Patrick Claybon and the Insiders deliver the second hour of their namesake show. Jane Slater joins the show with commentary on the Dallas offseason. Bucky Brooks and Brian Baldinger bring analysis of the Vikings after Minnesota lands some key free agents. Jeff Chadiha joins with his winners and loser of free agency so far & Michael F. Florio brings a fantasy take on free agency. The Insiders discuss Gregg Rosenthal’s top 101 free agents.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:07):
Insiders continues on a Frenzy Tuesday, a Tuesday that includes waiting,
like a lot of other days, waiting for Aaron.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
Rodgers to make a decision.
Speaker 1 (00:16):
Insight into how that decision could possibly be made coming
up on the show, and Kirk Cousins first season in
Atlanta didn't necessarily work out, so now that the Falcons
will go with Michael Pennix Junior, what's the path ahead
for the remainder of Kirk cousins career in which team
should be a part of it and would that team
perhaps be a winner.
Speaker 2 (00:37):
Or ultimately a loser.
Speaker 1 (00:38):
It's we're early into the Free Agency Frenzy, still just
a day plus change in, but Jeff Jedea breaking down
potential winners and losers from the start of this edition
of the Free Agency's Frenzy. The Insiders continues on here
on NFL Network. Patrick Clabrone in the NFL LA News
We're joined by our actual NFL Network insiders, Tom Pelisaro
Ian Rapport, Judy Batista, and Mike Garofolo as the phones Ians.
(01:02):
Ringer remains on and the smiles are still on these
folks who have had the team on their back from
before the start of the free agent negotiating window. Let's
go through some of the news before we get out
to them. New Today coming into the nfl LA newsroom
the Carolina panp not the Carolina Panthers, was the Philadelphia
Eagles making a trade the Super Bowl champion CJ. Gardner
(01:25):
Johnson's the second time in the past few years the
Eagles have gone to a Super Bowl and then parted
ways with CJGJ training in exchange for the Texans offensive
lineman Kenyon Green, as well as a fifth round pick
coming up in the twenty twenty six NFL Draft. Next
up New Today, the New York Giants acquiring Dolphins safety
(01:46):
Javon holl in a three year deal could be worth
up to forty five point three million dollars thirty point
three million dollars guaranteed.
Speaker 2 (01:53):
R Cam Wolf said.
Speaker 1 (01:54):
The Giants might have a little bit of a do
over after Xavier McKinney departed in free agency a year ago.
They get another veteran safety to be in their secondary.
Speaker 2 (02:03):
Speaking of veteran.
Speaker 1 (02:04):
Defenders, longtime Commander's defensive lineman Jonathan Allen agreeing to terms
with the Minnesota Vikings on a three year deal could
be worth up to fifty one million dollars or get
all the way up to sixty if Jonathan Allen is
able to hit his incentives in Minnesota. Late last season,
the Minnesota Vikings bringing in Daniel Jones in on the
(02:25):
game for the quarterback, but ultimately Jones decides to agree
to terms with the Indianapolis Colts on a one year
deal with thirteen point one million dollars guaranteed. A part
of the quarterback carousel that plays into so many other
quarterback decisions.
Speaker 2 (02:42):
For some of those decisions.
Speaker 1 (02:43):
As well as how they might impact things, let's get
out to our insiders.
Speaker 3 (02:48):
Hey you very much, Patrick could welcome inside with the insiders.
Let's do a quick recap here because there's sometimes a
lot of stuff flying. If you've been you know, I
don't know, not watching the insiders and free agency frenzy
and good morning football for the last five days some
of what you missed. The Seahawks traded Gino Smith to
the Raiders. That filled one spot. That also opened up
a spot for Sam Darnold to go from Minnesota to
(03:08):
Seattle that then had the Vikings focusing on Daniel Jones.
Speaker 1 (03:12):
He landed today with the Colts.
Speaker 3 (03:14):
That's three of the big seats on the proverbial carousel
filled for the Vikings. There certainly seemed to be turning
their attention towards JJ McCarthy moore on that momentarily here now, Judy,
I would say not, Mike, I would say that the
focus penvot point in a lot of this resides in
Pittsburgh where we stand.
Speaker 4 (03:36):
It's seven o'clock on the East coast. We are still waiting,
which is I think exactly what we were doing at
this time last night when we were having this exact
same conversation, waiting waiting for Aaron Rodgers, waiting for the
Steelers to decide what they'll do if Aaron Rodgers goes elsewhere,
where they'll turn. Look, they wanted Justin Fields initially. He's
(04:01):
with the Jets. Now, so they turned their attention to,
among others, Aaron Rodgers, and now they are waiting, as
are the New York Giants, for Rogers decision. Rogers is
very deliberate, you know, understandably so about this maybe the
last team that he would play for in his career,
what gives him the best opportunity for success where he
would be happiest he thought he was going to play
(04:22):
out the last years of his career with the New
York Jets. Obviously that went sideways in a hurry. So
this is a big decision for him. It's also a
really big decision for the teams that are waiting for him.
Because for the Steelers, where do they go from here?
I mean, would they turn back to Russell Wilson, you know,
who started a lot of games for them last year
and looked good for long stretches of the season until
(04:45):
it really went south at the end of the season.
So everybody's in limbo, which is about where we were
at this time last night too.
Speaker 5 (04:53):
Yep, they are in limbo and everybody is waiting. The
Pittsburgh Steelers looking at a couple of options that were
already in their building in Russell Wilson and Mason Rudolph
as well. If this Aaron Rodgers deal does not go through, Ian,
you got something, Ian, I think he's got something.
Speaker 2 (05:12):
I do.
Speaker 6 (05:12):
Actually, r Jackson has a new weapon. I will jump in.
DeAndre Hopkins, the star receiver last year was with the
KNNA City Chiefs, has landed with another AFC powerhouse.
Speaker 1 (05:27):
Sources say he is.
Speaker 6 (05:28):
Going to the Baltimore Ravens gets a one year, six
million dollar deal.
Speaker 1 (05:33):
There's my tweet.
Speaker 6 (05:34):
There's a little bit of a typo because I was hurrying,
but that's okay.
Speaker 2 (05:37):
I'm gonna leave it up. It's a great tweet. No
matter what.
Speaker 6 (05:39):
DeAndre Hopkins goes to Baltimore Ravens and a deer deal
done by Tory Dandy FCIA and look for DeAndre Hopkins.
Speaker 1 (05:46):
I don't know how many years he has left.
Speaker 6 (05:48):
He wants a championship, certainly deserves a championship, got close
last year and now heads to Baltimore to go chase
that ring. It is a pretty cool signing for the
Baltimore Ravens. This is something they have been after. DeAndre
Hopkins now lands in Baltimore.
Speaker 3 (06:08):
So there's a lot of different elements to this. Obviously
the Ravens. They've got Zay Flowers there, They've got Rashad Babian.
They for years have been looking and they've tried with
a bunch of different veteran wide receivers. Last year was
bringing in Deontay Johnson that obviously did not work out there.
The year before that it was Odell Beckham, Junior, Mike
Y're around that Ravens team a good bid here, an
(06:29):
interesting fit for DeAndre Hopkins has been one of the
most productive receivers through the course of his career, but
obviously done with injuries in Tennessee in twenty twenty three.
Then last year kind of faded into the woodwork in
Kansas City. What do you make of it?
Speaker 5 (06:42):
Yeah, but obviously they feel like this is going to
be a good fit for that offense and for him
his professionalism. Look, he's not the explosive circus catch guy
that we saw earlier in his career, but he is
the guy that can be that reliable target. Look, they've
taken a different number of routes here to figure out
who's that last piece. That veteran receiver last year was
(07:03):
Deontay Johnson. That didn't work out great. As matter of fact,
it ended with them claiming him so that he wouldn't
be able to play for anybody.
Speaker 2 (07:11):
If you remember how that went.
Speaker 5 (07:12):
That basically locked him in there. So they go with
a guy in DeAndre Hopkins that is probably the opposite
of that, right, a guy who understands what his role
is at this point of his career, still going to
be relied upon to make the big catch. A six
million dollars deal for him is a good number for him.
Still rely upon him to make the big catch in
the clutch situations as this season goes along, but not
(07:33):
your number one guy, and you've got a number of
younger guys at that receiver room for the Baltimore Ravens
that he can help show how to do things the
right way and lead them from a veteran standpoint for sure.
Speaker 4 (07:45):
Judy, Yeah, you know, I mean you said. DeAndre Hopkins
sort of faded into the war work in Kansas City,
but a few catches come to mind, like big catches
for him. So there was some connection developing there with
Patrick Mahomes and trust that now that he is going
to have a full season with Baltimore Ravens and with
(08:05):
Lamar Jackson, he will be incorporated much more into that.
And as Mike pointed out, they have other weapons for
Lamar Jackson. This is a piece he does not have
to be a primary piece, which because of the injuries
in Kansas City, I think we all thought that he
was going to have a much, much, much bigger role
and there wasn't. But I expect that this will be
(08:28):
a nice fit in Baltimore.
Speaker 5 (08:30):
Yeah, I saw, by the way, speaking of it, we'll
go from the receivers to the tight ends. I saw
something about I don't know, maybe like a week ago,
speculating as to whether the Ravens could make a change
at tight end with Mark Andrews and trade him away.
I do not expect that to happen. They've got Mark Andrews,
they've got Isaiah Likely as well. They've got have to
make a decision at some point. Do they want to
pay Isaiah Likely, give him the big money. But they've
(08:52):
got two tight ends there that they can rely upon,
and a number of weapons at the receiver position. So
I am expecting Mark Andrews, who's season ended in a
disappointing fashion. You know, he cannot wait to get back
on the field. Week one can't come soon enough for
Mark Andrews. So you've got a veteran there, you got
a veteran in DeAndre Hopkins, and you've got a lot
of young talent there for Lamar Jackson to throw to,
(09:14):
both at the receiver and tight end position.
Speaker 3 (09:18):
It's also interesting because we often get past the first
wave of free agency where you see the big, multi
year type of deals done at the wide receiver position.
Was really only one guy that anybody thought was going
to get big money. That was Chris Godwin went back
to Tampa on a twenty two million dollars per year deal,
could have gotten a lot more money elsewhere, but decided
he wanted to stay home. Now you're into the short term,
(09:38):
the one year type of things. There's a bunch of
those veteran receivers between Keenan Allen, Amari Cooper, Stefan Diggs,
even Brandon Cooks who probably all fall into that category.
We could talk forever on that, but I've got something
else that I really want to get into here that
I think is important as we go deep inside with
the insiders, can we see Ian's initial tweet, the one
that we showed the first time around, because it took
me a second Ian to figure fgure out what your
(10:00):
typo was that you were referring to, Well, you're referring
to I figured out was you wrote one year, six
million dollar deal. You lack the space between the M
and the D. I believe that's what you're referring to
as the typo. Now, if it's me for time stamping purposes,
I simply leave it, I go, you know what nobody's
(10:20):
thinking about it. You really have to stare at this
to think Ian had a typo. You went back and
corrected it, so you now have a time stamp that's
a minute later than what you otherwise would have, and
now it looks like you were a minute late. I
need you to take me through your thought process for
deciding to edit that post on X.
