# The Insiders Podcast: Matthew Stafford has 55 million reasons to smile + QB Jaxson Dart and TE David Njoku join the show

An episode of [NFL: The Insiders](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1543090622), 22 May 2026, 42 min.

Audio: https://podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/traffic.omny.fm/d/clips/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/0414225e-5167-477f-9f83-ae390070e4d2/0f2446a1-b0a8-412e-a7bf-b452010e5baf/audio.mp3?utm_source=Podcast&in_playlist=3e412703-0644-468e-9001-ae390070e4db

On the latest The Insiders Podcast, the Rams sign NFL MVP Matthew Stafford to a one-year $55-million-dollar deal. We'll tell you what that means for Los Angeles. Also, Mike Garafolo goes 1-on-1 with Giants star QB Jaxson Dart, and new Chargers tight end David Njoku stops by and tells us why his new squad has the fire power to win it all. The Insiders Podcast is a production of the NFL in partnership with iHeart Media. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

## Transcript

[0:08] Speaker 1: The new look Giants are on the field for voluntary practices.
[0:12] Speaker 2: UB one says he's learned a thing or two.
[0:15] Speaker 1: Jackson Dark goes one on one tonight with our Mike Garafullo,
[0:18] Speaker 1: who also has.
[0:19] Speaker 2: Some big news out of East Rugford.
[0:21] Speaker 1: The twenty twenty six NFL schedule is set and there
[0:25] Speaker 1: is no shortage of compelling quarterback clashes. Mark Ross and
[0:29] Speaker 1: Brian Baldinger here to break down some of the best.
[0:33] Speaker 1: The AFC West remains one of the toughest divisions in football,
[0:36] Speaker 1: so we decided to double up on guests tonight, Chief
[0:40] Speaker 1: standout guard Trace Smith and new Chargers tight end David Najok,
[0:43] Speaker 1: who are here to discuss who had the upper hand
[0:46] Speaker 1: and more.
[0:47] Speaker 2: Welcome inside with the insiders.
[0:49] Speaker 3: I'm Tom Telicero.
[0:51] Speaker 1: That is Judy Batista right there in the middle East
[0:54] Speaker 1: Mike Grifolo at Giants headquarters, where we've got some pretty
[0:57] Speaker 1: significant developments.
[0:59] Speaker 4: Just moments ago, Giants general manager Joe Shane, a guy
[1:04] Speaker 4: that everybody thought would be gone by now saying hey,
[1:07] Speaker 4: he's gonna be with the team through the draft and
[1:08] Speaker 4: then John Harball is gonna bring in his own guy dope.
[1:11] Speaker 5: Joe Shane and the Giants. They have agreed to and
[1:15] Speaker 5: signed a.
[1:15] Speaker 4: Multi year contract extension that secures his future alone side Harball.
[1:20] Speaker 4: Sources telling me and Ian Rappaport right now, it sounds
[1:23] Speaker 4: like these negotiations were conducted over the last couple of
[1:26] Speaker 4: weeks for the former Buffalo Bills executive. You see him
[1:28] Speaker 4: there with Terry and Kim Pigola. Came down here a
[1:31] Speaker 4: couple of years ago with Brian Dabele. He was hired first,
[1:35] Speaker 4: then he hired Table, So the notion of them being
[1:37] Speaker 4: a package deal at one point that was proven incorrect.
[1:41] Speaker 5: And then don't forget about this, Judy.
[1:43] Speaker 4: Joe Shane was a big part of the recruiting process,
[1:46] Speaker 4: of the landing process. He was the one on the
[1:48] Speaker 4: plane that went to go pick up John Harball on
[1:51] Speaker 4: the day that Harball visited the Giants facility. I remember
[1:54] Speaker 4: Chris Mara on the day that they announced John Harball
[1:57] Speaker 4: saying that the reason.
[1:58] Speaker 5: Those two are the reason oh Shane was still here
[2:00] Speaker 5: is because those two.
[2:01] Speaker 4: Did hit it off through the free agent process, the
[2:03] Speaker 4: draft process.
[2:05] Speaker 5: They continue to.
[2:06] Speaker 4: Work well together, and now Shane has his extension Judy
[2:09] Speaker 4: to work alongside Harball for the next couple of years
[2:11] Speaker 4: at least.
[2:14] Speaker 6: Well, when we were at the Giants on the day
[2:15] Speaker 6: John Harbaugh was formally introduced as the new head coach.
[2:19] Speaker 2: We talked to Harbaugh and.
[2:20] Speaker 6: He told us that he thought Shane was great, that
[2:23] Speaker 6: they had so far already really hit it off. Obviously
[2:26] Speaker 6: they had a lot of work ahead of them, but
[2:28] Speaker 6: consistently throughout the spring, throughout the draft process, free agency
[2:33] Speaker 6: up to now, you've heard from people in the building.
[2:35] Speaker 3: No, it's real.
[2:36] Speaker 2: They're not just saying that.
[2:37] Speaker 6: They're getting along and working well together. They're actually working
[2:40] Speaker 6: really well together. We said this when that job came up,
[2:43] Speaker 6: and when the head coaching job came up, and there
[2:44] Speaker 6: is talent on the roster. The Giants have always believed
[2:47] Speaker 6: there was talent on the roster. There's more talent now
[2:50] Speaker 6: after this offseason. They got to pull it together. They
[2:52] Speaker 6: got to start winning games. But certainly this is a
[2:54] Speaker 6: vote of confidence from the marriage that they believe. This
[2:57] Speaker 6: is a marriage between general manager and head coach that
[3:01] Speaker 6: can continue for many years to come.
[3:04] Speaker 1: That roster Joe Jane build on the field earlier today
[3:07] Speaker 1: is organized team activity practices.
[3:09] Speaker 7: Roll on.
[3:10] Speaker 1: Look at that dirt from Dart who also caught up with.
[3:14] Speaker 8: This handsome guy.
[3:16] Speaker 4: Harry Giants quarterback Jackson Dart saw you have to practice
[3:19] Speaker 4: you and Matt Naggy a lot of these. He's a
[3:21] Speaker 4: big hand gesture guy, trying to show you some things.
[3:24] Speaker 4: He's a former head coach, a veteran offensive coordinator. How
[3:27] Speaker 4: much have you been able to lean on him early
[3:28] Speaker 4: and how much have you been able to pick up
[3:30] Speaker 4: from him so far?
[3:30] Speaker 9: Yeah, he's definitely very animated, you know, when he's explaining things.
[3:34] Speaker 9: But he's such a good coach.
