February 21, 2025 • 43 mins
Gregg Rosenthal is joined by Patrick Claybon to preview the offseason ahead for each team in the NFC North. First, a look at the Packers (01:25), followed by the Lions (11:09), Bears (19:45), and Vikings (29:55).
Note: time codes approximate.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:04):
Welcome to NFL Daily, where we love a good wardrobe change.
I'm Greg Rosenthal here and the Chris Westling podcast studio
to talk about the NFC North and preview their off
season here in the regular season with Patrick Claybox.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
Correct.
Speaker 3 (00:22):
Yeah, good to be back two times in one week.
That's what we want. We're back.
Speaker 4 (00:26):
You know, the Super Bowl was different for me because
it was a whole season being in proximity to you guys.
Speaker 3 (00:32):
But now we're back.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
Yeah, it is.
Speaker 1 (00:34):
It is great to have you here and to talk
about the show. And yeah, if you're watching on YouTube,
you can see I'm wearing a hat and that makes
it Friday's Show. Great teams in the NFC North Lions, Vikings, obviously,
the Bears and the Packers, and it's a division that
(00:57):
to me, is set up for disappointment because you have
records this good from three teams in one year, and
you have a Bears team who has kind of underachieved
year after year after year, and everything looks so good,
like the expectations for all four of these teams are
going to be sky high. So the next month and yes,
that's what I've been calling the regular season is this
(01:19):
build up into into free agency is absolutely vital. So
let's put ten minutes on the clock here, and why
don't you why don't you get us going with the
Green Bay Packers?
Speaker 4 (01:35):
Oh, we'll go with the Green Bay Packers. Okay, this
has been a question that I've been waiting to ask
you for a while. Greg, when we initially conceptualized this exercise,
and I saw you and Jordan executed flawlessly. The Packers
started their season and ended their season with a loss
to the eventual Super Bowl champion. They navigated what we
(01:56):
both believe is the best division in football and had
lost to the Lions as well as the Vikings in
their historic seasons. Do the Green Bay Packers need to
package picks ooh, and trade for Miles Garrett in order
to the gap is not very big? I know that
they didn't have the success.
Speaker 3 (02:16):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (02:17):
Is Miles Garrett that piece that they go get like
they went and got Julius Peppers in that stage of
his career, like they went and got Reggie White in
that stage of his career? Is it Miles Garrett in
twenty twenty five, solving the problems with.
Speaker 3 (02:31):
The Green Bay Packers and getting them back to the
Super Bowl.
Speaker 1 (02:33):
I mean, I think they're a perfect team to do so,
because I think they can make it happen without ruining
their president or future prospects. Like you build up all
this young capital in terms of good young players, you know,
to be able to survive maybe trading a couple picks.
You have plenty of cap space. Forty two million dollars
(02:54):
in cap space. They have eight picks this year. They
basically have all their picks. So both them and the
Lions to me, are right near the top of the
list of teams that make the most sense for Miles
care I think the Lions make even maybe a little
more sense, But the Packers it would work too. And
that that was what I was thinking too, Like, what
(03:14):
does Goody get impatient? Because they're so patient in Green Bay?
This is kind of year three of the post Aaron
Rodgers era, and year three is kind of when you
push some of these players are maturing. I don't know
if that would be impatience or just trying to take
advantage of a situation.
Speaker 4 (03:32):
Yeah, I don't think because you have been patient, right,
You've been not just fiscally responsible, but you have The
Packers have a very structured set of parameters for the
players that they draft. You know, you're not going to
find a whole lot of small cornerbacks, right, You're not
going to find small defensive linemen. They they have their
(03:54):
metrics that they need to hit and they've done that
and they've built a very, very solid roster. But there
needs to be times where you take swings right where
you get because there's all that conversation about the offense
and who's the number one Matt Leffleuer doesn't want to
say who the number one receiver is. You know, all
these guys have their varied skill sets. You don't have
to lose any of that. But you you make a
(04:15):
pitch not just to the Cleveland Browns, but to the player.
You bring back those historical comparisons and you say you
can be it for us, And I just think it
makes too much sense not to. And you mentioned the
Detroit Lions. Do you want to play against him? Do
you want to play against him a couple more times?
Do you want to see the teams that were very
good that we're in the division that you couldn't compete with?
You know, when when everything came to a head at
(04:36):
the end of the season. Do you want to see
those guys get Miles Garrett. I just think it makes
it makes too much sense. And we saw it with
Josh Jacobs as well as with Xavier McKinney last year,
that this is not this is not our the Green
Bay Packers of old. They're willing to go out and
get very good players. Okay, so so do it? You
have the team make the move.
Speaker 1 (04:54):
Yeah, and you do have as I mentioned, the cap space.
It makes sense because when I look at their needs
not huge. I think the roster is in better shape
than twenty five teams in the league. Just to throw
out a number like there's not screaming needs, but probably
number one is like an edge rusher Rashan Gary, little
(05:18):
disappointing last year. Still gonna be on the team, but
a little disappointing. Don't really have a second edge guy
that you feel good about. Lucas van Ness has not
really hit DeVante Wyatt's gotten better, but I wouldn't say.
Speaker 2 (05:32):
It's been a hit.
Speaker 1 (05:33):
He's an interior rusher, and in general, their pass rush
was absolutely lacking last year. So I think that's an
area that even if they don't go after Miles Garrett,
you know, first of all, there's other guys available for trades,
Max Crosby or Trey Hendrickson that would be intriguing just
as intriguing, just about as well. Or are they a
(05:54):
team that invests a little bit upfront in free agency?
Connected to that, I was looking at ways of like
if they want to open up a little more space,
is Kenny Clark safe on this team? Been a really
good veteran for them for a while close the season okay,
I believe he made it to week ten without a
(06:15):
quarterback hit or a sac That's rough. That's tough for
like one of your highest paid players. So that's one
that could be a post June first they would save
ten million dollars. Maybe they don't feel like they need
to do that though, because they have so much cap space.
Speaker 2 (06:28):
See how he.
Speaker 1 (06:28):
Looks in training camp, and it's more a player that
they really appreciate. And then also likely not on this
team next year is JayR Alexander, who is under contract,
but it would be surprising if they brought him back.
I think he's going to be more of a cut
than a trade. So those are two guys really associated
with the Packers for.
Speaker 2 (06:47):
A long time.
Speaker 1 (06:48):
JayR Alexander and Kenny Clark with the futures that are
a little up in the air for a defense that
needs some work. Frankly, like they were okay, but they
need some work.
Speaker 4 (06:56):
And that would be my question is specifically with JayR,
why give yourself more work?
Speaker 3 (07:01):
There? They have they have this there, It's.
Speaker 1 (07:04):
Just it seemed bad personally. There's something going on there.
Speaker 4 (07:07):
Okay, I always reference it, but we got we got
statues outside of Staples right of.
Speaker 3 (07:13):
Guys who didn't have things going on personally.
Speaker 4 (07:15):
I think there were notable personal issues allegedly between Jalen
Hurts and A J. Brown over the course of the season.
Winning solves all those things, it makes it makes everything work.
Speaker 1 (07:27):
And so if Shaquille O'Neal is one of the people
you are, you were talking to, Yeah, Shaq and Kobe
an important guy.
Speaker 4 (07:34):
Yeah, didn't necessarily have the best relationship during all times
of their run, but but when it worked out, it
worked out to it to a very good extent. And
I just think if you're if you're letting JayR Alexander
go elsewhere, then now you've given yourself an actual problem
on a roster that that doesn't have that many like problem.
Speaker 1 (07:55):
Okay, my counterpoint is he never plays, that's my counterpoint.
Speaker 2 (08:02):
I mean, that's a big deal.
Speaker 1 (08:03):
He's getting older and he's been hurt, and there's been
some back and forth, and you hate when this happens
between a team and a player, of like, could he
be pushing to play more?
Speaker 2 (08:15):
Could he not?
Speaker 1 (08:15):
It's just been sort of a little bit of a
drama between them for a while, and I think they've
actually kept him longer than most teams would have. But
I'd be shocked if he is on the team. So
that those are a couple holes, very few free agents,
so that's good for them. They do have one guy,
Josh Myers, who, depending on who you ask, was either
(08:38):
the weak link there at center for a while or
a really improving player. I look at a guy who
has played a ton of football and will get a
good contract because anyone that can start as many games
as him and is young and the Packers say improved
quite a bit all last season is going to do
well somewhere. So I don't know if it'll be there
(08:58):
or not, but they I really trust them to figure
out their offensive line. The thing that strikes me looking
at their roster Patrick, tell me where you would want
to improve It is their offense, Like everyone else is
returning and like there aren't there aren't holes.
Speaker 2 (09:13):
You could add.
Speaker 1 (09:14):
Another receiver, you could bring back to Vante Adams. Maybe
I don't think that's that crazy. You could add one
more receiver, but you kind of don't have to, and
you could add at almost any level. Yeah, you could
add a guy that in theory is a one, but
you could just add another rotation piece. Christian Watson will
be coming off of a serious injury. Dantavian Wicks didn't
(09:36):
really work out last year. Maybe he'll improve in his
third year. So you kind of have Dobbs In, Jane
Reid and Tucker Craft as the three receivers that you
are kind of building this offense around, and Craft was
really good as a second year.
Speaker 4 (09:49):
It's tight end, and they also had some of the
most cohesive in terms of games started among the offensive
line in the entire league. They were able to keep
those guys healthy and together as a group of five
for the majority of the season. You know, we'll see
what the market is for AJ Dillon. You could find
his way back. I don't know that that necessarily matters
(10:11):
that much. I wouldn't change a thing about the off
You get some guys healthy, I think, another year together
playing in the system, another year knowing what Josh brings
to this team. Really, this is just the improvements needed.
Speaker 1 (10:25):
If they have an offseason like they did a year ago,
they are going to be a super Bowl contender. Because
just look at who was brought in a year ago.
Great pick, Edrin Cooper got some defensive Rookie of the
Year votes. Evan Williams was a really good rookie player
for them. Javon Bullard played a lot for them and
didn't embarrass himself. He was a rookie nickelback. So they
added some young talent on that side of the ball.
(10:46):
And oh, by the way, added Josh Jacobs and one
of the best backup quarterbacks in football. I think it's
safe to say now, Malik Willis so I mean, I'm serious, No,
that's true. It's obviously true. So they had a great offseason.
Goody's done great overall, and if they can just keep
adding more pieces, a little more juice on the defensive
side I think was missing. All right, let's go to
(11:08):
the Lions. Since we talked about them as a potential
Miles Garrett team. They are missing their third round pick,
but they do have a compensatory pick late in the
third coming back, so they basically are good on picks.