Speaker 1 (10:41):
Yeah, so this is a good question.
Speaker 6 (10:44):
Here's my general thought, is it. I don't care. I
don't care.
Speaker 3 (10:48):
Now there it is, I face don't care.
Speaker 2 (10:50):
I will put the tweet out. I'll put the.
Speaker 6 (10:52):
Tweet out when it comes, and then if I got
to fix it, I'll fix it. I don't care about
the time stamp. I don't care if anyone's keeping score.
I don't care about the aggregators who might decide who
breaks it or who does it, or who's DM and
who to make sure that they credit who.
Speaker 2 (11:07):
I don't care.
Speaker 6 (11:07):
I want to get the news out as quick as
I can, as right as I can, with as few
as grammatical errors as I can, and then if there
is a grammatic error, I'll edit it, because again I
don't care. I just wanted to be right and give
the news to the people, you know.
Speaker 4 (11:22):
I mean.
Speaker 3 (11:24):
Now this is also Ian Rappaport waving to get in
and make sure he's on well fast as possible. So
there's two parts. There's TV Ian, who's very composed most
of the time. There's off camera Ian, and then there's
the Ian who absolutely does care who's keeping score, does
care who the aggregators site. Mike, did you play Judge
(11:44):
Judy for a second here? Do you believe anything that
Ian just said about how he feels about being properly
credited for scoops?
Speaker 5 (11:54):
I'm getting a text from one of our colleagues right now,
and we should move on.
Speaker 2 (12:01):
I think she I think she should.
Speaker 7 (12:03):
Can we go to break?
Speaker 5 (12:04):
Maybe?
Speaker 2 (12:04):
I don't think agree with Jane? Is it Jane?
Speaker 1 (12:06):
I think it's Did Jane text you?
Speaker 2 (12:08):
What did she say?
Speaker 5 (12:09):
I can neither confirm nor deny.
Speaker 1 (12:12):
Why do you assume it's Jane? It's good be at
least she's watching the show.
Speaker 3 (12:17):
That's really the important thing is did James watch Jane
even though she's mystery?
Speaker 2 (12:22):
Text?
Speaker 7 (12:22):
Well?
Speaker 2 (12:22):
She like the coach?
Speaker 3 (12:23):
She be back later?
Speaker 1 (12:24):
Who knows?
Speaker 3 (12:26):
Because on the Insiders Patrick Claybond, anything can happen sometimes
it also happens over there on free agency frenzy. Ian
is not a tizzy, is very calm collected, and I
would say most important DeAndre Hopkins heading to the Ravens
on a one year, six him deal.
Speaker 1 (12:45):
I love the six M deal. The six M deal
is important. I think it's a part of Twitter history,
which is why you shouldn't edit.
Speaker 2 (12:50):
Tweets in the first place. I think that's a cowardly move.
Speaker 1 (12:53):
All due respect to Ian rap report with breaking news
coming courtesy of NFL Network insider Ian Rappaport.
Speaker 2 (12:58):
A few minutes.
Speaker 1 (12:58):
Ago, after her a Super Bowl loss for DeAndre Hopkins,
he goes to another AFC contender, the Baltimore Ravens, expected
to sign DeAndre Hopkins to a one year deal worth
six million dollars. Again, Ian reporting that moments ago via
social media website at Twitter dot com. The Dallas Cowboys
finalizing a three year, eighteen million dollar deal with Cavante Turpin,
(13:22):
one of the better returners in the NFL the past
couple of seasons. Well, actually, per Tom Pelasero and our
very own Jamee Slater, make Cavante Turpin the NFL's highest
paid special team and speaking of Jane Slater covering.
Speaker 2 (13:35):
The Dallas Cowboys.
Speaker 1 (13:36):
She joins us, Now, as we covered them making the
special teams move, they've done some offensive.
Speaker 2 (13:42):
Editions as well.
Speaker 1 (13:43):
But let's discuss this defense and what new head coach
Brian Schottenhammer has for twenty twenty five.
Speaker 8 (13:48):
J Yeah, I think it's clear that they're putting a
lot of emphasis on this defensive line. I mean, they've
got Peyton Turner from the Saints, they went out and
got Solomon Thomas, they shored up things with osa A Digazua,
and I don't think that's going to mean that they're
still not going to try and do things in the draft.
I think, namely they're going to have to go cornerback
(14:08):
since they essentially moved on from Jordan Lewis. Jordan Lewis
went to Jacksonville. But I think what I like so
far about their draft and listen or there's free agency
rather and I think what I've been battling a lot
of Cowboys fans today about was the fact that they
are being selectively aggressive. They're actually making moves clearing cap
(14:29):
space before free agency even started. I mean, look, right now,
they've got fifty two million dollars in cap space right now.
They still need to get the Micah Parsons deal done,
and I have no reason to believe that it won't
get done. As I said yesterday, he's currently in Dubai celebrating,
by the way, with Justin Fields and those guys on
a trip. But his agent is David Mugoletta, and I
(14:52):
know that he has been talking with the Cowboys, although
at last check there still wasn't any meaningful progress moving forward.
Now he has told us that he's not looking to
break the bank, but maybe he changed his mind a
little bit when he saw some of these deals like
Max Crosby coming down the pipe. But what I like
about some of the moves that they're making right now
is it's essentially allowing them to draft, not buy necessarily need,
(15:18):
but they can find some of the best players that
they want right now. I think they're still going to
have to go out and get a running back, They'll
have to address wide receiver and offensive line. I mean,
I've gone down the list of things that they need,
but there isn't an immediate glaring need right now with
some of the moves that they're making in free agency.
Speaker 1 (15:33):
And you mentioned that it's right there on the team
needs over on NFL dot Com, Jane a need at
running back for Dallas. They go out and get Javonte
Williams from the Denver Broncos. Cavante Turpin back playing the
position as well. How do you view the Cowboys in
the position considering where they are right now?
Speaker 8 (15:50):
Yeah, Look, I think a lot of people saw this
Javonte Williams signing and said, oh, well, he is running
back one, especially with what's feeling like Rico Daddell's going
to be on the move now. I would make the
argument that Rico Dawdles a guy that you should resign.
I mean, he's been here since his undrafted rookie season.
He's got four years, but only about fifteen hundred rushing
(16:11):
yards on those tires. And then last season, even though
it was running back by committee, he still had over
one thousand yards, was averaging about four point six yards
per Carrie. Javonte Williams is a guy. They like his
physical play, they liked him coming out of college. They
kept an eye on him. He's more of your third
down guy. So I think that this means that they
are absolutely still going to address the running back position
(16:33):
in the draft. And as for the Cavante Turpin signing, Look,
he is a special special teamers. What do I mean
by that? They love him obviously on the return game,
we saw how deadly he could be, especially against Washington
last year. We did see them playing around with him
a little bit last year, using him at the running
back role. At training camp last year we saw him
(16:53):
getting used a lot more at the wide receiver role.
But I see him more viewed as a third fourth
wide recips Ziver Ceede Lamb is obviously your number one.
They're still going to, I believe, address the wide receiver role,
whether that be through free agency or the draft. So
a lot of fans are freaking out about this deal,
but look, Cavante Turpin. They love his energy in the
(17:15):
locker room. They like that they can put him in
a lot of different spots. If you talk to a
lot of people who cover this team and who are
actually in that locker room, everyone feels pretty good about this,
and they even made Cavante feel good about this.
Speaker 4 (17:26):
According to his.
Speaker 8 (17:27):
Agent, Derek Gilmour, they started having conversations with Cavante and
his team right after this season ended and said that
he was going to be a priority, and they showed
him that.
Speaker 1 (17:36):
Yeah, Cavante can't be too upset about Dallas Cowboys fans
perhaps being excitable about news regarding particular players.
Speaker 2 (17:43):
That's a part of the fun and.
Speaker 1 (17:44):
Interest that makes covering the Cowboys so much fun, and
always you make it fun. Jane Slater on the Dallas Cowboys.
As we go over to the Minnesota Vikings coming to
terms with Jonathan Allen, a deal that will be official
as a four pm Tomorrow Eastern Time, three year deal
fifty one million dollars up to for Jonathan Allen if
(18:05):
I could, if he hits, those incentives could go all
the way up to sixty million dollars for Jonathan Allen.
The Vikings making a host of moves, including a couple
of colts a lineman. They get Ryan Kelly yesterday, Will
Fries agrees to terms on a five year deal could
be worth eighty eight million dollars as well as Jonathan Allen.
(18:25):
They get Javon Hargrave as well. So let's discuss the
Minnesota Vikings well being Beck Bucky Brooks as well as
Brian Baldinger.
Speaker 2 (18:33):
Considering just how close they were.
Speaker 1 (18:35):
Baldi, how do you view the Minnesota Vikings and the
moves they've made thus far this week.
Speaker 9 (18:41):
I mean, he just aged across the board. It kind
of backloads what they did a year ago free agency
when they got Jonathan Goodarden Andrew van gatekwofft the edge.
Now you go and get Javon Hargrave and Jonathan Allen
inside to complete that defensive line. You get Ryan Kelly,
and you get will Freeze Fries topgrade the interior offensive line,
and then you go out and signed Isaiah Rodgers from
(19:03):
the Eagles at corner and re signed Byron Murphy who
had a great year with six interceptions. I mean, it's
two by two across the board. You just give you know,
you just give the Minnesota Vikings so many more options
defensively right now with what Brian Flores can do schematically.
Now you just upgrade the talent for him to work
(19:24):
his magic with a better roster than what we saw
a year ago.
Speaker 10 (19:29):
Yeah, I mean, that's what I would be excited about
if I'm a Minnesota Vikings fan, is just the ability
to dominate at the line of scrimmage. You talked about
the upgrades upfront, being able to get after with those
interior guys, like they couldn't get after it last year.
Brian Floyds has already shown that he can make things
happen with smoke and mirrors. But now you give him
some legitimate guys. I expect that defense to go to
(19:50):
another level. And then offensively, you talked about being able
to control the middle of the line, Ryan Kelly coming
over and being able to run the football effectively with
Aaron Jones as they resigned, you know they can throw it.
Speaker 2 (20:01):
The missing piece quarterback. Is JJ McCarthy going to be.
Speaker 10 (20:04):
Ready to be able to get it done like Sam
Donald got it done last year. That remains to be seen.
But on paper, this team looks like they're ready to
compete and compete at a high level.
Speaker 2 (20:14):
Yeah, not just paper.
Speaker 1 (20:15):
The success last year it was real, not just for
the Minnesota Vikings, but the Detroit Lions are culminating in
a season finale that was won between the most wins
in a game in NFL history, that the division was
hotly contested, and considering what the Chicago Bears have done
thus far this off season, they're trying to get in
that discussion in the North as well. They trade for
Joe Toney and Jonah Jackson, Drew Dall and Grady Jarrett
(20:39):
coming over on the defensive side as well. The Chicago
Bears making all these moves, meaning one of their division
rivals in the Detroit Lions. I'm I'm Ross Saint Brown
is on the podcast with his brother, Like somebody stopped
these guys.
Speaker 11 (20:54):
I feel like the Bears have unlimited money. It's crazy
every time they're just signing for like four bo Hey, yeah,
theying to Boom Jonah Jackson, Bang, Jude Domond Bang.
