GMS
apparently listened to him, except Andrew Berry, but even he
didn't have to give up much.
Speaker 2 (28:24):
All Right, here's a here's a saucy report. That's that's
been floated out there via Albert Breer, of course, of
SI dot com.
Speaker 1 (28:31):
The Chargers have had exploratory talks. I love that.
Speaker 2 (28:35):
Whenever you hear exploratory talks, I feel like exploratory talks.
I feel like it ends up happening. Oh yeah, it's
it's it's happening. Not always, but many times it turns
into something. So anyway, explorer tory explore uh tour five
(28:55):
syllable words for the number of letters. You might not
find too many words that bang out of five sill
in that amount of letters.
Speaker 1 (29:04):
What about ten letters anywhere?
Speaker 4 (29:05):
Skilled broadcastered in.
Speaker 3 (29:07):
Yeah, come back to us, exploratory. Try to be a
little more like sixty percent. G here we got five letters,
one syllable.
Speaker 1 (29:13):
We're efficient.
Speaker 2 (29:15):
Exploratory talks about trading receivers Mike Williams and Keenan Allen.
Breer adds that Allen is less likely to be dealt,
but they are answering the phone on both of those,
and that comes on the heels of continuous speculation on
the other side of the ball around both Joey Bosa
and Khalil Mack, they're two premier pass rushers. So the
(29:38):
Chargers in the Harbor era, we cannot Greggie close the
door or turn our back to the idea that Harbaugh's
just nuts enough to look at this core, which everyone
else sees is untapped and say that ain't my core.
I'm going to build this team in my vision, and
that means turning all these marquee names into draft picks
(30:00):
and whatnot and starting fresh with the quarterback. Most likely
there's logic to that too. I think it makes sense.
Speaker 3 (30:06):
I actually think if in a weird world where the
Chargers won three more games but these players were all
about the same, I think they might be gone anyways.
Like if you look at them one by one, Joey
Boson never plays, I think they kind of have to
cut or trade Joey Bosa then get something for Like
he never plays, and he's one of the highest paid
players in the league. He literally has played more than
(30:28):
like five hundred snaps like a couple of times in
his career.
Speaker 1 (30:30):
He just doesn't play.
Speaker 3 (30:31):
Khalio Mack good season, but getting paid a lot. I
would guess Mike Williams and Joey boss are no longer
on the team. I would guess Keenan Allen will be
and then Mac. I don't know, but I don't really
know any of them. I'm just guessing, but those are
my guesses.
Speaker 2 (30:46):
I'm reading Tea leaves here, Mark, and I think we're
seeing enough out there now that Harbo is really going
to shake up the league and a lot of these
guys are going to be playing elsewhere in September, and
I'm here for it. That sounds fun because a lot
of these guys also play bizis that teams are scouring
looking for help and they and they will flood the
market as you know, potential big time contributors.
Speaker 4 (31:07):
Right because the Chargers experience with Bosa is you know
case example A. But other teams are going to look
at Bosa in a completely different way and say that's
exactly the piece we need to, you know, get two
edge rushers. But the one thing I'd say about this,
because I agree with you, I think Harbaugh is going
to come in do things differently. Maybe they play with
no wide receivers, maybe they you know, have eight offensive
linemen and run the ball four hundred and sixty five
(31:29):
times a month. But the only problem is if you
do get to the point where you move Khalil Mack,
you move Joey Bosa because they need to make moves
no matter what, because their caps so exploratory, will turn
into something. But if Mike Williams is gone, Keenan Allen
is gone, it's like okay, but you still need to
fill those key core positions, especially at edge rusher with
someone else. And it's like the fallout of finding like
(31:51):
a C minus version of those four players or some
amount of them could be costly. And it's like, I
think Harbaugh has to set the table a little bit
and say, if we're going to have a totally new team,
because when you went to the Niners started like six
and zero and just rolled into the playoffs.
Speaker 1 (32:05):
He had great players. He inherited a lot of great
he really did.
Speaker 4 (32:08):
And here he inherited great players, but a cap hell
and like, some changes have to be made, and I
would not be surprised that Bosa somewhere else.
Speaker 2 (32:16):
So Herbert's twenty six years old, actually today's birthday. Happy
birthday Justin Herbert, who turned twenty six today. I hope
he's doing something marvelous. Friend of the show, best friend
of the show. It totally makes sense to me because
you have a situation when you look at that team.
(32:37):
You have a head coach who has complete job security,
quarterback who is the unquestioned franchise star, and he is
under contract.
Speaker 1 (32:46):
Harbaugh is not in a rush to make this the year.
Speaker 2 (32:49):
So if if he plays it with some level of patience,
he could really set them up with some trades and
moves where even if they take a step back this year,
and I don't even know if they will, because I
never I never underestimate the combination of high level quarterback
play and a good coach. You know, like they could
surprise people this year, even by getting rid of a
(33:10):
bunch of these guys, but they could set up.
Speaker 1 (33:13):
And become a big time team in a couple of years.
Speaker 2 (33:15):
So if I'm the if I'm a Chargers fan, I
have trepidation about this because I might own some of
these jerseys, and I might be a you know, a
fan of a lot of these players, and I might
think to myself, like, we want to keep this core
together for one big run with a real head coach,
But maybe give Jim the benefit of the doubt.
Speaker 1 (33:31):
I would. I would let's take a break.
Speaker 2 (33:38):
And then we'll hit the rest of the News, Welcome back,
Let's get back into it.
Speaker 1 (33:49):
Yes, we are here in Texas. By the way.
Speaker 2 (33:51):
For the iHeart Radio Awards, we were nominated for Best
Sports Podcast. A lot of people say we're an underdog.
I say, Mark, uh, you know right now the hotel
we're staying at the pool deck is closed for renovations
ahead of spring break, which is I mean, what about
us we're here?
Speaker 4 (34:11):
Sure?
Speaker 1 (34:11):
What about the rowdy teens that you're learning the deck for.
I had a whole plan.
Speaker 2 (34:16):
I was gonna go out on the on the deck
like Joe Namath in Miami in nineteen sixty nine, and
I was gonna get a young Brent Musburger at my
feet while I held a cocktail, and I said, we're
gonna We're gonna win a wood at the Ihearts. That
guarantee it. But now that now the pool's closed, so
I can't do it. So we'll just have to settle
(34:37):
for winning the thing.
Speaker 4 (34:39):
Well, you've said it to our audience, and I had
told you that I've felt a different energy. I think
when this was first announced and you realize you're going
against like the Kelsey's, it's like, I don't it just
seemed like not only David versus Goliath, but like baby
David versus like full grown Goliath, like literally a baby
that's immobile. Like that's the position we seem to be in.
But now I feel like we're growing powerful, more strong,
(35:01):
And I have a conspiracy theory that you know, the
Shadowys who have done us right and wrong through the years.
I just feel that maybe behind the scenes, they sent
us here because they know that there's a pot of
gold at the end of the rainbow. Now, no matter what,
there's a there's a nice hotel to stay in, in a
city to explore.
Speaker 1 (35:19):
So if you want to talk, you talk Yo a
great city.
Speaker 2 (35:22):
By the way, I like the idea of the Shadowyze
being an award show too, and then we just nominate
different middle managers in.
Speaker 6 (35:30):
A series of levels of awards and best changing of
the subject when the ATN crew brings up something you
don't want to do, like different words like that.
Speaker 1 (35:42):
All right, Greg, did you have anything else to add there?
Speaker 3 (35:45):
Really I don't share your guys's confidence, but uh, you know,
I don't think I don't think we have like particularly
less than a one in five chance. But you know,
there's five strong podcasts. I definitely don't think the Shadowy
League figures know anything or there's a conspiracy, but there's
I would on candidate, So I'm not giving us. I
(36:05):
guess I'm using the boring math analysis here is like
I wouldn't see why we had a better chance than
Club Shasha or Dan Levittard or I.
Speaker 4 (36:13):
Would imagine that the Kelseys have probably never heard of
our show, have never listened to it, Like if there
this also award. They're doing so well that this award
process may not be on the radar on any level,
But I cannot wait to hear the commentary when we
do upset them and just sort of their feedback to that.
Speaker 3 (36:29):
Well, it's on TD, it's got to be on TD's radar,
our old producer, who's their producer, one of their producers,
So we're going after you TD.
Speaker 1 (36:38):
I would say though, like if.
Speaker 2 (36:41):
Like Meredith Baton or Matt Schneider, like if we who
are here management with NFL, Like if we do win
and then it turns out that your right mark, that
this was all had been pre arranged, I would say
they would be getting a Shadowy Lifetime Achievement Award.
Speaker 1 (36:58):
Yeah, absolutely, you know that.
Speaker 2 (36:59):
Would be to me that would be at least or
at the very least something they deserve.
Speaker 4 (37:04):
I want to I want a drunken Travis kelcey oversees
like bitching to you know, Taylor Swift about losing like
this award to three podcast bozos, and just I want
to be a fly on the.
Speaker 2 (37:15):
Ball for then I want Taylor Swift to write a
song just burying us for winning the iHeart Award. All right,
let's get back to it. The Eagles, the Eagles, Man,
the Eagles are in transition. And uh, you know this
happens for every team, high profile team that's you know,
(37:37):
made the Super Bowl, didn't quite get there coming off
a very disappointing year obviously, and now we know they lost.
Speaking to Kelsey's Jason kelce retired last week. Now Fletcher
Cox h stand out on the other side of the ball,
he also retires, So Cox.
Speaker 1 (37:53):
I mean for a team that.
