# The Insiders Podcast: Vita Vea Trade Request, Kyle Shanahan Injured in Car Crash, and Trey McBride Joins the Insiders

An episode of [NFL: The Insiders](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1543090622), 28 Jul 2026, 44 min.

Audio: https://podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/traffic.omny.fm/d/clips/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/0414225e-5167-477f-9f83-ae390070e4d2/82cf3d84-b99e-468e-8d23-b495000813f7/audio.mp3?utm_source=Podcast&in_playlist=3e412703-0644-468e-9001-ae390070e4db

Patrick Clayon, Steve Wyche, and Mike Garofolo discuss Vita Vea’s trade request from the Buccaneers and whether the Bucs might give Vita Vea the contract extension he’s been seeking. They also provide updates on Kyle Shanahan’s health following his recent car accident and Aaron Donald’s offseason workouts at the Rams facility. Then, All-Pro tight end Trey McBride joins the Insiders to talk about joining the Madden 99 Club and the Cardinals new head coach; Jeffri Chadiha provides updates on the teams looking to get back into the playoffs in 2026; and Michael F. Florio shares his favorite mid-round running backs. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

## Transcript

[0:07] Speaker 1: Aaron Donald's still working out, still has an invite to
[0:10] Speaker 1: do it on a more official basis. Inside from inside
[0:13] Speaker 1: the Rams facility on how that process might play out.
[0:17] Speaker 1: Tray McBride, in a huge season, gets a couple of
[0:20] Speaker 1: different rewards this week, one involving a digital version of himself.
[0:24] Speaker 1: Another you'll see on this edition of our show, and
[0:27] Speaker 1: the rounds you draft these running backs might be called mid,
[0:30] Speaker 1: but the opportunity is anything but. Our fantasy prep continues
[0:33] Speaker 1: today on The Insiders, which starts now here. Everybody Happy Monday.
[0:38] Speaker 1: Welcome to the Insiders here on NFL Network. Patrick Claylon
[0:41] Speaker 1: in the newsroom with Steve White, Mike Gary Fullo with
[0:43] Speaker 1: us as well, and we start with news that comes
[0:46] Speaker 1: courtesy of Mike just a few minutes ago.
[0:49] Speaker 2: This is what's new today coming into our newsroom.
[0:51] Speaker 1: And that is a trade request from Tuton Pro Bowl
[0:54] Speaker 1: defensive tackle Vita Veya to the Buccaneers after the attempts
[0:58] Speaker 1: at getting a contracting.
[0:59] Speaker 2: Stay have kind of stalls.
[1:01] Speaker 1: According to his agent, he's doing seventeen million dollars this year,
[1:05] Speaker 1: been a very effective player. Might that trade request might
[1:08] Speaker 1: draw some interest from more than a few teams?
[1:12] Speaker 3: Oh no, doubt about that because these guys are difficult
[1:15] Speaker 3: to find. Vita Vea a space eater for the Buccaneers
[1:18] Speaker 3: now for eight seasons, entering season number nine, schedule to
[1:21] Speaker 3: make eighteen million dollars this upcoming season. The top of
[1:24] Speaker 3: the market now is into the thirties. Jeffrey Simmons with
[1:27] Speaker 3: the Titans got a three year, one hundred and five
[1:30] Speaker 3: million dollars deal back in June.
[1:32] Speaker 4: Now, back in June is when.
[1:34] Speaker 3: Veya was trying to get a deal done with the Buccaneers.
[1:37] Speaker 3: He didn't participate in the spring program. He was there
[1:40] Speaker 3: at minicamp, but they allowed him to sit out. Now
[1:42] Speaker 3: my understanding is he is going to be there with
[1:45] Speaker 3: the team at training camp. The question is does he
[1:48] Speaker 3: participate and does the team allow him because some teams
[1:51] Speaker 3: are willing to say, okay, you can hold in. So
[1:54] Speaker 3: we'll see how Vea handles it. We'll see how the
[1:56] Speaker 3: team handles it. And look, we've had trade requests before
[1:59] Speaker 3: from play that have been trying to get contract extensions
[2:02] Speaker 3: done with the teams that they are currently on, unable
[2:05] Speaker 3: to do so, and then in the end getting one
[2:08] Speaker 3: to remain with the team. So this doesn't necessarily mean
[2:10] Speaker 3: that Vitaveya is not going.
[2:11] Speaker 4: To be part of the Buccaneers.
[2:12] Speaker 3: What it does mean is that he is serious, and
[2:15] Speaker 3: he looks at all Sean Jeffrey stats and someone sent
[2:17] Speaker 3: me this today or not all Sean jeff Jeffrey Simmons,
[2:20] Speaker 3: excuse me. Twenty four and twenty five, twenty twenty four
[2:23] Speaker 3: and twenty twenty five, one hundred and nine pressures, twenty
[2:26] Speaker 3: six of those when facing a double team, seventeen sacks
[2:29] Speaker 3: for Simmons Veya in twenty four and twenty five, similar
[2:33] Speaker 3: numbers one hundred and four pressures, just five fewer pressures
[2:36] Speaker 3: and twenty nine of those when facing a double team,
[2:38] Speaker 3: and eleven sacks.
[2:39] Speaker 4: So the production is there.
[2:40] Speaker 3: Maybe it's not all the way up to what Jeffrey
[2:42] Speaker 3: Simmons got from the Titans earlier in the offseason, but
[2:45] Speaker 3: vita Vea.
[2:45] Speaker 4: Steeps saying I need more tried to get this done.
[2:49] Speaker 4: Haven't done. Need to show you that I'm serious.
[2:50] Speaker 5: You actually might get about seventeen and a half million
[2:53] Speaker 5: in the final year of a deal he signed four
[2:55] Speaker 5: years ago.
[2:56] Speaker 2: But he's just below Cam.
[2:58] Speaker 5: Hayward, right, someone who's played a little bit longer than him.
[3:00] Speaker 5: So if people can't sit here and say that, Hey,
[3:03] Speaker 5: you're your nine season Tampa Bay. You're getting a little
[3:05] Speaker 5: bit long in the tooth. The thing I've Mike and
[3:08] Speaker 5: you know this, and I hope we can bring you
[3:10] Speaker 5: back on. We know that some teams have probably called
[3:12] Speaker 5: the Buccaneers about Vea, knowing that this could be a possibility,
[3:16] Speaker 5: saying hey, if you guys don't want to extend him.
[3:18] Speaker 2: We could.
[3:18] Speaker 5: We're the chances about possibly dealing him, and the Buccaneers
[3:22] Speaker 5: so far have resisted any opportunity.
[3:24] Speaker 2: So why would they do something now at this point.
[3:28] Speaker 3: The signal was first put up in the spring when
[3:31] Speaker 3: VEO was not participating, and it sort of stayed under
[3:34] Speaker 3: the radar a little bit. But then at minicamp and
[3:36] Speaker 3: we did the reporting, we said he's not participating in
[3:39] Speaker 3: Mini Caamp and it is contract related, because at first
[3:41] Speaker 3: Todd Bowles was asked about it and he said, now
[3:44] Speaker 3: it's you know, injury related.
[3:47] Speaker 4: It's contract related, is what we reported.
[3:49] Speaker 3: So at that point, yeah, all teams were aware of
[3:52] Speaker 3: the situation, and I do understand the teams have been
[3:55] Speaker 3: calling to see if there's a possibility to make this move.
[3:59] Speaker 4: I would think that.
[4:00] Speaker 3: The Buccaneers with Jason light as the general manager, Mike
[4:03] Speaker 3: Greenberg as well, who's done plenty of contracts over the
[4:06] Speaker 3: years when things have looked bleak before. Jackie Davidson also
[4:09] Speaker 3: part of that front office.
[4:10] Speaker 4: This is an.
[4:10] Speaker 3: Experienced front office that has been through this before and
[4:13] Speaker 3: won't necessarily panic. We'll try to get back at this
[4:16] Speaker 3: and get a contract done. So, like I said, it
[4:18] Speaker 3: doesn't necessarily mean his time with the Bucks is done.
[4:20] Speaker 3: It's just this is part of the playbook, and this
[4:22] Speaker 3: is a player letting him know that I am serious.
[4:25] Speaker 3: Despite being a career buccaneer to this point, I am
[4:27] Speaker 3: serious and I expect more from the negotiation.
[4:30] Speaker 4: So let's see where it.
[4:31] Speaker 1: Goes, see how that process plays out. While also we're
[4:34] Speaker 1: nearing Baker Mayfield's self imposed deadline for his contract as well.
[4:38] Speaker 1: We'll be back to discuss more Buccaneers coming up later
[4:41] Speaker 1: on the show. We'll go elsewhere from Tampa Bay to
[4:44] Speaker 1: the other Bay area. Cal Shanahan after suffering serious injuries
[4:48] Speaker 1: in a car crash in northern California, the head coach
[4:51] Speaker 1: of the forty nine Ers, taking a step back from
[4:53] Speaker 1: his normal duties with the forty nine Ers, but he
[4:55] Speaker 1: was watching a portion of training camp practice yesterday. Chris
[4:58] Speaker 1: Forster will serve interim as Shanahan recovers and.