[3:36] Speaker 10: You know.
[3:36] Speaker 9: I had a lot of conversations with guys before I
[3:39] Speaker 9: knew him in person, before he got here, Guys like Travis.
[3:42] Speaker 9: I talked to Travis a lot during the super Bowl
[3:44] Speaker 9: week and just the amount of good things that he
[3:46] Speaker 9: had to say about him, the kind of man he was,
[3:49] Speaker 9: and the type of coach he was. I was just
[3:51] Speaker 9: really excited to get the chance to play for him.
[3:52] Speaker 9: And since I've been here. He's a great teacher, he's
[3:55] Speaker 9: a great person, and he's had a ton of experience,
[3:57] Speaker 9: like you said, and I think that he's learned, you know,
[3:59] Speaker 9: so much in his career so far. So just constantly
[4:02] Speaker 9: trying to take in knowledge and taking coaching because he's
[4:04] Speaker 9: one of the best.
[4:05] Speaker 8: For sure.
[4:05] Speaker 4: You've got a coaching change from year one to year two,
[4:07] Speaker 4: which can be a challenge sometimes.
[4:09] Speaker 5: But I'm watching it out here.
[4:10] Speaker 4: I mean, i know it's you know, no live pass
[4:12] Speaker 4: rush and all that stuff, but you're running it quickly
[4:15] Speaker 4: from an offensive standpoint. So does this suit you and
[4:17] Speaker 4: does it help you get off the ground quickly.
[4:19] Speaker 5: With this outfense.
[4:20] Speaker 8: Yeah.
[4:20] Speaker 9: I love the system that we're putting in place here.
[4:22] Speaker 9: It's really cool to have coaches from different backgrounds and
[4:26] Speaker 9: it's different. You know, it's kind of a system that
[4:28] Speaker 9: hasn't really been then done before, so it's been fun
[4:31] Speaker 9: to put things in place to have a lot of
[4:32] Speaker 9: that communication go on, and you know, on the field,
[4:35] Speaker 9: I feel like, you know, especially this week and even
[4:37] Speaker 9: in mini camp, we've executed a high level offensively, and
[4:41] Speaker 9: I'm really excited for the season and the next steps
[4:43] Speaker 9: going forward.
[4:44] Speaker 4: Your head coach, one that you helped recruit. By the way,
[4:46] Speaker 4: I know you were here the day that he was here.
[4:48] Speaker 4: Just talk to us over here, John Harbaugh saying that
[4:50] Speaker 4: the overall speed of practice in general really good, high energy,
[4:54] Speaker 4: and you could see that certainly here is that him
[4:58] Speaker 4: instilling that you guys, is that you I mean you
[5:00] Speaker 4: as a leader too. It's got to be wanting to
[5:01] Speaker 4: get that pace and establish it now, right.
[5:03] Speaker 8: Yeah.
[5:04] Speaker 9: Absolutely, I think that there's a lot of things there,
[5:06] Speaker 9: you know, to kind of play into that, definitely starting
[5:09] Speaker 9: with him and just the culture that he's already established
[5:11] Speaker 9: and created here. And I just think that there's a
[5:13] Speaker 9: ton of guys who are just you know, we're just
[5:16] Speaker 9: hungry to win here. This whole organization is so you know,
[5:19] Speaker 9: having a spark like him come into the building each
[5:21] Speaker 9: and every day, the energy that he brings and everybody
[5:23] Speaker 9: feeds off of it, and you see it when we
[5:25] Speaker 9: play on the field. At the same time, you know,
[5:28] Speaker 9: just the buy in that we've had from the guys
[5:29] Speaker 9: so far as has been really.
[5:31] Speaker 4: Cool to see your time, your time here last year,
[5:33] Speaker 4: right about this time. I mean it's right off the draft,
[5:36] Speaker 4: it's the draft prep, it's rookie mini camp, it's the
[5:40] Speaker 4: long season for col I mean just non stop. Now
[5:42] Speaker 4: you had a chance to take a breath, where are
[5:45] Speaker 4: you mentally physically as well as you step into this
[5:48] Speaker 4: and say, okay, I feel.
[5:48] Speaker 5: A lot more comfortable right now.
[5:50] Speaker 9: Yeah, last year was like, for sure, the longest year
[5:52] Speaker 9: of my life, you know, just going from one thing
[5:54] Speaker 9: to the next, and you had, you know, literally zero
[5:56] Speaker 9: time off from college to you know what you went
[5:59] Speaker 9: through through the calm mind to get into the league.
[6:01] Speaker 9: So it was nice to have it, you know a
[6:03] Speaker 9: little bit of time off just to kind of decompress
[6:04] Speaker 9: and then come back here fresh. And I think that
[6:08] Speaker 9: I feel like I've grown a ton just as a person,
[6:10] Speaker 9: as a leader, as a quarterback, from a knowledge standpoint.
[6:14] Speaker 9: And then you know, just year two, you're making those
[6:15] Speaker 9: strides and you've you've already created a ton of relationships,
[6:18] Speaker 9: you know with the guys and obviously with the new
[6:20] Speaker 9: guys coming in, you know, just having conversations, getting to
[6:23] Speaker 9: know everybody, and I think that's how you build trust
[6:25] Speaker 9: and built leadership.
[6:26] Speaker 4: A couple of weeks left in the spring, then you
[6:28] Speaker 4: get another break and then you go to see the
[6:30] Speaker 4: pace of Gear two is a lot different. So enjoy Peal,
[6:32] Speaker 4: We appreciate the time.
[6:33] Speaker 8: I appreciate you. Good to see you, Mike.
[6:36] Speaker 2: You spent the day out there with the giants, you
[6:38] Speaker 2: watched them with practice.
[6:39] Speaker 8: Tell me what you learned.
[6:41] Speaker 4: Yeah, you know, I didn't ask him there about getting
[6:44] Speaker 4: down sliding, because he was asked about that during his
[6:47] Speaker 4: podium session, and said that that is something that was
[6:50] Speaker 4: brought up in his first meeting with Brian Callahan, the
[6:52] Speaker 4: veteran coach who is now here with the.
[6:54] Speaker 5: Giants as a passing game coordinator. Also Greg Roman.
[6:57] Speaker 4: He said he talked about it today, saying it's important
[7:00] Speaker 4: for the quarterback to make sure how he's feeling one play,
[7:02] Speaker 4: he's going to feel the same way on the next play. Now, look,
[7:07] Speaker 4: this is something that Brian Dabele and the previous coaching staff,
[7:10] Speaker 4: Mike Kafka, Shay Tierney, they were telling him, get down,
[7:14] Speaker 4: don't take all.