Speaker 2 (37:56):
And it's kind of surprising because Fletcher Cox and you know,
Jason Kelsey are two like highly respected, decorated leaders that
are known as guys that can command a locker room.
That all went down with them in the locker room.
So now you're taking them out of the locker room.
The Eagles are a wild scene right now, and they're
like the Browns offense. The range of outcomes is all
(38:17):
over the place in Philadelphia.
Speaker 1 (38:18):
But they're also doing business.
Speaker 2 (38:20):
Brandon Graham another important part of the defensive line. He
has re signed, but also a report out there that
Josh Sweat and Hassan Reddick are available in a trade.
So a lot of info just downloaded there to the listeners, GREGI,
where do you want to go?
Speaker 1 (38:37):
Start with the Fletcher Cox?
Speaker 3 (38:38):
Who Look, if you had said five years ago that
like Fletcher Cox and Jason Kelsey retire the same week,
the Fletcher Cox news would have been seen as like, oh,
that's the bigger news. Like he's made four All Pro teams,
three as a second team guy, like one of the
defining defensive tackles of his air. Wouldn't surprise me if
he's you know, he was on the two thoutdid you
(39:00):
know considered for like an all decade type of team.
That's the quality of player that he is now. He's not,
as you know, active in the media and everything is
Jason Kelsey, and Kelsey's career finished so strong where he
was finishing on top, Cox was you know, a guy
who signed a contract year after year and you weren't
sure if he was going to return, And that's what
Brandon Graham is now. But the fact that they brought
back Brandon Graham and then they put it out there
that they're not really into their current pat edge rushers.
(39:22):
They're putting a little blame on Josh Sweat and there
was a report and Hassan Reddick that they just weren't
happy with essentially those two players.
Speaker 1 (39:30):
It just supports my.
Speaker 3 (39:33):
Belief that the Eagles are going to do a lot
over the next week. Like I don't know what it's
gonna be, but they're gonna be super active and they're
gonna do a lot.
Speaker 4 (39:41):
They to me, they shift into like high intrigue no matter.
I mean, you're right the range of outcomes and what
they're gonna look like, but they're gonna look so different.
I think you were looking at a head coach that
has been rendered far less powerful than where he was
a year ago. And if you're Vic Fangio, I can understand,
like looking at what's the Dolphins I had to do?
Found you might have you know, if he's looking at
(40:02):
their cap and like you know, we're gonna have to
make some changes. And he had some links to the
Eagles to begin with, so you move on from that.
But you come over to Philadelphia and it's like you're
looking at your defensive scheme is a bit different, but
like key components of this side of the ball could
all be gone, big chunks of it. So it's like
that's challenging. I just think the Eagles to me are
a very weird, weird operation at the moment.
Speaker 2 (40:24):
All right, in Oh do any other Eagles takes. Okay,
let's move on because we got a lot to get
to the Bears doing business.
Speaker 1 (40:34):
They sign a four year deal.
Speaker 2 (40:36):
This went down earlier in the weekend, a four year
contract with cornerback Jalen Johnson, seventy six million, fifty four
million in guaranteed money, almost forty four due at signing.
So they had put the franchise tag on Johnson mark
and now they get a deal done. So you know,
as the team is in transition, I'm looking more and
(40:57):
more certain that it is Caleb Williams that's the new
face of the franchise.
Speaker 1 (41:03):
And I saw some by the way, not.
Speaker 2 (41:04):
To get sidetracked, because we will talk Jalen Johnson, but
I saw I don't know.
Speaker 1 (41:09):
I think it was Florio wrote a piece about like.
Speaker 2 (41:12):
Oh, what happened with Mac Jones is not a good
sign for what the Bears will get for Justin Fields.
And I'm not saying just that Justin Fields is going
to command like a first round pick or whatever. But
there's a big difference between what Justin Fields has put
on tape and his situation and what we've seen from
him both as a player and as a man and
as a teammate, and what Mac Jones showed the last
(41:32):
two years. So let's calm down with that take.
Speaker 4 (41:34):
Yeah, I would. I'd also like to hear whispers about actual,
you know, people feeling around for Justin Fields and having
true interest in him. I mean that that could be
happening without us knowing. But you're right, they're not the
same player. I mean, if you're Matt Eberflus like you're
you know, you had to move on from Rokwan Smith
not so long ago, and that was the core centerpiece
of your defense. Goes onto the Ravens to be one
(41:55):
of the better linebackers in the entire league. So at
some point you got so much Caprom and I know
you're rebuilding, but like you got to keep some of
these guys versus having to replace them. So this makes
a ton of sense to me. And I would say, Greg,
I think you noted this online at some point, but
that Matt Eberflus, Uh, he's gone through the process that
I think some of these coaches come in where they're
coordinators and like they're a bit pasty, they're not in
(42:15):
front of the camera. But now he's on the thing
where he's looking a little more fit. He's got his
hair done, he's grown his beard out, and he just
looks about ten times better and more you know, biable
as a head coach.
Speaker 3 (42:24):
Well, the Eberflus glow up has been a huge storyline
this offseason. Showed up to the Combine looking good, had
like was at a basketball game with Matt Lafleur and
it was like, hmm, like who's more groomed Tierra. It
was just Ibraflus is coming strong. He's a wacky personality.
Both him and Jalen Johnson timed their career year as well,
(42:48):
not saying Eberflus is never going to be better, but
like five games into that season, I thought Eberflus is gone.
Speaker 1 (42:52):
And you're like, what is the vision here?
Speaker 3 (42:54):
And then it all kind of came together in terms
of his defense really improving, and Jalen Johnson was a huge,
huge part of that. And I think he was smart.
He took like fifty five million guarantee. I saw someone
be like, why didn't he just take the franchise tag
and bet on himself Because it's like, if you have
the option to take fifty five million dollars guaranteed versus twenty, Like,
I don't care that I could make more in the
(43:16):
long run if I didn't take the guarantee.
Speaker 1 (43:18):
I'm taking that guarantee the first time around. It's football.
Speaker 2 (43:22):
He could plan his leg and he could lose his
ACLMCAL and his meniscus and then he's signing approve it
deal after this sea He's also.
Speaker 3 (43:28):
Coming off a career year, Like if he had been
free a free agent a year ago, he would not have.
Speaker 1 (43:32):
Had this contract. So he played the game right. Smart
man laid it right.
Speaker 2 (43:37):
Also playing it right, Ravens defensive tackle Justin Madibuke, who
signs a four year, ninety eight million dollar contract that
includes over seventy five million in guaranteed money.
Speaker 1 (43:48):
The numbers are huge and.
Speaker 2 (43:49):
The salary cap keeps going up, so it makes sense anyway,
the former third round pick. This is why the Ravens
are always good, because they identify a guy like Mattabuke
as a third round pick and now he's an All Pro,
and now he's paid like an All Pro, which creates
other challenges for the team, but they'll welcome them.
Speaker 3 (44:06):
Patrick said something I think it was on Mina Kimes' show.
That is right, Like the prices always go up with
these guys though, Like if the Ravens really knew Justin
Mattoweke was this good, they could assign him to a
deal about half this price a year ago, but they
didn't know how he was going to play, and then
he really exploded. And I like that the franchise tag players,
some of them at least, are actually getting paid instead
(44:27):
of just the tay.
Speaker 4 (44:28):
Yeah, like I think they're using that correctly. Look, he's
only twenty six, so if we're worried about the Chris
Jones age thing, this is like sweet spot to hire.
Speaker 2 (44:37):
Tyler Lockett also is sticking around, but maybe not a
happy story for him. In the same way, he agrees
to her structured two year, thirty four million dollar contract.
He gets thirteen million in guaranteed money. That feels like
to me, GREGI good value for Lockett, who has always
(44:58):
been I thought, an underrated a receiver, and you already
have a number one in DK and you couldn't ask
for much better number two and Tyler who's been very
good for them for many years.
Speaker 3 (45:08):
Yeah, I think the Lion has questions, but Gino's got
a nice group of players around him. The fact though,
that he took a pay cut, you know, indicates to
me like if he wasn't going to take a pay cut,
they would have been ready to move on. But I
think it was only like a four million dollars pay cut.
It was good for both sides. One of those guys
that feels like you should be on the same team
for his entire tenure in the NFL.
Speaker 2 (45:28):
Good news for the Dolphins toront Armstead. Their left tackle
is not retiring. There had been some conversation or some
speculation and that could be the case. So that is
not gonna happen, So at least one more year in Miami.
Great news mark for Tua.
Speaker 4 (45:44):
I mean, there's a lot of pressure on too, where
there's a lot of players leaving that organization, some of
the been offensive linemen, and like when when Armstead's in there,
like the offense is completely different. We've talked about this
at nauseam. When he's not in there, like the splits
and what happens to two on some level are are
vastly different. So, yes, this is a key person to
keep around on a Dolphins team.
Speaker 2 (46:03):
In flux eight o'clock, de light hit it Eric Roberts,
which Eric was with us, Go get go Ham with
Eric and Austin, that'd be imagine.
Speaker 1 (46:15):
Let's get into it.
Speaker 2 (46:16):
The Rams give thirty two million guaranteed to guard Kevin
Dotson Greg Quickie.
Speaker 3 (46:21):
A lot of money for Kevin Dotson that the guards
are going to get paid big time in this market.
Speaker 2 (46:26):
That is a lot of Steelers release Patrick Peterson and
Alan Robinson, two decorated veterans, well one more than the other.
The Raiders resigned center Andre James. They also release Brian Hoyer,
who impossibly is.
Speaker 1 (46:38):
Still in the league.
Speaker 2 (46:39):
The Chiefs resigned Drew Tranquil, and the Bears agree to terms.