They have forty four million dollars in cap space, right
(11:30):
about the same as the Packers, That is tenth in
the league. They do have a number of good free agents.
Levi on Wizourique, who improved quite a bit as a
fourth year player, well timed, stayed healthy.
Speaker 2 (11:43):
I know they like him.
Speaker 1 (11:45):
Kevin Zeitler, who played well for them as a free
agent pickup at guard, and then Carlton Davis, who when
he played was very valuable for them. So that's three
top fifty free agents for them.
Speaker 2 (11:58):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (11:58):
My question, my question for them is like, with these
new two coordinators, where are they really prioritizing to improve
this team? Because it's hard. It's hard to like see
huge areas that they need to improve, but like what
types of players are do they go after?
Speaker 2 (12:16):
They're different?
Speaker 1 (12:17):
Now with these two coordinators, do you see an area
that is the biggest problem for them?
Speaker 4 (12:22):
Yeah, it's it's depth on the defensive line and then
the secondary, specifically at corner. I think they had two
of the best safeties in the league in Kirby and
Brian Branch. Spectacular on the middle of the field as
the season went on, But just when the Carlton Davis injury,
the Terry on Arnold injury late, you get Alexanzeloni back.
(12:43):
But injuries were more of the story for the Lions.
And again this is this is the NFL, Like, You're
going to have players injured every single year, regardless of age,
how they came in, what kind of shape they're in.
Speaker 3 (12:54):
It's going to be a consistent thing regardless.
Speaker 4 (12:56):
But in terms of the injuries affecting the outcomes, it's
tough for me to say that anybody had their outcomes
affected by the injuries more than Detroit Lions, especially on
the defensive side of the.
Speaker 2 (13:06):
Ball, right.
Speaker 1 (13:07):
I mean, it would have been great to see a
full strength Lions team, hypothetically or closer to it, play
that Eagles team. I'm not gonna say they're just gonna
beat him, but they certainly were right there at the
top for me in terms of favorites to win the
Super Bowl, along with the Chiefs and the Bills and
the Eagles, and so just getting healthier is going to
(13:28):
be massive for them. Marcus Davenport, by the way, was
supposed to be on this team. He is a free agent.
Other than that, and the guys I mentioned, Derek Barnes
was a guy who basically didn't play at all for
them last year. That could be an easy win if
you can get him back for cheap. They do have
Zadarias Smith under contract again for next year, so that's good.
Speaker 2 (13:47):
But I'm with you.
Speaker 1 (13:48):
I think it's pass rush that it just they just
didn't have enough. And I know Alie McNeil got hurt.
A lot of it was injuries, and you get Aiden
Hutchinson back. But this is a team that I think
been similar to Philadelphia and that they want to be
really good on the lines. I think they need to
keep refreshing their pass rush and start refreshing their offensive line.
(14:10):
Their offensive line actually is getting a little older, a
little creaky, weren't as good and the interior a year ago,
as I think their reputation would indicate. Then you look
at some of those numbers of the guys that you know,
when did they get drafted about Graham Glasgow drafted in sixteen,
rag Noow in eighteen, Decker in sixteen, Kevin Zeitler's thirty
five years old and a free agent, so that might
(14:32):
just be more of a draft focus, but they kind
of are due to start refreshing there. But these are
the types of things that great organizations are talking about
in the offseason, like let's improve our depth, let's get
younger at a position we're already good. They don't have
major screaming needs, especially on offense. They're kind of bringing
everyone back, which is awesome for the Lions and for
John Morton, their new offensive coordinator.
Speaker 4 (14:54):
Especially when you consider that these guys have years remaining,
like you got years before you have to think of
about an a'm On Ross Saint Brown or a Jared
Golf Right, it's just in terms of the talent there
where Pinae sewel Is you mentioned the age of everybody else.
Pene's got five more years before you.
Speaker 1 (15:15):
Got to keep paying them a long way. But they've
done a great job paying them early. And that also
means if they want to restructure some contracts, like they're
going to be able to open up money. They sort
of have all the money and all the picks that
they really need to be as aggressive as they want.
And that's why to me, they actually make the most
sense because I just feel like they're at this point
(15:35):
not it's definitely not desperation, but just opportunity and where
they are, I think they're going to feel like they
need to add something big and new to the mix
to make this season feel fresh. And it's not going
to hurt them because they are a young enough team
overall that I think it can make it happen.
Speaker 4 (15:51):
And it also because the mindset of this team, you know,
was playing their starters in a meaningless game against the
forty nine ers right where I wonder if if you
have let's say, if it's Max, if it's Miles, like whatever,
big name that they would be able to trade for.
Looking at the video of Aiden Hutchinson running this week,
(16:12):
it's like, well, maybe you give him more time to
not feel like he has to be out there.
Speaker 3 (16:17):
Week one, week two, week three.
Speaker 4 (16:19):
You could slowly work him back to the way that
you could have this team be at its peak at
the end of the season, which is you know what
we wanted last year is if we can have this
this core healthy and not so beat up where they
can play to the level that we see them through
the middle of the season.
Speaker 3 (16:38):
Because they're so good.
Speaker 1 (16:39):
Yes, And I think Carlton Davis is a sneaky, huge
free agent. I think they kind of either need him
back or they need to invest at the position highly
in someone else. DJ Reid is an interesting name that's
out there at cornerback, a debo Polsit, a debo like
could fit kind of what they do in terms of
(17:00):
a physical style. Denzel Ward, if we're looking at Browns,
might be available potentially in a trade. He's trying to
get packaged. Let's just bring them both to Detroit. That
would be pretty exciting. But I think that he of
all their free agents, like own Wzourique, I think they'd
love to keep. They developed him, but if he goes
somewhere else, they'll they'll deal with that. But Carlton Davis
(17:22):
and then maybe Derek Barnes actually because I think they
really like him, are our two guys.
Speaker 2 (17:26):
I could see them absolutely keeping.
Speaker 1 (17:29):
All Right, We've done two teams in the NFC North,
probably the best division in football. We are going to
take a quick break and we're going to be back
to talk about the Vikings the Pas back on NFL Daily.
(17:51):
Wrapping up a great week here.
Speaker 2 (17:57):
I love this time of year.
Speaker 1 (17:59):
It's a good reset and I'm being real, like doing
an NFL daily doing a daily show at this time
of year is different, but it's it's been so different.
I've had so many similar off seasons that it's got me.
Speaker 2 (18:12):
Kind of fired up.
Speaker 1 (18:13):
To attack this part of the year with an energy
unknown to mankind and this exercise.
Speaker 2 (18:20):
Maybe I'm just being selfish. Let us know what you
think of the.
Speaker 1 (18:23):
Off season previews, because we're going to do it for
the AFC coming up to anything that you would change,
because selfishly, I find it to be just a great exercise.
It's like, okay, where are these teams out? It just
helps me feel like I know what is going on.
Speaker 4 (18:36):
Yeah, especially before you know because as the top one
oh one comes into it, its.
Speaker 2 (18:42):
Final Monday, that's coming, It's coming in Monday.
Speaker 4 (18:45):
And then you know everybody's into their mock drafts. Like
this is an integral part of that of considering where
the teams are where they want to be, and it's
all a part of the picture where you know, it's.
Speaker 2 (18:58):
Are you where you want to be?
Speaker 3 (18:59):
Though?
Speaker 1 (19:00):
Like what are you doing this weekend? Are you like
are you are you fulfilled? Are you taking a step
back and becoming the best Patrick you can be before
you're back on air all the time.
Speaker 4 (19:12):
I would like to this weekend, we have our first
first basketball game of the season for Malcolm. Yeah, going
to celebrate my ninth wedding anniversary.
Speaker 2 (19:21):
Congrats.
Speaker 4 (19:23):
And you know, I've got a lot of dental stuff
coming up, and that always whenever it's like, oh yeah,
it's time to refine and improve and get ready for
quality of life, and my mouth is like, no Ah,
this hurts.
Speaker 1 (19:35):
Yeah, that's that's my biggest takeaway as getting older, Like
the NFL off season is mostly for dental work. Yeah,
hopefully these next two teams won't feel like dental work
to talk about. I want to talk about the Bears.
Speaker 3 (19:46):
Let's do it.
Speaker 2 (19:47):
Put ten minutes on the clock.
Speaker 1 (19:50):
This is the team that I have faded on the
over under win lost draft three straight years. Successfully. Doesn't
mean I don't like your team. I just think they've
been overrated. You have the opening question here. Yes, I
think they have a real opportunity to not be overrated
going into this season if they play their cards right.
Speaker 4 (20:10):
So Ben Johnson comes over and he's tasked with getting
Caleb Williams to be the quarterback that we.
Speaker 3 (20:16):
Believe that he can be.
Speaker 4 (20:18):
Can Ben Johnson purely as a play caller and as
administrator of offense solve Caleb Williams' sack taking issue. Oh,
without making changes to the offensive line. Great, No, not entirely,
because it's a two part process.
Speaker 3 (20:37):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (20:37):
Yeah, he can help improve the process in him get
rid of the ball faster. I think that's coaching. That's
a long term process. But the line's bad too, and
they don't have anyone right now on the interior, and
the interior that they had last year obviously.
Speaker 2 (20:52):
Didn't play well.
Speaker 1 (20:54):
Matt Pryor Coleman Shelton, who is their center, Pryor was
a guard. Tevin Jenkins, who is probably the was their
best interior player, is also a free agent, so they
don't have anyone coming back. So I would say, no,
it's like impossible. They have to make moves now. It
could be through the draft. I think it is probably
the best way to improve your interior line and develop
(21:15):
these types of guys. But it can't just be coaching
points because two things can be true. It was on
Caleb and it was on the offensive line, right. But
if I had to like grade which one, it was
more on I mean, I don't know, it's probably the
line was even a bigger factor than Caleb.
Speaker 2 (21:31):
They were both pretty big, though.
Speaker 4 (21:33):
Yeah, it took a village right to build the disaster
that we saw in twenty twenty four for the Bears
offense specifically, other than like late game moments where they're
in desperation mode and they're making their way down the field,
it was kind of chaotic. I thought it was interesting
when I looked at the roster that you have to
go down to like Darnell right as the biggest cap
(21:55):
hit for the offensive line, like number twelve on the team.
In these other contenders, you know, you see what you
pay for here, you see investment in linemen leading to results. Well,
the Bears really haven't been able to do it, and
and those are the results. And I just wonder because
we think of Ben Johnson with that veteran plus talented
(22:17):
offensive line in Detroit putting up a billion points and
to now, I think people might need to reset their
expectations a little bit, not just for Caleb but for
Ben Johnson while they kind of navigate the talent issue
that they have up front in.
Speaker 1 (22:31):
Chicago, the free agency list speak so much to what
teams value, Because what if I told you that the
best free agent guard that might actually become available is
Tevin Jenkins of the Bears.
