Mike Florio on Brady, Chiefs, Giants, Tampering, Aiyuk, Lawrence

Mike Florio of PFT joins Dave Softy Mahler and Dick Fain to talk about the rumors around Tom Brady returning, the draft situations for the Chiefs and Giants, if the Falcons will be punished for tampering, a possible Brandon Aiyuk trade, and Trevor Lawrence.

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
It's time for a weekly conversation withPro Football Talks Mike Florio, brought to
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(00:22):
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(00:43):
Our friend Michael Florio, Mike,how are you men? I am
many things. I can be called, among other things, a creature of
habit. You've got my brain messedup, man, because it's Tuesday.
I feel like it's Wednesday. Thisis my Wednesday routine. Finish my workout,
answer the all, walk around mygym while I talk to you guys

(01:04):
and feel like the next day isThursday. So I don't know. Did
I have an exit day added tomy life? Maybe I did. Yeah,
Well, listen, I appreciate youbeing flexible. We have our mock
draft tomorrow. The real draft ison Thursday, obviously, But I want
to start off by talking to youabout something that you were talking about and
writing about today, and that isthis trial balloon that's getting floated by Tom

(01:27):
Brady and the idea that maybe hewants to come back and give it one
more go. What do you think. I don't know why. I'm the
only one that sees this, andmaybe people just take things at case value.
One thing that I think we shouldhave learned over the last several years
of the world and especially the NFL, there is always something deeper that is

(01:47):
happening. With Tom Brady. Thereare no accidents, there's nothing on this
spontaneous. He said last year,I am done, I'm retiring, and
that's it. So he goes onthis podcast and the guy who hosts the
podcast throws out this idea, butwhat if somebody gets injured this year and

(02:07):
what if somebody calls you? Well, the answer is maybe you didn't see
my video last year that I shotat the beach in Miami and somebody sold
some of the stand on eBay fora crapload of money, maybe amidst that
video. But I said, I'mdone and that's it. So that's my
answer. I'm done. But no, no, he says, I wouldn't

(02:30):
be opposed to it, and hementions two teams, the Raiders and the
Patriots. Look, I don't thinkhe's just burning things out here. I
think he wants to come back,and I think he wants to be pursued.
I think he doesn't want to seemlike he's desperate old man trying to
get back into a game that's passedand by he's putting it out there that

(02:51):
he's in play. Two weeks beforethe draft is when this comes out.
And now we wait and we seeif somebody calls them. Specifically, we
see how the dust settles on thequarterbacks drafted or not drafted in the draft
this week, and maybe a teamDay isn't happy with his quarterback situation decide
to pick up the phone and callThomas Brady and talking him about the possibility

(03:15):
of coming out of retirement. Notduring the season, now I think he's
talking about coming out of retirement duringthe season to get somebody to give him
a call. Now, Mike newdeal for Andy Reid. I think it's
probably our default just to think that, well, as long as Andy Reids
they're in Patrick Mahomes there, they'regonna win the AFC every single year.
But do you anticipate the Chiefs standdominant or as Mahomes ages, do you

(03:38):
kind of see a period like wesaw here in Seattle with an aging,
expensive quarterback, where they're just kindof a nine to ten first round playoff
loser type team over the next fewyears. Here's a great thing about what
the Chiefs are doing as they arewinning Super Bowls. Then look, they
don't win it every single year,so there is that element of drama.
But even when they do, it'snot like it's easy. Like even if

(04:00):
we know how the movie is goingto end, like a Batman movie,
you know Batman's going to live atthe end and he's going to vanquish the
villain, whoever it might be.But it's still fun to watch it play
out, and there are still momentswhere we're like, oh, maybe Batman's
going to eat it this time,and he doesn't. And I feel like
that's what the Chiefs have been.That's why these seasons are exciting. Even
as the Chiefs keep dominating. Andas long as you got Andy Reid,
they're in patic mahomes and you havethose who joined at the hip. This

(04:24):
team is going to be competitive.And they needed to take care of his
contract twelve and a half million peryear. Now, I know people hear
that and say, well, comeon, oh, let's shoot me the
guy I need the bake sale.He's only making twelve and a half million
per year. But when you area key employee in a multi billion dollar
industry and you have far more valueto that industry relative to what other coaches