Speaker 1 (46:43):
With Kevin Byard on a two year deal. Anything on
that those mark.
Speaker 4 (46:46):
I love the Frank will resigning. I watched Brian Hoyer
on Good Morning Football week or so ago. Thought he
did a nice job. Media job ahead, Oh very nice.
Speaker 2 (46:56):
The Panthers are going to release center Bradley Boseman. The
Packers will release slinebacker Devondre Campbell. Oh fully. Fatukasi signs
a one year deal with the Texans. I was hoping
maybe at Jets reunion there, but that's not the case.
Speaker 1 (47:09):
Anything on those Greggy.
Speaker 3 (47:11):
M always like me some Fatukasi, but the Jaguars didn't,
so he couldn't have been playing too well.
Speaker 1 (47:18):
Alright, man, that's it. We got a little time for
once out there. Didn't you redo it?
Speaker 3 (47:26):
The whole time these guards are making they're gonna like
any free agent guard, like, there's gonna be a lot
of guys you've never heard of that are making like
seventeen million dollars guaranteed.
Speaker 4 (47:35):
Nailed it.
Speaker 2 (47:36):
Bang, What are we doing tonight? We're in Austin. What
a great city. I love this place. I have never
been so I you know we arrived about that. This
is my terry is one of my favorite hats I
go through my whole life. I've had a random hats
that become my favorite hat for two years and this
(47:57):
one is in hitting year one. Just like the look
of it. I like the shape and the and Matt
Tant and or old buddy that we used to work
with at NFL Media who actually works out here now
we're hoping to see him tonight, recommended this barbecue joint
Terry Blacks. So that's an option. I think we need
to hit up a barbecue place. Any people in the
Austin area that our listeners please let us know where
(48:19):
we should go for some authentic Texas BBQ.
Speaker 4 (48:24):
Where's Marquees as well? No, I'll go, I'll go where
you and test it out, give it.
Speaker 1 (48:28):
You will eat the meat at the barbecue.
Speaker 4 (48:30):
It's always it's you know it's a arrive and assess
it's an arrive.
Speaker 3 (48:35):
I was selling Mark, I was eating some pigs feet
down in Korea time Saturday night.
Speaker 2 (48:40):
Uh, and you're you're leaning into that. That that side
of Mark where he just sees it. The the just
the visualization of it being disgusting. There's nothing grosser than
the idea of a pig's foot being consumed by humans.
Speaker 4 (48:56):
I mean, Austin barbecue has a kind of ring to it.
That I think you harks back to ancient times. So
it's it's it's an easy sell.
Speaker 2 (49:05):
And yeah, you mentioned there's a iHeart and we are
a part of the our Heart radio network through the NFL.
So and they've always been very cool with us. So, uh,
there's a private party and we're going to see the
Black Keys. And I've always been you know, a white
strip sky when it's all you know, black Keys via
the White Stripes. But I'm gonna have an open mind
and and check out the Keys tonight and you know,
(49:26):
maybe we'll have a couple of drinks, we'll get get
a little loose, but we need to be also focused, boys,
because Free Agency Week is not something that that goes
to the background just because we have a chance to
win a major award.
Speaker 1 (49:39):
No, it's weird timing.
Speaker 3 (49:41):
It's the like, literally the biggest day transaction wise of
the NFL calendar.
Speaker 2 (49:47):
In some ways, it feels like the beginning of the
end of our show that we would be flying to
another state in the middle of the country to try
to win an award.
Speaker 1 (49:55):
When the this feels like that.
Speaker 2 (49:57):
Subreddit this feels like that U an entire post about
this was the point the guys jumped the shark when they.
Speaker 1 (50:04):
Got We didn't have a choice, right, we got, We
got on the plane. We didn't say no.
Speaker 2 (50:10):
We got on the plane to try to win an
award at the start of free agency. I think it's
telling and I think we should be ashamed. Quite frankly,
it's up for translation. We'll be back on Tuesday in
the studio. No regrets actually, because we could do the
job just as well here, and we'll be back, as
Greg said, Tuesday, and uh yeah, if we if we
(50:33):
do win the award, you'll hear about it. If we
lose the award, you'll hear about that too. So thank
you for everybody, Thank you everybody for listening to this
podcast one. I think we're gonna end doing at least
five this week, So if you are looking to stay
on top of everything with the new league year, you
have found the right podcast.
Speaker 1 (50:51):
On Till Monday, I mean, I hope.
Speaker 2 (50:56):
I mean it's possible we're gonna have to do another
one in about an hour and a half.
Speaker 1 (50:59):
The way the league is continues to move things up,
I don't think so. All Right, till Monday, hit the
car
Speaker 6 (51:09):
M
They around the NFL podcast knows there's no basement in
the element.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
From Austin, Texas. It's around the NFL Free Agency Week
special edition Sunday edition.
Speaker 1 (00:20):
Was not the plan.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
And yet here we are in hotel rooms giving you
the information you need. Dan Hans is here, Greg Rosenthal,
Mark Sessler, and we are in Austin, here, the capital
of Texas, the place where I got married to my
beautiful wife twelve years ago. In May for the iHeart
Radio Awards, and we are up for best Sports Podcast.
(00:43):
That's tomorrow night. But that's just a personal journey we're on.
The reason we're here today is to get you caught
up on Free Agency Week, which has already started. And
this is different, Greg Rosenthal and did I mention him
with Mark Sessler? And Greg, I think I did. We've
done this for many years now. This is the twelfth
year of the podcast, uh and we've usually been okay,
(01:06):
starting Monday and go on Monday Tuesday. But there's been
so much churn going on, so much big news, that
it necessitated a clearing of the decks. And that's what
we're gonna do to you do for you guys today,
Bunker style.
Speaker 3 (01:18):
There's nothing better in life than something it's a surprise,
little surprise podcast.
Speaker 1 (01:23):
The NFL wants to just.
Speaker 3 (01:24):
Own our lives every every day, every segment of the year,
and so I think they've kind of extended free agency.
It used to start like on the Wednesday or whatever
when the league year started. Then it went to Tuesday
and Monday, and now it's Sunday. And these are the
biggest awards shows happening in America this week.
Speaker 4 (01:40):
The iHeart Podcast, but also what would you know, what
would the best sportscast podcast do? They would land at
the airport immediately, you know, jet stream to a cab,
get to the hotel, don't even unpack our bags, set
our equipment up, record a mic.
Speaker 1 (01:57):
Club.
Speaker 2 (01:58):
What they do It's like check club, Shay, she is
still coasting off the Cat Williams interview. And here we
are giving you the content that you need. And yeah,
like so much has gone down, we're going to get
into it. And I mentioned, yeah, bunker cast style. If
listeners that were following us during the dark days in
(02:18):
the early days of COVID, remember we would give you
guys a daily news rundown from our garages. And we're
going to kind of get you up to date. So
not a lot of bells will whistles to this up.
It's just what you need to know as the legal
tampering period opens on Monday. Shall we dig into it?
Speaker 1 (02:35):
Please? All right? Hit it? Eric, So if you.
Speaker 5 (02:38):
Ever got a problem with aged eighty nine, I'm sorry
for saying that you're an average wide receiver that they
eventually will move on.
Speaker 1 (02:45):
And when teams called me and.
Speaker 5 (02:47):
Asking should they trade for you, I will say no,
don't trade for Jerry Judy because he's mentally unable to
handle constructive criticism from people who watch. Specifically, can he
be a while receiver? He could be a wide receiver.
He's a Tier three.
Speaker 2 (03:06):
We're and we're gonna get to Jerry Judy, who's on
the move. But there's something so crushing about Steve Smith
having his own little tiers and just dropping it as
the final line. He's a tier three Ouchers Ouchers. So
let's get into the big news though. The lead news
Baker Mayfield. He has signed a big deal with the
(03:30):
Tampa Bay Buccaneers. It is a three year contract, or
at least that's what it is on paper. It is
worth one hundred million at least that's what it says
on paper, but rap sheet says the deal includes fifty
million in guaranteed money and he can earn as much
as one fifteen over the next three years.
Speaker 1 (03:48):
He'll never see one fifteen.
Speaker 2 (03:49):
But Greggie, this contract for Baker which comes after you know,
I don't think he was connected in a couple different places, Atlanta,
New England, but Tampa always felt like the place he
would end up. And both sides of this marriage seem happy,
and they will move forward together for how long we'll see,
but at least for twenty twenty four.
Speaker 1 (04:09):
Yeah, at least one year.
Speaker 3 (04:10):
And we'll circle back to the contractual details, which I
think are interesting kind of inform how in they are
on Baker. But to me, that's not as interesting as
this journey he's been on to sign a one year,
three to four million dollar contract a year ago. At
this time, nobody wanted him to this moment where I
think he is smartly realizing his best chance for success
(04:31):
is just to stay where he is in Tampa. It's
not going to be the same offensive coordinator, so that's
a little bit of a concern. But to stay with
Mike Evan, stay with this organization, and I just can't
remember a guy having this much of an up and
down career this early into his career. And if you're
Mark Sessler, a big Baker fan, I think this is
best case scenario. I mean, he's flying, he's crushing the
(04:53):
Sam Darnold debate right now, and this is his chance,
I think, to be.
Speaker 1 (04:59):
Quarterback.
Speaker 3 (04:59):
That just it's been ups, there's been downs, but right
now Baker's making a lot of money.