Speaker 2 (21:08):
Dayo, go ahead, go ahead, no, give it.
Speaker 11 (21:12):
A try, ingbo another I saw, yeah, a crazy amount
of money, Grady Jared bang, Like they're just breaking everybody off.
Speaker 2 (21:23):
The line for Kayla money.
Speaker 11 (21:27):
I mean their cash pace is probably they probably have
high catchpace. Got mean hot bens just making moves. That's
it right, I'm like you're seeing it happen like Bang
Bears Bang Bears, Like.
Speaker 1 (21:39):
Like if not from Dale Oda Ingbo's name, you would
have had seventeen beeps in like a fifteen second sound bite.
Speaker 2 (21:46):
So that's I'm on Ra's reaction.
Speaker 1 (21:47):
Baldi, how do you feel about what the Bears have
done this all season?
Speaker 9 (21:52):
Well, I mean, all you gotta do is look at reaction.
I'm on ra like he's like, Okay, might go up.
That's my guy, Ben Johnson, he's retooling.
Speaker 2 (21:59):
Did she gotta go? Bear sitting?
Speaker 9 (22:00):
Think about the Bears and think about just that's it, right,
But think about what Kansas City did after they lost
to Tampa in that Super Bowl where Mahomes was chased
all over the field, much like Caleb was chased all
over the field a year ago. They went out and
got Tooney, They drafted Create humph and Trey Smith, and
they fixed the interior that offense line for the next
four years. I feel like the Bears are taking that
(22:22):
same page. Let's go get Domon, Let's get Toney, first
TEAMO pro left guard. Let's go get you know, Jonah Jackson.
Let's fix the interior. And then Grady Jared is just
one of those players like he seems angels. He still
can beat any guard center combination in this league. He
still chases everything down. And Deo is a young player.
I think he's only twenty four years old, like his
(22:43):
best days are in front of him. And so I
thought the Bears did a great job of just building
the trenches, doing it the right way, not overly splashy.
But we're talking about it, and Amon ra was talking
about it and Ben Jonson, I think knows what he's
doing in order to build this team the right way.
Speaker 10 (23:00):
I say, Ben Johnson certainly paid attention to the job
that Dan Campbell and Brad Holmes did and how they
built the Detroit Lions, and he is copy of that
formula to a te dominating in the trench. You saw
about all the moves that they made on the offensive line,
but it's not only the offense line. Is the defensive line.
You know that this is the line of scrimmers league.
We've seen this happen, particularly in the NFC North. The
(23:20):
Chicago Bears, welcome to the party. Then they can play
big boy football at the point of attack.
Speaker 1 (23:26):
The welcome to the party pale now to the Chicago Bears,
as they shore up things up front, will leave that division,
will leave, in fact, the conference and go over to
the AFC guys, where Ian reported within the past thirty
minutes that the Baltimore Ravens are going to bring in
DeAndre Hopkins expected to sign which will be official tomorrow,
a one year, six million dollar deal for the former
(23:50):
Raven I mean excuse me, the former chief also the
former Tennessee Titan. And I know people think New Hompkins
and the AFC South playing against the Titans use two
once on the same team, and now they're back together.
Speaker 2 (24:03):
In Baltimore.
Speaker 1 (24:05):
We saw DeAndre Hopkins be a viable target for Patrick
Mahomes down the stretch for the Chiefs. What can he
bring to Lamar and this Ravens offense.
Speaker 9 (24:12):
Baldy Well, the offense went backwards when Jay Flowers got
hurt last year. They've had Jay Flowers and Rashad Baton
had a good season, but it looks like they've been
looking for a third receiver for a long time. Remember
they had Odell Beckham junior. They tried it with Deontay Johnson.
They've been looking for a third guy that can go
out there and beat man coverage and give Lamar another option.
(24:35):
And so DeAndre makes a lot of sense. He catches everything.
He's a big body guy. You don't have to be
perfect with the throw like I think he fits in
real well with what they want to try to do.
And look, you get down to this part of the field,
Lamar knows how to find his tight ends. He can
find a guy like DeAndre Hopkins right there in the
corner of the paint.
Speaker 2 (24:54):
Yeah.
Speaker 10 (24:55):
The big thing with DeAndre Hopkins is the consistency. He's
a great pass catch, a great handout coordination. You see
him consistently win those fifty to fifty balls. It gives
Lamar Jackson another option. You talked about Zay Flyers, Shot Bateman,
but now the trustee veteran that you can depend on
when it's time to move the chains, that's DeAndre Hopkins.
And even though he's not what he once was in
(25:15):
terms of the athlete and the big time playmaker, he
certainly is a nice option to have as a number three.
It'll be fun to see what Todd Monkin does to
keep DeAndre Hopkins engaged because there are a lot of miles
to feed in Baltimore and they like to run the
ball a lot, so not many opportunities. We'll see if
he can be satisfied making big contributions in a minimum
(25:36):
way and one way.
Speaker 2 (25:37):
To get fedis what you said.
Speaker 1 (25:39):
Knowing where he's gonna be, and DeAndre Hopkins played a
lot of football in this league. We'll see how that
translates and yet another season for him, this one are
going to be with the Baltimore Ravens thanks to Brian
Baldinger and Bucky Brooks. As we continue here on the Insider,
speaking of receivers making their way to the AFC North
DK metcalf in Pittsburgh.
Speaker 2 (25:57):
What can that look like?
Speaker 1 (25:58):
Fact?
Speaker 2 (25:58):
What will it look like?
Speaker 1 (26:00):
A discussion coming up as we get into wins and
losses in free agency with Jeffrey Chidia coming up next
on the Insider. Back here on the Insiders, let's get
what it's new today in our NFL LA newsroom. We
start with the former chief as well as the former
(26:22):
Houston Texans safety Justin Reid. A greing to a three
year deal could be worth up to thirty one and
a half million dollars, twenty two and a half guaranteed
with the New Orleans Saints and a return to Kansas
City for Hollywood Brown as it's a one year deal
could be worth up to eleven million dollars. That coming
courtesy of Tom Pelsero and NFL Network insider in Rapaport.
(26:45):
And another quarterback on the move, The Cardinals expected to
sign quarterback Jacoby Brissett to a deal that will again
be official when the new league year begins on Wednesday,
which is a part of the quarterback movement that we
have chosen. The illus trade with a carousel a merry
go round, we don't mean like a luggage claim as
Geno Smith traded to.
Speaker 2 (27:04):
Play with his old coach.
Speaker 1 (27:05):
Sam Darnold ultimately takes Geno Smith place in Seattle a
three year deal worth up to one hundred million dollars
and some change, and then Justin Fields does not stay
in Pittsburgh instead gets a two year deal in New York.
Kenny Pickett gets traded to the Browns from the Super
Bowl champs for dtr and a twenty twenty five pick,
(27:26):
and the pastronaut Josh Dobbs gets a two year eight
million dollar deal with the Patriots three point eight million
dollars guaranteed, and Zach Wilson departs Denver and goes to
the Dolphins a one year, six million dollar deal, and
then Daniel Jones a one year deal thirteen point one
million dollars guaranteed to provide some competition for Anthony Richardson
(27:48):
in Indianapolis. Let's discuss winners and losers, with Jeffrey Jdia
joining us here on the Insiders. Good evening to you,
Jeff Letz. Let's go over to one of those teams
featured in the carousel graphic, the Seattle Seahawks. Who do
you see as a Seahawks winner in free agency?
Speaker 2 (28:05):
Oh?
Speaker 12 (28:06):
Certainly. Sam Donald is the big winner there and probably
the biggest winner of all the free agency because he
got the free agency for one thing, but two he
found a team that is really smart. You know, John Schneider,
their GM has been around for a long time. He
knows how to build a team, and they're going to
understand that. Sam Donald's success in Minnesota wasn't just about
Sam Donald. It was about that supporting cast and good coaching.
(28:26):
I love him being reunited with Clint Kubiak. They were
together with the forty nine ers where he started to
turn his career around. So didn't get that huge payday.
I think this is a good place for him. I
think they will do well with him at quarterback.
Speaker 1 (28:38):
So they get kind of the best available quarterback on
the board at that point, do the Seattle Seahawks and
Sam Donald? The Steelers currently don't have a quarterback, but
you've got one of them as a winner.
Speaker 2 (28:50):
Who is that? Jeff?
Speaker 12 (28:52):
Yeah, Well, whoever ends up playing quarterback, is going to
be the winner there because of that big trade that
brought Tk Metcalf the town. And this told you the
Steelers were serious about improving that offense, trying to find
a way to be more prolific in scoring points. It
was depressing watching them at times last year, league grinding out.
And so you've got George Pickens on one side, you've
got Deacon Metcalf on the other. If this is Russell
(29:13):
Wilson's team, if it's Aaron Rodgers team, who's ever in there?
At least you know somebody can make big plays for
you to catch the football and hopefully open up that
passing game.
Speaker 1 (29:22):
We just discussed in the last block of our show.
I'm on ross Saint Brown's reaction to all of the
Bears signings and what his former offensive coordinator is going
to have at his disposal. Just looking at all of
the signings from the Bears, who's the winner.
Speaker 12 (29:34):
There, Well, Ryan Poles, and he came into this offseason
to me, is one of the guys who had to
have a big offseason because of the pressure on him
and this franchise. They obviously got Caleb Williams last year
with the first pick, made a ton of move with
skilled players, but this was the draft when they really
became got a chance to become a contender, going into
the trenches, getting guys like Drew Dolman, making trades for
(29:55):
an All Pro guard like Joe Toney, getting Joan Jackson,
they picked up some defensive line help. I like what
they've done because this is about getting into the trenches
and winning there. And the Bears realized last year, as
great as Kelly Williams is, that's where they really have
to be special.
Speaker 1 (30:10):
All right, So we've done the fun stuff, Jeff, it's
time to unveil our losers in free agency. Of course,
all of these things are relatives. Every single time there's
a game, somebody wins, somebody loses.
Speaker 2 (30:20):
We'll start with the Dallas Cowboys. Where do you see
a loser there?
Speaker 12 (30:23):
Jerry Jones couldn't have been happy about that big deal
that Miles Garrett got with Cleveland, or even the deal
that Max Carsby got with the Raiders, because it just
up the cost of what he's going to have to
pay to make Mica Parsions feel good. And I don't
think this is going to be a obviously, Jerry Jones does.
He has to have Mica partiers to win games, but
to get in the area. We're talking about over forty
(30:44):
million dollars a year being the highest non paid quarterback.
I mean, that's that's a lot of money for a
guy who just spent a whole bunch of money on
Dak Prescott and Ceedee Lamb. So I think that that
Jerry Jones can't be happy about the way that played out.
Speaker 1 (30:55):
Yeah, almost makes the case for signing guys before they
get to the end of the year, so you don't
have to be in the particular source that's controversial at
this point. A team that's been able to keep things together,
the Kansas City Chiefs, you see them as a loser
in some aspect.
Speaker 12 (31:10):
Yeah, Patrick Mahomes, this is more of a let's see
how it plays out deal. But they were going to
be in on the Ronnie Stanley sweepstakes if he got
out of Baltimore. That did not happen, so they pivoted
and went with Jalen Moore as the left tackle, a
backup with the forty nine ers.