[5:02] Speaker 2: The team continues to do work.
[5:03] Speaker 1: Earlier today, Rock Pergin took to the podium to show
[5:06] Speaker 1: his appreciation and support for his head coach.
[5:10] Speaker 6: Yeah, I mean he's our he's our guy. He's the
[5:12] Speaker 6: one leading all the team meetings and stuff and going
[5:15] Speaker 6: over just situational football, what practice is gonna look like,
[5:19] Speaker 6: he's our you know, leader. So it has been weird
[5:22] Speaker 6: in terms of not having that.
[5:24] Speaker 7: Well.
[5:24] Speaker 6: I shot him at text after I heard the news
[5:26] Speaker 6: and stuff, and we'd texted back and forth on some things.
[5:30] Speaker 6: I haven't you know, talked to him about football or anything.
[5:32] Speaker 6: Just saw him out in the field that actually the
[5:34] Speaker 6: first time in the person, and so sagged him full.
[5:36] Speaker 6: I loved him and hope he's doing good and and
[5:39] Speaker 6: everything like that. So obviously just want him to heal
[5:42] Speaker 6: up and glad he's okay, and.
[5:45] Speaker 8: That's first and foremost.
[5:46] Speaker 6: So I'm sure we'll get you know, he'll get right,
[5:49] Speaker 6: and we'll get into football and everything, but yeah, we
[5:53] Speaker 6: just want him to be good.
[5:55] Speaker 2: Mark this group, no stranger to injury recovery. Unfortunately, now
[5:58] Speaker 2: adding the head coach to that.
[6:00] Speaker 4: It's unbelievable.
[6:01] Speaker 3: This story of this situation that's stay quiet for a
[6:04] Speaker 3: while before it finally came out over the weekend. Kyle
[6:06] Speaker 3: Shanahan suffering significant injuries. He did show up at practice
[6:11] Speaker 3: over the weekend, according to the media on hand, once
[6:14] Speaker 3: it came to the portion of practice where cameras were
[6:17] Speaker 3: down and so there were no images of him that
[6:21] Speaker 3: were released or anything, but it sounds like it was
[6:25] Speaker 3: quite serious.
[6:25] Speaker 4: He was also there today as well.
[6:27] Speaker 3: Quite serious these injuries that occurred and the concussion, which
[6:31] Speaker 3: is something the NFL has taken seriously in recent years
[6:33] Speaker 3: when it comes to the players going to do the
[6:35] Speaker 3: same for the coach. In this case, Kyle Shanahan going
[6:39] Speaker 3: to be involved as much as he possibly can, but
[6:41] Speaker 3: that's going to be limited for a while while Chris
[6:43] Speaker 3: Forster serves as the interim head coach basically or pseudo
[6:47] Speaker 3: head coach, but it's going to be a team effort.
[6:50] Speaker 3: General manager John Lynch making that clear when he spoke
[6:52] Speaker 3: to the media over the weekend. Lynch also saying step
[6:55] Speaker 3: that they don't expect him to miss Week one at
[6:58] Speaker 3: this point, but Obviously it's on predictable so we can't
[7:01] Speaker 3: guarantee that.
[7:01] Speaker 4: But as of right now.
[7:02] Speaker 3: The information they have is that Shanahan will be back
[7:05] Speaker 3: before the start of the regular season in Australia.
[7:07] Speaker 4: A long flight added to that, by the way.
[7:09] Speaker 2: Yeah, good, good point to that point with the long flight.
[7:11] Speaker 8: Look good thing.
[7:11] Speaker 5: Both people involved in this accident are okay based on
[7:14] Speaker 5: everything that we see reported. And one thing, answer you
[7:16] Speaker 5: about the Kyle Shanahan part of it too. If they
[7:18] Speaker 5: talk about concussion protocol, can you take part of the meetings?
[7:21] Speaker 5: You know, how's he feeling right now leading up to
[7:24] Speaker 5: the season. I'm sure to be kind of a slow
[7:25] Speaker 5: burn in that regard. Like I also want to flip
[7:28] Speaker 5: a little bit too, what's going on defensively with the
[7:30] Speaker 5: forty nine. If you've seen videotape of Nick Bosa coming
[7:33] Speaker 5: back from that knee injury, kind of ramping things up.
[7:35] Speaker 2: Before they get the pads on.
[7:37] Speaker 5: They've got to get some things married between this, this
[7:39] Speaker 5: pass rush and this coverage because both individual units looked
[7:43] Speaker 5: poor last season because one wasn't working hand in hand
[7:46] Speaker 5: with the other. We know the defensive coordinator now is
[7:49] Speaker 5: Raheem Morris and besides the things they want to get
[7:52] Speaker 5: done up front. We know the rock solid at the
[7:53] Speaker 5: second level with Fred Warner and Drake Greenlaw back in
[7:56] Speaker 5: the fold, is also in the secondary in a place
[8:00] Speaker 5: look out for is up ten Stout, the nickelback in
[8:04] Speaker 5: Raheem Morris's defense, and he has coached a very good
[8:07] Speaker 5: knickelback starting with Ronde Barber and Jalen Ramsey and Quinton
[8:11] Speaker 5: Lake good players that way, that nickelback is going to
[8:14] Speaker 5: be very important to support on the run but also
[8:17] Speaker 5: in coverage. So if you get guys like Bosh and
[8:19] Speaker 5: these guys putting pressure on the quarterback.
[8:21] Speaker 2: Look for gotting up ten Stout a.
[8:23] Speaker 5: Knickelback for the forty nine ers to really flourish in
[8:26] Speaker 5: this Raheem Morris scheme and Nick Bosa and now adding
[8:29] Speaker 5: Kyle Shannah into that list of guys that the.
[8:31] Speaker 2: Forty nine ers would like to get back.
[8:32] Speaker 1: Oh yeah from injury, best wishes to the head coaches
[8:35] Speaker 1: he recovers elsewhere in the division. The Rams got another
[8:38] Speaker 1: set of all season accolades that's coming from Madden NFL
[8:42] Speaker 1: twenty seven. Congratulations to the most valuable Player Matthew Stafford
[8:46] Speaker 1: in the ninety nine club. What about the sat King
[8:48] Speaker 1: After his record breaking season, he gets added to the
[8:52] Speaker 1: ninety nine club, But could.
[8:53] Speaker 2: That number be in played elsewhere?
[8:54] Speaker 1: A dude that War number ninety nine was rated ninety
[8:57] Speaker 1: nine and Madden seven consecutive times to end his career.
[9:00] Speaker 2: Aaron Donald, Then.
[9:03] Speaker 9: I'm sure everybody's wondering about Aaron. He is going through
[9:08] Speaker 9: his process, and he is putting himself in a position
[9:10] Speaker 9: to make a decision and he's earned the right to
[9:13] Speaker 9: be able to do that. And for those of you
[9:15] Speaker 9: guys that do know Aaron, he's very diligent. Anything that
[9:18] Speaker 9: he does, he does all in. And so he's going
[9:21] Speaker 9: through a very strict regimen in process that was similar
[9:23] Speaker 9: to what he did when he played. See how his
[9:26] Speaker 9: body responds, it feels. And then we've had some things
[9:29] Speaker 9: that we'll just kind of, you know, check up on
[9:32] Speaker 9: each other, and then we'll see when we have more
[9:34] Speaker 9: information whether or not we're going to give it a go,
[9:36] Speaker 9: or whether or not he's going to continue to enjoy
[9:39] Speaker 9: what he's been doing for the last couple of years.
[9:41] Speaker 9: But if that is something that he wants to do,
[9:43] Speaker 9: we are going to, you know, try to be able
[9:45] Speaker 9: to make that happen. And so but I genuinely do
[9:49] Speaker 9: not have an answer on whether he is or isn't.
[9:51] Speaker 9: I know he's preparing himself to be able to make
[9:55] Speaker 9: that decision. And if he feels good, then you guys
[9:58] Speaker 9: know he's going to be ready to rock. If not,
[10:00] Speaker 9: he's earned the right. He doesn't know us anything, and
[10:03] Speaker 9: he's a special person. You guys know what he means
[10:05] Speaker 9: to me, all.
[10:07] Speaker 1: Right, Mark, So for insight for those who don't know,
[10:09] Speaker 1: that was Sean Bay's opening statement, Like nobody even asked
[10:12] Speaker 1: him about Aaron Donald there, that's just how he started
[10:14] Speaker 1: because he knows Mark that we all just want to know.