Speaker 2 (22:48):
Like, there's no great ones.
Speaker 1 (22:49):
Available, So like Bears fans are gonna be like, hey,
who can we get in free agency?
Speaker 2 (22:53):
Actually?
Speaker 1 (22:53):
Like, no, Tevin Jenkins, after a really rough start to
his career, became a solid player for them, and they
should look to bring him back.
Speaker 2 (23:00):
They know them if they want to.
Speaker 1 (23:01):
But there's there aren't great Like, there's no panacea in
free agency. It needs to be some values, some good
coaching ultimately improves your offensive line, and more than anything,
it's usually investing in the draft. And they've tried to
Darnel Wright, like we'll see if he becomes a plus player.
He hasn't really been for them at right tackle, and
(23:23):
then at left tackle you have Braxton Jones, who's been
serviceable enough. Was a fifth round pick. But certainly they
could go over the top and try to improve. All right,
let's just do a little step back. They have the
number ten pick, They have their picks in general, they
have an extra two from Carolina still getting those picks,
(23:44):
So that's cool. That's a very valuable pick. That's a
top ten in the second round pick. So they have
three what in the top forty five, which is that's great,
and they have sixty two million dollars in cap space.
So in terms of picks plus space, there are very
few teams in the NFL that have as much flexibility
(24:05):
and value as the Bears right now. And that I
guess was a case for keeping Ryan Poles, for having
some continuity when when he's had some you know, pretty
bad moves and some great moves too. That's a good
one because you would hope like he can have some
cohesion with Ben Johnson and how he's gonna build this thing.
Speaker 4 (24:26):
Yeah, and it's Ben Johnson had years to try to
find a landing spot to to evaluate those spots, and
I think like when we consider, right whether it's Peyton
going to the Broncos or Tom going to Tampa Bay,
right when you're picking your spot, like generally there's a
reason that you make these decisions, and so like Ben
(24:47):
Johnson has done the evaluation, and so I think that
is a place where we can be positive and maybe
Greg will be bullish on his on his Bears total
this year instead of fading them.
Speaker 1 (24:59):
Yeah, to be clear, three and oh, fading them, and
I don't think they were. Were they close in any
of those years of it? It was I think it
was seven last year, yeah, no, it was like eight
and a half and they didn't even get closed. I
think it was nine and a half by the end.
People were all in on the Bears. That was why.
Speaker 2 (25:15):
That was why I led with with fading them.
Speaker 1 (25:17):
Nine and a half by the start of last years.
There is reason to be excited about them other than
they're in this division. They return literally every single defensive starter.
That's awesome, and most of them are guys that you
want back. It's not superstars. I do think they could
use more defensive line help. It's like you can say
(25:38):
this with so many teams and it's a good draft
for it. They need some younger edge players. You know,
you have Montes Sweat, DeMarcus Walker is your other starter there,
or defensive tackle, really any defensive line you could add.
And so it's similar to a lot of teams. I
think you need offensive line, defensive line, you might need
a running back, and it's a good draft class for
(26:00):
that as well. Unless Ben Jonson is into the DeAndre
Swift reunion.
Speaker 2 (26:05):
Haven't heard a lot of that, Like, I.
Speaker 4 (26:07):
Mean, would that would that be the deciding factor if
they're sitting there at ten and Jenti's on the board
and it's like, well do we like DeAndre Swift? Like
hopefully now that probably is more we'll playing, uh to
that particular decision.
Speaker 1 (26:18):
They could save some money if they cut Swift, like
six million dollars something like that, if they wanted and
replace them with a second or third round pick, even
if they didn't want gent Gerald Everett, you could you
could save some money.
Speaker 5 (26:30):
Uh.
Speaker 1 (26:30):
And then yeah, they should start to look to extend
some of their guys that they can. There's not a
ton of them. Kyler Gordon though, stands out to me
as a young ascending player that would make a lot
of sense to extend this season. Now that the extension
when I when I keep bringing these up is they're
usually going to happen in the summer. They're not going
to happen before free agency. But Kyler Gordon is one
(26:51):
that you could watch there like they're in a nice,
a nice little spot without like a ton of crazy needs.
They got their wide receivers, they got their quarter back, but.
Speaker 4 (27:01):
Like you said, the issue is right, the market has
decided where the value is on the interior offensive line,
and they have those they have those needs where people
aren't letting that talent go.
Speaker 1 (27:14):
Yeah, and so you also could use that extra second
in a trade to move up for a veteran, But no,
I think I think taking an offensive lineman there. There's
a lot of former player connections with this team. So
Kevin Zeitler was with Ben Johnson with the Lions last year.
That could be a guard you just bring in to
plug a hole there, Tim Patrick, if that does anything
(27:37):
for you, just as like a fourth receiver type, Paulson,
Adebo Cam Jordan, Marcus Davenport, any of the old Dennis
Allen favorites.
Speaker 3 (27:47):
All of all of Dennis's big fans.
Speaker 1 (27:49):
Yeah, coming back to most of them, I can't say
they're all big fans necessarily. Dennis Allen always does well
with the secondary. I was wondering, like, how does Dennis
Allen fit? They were built holding this whole defense for
Matt Eberflus, how does he fit? I think if Dennis
Allen does one thing well in general, he's coordinated.
Speaker 2 (28:06):
Defense as well. When he's not been the head coach.
Speaker 1 (28:08):
But I think he's really good with secondary play, and
he's got a really good secondary to work with. So
I don't think there's going to be like a drop
off for these guys who are really talented and they
could make it very difficult to play against the Spars defense.
Speaker 4 (28:22):
It's a good squad, I think, right, Because you had
the injury concerns because I know Jakwan Brisker missed a
significant portion of the season with a very scary concussion, right,
But I say it all the time, every single player
in the NFL.
Speaker 3 (28:36):
Has a brain.
Speaker 4 (28:37):
I don't think that we you know, of course we're concerned, right,
But I don't think it's a particular Oh.
Speaker 5 (28:43):
I do he missed months, Yeah, it's like three months. No,
it was a devastating injury. But what I'm saying is
coming back. I don't necessarily have the long term concerns there.
I still think, right, because he'll be up in twenty
twenty six. I'm for if a player.
Speaker 4 (28:59):
Is is good, Yeah, it slot them offers all the time,
make offers on like random Tuesdays, see if you can
keep him around, because like it's the risk reward is
always always take risk on good guys.
Speaker 1 (29:14):
Yeah, and Brisker adds a physical element to that. Teven
Tyreek stevenson of hail Mary face Well. Still sticking around
one player I didn't mention here, Keenan Allen is a
free agent. Definitely seemed like he was slowing down last year.
I don't get the sense that that's something that will continue.
Speaker 4 (29:33):
He says he wants to be like the Bears were
one of his teams that he would want.
Speaker 3 (29:38):
To come back from.
Speaker 2 (29:38):
Okay, okay, so that's it's an option.
Speaker 3 (29:41):
They have the money.
Speaker 1 (29:42):
That feels like more of a of a pick spot
or a lower tier veteran next to Rome and DJ Moore,
who are really the.
Speaker 2 (29:50):
One and the two.
Speaker 1 (29:51):
All Right, let's wrap up our NFC teams with the
Minnesota Vikings. Ten minutes on the clock. Fifty six million
dollars in cap space.
Speaker 2 (30:03):
That's a lot. It's a lot.
Speaker 1 (30:06):
That's the good news. The bad news is they've only
got one pick in the top ninety.
Speaker 3 (30:11):
Uh.
Speaker 1 (30:12):
And I was like, wow, why did that happen? And
then I forgot Uh. They gave up a second ultimately
in a in a series of moves, they ultimately gave
up a second, a third, and a fourth for Dallas Turner. Uh,
if you remember, was was the the pass rusher wasn't
(30:32):
even the first pass us A lot too went in
front of him. But they really believed in him. He
had a He had quite a quiet rookie year. Doesn't
doesn't mean he's not gonna have a good career, but
that's a lot of draft capital. So they better be
right on Dallas Turner. And either way, their draft this
season is a little quiet. They did get a third
round compensatory pick back though for Kirk Cousins that was
that was nice.
Speaker 2 (30:52):
There we go, that's late late third.
Speaker 5 (30:55):
Uh.
Speaker 1 (30:56):
My question for them is, you know, how do you
if you redo your secondary? As I was doing my
top one oh one, so many of the players were
from the Viking secondary Byren Murphy Top forty in my
one oh one really good season Pro Bowl games MVP
on the defensive side, did you.
Speaker 2 (31:15):
Know that I did flag football? He got it done.
Speaker 1 (31:18):
I think he picked off Burrow or something happened. Cam
Binham nice versatile player. It's been really important for Flores's
top forty player Stefan Gilmore. One of the best, like
one year at a time cornerbacks we've ever seen. And
then not on the free agent list, but says he's
strongly considering retiring Harrison Smith. So that's four guys in
(31:41):
one secondary. Secondary very important to Brian Flores. So that,
to me, is going to be a focus. How do
they kind of fix that secondary without a lot of
draft capital in one offseason?
Speaker 4 (31:54):
I think, right, you start by bringing everybody back and
stuff on. Gilmore is not killing you, sure, it's it's
you have the cap space, bring him back three million dollars,
got fifty sixty one million dollars in cap space. I
don't see a need to necessarily be cute with trying
to save and pick between these guys on a good defense. Right,
there was a continuing defense throughout the year. They know
(32:16):
the system, they know why mess with it?
Speaker 1 (32:19):
Well, I don't. I think Murphy is looking for a
big payday. I get the sense he's not as high
on the pecking order, but buying him, yeah, he has
more value to the Vikings than anyone else. Okay, you
bring buying him and Gilmore back. That's two out of
the four. I just talked about. Harrison Smith. You just
have to wait and see if he wants to play
or not. Yeah, I guess make it worth as whole.
He was still playing at a high level. I thought
(32:39):
he had a really good year last year. I was like, man,
Harrison Smith never ages it'll.
Speaker 3 (32:44):
It'll, the age will eventually show up.
Speaker 1 (32:47):
But but why like Hall of Fame candidate, although it's
hard to get into the Hall of Fame these days apparently,
But yes, sneaky Hall of Fame caredate Smith.
Speaker 3 (32:55):
They go on a run, he has a key interception.
Speaker 1 (32:58):
You can to your your doubting it. Another question is
I'm just throwing out questions. Do you think about pairing
someone else with JJ and looking at the trade market
for Jordan Addison. I'm stealing this idea from Purple Daily,
which is a good podcast about the Vikings. They if
(33:18):
they can do daily on just the Vikings, we can
do daily on the entire NFL. And they threw out,
you know, would this be a off season that they
trade Jordan Addison been a couple off field things and
his value would be really high. If you're looking at
him that a guy that's not going to get that
long term contract, his value will never be higher. Maybe
you get some of your picks back that way, or
(33:41):
you get a veteran, just a thought, just throwing that
out there. That's their thought, it's not mine, but I
thought it was interesting.