Speaker 2 (31:24):
But we don't know if he can play.
Speaker 12 (31:26):
We know that their insurance policy and Joe Touney got
traded to Chicago, and so that left side of the
offensive line looks pretty uncertain right now. We know that
was a big concern for this team in the Super Bowl,
and once again they have time to figure it out,
but they better figure out if they want to protect
their quarterback.
Speaker 1 (31:42):
A team that's given the Chiefs problems. Of course, one
of the AFC contenders in the Cincinnati Bengals, but you
see one aspect of free agency as being a loss
for them thus far.
Speaker 12 (31:51):
Well, they came into this offseason talking a lot about
wanting to make sure they held on to Trey Hendrickson,
Jamar Chase, and t Higgins. You know, Steve Higgins has
been franchised and Chases still got some time to go
on his deal, but the Hendrickson market is just gonna
go bersert now for the same reasons what happened with
Jerry Jones that Miles Garrett contract. The match acrossby contract.
This is a guy who has one year left on
(32:13):
his deal has been granted permission to seek a trade.
I don't see any way Trey Henderson can come back
to the Bangs. At this point, they have to make
a deal because the cost is too high.
Speaker 2 (32:21):
For him.
Speaker 1 (32:22):
Now, if you want to see the full list of
Jeff Hradella's winners and losers in free agency, go to
NFL dot com slash Jadea and then if things get itchy,
you could, you know, send Jeff an email try to
figure out how he views the winners and losers. Because
we enjoy interactions so much thanks to Jeff Todea. Back
(32:43):
here on the Insiders, breaking news coming into our nfl
LA newsroom from NFL networkingsider Ian Rappidboord.
Speaker 2 (32:49):
The Ravens agreeing to terms well.
Speaker 1 (32:51):
Roger receiver DeAndre Hopkins on a one year deal coulda
be worth around six million dollars. This off the heels
of DeAndre Hopkins arrival in Kansas City as the Chiefs
go all the way to the Super Bowl and come
up short, losing to the Philadelphia Eagles. And now Newt
gets a chance with another AFC contender. So how does
(33:11):
this play not just serve real life, but in the
world of fantasy football. Let's go Insider Fantasy Live literally,
because one of my co anchors on NFL Fantasy Live,
Michael Florio's, spent a time with us here on The Insiders.
The Invasion is complete, Mike. We have completely subsumed this
particular apparatus. The question now what are we taking fantasy wise?
(33:34):
From DeAndre Hopkins' arrival in Baltimore. Any day I get
to work with.
Speaker 7 (33:38):
You is a great day and talk fantasy football the
d hop News. I know people are going to get
really excited about it, but he is going to be
thirty three years old this year, and he has had
declining metrics the last couple of years. He struggled to
stand out last season with Mahomes on a wide.
Speaker 1 (33:56):
Receiver needy Chiefs team. So my viewpoint is, like one.
Speaker 7 (33:59):
Of the player starts the show signs of decline, you
should believe them. And I do think this is a
better real life fit than for fantasy. He could be
a leader, a veteran presence in that locker room. He
could contribute. But for fantasy, give me Jay Flowers with
Sean Bateman and the tight ends over him. And I
know you might be thinking, well, Devonte Adams is getting
up there in age two, are you worried about him?
(34:21):
I'm not nearly as worried about Devonte, even though he's
gonna be thirty two, because he was one of just
eight wide receivers to average over seventeen fantasy points per
game last season. Stafford is a quarterback upgrade. Sean mcvas
is a system upgrade. And what I think goes unnoticed
a little bit. Half of his routes with the Jets
last year came from the slot, same thing that Cooper
(34:42):
Cupp did for the Rams last year. So I think
that Devonte Adams going to play that Cooper Cup role
just at a higher level. And Stafford threw about a
third of his passes to the slot in recent years,
So I think Devonte Adams can just keep eating and
be a wide receiver two in fantasy football.
Speaker 1 (34:58):
Yeah, plenty of evidence that Matt's African support multiple wide receivers.
Speaker 2 (35:01):
And also known to load up one receiver.
Speaker 1 (35:04):
So yeah, it's a great option for anyone that gets
pieces of that Rams offense. Let's let's go to a
piece of the Vikings offense from a year ago. Sam
Donald a viable fantasy starter through a few weeks of
the season. How do you view what Sam Donald's gonna
bring to the fantasy world in Seattle?
Speaker 7 (35:21):
Mark, I'm not sure for the Seahawks if he is
better than Geno Smith, but I get it, he is younger.
They save money at quarterback. But for fantasy, I think
this is a negative for Sam Donald because he loses
Justin Jefferson, arguably the best wide receiver in the game,
Jordan Addison, who's a great two TJ Hawkinson, and most
of all, he leaves Kevin O'Connell's very fantasy friendly passing attack.
(35:46):
Now Jaysen is excellent, and I like this move for
him because Sam Donald is just going to pepper him
with targets. But for Sam Donald's own fantasy value, he
feels like more of a QB two, a good safe
QB two, but not someone you want to draft a
your every week starter.
Speaker 1 (36:00):
It was an every week starter at the start of
the season for Justin Fields with the Pittsburgh Steelers, and
then Russ comes in and takes his job. Now it
looks like it's his job to have.
Speaker 2 (36:10):
Of course, the rush up side is there.
Speaker 1 (36:11):
Where are you thinking for Justin Fields right now with
the Jets in twenty twenty five.
Speaker 7 (36:16):
I'm a sucker for a QB who can run. So
I love Justin Fields. I think he is going to
be a QB one this year because since twenty twenty
two the last three seasons, Justin Fields leads all qbs
and touchdowns on outside runs and only Lamar Jackson has
picked up more yards. Jets were fifth and outside zone
run rate last year, and you might be saying they
(36:36):
have a new OC. Yeah, he comes from the Lions
who were six, So I expect a lot of outside
zone runs for Fields. That makes him a fantasy QB one.
But I'm not panicking about Garrett Wilson. I know some
people are. DJ Moore's career season came with Justin Fields,
Let's not forget that. And then for Breze Hall, like
a running quarterback helps open up running lanes, and Justin
(36:57):
Fields last season was dumping off the ball at a
good a high rate. So I think this could not
only be a good move for Justin Fields, but for
the other stars in New York as well.
Speaker 1 (37:06):
Yeah, in terms of a mobility upgrade at quarterback, it's
tough to imagine a more violent one, and going from
twenty twenty four Aaron Rodgers to Justin Fields in twenty
twenty five for Breese Hall in the backfield. Speaking of backfields,
Naji Harris has seen a lot of change at the
quarterback position in Pittsburgh. Now nag goes and plays in
Los Angeles with a very very good quarterback. What do
(37:29):
you see for Naji Harris now with the Los Angeles Chargers, Mike.
Speaker 7 (37:35):
I think this is a great thing for Naji Harris's
fantasy value. For one, he has never missed a game
and we know he can handle huge workloads. I think
the Chargers coaching STAF is going to put that to
the test this year because we know they want to
run the ball at a very very high rate. And
he might not be as explosive as JK. Dobbins, but
he is more durable, so you can load him up
(37:56):
with plenty of touches. And you said a new quarterback,
I think Justin Herbert is a huge upgrade there. And
this offense is as well, so a better offense tends
to lead to more scoring opportunities he does. His fantasy
value does depend on what the Chargers do the rest
of the offseason, but if he is their clear lead
running back, I think he will be a rock solid
(38:17):
RB two that will have a lot of weeks where
he finishes as an RB one, maybe even creep in
and finish the year as a back end RB one
because of all the volume might expect he will get
from the Chargers.
Speaker 1 (38:27):
Yeah, it just shows how a team change can be
a circumstance changer for some of these running backs. To
get in a good opportunity and a good spot, things
could change. Things are not gonna necessarily change that much
for Mike and I coming up Wednesday. We got a
free agency fantasy fall back next week where yeah, we're
not gonna have you fancy jackets on and pocket squares.
We're gonna be down on stage five going through what
(38:49):
all of these moves mean, not just for the teams,
but for you the fantasy football player, thanks to Michael
f Florio. Not just changes, There is a stylistic change
coming up for Pooka Nakua related to the acquisition of
Davante Adams, a change that we will explain when we
come back on the Insiders. All the frenzy has continued
(39:17):
this week, leading us to some breaking news coming into
the newsroom within the our former Kansas City Chief Tennessee
Titan Houston Texan DeAndre Hopkins is expected to sign with
the Baltimore Ravens on a one year, six million dollar deal.
Per NFL Network insider Ian Rappaport New Hopkins going to
another AFC contender. Another move for a pass catcher, Juwan
(39:40):
Johnson staying in New Orleans agreeing to a three year.
Speaker 2 (39:44):
Deal with the Saints.
Speaker 1 (39:46):
That coming courtesy of NFL Network insider Tom Pellisero and
Folks wondered with Davante Adams wearing number seventeen making his
way to Los Angeles, where Pooka Nakua has played his
first two seasons with number seventeen. It is a change
for Puka Nakua, who will wear the number twelve in
twenty twenty five. Speaking of numbers, it's Tom Pelasero's favorite chart,
(40:09):
going through Greg Rosenthal's top one oh one assigning the
teams to the players that have agreed the terms on
some contract. We see there Milton Williams the number one
player on the board, Ronnie Stanley go down to number
twenty two, where Khalil Mack is Jonathan Allen at forty eight.
So much to discuss, Tom League here, sorrs tomorrow.
Speaker 2 (40:31):
What are you going to do? For Sad's tweet at
for Eastern that the Happy New Year.
Speaker 3 (40:37):
Now, Just to be clear, this entire chart was on
the screen simultaneously the first time around. Okay, that is
twice the size of what I was doing to try
to read. That's what I was looking at before.
Speaker 2 (40:51):
I don't know.
Speaker 3 (40:52):
I don't know what's going on, but you see there
are probably a third forty percent, let's guess it, there
of the the top one under one for agents Corty.
Speaker 1 (41:01):
Greg Roosevelt who have not yet signed.
Speaker 3 (41:04):
We are a little over nineteen hours away from the
official start of the league year. Judy Batista of what's left?
What are you most excited to find out?
Speaker 4 (41:14):
I am looking forward to this getting into a bigger
font because even when it's in the bigger funt that
they just showed, I can't read it. That's how bad
my eyes are. I am looking forward to an Aaron
Rodgers decision, or maybe just the Giants and Steelers getting
a quarterback, even if it's not Aaron Rodgers, some resolution
I would like resolution.
Speaker 5 (41:33):
Yeah, Well, we've got some good players. Rasante Samuel Jr.
Is the highest rated on Greg's list to go right here,
so let's see about him. Cam Robinson the offensive tackle
still out there, Still some really good players out there
to beside.
Speaker 6 (41:48):
Makai Becton still does not have a home yet. I
know the Eagles are still in the mix. They did
trade for a guard today, so you wonder how that
affects things. But had a great season, a career year.
Where will he land?
Speaker 7 (42:00):
I don't know.
Speaker 6 (42:00):
Tune in tomorrow or tonight, maybe maybe right now?