(04:44):
are making. I mean, hedid at fifty percent of the market.
It's an embarrassment for the Chiefs thathe was paid at the level he was
at. So now he's supposed tobe the highest paid player or coach excuse
me in football, and that neededto happen. That needed to happen,
and it's good that it happened becausethese teams there's no salary hap for coaches.
These teams need to take care oftheir key employees. Because I would
say a good coach is always betterthan a good player. Hey, Mike

(05:08):
Florio with us is the Daniel Jonesera in New York with the Giants on
its last legs? In your opinion, it is so weird to me and
look dysfunctional teams do dysfunctional things,and the Giants have been a hot mess
of dysfunction for the past several years. They fire a coach every other year.
Brian Daball feels like he's on thehot seat just the year after being
Coach of the Year in his firstseason with the Giants. GM Joe Shane

(05:31):
maybe he's in trouble too. Theydecided to give Daniel Jones a big second
contract when he became a free agentlast year because they didn't pick up the
fifth year option on him the prioryear, and now they're done with him
after one year and they're going totrade up. They're then to give up
draft ask. That's when the cupboardis largely bear in New York to try
to get Drake May and then sayto Drake, go out and make chicken
salad because we don't have a toprunning back anymore. We don't have high

(05:55):
end skilled players on on the youknow the passing game is that the tight
end might retire. Darren Waller isthinking about walking away, so you don't
have anything but go save everyone's job. It's odd to me that the Giants
would do this, and I wonderhow high up the organization is edict is
coming from. You know, onething I've been hammering on lately. Owners
are far more involved in the minutiaof their teams than they let on because

(06:21):
they want to be able to blamesomebody else when it goes sideways. They
don't want to take the heat forit, just like collectively, the owners
don't want to take the heat forthe bad decisions they make. So the
commissioners the pincushion that gets paid aton of money to stand there and take
it with each team, not everyteam, but a lot of teams.
That's what happens. And I wonderhow much John mehra is the one who's
a mad scientist in New York.And I think they're setting themselves up for

(06:43):
failure if they trade up for aDrake. May see what happens with you
with Daniel Jones. See if hecan play like you did two years ago.
Use that sixth overall, pick onan impact player, don't give up
other assets, get more players,get better, and hope that you can
find a pass toward contention. Andif it doesn't work this year, get
your quarterback next year. Mike.What punishment will the Falcons get for tampering

(07:04):
with kirk Cousins and will it affectthis year's draft or not until next year.
The easy answer to the question,based upon many years of following the
NFL very carefully, is whatever theleague wants the punishment to be. They're
not bound by Pruss and it's notbound by anything. They pick an outcome
and they work backward to justify thatoutcome, and a lot of it with

(07:25):
the Falcons spends upon how aggressively theleague chooses to investigate. There's a lot
there. Kirk Cousins, who apparentlywasn't briefed at all on what he shouldn't
say in his introductor's press conference theday he signed his contract, just hours
after they were allowed to even talkto him directly, because during the negotiating
window you can only talk to theagent. You can only negotiate with the

(07:45):
agent. He said he talked toand he initially said he met with the
head athletic training of the year beforeor the day before, excuse me,
corrected himself, said he talked toRyan Pace, the director of player personnel.
He said he had Kyle Pitts,the Falcon's tight end, recruiting Hi
from multiple week. If the teamknew that or told him to do it,
that's another violation. And Cousins alsosaid he spoke to Darnell Mooney,

(08:07):
the former Bears receiver, to tryto get him to choose to sign with
the Falcons during the negotiating window.I mean, it's tampering upon tampering and
tampering within tampering and how aggressive arethey going to be? Now? The
league said today resolution is not comingthis week, which is good news for
the Falcons because whatever they lose,they're not losing it in this year's draft.
They're losing it next year's draft.Hey, Mike Florio here uh,

(08:28):
courtesy of our friends at simply Seattledot com. What's going to have a
Brandon Au in San Francisco. Ikeep hearing all this talk about the Niners
trading him. Why I think he'sin play. He's in play, And
you know, a week or twoago I caught way into the possibility that
as agent hadn't been given permission tosee if there's a trade to be made
out there. And you know that'sdifferent from au requesting to be traded.