Speaker 4 (33:47):
No, it is an interesting thought. I do tend to
feel like sunk costs is a logical fallacy. If you
feel like you gave up too much for Dallas Turner.
Speaker 2 (33:56):
Then right, that shouldn't be why you did it.
Speaker 4 (33:57):
Yeah, so then why would you kind of hamstring And
Hope is like, well, you know what's in the mystery box?
It could it could, It could be Jordan Addison. Well,
Jordan Madison is currently there and despite you know, those
off field issues still played at a high level.
Speaker 3 (34:12):
I don't. I mean, there's it's.
Speaker 4 (34:15):
Whoever whoever gets going to be too regardless, right, the
one is the one is always going to be the one.
And and I don't think taking away from the roster
solves anything.
Speaker 1 (34:27):
Okay, So it's funny. I actually misread my own notes
and I misinterpreted. I did have a note crazy idea
trade Addison question mark at the bottom. But when I
was saying who do you pair with JJ? I forgot
I was talking about the quarterback. The quarterback is JJ McCarthy.
What's the other quarterback that's on this roster because right
now we don't know. That's a pretty big question Sam Donald.
(34:49):
We're just assuming he's gone. I'm not I think there's
like a small chance Sam Donald is still on this team.
What do you get back for Sam Donald? Do you
get anything back for Sam Donald, like in a tag
and trade? Are you able to work that out or
does he just walk away and you get a compensate
Tory pick? And then what type of quarterback do you
pair with JJ McCarthy. Is it Daniel Jones who was
(35:12):
on the roster but is a free agent. Is it
more of a Jacoby Brissette Jamis Winston type. Like it's
important because JJ McCarthy is a young player coming off
a serious injury. So you need to have someone that
you can really believe in. If it's not seem.
Speaker 4 (35:27):
Dark and I don't think the like based on the
way that we saw the twenty twenty four season play out,
where they would bring somebody in with concerns that all
this guy is too good and it's going to create
a conversation, you're gonna have issues. I think JJ McCarthy's
gonna be fine regardless.
Speaker 1 (35:44):
I'm the likely starter, regardless. But they also have to
see it and make sure he's healthy.
Speaker 3 (35:48):
And all that.
Speaker 4 (35:48):
But the guys that you mentioned, Jacoby Wes said, I
think could be successful in this offense. I think Jamis
could be successful with Kevin McCarthy's excuse me, Kevin O'Connell's offense,
where it's the things that you're asking the veteran to
do in the system wouldn't necessarily be what you're asking
JJ McCarthy to be, So I do think it would
be kind of a difference there.
Speaker 2 (36:10):
Do you think Donald, What do you think get Donald?
Speaker 3 (36:13):
I think Donald walks.
Speaker 4 (36:16):
I think Sam played very good last year, and the
way that they feel about he gets an opportunity to
go somewhere, I think I think somebody's gonna have a
nice offer for Sam Donald when you're considering right that
teams are looking at Kirk Cousins and Derek Carr, like
the way that we talked about earlier this week, where
it's like, well, like who are these guys? Who do
(36:36):
we want? And then you see what Sam was able
to accomplish last year. I think there's a market for
Sam Donald that these other quarterbacks. Strictly when people are
looking at who's a veteran who could come in and
start for us this year. Sam Donald is going to
be number one for the majority of teo.
Speaker 1 (36:52):
I think Stafford is going to be one, assuming he's available.
Speaker 3 (36:56):
Well that's it.
Speaker 2 (36:57):
Yeah, that's an if for some teams.
Speaker 1 (36:58):
I actually think Donald might be higher for other teams
because of youth and maybe you're not gonna have give
up as much. It's one thing to keep an eye on.
It's a very tricky game of chicken trying to trade
Sam Donald under the franchise tag when you have no
real intention of keeping him. That is not how this
franchise tag is supposed to be used. Teams get around it.
(37:21):
But why I say that is you have to carve
out forty million dollars in cap space for Sam Donald
while he's still tagged. The deadline to do so is
March fourth. If another team just you know, wants to
wait it out or thinks you're gonna cut him or whatever,
you got that forty million dollars sitting there, it takes
a while for that those trades to process. Actually there
(37:42):
there could be like days of free agency that you
lose along the way, and so there's at least a
chance they just let him walk, and that annoys the
Vikings fans, but that would be some of the reasoning
for it. Now, if they're picking up word at the
combine next week that they have a good trade market
for Sam Donald and they feel they'll be able to
get a deal done sooner than later, then then they'll
(38:04):
do so and they'll get something for Donald.
Speaker 2 (38:05):
Either way, I'd be shocked.
Speaker 4 (38:07):
Well, I think if you're going the trade route, you
have to be okay with having Sam on your team
in twenty twenty five. Like, it's not like a scenario
where you go in thinking like we're well tag him
and then we're looking for a trade. You have to
be okay with either outcome. And if they are, I
think that puts them in a good position where it's
not just smoke at the combine. It's Hey, if you
(38:27):
guys would like a quarterback that's very viable. You could
trade for him. But you're not gonna hold us hostage
and wait for us to cut him because he could
be starting for it.
Speaker 1 (38:33):
Like if a team was willing to tell the VI
and it's early next week's really the week or we
find this out. If a team was willing to give
up a second round pick for Sam Darnald, like they
might have already even done. So we've seen quarterback trades
happen before this time. It happened with Stafford, happened with Cousins,
And if it's just a third round pick, then you
just let them walk because a third round pick's not
worth it. You're getting a compensed story third back, and
(38:54):
then you're losing a lot of.
Speaker 2 (38:56):
Time, a lot of drama, a lot of.
Speaker 1 (38:58):
Mess, and teams might now want to give a monster
contract to Sam Darnold and like a high pick.
Speaker 2 (39:03):
That's a lot for a.
Speaker 1 (39:04):
Guy who is freely available the last two off seasons
for pretty little, right, right, I mean Stafford's one thing.
That guy's won a Super Bowl and he might be
headed to the Hall of Fame. We have one minute left.
I will mention Aaron Jones is a free agent pretty
high among my running backs. Who would you rank first,
Aaron Jones or Naj Harris as free agent running backs?
Speaker 2 (39:26):
JK. Dobbins is an option, but I don't have it.
Speaker 4 (39:29):
I would give the age and burst bonus, even though
like the burst is variable with Naji. I would give
it to Naji Harris, but you know, I'm a known
Naji Harris support.
Speaker 2 (39:39):
I'm torn.
Speaker 1 (39:40):
Aaron Jones is such a good player, but like by
the end of last year he faded just a little bit.
He'd be a really good one. B So I guess
in that role for a little less money than the
Vikings played him this year, I would love to have.
Speaker 2 (39:53):
I guess I would trik Baron Jones.
Speaker 3 (39:55):
Hight.
Speaker 1 (39:55):
That's it. We did it all in the time allotted.
Eric's got such a big smile on his face. Look
up and I see forty minutes on the clock. Guys,
this is historic where we're sending you out, you know,
into the Inglewood Knights, head into the valley to see
your your beautiful son and your wife earlier than expected.
Speaker 2 (40:18):
I love it. Yes, that is the week.
Speaker 1 (40:20):
And as Patrick you mentioned the top one O one,
it is coming out.
Speaker 2 (40:24):
I think it's coming out on Monday. It's due. Like
I got to send in that copy.
Speaker 1 (40:28):
I'm leaving the studio to start working on the copy.
Speaker 4 (40:32):
Give it, give it to him, give it to him
ten at a time. Okay, we'll do like a slow
extended release for the most anticipated article on NFL dot
com every single year.
Speaker 1 (40:42):
I don't know if that's true. I'll tease it for
our audience right here, right at the top. I mean
that the names aren't as good as they usually are,
but I mean, at the very top, T Higgins. T
Higgins has won, Trey Smith of the Chiefs two, Ronnie Stanley,
Milton Williams, Zach Bond, Sam Darnold, Osa Diggi, Zua Joshuat,
Chris Godwin. We'll see if all these guys actually become
(41:04):
free agents. And then I'm debating Amari Cooper, Carlton Davis,
Tarvarius Ward in the next group, DJ Reid.
Speaker 2 (41:09):
Though those are pretty good names, take it back.
Speaker 6 (41:11):
What you need to do, Greg, is how some of
these like blog sites really kitchens. These lists they're listed reverse,
so you put one at the bottom of the page
and really force people to get through.
Speaker 1 (41:23):
You know, I will try. I have been debating who
every year. People want to know who is going to
be my one oh one. It's a guy that just
stays at one oh one, no matter who is cut
and added. We have some options, and maybe if you're
listening to this, you could you could tell me who
you think. Daniel Jones is kind of my leader in
the clubhouse because He just feels like a one on one.
(41:45):
But he might be better than that. Maybe he's better
than that. Deontay Johnson would be a funny one. I
think that would be good Deontay Johnson.
Speaker 3 (41:55):
It feels high for.
Speaker 2 (41:58):
Jimmy G. I know, I didn't know. Jimmy G. Feels
like a potential one on one.
Speaker 1 (42:02):
A lot of times it's kind of the backup quarterbacks,
and then there's there's less big name like zach Ertz
could be could be in that mix.
Speaker 2 (42:08):
It doesn't feel fun though. I like zach Ertz, Jacoby.
Speaker 4 (42:12):
The whole thing is fun. Get we got to do like,
you know, like the top one hundred players. We got
to sit everybody down and do like interviews at all.
Speaker 2 (42:19):
I do.
Speaker 1 (42:20):
I do want to hear Daniel Jones. I feel like
Daniel Jones or Deontay Johnson. It just feels like a
one oh one. Tomorrow Hamlin crossed my mind. He's sort
of in that range where he could be one on one,
because it's an honor to be one on one.
Speaker 3 (42:36):
Nice.
Speaker 2 (42:36):
I think I want to put Tomorrow even a little higher.
Speaker 3 (42:38):
Given.
Speaker 6 (42:38):
There we go, Pops, somebody gives them an honor he
deserves great.
Speaker 1 (42:41):
There you go, let's play the music. It's been a
great week. Like I said, Top one on one coming
out on Monday. We will talk about that next week
on the show. We're headed to Indianapolis. Uh, We're gonna
get some great interviews there. I will be at the
Combine doing shows Monday through Wednesday.
Speaker 2 (43:00):
So yeah, like when
Speaker 1 (43:01):
We're getting on a plane leaving sunny Los Angeles to
go to cold Indianapolis, you know it's the regular season
Welcome to NFL Daily, where we love a good wardrobe change.