Speaker 4 (05:04):
In foolish comment, go ahead, Mark, I would say that,
you know, quarterbacks are like cats on some level because
they do have a chance to overcome what appears to
be death. I mean, we are two seasons removed from
Baker being axed by the woebegone Carolina Panthers that had
no other answers at quarterback, and we're willing just to
move on from him. And he goes to that Rams
(05:25):
and has that you know three quarters of like you know,
milk toast play and then that magical final fourth quarter
where he slays the Raiders after being there for a
couple of days. But then the Rams didn't want him
ultimately either. It seemed like, oh, that would be a
place where he'd stayed behind Matthew Stafford. So he goes
to Tampa Bay pulls off arguably his finest season. I
would say his rookie season had this sort of magic
(05:45):
to it where you're like the ceiling, we don't even
know what the ceiling is, but to go do what
he did with the Bucks. I really think the best
situation and the money for him is a surprise after
where he was a year ago. Certainly is that he
is in a place that wants him. And that wasn't
true of Cleveland, that wasn't true of Carolina, that wasn't
true of the Rams. Ultimately, and I think what he
went through with the Browns was, you know, certainly humbling,
(06:09):
certainly almost on the border of humiliating after the way
he started. So to be here it just tells you
the story of these quarterbacks is about as unpredictable as
any position in sports.
Speaker 2 (06:19):
I think, even though it is short term and it
is more or less Greg, you and I were talking
about at the airport the Geno Smith contract, and Gino's
probably in his second and final year with Seattle after
signing that deal. I don't like it. I don't, and
I think it's a bad deal for the Bucks. It's
one of those deals that make sense after last year.
(06:40):
But then it's like, you know, and you said it,
like you want Baker on the deal when he's trying
to prove it. Now you're paying him as a guy that's,
you know, supposed to actually lead you potentially to the
promised land. I know he's not paid at the top
tier of quarterbacks, but that for me, that's way too
much for Baker where I can and you bring up
guys like Jake Briskett all the time, and players are
(07:02):
those of that ilk in terms of what Baker actually
gives you over the course of a seventeen game season.
I think they'll regret this contract, but I also understand
why they did it.
Speaker 1 (07:12):
It was a safe move.
Speaker 2 (07:14):
It will be seen mostly as a logical move, but
I have a feeling this time next year it won't
be remembered as a wise one.
Speaker 4 (07:21):
But Dan, what if he gives you what he gave
them a year ago for an NFL quarterback? Is the
price out of hand at that point?
Speaker 1 (07:28):
I guess.
Speaker 2 (07:29):
I think it's like one of those things good is
the enemy of great. I think he is a solution
where it's he is in a way kind of the
progress stopper for them finding the next true quarterback after Brady.
But also I say that knowing you know the Bucks's history.
For the most part, they they've been combing the desert
(07:50):
looking for a quarterback.
Speaker 1 (07:51):
Brady was this outlier.
Speaker 2 (07:53):
They won the super Bowl with Brad Johnson and that
was a huge defense that really got that done. So
he brings them a level. He was obviously a professional,
competent quarterback this year, but it's just like he has
to repeat that, and I he consistency has never been
Baker's things. Staying healthy has never been Baker's thing. It's
just a deal that I feel like is a major
(08:15):
red flag for me. And where's gonna be a lot
of deals over the next five days.
Speaker 1 (08:18):
That are you're gonna put your eyebrow up on. This
is one of them for me.
Speaker 3 (08:21):
Yeah, I do worry that his play will go down
because he's been streaky.
Speaker 1 (08:25):
Now.
Speaker 3 (08:26):
I actually thought he played his best ball at the
end of the season. He was the playoffs and whatnot.
Was kind of like, Okay, this is almost the Baker
people were talking about how he was playing the whole year,
where I thought he was a little uneven without Dave Canalis.
Speaker 1 (08:39):
That's a big concern.
Speaker 3 (08:40):
But if he does decline, Dan, He's not gonna be
on the team next year. It's very, very similar to
not just the Gino contract, but the Derek Carr contract
that the Raiders gave Derek Carr before the twenty twenty
two season. Both of those contracts with Gino, they gave
like a round ten million. In this case to Baker.
I think Gino's was like twelve to the second year
(09:01):
Derek Carrs was similar, and the Raiders just decided to
eat that money and they cut him because he didn't
play well.
Speaker 1 (09:05):
Gino was like just over the line.
Speaker 3 (09:07):
I believe for Seattle to just be like, Okay, let's
kick the let's keep Gino and who knows, he might
even get a third year if he plays great. But
they're in a spot where they can draft someone, and
I don't think the Bucks would eliminate that. To answer
your question, Mark though, where you said would it be
worth it if he does play at that level, I
think it would be if you actually do like the
average quarterback salary. Now, Baker's still only sixteenth or seventeenth
(09:30):
at the time of signing it, So this is your
middle class. There has to be something between superstar and
you know, like Jacoby Brissett, and it doesn't seem fair
that it's like that huge of a drop. So I
think it's fine if he plays at that level. I
think it's worth it, and I think it shouldn't eliminate
them from even thinking about drafting someone like in the
second round.
Speaker 1 (09:48):
So when I woke up this morning, I was feeling
pretty dangerous.
Speaker 2 (09:52):
In other big news, other big signings, Chris Jones and
the Chiefs get it done Kansas City. He agreed to
terms with the defensive tackle on a five year extension
through twenty twenty eight. It's a deal that includes ninety
five million guaranteed, So that is different. That is kind
(10:15):
of I feel like where things are continuing to head
in the NFL, where players, at least the superstars are
getting massive guaranteed deals on shorter contracts, and for a
player like Chris Jones mark who's thirty two years old,
excuse me, he's thirty years old now, this contract maybe
(10:35):
even sets him up for one more big deal after this,
But I think everybody wins here.
Speaker 4 (10:40):
The last time we saw Chris Jones, he's pressuring brock
Purty on that critical overtime third down that forces them
the forty nine ers, into a field goal that sets
up the Chiefs to go do what they did. He
is a direct reason they got to the Super Bowl,
won all the games they did, won the Super Bowl.
He is arguably the best defensive tackle in the league
right now. And I think if you're Kansas City, you're
(11:03):
in one of the rare positions in sports where it's
like you look out over the length of this contract
and say, it is not ridiculous to suggest that we
win four Super Bowls. Three super Bowls would even be
like to me, just like the over runners sitting there
at three with all the pieces they have, you don't
just let Chris Jones walk away. I think was a trick.
They walked into this offseason with a tricky situation on defense, Like.
Speaker 1 (11:24):
Wait three more during Chris Jones' contract, I.
Speaker 4 (11:27):
Am saying they could win three of the next four
Super Bowls, And I'd have no problem with saying that
that is not an outrageous claim. It's like back during
the Yankees heyday saying they win three of four World Series,
like they're that kind of football team with what they
have right now, and it's like, you let guys like
this go. We've seen three different types of chiefs offenses
and defenses win Super Bowls in the past half decade,
(11:49):
and like, so at, keep adding to what you have,
keep your star players around. Jones wanted to be there.
He said that emphatically during their parade. And he's sticking around,
and it's like, it's a lot of my but it
won't look that. None of these contracts look bad, you know,
seven hundred days from now, they're fine and he's worth it.
Speaker 1 (12:07):
This one worries me less.
Speaker 3 (12:08):
Greg, it worries me less, But the history of the
NFL would say that giving a thirty year old defensive
tackle quarterback money, though I guess it's like Baker quarterback money,
you know, has some sort of risk in it.
Speaker 1 (12:21):
He hasn't shown any decline to play. I love it.
It is a reminder, you know, when people are saying.
Speaker 3 (12:25):
Oh, the caps, see how real the cap is, like
you have to make moves, It's like, no, he's yes.
Speaker 1 (12:31):
I am.
Speaker 3 (12:32):
My main thing is like teams ultimately keep the players
they want to if they really want. And I'm really
glad that this is a marriage that continues because I
started thinking about during that playoff run and he had
the pressure that forced Josh Allen to miss that throw
that would have maybe won the game for them in
the division around the Bills, and then he had another
(12:53):
great Super Bowl. And if you just go through game
by game, he's the guy making the plays game after
game and Dante high Tower would have, you know, a
case for this, But like, I don't think any defensive
player in the last twenty years has made more championship
and playoff winning plays than Chris Jones. So if you
can't reward him, like, who are you going to reward it?
(13:14):
And they got to keep they got to keep the guy.
Speaker 2 (13:16):
I think you made kind of the point I was
going to make that he's you know, he's under that category.
Aaron Donalds is obviously seen as probably the best defensive player,
certainly the best defensive lignement of his generation. But Jones
now has certainly a case to be in that group.
And those are the guys that you maybe take the
chance on the age thirty contract with. And it does
(13:39):
not to circle back to Baker, but it also does
show you how strange it is that so Chris Jones
and Baker got about the same money. I mean, the
difference in player and in the impact those players have,
it's a no brainer.
Speaker 3 (13:52):
And well, the guaranteed money is quite different now it
says practically guaranteed. And this is one deal where the
details haven't come out, which is when they don't come
out totally, it usually means it's not great for the players.
I want to see what practically guarantee mean this This
stuff annoys me. But either way, ninety five million guaranteed
is quite a lot more than like forty for Baker,
(14:12):
and so that that's a difference in terms.
Speaker 4 (14:14):
Of it, and there is a risk and like he
is thirty and also to the thirty today for athletes
meets something different than it did, you know, in nineteen
ninety five. But also like the other parallel universe we're
talking about, is that the Raiders sign them for this
and pull them away from the Chiefs and make them
the centerpiece of their forgettable defense probably for the next
four or five years. Like I like him on the Chiefs.
I like him part of this team, like keep it going,
(14:36):
and they're a team that can take risks, has taken
risks all along, and like it seems to work out
for him time and again.