Speaker 1 (42:04):
Yeah, Happy New Years ever everybody, here's all the signings.
We'll see you tomorrow on the Insiders.
Speaker 2 (42:09):
Buy everybody,
Insiders continues on a Frenzy Tuesday, a Tuesday that includes waiting,
like a lot of other days, waiting for Aaron.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
Rodgers to make a decision.
Speaker 1 (00:16):
Insight into how that decision could possibly be made coming
up on the show, and Kirk Cousins first season in
Atlanta didn't necessarily work out, so now that the Falcons
will go with Michael Pennix Junior, what's the path ahead
for the remainder of Kirk cousins career in which team
should be a part of it and would that team
perhaps be a winner.
Speaker 2 (00:37):
Or ultimately a loser.
Speaker 1 (00:38):
It's we're early into the Free Agency Frenzy, still just
a day plus change in, but Jeff Jedea breaking down
potential winners and losers from the start of this edition
of the Free Agency's Frenzy. The Insiders continues on here
on NFL Network. Patrick Clabrone in the NFL LA News
We're joined by our actual NFL Network insiders, Tom Pelisaro
Ian Rapport, Judy Batista, and Mike Garofolo as the phones Ians.
(01:02):
Ringer remains on and the smiles are still on these
folks who have had the team on their back from
before the start of the free agent negotiating window. Let's
go through some of the news before we get out
to them. New Today coming into the nfl LA newsroom
the Carolina panp not the Carolina Panthers, was the Philadelphia
Eagles making a trade the Super Bowl champion CJ. Gardner
(01:25):
Johnson's the second time in the past few years the
Eagles have gone to a Super Bowl and then parted
ways with CJGJ training in exchange for the Texans offensive
lineman Kenyon Green, as well as a fifth round pick
coming up in the twenty twenty six NFL Draft. Next
up New Today, the New York Giants acquiring Dolphins safety
(01:46):
Javon holl in a three year deal could be worth
up to forty five point three million dollars thirty point
three million dollars guaranteed.
Speaker 2 (01:53):
R Cam Wolf said.
Speaker 1 (01:54):
The Giants might have a little bit of a do
over after Xavier McKinney departed in free agency a year ago.
They get another veteran safety to be in their secondary.
Speaker 2 (02:03):
Speaking of veteran.
Speaker 1 (02:04):
Defenders, longtime Commander's defensive lineman Jonathan Allen agreeing to terms
with the Minnesota Vikings on a three year deal could
be worth up to fifty one million dollars or get
all the way up to sixty if Jonathan Allen is
able to hit his incentives in Minnesota. Late last season,
the Minnesota Vikings bringing in Daniel Jones in on the
(02:25):
game for the quarterback, but ultimately Jones decides to agree
to terms with the Indianapolis Colts on a one year
deal with thirteen point one million dollars guaranteed. A part
of the quarterback carousel that plays into so many other
quarterback decisions.
Speaker 2 (02:42):
For some of those decisions.
Speaker 1 (02:43):
As well as how they might impact things, let's get
out to our insiders.
Speaker 3 (02:48):
Hey you very much, Patrick could welcome inside with the insiders.
Let's do a quick recap here because there's sometimes a
lot of stuff flying. If you've been you know, I
don't know, not watching the insiders and free agency frenzy
and good morning football for the last five days some
of what you missed. The Seahawks traded Gino Smith to
the Raiders. That filled one spot. That also opened up
a spot for Sam Darnold to go from Minnesota to
(03:08):
Seattle that then had the Vikings focusing on Daniel Jones.
Speaker 1 (03:12):
He landed today with the Colts.
Speaker 3 (03:14):
That's three of the big seats on the proverbial carousel
filled for the Vikings. There certainly seemed to be turning
their attention towards JJ McCarthy moore on that momentarily here now, Judy,
I would say not, Mike, I would say that the
focus penvot point in a lot of this resides in
Pittsburgh where we stand.
Speaker 4 (03:36):
It's seven o'clock on the East coast. We are still waiting,
which is I think exactly what we were doing at
this time last night when we were having this exact
same conversation, waiting waiting for Aaron Rodgers, waiting for the
Steelers to decide what they'll do if Aaron Rodgers goes elsewhere,
where they'll turn. Look, they wanted Justin Fields initially. He's
(04:01):
with the Jets. Now, so they turned their attention to,
among others, Aaron Rodgers, and now they are waiting, as
are the New York Giants, for Rogers decision. Rogers is
very deliberate, you know, understandably so about this maybe the
last team that he would play for in his career,
what gives him the best opportunity for success where he
would be happiest he thought he was going to play
(04:22):
out the last years of his career with the New
York Jets. Obviously that went sideways in a hurry. So
this is a big decision for him. It's also a
really big decision for the teams that are waiting for him.
Because for the Steelers, where do they go from here?
I mean, would they turn back to Russell Wilson, you know,
who started a lot of games for them last year
and looked good for long stretches of the season until
(04:45):
it really went south at the end of the season.
So everybody's in limbo, which is about where we were
at this time last night too.
Speaker 5 (04:53):
Yep, they are in limbo and everybody is waiting. The
Pittsburgh Steelers looking at a couple of options that were
already in their building in Russell Wilson and Mason Rudolph
as well. If this Aaron Rodgers deal does not go through, Ian,
you got something, Ian, I think he's got something.
Speaker 2 (05:12):
I do.
Speaker 6 (05:12):
Actually, r Jackson has a new weapon. I will jump in.
DeAndre Hopkins, the star receiver last year was with the
KNNA City Chiefs, has landed with another AFC powerhouse.
Speaker 1 (05:27):
Sources say he is.
Speaker 6 (05:28):
Going to the Baltimore Ravens gets a one year, six
million dollar deal.
Speaker 1 (05:33):
There's my tweet.
Speaker 6 (05:34):
There's a little bit of a typo because I was hurrying,
but that's okay.
Speaker 2 (05:37):
I'm gonna leave it up. It's a great tweet. No
matter what.
Speaker 6 (05:39):
DeAndre Hopkins goes to Baltimore Ravens and a deer deal
done by Tory Dandy FCIA and look for DeAndre Hopkins.
Speaker 1 (05:46):
I don't know how many years he has left.
Speaker 6 (05:48):
He wants a championship, certainly deserves a championship, got close
last year and now heads to Baltimore to go chase
that ring. It is a pretty cool signing for the
Baltimore Ravens. This is something they have been after. DeAndre
Hopkins now lands in Baltimore.
Speaker 3 (06:08):
So there's a lot of different elements to this. Obviously
the Ravens. They've got Zay Flowers there, They've got Rashad Babian.
They for years have been looking and they've tried with
a bunch of different veteran wide receivers. Last year was
bringing in Deontay Johnson that obviously did not work out there.
The year before that it was Odell Beckham, Junior, Mike
Y're around that Ravens team a good bid here, an
(06:29):
interesting fit for DeAndre Hopkins has been one of the
most productive receivers through the course of his career, but
obviously done with injuries in Tennessee in twenty twenty three.
Then last year kind of faded into the woodwork in
Kansas City. What do you make of it?
Speaker 5 (06:42):
Yeah, but obviously they feel like this is going to
be a good fit for that offense and for him
his professionalism. Look, he's not the explosive circus catch guy
that we saw earlier in his career, but he is
the guy that can be that reliable target. Look, they've
taken a different number of routes here to figure out
who's that last piece. That veteran receiver last year was
(07:03):
Deontay Johnson. That didn't work out great. As matter of fact,
it ended with them claiming him so that he wouldn't
be able to play for anybody.
Speaker 2 (07:11):
If you remember how that went.
Speaker 5 (07:12):
That basically locked him in there. So they go with
a guy in DeAndre Hopkins that is probably the opposite
of that, right, a guy who understands what his role
is at this point of his career, still going to
be relied upon to make the big catch. A six
million dollars deal for him is a good number for him.
Still rely upon him to make the big catch in
the clutch situations as this season goes along, but not
(07:33):
your number one guy, and you've got a number of
younger guys at that receiver room for the Baltimore Ravens
that he can help show how to do things the
right way and lead them from a veteran standpoint for sure.
Speaker 4 (07:45):
Judy, Yeah, you know, I mean you said. DeAndre Hopkins
sort of faded into the war work in Kansas City,
but a few catches come to mind, like big catches
for him. So there was some connection developing there with
Patrick Mahomes and trust that now that he is going
to have a full season with Baltimore Ravens and with
(08:05):
Lamar Jackson, he will be incorporated much more into that.
And as Mike pointed out, they have other weapons for
Lamar Jackson. This is a piece he does not have
to be a primary piece, which because of the injuries
in Kansas City, I think we all thought that he
was going to have a much, much, much bigger role
and there wasn't. But I expect that this will be
(08:28):
a nice fit in Baltimore.
Speaker 5 (08:30):
Yeah, I saw, by the way, speaking of it, we'll
go from the receivers to the tight ends. I saw
something about I don't know, maybe like a week ago,
speculating as to whether the Ravens could make a change
at tight end with Mark Andrews and trade him away.
I do not expect that to happen. They've got Mark Andrews,
they've got Isaiah Likely as well. They've got have to
make a decision at some point. Do they want to
pay Isaiah Likely, give him the big money. But they've
(08:52):
got two tight ends there that they can rely upon,
and a number of weapons at the receiver position. So
I am expecting Mark Andrews, who's season ended in a
disappointing fashion. You know, he cannot wait to get back
on the field. Week one can't come soon enough for
Mark Andrews. So you've got a veteran there, you got
a veteran in DeAndre Hopkins, and you've got a lot
of young talent there for Lamar Jackson to throw to,
(09:14):
both at the receiver and tight end position.
Speaker 3 (09:18):
It's also interesting because we often get past the first
wave of free agency where you see the big, multi
year type of deals done at the wide receiver position.
Was really only one guy that anybody thought was going
to get big money. That was Chris Godwin went back
to Tampa on a twenty two million dollars per year deal,
could have gotten a lot more money elsewhere, but decided
he wanted to stay home. Now you're into the short term,
(09:38):
the one year type of things. There's a bunch of
those veteran receivers between Keenan Allen, Amari Cooper, Stefan Diggs,
even Brandon Cooks who probably all fall into that category.
We could talk forever on that, but I've got something
else that I really want to get into here that
I think is important as we go deep inside with
the insiders, can we see Ian's initial tweet, the one
that we showed the first time around, because it took
me a second Ian to figure fgure out what your
(10:00):
typo was that you were referring to, Well, you're referring
to I figured out was you wrote one year, six
million dollar deal. You lack the space between the M
and the D. I believe that's what you're referring to
as the typo. Now, if it's me for time stamping purposes,
I simply leave it, I go, you know what nobody's
(10:20):
thinking about it. You really have to stare at this
to think Ian had a typo. You went back and
corrected it, so you now have a time stamp that's
a minute later than what you otherwise would have, and
now it looks like you were a minute late. I
need you to take me through your thought process for
deciding to edit that post on X.
Speaker 1 (10:41):
Yeah, so this is a good question.
Speaker 6 (10:44):
Here's my general thought, is it. I don't care. I
don't care.
Speaker 3 (10:48):
Now there it is, I face don't care.
Speaker 2 (10:50):
I will put the tweet out. I'll put the.