I'm Greg Rosenthal here and the Chris Westling podcast studio
to talk about the NFC North and preview their off
season here in the regular season with Patrick Claybox.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
Correct.
Speaker 3 (00:22):
Yeah, good to be back two times in one week.
That's what we want. We're back.
Speaker 4 (00:26):
You know, the Super Bowl was different for me because
it was a whole season being in proximity to you guys.
Speaker 3 (00:32):
But now we're back.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
Yeah, it is.
Speaker 1 (00:34):
It is great to have you here and to talk
about the show. And yeah, if you're watching on YouTube,
you can see I'm wearing a hat and that makes
it Friday's Show. Great teams in the NFC North Lions, Vikings, obviously,
the Bears and the Packers, and it's a division that
(00:57):
to me, is set up for disappointment because you have
records this good from three teams in one year, and
you have a Bears team who has kind of underachieved
year after year after year, and everything looks so good,
like the expectations for all four of these teams are
going to be sky high. So the next month and yes,
that's what I've been calling the regular season is this
(01:19):
build up into into free agency is absolutely vital. So
let's put ten minutes on the clock here, and why
don't you why don't you get us going with the
Green Bay Packers?
Speaker 4 (01:35):
Oh, we'll go with the Green Bay Packers. Okay, this
has been a question that I've been waiting to ask
you for a while. Greg, when we initially conceptualized this exercise,
and I saw you and Jordan executed flawlessly. The Packers
started their season and ended their season with a loss
to the eventual Super Bowl champion. They navigated what we
(01:56):
both believe is the best division in football and had
lost to the Lions as well as the Vikings in
their historic seasons. Do the Green Bay Packers need to
package picks ooh, and trade for Miles Garrett in order
to the gap is not very big? I know that
they didn't have the success.
Speaker 3 (02:16):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (02:17):
Is Miles Garrett that piece that they go get like
they went and got Julius Peppers in that stage of
his career, like they went and got Reggie White in
that stage of his career? Is it Miles Garrett in
twenty twenty five, solving the problems with.
Speaker 3 (02:31):
The Green Bay Packers and getting them back to the
Super Bowl.
Speaker 1 (02:33):
I mean, I think they're a perfect team to do so,
because I think they can make it happen without ruining
their president or future prospects. Like you build up all
this young capital in terms of good young players, you know,
to be able to survive maybe trading a couple picks.
You have plenty of cap space. Forty two million dollars
(02:54):
in cap space. They have eight picks this year. They
basically have all their picks. So both them and the
Lions to me, are right near the top of the
list of teams that make the most sense for Miles
care I think the Lions make even maybe a little
more sense, But the Packers it would work too. And
that that was what I was thinking too, Like, what
(03:14):
does Goody get impatient? Because they're so patient in Green Bay?
This is kind of year three of the post Aaron
Rodgers era, and year three is kind of when you
push some of these players are maturing. I don't know
if that would be impatience or just trying to take
advantage of a situation.
Speaker 4 (03:32):
Yeah, I don't think because you have been patient, right,
You've been not just fiscally responsible, but you have The
Packers have a very structured set of parameters for the
players that they draft. You know, you're not going to
find a whole lot of small cornerbacks, right, You're not
going to find small defensive linemen. They they have their
(03:54):
metrics that they need to hit and they've done that
and they've built a very, very solid roster. But there
needs to be times where you take swings right where
you get because there's all that conversation about the offense
and who's the number one Matt Leffleuer doesn't want to
say who the number one receiver is. You know, all
these guys have their varied skill sets. You don't have
to lose any of that. But you you make a
(04:15):
pitch not just to the Cleveland Browns, but to the player.
You bring back those historical comparisons and you say you
can be it for us, And I just think it
makes too much sense not to. And you mentioned the
Detroit Lions. Do you want to play against him? Do
you want to play against him a couple more times?
Do you want to see the teams that were very
good that we're in the division that you couldn't compete with?
You know, when when everything came to a head at
(04:36):
the end of the season. Do you want to see
those guys get Miles Garrett. I just think it makes
it makes too much sense. And we saw it with
Josh Jacobs as well as with Xavier McKinney last year,
that this is not this is not our the Green
Bay Packers of old. They're willing to go out and
get very good players. Okay, so so do it? You
have the team make the move.
Speaker 1 (04:54):
Yeah, and you do have as I mentioned, the cap space.
It makes sense because when I look at their needs
not huge. I think the roster is in better shape
than twenty five teams in the league. Just to throw
out a number like there's not screaming needs, but probably
number one is like an edge rusher Rashan Gary, little
(05:18):
disappointing last year. Still gonna be on the team, but
a little disappointing. Don't really have a second edge guy
that you feel good about. Lucas van Ness has not
really hit DeVante Wyatt's gotten better, but I wouldn't say.
Speaker 2 (05:32):
It's been a hit.
Speaker 1 (05:33):
He's an interior rusher, and in general, their pass rush
was absolutely lacking last year. So I think that's an
area that even if they don't go after Miles Garrett,
you know, first of all, there's other guys available for trades,
Max Crosby or Trey Hendrickson that would be intriguing just
as intriguing, just about as well. Or are they a
(05:54):
team that invests a little bit upfront in free agency?
Connected to that, I was looking at ways of like
if they want to open up a little more space,
is Kenny Clark safe on this team? Been a really
good veteran for them for a while close the season okay,
I believe he made it to week ten without a
(06:15):
quarterback hit or a sac That's rough. That's tough for
like one of your highest paid players. So that's one
that could be a post June first they would save
ten million dollars. Maybe they don't feel like they need
to do that though, because they have so much cap space.
Speaker 2 (06:28):
See how he.
Speaker 1 (06:28):
Looks in training camp, and it's more a player that
they really appreciate. And then also likely not on this
team next year is JayR Alexander, who is under contract,
but it would be surprising if they brought him back.
I think he's going to be more of a cut
than a trade. So those are two guys really associated
with the Packers for.
Speaker 2 (06:47):
A long time.
Speaker 1 (06:48):
JayR Alexander and Kenny Clark with the futures that are
a little up in the air for a defense that
needs some work. Frankly, like they were okay, but they
need some work.
Speaker 4 (06:56):
And that would be my question is specifically with JayR,
why give yourself more work?
Speaker 3 (07:01):
There? They have they have this there, It's.
Speaker 1 (07:04):
Just it seemed bad personally. There's something going on there.
Speaker 4 (07:07):
Okay, I always reference it, but we got we got
statues outside of Staples right of.
Speaker 3 (07:13):
Guys who didn't have things going on personally.
Speaker 4 (07:15):
I think there were notable personal issues allegedly between Jalen
Hurts and A J. Brown over the course of the season.
Winning solves all those things, it makes it makes everything work.
Speaker 1 (07:27):
And so if Shaquille O'Neal is one of the people
you are, you were talking to, Yeah, Shaq and Kobe
an important guy.
Speaker 4 (07:34):
Yeah, didn't necessarily have the best relationship during all times
of their run, but but when it worked out, it
worked out to it to a very good extent. And
I just think if you're if you're letting JayR Alexander
go elsewhere, then now you've given yourself an actual problem
on a roster that that doesn't have that many like problem.
Speaker 1 (07:55):
Okay, my counterpoint is he never plays, that's my counterpoint.
Speaker 2 (08:02):
I mean, that's a big deal.
Speaker 1 (08:03):
He's getting older and he's been hurt, and there's been
some back and forth, and you hate when this happens
between a team and a player, of like, could he
be pushing to play more?
Speaker 2 (08:15):
Could he not?
Speaker 1 (08:15):
It's just been sort of a little bit of a
drama between them for a while, and I think they've
actually kept him longer than most teams would have. But
I'd be shocked if he is on the team. So
that those are a couple holes, very few free agents,
so that's good for them. They do have one guy,
Josh Myers, who, depending on who you ask, was either
(08:38):
the weak link there at center for a while or
a really improving player. I look at a guy who
has played a ton of football and will get a
good contract because anyone that can start as many games
as him and is young and the Packers say improved
quite a bit all last season is going to do
well somewhere. So I don't know if it'll be there
(08:58):
or not, but they I really trust them to figure
out their offensive line. The thing that strikes me looking
at their roster Patrick, tell me where you would want
to improve It is their offense, Like everyone else is
returning and like there aren't there aren't holes.
Speaker 2 (09:13):
You could add.
Speaker 1 (09:14):
Another receiver, you could bring back to Vante Adams. Maybe
I don't think that's that crazy. You could add one
more receiver, but you kind of don't have to, and
you could add at almost any level. Yeah, you could
add a guy that in theory is a one, but
you could just add another rotation piece. Christian Watson will
be coming off of a serious injury. Dantavian Wicks didn't
(09:36):
really work out last year. Maybe he'll improve in his
third year. So you kind of have Dobbs In, Jane
Reid and Tucker Craft as the three receivers that you
are kind of building this offense around, and Craft was
really good as a second year.
Speaker 4 (09:49):
It's tight end, and they also had some of the
most cohesive in terms of games started among the offensive
line in the entire league. They were able to keep
those guys healthy and together as a group of five
for the majority of the season. You know, we'll see
what the market is for AJ Dillon. You could find
his way back. I don't know that that necessarily matters
(10:11):
that much. I wouldn't change a thing about the off
You get some guys healthy, I think, another year together
playing in the system, another year knowing what Josh brings
to this team. Really, this is just the improvements needed.
Speaker 1 (10:25):
If they have an offseason like they did a year ago,
they are going to be a super Bowl contender. Because
just look at who was brought in a year ago.
Great pick, Edrin Cooper got some defensive Rookie of the
Year votes. Evan Williams was a really good rookie player
for them. Javon Bullard played a lot for them and
didn't embarrass himself. He was a rookie nickelback. So they
added some young talent on that side of the ball.
(10:46):
And oh, by the way, added Josh Jacobs and one
of the best backup quarterbacks in football. I think it's
safe to say now, Malik Willis so I mean, I'm serious, No,
that's true. It's obviously true. So they had a great offseason.
Goody's done great overall, and if they can just keep
adding more pieces, a little more juice on the defensive
side I think was missing. All right, let's go to
(11:08):
the Lions. Since we talked about them as a potential
Miles Garrett team. They are missing their third round pick,
but they do have a compensatory pick late in the
third coming back, so they basically are good on picks.
They have forty four million dollars in cap space, right
(11:30):
about the same as the Packers, That is tenth in
the league. They do have a number of good free agents.
Levi on Wizourique, who improved quite a bit as a
fourth year player, well timed, stayed healthy.
Speaker 2 (11:43):
I know they like him.