Speaker 3 (14:42):
And to be fair, defensive tackles have has started to
age better. Like Fletcher Cox, who were going to get
to in a minute, like he's still playing. He was
still playing at a high level at thirty five. A
lot of these guys do play very well thirty two
to thirty three. I mean, it's a question with Aaron Donald,
which there's some whispers out there. We haven't put it
in a news rundown, but there's some whispers of like
what's going on with Aaron Donald? He might want more money,
he might be retiring.
Speaker 1 (15:02):
How of those this is?
Speaker 2 (15:04):
If this is Chris Jones at age thirty three, I
think it's a conversation.
Speaker 1 (15:08):
This, I mean just seems like a no brainer to me.
Speaker 2 (15:11):
And then if he continues to play at this level
a couple of years from now, yes, then they really
have to think whether they want to continue that everybody wins,
and and remember they already tagged Lagarius Snead and he's
open to finding a trade partner. So I think their
game plan continues to come into focus. Is now you
got Chris Jones under contract. He's the Patrick Mahomes of
(15:31):
your defense. You're gonna tag and try to get assets
for the cornerback, and now they're gonna build around Mahomes.
Speaker 1 (15:38):
It's scary.
Speaker 2 (15:38):
It's scary because the Chiefs are one really good offseason
away from really distancing themselves from the pack. And so
far so good, at least if you're a Chiefs fan.
So far not so good for mac Jones in the NFL,
at least after his rookie year he was a pro bowler.
It looked like the Patriots had found an immediate successor
(16:00):
to Tom Brady. But then it all fell apart over
the ensuing years for Jones, and on Sunday.
Speaker 1 (16:08):
The Patriots moved on.
Speaker 2 (16:10):
It was reported first by Adam Schefter that the Jaguars
have agreed to acquire mac Jones from the Patriots in
exchange for a late draft pick.
Speaker 1 (16:19):
I believe it turned out to.
Speaker 2 (16:20):
Be what a sixth and a seventh sixth round pick
for mac Jones, who went fifteenth overall a couple of
years back. The twenty twenty one draft class. No great shakes.
Even Trevor Lawrence, who now Mac Jones will back up,
hasn't quite lived up to the hype, but he's certainly
been better than all the other players taken in the
first round. Greg, I know, as a Patriots fan, whatever
(16:43):
you are, you were ready to move on from mac Jones.
But it is crazy to think from where we were
when they got to the playoffs in that first year
and even made some throws in that lost to the Bills.
Just a really good first year to a couple of
years later being shipped out of town for a six
That's about as sudden a turn as you get.
Speaker 1 (17:02):
Right, I was.
Speaker 3 (17:02):
Saying, Baker has had the most up and down career possible.
I don't know if mac Jones is ever going to
get the ups again, but man, his has been like
a rollercoaster that he The tape he put out there
his rookie year was real like when when you see
someone play at that level, and I thought he did
a lot of things, well, you tend to think that
(17:23):
they can have a career, even if it's a career
as like a bridge quarterback.
Speaker 1 (17:27):
Type of guy, like a middling guy.
Speaker 3 (17:29):
But I can't remember a quarterback looking more that had
shown a high level before looking as obviously broken as
mac Jones did last year. So this deal actually seems
curious to me. For the Jaguars. I mean, they get
him for one year, like two and a half million.
It's fine, it's a one year deal essentially to be
your backup quarterback, but they're not going to pick up
his fifth year option and then he's just a free
(17:50):
agent again. It I guess it's it's fine, it's just
a backup quarterback. But I'm almost surprised that they did it,
and it hurt. It hurt my feelings. When Walker into
the bathroom this morning as I was shaving on the
way getting ready to come out, and he goes breaking
news the Patriots have traded Mac Jones. He's gotten really
into the free agency period. He's typing it up on
(18:11):
his typewriter as he must earn your love.
Speaker 1 (18:13):
Yes, he buss.
Speaker 4 (18:15):
I did notice like a literally a full gigantic page
of typewritten notes coming from Walker's typewriter, which is like,
this is an old school journal operating at this point.
I'm I'm proud of your son.
Speaker 1 (18:25):
Yeah, it really makes me.
Speaker 3 (18:27):
But he's really gotten into this, but it's we're a
long way from doing the gritty. He used to think
Mac Jones was like the best player ever. When Mac
Jones was doing the gritty at the Pro Bowl. Now
he thinks, I.
Speaker 4 (18:35):
Mean, I'm also I'm almost willing to give Mac Jones
like which is a rare thing, like two mulligans, because
I think two years ago they could have mismanaged him
in their entire offense with more of a botched you know, mindset.
Last year was a disaster in New England. It's like
when Josh McDaniel's who I think, you know, Peter Principle
can be an offensive coordinator, like was his tutor. Like
(18:55):
he showed the promise of an organized you know, game
plan and organized process each week. And it's like, you know,
for all that Bill Belichick has done, like the way
that his apathy towards Mac Jones verbally down the stretch too,
it's like disliked him. They just did not like each other.
And he was from Alabama of all things. So it's
like he's getting he you know, got the seal of
approval from Nick Stavens. So I would just say that,
like Mac Jones of anyone, I don't we're not going
(19:16):
He's going to be a backup, but he deserves a
new start. But I said, some of these backups sometimes
it's like he might have to come in and play
three critical games and put a new stamp on what
we think about him.
Speaker 2 (19:26):
I think he was exactly the type of he's a
tear below Baker to me, but exactly the type of
quarterback of everything around him. As Greg strips off, Oh
my god, we just saw Craig's bare chest.
Speaker 4 (19:39):
You're gonna see that in his hotel room. Anything could happen.
Speaker 1 (19:42):
Anything goes in a hotel room on a business trip.
Speaker 2 (19:44):
And Greg just showed you it's hot.
Speaker 4 (19:48):
There's no air in these rooms. We all have, like Greg,
like cherry tomatoes.
Speaker 1 (19:52):
I should turn down or something like that.
Speaker 3 (19:54):
But yeah, it's hot, and I'm just trying to raise
our YouTube subscribers.
Speaker 1 (20:00):
He'll tell you. Some of the men you know now
can just my.
Speaker 2 (20:03):
Point being that if everything is perfectly set up around
a quarterback like Mac Jones, you could be all right.
Maybe you'll win ten games if things break.
Speaker 1 (20:09):
The right way. But I think he was exposed. He
got your right mark.
Speaker 2 (20:14):
The whole de facto offensive coordinator Patricia thing was terrible,
kind of in a way ruin Belichick's Patriots career as well,
or at least how it ended. But also I think
you saw with Jones's temperament, which also war on teammates
and coaches. He's not a guy that actually handled adversity well,
and I think that's something that will continue to follow him.
(20:38):
And I don't have high hopes for mac Jones moving forward.
And you know, he's he's better than geez like for instance,
every backup the Jets ran out.
Speaker 3 (20:48):
There and the Jaguars backup last year. I guess I
don't know like he's either better or not. If he's
like he was last year, he's he's worse than every
quarterback in the league, at least Doug Peterson. It's a
little landing spot, you know, for a quarterback.
Speaker 2 (21:02):
All right, So Mac Jones gone, not gone, Hunter Henry.
He re signs with the Patriots three years, twenty seven million,
so that tight end room keeps Henry. Remember he was
one of the big signings by the Pats a couple
of years back in free agency. Although I read that
some of his pop the hood route numbers were among
the worst than the league in terms of explosiveness for
its tight end, but that seems to be in line
(21:22):
with what the Patriots are really aiming for with their offense.
Speaker 1 (21:26):
Post Tom Brady.
Speaker 2 (21:28):
And finally they also added Chakuma Oka four Yeah, I
got that, okor four you got it core for anyway,
former third round pick, he's spent his first six years
with the Steelers.
Speaker 1 (21:44):
He gives them another option on their offensive line.
Speaker 2 (21:47):
They're gonna lose some of their line this offseason, it
looks like in free agency, so Choky comes in.
Speaker 3 (21:54):
They they're as thin on in terms of their skill
position talent as any team in the league. They are
the thinnest, say, and the slowest, and Hunter Henry does
not help there, but he is solid and it's just
like one spot you don't have to worry about as much.
And there's literally no tight ends now on in my
top fifty. There's only one in the top one on
one that's no offense. It's a weirdly scarce position. In
(22:15):
his not so well that group he did not and
they there's none in the draft either that are expected
to go in the first two rounds at Leastah, if
you need o, there's ideas other than breakbon If you needed.
Speaker 2 (22:26):
A tight end, last year was the year to get
one in the draft. All right, let's stop down right
here real quick, and then we'll keep pouring through all
this news. Okay, Jerry Judy, we know that happened when
we were in London in October when Steve Smith went
nuclear with Mike Garifolo on NFL Network about Judy. However,
Judy does have a big time draft pedigree.
Speaker 1 (22:50):
What did what did a Mena call it on the
show last week?
Speaker 2 (22:53):
Pretty pick privilege, pretty pick privilege. He was selected with
the fifteenth overall pick in the twenty twenty NFL Draft.
Remember again, God, we say free agency isn't perfect. How
about the draft? Or was Jerry Judy and Henry Ruggs
as two painted as two can't miss a wide receiver
prospects and Ruggs obviously ruined his career in his life
(23:14):
in a different way, but hadn't done much before that happened.
And Judy just has not been able to get it
going in Denver, so Mark he now goes to the
Browns and the terms. The Browns send back a twenty
four to fifth and sixth round draft pick, so they
didn't give up a lot. They're taking on a player
that's ostensibly very talented.