[7:15] Speaker 5: These hits, they're not all necessary hits. And then you
[7:17] Speaker 5: get the concussion check.
[7:18] Speaker 4: And he talked about the time that he missed last
[7:20] Speaker 4: year and how much he wanted to play in those
[7:23] Speaker 4: games that he was out.
[7:24] Speaker 5: So this is not something that's new, and it's something I.
[7:26] Speaker 4: Think he's going to have to continue to deal with because.
[7:29] Speaker 5: I mentioned it last year.
[7:30] Speaker 4: Brian Dabele had Josh Allen who had to learn a
[7:33] Speaker 4: lot of these lessons throughout his career and is still
[7:35] Speaker 4: learning these lessons.
[7:36] Speaker 5: So this is something that this coaching staff.
[7:38] Speaker 4: Now is going to continue to work with him on
[7:40] Speaker 4: and make sure Judy that he's not missing time because
[7:43] Speaker 4: he's making poor decisions, which they're fast decisions, but he's
[7:46] Speaker 4: got to make them quicker.
[7:48] Speaker 6: A few other things that caught my ear from John
[7:51] Speaker 6: Harbaugh today on the injury front. Malik Neighbors, who of
[7:54] Speaker 6: course is not participating. He just had clean up work
[7:57] Speaker 6: done on his knee. John Harbaugh said the goal is
[8:00] Speaker 6: that he will be ready for the start of the season,
[8:02] Speaker 6: but he sounded a little less certain that that is
[8:05] Speaker 6: definitely going to happen. And he said, if it happens, great,
[8:08] Speaker 6: If it doesn't happen, great, We'll be ready to go
[8:11] Speaker 6: no matter what. But certainly the watch is going to
[8:14] Speaker 6: be on about when Malik Neighbors returns to training camp,
[8:17] Speaker 6: first of all, and then Andrew Thomas, who of course
[8:19] Speaker 6: is the left tackle. We saw what happens when he
[8:21] Speaker 6: is not on the field with that offensive line last year.
[8:24] Speaker 6: They are a markedly different offensive line. When he has
[8:27] Speaker 6: heard he is being paced during these OTAs they are
[8:32] Speaker 6: ramping him up. He is dealing still with the after
[8:35] Speaker 6: effects of the Liz Frank injury on his foot, and
[8:38] Speaker 6: a shoulder issue. So he is practicing some days and
[8:41] Speaker 6: not participating the other days. He did not today, so those.
[8:45] Speaker 2: Are things worth monitoring.
[8:46] Speaker 6: Just remember John Harbaugh changed a whole lot of things
[8:48] Speaker 6: in that building, including with the training staff and the
[8:51] Speaker 6: recovery staff. So it's going to be interesting to see
[8:54] Speaker 6: how they bring along players who are coming off injuries.
[8:57] Speaker 6: This team had a lot of big injuries last season,
[9:00] Speaker 6: really torpedo to them. Very interesting to see how Harba
[9:03] Speaker 6: handles them.
[9:05] Speaker 1: Giants one to ten teams in OTAs this week, another
[9:08] Speaker 1: one the Baltimore Ravens on the field there QB one
[9:11] Speaker 1: Lamar Jackson not on hand, but that man Derrick Henry,
[9:14] Speaker 1: he's still very large. I think he's been working out
[9:18] Speaker 1: of the many leaders on a team that's got a
[9:19] Speaker 1: new head coach in Jesse Mintter coming in as we
[9:22] Speaker 1: welcome Ara, Mark Ross and Brian Baldier to the conversation.
[9:25] Speaker 1: Baldy Mintor has been in Baltimore before. He knows what
[9:28] Speaker 1: that building is about. What are you looking to see
[9:31] Speaker 1: as this offseason leads into the regular season of what
[9:34] Speaker 1: things are going to develop under Mintor?
[9:37] Speaker 11: Well, it's you know, even though Jesse's been there for
[9:40] Speaker 11: four years a while ago. I mean, it's a new
[9:42] Speaker 11: voice in front of that whole room. Every veteran is
[9:45] Speaker 11: going to be listening to Jesse Minner for the first time.
[9:47] Speaker 11: So just getting a new way of doing things. We
[9:49] Speaker 11: know what John Harbaugh has done. They were used to
[9:52] Speaker 11: what he was doing. They were gonna practice hard, they
[9:55] Speaker 11: were going to work extremely hard. They were gonna be
[9:57] Speaker 11: on the field for every minute that they were allowed.
[10:00] Speaker 11: We'll see how Jesse handles that part. So that's going
[10:02] Speaker 11: to be new. They have to figure out the center position.
[10:05] Speaker 11: They just lost Tyler Linnenbaum. They did not want to
[10:07] Speaker 11: lose them. They've got to replace him. You know, when
[10:10] Speaker 11: Derek Henry runs for nineteen hundred and twenty one yards
[10:13] Speaker 11: in twenty twenty four and a lot of it right
[10:16] Speaker 11: up the middle, there was Lennarbaum right there kind of
[10:18] Speaker 11: getting the movement started. And so they got two new guards.
[10:21] Speaker 11: They got to figure out the center position. They had
[10:24] Speaker 11: a new offensive coordinator in Declan Doyle.
[10:26] Speaker 7: So we've got to.
[10:26] Speaker 11: See what this offense is going to look like where
[10:28] Speaker 11: they're gonna be able to put Lamar Jackson in the
[10:31] Speaker 11: best possible positions and maybe get the ball down the
[10:34] Speaker 11: field with a little bit more regularity that we saw
[10:37] Speaker 11: a year ago.
[10:37] Speaker 12: Mark for sure, Baldi, the Ravens are fascinating, not just
[10:42] Speaker 12: the head coach, but you mentioned Declan Doyle and also
[10:45] Speaker 12: Anthony Weaver, the defensive coordinator.
[10:47] Speaker 3: So it's new voices up and.
[10:49] Speaker 12: Down the whole entire staff for the Ravens, even though
[10:52] Speaker 12: some of those guys have been in the building. And
[10:54] Speaker 12: I'm really fascinating about the offense and how that will
[10:57] Speaker 12: evolve or change or look different than what we scene
[11:00] Speaker 12: with the Lamar Jackson dynamic. With we talked about the
[11:04] Speaker 12: offensive line and the young receivers, but it seems as
[11:07] Speaker 12: if we haven't talked about Derrick Henry much in the offseason.
[11:10] Speaker 12: We've just saw how he looks like an offensive lineman still, but.
[11:13] Speaker 3: How is his role going to change?