(08:54):
It's a more subtle opportunity for theagent to see what the market is or
is it smart move by the fortynine ers, because maybe I need to
hear that other teams don't value himat a great level above and beyond with
the forty nine ers do. Butyesterday when John Lynch was at that question,
he cut off the question said,I don't want to get into those
details, which tells me there hasbeen some discreete effort to shop the contract

(09:20):
and see what someone would pay.And at the end of the day he
was asked does he think that Icould be traded? And he said,
I wouldn't anticipate that. Well,it's either no or yes. Anything of
to know is maybe yes. Andto day I wouldn't anticipate it means it
could happen. It just wouldn't beanticipated. I think it can happen,
and I think it does happen whateverpick they acquire. If he's traded for

(09:41):
a first round pick, and there'sa report from the San Francisco Chronicle.
Forty nine ers want a first roundpick. Other teams want to give up
a second round pick. If heis traded during the draft. I would
anticipate that he's traded while whatever pickthey are getting is on the clock,
because you always want to move thenwhen you run the board and you don't
have to worry about somebody trying toget that's what you're going to take if
you get that pick before that pickis locked and loaded to be used.

(10:05):
The Jags report LA are discussing anew deal with Trevor Lawrence. Is is
he gonna be fifty plus a yearjust because he's the next up quarterback or
will it be short of Mahomes andDeshaun Watson and the mid forties guys since
he really hasn't reached the elite levelof quarterback play yet. Well, I
think we just need to see whathappens this year. He looked like he

(10:26):
was on his way to being atop five quarterback after his second season.
Last year, there was regression,there was injury. This is year number
four. They've got the fifth yearoption that they'll undoubted the exercise on it
before May three to put him undercontract through twenty twenty five. Then you've
got franchise tagged. And look whenhe spoke about it last week, my
reaction was, he's very calm,he's very resolute. He's confident that it's

(10:48):
all gonna work out for him becauseat the end of the day, he's
gonna get a contract. He's gonnaget a big contract. How big is
it going to be depends upon whathe does. And I keep waiting,
and I'm not saying that he shoulddo this to the Jaguars, but one
of the things I'm waiting for issomeone to strategically do what Kirk Cousins did
to Washington. Now, in Washington, it was simple. Cousins was due

(11:09):
to make twenty million under the franchisetag. Washington was offering him sixteen million
year on a long term deal.No brainer, play under the tag.
Next year it's twenty four million underthe tag. They're offering him less than
that on a long term deal.No brainer, play under the tag and
then become a free agent. I'mwaiting for one of these guys to say,
you know what, you got mefor four years, fifth year with
the option as a first round draftpick. Tag me wants tag me twice.

(11:30):
I'll still be and Trevor Lawrence willstill be like twenty eight years old
after he has seven years in andjust become a free agent then and go
wherever you want, kind of likean NBA approach. Seven years in Jacksonville
and then I'll go wherever I want. Not that he should. I don't
want to get the Jaguars fans outthere, if there's any in Seattle listening.
I don't want to make you upset. But one of these days,
I think one of these quarterbacks isgoing to bide his time, not do
a long term deal, become afree agent, and then go wherever he

(11:54):
wants to go. Well, he'she's a career passer. Rating Trevor Lauren
is of what eighty five with fiftyeight touchdowns and thirty nine picks. I'd
be very nervous giving that guy fiftymillion dollars if I were Jacksonville. A
right, Michael Grant stuff. Thankyou for the flexibility. I apologize for
the early morning text exchange, andwe'll talk in a week. I see

(12:16):
you, guys. Mike Florial withus. He was good and pissed this
morning. By the way, canI read you the text thing by the
way from him. So I textedour favorite segment, Jack Softy reads his
sex. So I texted Mike thismorning at five. No, I'm sorry
it was six thirty four am becauseI've been up since five o'clock and it's
nine thirty. Where her no problemhis time to me? So I said

(12:39):
six ten your time today? Work? Wow, someone's up early. Butthole
must have a busy day, saysMike. I'm up at five am every
day. He writes back, Okay, about to start radio in Chicago.
Don't text me again. Talk toyou at three ten. I send the
nervous emoji back to him. Hewrites back, what did I just say?

(13:00):
And that was that's our That's therelationship, to Mike, and as
well it you know, it flowsonto the air very well. Is it
obvious? Yes? It is theday that Gina was in for you.
She asked Mike Floria one question,Why do you hate David Well, I
think it's a it's he tolerates you. I mean that's I think that's what
it is. I don't think hedislikes you. I think he just tolerates,

(13:20):
yes, like most people do.All Right, We're gonna break Funel
with the audio three forty five.Brett Boone's gonna join us at four.
We're live at Husky Stadium until seveno'clock tonight, right here on ninety three three KJRFM