Speaker 1 (23:34):
It just has not translated at this level for the
most part.
Speaker 4 (23:37):
Look at how they're building their wide out room over
the past couple of seasons because they they leased the
Cowboys for Amari Cooper. I mean, the Cowboys were in
a tough spot and gave Amari Cooper to the Browns
for very little. They took a flyer in Elijah Moore,
and I wouldn't say that there's evidence that that's worked out.
This just seems to me he's been I mean like
(23:58):
to me, Elijah Moore as a piece, But I don't
know what they were expecting. Like Jerry Judy is an experiment.
I could argue that he like didn't have the luxury
of solid quarterback play in Denver during his time there,
but he was, you know, plagued with drops. I think
there were flashes where you'd see, wait a minute, this guy,
if he can string together consistency, there's a lot to
(24:19):
like about him. Cleveland right now has a lot of
whiteouts because they also have you know, they drafted David Bell.
I think Cedric Tillman is someone who's interesting. They got
David Nijoku. They lost Bill Callahan. I think that's a
big loss for the Cleveland Browns. Nick Chubb's coming off
of injury, and we're another offseason removed, still asking the
same question if the quarterback they traded for can actually
play quarterback at the level they thought they were gonna get.
Speaker 1 (24:41):
It's a weird mix, like the weird room.
Speaker 3 (24:44):
It's a weird room, and these are people, and I
think that's criticism sometimes at least in the NBA, but
in the NFL too of like the analytics crowd, like
they're maybe not taken into account chemistry, and it is
just like kind of a a weird group. Cooper, Judy
Watson certainly, like we'll see Judy's been reasonably productive for
(25:05):
someone who gets, you know, grief for being so disappointed.
He has three thousand yards in his career when he's
been healthy, and three of his four seasons has been healthy,
he's had eight fifty six, six nine seventy two and
seven fifty eight. So it's like he's not great, but
it's not it's not bad, but it's weird because it's
a one year, twelve million dollar contract that he's on
and then after that he's a free agent and they'll
(25:25):
just have to decide what they want to do. So
it's not that cheap, but it's also cheaper than almost
anyone else that you could possibly think of getting with
that sort of production at this time of year. So
Andrew Berry does have a way of like winning the trades.
And I would say it does make sense to me
for what they paid.
Speaker 2 (25:42):
I mean would Yeah, I was gonna say, I I
would like Jerry Judy at that cost for my team
as a team that's looking to fill out a wide
receiver room. So I think the trade is a good
one for the Browns on the surface right now, because
who knows, maybe the light does click and maybe Deshaun
eventually returns amongst the living as a franch quarterback. But
Amari's turning thirty this year, and yeah, now you got
(26:06):
kind of two former high draft picks and more and
Judy that you're hoping to kind of salvage and turn
them into something bigger. It does put a lot of
pressure on in Djoku and the running game and Chubb
coming off a major injury in the offensive line, which
lost kind of there the behind the scenes leader. So
many range of outcomes mark for the Browns on that
side of the ball this year.
Speaker 4 (26:27):
Yeah, I just think it shows how they value the
wide op position because it's like, I guess you could
go give Calvin Ridley a ton of money and wonder
if he's going to be the guy you hope he
is too, And it's like they don't have a ton
of caprom That wasn't the route they were going to go.
And they knew that the Broncos were trying to trade
Judy since the middle of the eighteenth century, so they
you know, they probably got a better cost than you think.
Speaker 3 (26:46):
Right, our guy Kevin Saunders, by the way, like, oh yeah,
keeps looking at L after L. I meant there was
a point where you could have gotten a better return
for Jerry Judy, but they never they kept never making
those trades. And now they're just kind of taking whatever
they could get for him. And they and they got
a year of him starting and he wasn't terrible, like
they did get that out of him. But Kevin Saunders,
(27:08):
I do wonder if Kevin Sondra you never wish referring
to the general manager of the Broncos. Yes, of course
his his alternate name. There is a there is an
outcome where he's no longer with the team after the draft,
and Sean Payton is the one that's kind of calling
the shots here.
Speaker 1 (27:22):
But that is total guesswork. I have not heard anything
like that.
Speaker 2 (27:25):
And for those who may be curious, if he no longer,
if he if his employment is terminated, he gets his
name back. That's that's that's fair. That's the right move,
that's the right play, and and that and that's where
we'll go.
Speaker 3 (27:41):
On that, all right. In other news, right, that seems fair.
It doesn't think you made it. It was a unilateral
decision by you, but I think it was fair.
Speaker 1 (27:52):
There was a report.
Speaker 2 (27:52):
Out there in terms of Saunders taking the yel that
there was a third and a fifth offered for Judy
as recently as the fall, and they're like, now we're
holding out, and now they give up two day three picks.
So let's see if the Browns could turn that into
chicken salad. All right, and but we shouldn't Steve Smith.
That was that was fun and we enjoyed it, and
(28:12):
the headlines were great and everything. But I also trust
Steve Smith's judgment on players as well, and.
Speaker 3 (28:17):
He kind of was proven right by the The GMS
apparently listened to him, except Andrew Berry, but even he
didn't have to give up much.
Speaker 2 (28:24):
All Right, here's a here's a saucy report. That's that's
been floated out there via Albert Breer, of course, of
SI dot com.
Speaker 1 (28:31):
The Chargers have had exploratory talks. I love that.
Speaker 2 (28:35):
Whenever you hear exploratory talks, I feel like exploratory talks.
I feel like it ends up happening. Oh yeah, it's
it's it's happening. Not always, but many times it turns
into something. So anyway, explorer tory explore uh tour five
(28:55):
syllable words for the number of letters. You might not
find too many words that bang out of five sill
in that amount of letters.
Speaker 1 (29:04):
What about ten letters anywhere?
Speaker 4 (29:05):
Skilled broadcastered in.
Speaker 3 (29:07):
Yeah, come back to us, exploratory. Try to be a
little more like sixty percent. G here we got five letters,
one syllable.
Speaker 1 (29:13):
We're efficient.
Speaker 2 (29:15):
Exploratory talks about trading receivers Mike Williams and Keenan Allen.
Breer adds that Allen is less likely to be dealt,
but they are answering the phone on both of those,
and that comes on the heels of continuous speculation on
the other side of the ball around both Joey Bosa
and Khalil Mack, they're two premier pass rushers. So the
(29:38):
Chargers in the Harbor era, we cannot Greggie close the
door or turn our back to the idea that Harbaugh's
just nuts enough to look at this core, which everyone
else sees is untapped and say that ain't my core.
I'm going to build this team in my vision, and
that means turning all these marquee names into draft picks
(30:00):
and whatnot and starting fresh with the quarterback. Most likely
there's logic to that too. I think it makes sense.
Speaker 3 (30:06):
I actually think if in a weird world where the
Chargers won three more games but these players were all
about the same, I think they might be gone anyways.
Like if you look at them one by one, Joey
Boson never plays, I think they kind of have to
cut or trade Joey Bosa then get something for Like
he never plays, and he's one of the highest paid
players in the league. He literally has played more than
(30:28):
like five hundred snaps like a couple of times in
his career.
Speaker 1 (30:30):
He just doesn't play.
Speaker 3 (30:31):
Khalio Mack good season, but getting paid a lot. I
would guess Mike Williams and Joey boss are no longer
on the team. I would guess Keenan Allen will be
and then Mac. I don't know, but I don't really
know any of them. I'm just guessing, but those are
my guesses.
Speaker 2 (30:46):
I'm reading Tea leaves here, Mark, and I think we're
seeing enough out there now that Harbo is really going
to shake up the league and a lot of these
guys are going to be playing elsewhere in September, and
I'm here for it. That sounds fun because a lot
of these guys also play bizis that teams are scouring
looking for help and they and they will flood the
market as you know, potential big time contributors.
Speaker 4 (31:07):
Right because the Chargers experience with Bosa is you know
case example A. But other teams are going to look
at Bosa in a completely different way and say that's
exactly the piece we need to, you know, get two
edge rushers. But the one thing I'd say about this,
because I agree with you, I think Harbaugh is going
to come in do things differently. Maybe they play with
no wide receivers, maybe they you know, have eight offensive
linemen and run the ball four hundred and sixty five
(31:29):
times a month. But the only problem is if you
do get to the point where you move Khalil Mack,
you move Joey Bosa because they need to make moves
no matter what, because their caps so exploratory, will turn
into something. But if Mike Williams is gone, Keenan Allen
is gone, it's like okay, but you still need to
fill those key core positions, especially at edge rusher with
someone else. And it's like the fallout of finding like
(31:51):
a C minus version of those four players or some
amount of them could be costly. And it's like, I
think Harbaugh has to set the table a little bit
and say, if we're going to have a totally new team,
because when you went to the Niners started like six
and zero and just rolled into the playoffs.
Speaker 1 (32:05):
He had great players. He inherited a lot of great
he really did.
Speaker 4 (32:08):
And here he inherited great players, but a cap hell
and like, some changes have to be made, and I
would not be surprised that Bosa somewhere else.
Speaker 2 (32:16):
So Herbert's twenty six years old, actually today's birthday. Happy
birthday Justin Herbert, who turned twenty six today. I hope
he's doing something marvelous. Friend of the show, best friend
of the show. It totally makes sense to me because
you have a situation when you look at that team.
(32:37):
You have a head coach who has complete job security,
quarterback who is the unquestioned franchise star, and he is
under contract.
Speaker 1 (32:46):
Harbaugh is not in a rush to make this the year.