[10:17] Speaker 3: Well, he's an experienced head coach now and he's experienced
[10:21] Speaker 3: and handling some big personalities in a big market obviously,
[10:24] Speaker 3: And that's a large part of the equation right here
[10:27] Speaker 3: is Sean mcvay's got to land this plane, and he's
[10:30] Speaker 3: also got to keep an eye out for what if
[10:32] Speaker 3: Aaron Donald says, you know what, I'm just not feeling it.
[10:36] Speaker 3: I'm good, He's got to then turn back to his
[10:38] Speaker 3: locker room and say it's okay, we have enough here
[10:40] Speaker 3: to win. So as much as we talk about McVeigh
[10:43] Speaker 3: as this x'es and o's offensive genius. Also, his ability
[10:48] Speaker 3: as a head coach to manage personalities, manage the locker
[10:52] Speaker 3: room is a huge part of this. So that's what
[10:54] Speaker 3: he's trying to do right now. I just continue to
[10:57] Speaker 3: be of the belief that the ninety nine point nine
[11:01] Speaker 3: percent chance this guy's coming back.
[11:03] Speaker 4: I mean, why would he not. And Steve, I know
[11:06] Speaker 4: you mentioned the other day.
[11:07] Speaker 3: That they wanted or Aaron Donald would want to make
[11:10] Speaker 3: a decision and want to be part of the team
[11:12] Speaker 3: early on in training camp. He won't have to do
[11:15] Speaker 3: much on the field, and he wants to do much
[11:18] Speaker 3: more than he does anyway, so we know physically, mentally,
[11:21] Speaker 3: everything needed.
[11:22] Speaker 4: He will be prepared if he decides to make this
[11:25] Speaker 4: decision to come back here.
[11:26] Speaker 5: And Mike he said he won't have to do much,
[11:28] Speaker 5: but Aaron Donald is built differently.
[11:30] Speaker 2: He will do that much.
[11:32] Speaker 5: I've never seen a player practice like him in turns
[11:34] Speaker 5: of there's no wasted energy and everything he does and
[11:37] Speaker 5: everything he does is at a million miles an hour
[11:40] Speaker 5: with a million percentage, you know, pounds of strength and
[11:43] Speaker 5: so everything I keep hearing is that he is building
[11:46] Speaker 5: back to get back at some point in training camp.
[11:48] Speaker 5: If he decides to go ahead and make this move,
[11:50] Speaker 5: there will be nothing to stop him. They'll get a
[11:52] Speaker 5: contract done, they'll figure it out.
[11:55] Speaker 2: He gives them options too.
[11:56] Speaker 5: They've already got two really good defensive tackles, and Kobe
[11:58] Speaker 5: Turner and Braden Fisk. He can at some times rotate,
[12:02] Speaker 5: you know, Chris Shuler will put all three of those
[12:04] Speaker 5: guys on the field at one time as well. But
[12:07] Speaker 5: if he comes back, just the fact that he gets
[12:10] Speaker 5: to play next and not only Miles Garrett, but so
[12:12] Speaker 5: many other good defensive linemen, it gives him depth, it
[12:16] Speaker 5: gives him incredible talent, and it gives them flexibility to
[12:19] Speaker 5: just absolutely dominate at all three levels.
[12:23] Speaker 2: Yeah.
[12:23] Speaker 1: I think the takeaway from what you just said there
[12:25] Speaker 1: Steve is if he wants to come back, nothing could
[12:27] Speaker 1: stop him, which reminds me of Aaron Donald's career, nothing
[12:30] Speaker 1: really stopping what he wanted to do on the football field.
[12:33] Speaker 1: We've got more insiders coming your way here on NFL Network,
[12:37] Speaker 1: an opportunity to look into just how quickly aj Brown
[12:41] Speaker 1: is learning this new England Patriots offense.
[12:43] Speaker 2: We get an update from him and his.
[12:45] Speaker 1: Head coach and our opportunity to have NFL Network and
[12:48] Speaker 1: sider Ian Rapport sit down for a bit of a
[12:51] Speaker 1: chat where Trey McBride will hear it coming up on
[12:54] Speaker 1: the Insider. We are back on the Insiders, and according
[13:06] Speaker 1: to the NFL Network insider ian rappid word Ja cobe
[13:08] Speaker 1: Versett in the Arizona Cardinals of recent agreement on a
[13:11] Speaker 1: reworked deal. It's going to increase his pay this season
[13:15] Speaker 1: to fifteen and a half million dollars max value if
[13:17] Speaker 1: incentives are hit twenty one million dollars. He skipped most
[13:21] Speaker 1: of the team's offseason work, but reported for mandatory mini
[13:24] Speaker 1: camp and training camp, and now he's reporting he's glad
[13:28] Speaker 1: this is all over.
[13:30] Speaker 8: Oh for sure. I'm pretty sure.
[13:31] Speaker 10: I'll probably sleep more than three hours tonight. And yeah,
[13:36] Speaker 10: so he got a off day tomorrow, so I'll sleep
[13:38] Speaker 10: in a little bit.
[13:39] Speaker 4: And he joke about, you know, only acre obvious sleep.
[13:41] Speaker 4: But was there a play where it did become stressful
[13:44] Speaker 4: for you? Oh? Yeah, it's because it's it's.
[13:46] Speaker 10: Pure livelihood, you know it, it's businesses is part of
[13:49] Speaker 10: his game, and you know, and being here obviously wanted
[13:52] Speaker 10: to be out there with the guys and that causes
[13:55] Speaker 10: another stresser, but.
[13:57] Speaker 8: Uh, you know, just glad it's over it and moving forward.
[14:00] Speaker 2: So Trey McBride gets.
[14:02] Speaker 1: The quarterback back that he had a great year with
[14:04] Speaker 1: and another award for Trey mcbrod in addition to the
[14:07] Speaker 1: ninety nine club. Over the weekend, congratulations to Trey McBride.
[14:11] Speaker 1: As another reward, you got a chance to sit down
[14:13] Speaker 1: and talk with NFL networkingsider Ian Rappaport.
[14:17] Speaker 11: Very pleased to be joined right now on the Insiders
[14:20] Speaker 11: by Arizona Cardinals All pro tight end Trey McBride, one
[14:25] Speaker 11: of the best tight ends in the NFL, has had
[14:28] Speaker 11: a lot of honors, a lot of catches, a lot
[14:30] Speaker 11: of accolades, and I think it's fair to say, Trey,
[14:32] Speaker 11: we can add one more congratulations and welcome to the
[14:37] Speaker 11: Madden ninety nine club. I'll read you the names in
[14:40] Speaker 11: a second, just so you know the kind of company
[14:43] Speaker 11: you are keeping. But when I say that to you,
[14:46] Speaker 11: what does that mean?
[14:48] Speaker 4: Yeah?
[14:49] Speaker 8: I mean that's surreal.
[14:51] Speaker 12: I mean that's something that as a little kid you
[14:53] Speaker 12: grew up playing the game. It's something that you've always
[14:55] Speaker 12: dreamed about and you've always played the ultimate team. You've
[14:58] Speaker 12: always wanted the ninety nine, create your own player, whatever
[15:01] Speaker 12: it is, and to finally, you know, reach that to
[15:04] Speaker 12: get the ninety nine is pretty special and I'm very honored.
[15:08] Speaker 11: So I want to read you the names of some
[15:10] Speaker 11: of the other honorees of this very very exclusive club.
[15:13] Speaker 11: Jamar Chase pretty good, Josh Allen, Miles Garrett best defensive
[15:18] Speaker 11: player in football, Jackson Smith, and Jigba Matthew Stafford. That
[15:22] Speaker 11: is some excellent company that you are keeping right now.
[15:26] Speaker 11: I want to ask you this though, So you heard
[15:28] Speaker 11: that list. That's a great list, No doubt there's one
[15:31] Speaker 11: player you could think of who is.
[15:33] Speaker 2: Not in the ninety nine club.
[15:35] Speaker 11: Maybe, so when you're close with maybe someone whose game
[15:38] Speaker 11: you like, who would you add?
[15:40] Speaker 8: Man, that's tough.
[15:41] Speaker 12: There's so many good players in this league. I think
[15:45] Speaker 12: of a guy in our division that we play, you know,
[15:47] Speaker 12: Puka Naku as a guy who had a tremendous here
[15:49] Speaker 12: last year, and you know, I thought he was going
[15:52] Speaker 12: to be a ninety nine overall just from the catches
[15:54] Speaker 12: he made and all the plays that he did. Watching
[15:57] Speaker 12: him live, He's a He's a tremendous player. So that's
[15:59] Speaker 12: someone who I don't think, you know, maybe he's not
[16:02] Speaker 12: on this year, but I fully expect in the next
[16:04] Speaker 12: few years to hopefully be on there.