[11:15] Speaker 12: And he's thirty two years old, you know, people forget
[11:18] Speaker 12: how well he has played as he's aged.
[11:20] Speaker 3: But will this be the year that he.
[11:22] Speaker 12: Possibly hits the wall or will we still see a
[11:25] Speaker 12: vintage type Derrick Henry And how much of a workload
[11:29] Speaker 12: will he get in this new offense visa the the
[11:32] Speaker 12: other backups, you know, Adam Randles, the rookie there if
[11:34] Speaker 12: he gets in the mix. So that to me is
[11:37] Speaker 12: really going to be fascinating with the new offense of
[11:39] Speaker 12: how much will it be Lamars centric versus Dereck Henry
[11:43] Speaker 12: classic Derrick Henry centric of.
[11:45] Speaker 3: Pounding the rock.
[11:46] Speaker 12: So a lot of options going forward, a lot of
[11:48] Speaker 12: we'll see with the evolution of.
[11:50] Speaker 3: This Ravens offense.
[11:51] Speaker 7: Baldi pro Chakis get rid of this way, look at
[12:03] Speaker 7: the athleticism.
[12:04] Speaker 8: David Najoku going up and over Ivan paced Wow.
[12:11] Speaker 2: At nine seasons in Cleveland.
[12:14] Speaker 1: David Najoku has hurtled his way to Los Angeles, agreeing
[12:17] Speaker 1: to terms recently on a deal with the Chargers and
[12:20] Speaker 1: now having on here to join us on The Insiders
[12:23] Speaker 1: with me and Tom Pilisara as well as Judy Batista. David,
[12:26] Speaker 1: first off, congrats and is it weird right now after
[12:29] Speaker 1: nine years to hear Chargers tight end?
[12:31] Speaker 2: David Najoku.
[12:33] Speaker 8: It was a little different, but it's definitely an easy transition.
[12:37] Speaker 8: I'm just blessed to be here.
[12:41] Speaker 6: I saw you said an interview a few days ago
[12:43] Speaker 6: that that was the right fit for you.
[12:45] Speaker 2: What made the Chargers the right fit for you?
[12:48] Speaker 8: I think everything, really, you know, we have a great
[12:51] Speaker 8: quarterback here with a great OC and Mike great head coaching. Jim,
[12:55] Speaker 8: you know, great teammates. I actually have some teammates that
[12:59] Speaker 8: I played with and against throughout the years that I know,
[13:03] Speaker 8: you know, are very competitive. So, like I said, I'm
[13:06] Speaker 8: just really happy to be here and I'm just ready
[13:08] Speaker 8: to get to work.
[13:11] Speaker 2: You're talking about Jim Harbaugh and Mike McDaniel.
[13:13] Speaker 1: They are two very unique personalities who now we're both
[13:16] Speaker 1: under the same roof. I know it's very early for you,
[13:19] Speaker 1: but how do you see those two coexisting and kind
[13:22] Speaker 1: of molding what this offense is going to be.
[13:24] Speaker 8: They can definitely blend very very well. Two different personalities,
[13:28] Speaker 8: but they're both great guys. You know, they both loved
[13:30] Speaker 8: the ball, So I mean that's really all it takes.
[13:36] Speaker 6: Obviously, last year you had a little dip in your numbers.
[13:39] Speaker 6: You're so really productive, tied in the end zone, but
[13:44] Speaker 6: the previous two years your numbers were career highs. Is
[13:47] Speaker 6: that where you see yourself able to get back to
[13:50] Speaker 6: in the Chargers system? How do you see yourself fitting
[13:53] Speaker 6: into what they do?
[13:54] Speaker 8: Absolutely? I mean, first and foremost, I think I can
[13:56] Speaker 8: just be a great teammate. I think that that goes
[14:00] Speaker 8: a very long way, and I just do whatever I
[14:03] Speaker 8: can to help my team succeed, and whatever that looks
[14:06] Speaker 8: like is what I'm willing to do.
[14:10] Speaker 1: You've obviously played with a lot of quarterbacks. That's what
[14:12] Speaker 1: happens over nine years in Cleveland. You mentioned Justin Herbert there.
[14:16] Speaker 1: I know he's kind of coming and going in the
[14:17] Speaker 1: offseason program. But based on the initial conversations, text, whatever
[14:21] Speaker 1: it's been with him, how do you see the two
[14:23] Speaker 1: of you fitting together and why do you think your
[14:25] Speaker 1: presence may be able to help him get to that
[14:27] Speaker 1: next level?
[14:28] Speaker 8: I mean, I think this guy's the limit for this
[14:30] Speaker 8: whole team. Really, you know what I mean With Justin,
[14:32] Speaker 8: He's a superb quarterback. You know what I mean, He's
[14:35] Speaker 8: very smart, he's very at alet it. So it just
[14:39] Speaker 8: takes us all to merge it in, you know what
[14:41] Speaker 8: I'm saying. It's up to us to fill in, you know,
[14:44] Speaker 8: to make it make sense.
[14:48] Speaker 6: You mentioned this that you think you can be a
[14:50] Speaker 6: great teammate. How much of the fact that you can
[14:53] Speaker 6: bring veteran leadership do you think that played into their
[14:57] Speaker 6: desire to have you on the Chargers.
[15:00] Speaker 8: I mean big, big time. I've seen a lot of ball,
[15:02] Speaker 8: you know what I mean. So just like the small
[15:05] Speaker 8: things that I can tell my teammates that may work
[15:08] Speaker 8: will go a long way in a season. So I'm
[15:11] Speaker 8: just here to do whatever that they need me to do.
[15:14] Speaker 8: And I'm just like I said, I'm blessed to be here.
[15:16] Speaker 8: I'm very excited to start this new transition here in
[15:20] Speaker 8: Los Angeles.
[15:21] Speaker 1: And yeah, David, one of the most consistent things about
[15:26] Speaker 1: you as no matter what year it is, I'm always
[15:28] Speaker 1: confident you're going to lead the league in shirtless pregame photos.
[15:32] Speaker 1: Every time that I'm searching for an image, like ten
[15:34] Speaker 1: of these come up and listen, if I look like
[15:36] Speaker 1: you with my shirt off, I'd probably have be half
[15:38] Speaker 1: naked a lot of the time too.
[15:40] Speaker 2: Tell me where did that begin? And we'll continue in LA.