Speaker 2 (32:49):
So if if he plays it with some level of patience,
he could really set them up with some trades and
moves where even if they take a step back this year,
and I don't even know if they will, because I
never I never underestimate the combination of high level quarterback
play and a good coach. You know, like they could
surprise people this year, even by getting rid of a
(33:10):
bunch of these guys, but they could set up.
Speaker 1 (33:13):
And become a big time team in a couple of years.
Speaker 2 (33:15):
So if I'm the if I'm a Chargers fan, I
have trepidation about this because I might own some of
these jerseys, and I might be a you know, a
fan of a lot of these players, and I might
think to myself, like, we want to keep this core
together for one big run with a real head coach,
But maybe give Jim the benefit of the doubt.
Speaker 1 (33:31):
I would. I would let's take a break.
Speaker 2 (33:38):
And then we'll hit the rest of the News, Welcome back,
Let's get back into it.
Speaker 1 (33:49):
Yes, we are here in Texas. By the way.
Speaker 2 (33:51):
For the iHeart Radio Awards, we were nominated for Best
Sports Podcast. A lot of people say we're an underdog.
I say, Mark, uh, you know right now the hotel
we're staying at the pool deck is closed for renovations
ahead of spring break, which is I mean, what about
us we're here?
Speaker 4 (34:11):
Sure?
Speaker 1 (34:11):
What about the rowdy teens that you're learning the deck for.
I had a whole plan.
Speaker 2 (34:16):
I was gonna go out on the on the deck
like Joe Namath in Miami in nineteen sixty nine, and
I was gonna get a young Brent Musburger at my
feet while I held a cocktail, and I said, we're
gonna We're gonna win a wood at the Ihearts. That
guarantee it. But now that now the pool's closed, so
I can't do it. So we'll just have to settle
(34:37):
for winning the thing.
Speaker 4 (34:39):
Well, you've said it to our audience, and I had
told you that I've felt a different energy. I think
when this was first announced and you realize you're going
against like the Kelsey's, it's like, I don't it just
seemed like not only David versus Goliath, but like baby
David versus like full grown Goliath, like literally a baby
that's immobile. Like that's the position we seem to be in.
But now I feel like we're growing powerful, more strong,
(35:01):
And I have a conspiracy theory that you know, the
Shadowys who have done us right and wrong through the years.
I just feel that maybe behind the scenes, they sent
us here because they know that there's a pot of
gold at the end of the rainbow. Now, no matter what,
there's a there's a nice hotel to stay in, in a
city to explore.
Speaker 1 (35:19):
So if you want to talk, you talk Yo a
great city.
Speaker 2 (35:22):
By the way, I like the idea of the Shadowyze
being an award show too, and then we just nominate
different middle managers in.
Speaker 6 (35:30):
A series of levels of awards and best changing of
the subject when the ATN crew brings up something you
don't want to do, like different words like that.
Speaker 1 (35:42):
All right, Greg, did you have anything else to add there?
Speaker 3 (35:45):
Really I don't share your guys's confidence, but uh, you know,
I don't think I don't think we have like particularly
less than a one in five chance. But you know,
there's five strong podcasts. I definitely don't think the Shadowy
League figures know anything or there's a conspiracy, but there's
I would on candidate, So I'm not giving us. I
(36:05):
guess I'm using the boring math analysis here is like
I wouldn't see why we had a better chance than
Club Shasha or Dan Levittard or I.
Speaker 4 (36:13):
Would imagine that the Kelseys have probably never heard of
our show, have never listened to it, Like if there
this also award. They're doing so well that this award
process may not be on the radar on any level,
But I cannot wait to hear the commentary when we
do upset them and just sort of their feedback to that.
Speaker 3 (36:29):
Well, it's on TD, it's got to be on TD's radar,
our old producer, who's their producer, one of their producers,
So we're going after you TD.
Speaker 1 (36:38):
I would say though, like if.
Speaker 2 (36:41):
Like Meredith Baton or Matt Schneider, like if we who
are here management with NFL, Like if we do win
and then it turns out that your right mark, that
this was all had been pre arranged, I would say
they would be getting a Shadowy Lifetime Achievement Award.
Speaker 1 (36:58):
Yeah, absolutely, you know that.
Speaker 2 (36:59):
Would be to me that would be at least or
at the very least something they deserve.
Speaker 4 (37:04):
I want to I want a drunken Travis kelcey oversees
like bitching to you know, Taylor Swift about losing like
this award to three podcast bozos, and just I want
to be a fly on the.
Speaker 2 (37:15):
Ball for then I want Taylor Swift to write a
song just burying us for winning the iHeart Award. All right,
let's get back to it. The Eagles, the Eagles, Man,
the Eagles are in transition. And uh, you know this
happens for every team, high profile team that's you know,
(37:37):
made the Super Bowl, didn't quite get there coming off
a very disappointing year obviously, and now we know they lost.
Speaking to Kelsey's Jason kelce retired last week. Now Fletcher
Cox h stand out on the other side of the ball,
he also retires, So Cox.
Speaker 1 (37:53):
I mean for a team that.
Speaker 2 (37:56):
And it's kind of surprising because Fletcher Cox and you know,
Jason Kelsey are two like highly respected, decorated leaders that
are known as guys that can command a locker room.
That all went down with them in the locker room.
So now you're taking them out of the locker room.
The Eagles are a wild scene right now, and they're
like the Browns offense. The range of outcomes is all
(38:17):
over the place in Philadelphia.
Speaker 1 (38:18):
But they're also doing business.
Speaker 2 (38:20):
Brandon Graham another important part of the defensive line. He
has re signed, but also a report out there that
Josh Sweat and Hassan Reddick are available in a trade.
So a lot of info just downloaded there to the listeners, GREGI,
where do you want to go?
Speaker 1 (38:37):
Start with the Fletcher Cox?
Speaker 3 (38:38):
Who Look, if you had said five years ago that
like Fletcher Cox and Jason Kelsey retire the same week,
the Fletcher Cox news would have been seen as like, oh,
that's the bigger news. Like he's made four All Pro teams,
three as a second team guy, like one of the
defining defensive tackles of his air. Wouldn't surprise me if
he's you know, he was on the two thoutdid you
(39:00):
know considered for like an all decade type of team.
That's the quality of player that he is now. He's not,
as you know, active in the media and everything is
Jason Kelsey, and Kelsey's career finished so strong where he
was finishing on top, Cox was you know, a guy
who signed a contract year after year and you weren't
sure if he was going to return, And that's what
Brandon Graham is now. But the fact that they brought
back Brandon Graham and then they put it out there
that they're not really into their current pat edge rushers.
(39:22):
They're putting a little blame on Josh Sweat and there
was a report and Hassan Reddick that they just weren't
happy with essentially those two players.
Speaker 1 (39:30):
It just supports my.
Speaker 3 (39:33):
Belief that the Eagles are going to do a lot
over the next week. Like I don't know what it's
gonna be, but they're gonna be super active and they're
gonna do a lot.
Speaker 4 (39:41):
They to me, they shift into like high intrigue no matter.
I mean, you're right the range of outcomes and what
they're gonna look like, but they're gonna look so different.
I think you were looking at a head coach that
has been rendered far less powerful than where he was
a year ago. And if you're Vic Fangio, I can understand,
like looking at what's the Dolphins I had to do?
Found you might have you know, if he's looking at
(40:02):
their cap and like you know, we're gonna have to
make some changes. And he had some links to the
Eagles to begin with, so you move on from that.
But you come over to Philadelphia and it's like you're
looking at your defensive scheme is a bit different, but
like key components of this side of the ball could
all be gone, big chunks of it. So it's like
that's challenging. I just think the Eagles to me are
a very weird, weird operation at the moment.
Speaker 2 (40:24):
All right, in Oh do any other Eagles takes. Okay,
let's move on because we got a lot to get
to the Bears doing business.
Speaker 1 (40:34):
They sign a four year deal.
Speaker 2 (40:36):
This went down earlier in the weekend, a four year
contract with cornerback Jalen Johnson, seventy six million, fifty four
million in guaranteed money, almost forty four due at signing.
So they had put the franchise tag on Johnson mark
and now they get a deal done. So you know,
as the team is in transition, I'm looking more and
(40:57):
more certain that it is Caleb Williams that's the new
face of the franchise.
Speaker 1 (41:03):
And I saw some by the way, not.
Speaker 2 (41:04):
To get sidetracked, because we will talk Jalen Johnson, but
I saw I don't know.
Speaker 1 (41:09):
I think it was Florio wrote a piece about like.
Speaker 2 (41:12):
Oh, what happened with Mac Jones is not a good
sign for what the Bears will get for Justin Fields.
And I'm not saying just that Justin Fields is going
to command like a first round pick or whatever. But
there's a big difference between what Justin Fields has put
on tape and his situation and what we've seen from
him both as a player and as a man and
as a teammate, and what Mac Jones showed the last
(41:32):
two years. So let's calm down with that take.
Speaker 4 (41:34):
Yeah, I would. I'd also like to hear whispers about actual,
you know, people feeling around for Justin Fields and having
true interest in him. I mean that that could be
happening without us knowing. But you're right, they're not the
same player. I mean, if you're Matt Eberflus like you're
you know, you had to move on from Rokwan Smith
not so long ago, and that was the core centerpiece
of your defense. Goes onto the Ravens to be one
(41:55):
of the better linebackers in the entire league. So at
some point you got so much Caprom and I know
you're rebuilding, but like you got to keep some of
these guys versus having to replace them. So this makes
a ton of sense to me. And I would say, Greg,
I think you noted this online at some point, but
that Matt Eberflus, Uh, he's gone through the process that
I think some of these coaches come in where they're
coordinators and like they're a bit pasty, they're not in
(42:15):
front of the camera. But now he's on the thing
where he's looking a little more fit. He's got his
hair done, he's grown his beard out, and he just
looks about ten times better and more you know, biable
as a head coach.