[16:07] Speaker 11: You know, we of the inside of the world focus
[16:09] Speaker 11: a lot on contracts and business, and we've got a
[16:12] Speaker 11: couple of tight ends over the course of the last
[16:14] Speaker 11: couple of years. Really get paid, Kyle Pitts the latest
[16:17] Speaker 11: at your position. Obviously a couple of years ago you
[16:19] Speaker 11: got a huge deal with the highest paid tight end
[16:22] Speaker 11: in the NFL at the time. Get a couple other
[16:25] Speaker 11: really good up and coming stellar tight end. You've got
[16:28] Speaker 11: Tucker Craft, you got Laporta obviously, Kyle Pitts Ageta mentioned
[16:32] Speaker 11: just got paid.
[16:33] Speaker 2: What do you think of the future.
[16:34] Speaker 11: In the future of this position, and you know how
[16:39] Speaker 11: much you rooting for some of those guys to get
[16:42] Speaker 11: the bag.
[16:42] Speaker 2: Like you did.
[16:43] Speaker 12: Yeah, I'm always rooting for those guys to get paid
[16:45] Speaker 12: because obviously you want those guys to make a ton
[16:48] Speaker 12: of money, because when one guy gets paid, they all,
[16:50] Speaker 12: you know, end up making a little bit more. But
[16:52] Speaker 12: this position is I think one of the strongest it's
[16:55] Speaker 12: ever been. There's so much talent there's you know, it
[16:57] Speaker 12: seems like every team has a stud tight end, and
[17:00] Speaker 12: the competition every single week is is so cool. But
[17:03] Speaker 12: like you said, Tucker Craft, Sam Reporter, Brockbauers Colstein, I mean,
[17:06] Speaker 12: there's so many of these young guys that are playing
[17:09] Speaker 12: at such a high level and it's, uh, it's such
[17:11] Speaker 12: a you know, encouraging for the tight end position.
[17:14] Speaker 11: I'm want to talk about the Cardinals specifically. There's a
[17:17] Speaker 11: lot of new there. There's a lot of talent. I
[17:19] Speaker 11: would say I've always said the talent on the Cardinals
[17:22] Speaker 11: roster pretty underrated. We'll get to that in a second.
[17:25] Speaker 11: But there's a lot new specifically on the coaching staff.
[17:28] Speaker 11: Michael Floorer comes in got a fresh look at things,
[17:32] Speaker 11: besides his stellar haircut, which certainly has set the internet
[17:35] Speaker 11: on fire, as it always does. What have you thought
[17:39] Speaker 11: of your new head coach and your new coaching staff
[17:41] Speaker 11: as you get into training camp.
[17:44] Speaker 8: Yeah, I've been in love with them.
[17:45] Speaker 7: Man.
[17:45] Speaker 12: They do a great job of, you know, getting everybody
[17:48] Speaker 12: riled in, making sure we all know what's going on.
[17:50] Speaker 12: But just the way that he's us he can coach,
[17:53] Speaker 12: the way he brings guys around him, the way he
[17:55] Speaker 12: can to talk to everybody, I mean he's a He's
[17:57] Speaker 12: a tremendous coach. The staff that he's you know, a
[18:00] Speaker 12: tumbled behind him has been great and I'm excited to
[18:02] Speaker 12: get into training camp and kind of hit the ground
[18:04] Speaker 12: running and see what we can do during training camp.
[18:08] Speaker 11: And I mentioned the kind of underrated talent. I mean,
[18:11] Speaker 11: it's it's interesting because look, your record was what it
[18:13] Speaker 11: was last year. I mean, Jonathan Gannon unfortunately lost his
[18:16] Speaker 11: job as a result of this.
[18:18] Speaker 8: But the roster that monte.
[18:19] Speaker 11: Astin Ford has has collected really and you practically get
[18:23] Speaker 11: some every day.
[18:24] Speaker 7: You know.
[18:24] Speaker 11: Really, it's the come team to me, to me that
[18:27] Speaker 11: could catch fire just based on the overall talent. Now
[18:30] Speaker 11: that you you see these guys on a day to
[18:33] Speaker 11: day basis, obviously you went through them with them with
[18:36] Speaker 11: the Spring, what do you think of the overall talent
[18:39] Speaker 11: base and do you view this as the team that's
[18:41] Speaker 11: kind of ready to catch fire a little bit.
[18:44] Speaker 12: Yeah, I think we're just about to break out, and
[18:46] Speaker 12: I think this is a year where it happens. You know,
[18:49] Speaker 12: like you said, the talent is is very underrated, but
[18:52] Speaker 12: I think our offensive skill is one of the best
[18:54] Speaker 12: in the NFL.
[18:54] Speaker 8: You know, we just drafted a stud running back, Jeremiah.
[18:57] Speaker 12: We got Marvin Harrison, Mike Wilson, you know, James Connor,
[19:02] Speaker 12: Tyler Lgier. I mean, we got so many guys that
[19:05] Speaker 12: can play on this offense, and I'm just excited to
[19:08] Speaker 12: go out there and make plays and see what we
[19:10] Speaker 12: can do. But I'm so excited for our team. I'm
[19:12] Speaker 12: so excited for the fresh start that we have with
[19:14] Speaker 12: a new head coach and just go out there and
[19:16] Speaker 12: let it rip. I just want to go show the
[19:18] Speaker 12: world that we can play ball.
[19:21] Speaker 11: Looking forward to getting a fresh look at that. I'll
[19:23] Speaker 11: be out there on inside training camp in the coming weeks,
[19:25] Speaker 11: that's sure of the day yet, but I'll be sure
[19:28] Speaker 11: to stop by and say hello. I got one more
[19:30] Speaker 11: for you, specifically related to the quarterback position.
[19:34] Speaker 8: Obviously, Jacoby Brissett returns.
[19:36] Speaker 11: We saw these statistics last year that he put out
[19:39] Speaker 11: a lot of offensive production.
[19:41] Speaker 2: All the wins in not come. You got Carson Beck
[19:43] Speaker 2: in there.
[19:43] Speaker 11: Now, talk me through what you see of the quarterback
[19:47] Speaker 11: position and what you saw kind of in the spring,
[19:50] Speaker 11: especially as it relates to some of the young guys.
[19:53] Speaker 12: Yeah, I mean, obviously, Jacoby and I have had such
[19:56] Speaker 12: a lot of success last year. We played very well
[19:58] Speaker 12: together and we did so many things great, and I'm
[20:01] Speaker 12: excited to, you know, hopefully have him back and have
[20:03] Speaker 12: him on the team. Gardner Minshew was here all all spring,
[20:07] Speaker 12: got a ton of reps with him, kind of see
[20:08] Speaker 12: how he plays. He's a guy who's been in this
[20:10] Speaker 12: league for eight or nine years now, so he knows
[20:13] Speaker 12: the game. He plays well. And then you got the
[20:15] Speaker 12: younger guys. Carson Beck. We just drafted an older guy,
[20:18] Speaker 12: but I feel like he's played a lot of football,
[20:20] Speaker 12: He's won a lot of games in college and knows exactly,
[20:23] Speaker 12: you know, how to play that quarterback position.
[20:25] Speaker 8: Slow is another guy who's a good player.
[20:26] Speaker 12: So I think our quarterback room is very strong, and
[20:29] Speaker 12: I'm excited for those guys to really flourish and really
[20:32] Speaker 12: take the next step in training camp.
[20:34] Speaker 2: I'm excited to see where this team goes. Excited for you.
[20:37] Speaker 11: Trey McBride, a member of the Madden ninety nine Cup.
[20:41] Speaker 11: Is it's cool, man, I mean, it's just it is
[20:44] Speaker 11: just really cool. Congratulations again, thank you for hanging out
[20:47] Speaker 11: with us on the Insiders, and I.
[20:49] Speaker 2: Will see you in a couple of days in Arizona.
[20:52] Speaker 8: Yeah.
[20:53] Speaker 12: Absolutely, thank you so much for having me on. I
[20:54] Speaker 12: appreciate it.
[20:56] Speaker 1: Back here on the Unsiders, there's what's new today coming
[20:58] Speaker 1: into the nfl l A newsroom. She's offensive coordinator Eric
[21:02] Speaker 1: Bannemy's wife, Mia is now in stable condition after getting
[21:05] Speaker 1: multiple gunshot wounds over the weekend. Bnemy's twenty seven year
[21:09] Speaker 1: old son, Elijah, was charged in connection with the shooting.
[21:12] Speaker 1: She's head coach Andy Reid, addressing media today from Saint
[21:15] Speaker 1: Joseph Our.
[21:17] Speaker 13: Hearts go out to Eric Banman and his family. Thoughts
[21:21] Speaker 13: and prayers are with them. I can't get into details
[21:24] Speaker 13: on it, but things happen sometimes, and Eric will work
[21:29] Speaker 13: through it.
[21:29] Speaker 2: He's got a great support group.
[21:31] Speaker 13: Here as it does his family as needed, and then
[21:35] Speaker 13: we'll just let time take care of it from there.
[21:38] Speaker 13: But Mia is stable, which is a plus, and so
[21:42] Speaker 13: is Eric Junior, and that's all important.