[15:45] Speaker 8: I mean, maybe I'm definitely leander that I was last year,
[15:50] Speaker 8: So that's a big upside to it. It began, I
[15:53] Speaker 8: mean really like I've been doing it really since college,
[15:55] Speaker 8: since you know, like my first years in the league,
[15:57] Speaker 8: you know what I mean. I just I don't know,
[15:59] Speaker 8: I just had to I just am who I am,
[16:00] Speaker 8: and that's just what it is.
[16:04] Speaker 6: I mean, obviously, the weather in Los Angeles is much
[16:06] Speaker 6: more conducive to taking your shirt off than it was
[16:09] Speaker 6: in Cleveland in the winter. You said your leaner was
[16:13] Speaker 6: that on purpose? What are you hoping to gain from
[16:15] Speaker 6: losing weight?
[16:16] Speaker 8: Yeah, I just, I mean just I just feel like
[16:18] Speaker 8: I can be more explosive with where I am now,
[16:21] Speaker 8: you know what I mean. So I'm just really excited
[16:23] Speaker 8: for this season to start, and I started for us
[16:26] Speaker 8: to do Ota next week, you know, start camping in
[16:29] Speaker 8: about a month or so. So it's all just good
[16:32] Speaker 8: things happening.
[16:34] Speaker 1: You turned thirty in July, obviously you were still in
[16:38] Speaker 1: peak physical condition. It's one year deal in LA, But
[16:41] Speaker 1: how long do you see yourself rolling here potentially?
[16:44] Speaker 3: How long with the Chargers?
[16:46] Speaker 8: I mean a sky's limit, you know. I mean, it
[16:48] Speaker 8: just takes you know, this one good, good year, you know,
[16:51] Speaker 8: upcoming to solidify a long term year, you know contract.
[16:56] Speaker 8: So I just, I just I'm more focused on just
[16:59] Speaker 8: controlling what can control and just like I said, being
[17:02] Speaker 8: a great teammate and just being just you know who
[17:04] Speaker 8: I am on off the field. I think that can
[17:06] Speaker 8: go a very long way for myself personally and the team.
[17:12] Speaker 6: Obviously, during your seasons in Cleveland, it was up and
[17:15] Speaker 6: down the results. There were some seasons that were pretty
[17:18] Speaker 6: good and some not so good. You're now on a
[17:21] Speaker 6: franchise with a franchise quarterback who believes they should be
[17:25] Speaker 6: in contention every season, and he is certainly a quarterback
[17:28] Speaker 6: who can put them into contention every season. How much
[17:31] Speaker 6: are you looking forward to being part of a team
[17:33] Speaker 6: and part of a season that is relevant?
[17:37] Speaker 8: This is big time, you know what I mean? This
[17:39] Speaker 8: is a big time and I don't see myself anywhere
[17:41] Speaker 8: else right now. So I'm going to be where my
[17:44] Speaker 8: feet are. I'm going to do what I gotta do,
[17:47] Speaker 8: and I'm sure that the team will do what they
[17:48] Speaker 8: gotta do as well, and let's just put it all together.
[17:52] Speaker 1: David, thanks a ton for the time, man. Best luck
[17:55] Speaker 1: out there in LA. We'll see you in training camp.
[17:57] Speaker 8: All right, Thank you, guys, Take care.
[18:01] Speaker 6: Sticking of former Cleveland Brown's, plenty of changes for Baker
[18:04] Speaker 6: Mayfield and the Bucks offense this year with a new
[18:07] Speaker 6: OC Zach Robinson, Sara Walsh is here to break down
[18:11] Speaker 6: what we can expect from them.
[18:12] Speaker 2: That's coming up.
[18:13] Speaker 13: Next on The Insiders, Russia coming Rayler near side.
[18:25] Speaker 7: Knocks will take over and they're.
[18:27] Speaker 2: Gonna go to the playoffs.
[18:30] Speaker 7: Now anxiety, this game is over. Oh you got bro
[18:33] Speaker 7: ball of Mike Evans. Don't you think you gotta get him? Try?
[18:36] Speaker 4: Oh my god, sure enough he needs five yards on
[18:39] Speaker 4: the last play.
[18:40] Speaker 3: I said, what did I tell you last week?
[18:42] Speaker 7: Here we are in this situation.
[18:44] Speaker 3: It's such a monumental thing.
[18:45] Speaker 7: And it's not like just a season thing.
[18:47] Speaker 5: This is a career Hall of Fame thing.
[18:50] Speaker 7: Oh it's painful.
[18:52] Speaker 3: We've won the game. The game is over.
[18:54] Speaker 8: You take a knee, and we're in the playoffs.
[18:57] Speaker 11: Mike still has his five yards to go.
[19:00] Speaker 5: I gotta call one more and.
[19:02] Speaker 11: There's the limp sand Baker, you cannot throw an interception
[19:05] Speaker 11: like whatever you do.
[19:07] Speaker 14: I said, let's go get the get of record and
[19:09] Speaker 14: we can put them in motion with away. They were
[19:10] Speaker 14: gonna double them.
[19:12] Speaker 3: You're getting me.
[19:13] Speaker 7: Give me the I want time.
[19:16] Speaker 14: Okay, I got it, I got it, I got it.
[19:18] Speaker 5: So we called the time out.
[19:21] Speaker 14: This is real Stressford, and I said, Baker, if you
[19:26] Speaker 14: this up, I'm you're asked. We are not going to
[19:30] Speaker 14: pick the ball in the ball game to go to
[19:31] Speaker 14: the playoffs. You know, I haven't take the sack. We
[19:35] Speaker 14: got do this rice. Everybody said okay, okay, okay, okay.
[19:38] Speaker 3: We believed that Mike Evans was going to get that ball.
[19:41] Speaker 5: The question was where and.
[19:44] Speaker 11: How because everybody on the Saint Snills were thrown into
[19:47] Speaker 11: Mike two whoa whoa.
[19:52] Speaker 3: Baker lines up in the shotguns.
[19:53] Speaker 14: You know, okay, here it comes, lamp put them in motion.
[19:57] Speaker 2: I got two slives and they picked for me.
[19:59] Speaker 12: I read a half assed route so I can get
[20:01] Speaker 12: the ball in my hands quick, so I could get
[20:02] Speaker 12: up the food.
[20:03] Speaker 7: I didn't know what was gonna happen.
[20:09] Speaker 5: Oh wait, what happened?
[20:10] Speaker 4: Well, you're gonna have to watch Raise the Flags to
[20:12] Speaker 4: find out.
[20:13] Speaker 5: Raise the Flags.