Speaker 1 (11:45):
Kevin Zeitler, who played well for them as a free
agent pickup at guard, and then Carlton Davis, who when
he played was very valuable for them. So that's three
top fifty free agents for them.
Speaker 2 (11:58):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (11:58):
My question, my question for them is like, with these
new two coordinators, where are they really prioritizing to improve
this team? Because it's hard. It's hard to like see
huge areas that they need to improve, but like what
types of players are do they go after?
Speaker 2 (12:16):
They're different?
Speaker 1 (12:17):
Now with these two coordinators, do you see an area
that is the biggest problem for them?
Speaker 4 (12:22):
Yeah, it's it's depth on the defensive line and then
the secondary, specifically at corner. I think they had two
of the best safeties in the league in Kirby and
Brian Branch. Spectacular on the middle of the field as
the season went on, But just when the Carlton Davis injury,
the Terry on Arnold injury late, you get Alexanzeloni back.
(12:43):
But injuries were more of the story for the Lions.
And again this is this is the NFL, Like, You're
going to have players injured every single year, regardless of age,
how they came in, what kind of shape they're in.
Speaker 3 (12:54):
It's going to be a consistent thing regardless.
Speaker 4 (12:56):
But in terms of the injuries affecting the outcomes, it's
tough for me to say that anybody had their outcomes
affected by the injuries more than Detroit Lions, especially on
the defensive side of the.
Speaker 2 (13:06):
Ball, right.
Speaker 1 (13:07):
I mean, it would have been great to see a
full strength Lions team, hypothetically or closer to it, play
that Eagles team. I'm not gonna say they're just gonna
beat him, but they certainly were right there at the
top for me in terms of favorites to win the
Super Bowl, along with the Chiefs and the Bills and
the Eagles, and so just getting healthier is going to
(13:28):
be massive for them. Marcus Davenport, by the way, was
supposed to be on this team. He is a free agent.
Other than that, and the guys I mentioned, Derek Barnes
was a guy who basically didn't play at all for
them last year. That could be an easy win if
you can get him back for cheap. They do have
Zadarias Smith under contract again for next year, so that's good.
Speaker 2 (13:47):
But I'm with you.
Speaker 1 (13:48):
I think it's pass rush that it just they just
didn't have enough. And I know Alie McNeil got hurt.
A lot of it was injuries, and you get Aiden
Hutchinson back. But this is a team that I think
been similar to Philadelphia and that they want to be
really good on the lines. I think they need to
keep refreshing their pass rush and start refreshing their offensive line.
(14:10):
Their offensive line actually is getting a little older, a
little creaky, weren't as good and the interior a year ago,
as I think their reputation would indicate. Then you look
at some of those numbers of the guys that you know,
when did they get drafted about Graham Glasgow drafted in sixteen,
rag Noow in eighteen, Decker in sixteen, Kevin Zeitler's thirty
five years old and a free agent, so that might
(14:32):
just be more of a draft focus, but they kind
of are due to start refreshing there. But these are
the types of things that great organizations are talking about
in the offseason, like let's improve our depth, let's get
younger at a position we're already good. They don't have
major screaming needs, especially on offense. They're kind of bringing
everyone back, which is awesome for the Lions and for
John Morton, their new offensive coordinator.
Speaker 4 (14:54):
Especially when you consider that these guys have years remaining,
like you got years before you have to think of
about an a'm On Ross Saint Brown or a Jared
Golf Right, it's just in terms of the talent there
where Pinae sewel Is you mentioned the age of everybody else.
Pene's got five more years before you.
Speaker 1 (15:15):
Got to keep paying them a long way. But they've
done a great job paying them early. And that also
means if they want to restructure some contracts, like they're
going to be able to open up money. They sort
of have all the money and all the picks that
they really need to be as aggressive as they want.
And that's why to me, they actually make the most
sense because I just feel like they're at this point
(15:35):
not it's definitely not desperation, but just opportunity and where
they are, I think they're going to feel like they
need to add something big and new to the mix
to make this season feel fresh. And it's not going
to hurt them because they are a young enough team
overall that I think it can make it happen.
Speaker 4 (15:51):
And it also because the mindset of this team, you know,
was playing their starters in a meaningless game against the
forty nine ers right where I wonder if if you
have let's say, if it's Max, if it's Miles, like whatever,
big name that they would be able to trade for.
Looking at the video of Aiden Hutchinson running this week,
(16:12):
it's like, well, maybe you give him more time to
not feel like he has to be out there.
Speaker 3 (16:17):
Week one, week two, week three.
Speaker 4 (16:19):
You could slowly work him back to the way that
you could have this team be at its peak at
the end of the season, which is you know what
we wanted last year is if we can have this
this core healthy and not so beat up where they
can play to the level that we see them through
the middle of the season.
Speaker 3 (16:38):
Because they're so good.
Speaker 1 (16:39):
Yes, And I think Carlton Davis is a sneaky, huge
free agent. I think they kind of either need him
back or they need to invest at the position highly
in someone else. DJ Reid is an interesting name that's
out there at cornerback, a debo Polsit, a debo like
could fit kind of what they do in terms of
(17:00):
a physical style. Denzel Ward, if we're looking at Browns,
might be available potentially in a trade. He's trying to
get packaged. Let's just bring them both to Detroit. That
would be pretty exciting. But I think that he of
all their free agents, like own Wzourique, I think they'd
love to keep. They developed him, but if he goes
somewhere else, they'll they'll deal with that. But Carlton Davis
(17:22):
and then maybe Derek Barnes actually because I think they
really like him, are our two guys.
Speaker 2 (17:26):
I could see them absolutely keeping.
Speaker 1 (17:29):
All Right, We've done two teams in the NFC North,
probably the best division in football. We are going to
take a quick break and we're going to be back
to talk about the Vikings the Pas back on NFL Daily.
(17:51):
Wrapping up a great week here.
Speaker 2 (17:57):
I love this time of year.
Speaker 1 (17:59):
It's a good reset and I'm being real, like doing
an NFL daily doing a daily show at this time
of year is different, but it's it's been so different.
I've had so many similar off seasons that it's got me.
Speaker 2 (18:12):
Kind of fired up.
Speaker 1 (18:13):
To attack this part of the year with an energy
unknown to mankind and this exercise.
Speaker 2 (18:20):
Maybe I'm just being selfish. Let us know what you
think of the.
Speaker 1 (18:23):
Off season previews, because we're going to do it for
the AFC coming up to anything that you would change,
because selfishly, I find it to be just a great exercise.
It's like, okay, where are these teams out? It just
helps me feel like I know what is going on.
Speaker 4 (18:36):
Yeah, especially before you know because as the top one
oh one comes into it, its.
Speaker 2 (18:42):
Final Monday, that's coming, It's coming in Monday.
Speaker 4 (18:45):
And then you know everybody's into their mock drafts. Like
this is an integral part of that of considering where
the teams are where they want to be, and it's
all a part of the picture where you know, it's.
Speaker 2 (18:58):
Are you where you want to be?
Speaker 3 (18:59):
Though?
Speaker 1 (19:00):
Like what are you doing this weekend? Are you like
are you are you fulfilled? Are you taking a step
back and becoming the best Patrick you can be before
you're back on air all the time.
Speaker 4 (19:12):
I would like to this weekend, we have our first
first basketball game of the season for Malcolm. Yeah, going
to celebrate my ninth wedding anniversary.
Speaker 2 (19:21):
Congrats.
Speaker 4 (19:23):
And you know, I've got a lot of dental stuff
coming up, and that always whenever it's like, oh yeah,
it's time to refine and improve and get ready for
quality of life, and my mouth is like, no Ah,
this hurts.
Speaker 1 (19:35):
Yeah, that's that's my biggest takeaway as getting older, Like
the NFL off season is mostly for dental work. Yeah,
hopefully these next two teams won't feel like dental work
to talk about. I want to talk about the Bears.
Speaker 3 (19:46):
Let's do it.
Speaker 2 (19:47):
Put ten minutes on the clock.
Speaker 1 (19:50):
This is the team that I have faded on the
over under win lost draft three straight years. Successfully. Doesn't
mean I don't like your team. I just think they've
been overrated. You have the opening question here. Yes, I
think they have a real opportunity to not be overrated
going into this season if they play their cards right.
Speaker 4 (20:10):
So Ben Johnson comes over and he's tasked with getting
Caleb Williams to be the quarterback that we.
Speaker 3 (20:16):
Believe that he can be.
Speaker 4 (20:18):
Can Ben Johnson purely as a play caller and as
administrator of offense solve Caleb Williams' sack taking issue. Oh,
without making changes to the offensive line. Great, No, not entirely,
because it's a two part process.
Speaker 3 (20:37):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (20:37):
Yeah, he can help improve the process in him get
rid of the ball faster. I think that's coaching. That's
a long term process. But the line's bad too, and
they don't have anyone right now on the interior, and
the interior that they had last year obviously.
Speaker 2 (20:52):
Didn't play well.
Speaker 1 (20:54):
Matt Pryor Coleman Shelton, who is their center, Pryor was
a guard. Tevin Jenkins, who is probably the was their
best interior player, is also a free agent, so they
don't have anyone coming back. So I would say, no,
it's like impossible. They have to make moves now. It
could be through the draft. I think it is probably
the best way to improve your interior line and develop
(21:15):
these types of guys. But it can't just be coaching
points because two things can be true. It was on
Caleb and it was on the offensive line, right. But
if I had to like grade which one, it was
more on I mean, I don't know, it's probably the
line was even a bigger factor than Caleb.
Speaker 2 (21:31):
They were both pretty big, though.
Speaker 4 (21:33):
Yeah, it took a village right to build the disaster
that we saw in twenty twenty four for the Bears
offense specifically, other than like late game moments where they're
in desperation mode and they're making their way down the field,
it was kind of chaotic. I thought it was interesting
when I looked at the roster that you have to
go down to like Darnell right as the biggest cap
(21:55):
hit for the offensive line, like number twelve on the team.
In these other contenders, you know, you see what you
pay for here, you see investment in linemen leading to results. Well,
the Bears really haven't been able to do it, and
and those are the results. And I just wonder because
we think of Ben Johnson with that veteran plus talented
(22:17):
offensive line in Detroit putting up a billion points and
to now, I think people might need to reset their
expectations a little bit, not just for Caleb but for
Ben Johnson while they kind of navigate the talent issue
that they have up front in.
Speaker 1 (22:31):
Chicago, the free agency list speak so much to what
teams value, Because what if I told you that the
best free agent guard that might actually become available is
Tevin Jenkins of the Bears.
Speaker 2 (22:48):
Like, there's no great ones.
Speaker 1 (22:49):
Available, So like Bears fans are gonna be like, hey,
who can we get in free agency?