[21:46] Speaker 2: Yes, best wishes to the the enemy family.
[21:48] Speaker 1: Unfortunately, Steve, this coaching staff has a pretty familiar history
[21:52] Speaker 1: with personal family tragedy. Again, you know, best wishes out
[21:56] Speaker 1: there and thoughts some prayers to the family, but it's
[21:58] Speaker 1: something else for this team to deal with as they
[22:01] Speaker 1: push forward towards the season.
[22:02] Speaker 5: Yeah, absolutely, you know, I know Eric, I know some
[22:04] Speaker 5: members of his family. All the best to them because
[22:07] Speaker 5: this is an absolutely tragic situation and I'm going to
[22:10] Speaker 5: somehow try to make a pivot towards a football situation.
[22:14] Speaker 5: You talk about rallying around certain things, and that is
[22:16] Speaker 5: what the Chiefs have to do, and if they do that,
[22:18] Speaker 5: they could be right back into the super Bowl because
[22:20] Speaker 5: so many individual players have to rally around individual circumstance.
[22:24] Speaker 5: Quarterback Patrick Mahomes coming back from that knee operation that
[22:28] Speaker 5: torn ACL can he get back? Wide receiver Rashie Rice
[22:32] Speaker 5: coming back from legal issues his knee injury. Running Back
[22:35] Speaker 5: Kenneth Walker who came over. Is he worth the money
[22:38] Speaker 5: to be the lead running back? Travis Kelcey the tight end,
[22:42] Speaker 5: probably playing out his final year, Chris Jones, a defensive
[22:45] Speaker 5: lineman who's making a lot more than Vitavea, trying to
[22:48] Speaker 5: come back from a down year. And yet first round
[22:51] Speaker 5: quarterback man Sword Delaye who's coming in trying to replace
[22:54] Speaker 5: the secondary that was decimated by attrition, free agency departures
[22:58] Speaker 5: and whatnot. So again, this team can rally around a
[23:01] Speaker 5: lot of individual circumstance. The heart of a champion of
[23:04] Speaker 5: something that can never be questioned. We know what the
[23:06] Speaker 5: Chiefs have had to overcome previously, so again with every
[23:10] Speaker 5: piece of adversity that tends to come their way, they
[23:12] Speaker 5: seem to rally the right way because of the culture
[23:14] Speaker 5: that's there, and hopefully they can take this horrible situation
[23:17] Speaker 5: to tap with Eric Biennemy and his family and Parley
[23:20] Speaker 5: that into something very positive.
[23:21] Speaker 1: And as Andy Reid says, the most important aspect of
[23:24] Speaker 1: that NA is currently okay and unstable condition.
[23:27] Speaker 2: Hope for a fast recovery there.
[23:29] Speaker 1: Thanks for Steve Weich checking in on the Kansas City Chiefs.
[23:33] Speaker 1: The Chiefs one of those teams that missed the playoffs
[23:36] Speaker 1: in twenty twenty five.
[23:37] Speaker 2: But here's the good news.
[23:39] Speaker 1: Look at all these new playoff teams that made the
[23:41] Speaker 1: playoffs in twenty twenty four, including the team that would
[23:44] Speaker 1: ultimately go on to play in the Super Bowl and
[23:46] Speaker 1: the Patriots, and the team that would win the Super
[23:48] Speaker 1: Bowl in the Seattle Seahawks. But consistently, there are teams
[23:51] Speaker 1: that we pencil in to go to the playoffs every
[23:54] Speaker 1: single year, and sometimes we get let down in that.
[23:57] Speaker 2: Jeff to Dia joins me and Mike Garafolo here.
[23:59] Speaker 1: Jeff have picked out some teams that maybe we can
[24:01] Speaker 1: believe in, and we'll start with those Baltimore Ravens. What
[24:04] Speaker 1: could this new coaching staff do for a defense that
[24:07] Speaker 1: really underperformed a year ago.
[24:09] Speaker 7: Yeah, the big question about the Ravens, Patrick, is that defense.
[24:12] Speaker 7: I know everybody talks about Lamar Jackson and a new
[24:14] Speaker 7: offensive coordinator and new people on the offensive line, but
[24:17] Speaker 7: that defense really has not played up to the standard
[24:20] Speaker 7: to come to expect from.
[24:21] Speaker 2: That unit over these years.
[24:22] Speaker 7: I k aightenth of the league in scoring defense last year,
[24:26] Speaker 7: and you added Trey Hendrickson to improve the pass rush.
[24:28] Speaker 7: You still have Roquan Smith and Kyle Hamilton, all pro
[24:31] Speaker 7: level players that get nombie Mattabuke back. He just got
[24:35] Speaker 7: cleared the plague after that neck injury. So I'm expecting
[24:37] Speaker 7: big things from this group because they have to get
[24:39] Speaker 7: back to being the Baltimore Ravens defense we know in love.
[24:42] Speaker 3: Mike, and you've very Travis Kelsey among others, talk about
[24:47] Speaker 3: how tough it is to play against Jesse Mintor's defense,
[24:50] Speaker 3: So it'll be that part of things for him, But
[24:51] Speaker 3: also being a head coach for the first time, Mintor
[24:54] Speaker 3: is a softer, smoking guy. He is a very intellectual
[24:58] Speaker 3: cerebral guy. See how that translates to him being a
[25:01] Speaker 3: head coach. I know that folks in the buildings saw
[25:03] Speaker 3: similarities between Mike McDonald and Jesse Minter and how they
[25:06] Speaker 3: were assistant coaches that they were familiar with and really
[25:10] Speaker 3: felt good they did in Baltimore about hiring Mintter.
[25:13] Speaker 4: Can he hit the ground running?
[25:14] Speaker 3: And on the other side of the ball Deckln Doyle,
[25:16] Speaker 3: you alluded to it new offensive coordinator, a guy that
[25:18] Speaker 3: is extremely highly thought of, and people say.
[25:21] Speaker 4: Keep an eye on that guy.
[25:22] Speaker 3: He's going to be a great offensive coordinator, a head
[25:24] Speaker 3: coaching candidate one year.
[25:26] Speaker 4: Perhaps that second part comes.
[25:28] Speaker 3: This year when he hits the ground running as an
[25:29] Speaker 3: offensive coordinator.
[25:30] Speaker 4: We'll see.
[25:31] Speaker 2: Also we'll go elsewhere in the division, Jeff.
[25:33] Speaker 1: For another team that we've seen play in fact play
[25:35] Speaker 1: in the Super Bowl right across the street from me
[25:37] Speaker 1: and Steve, the Cincinnati Bengals. But they almost still have
[25:40] Speaker 1: a quarterback that's been a two time comeback.
[25:42] Speaker 2: Player of the Year.
[25:43] Speaker 1: Can they avoid having to have him come back and
[25:46] Speaker 1: have this offense be what we think it could be?
[25:48] Speaker 7: Hey, you don't want to keep winning that award if
[25:50] Speaker 7: you're Joe Burrow and I know again, there's a lot
[25:52] Speaker 7: of high hopes for the defense over there because of
[25:53] Speaker 7: all the changes they may on that side of the
[25:55] Speaker 7: ball in terms of personnel. But Joe Burrow's got to
[25:58] Speaker 7: stay healthy. He's missed sixteen games over the last three years.
[26:01] Speaker 7: When he played a couple of years ago, he played
[26:03] Speaker 7: at an MVP level. But he's been talking a lot
[26:05] Speaker 7: of big things about this offense and what it can do.
[26:08] Speaker 7: Eleven starters all coming back this year. You got weapons
[26:12] Speaker 7: like Jamar Chas and t Higgins. You know what they
[26:14] Speaker 7: can do. But he's got to be able to be
[26:16] Speaker 7: on the field, and he's talked about taking fewer hits,
[26:18] Speaker 7: taking care of his body.
[26:19] Speaker 2: Mike, you'd better do that if they want to be
[26:21] Speaker 2: back in the playoffs.
[26:23] Speaker 4: Now.
[26:24] Speaker 3: I know this defense was not very good early in
[26:26] Speaker 3: the season and even towards the end of the season
[26:29] Speaker 3: as well, but they were better in the second half.
[26:31] Speaker 4: Of the season.
[26:32] Speaker 3: Last year, they only had one game where they gave
[26:34] Speaker 3: up more than four hundred yards after their bye week,
[26:37] Speaker 3: which came in Week ten.
[26:38] Speaker 4: Now, I know, like that's what you're supposed to do.
[26:41] Speaker 3: I get it, right, Like you don't get an award
[26:43] Speaker 3: for not giving up four hundred yards. But the point
[26:45] Speaker 3: is the guys that were in house that were playing
[26:47] Speaker 3: under Al Golden were starting to realize what he wants
[26:50] Speaker 3: to the defensive coordinator starting to play a little bit faster.