Speaker 6 (10:52):
Tweet out when it comes, and then if I got
to fix it, I'll fix it. I don't care about
the time stamp. I don't care if anyone's keeping score.
I don't care about the aggregators who might decide who
breaks it or who does it, or who's DM and
who to make sure that they credit who.
Speaker 2 (11:07):
I don't care.
Speaker 6 (11:07):
I want to get the news out as quick as
I can, as right as I can, with as few
as grammatical errors as I can, and then if there
is a grammatic error, I'll edit it, because again I
don't care. I just wanted to be right and give
the news to the people, you know.
Speaker 4 (11:22):
I mean.
Speaker 3 (11:24):
Now this is also Ian Rappaport waving to get in
and make sure he's on well fast as possible. So
there's two parts. There's TV Ian, who's very composed most
of the time. There's off camera Ian, and then there's
the Ian who absolutely does care who's keeping score, does
care who the aggregators site. Mike, did you play Judge
(11:44):
Judy for a second here? Do you believe anything that
Ian just said about how he feels about being properly
credited for scoops?
Speaker 5 (11:54):
I'm getting a text from one of our colleagues right now,
and we should move on.
Speaker 2 (12:01):
I think she I think she should.
Speaker 7 (12:03):
Can we go to break?
Speaker 5 (12:04):
Maybe?
Speaker 2 (12:04):
I don't think agree with Jane? Is it Jane?
Speaker 1 (12:06):
I think it's Did Jane text you?
Speaker 2 (12:08):
What did she say?
Speaker 5 (12:09):
I can neither confirm nor deny.
Speaker 1 (12:12):
Why do you assume it's Jane? It's good be at
least she's watching the show.
Speaker 3 (12:17):
That's really the important thing is did James watch Jane
even though she's mystery?
Speaker 2 (12:22):
Text?
Speaker 7 (12:22):
Well?
Speaker 2 (12:22):
She like the coach?
Speaker 3 (12:23):
She be back later?
Speaker 1 (12:24):
Who knows?
Speaker 3 (12:26):
Because on the Insiders Patrick Claybond, anything can happen sometimes
it also happens over there on free agency frenzy. Ian
is not a tizzy, is very calm collected, and I
would say most important DeAndre Hopkins heading to the Ravens
on a one year, six him deal.
Speaker 1 (12:45):
I love the six M deal. The six M deal
is important. I think it's a part of Twitter history,
which is why you shouldn't edit.
Speaker 2 (12:50):
Tweets in the first place. I think that's a cowardly move.
Speaker 1 (12:53):
All due respect to Ian rap report with breaking news
coming courtesy of NFL Network insider Ian Rappaport.
Speaker 2 (12:58):
A few minutes.
Speaker 1 (12:58):
Ago, after her a Super Bowl loss for DeAndre Hopkins,
he goes to another AFC contender, the Baltimore Ravens, expected
to sign DeAndre Hopkins to a one year deal worth
six million dollars. Again, Ian reporting that moments ago via
social media website at Twitter dot com. The Dallas Cowboys
finalizing a three year, eighteen million dollar deal with Cavante Turpin,
(13:22):
one of the better returners in the NFL the past
couple of seasons. Well, actually, per Tom Pelasero and our
very own Jamee Slater, make Cavante Turpin the NFL's highest
paid special team and speaking of Jane Slater covering.
Speaker 2 (13:35):
The Dallas Cowboys.
Speaker 1 (13:36):
She joins us, Now, as we covered them making the
special teams move, they've done some offensive.
Speaker 2 (13:42):
Editions as well.
Speaker 1 (13:43):
But let's discuss this defense and what new head coach
Brian Schottenhammer has for twenty twenty five.
Speaker 8 (13:48):
J Yeah, I think it's clear that they're putting a
lot of emphasis on this defensive line. I mean, they've
got Peyton Turner from the Saints, they went out and
got Solomon Thomas, they shored up things with osa A Digazua,
and I don't think that's going to mean that they're
still not going to try and do things in the draft.
I think, namely they're going to have to go cornerback
(14:08):
since they essentially moved on from Jordan Lewis. Jordan Lewis
went to Jacksonville. But I think what I like so
far about their draft and listen or there's free agency
rather and I think what I've been battling a lot
of Cowboys fans today about was the fact that they
are being selectively aggressive. They're actually making moves clearing cap
(14:29):
space before free agency even started. I mean, look, right now,
they've got fifty two million dollars in cap space right now.
They still need to get the Micah Parsons deal done,
and I have no reason to believe that it won't
get done. As I said yesterday, he's currently in Dubai celebrating,
by the way, with Justin Fields and those guys on
a trip. But his agent is David Mugoletta, and I
(14:52):
know that he has been talking with the Cowboys, although
at last check there still wasn't any meaningful progress moving forward.
Now he has told us that he's not looking to
break the bank, but maybe he changed his mind a
little bit when he saw some of these deals like
Max Crosby coming down the pipe. But what I like
about some of the moves that they're making right now
is it's essentially allowing them to draft, not buy necessarily need,
(15:18):
but they can find some of the best players that
they want right now. I think they're still going to
have to go out and get a running back, They'll
have to address wide receiver and offensive line. I mean,
I've gone down the list of things that they need,
but there isn't an immediate glaring need right now with
some of the moves that they're making in free agency.
Speaker 1 (15:33):
And you mentioned that it's right there on the team
needs over on NFL dot Com, Jane a need at
running back for Dallas. They go out and get Javonte
Williams from the Denver Broncos. Cavante Turpin back playing the
position as well. How do you view the Cowboys in
the position considering where they are right now?
Speaker 8 (15:50):
Yeah, Look, I think a lot of people saw this
Javonte Williams signing and said, oh, well, he is running
back one, especially with what's feeling like Rico Daddell's going
to be on the move now. I would make the
argument that Rico Dawdles a guy that you should resign.
I mean, he's been here since his undrafted rookie season.
He's got four years, but only about fifteen hundred rushing
(16:11):
yards on those tires. And then last season, even though
it was running back by committee, he still had over
one thousand yards, was averaging about four point six yards
per Carrie. Javonte Williams is a guy. They like his
physical play, they liked him coming out of college. They
kept an eye on him. He's more of your third
down guy. So I think that this means that they
are absolutely still going to address the running back position
(16:33):
in the draft. And as for the Cavante Turpin signing, Look,
he is a special special teamers. What do I mean
by that? They love him obviously on the return game,
we saw how deadly he could be, especially against Washington
last year. We did see them playing around with him
a little bit last year, using him at the running
back role. At training camp last year we saw him
(16:53):
getting used a lot more at the wide receiver role.
But I see him more viewed as a third fourth
wide recips Ziver Ceede Lamb is obviously your number one.
They're still going to, I believe, address the wide receiver role,
whether that be through free agency or the draft. So
a lot of fans are freaking out about this deal,
but look, Cavante Turpin. They love his energy in the
(17:15):
locker room. They like that they can put him in
a lot of different spots. If you talk to a
lot of people who cover this team and who are
actually in that locker room, everyone feels pretty good about this,
and they even made Cavante feel good about this.
Speaker 4 (17:26):
According to his.
Speaker 8 (17:27):
Agent, Derek Gilmour, they started having conversations with Cavante and
his team right after this season ended and said that
he was going to be a priority, and they showed
him that.
Speaker 1 (17:36):
Yeah, Cavante can't be too upset about Dallas Cowboys fans
perhaps being excitable about news regarding particular players.
Speaker 2 (17:43):
That's a part of the fun and.
Speaker 1 (17:44):
Interest that makes covering the Cowboys so much fun, and
always you make it fun. Jane Slater on the Dallas Cowboys.
As we go over to the Minnesota Vikings coming to
terms with Jonathan Allen, a deal that will be official
as a four pm Tomorrow Eastern Time, three year deal
fifty one million dollars up to for Jonathan Allen if
(18:05):
I could, if he hits, those incentives could go all
the way up to sixty million dollars for Jonathan Allen.
The Vikings making a host of moves, including a couple
of colts a lineman. They get Ryan Kelly yesterday, Will
Fries agrees to terms on a five year deal could
be worth eighty eight million dollars as well as Jonathan Allen.
(18:25):
They get Javon Hargrave as well. So let's discuss the
Minnesota Vikings well being Beck Bucky Brooks as well as
Brian Baldinger.
Speaker 2 (18:33):
Considering just how close they were.
Speaker 1 (18:35):
Baldi, how do you view the Minnesota Vikings and the
moves they've made thus far this week.
Speaker 9 (18:41):
I mean, he just aged across the board. It kind
of backloads what they did a year ago free agency
when they got Jonathan Goodarden Andrew van gatekwofft the edge.
Now you go and get Javon Hargrave and Jonathan Allen
inside to complete that defensive line. You get Ryan Kelly,
and you get will Freeze Fries topgrade the interior offensive line,
and then you go out and signed Isaiah Rodgers from
(19:03):
the Eagles at corner and re signed Byron Murphy who
had a great year with six interceptions. I mean, it's
two by two across the board. You just give you know,
you just give the Minnesota Vikings so many more options
defensively right now with what Brian Flores can do schematically.
Now you just upgrade the talent for him to work
(19:24):
his magic with a better roster than what we saw
a year ago.
Speaker 10 (19:29):
Yeah, I mean, that's what I would be excited about
if I'm a Minnesota Vikings fan, is just the ability
to dominate at the line of scrimmage. You talked about
the upgrades upfront, being able to get after with those
interior guys, like they couldn't get after it last year.
Brian Floyds has already shown that he can make things
happen with smoke and mirrors. But now you give him
some legitimate guys. I expect that defense to go to
(19:50):
another level. And then offensively, you talked about being able
to control the middle of the line, Ryan Kelly coming
over and being able to run the football effectively with
Aaron Jones as they resigned, you know they can throw it.
Speaker 2 (20:01):
The missing piece quarterback. Is JJ McCarthy going to be.
Speaker 10 (20:04):
Ready to be able to get it done like Sam
Donald got it done last year. That remains to be seen.
But on paper, this team looks like they're ready to
compete and compete at a high level.
Speaker 2 (20:14):
Yeah, not just paper.
Speaker 1 (20:15):
The success last year it was real, not just for
the Minnesota Vikings, but the Detroit Lions are culminating in
a season finale that was won between the most wins
in a game in NFL history, that the division was
hotly contested, and considering what the Chicago Bears have done
thus far this off season, they're trying to get in
that discussion in the North as well. They trade for
Joe Toney and Jonah Jackson, Drew Dall and Grady Jarrett
(20:39):
coming over on the defensive side as well. The Chicago
Bears making all these moves, meaning one of their division
rivals in the Detroit Lions. I'm I'm Ross Saint Brown
is on the podcast with his brother, Like somebody stopped
these guys.
Speaker 11 (20:54):
I feel like the Bears have unlimited money. It's crazy
every time they're just signing for like four bo Hey, yeah,
theying to Boom Jonah Jackson, Bang, Jude Domond Bang.
Speaker 2 (21:08):
Dayo, go ahead, go ahead, no, give it.
Speaker 11 (21:12):
A try, ingbo another I saw, yeah, a crazy amount
of money, Grady Jared bang, Like they're just breaking everybody off.