Speaker 2 (22:53):
Actually?
Speaker 1 (22:53):
Like, no, Tevin Jenkins, after a really rough start to
his career, became a solid player for them, and they
should look to bring him back.
Speaker 2 (23:00):
They know them if they want to.
Speaker 1 (23:01):
But there's there aren't great Like, there's no panacea in
free agency. It needs to be some values, some good
coaching ultimately improves your offensive line, and more than anything,
it's usually investing in the draft. And they've tried to
Darnel Wright, like we'll see if he becomes a plus player.
He hasn't really been for them at right tackle, and
(23:23):
then at left tackle you have Braxton Jones, who's been
serviceable enough. Was a fifth round pick. But certainly they
could go over the top and try to improve. All right,
let's just do a little step back. They have the
number ten pick, They have their picks in general, they
have an extra two from Carolina still getting those picks,
(23:44):
So that's cool. That's a very valuable pick. That's a
top ten in the second round pick. So they have
three what in the top forty five, which is that's great,
and they have sixty two million dollars in cap space.
So in terms of picks plus space, there are very
few teams in the NFL that have as much flexibility
(24:05):
and value as the Bears right now. And that I
guess was a case for keeping Ryan Poles, for having
some continuity when when he's had some you know, pretty
bad moves and some great moves too. That's a good
one because you would hope like he can have some
cohesion with Ben Johnson and how he's gonna build this thing.
Speaker 4 (24:26):
Yeah, and it's Ben Johnson had years to try to
find a landing spot to to evaluate those spots, and
I think like when we consider, right whether it's Peyton
going to the Broncos or Tom going to Tampa Bay,
right when you're picking your spot, like generally there's a
reason that you make these decisions, and so like Ben
(24:47):
Johnson has done the evaluation, and so I think that
is a place where we can be positive and maybe
Greg will be bullish on his on his Bears total
this year instead of fading them.
Speaker 1 (24:59):
Yeah, to be clear, three and oh, fading them, and
I don't think they were. Were they close in any
of those years of it? It was I think it
was seven last year, yeah, no, it was like eight
and a half and they didn't even get closed. I
think it was nine and a half by the end.
People were all in on the Bears. That was why.
Speaker 2 (25:15):
That was why I led with with fading them.
Speaker 1 (25:17):
Nine and a half by the start of last years.
There is reason to be excited about them other than
they're in this division. They return literally every single defensive starter.
That's awesome, and most of them are guys that you
want back. It's not superstars. I do think they could
use more defensive line help. It's like you can say
(25:38):
this with so many teams and it's a good draft
for it. They need some younger edge players. You know,
you have Montes Sweat, DeMarcus Walker is your other starter there,
or defensive tackle, really any defensive line you could add.
And so it's similar to a lot of teams. I
think you need offensive line, defensive line, you might need
a running back, and it's a good draft class for
(26:00):
that as well. Unless Ben Jonson is into the DeAndre
Swift reunion.
Speaker 2 (26:05):
Haven't heard a lot of that, Like, I.
Speaker 4 (26:07):
Mean, would that would that be the deciding factor if
they're sitting there at ten and Jenti's on the board
and it's like, well do we like DeAndre Swift? Like
hopefully now that probably is more we'll playing, uh to
that particular decision.
Speaker 1 (26:18):
They could save some money if they cut Swift, like
six million dollars something like that, if they wanted and
replace them with a second or third round pick, even
if they didn't want gent Gerald Everett, you could you
could save some money.
Speaker 5 (26:30):
Uh.
Speaker 1 (26:30):
And then yeah, they should start to look to extend
some of their guys that they can. There's not a
ton of them. Kyler Gordon though, stands out to me
as a young ascending player that would make a lot
of sense to extend this season. Now that the extension
when I when I keep bringing these up is they're
usually going to happen in the summer. They're not going
to happen before free agency. But Kyler Gordon is one
(26:51):
that you could watch there like they're in a nice,
a nice little spot without like a ton of crazy needs.
They got their wide receivers, they got their quarter back, but.
Speaker 4 (27:01):
Like you said, the issue is right, the market has
decided where the value is on the interior offensive line,
and they have those they have those needs where people
aren't letting that talent go.
Speaker 1 (27:14):
Yeah, and so you also could use that extra second
in a trade to move up for a veteran, But no,
I think I think taking an offensive lineman there. There's
a lot of former player connections with this team. So
Kevin Zeitler was with Ben Johnson with the Lions last year.
That could be a guard you just bring in to
plug a hole there, Tim Patrick, if that does anything
(27:37):
for you, just as like a fourth receiver type, Paulson,
Adebo Cam Jordan, Marcus Davenport, any of the old Dennis
Allen favorites.
Speaker 3 (27:47):
All of all of Dennis's big fans.
Speaker 1 (27:49):
Yeah, coming back to most of them, I can't say
they're all big fans necessarily. Dennis Allen always does well
with the secondary. I was wondering, like, how does Dennis
Allen fit? They were built holding this whole defense for
Matt Eberflus, how does he fit? I think if Dennis
Allen does one thing well in general, he's coordinated.
Speaker 2 (28:06):
Defense as well. When he's not been the head coach.
Speaker 1 (28:08):
But I think he's really good with secondary play, and
he's got a really good secondary to work with. So
I don't think there's going to be like a drop
off for these guys who are really talented and they
could make it very difficult to play against the Spars defense.
Speaker 4 (28:22):
It's a good squad, I think, right, Because you had
the injury concerns because I know Jakwan Brisker missed a
significant portion of the season with a very scary concussion, right,
But I say it all the time, every single player
in the NFL.
Speaker 3 (28:36):
Has a brain.
Speaker 4 (28:37):
I don't think that we you know, of course we're concerned, right,
But I don't think it's a particular Oh.
Speaker 5 (28:43):
I do he missed months, Yeah, it's like three months. No,
it was a devastating injury. But what I'm saying is
coming back. I don't necessarily have the long term concerns there.
I still think, right, because he'll be up in twenty
twenty six. I'm for if a player.
Speaker 4 (28:59):
Is is good, Yeah, it slot them offers all the time,
make offers on like random Tuesdays, see if you can
keep him around, because like it's the risk reward is
always always take risk on good guys.
Speaker 1 (29:14):
Yeah, and Brisker adds a physical element to that. Teven
Tyreek stevenson of hail Mary face Well. Still sticking around
one player I didn't mention here, Keenan Allen is a
free agent. Definitely seemed like he was slowing down last year.
I don't get the sense that that's something that will continue.
Speaker 4 (29:33):
He says he wants to be like the Bears were
one of his teams that he would want.
Speaker 3 (29:38):
To come back from.
Speaker 2 (29:38):
Okay, okay, so that's it's an option.
Speaker 3 (29:41):
They have the money.
Speaker 1 (29:42):
That feels like more of a of a pick spot
or a lower tier veteran next to Rome and DJ Moore,
who are really the.
Speaker 2 (29:50):
One and the two.
Speaker 1 (29:51):
All Right, let's wrap up our NFC teams with the
Minnesota Vikings. Ten minutes on the clock. Fifty six million
dollars in cap space.
Speaker 2 (30:03):
That's a lot. It's a lot.
Speaker 1 (30:06):
That's the good news. The bad news is they've only
got one pick in the top ninety.
Speaker 3 (30:11):
Uh.
Speaker 1 (30:12):
And I was like, wow, why did that happen? And
then I forgot Uh. They gave up a second ultimately
in a in a series of moves, they ultimately gave
up a second, a third, and a fourth for Dallas Turner. Uh,
if you remember, was was the the pass rusher wasn't
(30:32):
even the first pass us A lot too went in
front of him. But they really believed in him. He
had a He had quite a quiet rookie year. Doesn't
doesn't mean he's not gonna have a good career, but
that's a lot of draft capital. So they better be
right on Dallas Turner. And either way, their draft this
season is a little quiet. They did get a third
round compensatory pick back though for Kirk Cousins that was
that was nice.
Speaker 2 (30:52):
There we go, that's late late third.
Speaker 5 (30:55):
Uh.
Speaker 1 (30:56):
My question for them is, you know, how do you
if you redo your secondary? As I was doing my
top one oh one, so many of the players were
from the Viking secondary Byren Murphy Top forty in my
one oh one really good season Pro Bowl games MVP
on the defensive side, did you.
Speaker 2 (31:15):
Know that I did flag football? He got it done.
Speaker 1 (31:18):
I think he picked off Burrow or something happened. Cam
Binham nice versatile player. It's been really important for Flores's
top forty player Stefan Gilmore. One of the best, like
one year at a time cornerbacks we've ever seen. And
then not on the free agent list, but says he's
strongly considering retiring Harrison Smith. So that's four guys in
(31:41):
one secondary. Secondary very important to Brian Flores. So that,
to me, is going to be a focus. How do
they kind of fix that secondary without a lot of
draft capital in one offseason?
Speaker 4 (31:54):
I think, right, you start by bringing everybody back and
stuff on. Gilmore is not killing you, sure, it's it's
you have the cap space, bring him back three million dollars,
got fifty sixty one million dollars in cap space. I
don't see a need to necessarily be cute with trying
to save and pick between these guys on a good defense. Right,
there was a continuing defense throughout the year. They know
(32:16):
the system, they know why mess with it?
Speaker 1 (32:19):
Well, I don't. I think Murphy is looking for a
big payday. I get the sense he's not as high
on the pecking order, but buying him, yeah, he has
more value to the Vikings than anyone else. Okay, you
bring buying him and Gilmore back. That's two out of
the four. I just talked about. Harrison Smith. You just
have to wait and see if he wants to play
or not. Yeah, I guess make it worth as whole.
He was still playing at a high level. I thought
(32:39):
he had a really good year last year. I was like, man,
Harrison Smith never ages it'll.
Speaker 3 (32:44):
It'll, the age will eventually show up.
Speaker 1 (32:47):
But but why like Hall of Fame candidate, although it's
hard to get into the Hall of Fame these days apparently,
But yes, sneaky Hall of Fame caredate Smith.
Speaker 3 (32:55):
They go on a run, he has a key interception.
Speaker 1 (32:58):
You can to your your doubting it. Another question is
I'm just throwing out questions. Do you think about pairing
someone else with JJ and looking at the trade market
for Jordan Addison. I'm stealing this idea from Purple Daily,
which is a good podcast about the Vikings. They if
(33:18):
they can do daily on just the Vikings, we can
do daily on the entire NFL. And they threw out,
you know, would this be a off season that they
trade Jordan Addison been a couple off field things and
his value would be really high. If you're looking at
him that a guy that's not going to get that
long term contract, his value will never be higher. Maybe
you get some of your picks back that way, or
(33:41):
you get a veteran, just a thought, just throwing that
out there. That's their thought, it's not mine, but I
thought it was interesting.