[26:53] Speaker 3: Now you think about all the additions on defense as well,
[26:55] Speaker 3: and they say, Okay, this defense started to take a
[26:57] Speaker 3: step forward at the end of last year. You're going
[26:59] Speaker 3: to take another one with all these additions.
[27:01] Speaker 4: Should be good.
[27:01] Speaker 3: And as we've said, they don't have to be a
[27:03] Speaker 3: top five defense, they just have to be like top fifteen.
[27:06] Speaker 2: That's all.
[27:06] Speaker 4: Let's see if they can get there.
[27:07] Speaker 1: Sot on the team that's had the top five offense
[27:09] Speaker 1: have been very explosive at the Detroit Lions, and we
[27:12] Speaker 1: saw it in spots, But Jeff, do you think they
[27:14] Speaker 1: can get back to where they were with Ben Johnson
[27:16] Speaker 1: calling the play?
[27:17] Speaker 7: Well, they didn't see that enough spots for Dan Cambe'll
[27:20] Speaker 7: be happy because obviously he took over play calling duties
[27:22] Speaker 7: from John Morton. He's got a new offensive coordinator, Andrew Petsing.
[27:26] Speaker 7: But dam Campbell loves this time of the year because
[27:28] Speaker 7: he gets to put the pads on the big boys
[27:30] Speaker 7: and this offensive line getting back to what it used
[27:32] Speaker 7: to be. Starts with them getting better up front. Look,
[27:35] Speaker 7: they're moving Piney Sewell from right tackle to left tackle.
[27:38] Speaker 7: They spent a first round pick on Blake Miller, who
[27:40] Speaker 7: they hope wins the right tackle job. Went in a
[27:42] Speaker 7: free agency and got Kye may K May's for a center,
[27:46] Speaker 7: and so this has got to be a unit. I
[27:48] Speaker 7: guess that run game going again with Jamier Gibbs and
[27:51] Speaker 7: gets obviously Jerry goffmore time to throw the football down
[27:54] Speaker 7: the field. But Mike, they're not going back to the playoffs.
[27:56] Speaker 7: This offense is to get back to what it looked
[27:58] Speaker 7: like when Ben Johnson was running the show them.
[28:00] Speaker 3: They had some injuries before they even got the training
[28:03] Speaker 3: camp last year, and then they lose Frank Ragnell, their
[28:06] Speaker 3: center right around.
[28:06] Speaker 4: That time as well.
[28:07] Speaker 3: I know he tried to make a brief comeback middle
[28:09] Speaker 3: of the season and then that never materialized. You lose
[28:12] Speaker 3: all those pieces there via injury, plus both coordinators, and
[28:17] Speaker 3: then Dan Campbell's got to take over his offensive coordinator.
[28:19] Speaker 3: Like you talked about, just the Lions never got the
[28:21] Speaker 3: legs underneath them last season. They are also going up
[28:24] Speaker 3: against one of the most difficult.
[28:26] Speaker 4: Schedules in the NFL last year. That flips this year.
[28:29] Speaker 3: This is one of the least daunting schedules in the
[28:31] Speaker 3: NFL this season. And you hope that if the coordinators
[28:34] Speaker 3: can get their jobs done and Dan Campbell can just
[28:36] Speaker 3: remain as the head coach and you.
[28:38] Speaker 4: Don't have too many injuries, that all equals eight bounce
[28:40] Speaker 4: back year for the Lions. I'm big on the Lions
[28:42] Speaker 4: bounce back this year.
[28:43] Speaker 2: Yeah.
[28:43] Speaker 1: It was when everybody was together, there were one defensive
[28:46] Speaker 1: play away from a Super Bowl. Dan Campbell prophetically said,
[28:49] Speaker 1: we may never get back here. They have not been since.
[28:52] Speaker 1: We'll see how the Detroit Lions and all these teams
[28:53] Speaker 1: bounce back here in twenty twenty six.
[28:55] Speaker 2: Thanks to Jeff Shedea checking in there.
[28:58] Speaker 1: Coming up, you have decided to stay away from zero RB.
[29:03] Speaker 1: You want to draft a running back in the mid rounds,
[29:06] Speaker 1: But which ones do you take?
[29:07] Speaker 2: Michael f Flooril has those answers for you. When we
[29:10] Speaker 2: come back on the inside. We are back on the insiders.
[29:22] Speaker 1: The twenty twenty six Fantasy Football Primer continues as you
[29:25] Speaker 1: get closer to your draft time.
[29:27] Speaker 2: That's why we have NFL fantasies. Michael F.
[29:29] Speaker 1: Florio getting into your draft. Let's start with the hypothetical. Mike,
[29:33] Speaker 1: you've torn up the top of your draft. It looks great,
[29:35] Speaker 1: but you need some mid round running backs to round
[29:38] Speaker 1: out the squad.
[29:39] Speaker 2: Where do you stand.
[29:40] Speaker 1: I can't believe I'm asking you this on ba shal
[29:43] Speaker 1: tootin considering how you've kind of championed him this offseason.
[29:48] Speaker 14: Yeah, if you watch the Insiders every day, you're probably like,
[29:50] Speaker 14: he's talking about bashell Tooting again.
[29:53] Speaker 8: Yeah.
[29:53] Speaker 14: I'm gonna keep saying it. Trust the Liam Cohen running
[29:56] Speaker 14: back system. ETN wasnt RB one last year after being
[29:59] Speaker 14: written off. Bucky Irving finished the year as a league
[30:02] Speaker 14: winner as a rookie, and Kyen Williams was the RB
[30:05] Speaker 14: two win points per game and a league winner of
[30:07] Speaker 14: the year prior to that. It is a proven system
[30:10] Speaker 14: that just elevates running backs.
[30:12] Speaker 2: And I've said it before.
[30:13] Speaker 14: He just in his limited sample size, he showed that
[30:15] Speaker 14: he could play second highest mistackled force rate in football
[30:19] Speaker 14: last year, the highest rate of yards after contact.
[30:22] Speaker 8: And on the Jaggs roster.
[30:24] Speaker 14: I think he is the only running back that could
[30:26] Speaker 14: be a true three down back. And if that happens
[30:29] Speaker 14: and he gets goal line work. He has league winning upside.
[30:33] Speaker 1: Yeah, and people wonder about his participation in the past game,
[30:35] Speaker 1: which fantasy chim was in that backfield. He gets a
[30:38] Speaker 1: lot of those opportunities and make sense to see those
[30:41] Speaker 1: opportunities go up there.
[30:42] Speaker 2: Let's go to.
[30:42] Speaker 1: Another Florio fave in Trevion Henderson. But is the price
[30:45] Speaker 1: too high ride now?
[30:46] Speaker 2: Mark?
[30:47] Speaker 14: No, I don't think so at all, because he went
[30:49] Speaker 14: for eleven hundred yards and ten touchdowns as a rookie
[30:53] Speaker 14: and is somehow going cheaper in drafts this year than
[30:55] Speaker 14: he was before he even played a snap in football
[30:58] Speaker 14: last year. And he showed us that he upside with
[31:00] Speaker 14: over twenty fantasy points per game in the games he
[31:03] Speaker 14: had fifteen or more touches. He is extremely explosive. They
[31:07] Speaker 14: started to use him more near the goal line down
[31:09] Speaker 14: the stretch in the regular season, and I know he's
[31:11] Speaker 14: struggled in the passing game, but he excelled there in college,
[31:14] Speaker 14: and he talked a lot at the Super Bowl week
[31:17] Speaker 14: about how that was the biggest adjustment for him at
[31:19] Speaker 14: the NFL level. So I do think we could see
[31:22] Speaker 14: a year two jump and plus in best ball. He's
[31:24] Speaker 14: going as a low end RB two that's his best format.
[31:27] Speaker 14: His price might even go down now that we're in
[31:29] Speaker 14: redraft season.
[31:29] Speaker 1: Yeah, the best ball opportunity at home run here or yeah,
[31:32] Speaker 1: but it's totally viable on any number of rosters, depending
[31:36] Speaker 1: on your points structure. But touchdowns and big, big plays
[31:40] Speaker 1: are big points in most fantasy sections. We got a
[31:44] Speaker 1: guy who's done a lot of those things, and Jamier
[31:46] Speaker 1: Gibbs his teammate. David Montgomery no longer his teammate now
[31:50] Speaker 1: he is a Texan. What does that mean for fantasy managers?
[31:53] Speaker 2: Mark, I think it means great things.
[31:55] Speaker 14: And to your point, Patrick, his biggest crime for David
[31:57] Speaker 14: Montgomery the last couple of years is that he just
[31:59] Speaker 14: isn't weird Gibbs. But sharing a backfield with Gibbs helped
[32:03] Speaker 14: keep his legs fresh as he ages. And if you
[32:05] Speaker 14: pick a metric explosive run rate yards before or after contact,
[32:09] Speaker 14: he was better than anything Houston had last year. And
[32:13] Speaker 14: I think the Texans want to get back to running
[32:14] Speaker 14: the ball like they did years prior. The last year
[32:17] Speaker 14: they just had to throw. I think out of necessity.