Speaker 2 (21:23):
The line for Kayla money.
Speaker 11 (21:27):
I mean their cash pace is probably they probably have
high catchpace. Got mean hot bens just making moves. That's
it right, I'm like you're seeing it happen like Bang
Bears Bang Bears, Like.
Speaker 1 (21:39):
Like if not from Dale Oda Ingbo's name, you would
have had seventeen beeps in like a fifteen second sound bite.
Speaker 2 (21:46):
So that's I'm on Ra's reaction.
Speaker 1 (21:47):
Baldi, how do you feel about what the Bears have
done this all season?
Speaker 9 (21:52):
Well, I mean, all you gotta do is look at reaction.
I'm on ra like he's like, Okay, might go up.
That's my guy, Ben Johnson, he's retooling.
Speaker 2 (21:59):
Did she gotta go? Bear sitting?
Speaker 9 (22:00):
Think about the Bears and think about just that's it, right,
But think about what Kansas City did after they lost
to Tampa in that Super Bowl where Mahomes was chased
all over the field, much like Caleb was chased all
over the field a year ago. They went out and
got Tooney, They drafted Create humph and Trey Smith, and
they fixed the interior that offense line for the next
four years. I feel like the Bears are taking that
(22:22):
same page. Let's go get Domon, Let's get Toney, first
TEAMO pro left guard. Let's go get you know, Jonah Jackson.
Let's fix the interior. And then Grady Jared is just
one of those players like he seems angels. He still
can beat any guard center combination in this league. He
still chases everything down. And Deo is a young player.
I think he's only twenty four years old, like his
(22:43):
best days are in front of him. And so I
thought the Bears did a great job of just building
the trenches, doing it the right way, not overly splashy.
But we're talking about it, and Amon ra was talking
about it and Ben Jonson, I think knows what he's
doing in order to build this team the right way.
Speaker 10 (23:00):
I say, Ben Johnson certainly paid attention to the job
that Dan Campbell and Brad Holmes did and how they
built the Detroit Lions, and he is copy of that
formula to a te dominating in the trench. You saw
about all the moves that they made on the offensive line,
but it's not only the offense line. Is the defensive line.
You know that this is the line of scrimmers league.
We've seen this happen, particularly in the NFC North. The
(23:20):
Chicago Bears, welcome to the party. Then they can play
big boy football at the point of attack.
Speaker 1 (23:26):
The welcome to the party pale now to the Chicago Bears,
as they shore up things up front, will leave that division,
will leave, in fact, the conference and go over to
the AFC guys, where Ian reported within the past thirty
minutes that the Baltimore Ravens are going to bring in
DeAndre Hopkins expected to sign which will be official tomorrow,
a one year, six million dollar deal for the former
(23:50):
Raven I mean excuse me, the former chief also the
former Tennessee Titan. And I know people think New Hompkins
and the AFC South playing against the Titans use two
once on the same team, and now they're back together.
Speaker 2 (24:03):
In Baltimore.
Speaker 1 (24:05):
We saw DeAndre Hopkins be a viable target for Patrick
Mahomes down the stretch for the Chiefs. What can he
bring to Lamar and this Ravens offense.
Speaker 9 (24:12):
Baldy Well, the offense went backwards when Jay Flowers got
hurt last year. They've had Jay Flowers and Rashad Baton
had a good season, but it looks like they've been
looking for a third receiver for a long time. Remember
they had Odell Beckham junior. They tried it with Deontay Johnson.
They've been looking for a third guy that can go
out there and beat man coverage and give Lamar another option.
(24:35):
And so DeAndre makes a lot of sense. He catches everything.
He's a big body guy. You don't have to be
perfect with the throw like I think he fits in
real well with what they want to try to do.
And look, you get down to this part of the field,
Lamar knows how to find his tight ends. He can
find a guy like DeAndre Hopkins right there in the
corner of the paint.
Speaker 2 (24:54):
Yeah.
Speaker 10 (24:55):
The big thing with DeAndre Hopkins is the consistency. He's
a great pass catch, a great handout coordination. You see
him consistently win those fifty to fifty balls. It gives
Lamar Jackson another option. You talked about Zay Flyers, Shot Bateman,
but now the trustee veteran that you can depend on
when it's time to move the chains, that's DeAndre Hopkins.
And even though he's not what he once was in
(25:15):
terms of the athlete and the big time playmaker, he
certainly is a nice option to have as a number three.
It'll be fun to see what Todd Monkin does to
keep DeAndre Hopkins engaged because there are a lot of miles
to feed in Baltimore and they like to run the
ball a lot, so not many opportunities. We'll see if
he can be satisfied making big contributions in a minimum
(25:36):
way and one way.
Speaker 2 (25:37):
To get fedis what you said.
Speaker 1 (25:39):
Knowing where he's gonna be, and DeAndre Hopkins played a
lot of football in this league. We'll see how that
translates and yet another season for him, this one are
going to be with the Baltimore Ravens thanks to Brian
Baldinger and Bucky Brooks. As we continue here on the Insider,
speaking of receivers making their way to the AFC North
DK metcalf in Pittsburgh.
Speaker 2 (25:57):
What can that look like?
Speaker 1 (25:58):
Fact?
Speaker 2 (25:58):
What will it look like?
Speaker 1 (26:00):
A discussion coming up as we get into wins and
losses in free agency with Jeffrey Chidia coming up next
on the Insider. Back here on the Insiders, let's get
what it's new today in our NFL LA newsroom. We
start with the former chief as well as the former
(26:22):
Houston Texans safety Justin Reid. A greing to a three
year deal could be worth up to thirty one and
a half million dollars, twenty two and a half guaranteed
with the New Orleans Saints and a return to Kansas
City for Hollywood Brown as it's a one year deal
could be worth up to eleven million dollars. That coming
courtesy of Tom Pelsero and NFL Network insider in Rapaport.
(26:45):
And another quarterback on the move, The Cardinals expected to
sign quarterback Jacoby Brissett to a deal that will again
be official when the new league year begins on Wednesday,
which is a part of the quarterback movement that we
have chosen. The illus trade with a carousel a merry
go round, we don't mean like a luggage claim as
Geno Smith traded to.
Speaker 2 (27:04):
Play with his old coach.
Speaker 1 (27:05):
Sam Darnold ultimately takes Geno Smith place in Seattle a
three year deal worth up to one hundred million dollars
and some change, and then Justin Fields does not stay
in Pittsburgh instead gets a two year deal in New York.
Kenny Pickett gets traded to the Browns from the Super
Bowl champs for dtr and a twenty twenty five pick,
(27:26):
and the pastronaut Josh Dobbs gets a two year eight
million dollar deal with the Patriots three point eight million
dollars guaranteed, and Zach Wilson departs Denver and goes to
the Dolphins a one year, six million dollar deal, and
then Daniel Jones a one year deal thirteen point one
million dollars guaranteed to provide some competition for Anthony Richardson
(27:48):
in Indianapolis. Let's discuss winners and losers, with Jeffrey Jdia
joining us here on the Insiders. Good evening to you,
Jeff Letz. Let's go over to one of those teams
featured in the carousel graphic, the Seattle Seahawks. Who do
you see as a Seahawks winner in free agency?
Speaker 2 (28:05):
Oh?
Speaker 12 (28:06):
Certainly. Sam Donald is the big winner there and probably
the biggest winner of all the free agency because he
got the free agency for one thing, but two he
found a team that is really smart. You know, John Schneider,
their GM has been around for a long time. He
knows how to build a team, and they're going to
understand that. Sam Donald's success in Minnesota wasn't just about
Sam Donald. It was about that supporting cast and good coaching.
(28:26):
I love him being reunited with Clint Kubiak. They were
together with the forty nine ers where he started to
turn his career around. So didn't get that huge payday.
I think this is a good place for him. I
think they will do well with him at quarterback.
Speaker 1 (28:38):
So they get kind of the best available quarterback on
the board at that point, do the Seattle Seahawks and
Sam Donald? The Steelers currently don't have a quarterback, but
you've got one of them as a winner.
Speaker 2 (28:50):
Who is that? Jeff?
Speaker 12 (28:52):
Yeah, Well, whoever ends up playing quarterback, is going to
be the winner there because of that big trade that
brought Tk Metcalf the town. And this told you the
Steelers were serious about improving that offense, trying to find
a way to be more prolific in scoring points. It
was depressing watching them at times last year, league grinding out.
And so you've got George Pickens on one side, you've
got Deacon Metcalf on the other. If this is Russell
(29:13):
Wilson's team, if it's Aaron Rodgers team, who's ever in there?
At least you know somebody can make big plays for
you to catch the football and hopefully open up that
passing game.
Speaker 1 (29:22):
We just discussed in the last block of our show.
I'm on ross Saint Brown's reaction to all of the
Bears signings and what his former offensive coordinator is going
to have at his disposal. Just looking at all of
the signings from the Bears, who's the winner.
Speaker 12 (29:34):
There, Well, Ryan Poles, and he came into this offseason
to me, is one of the guys who had to
have a big offseason because of the pressure on him
and this franchise. They obviously got Caleb Williams last year
with the first pick, made a ton of move with
skilled players, but this was the draft when they really
became got a chance to become a contender, going into
the trenches, getting guys like Drew Dolman, making trades for
(29:55):
an All Pro guard like Joe Toney, getting Joan Jackson,
they picked up some defensive line help. I like what
they've done because this is about getting into the trenches
and winning there. And the Bears realized last year, as
great as Kelly Williams is, that's where they really have
to be special.
Speaker 1 (30:10):
All right, So we've done the fun stuff, Jeff, it's
time to unveil our losers in free agency. Of course,
all of these things are relatives. Every single time there's
a game, somebody wins, somebody loses.
Speaker 2 (30:20):
We'll start with the Dallas Cowboys. Where do you see
a loser there?
Speaker 12 (30:23):
Jerry Jones couldn't have been happy about that big deal
that Miles Garrett got with Cleveland, or even the deal
that Max Carsby got with the Raiders, because it just
up the cost of what he's going to have to
pay to make Mica Parsions feel good. And I don't
think this is going to be a obviously, Jerry Jones does.
He has to have Mica partiers to win games, but
to get in the area. We're talking about over forty
(30:44):
million dollars a year being the highest non paid quarterback.
I mean, that's that's a lot of money for a
guy who just spent a whole bunch of money on
Dak Prescott and Ceedee Lamb. So I think that that
Jerry Jones can't be happy about the way that played out.
Speaker 1 (30:55):
Yeah, almost makes the case for signing guys before they
get to the end of the year, so you don't
have to be in the particular source that's controversial at
this point. A team that's been able to keep things together,
the Kansas City Chiefs, you see them as a loser
in some aspect.
Speaker 12 (31:10):
Yeah, Patrick Mahomes, this is more of a let's see
how it plays out deal. But they were going to
be in on the Ronnie Stanley sweepstakes if he got
out of Baltimore. That did not happen, so they pivoted
and went with Jalen Moore as the left tackle, a
backup with the forty nine ers.
Speaker 2 (31:24):
But we don't know if he can play.