[20:13] Speaker 4: Marks fifty seasons of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with a
[20:16] Speaker 4: ten parted series exploring the franchise's history, defining moments, and
[20:20] Speaker 4: untold stories. The series chronicles one of the most remarkable
[20:23] Speaker 4: turnarounds in sports history. Catch Raise the Flags Episodes one
[20:26] Speaker 4: and two on NFL Network Monday at eight pm Eastern.
[20:30] Speaker 5: Sarah Walsh knows what happened.
[20:32] Speaker 4: She was probably there covering that game down there in Tampa,
[20:35] Speaker 4: She joins us, right now, yes, right, don't blow it.
[20:38] Speaker 4: No spoilers, Sarah. The Buccaneers wide receiver room now without
[20:43] Speaker 4: Mike Evans, they do have plenty of depth there and
[20:46] Speaker 4: some young players that have been really.
[20:48] Speaker 5: Sensational for them to this point. So how do they
[20:50] Speaker 5: now move on without Mike in that room?
[20:52] Speaker 15: Okay, there's no question the absence of Mike Evans looms large.
[20:56] Speaker 15: That's what happens when you lose a guy that is
[20:58] Speaker 15: going to end up in Canton one. But there is
[21:00] Speaker 15: a lot of talent in that receiver room still to
[21:04] Speaker 15: this day. And credit Jason light what he has done
[21:06] Speaker 15: through the draft because he has reloaded.
[21:08] Speaker 10: Last year, it was a Mecca Abuka that they took
[21:10] Speaker 10: in the first round. He had a phenomenal rookie season.
[21:13] Speaker 15: But talking to guys in that building recently, they said,
[21:15] Speaker 15: this sky is really the limit for Jalen.
[21:17] Speaker 10: McMillan, and he's been off the radar a little bit.
[21:20] Speaker 15: He was drafted two years ago, had a terrific rookie
[21:23] Speaker 15: season and then you didn't see him his sophomore year,
[21:25] Speaker 15: and that is because it was cut short with a
[21:27] Speaker 15: neck injury in the preseason that really ended that season
[21:30] Speaker 15: before it started.
[21:31] Speaker 10: He came back late in the year, but he lost the.
[21:33] Speaker 15: Majority of the season, and that was the situation that
[21:36] Speaker 15: was so serious.
[21:37] Speaker 10: Jalen didn't even know if he was going to play
[21:39] Speaker 10: football again.
[21:40] Speaker 15: I talked to him this week and I asked him
[21:41] Speaker 15: if he feels now that he's enough removed from.
[21:44] Speaker 10: That happening, and he had this perspective.
[21:45] Speaker 15: He said no, He said, to be honest, I'm never
[21:47] Speaker 15: going to be removed from what happened.
[21:49] Speaker 3: He said.
[21:49] Speaker 15: There is not a time that he doesn't step on
[21:51] Speaker 15: the field even right now, even in offseason workouts, that
[21:54] Speaker 15: he doesn't think when he goes out on that field,
[21:56] Speaker 15: this could be my last time out there.
[21:58] Speaker 10: It is a lesson he learned a hard way last year.
[22:01] Speaker 3: He said.
[22:01] Speaker 15: The other thing that that did for him in that
[22:03] Speaker 15: time that he had to be away from football, he said,
[22:05] Speaker 15: it really weeded out the people that were only in
[22:07] Speaker 15: his life because of football.
[22:08] Speaker 10: So it really changed.
[22:09] Speaker 3: He said who he is.
[22:11] Speaker 15: Who he is is a football player right now, though
[22:13] Speaker 15: he told me he is more comfortable with the speed
[22:15] Speaker 15: of the game. He said, he is twitch, ear, he
[22:17] Speaker 15: is faster, He is an incredible shape, which is what
[22:21] Speaker 15: folks around that building see.
[22:23] Speaker 10: This is a guy remember Mike.
[22:24] Speaker 15: That in his rookie season, he had seven touchdowns in
[22:27] Speaker 15: the last five games of the year.
[22:29] Speaker 10: And here's a Buccaneers fun fact for you.
[22:31] Speaker 15: Over the last two seasons, Buccaneers rookie receivers have combined
[22:35] Speaker 15: for nineteen touchdowns.
[22:37] Speaker 10: That is more than any other team in the league.
[22:40] Speaker 15: Jalen told me that Mike put a lot of knowledge
[22:43] Speaker 15: into him, put a lot of knowledge into everybody in there,
[22:46] Speaker 15: and he said that Mike Evans left this receiver room
[22:48] Speaker 15: in really good hands.
[22:49] Speaker 7: Mike.
[22:51] Speaker 4: The Buccaneers made a run to keep Mike Evans and
[22:53] Speaker 4: made it clear that they felt they had a much
[22:55] Speaker 4: more lucrative deal than he wound up signing in San Francisco.
[22:59] Speaker 4: Despite that, they do have the depth there and a
[23:01] Speaker 4: lot of guys that they feel that they can rely
[23:03] Speaker 4: upon for Zach Robinson's offense. Another offensive coordinator change for
[23:08] Speaker 4: the Buccaneers, though this time it wasn't because Josh Guzar
[23:10] Speaker 4: got a head coaching job. Though he was like, oh,
[23:12] Speaker 4: he's now in Philadelphia. How have things started with? Zach
[23:15] Speaker 4: Robinson is the guy calling the shots?
[23:17] Speaker 10: Well, it's another year.
[23:18] Speaker 15: Another new offensive coordinator for Tampa that has been the
[23:21] Speaker 15: norm for the last several seasons here in Tampa.
[23:24] Speaker 10: But Robinson says he takes over an offense here that has.
[23:26] Speaker 15: An edge to it because the season did not play
[23:28] Speaker 15: out the way they expected. And he said, look, I
[23:30] Speaker 15: understand Baker Mayfield is a guy that always has an
[23:33] Speaker 15: edge to him, but overall this is a group that
[23:35] Speaker 15: it doesn't sit well with them at all how this
[23:37] Speaker 15: thing went down.
[23:38] Speaker 10: He wants them to keep that edge, he said.
[23:40] Speaker 15: Baker specifically has been incredibly intentional this offseason.
[23:44] Speaker 10: He said, he has been working on his footwork, and
[23:46] Speaker 10: this is interesting.
[23:47] Speaker 15: Liam Cohen, who really had this offense going two seasons ago,
[23:50] Speaker 15: is very close with Robinson. Robinson said he talks to
[23:53] Speaker 15: Liam every day. He can pick his brain.
[23:55] Speaker 10: That has when Liam Cohen, when he was here two
[23:57] Speaker 10: years ago, had that run game going. Ian McMillan describe
[24:01] Speaker 10: Robinson to me this.