[32:19] Speaker 14: They just did not have a consistent running attack. So
[32:22] Speaker 14: I expect the bulk of ground volume and goal on
[32:24] Speaker 14: work to go Monty's way. And I know a lot
[32:26] Speaker 14: of people are saying Woody Marks is going to be
[32:28] Speaker 14: the passing down back. That's probably true, But even as
[32:32] Speaker 14: a receiver, Monty's career low success rate is better than
[32:35] Speaker 14: what Woody Mark's posted last year, So I think he
[32:38] Speaker 14: has a chance to volume his way to a low
[32:40] Speaker 14: end RB one finish. But you get him in the
[32:42] Speaker 14: middle rounds as you're RB two or even in a
[32:45] Speaker 14: RB three range if you go heavy running back build.
[32:47] Speaker 2: Yeah, especially when we're talking about mid rounds.
[32:49] Speaker 1: You want a player that's consistent, and this is a
[32:52] Speaker 1: guy who's been consistent all multiple teams now, especially on
[32:55] Speaker 1: a run game that's just looked for things to not
[32:57] Speaker 1: be weird these past few years. Had a weird injury
[33:00] Speaker 1: circumstance with Cam Scaltaboo. He is doing his patented backflips
[33:04] Speaker 1: and it looked a little weird.
[33:05] Speaker 2: Is that running you off, Marke?
[33:07] Speaker 14: No, I won't lie like camp Scattaboo was my guy
[33:09] Speaker 14: last year. He was my most drafted running back. I
[33:12] Speaker 14: even bought a shirt of his, But I thought I
[33:14] Speaker 14: was going to be fading him this year because of
[33:16] Speaker 14: the injury and the backflips and all the weird stuff
[33:19] Speaker 14: that he does. But he is cleared now, and for me,
[33:22] Speaker 14: it's the price. He's going in that low end RB
[33:24] Speaker 14: two range, in the middle rounds, fifth round on average.
[33:27] Speaker 14: But we know the upside, right. He was a top
[33:29] Speaker 14: five fantasy running back when he got hurt, and he
[33:31] Speaker 14: is the most valuable kind of running back. He dominated
[33:34] Speaker 14: volume with twenty two touches per game as a starter
[33:36] Speaker 14: last year.
[33:37] Speaker 4: He got all the goal line work.
[33:38] Speaker 2: He's the passing down back.
[33:40] Speaker 14: There's only a handful of running backs in the NFL
[33:42] Speaker 14: that have that full role. And I get the injury concerns,
[33:46] Speaker 14: but the discount is already baked in for that.
[33:49] Speaker 4: Plus Tyrold Tracy is a late round pick, so you.
[33:52] Speaker 14: Could handcuff camp scattaboo and you had with the Tracy,
[33:56] Speaker 14: you had the Giants RB one then on lock and
[33:58] Speaker 14: the upside, in my opinion, is just worth risk that costs.
[34:00] Speaker 1: Yeah, depending on especially if they plan to devalue the
[34:03] Speaker 1: quarterback run game to protect Jackson Dart and all those
[34:06] Speaker 1: goal on opportunities that just weren't going to Tyrone Tracy.
[34:09] Speaker 1: It makes total sense for camp Scattagoll. You mentioned possibly
[34:12] Speaker 1: fading him. It was a late season fade for Jacory
[34:14] Speaker 1: Krofsky merrit. We even started using his government name, stopped
[34:17] Speaker 1: calling him Bill. How is he coming into the twenty
[34:19] Speaker 1: twenty sixth season.
[34:20] Speaker 14: Mike, Yeah, I feel excited for Bill because I do
[34:24] Speaker 14: think he played well as a rookie. He was top
[34:26] Speaker 14: ten and explosive run rate yards after contact per Carrie
[34:29] Speaker 14: and mistackle force rate. He had the second most Fantasy
[34:32] Speaker 14: points of any running back with under four hundred snaps.
[34:35] Speaker 2: Now, I won't lie.
[34:37] Speaker 14: Rashaan White has the power of friendship on his side
[34:39] Speaker 14: and has a Nick fan.
[34:40] Speaker 4: I will tell you that's very real.
[34:42] Speaker 14: But I think he handles a lot of the passing
[34:44] Speaker 14: work and Bill, the explosive runner, gets the groundwork. But
[34:47] Speaker 14: with Jaden Daniels, he doesn't dump off at a high rate.
[34:50] Speaker 14: In fact, it's very below average that he throws to
[34:52] Speaker 14: the running backs. But I expect more favorable game scripts.
[34:56] Speaker 14: And if we could get a run option with Bill
[34:58] Speaker 14: and Jayden back there and he's getting a goal on work,
[35:00] Speaker 14: I think he could easily outlive his cost because he's
[35:03] Speaker 14: not even just a middle round guy. He's going closer
[35:06] Speaker 14: to the double digit rounds. Sometimes even past round ten.
[35:09] Speaker 14: I think it's a pure upside buy at that cost.
[35:11] Speaker 1: Yeah, not just the power of friendship, the power of
[35:13] Speaker 1: an offense being significantly better, we hope with a healthy
[35:16] Speaker 1: version of the quarterback. And again, the power of friendship,
[35:18] Speaker 1: referencing Michael f Florio's world champion New York Knicks will get
[35:22] Speaker 1: you to put.
[35:23] Speaker 2: That hat back on. Mike joined us over the weekend.
[35:26] Speaker 1: Patriots owner Robert Kraft said the team has an offer
[35:29] Speaker 1: out to cornerback Christian Gonzales that will make him the
[35:33] Speaker 1: highest paid cornerback in NFL history, also the highest paid
[35:35] Speaker 1: Patriot in history. Gonzales is at camp where he might
[35:39] Speaker 1: work against AJ Brown, who is currently learning the offense.
[35:42] Speaker 2: Be and his coach tell you how much, you know,
[35:45] Speaker 2: Aja worked really hard with with Todd and.
[35:49] Speaker 15: You know his position coach, and they'll continue to do that,
[35:53] Speaker 15: and you know, we have a lot of walkthroughs and
[35:55] Speaker 15: things like that that help them, you know, get acclimated
[35:58] Speaker 15: in how we move players around. So I think he'll
[36:01] Speaker 15: have plenty of time through training camp and everything that
[36:04] Speaker 15: we're going to do to make sure that he's where
[36:06] Speaker 15: he needs to be.
[36:07] Speaker 16: I'm still getting comfortable each and every day I'm grateful.
[36:14] Speaker 16: The offense is uh, I'm pretty, I'm pretty in a
[36:18] Speaker 16: good spot, you know, I want to say, I'm like,
[36:22] Speaker 16: you know, and it's just really just about going to
[36:24] Speaker 16: execute and get on the same page with Drake each
[36:26] Speaker 16: and every day.
[36:27] Speaker 1: But I'm really come see watch my girl follow back
[36:30] Speaker 1: with us very specific number Steve, He's good to go.
[36:34] Speaker 2: He sounds almost like a Patriot already. I mean, not
[36:36] Speaker 2: through those days we're gone, but it sounds like he's
[36:39] Speaker 2: walked in the room.
[36:39] Speaker 5: It sounds like he's been doctunated into the Patriot way,
[36:42] Speaker 5: like we know he's going to get This offense a
[36:44] Speaker 5: lot is ass the wide receivers in the schemes throw
[36:46] Speaker 5: at all kinds of different types of sets and whatnot.
[36:49] Speaker 5: But I want to talk a little bit about why
[36:50] Speaker 5: the Patriots got to the Super Bowl last year, and
[36:52] Speaker 5: that's their defense. I mean, this defensive front led by
[36:56] Speaker 5: Milton Williams, it remains intact. The linebacking, especially the inside
[37:01] Speaker 5: linebackers of Roberts Blaine and Christian Ellis, it remains intact.
[37:05] Speaker 5: Now I'm losing hero old Landry on the edge starting
[37:07] Speaker 5: off a pup that's a little bit of a setback,
[37:09] Speaker 5: we see if he can come back. But also, besides
[37:11] Speaker 5: Christian Gonzalez, let's not forget the other corner of Carlton Davis,
[37:14] Speaker 5: who's a heck of a player.
[37:15] Speaker 2: Oh and by the way, they added Kevin Bayard, who.
[37:17] Speaker 5: Led the inn the NFL at interceptions last year with
[37:20] Speaker 5: seven at Chicago. So this defense is still the Breton
[37:23] Speaker 5: Butter of the of the Patriots. Now we know Drake
[37:25] Speaker 5: May and AJ brownn add some explosives to this offense,
[37:29] Speaker 5: which it absolutely needed. But again, the defense is something
[37:32] Speaker 5: we should probably focus on, not just a Christian Gonzales
[37:35] Speaker 5: contract as a whole night.
[37:38] Speaker 10: Yeah.