Speaker 12 (31:26):
We know that their insurance policy and Joe Touney got
traded to Chicago, and so that left side of the
offensive line looks pretty uncertain right now. We know that
was a big concern for this team in the Super Bowl,
and once again they have time to figure it out,
but they better figure out if they want to protect
their quarterback.
Speaker 1 (31:42):
A team that's given the Chiefs problems. Of course, one
of the AFC contenders in the Cincinnati Bengals, but you
see one aspect of free agency as being a loss
for them thus far.
Speaker 12 (31:51):
Well, they came into this offseason talking a lot about
wanting to make sure they held on to Trey Hendrickson,
Jamar Chase, and t Higgins. You know, Steve Higgins has
been franchised and Chases still got some time to go
on his deal, but the Hendrickson market is just gonna
go bersert now for the same reasons what happened with
Jerry Jones that Miles Garrett contract. The match acrossby contract.
This is a guy who has one year left on
(32:13):
his deal has been granted permission to seek a trade.
I don't see any way Trey Henderson can come back
to the Bangs. At this point, they have to make
a deal because the cost is too high.
Speaker 2 (32:21):
For him.
Speaker 1 (32:22):
Now, if you want to see the full list of
Jeff Hradella's winners and losers in free agency, go to
NFL dot com slash Jadea and then if things get itchy,
you could, you know, send Jeff an email try to
figure out how he views the winners and losers. Because
we enjoy interactions so much thanks to Jeff Todea. Back
(32:43):
here on the Insiders, breaking news coming into our nfl
LA newsroom from NFL networkingsider Ian Rappidboord.
Speaker 2 (32:49):
The Ravens agreeing to terms well.
Speaker 1 (32:51):
Roger receiver DeAndre Hopkins on a one year deal coulda
be worth around six million dollars. This off the heels
of DeAndre Hopkins arrival in Kansas City as the Chiefs
go all the way to the Super Bowl and come
up short, losing to the Philadelphia Eagles. And now Newt
gets a chance with another AFC contender. So how does
(33:11):
this play not just serve real life, but in the
world of fantasy football. Let's go Insider Fantasy Live literally,
because one of my co anchors on NFL Fantasy Live,
Michael Florio's, spent a time with us here on The Insiders.
The Invasion is complete, Mike. We have completely subsumed this
particular apparatus. The question now what are we taking fantasy wise?
(33:34):
From DeAndre Hopkins' arrival in Baltimore. Any day I get
to work with.
Speaker 7 (33:38):
You is a great day and talk fantasy football the
d hop News. I know people are going to get
really excited about it, but he is going to be
thirty three years old this year, and he has had
declining metrics the last couple of years. He struggled to
stand out last season with Mahomes on a wide.
Speaker 1 (33:56):
Receiver needy Chiefs team. So my viewpoint is, like one.
Speaker 7 (33:59):
Of the player starts the show signs of decline, you
should believe them. And I do think this is a
better real life fit than for fantasy. He could be
a leader, a veteran presence in that locker room. He
could contribute. But for fantasy, give me Jay Flowers with
Sean Bateman and the tight ends over him. And I
know you might be thinking, well, Devonte Adams is getting
up there in age two, are you worried about him?
(34:21):
I'm not nearly as worried about Devonte, even though he's
gonna be thirty two, because he was one of just
eight wide receivers to average over seventeen fantasy points per
game last season. Stafford is a quarterback upgrade. Sean mcvas
is a system upgrade. And what I think goes unnoticed
a little bit. Half of his routes with the Jets
last year came from the slot, same thing that Cooper
(34:42):
Cupp did for the Rams last year. So I think
that Devonte Adams going to play that Cooper Cup role
just at a higher level. And Stafford threw about a
third of his passes to the slot in recent years,
So I think Devonte Adams can just keep eating and
be a wide receiver two in fantasy football.
Speaker 1 (34:58):
Yeah, plenty of evidence that Matt's African support multiple wide receivers.
Speaker 2 (35:01):
And also known to load up one receiver.
Speaker 1 (35:04):
So yeah, it's a great option for anyone that gets
pieces of that Rams offense. Let's let's go to a
piece of the Vikings offense from a year ago. Sam
Donald a viable fantasy starter through a few weeks of
the season. How do you view what Sam Donald's gonna
bring to the fantasy world in Seattle?
Speaker 7 (35:21):
Mark, I'm not sure for the Seahawks if he is
better than Geno Smith, but I get it, he is younger.
They save money at quarterback. But for fantasy, I think
this is a negative for Sam Donald because he loses
Justin Jefferson, arguably the best wide receiver in the game,
Jordan Addison, who's a great two TJ Hawkinson, and most
of all, he leaves Kevin O'Connell's very fantasy friendly passing attack.
(35:46):
Now Jaysen is excellent, and I like this move for
him because Sam Donald is just going to pepper him
with targets. But for Sam Donald's own fantasy value, he
feels like more of a QB two, a good safe
QB two, but not someone you want to draft a
your every week starter.
Speaker 1 (36:00):
It was an every week starter at the start of
the season for Justin Fields with the Pittsburgh Steelers, and
then Russ comes in and takes his job. Now it
looks like it's his job to have.
Speaker 2 (36:10):
Of course, the rush up side is there.
Speaker 1 (36:11):
Where are you thinking for Justin Fields right now with
the Jets in twenty twenty five.
Speaker 7 (36:16):
I'm a sucker for a QB who can run. So
I love Justin Fields. I think he is going to
be a QB one this year because since twenty twenty
two the last three seasons, Justin Fields leads all qbs
and touchdowns on outside runs and only Lamar Jackson has
picked up more yards. Jets were fifth and outside zone
run rate last year, and you might be saying they
(36:36):
have a new OC. Yeah, he comes from the Lions
who were six, So I expect a lot of outside
zone runs for Fields. That makes him a fantasy QB one.
But I'm not panicking about Garrett Wilson. I know some
people are. DJ Moore's career season came with Justin Fields,
Let's not forget that. And then for Breze Hall, like
a running quarterback helps open up running lanes, and Justin
(36:57):
Fields last season was dumping off the ball at a
good a high rate. So I think this could not
only be a good move for Justin Fields, but for
the other stars in New York as well.
Speaker 1 (37:06):
Yeah, in terms of a mobility upgrade at quarterback, it's
tough to imagine a more violent one, and going from
twenty twenty four Aaron Rodgers to Justin Fields in twenty
twenty five for Breese Hall in the backfield. Speaking of backfields,
Naji Harris has seen a lot of change at the
quarterback position in Pittsburgh. Now nag goes and plays in
Los Angeles with a very very good quarterback. What do
(37:29):
you see for Naji Harris now with the Los Angeles Chargers, Mike.
Speaker 7 (37:35):
I think this is a great thing for Naji Harris's
fantasy value. For one, he has never missed a game
and we know he can handle huge workloads. I think
the Chargers coaching STAF is going to put that to
the test this year because we know they want to
run the ball at a very very high rate. And
he might not be as explosive as JK. Dobbins, but
he is more durable, so you can load him up
(37:56):
with plenty of touches. And you said a new quarterback,
I think Justin Herbert is a huge upgrade there. And
this offense is as well, so a better offense tends
to lead to more scoring opportunities he does. His fantasy
value does depend on what the Chargers do the rest
of the offseason, but if he is their clear lead
running back, I think he will be a rock solid
(38:17):
RB two that will have a lot of weeks where
he finishes as an RB one, maybe even creep in
and finish the year as a back end RB one
because of all the volume might expect he will get
from the Chargers.
Speaker 1 (38:27):
Yeah, it just shows how a team change can be
a circumstance changer for some of these running backs. To
get in a good opportunity and a good spot, things
could change. Things are not gonna necessarily change that much
for Mike and I coming up Wednesday. We got a
free agency fantasy fall back next week where yeah, we're
not gonna have you fancy jackets on and pocket squares.
We're gonna be down on stage five going through what
(38:49):
all of these moves mean, not just for the teams,
but for you the fantasy football player, thanks to Michael
f Florio. Not just changes, There is a stylistic change
coming up for Pooka Nakua related to the acquisition of
Davante Adams, a change that we will explain when we
come back on the Insiders. All the frenzy has continued
(39:17):
this week, leading us to some breaking news coming into
the newsroom within the our former Kansas City Chief Tennessee
Titan Houston Texan DeAndre Hopkins is expected to sign with
the Baltimore Ravens on a one year, six million dollar deal.
Per NFL Network insider Ian Rappaport New Hopkins going to
another AFC contender. Another move for a pass catcher, Juwan
(39:40):
Johnson staying in New Orleans agreeing to a three year.
Speaker 2 (39:44):
Deal with the Saints.
Speaker 1 (39:46):
That coming courtesy of NFL Network insider Tom Pellisero and
Folks wondered with Davante Adams wearing number seventeen making his
way to Los Angeles, where Pooka Nakua has played his
first two seasons with number seventeen. It is a change
for Puka Nakua, who will wear the number twelve in
twenty twenty five. Speaking of numbers, it's Tom Pelasero's favorite chart,
(40:09):
going through Greg Rosenthal's top one oh one assigning the
teams to the players that have agreed the terms on
some contract. We see there Milton Williams the number one
player on the board, Ronnie Stanley go down to number
twenty two, where Khalil Mack is Jonathan Allen at forty eight.
So much to discuss, Tom League here, sorrs tomorrow.
Speaker 2 (40:31):
What are you going to do? For Sad's tweet at
for Eastern that the Happy New Year.
Speaker 3 (40:37):
Now, Just to be clear, this entire chart was on
the screen simultaneously the first time around. Okay, that is
twice the size of what I was doing to try
to read. That's what I was looking at before.
Speaker 2 (40:51):
I don't know.
Speaker 3 (40:52):
I don't know what's going on, but you see there
are probably a third forty percent, let's guess it, there
of the the top one under one for agents Corty.
Speaker 1 (41:01):
Greg Roosevelt who have not yet signed.
Speaker 3 (41:04):
We are a little over nineteen hours away from the
official start of the league year. Judy Batista of what's left?
What are you most excited to find out?
Speaker 4 (41:14):
I am looking forward to this getting into a bigger
font because even when it's in the bigger funt that
they just showed, I can't read it. That's how bad
my eyes are. I am looking forward to an Aaron
Rodgers decision, or maybe just the Giants and Steelers getting
a quarterback, even if it's not Aaron Rodgers, some resolution
I would like resolution.
Speaker 5 (41:33):
Yeah, Well, we've got some good players. Rasante Samuel Jr.
Is the highest rated on Greg's list to go right here,
so let's see about him. Cam Robinson the offensive tackle
still out there, Still some really good players out there
to beside.
Speaker 6 (41:48):
Makai Becton still does not have a home yet. I
know the Eagles are still in the mix. They did
trade for a guard today, so you wonder how that
affects things. But had a great season, a career year.
Where will he land?
Speaker 7 (42:00):
I don't know.
Speaker 6 (42:00):
Tune in tomorrow or tonight, maybe maybe right now?
Speaker 1 (42:04):
Yeah, Happy New Years ever everybody, here's all the signings.
We'll see you tomorrow on the Insiders.
Speaker 2 (42:09):
Buy everybody,
Hosts And Creators
Judy Battista
Tom Pelissero
Ian Rapaport
Mike Garafolo
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