[24:02] Speaker 15: Week as a guy that's intense and has patience, and
[24:05] Speaker 15: I said, well, those two descriptions don't typically go together
[24:09] Speaker 15: when you think of an intense, patient guy.
[24:11] Speaker 10: And he described it like this.
[24:13] Speaker 15: He said, he's intense when it comes to talking about
[24:15] Speaker 15: his playbook. He is intense when it comes to meetings,
[24:18] Speaker 15: but he said he has a lot of patience for
[24:20] Speaker 15: these guys when he is going through plays, when they're
[24:22] Speaker 15: out on the field, when they are walking through things.
[24:24] Speaker 15: He says he has really shown them a lot of patients.
[24:27] Speaker 15: Robinson said, overall, this is a team that right now
[24:30] Speaker 15: has a lot of urgency, and he said that is
[24:32] Speaker 15: really important at this time of year.
[24:34] Speaker 4: Mike, yep intense and patient. That's what I got to
[24:40] Speaker 4: be as a parent.
[24:40] Speaker 5: Sarah. You know, we try to miserate on that front
[24:43] Speaker 5: there with your two.
[24:44] Speaker 4: Little angels in the background there and that picture behind you.
[24:47] Speaker 5: Always angels these get Sarah. We appreciate you.
[24:50] Speaker 4: Breaking news into NFL Network and our friends at ESPN,
[24:56] Speaker 4: Matthew Stafford and the Rams reaching the agreement.
[24:59] Speaker 5: Our friend Ian.
[25:00] Speaker 4: Rappaport not on the program here tonight.
[25:02] Speaker 5: I said that this was in the offering and going
[25:04] Speaker 5: to happen soon.
[25:05] Speaker 7: Now has happened.
[25:05] Speaker 4: One year, fifty five million dollar extension worth up to
[25:08] Speaker 4: sixty million with incentives. I did hear from someone semi
[25:12] Speaker 4: tied into the situation early in the offseason who said,
[25:16] Speaker 4: don't be surprised if Stafford takes less money to afford
[25:19] Speaker 4: the Rams to do some stuff elsewhere wrong. Fifty five
[25:23] Speaker 4: million up to sixty that's right there at the top
[25:25] Speaker 4: of the quarterback market. Matthew Stafford, who announced the NFL
[25:29] Speaker 4: honors he would be back now officially back with officially
[25:32] Speaker 4: with a new deal Judy.
[25:35] Speaker 6: Meanwhile, the Tennessee Titans are having OTA's as well.
[25:39] Speaker 2: This week.
[25:40] Speaker 6: Cam Ward said today he is down about ten pounds.
[25:43] Speaker 2: He feels faster.
[25:44] Speaker 13: That's bad news for their opponents, that's for sure.
[25:46] Speaker 6: Here is Ward and head coach Robert Sala on Ward's
[25:50] Speaker 6: recovery from his shoulder entry.
[25:53] Speaker 7: Just continue to work on it.
[25:55] Speaker 16: I'll countil you get a sholder. Try to you know
[25:59] Speaker 16: less leadsing to injury fact and they just try to,
[26:02] Speaker 16: you don't know, having a game, you look slimmer.
[26:04] Speaker 10: Are you in a different kind of sheet than you
[26:05] Speaker 10: were this time last year?
[26:07] Speaker 16: Are you trying to get a little bit later then?
[26:10] Speaker 16: Just trying to stay you know, durablefore lost season.
[26:12] Speaker 8: His arm's perfectly healthy. He's slinging the ball. I mean,
[26:15] Speaker 8: he's got some good velocity on it and you know,
[26:18] Speaker 8: just like everyone else, learning the system. But so far,
[26:20] Speaker 8: so good.
[26:24] Speaker 6: All right, let's bring back Baldy and Mark to talk
[26:26] Speaker 6: a little bit more about cam Ward and the Titans. Mark,
[26:29] Speaker 6: I want to start with you, because we saw flashes
[26:32] Speaker 6: from cam Ward last season, especially with those sort of
[26:35] Speaker 6: off schedule plays, those wow plays he's capable of making.
[26:39] Speaker 6: But how does he and this offense now they've got
[26:42] Speaker 6: Brian Daboll there as the offensive coordinator, how do they
[26:44] Speaker 6: have a true breakout season this year?
[26:48] Speaker 3: It's about the consistency.
[26:50] Speaker 12: And I've been compairing the Titans all off season to
[26:52] Speaker 12: the Patriots and how they were throughout the whole process,
[26:55] Speaker 12: and at this certain point where you've got your second
[26:57] Speaker 12: year franchise quarterback with Ward similar to how Drake may
[27:02] Speaker 12: was with the Patriots, who had to do basically everything
[27:04] Speaker 12: at the offense by himself last season. But now you
[27:07] Speaker 12: surrounded him with a much better infrastructure, starting with your
[27:10] Speaker 12: new head coach Robert Sala, who was a former head
[27:13] Speaker 12: coach a defensive side of the ball, your new offensive
[27:15] Speaker 12: coordinator Brian da Ball who is a former head coach.
[27:18] Speaker 12: Now to mentor you, you use a fourth pick of
[27:21] Speaker 12: the draft on an offensive player Carnell Tape, the Patriots
[27:24] Speaker 12: use a fourth pick on their offensive line right there,
[27:27] Speaker 12: and then spending big in the offseason to bolster the defense,
[27:32] Speaker 12: to help out the offense so they're not always under
[27:35] Speaker 12: siege on that side of the ball. But it all
[27:38] Speaker 12: comes down to cam Ward. Okay, now you've got a
[27:40] Speaker 12: much better infrastructure on the coaching tide, much better foundation
[27:44] Speaker 12: with the players around. You got some playmakers now, and
[27:47] Speaker 12: now you have to also raise your level and take
[27:50] Speaker 12: your game to another level where it's not just hey,
[27:52] Speaker 12: I'm out here fighting and I'm inconsistent, show the flashes,
[27:55] Speaker 12: but down in and down out Baldy hitting the layups,
[27:58] Speaker 12: but also hitting the big three pointers of beating people
[28:00] Speaker 12: off the dribble to win games.
[28:02] Speaker 3: And that's what he has to prove each week.
[28:05] Speaker 7: You know, Mark is interesting. They got their work cutout
[28:08] Speaker 7: for him. Let's face it.