Speaker 3 (42:24):
Well, the Eberflus glow up has been a huge storyline
this offseason. Showed up to the Combine looking good, had
like was at a basketball game with Matt Lafleur and
it was like, hmm, like who's more groomed Tierra. It
was just Ibraflus is coming strong. He's a wacky personality.
Both him and Jalen Johnson timed their career year as well,
(42:48):
not saying Eberflus is never going to be better, but
like five games into that season, I thought Eberflus is gone.
Speaker 1 (42:52):
And you're like, what is the vision here?
Speaker 3 (42:54):
And then it all kind of came together in terms
of his defense really improving, and Jalen Johnson was a huge,
huge part of that. And I think he was smart.
He took like fifty five million guarantee. I saw someone
be like, why didn't he just take the franchise tag
and bet on himself Because it's like, if you have
the option to take fifty five million dollars guaranteed versus twenty, Like,
I don't care that I could make more in the
(43:16):
long run if I didn't take the guarantee.
Speaker 1 (43:18):
I'm taking that guarantee the first time around. It's football.
Speaker 2 (43:22):
He could plan his leg and he could lose his
ACLMCAL and his meniscus and then he's signing approve it
deal after this sea He's also.
Speaker 3 (43:28):
Coming off a career year, Like if he had been
free a free agent a year ago, he would not have.
Speaker 1 (43:32):
Had this contract. So he played the game right. Smart
man laid it right.
Speaker 2 (43:37):
Also playing it right, Ravens defensive tackle Justin Madibuke, who
signs a four year, ninety eight million dollar contract that
includes over seventy five million in guaranteed money.
Speaker 1 (43:48):
The numbers are huge and.
Speaker 2 (43:49):
The salary cap keeps going up, so it makes sense anyway,
the former third round pick. This is why the Ravens
are always good, because they identify a guy like Mattabuke
as a third round pick and now he's an All Pro,
and now he's paid like an All Pro, which creates
other challenges for the team, but they'll welcome them.
Speaker 3 (44:06):
Patrick said something I think it was on Mina Kimes' show.
That is right, Like the prices always go up with
these guys though, Like if the Ravens really knew Justin
Mattoweke was this good, they could assign him to a
deal about half this price a year ago, but they
didn't know how he was going to play, and then
he really exploded. And I like that the franchise tag players,
some of them at least, are actually getting paid instead
(44:27):
of just the tay.
Speaker 4 (44:28):
Yeah, like I think they're using that correctly. Look, he's
only twenty six, so if we're worried about the Chris
Jones age thing, this is like sweet spot to hire.
Speaker 2 (44:37):
Tyler Lockett also is sticking around, but maybe not a
happy story for him. In the same way, he agrees
to her structured two year, thirty four million dollar contract.
He gets thirteen million in guaranteed money. That feels like
to me, GREGI good value for Lockett, who has always
(44:58):
been I thought, an underrated a receiver, and you already
have a number one in DK and you couldn't ask
for much better number two and Tyler who's been very
good for them for many years.
Speaker 3 (45:08):
Yeah, I think the Lion has questions, but Gino's got
a nice group of players around him. The fact though,
that he took a pay cut, you know, indicates to
me like if he wasn't going to take a pay cut,
they would have been ready to move on. But I
think it was only like a four million dollars pay cut.
It was good for both sides. One of those guys
that feels like you should be on the same team
for his entire tenure in the NFL.
Speaker 2 (45:28):
Good news for the Dolphins toront Armstead. Their left tackle
is not retiring. There had been some conversation or some
speculation and that could be the case. So that is
not gonna happen, So at least one more year in Miami.
Great news mark for Tua.
Speaker 4 (45:44):
I mean, there's a lot of pressure on too, where
there's a lot of players leaving that organization, some of
the been offensive linemen, and like when when Armstead's in there,
like the offense is completely different. We've talked about this
at nauseam. When he's not in there, like the splits
and what happens to two on some level are are
vastly different. So, yes, this is a key person to
keep around on a Dolphins team.
Speaker 2 (46:03):
In flux eight o'clock, de light hit it Eric Roberts,
which Eric was with us, Go get go Ham with
Eric and Austin, that'd be imagine.
Speaker 1 (46:15):
Let's get into it.
Speaker 2 (46:16):
The Rams give thirty two million guaranteed to guard Kevin
Dotson Greg Quickie.
Speaker 3 (46:21):
A lot of money for Kevin Dotson that the guards
are going to get paid big time in this market.
Speaker 2 (46:26):
That is a lot of Steelers release Patrick Peterson and
Alan Robinson, two decorated veterans, well one more than the other.
The Raiders resigned center Andre James. They also release Brian Hoyer,
who impossibly is.
Speaker 1 (46:38):
Still in the league.
Speaker 2 (46:39):
The Chiefs resigned Drew Tranquil, and the Bears agree to terms.
Speaker 1 (46:43):
With Kevin Byard on a two year deal. Anything on
that those mark.
Speaker 4 (46:46):
I love the Frank will resigning. I watched Brian Hoyer
on Good Morning Football week or so ago. Thought he
did a nice job. Media job ahead, Oh very nice.
Speaker 2 (46:56):
The Panthers are going to release center Bradley Boseman. The
Packers will release slinebacker Devondre Campbell. Oh fully. Fatukasi signs
a one year deal with the Texans. I was hoping
maybe at Jets reunion there, but that's not the case.
Speaker 1 (47:09):
Anything on those Greggy.
Speaker 3 (47:11):
M always like me some Fatukasi, but the Jaguars didn't,
so he couldn't have been playing too well.
Speaker 1 (47:18):
Alright, man, that's it. We got a little time for
once out there. Didn't you redo it?
Speaker 3 (47:26):
The whole time these guards are making they're gonna like
any free agent guard, like, there's gonna be a lot
of guys you've never heard of that are making like
seventeen million dollars guaranteed.
Speaker 4 (47:35):
Nailed it.
Speaker 2 (47:36):
Bang, What are we doing tonight? We're in Austin. What
a great city. I love this place. I have never
been so I you know we arrived about that. This
is my terry is one of my favorite hats I
go through my whole life. I've had a random hats
that become my favorite hat for two years and this
(47:57):
one is in hitting year one. Just like the look
of it. I like the shape and the and Matt
Tant and or old buddy that we used to work
with at NFL Media who actually works out here now
we're hoping to see him tonight, recommended this barbecue joint
Terry Blacks. So that's an option. I think we need
to hit up a barbecue place. Any people in the
Austin area that our listeners please let us know where
(48:19):
we should go for some authentic Texas BBQ.
Speaker 4 (48:24):
Where's Marquees as well? No, I'll go, I'll go where
you and test it out, give it.
Speaker 1 (48:28):
You will eat the meat at the barbecue.
Speaker 4 (48:30):
It's always it's you know it's a arrive and assess
it's an arrive.
Speaker 3 (48:35):
I was selling Mark, I was eating some pigs feet
down in Korea time Saturday night.
Speaker 2 (48:40):
Uh, and you're you're leaning into that. That that side
of Mark where he just sees it. The the just
the visualization of it being disgusting. There's nothing grosser than
the idea of a pig's foot being consumed by humans.
Speaker 4 (48:56):
I mean, Austin barbecue has a kind of ring to it.
That I think you harks back to ancient times. So
it's it's it's an easy sell.
Speaker 2 (49:05):
And yeah, you mentioned there's a iHeart and we are
a part of the our Heart radio network through the NFL.
So and they've always been very cool with us. So, uh,
there's a private party and we're going to see the
Black Keys. And I've always been you know, a white
strip sky when it's all you know, black Keys via
the White Stripes. But I'm gonna have an open mind
and and check out the Keys tonight and you know,
(49:26):
maybe we'll have a couple of drinks, we'll get get
a little loose, but we need to be also focused, boys,
because Free Agency Week is not something that that goes
to the background just because we have a chance to
win a major award.
Speaker 1 (49:39):
No, it's weird timing.
Speaker 3 (49:41):
It's the like, literally the biggest day transaction wise of
the NFL calendar.
Speaker 2 (49:47):
In some ways, it feels like the beginning of the
end of our show that we would be flying to
another state in the middle of the country to try
to win an award.
Speaker 1 (49:55):
When the this feels like that.
Speaker 2 (49:57):
Subreddit this feels like that U an entire post about
this was the point the guys jumped the shark when they.
Speaker 1 (50:04):
Got We didn't have a choice, right, we got, We
got on the plane. We didn't say no.
Speaker 2 (50:10):
We got on the plane to try to win an
award at the start of free agency. I think it's
telling and I think we should be ashamed. Quite frankly,
it's up for translation. We'll be back on Tuesday in
the studio. No regrets actually, because we could do the
job just as well here, and we'll be back, as
Greg said, Tuesday, and uh yeah, if we if we
(50:33):
do win the award, you'll hear about it. If we
lose the award, you'll hear about that too. So thank
you for everybody, Thank you everybody for listening to this
podcast one. I think we're gonna end doing at least
five this week, So if you are looking to stay
on top of everything with the new league year, you
have found the right podcast.
Speaker 1 (50:51):
On Till Monday, I mean, I hope.
Speaker 2 (50:56):
I mean it's possible we're gonna have to do another
one in about an hour and a half.
Speaker 1 (50:59):
The way the league is continues to move things up,
I don't think so. All Right, till Monday, hit the
car
Speaker 6 (51:09):
M
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