[37:39] Speaker 3: I love that Aj sound, though, Steve, you know he's
[37:42] Speaker 3: because you could see he feels good. He doesn't want
[37:45] Speaker 3: to just you know, say too much or go too
[37:46] Speaker 3: far down that road because there's still some work to
[37:48] Speaker 3: be done. I mean, but the thing about AJ Brown
[37:51] Speaker 3: is he's a smart guy. He's a smart player, he's
[37:53] Speaker 3: a cerebral player. He's in the right spot. I mean,
[37:56] Speaker 3: his frustrations in Philadelphia with Jalen Hurts were because things
[38:00] Speaker 3: weren't happening on time, things weren't happening according to how
[38:03] Speaker 3: they were drawn up and how they're designed, not knocking
[38:06] Speaker 3: Jalen Hurts. We've had those conversations, will continue to have
[38:08] Speaker 3: those conversations as he learns a new offense.
[38:10] Speaker 4: I'm just saying, when.
[38:12] Speaker 3: You ask for a guy to come in and pick
[38:14] Speaker 3: up an offense and he didn't spend most of the
[38:16] Speaker 3: spring with them, my money's on AJ Brown more so
[38:20] Speaker 3: than anybody else at the receiver position to make that happen.
[38:22] Speaker 1: Yeah, very good, especially against man defenders. A lot for
[38:26] Speaker 1: those in the AFC East to deal with. Now we
[38:29] Speaker 1: will go to a team I'd like the Patriots that
[38:31] Speaker 1: have the healthy quarterback. They were doing well and then
[38:34] Speaker 1: everything changed. That is the Indianapolis Colts last season. The
[38:40] Speaker 1: good news for Daniel Jones it came earlier this month
[38:43] Speaker 1: as he was clear to participate in full as he
[38:45] Speaker 1: works back to the field from that achilles surgery.
[38:50] Speaker 2: Detailed more of that on the Pat McAfee show today.
[38:55] Speaker 8: Yeah, I'm feeling good, feeling good.
[38:56] Speaker 4: I think. Yeah.
[38:58] Speaker 17: Plan is to be back in eleven or all in full
[39:00] Speaker 17: team drills tomorrow or Wednesday when we start out practice.
[39:03] Speaker 17: So be out there with the guys excited to get
[39:06] Speaker 17: back back rolling. But feeling good and rehabs been good
[39:10] Speaker 17: to this point. Still some work to do as we
[39:12] Speaker 17: get ready for Week one, but feeling really good before
[39:15] Speaker 17: I am save.
[39:16] Speaker 1: A lot of guys in the recovery process kind of
[39:18] Speaker 1: keep it vague. They want to manage expectations. Daniel Jones
[39:21] Speaker 1: has been very, very clear. So exactly where he is
[39:23] Speaker 1: in his recovery this whole time, well, I.
[39:25] Speaker 5: Mean, it happens you get that contract extension when you're
[39:27] Speaker 5: coming off that type of injury as well, he wants
[39:29] Speaker 5: to let everybody know he's going to be worth it.
[39:31] Speaker 5: But he's also a humble guy. We've seen that throughout
[39:33] Speaker 5: his whole career in the fact that he's at this
[39:35] Speaker 5: point been cleared to go eleven on eleven. Now, will
[39:38] Speaker 5: he I'm not sure, but a lot of times team
[39:40] Speaker 5: and guys are coming back from injuries.
[39:41] Speaker 2: He'll put him in seven on seven.
[39:43] Speaker 5: Nothing where there's any potential pass rush because there's a
[39:45] Speaker 5: lot of garbage and things that comes to even and
[39:47] Speaker 5: you're not in pads.
[39:48] Speaker 2: But the fact that Daniel Jones.
[39:50] Speaker 5: Would come out and be ready right now out of
[39:52] Speaker 5: the gate, that is absolutely important to an offense. We
[39:55] Speaker 5: saw last year that looked great well. He was in there,
[39:57] Speaker 5: especially with Jonathan Taylor doing his thing. So if Alex
[40:00] Speaker 5: Pearson come back fully healthy ready to rock and roll,
[40:03] Speaker 5: this offensive line remains intact. Mike Daniel Jones starting out
[40:07] Speaker 5: getting the reps that he's getting. That's a great sign
[40:10] Speaker 5: for the Indianapolis Colts. To me an AFC South, that
[40:13] Speaker 5: is a lot more competitive from top to bottom than
[40:16] Speaker 5: it was last year.
[40:18] Speaker 3: Everything I heard Daniel Jones attack this reheb and that
[40:20] Speaker 3: should come as no surprise because he had torn He
[40:23] Speaker 3: had a torn acl excuse me with the Giants and
[40:27] Speaker 3: from day one was getting after it to get himself
[40:30] Speaker 3: back healthy and did a great job getting back in
[40:33] Speaker 3: the top form following that injury.
[40:35] Speaker 4: Did the same for the Achilles.
[40:36] Speaker 3: I mean, this is Daniel Jones across the board, puts
[40:39] Speaker 3: in the work, willing to be at the facility as
[40:41] Speaker 3: much as possible, whether it's preparing, studying a film, or
[40:45] Speaker 3: in this case, rehabbing. While he's doing all of that
[40:47] Speaker 3: as well, could be an even bigger year for Daniel Jones. Again,
[40:51] Speaker 3: just think about how disappointing it was that he went
[40:53] Speaker 3: down when he went down, But from a health standpoint,
[40:56] Speaker 3: everything pointing toward him being as close to one hundred
[40:59] Speaker 3: percent as you can be come Week one following an
[41:02] Speaker 3: Achilles injury.
[41:03] Speaker 1: Yeah, down the stretch before the Achilles injury, was also
[41:06] Speaker 1: dealing with a broken leg, and during that six game
[41:08] Speaker 1: losing streak you saw the effects elsewhere on the team.
[41:10] Speaker 1: Jonathan Taylor was leading the NFL in yards after contact
[41:14] Speaker 1: per carry. That number got almost cut in half during
[41:17] Speaker 1: Jones's injury streak. So a lot to look forward to
[41:20] Speaker 1: for the twenty twenty six Indianapolis Colts. Ama Ortman and
[41:24] Speaker 1: Maya Smith teaming up for a moment to remember in
[41:27] Speaker 1: the Girls High School NFL Flag Championship. A walk off
[41:31] Speaker 1: two point conversion winner and the Los Angeles Seahawks take
[41:34] Speaker 1: home the title that play. Congratulations to you, ladies, What
[41:39] Speaker 1: a game, what a finished. Elsewhere at Policy ceeo A,
[41:44] Speaker 1: the Green Bay Packers announcing they are not selling the
[41:47] Speaker 1: naming rights the Lambeau Field. No concerns there, The Great
[41:51] Speaker 1: Cathedral Football will maintain it, says. The Vikings have an
[41:55] Speaker 1: announced date for their new rivalry uniforms. It's coming up.
[42:00] Speaker 1: Chance to see them on the field, December twenty eight.
[42:02] Speaker 1: Just a date, No, no, yeah, oh okay, but the
[42:05] Speaker 1: buffalo bills say.
[42:06] Speaker 2: We're not giving you a date, We're giving you the
[42:07] Speaker 2: uniforms itself.
[42:09] Speaker 1: These are the bills, Nickel jerseys, the designer tribute to
[42:13] Speaker 1: the strength, grit, and authenticity of Western New York's hardworking
[42:18] Speaker 1: people throughout history. Mike Garrolfolo, nobody can demean these uniforms
[42:23] Speaker 1: because they celebrate the peace.
[42:25] Speaker 4: Yeah. I know people from Western New York.
[42:27] Speaker 3: They are strong, they are gritty, and they are what
[42:30] Speaker 3: with the word genuine, genuine or yeah, authentic And they
[42:34] Speaker 3: have to be different, right, They're not traditional.
[42:36] Speaker 4: They have to be different if you're doing this kind
[42:38] Speaker 4: of thing. I dig them.
[42:39] Speaker 10: Yeah.
[42:39] Speaker 5: The uniforms themselves aren't bad. They look like Jackson State
[42:42] Speaker 5: University's uniforms. It's the helmet, Like, I don't I'm missing
[42:47] Speaker 5: something right here. It's just not working. I mean they
[42:50] Speaker 5: got the rest of the bill.
[42:52] Speaker 1: Yeah, it's like a great logo, just the charges there.
[42:56] Speaker 2: The buffalo is not there. And I think that's what's
[42:59] Speaker 2: giving us a little bit of a of a hard time.
[43:01] Speaker 2: But we will grow the Nickel City uniforms.
[43:06] Speaker 1: Congratulations to everybody who's been a part in making those
[43:08] Speaker 1: Thanks to my girlfriend and Steve.
[43:10] Speaker 4: Why should?
[43:10] Speaker 2: We'll be back with another edition of the Insiders coming
[43:12] Speaker 2: up tomorrow. We'll see you the Nex

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