Speaker 4 (33:47):
No, it is an interesting thought. I do tend to
feel like sunk costs is a logical fallacy. If you
feel like you gave up too much for Dallas Turner.
Speaker 2 (33:56):
Then right, that shouldn't be why you did it.
Speaker 4 (33:57):
Yeah, so then why would you kind of hamstring And
Hope is like, well, you know what's in the mystery box?
It could it could, It could be Jordan Addison. Well,
Jordan Madison is currently there and despite you know, those
off field issues still played at a high level.
Speaker 3 (34:12):
I don't. I mean, there's it's.
Speaker 4 (34:15):
Whoever whoever gets going to be too regardless, right, the
one is the one is always going to be the one.
And and I don't think taking away from the roster
solves anything.
Speaker 1 (34:27):
Okay, So it's funny. I actually misread my own notes
and I misinterpreted. I did have a note crazy idea
trade Addison question mark at the bottom. But when I
was saying who do you pair with JJ? I forgot
I was talking about the quarterback. The quarterback is JJ McCarthy.
What's the other quarterback that's on this roster because right
now we don't know. That's a pretty big question Sam Donald.
(34:49):
We're just assuming he's gone. I'm not I think there's
like a small chance Sam Donald is still on this team.
What do you get back for Sam Donald? Do you
get anything back for Sam Donald, like in a tag
and trade? Are you able to work that out or
does he just walk away and you get a compensate
Tory pick? And then what type of quarterback do you
pair with JJ McCarthy. Is it Daniel Jones who was
(35:12):
on the roster but is a free agent. Is it
more of a Jacoby Brissette Jamis Winston type. Like it's
important because JJ McCarthy is a young player coming off
a serious injury. So you need to have someone that
you can really believe in. If it's not seem.
Speaker 4 (35:27):
Dark and I don't think the like based on the
way that we saw the twenty twenty four season play out,
where they would bring somebody in with concerns that all
this guy is too good and it's going to create
a conversation, you're gonna have issues. I think JJ McCarthy's
gonna be fine regardless.
Speaker 1 (35:44):
I'm the likely starter, regardless. But they also have to
see it and make sure he's healthy.
Speaker 3 (35:48):
And all that.
Speaker 4 (35:48):
But the guys that you mentioned, Jacoby Wes said, I
think could be successful in this offense. I think Jamis
could be successful with Kevin McCarthy's excuse me, Kevin O'Connell's offense,
where it's the things that you're asking the veteran to
do in the system wouldn't necessarily be what you're asking
JJ McCarthy to be, So I do think it would
be kind of a difference there.
Speaker 2 (36:10):
Do you think Donald, What do you think get Donald?
Speaker 3 (36:13):
I think Donald walks.
Speaker 4 (36:16):
I think Sam played very good last year, and the
way that they feel about he gets an opportunity to
go somewhere, I think I think somebody's gonna have a
nice offer for Sam Donald when you're considering right that
teams are looking at Kirk Cousins and Derek Carr, like
the way that we talked about earlier this week, where
it's like, well, like who are these guys? Who do
(36:36):
we want? And then you see what Sam was able
to accomplish last year. I think there's a market for
Sam Donald that these other quarterbacks. Strictly when people are
looking at who's a veteran who could come in and
start for us this year. Sam Donald is going to
be number one for the majority of teo.
Speaker 1 (36:52):
I think Stafford is going to be one, assuming he's available.
Speaker 3 (36:56):
Well that's it.
Speaker 2 (36:57):
Yeah, that's an if for some teams.
Speaker 1 (36:58):
I actually think Donald might be higher for other teams
because of youth and maybe you're not gonna have give
up as much. It's one thing to keep an eye on.
It's a very tricky game of chicken trying to trade
Sam Donald under the franchise tag when you have no
real intention of keeping him. That is not how this
franchise tag is supposed to be used. Teams get around it.
(37:21):
But why I say that is you have to carve
out forty million dollars in cap space for Sam Donald
while he's still tagged. The deadline to do so is
March fourth. If another team just you know, wants to
wait it out or thinks you're gonna cut him or whatever,
you got that forty million dollars sitting there, it takes
a while for that those trades to process. Actually there
(37:42):
there could be like days of free agency that you
lose along the way, and so there's at least a
chance they just let him walk, and that annoys the
Vikings fans, but that would be some of the reasoning
for it. Now, if they're picking up word at the
combine next week that they have a good trade market
for Sam Donald and they feel they'll be able to
get a deal done sooner than later, then then they'll
(38:04):
do so and they'll get something for Donald.
Speaker 2 (38:05):
Either way, I'd be shocked.
Speaker 4 (38:07):
Well, I think if you're going the trade route, you
have to be okay with having Sam on your team
in twenty twenty five. Like, it's not like a scenario
where you go in thinking like we're well tag him
and then we're looking for a trade. You have to
be okay with either outcome. And if they are, I
think that puts them in a good position where it's
not just smoke at the combine. It's Hey, if you
(38:27):
guys would like a quarterback that's very viable. You could
trade for him. But you're not gonna hold us hostage
and wait for us to cut him because he could
be starting for it.
Speaker 1 (38:33):
Like if a team was willing to tell the VI
and it's early next week's really the week or we
find this out. If a team was willing to give
up a second round pick for Sam Darnald, like they
might have already even done. So we've seen quarterback trades
happen before this time. It happened with Stafford, happened with Cousins,
And if it's just a third round pick, then you
just let them walk because a third round pick's not
worth it. You're getting a compensed story third back, and
(38:54):
then you're losing a lot of.
Speaker 2 (38:56):
Time, a lot of drama, a lot of.
Speaker 1 (38:58):
Mess, and teams might now want to give a monster
contract to Sam Darnold and like a high pick.
Speaker 2 (39:03):
That's a lot for a.
Speaker 1 (39:04):
Guy who is freely available the last two off seasons
for pretty little, right, right, I mean Stafford's one thing.
That guy's won a Super Bowl and he might be
headed to the Hall of Fame. We have one minute left.
I will mention Aaron Jones is a free agent pretty
high among my running backs. Who would you rank first,
Aaron Jones or Naj Harris as free agent running backs?
Speaker 2 (39:26):
JK. Dobbins is an option, but I don't have it.
Speaker 4 (39:29):
I would give the age and burst bonus, even though
like the burst is variable with Naji. I would give
it to Naji Harris, but you know, I'm a known
Naji Harris support.
Speaker 2 (39:39):
I'm torn.
Speaker 1 (39:40):
Aaron Jones is such a good player, but like by
the end of last year he faded just a little bit.
He'd be a really good one. B So I guess
in that role for a little less money than the
Vikings played him this year, I would love to have.
Speaker 2 (39:53):
I guess I would trik Baron Jones.
Speaker 3 (39:55):
Hight.
Speaker 1 (39:55):
That's it. We did it all in the time allotted.
Eric's got such a big smile on his face. Look
up and I see forty minutes on the clock. Guys,
this is historic where we're sending you out, you know,
into the Inglewood Knights, head into the valley to see
your your beautiful son and your wife earlier than expected.
Speaker 2 (40:18):
I love it. Yes, that is the week.
Speaker 1 (40:20):
And as Patrick you mentioned the top one O one,
it is coming out.
Speaker 2 (40:24):
I think it's coming out on Monday. It's due. Like
I got to send in that copy.
Speaker 1 (40:28):
I'm leaving the studio to start working on the copy.
Speaker 4 (40:32):
Give it, give it to him, give it to him
ten at a time. Okay, we'll do like a slow
extended release for the most anticipated article on NFL dot
com every single year.
Speaker 1 (40:42):
I don't know if that's true. I'll tease it for
our audience right here, right at the top. I mean
that the names aren't as good as they usually are,
but I mean, at the very top, T Higgins. T
Higgins has won, Trey Smith of the Chiefs two, Ronnie Stanley,
Milton Williams, Zach Bond, Sam Darnold, Osa Diggi, Zua Joshuat,
Chris Godwin. We'll see if all these guys actually become
(41:04):
free agents. And then I'm debating Amari Cooper, Carlton Davis,
Tarvarius Ward in the next group, DJ Reid.
Speaker 2 (41:09):
Though those are pretty good names, take it back.
Speaker 6 (41:11):
What you need to do, Greg, is how some of
these like blog sites really kitchens. These lists they're listed reverse,
so you put one at the bottom of the page
and really force people to get through.
Speaker 1 (41:23):
You know, I will try. I have been debating who
every year. People want to know who is going to
be my one oh one. It's a guy that just
stays at one oh one, no matter who is cut
and added. We have some options, and maybe if you're
listening to this, you could you could tell me who
you think. Daniel Jones is kind of my leader in
the clubhouse because He just feels like a one on one.
(41:45):
But he might be better than that. Maybe he's better
than that. Deontay Johnson would be a funny one. I
think that would be good Deontay Johnson.
Speaker 3 (41:55):
It feels high for.
Speaker 2 (41:58):
Jimmy G. I know, I didn't know. Jimmy G. Feels
like a potential one on one.
Speaker 1 (42:02):
A lot of times it's kind of the backup quarterbacks,
and then there's there's less big name like zach Ertz
could be could be in that mix.
Speaker 2 (42:08):
It doesn't feel fun though. I like zach Ertz, Jacoby.
Speaker 4 (42:12):
The whole thing is fun. Get we got to do like,
you know, like the top one hundred players. We got
to sit everybody down and do like interviews at all.
Speaker 2 (42:19):
I do.
Speaker 1 (42:20):
I do want to hear Daniel Jones. I feel like
Daniel Jones or Deontay Johnson. It just feels like a
one oh one. Tomorrow Hamlin crossed my mind. He's sort
of in that range where he could be one on one,
because it's an honor to be one on one.
Speaker 3 (42:36):
Nice.
Speaker 2 (42:36):
I think I want to put Tomorrow even a little higher.
Speaker 3 (42:38):
Given.
Speaker 6 (42:38):
There we go, Pops, somebody gives them an honor he
deserves great.
Speaker 1 (42:41):
There you go, let's play the music. It's been a
great week. Like I said, Top one on one coming
out on Monday. We will talk about that next week
on the show. We're headed to Indianapolis. Uh, We're gonna
get some great interviews there. I will be at the
Combine doing shows Monday through Wednesday.
Speaker 2 (43:00):
So yeah, like when
Speaker 1 (43:01):
We're getting on a plane leaving sunny Los Angeles to
go to cold Indianapolis, you know it's the regular season
Host
Gregg Rosenthal
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Special Summer Offer: Exclusively on Apple Podcasts, try our Dateline Premium subscription completely free for one month! With Dateline Premium, you get every episode ad-free plus exclusive bonus content.
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!