[28:09] Speaker 11: They won three games last year. They scored a league
[28:11] Speaker 11: low twenty four touchdowns last year. Carnell Tate Wandelle Robinson
[28:15] Speaker 11: come in with you know, Brian Dable, Carmen Brasil the
[28:18] Speaker 11: offensive line coach. With Brian up in New York coming
[28:21] Speaker 11: down there to work with the offense line, all that
[28:23] Speaker 11: has got to come together, and they got to protect
[28:25] Speaker 11: cam Warre better than they did a year ago. He
[28:27] Speaker 11: was sacked fifty five times, and important for his athletic.
[28:31] Speaker 7: Ability, it would have been sixty seventy.
[28:33] Speaker 11: Or more times because of his ability to escape and
[28:36] Speaker 11: extend plays. But all that, like you said, Mark can
[28:39] Speaker 11: be mitigated a little bit.
[28:41] Speaker 7: If the defense gets a lot better.
[28:42] Speaker 11: If you look at this defensive line right now, the
[28:44] Speaker 11: only guy from last year is Jeffrey Simmons back. I
[28:48] Speaker 11: mean Roberts Salas bringing in a lot of guys they
[28:51] Speaker 11: coached at the Jets, John Franklin Myers. You know, you
[28:54] Speaker 11: look at Jermaine Johnson, Sally Thomas, you draft Keldrick Falk,
[28:58] Speaker 11: you know, you go get you know, a new mill linebacker, Anthony.
[29:01] Speaker 7: Miller right now.
[29:02] Speaker 11: So like I feel like they're on the right path
[29:06] Speaker 11: right now. And now it's the question of these OT's
[29:08] Speaker 11: are important, Anthony Hill. I'm sorry, I have been a linebacker,
[29:11] Speaker 11: but I think they're on the right path here. But
[29:13] Speaker 11: every one of these days is important right now for
[29:16] Speaker 11: understanding just how important this the intensity that it's got
[29:21] Speaker 11: to be because they've got to change that factor. They
[29:23] Speaker 11: got to play harder, they got to play smarter, and
[29:26] Speaker 11: you start learning these things in the month of May.
[29:29] Speaker 7: Right now, when you come together on the field.
[29:33] Speaker 3: Can't wait to.
[29:34] Speaker 6: See what Robert Sala and Brian Dave all do with
[29:36] Speaker 6: that team.
[29:41] Speaker 1: The Rams and Matthew Stafford have worked out a one
[29:44] Speaker 1: year contract extension the team announcement according to ESPN one
[29:49] Speaker 1: year extension worth fifty five million dollars in worth up
[29:51] Speaker 1: to sixty million with incentives. Stafford had been due forty
[29:55] Speaker 1: million dollars in twenty twenty six. Does not sound like
[29:58] Speaker 1: that has really changed. There is an opportunity for him
[30:01] Speaker 1: to earn more with incentives, Mike, but certainly after the
[30:04] Speaker 1: drafting of Ty Simpson, the Rams make it some type
[30:07] Speaker 1: of a gesture here that yes, the NFL MVP is
[30:10] Speaker 1: still our guy.
[30:12] Speaker 4: I remember Stafford announcing at NFL Honors and Sean McVeigh
[30:16] Speaker 4: jumping out of his chair that he was coming back.
[30:19] Speaker 5: And I remember hearing later McVeigh.
[30:20] Speaker 4: Already knew and heard that it was just some acting,
[30:23] Speaker 4: some really good acting by Sean McVay.
[30:26] Speaker 5: Well, then there was too good of an acting job.
[30:28] Speaker 4: After they drafted Ty Simpson and he was pounding there
[30:31] Speaker 4: at the press conference and they said, no, I was
[30:33] Speaker 4: just trying not to do it.
[30:34] Speaker 5: Annoying.
[30:34] Speaker 4: Matthew Stafford and let him know that he's still the guy. Well,
[30:37] Speaker 4: this is another way to do it right here, with
[30:39] Speaker 4: an extension that pays him that fifty five million up
[30:42] Speaker 4: to sixty million. That is the top of the quarterback
[30:44] Speaker 4: market pretty much right now. So in no ways is
[30:49] Speaker 4: Matthew Stafford saying that I deserve to be paid anywhere
[30:52] Speaker 4: less than the top of the market, because that's the
[30:54] Speaker 4: quarterback that I still am. The Rams agree, and the
[30:57] Speaker 4: sides degree finally on a deal.
[30:58] Speaker 6: Judy Well whether or not Matthew Stafford was upset by
[31:03] Speaker 6: the drafting of ty Simpson, this is how the Rams
[31:06] Speaker 6: say you're our guy this year, next year. This is
[31:09] Speaker 6: a team that very firmly is in the super Bowl window.
[31:12] Speaker 2: They were oh so.
[31:13] Speaker 6: Close to the super Bowl last season, and they've got
[31:17] Speaker 6: the league MVP returning. This is how you keep the.
[31:20] Speaker 2: League MVP happy. You keep ty.
[31:23] Speaker 6: Simpson on the bench, maybe now for two full seasons.
[31:26] Speaker 6: He can wait until he gets his opportunity. But this
[31:30] Speaker 6: is the RAM saying, you're our guy for two seasons.
[31:33] Speaker 6: We think we can win a super Bowl with you.
[31:35] Speaker 6: Ty Simpson will be over there as the plan for
[31:38] Speaker 6: the future. This is what we're going forward with very
[31:41] Speaker 6: nice way to wrap up one of the big stories
[31:44] Speaker 6: of the offseason as we head into the summer.
[31:48] Speaker 1: Matthew Stafford has been on hand for OTAs the Rams,
[31:51] Speaker 1: one of the teams that have been out on the
[31:52] Speaker 1: field throughout.
[31:53] Speaker 2: The course of this week. There he is.
[31:57] Speaker 1: Yes, he's old, but he doesn't actually move this slowly
[31:59] Speaker 1: in real life's called slow ocean Folks. Number nine now
[32:02] Speaker 1: signed to her twenty twenty seven. As you bring in
[32:04] Speaker 1: our Brian Baldinger.
[32:06] Speaker 2: M Mark Gross to the conversation.
[32:08] Speaker 1: Baldy, I start with you, what do you see from
[32:11] Speaker 1: Matthew Stafford coming off an MVP season?
[32:13] Speaker 2: How long can he keep this up?
[32:16] Speaker 7: Like fine wine.
[32:17] Speaker 11: I mean, that's the best year he's ever had by far,
[32:19] Speaker 11: in his seventeenth season, you know, to throw for forty
[32:22] Speaker 11: seven hundred yards, forty six touchdowns, lead the league in
[32:24] Speaker 11: every basically every category, the best year that he had.
[32:27] Speaker 11: Puka leads the league in receiving, Devonte leads the league
[32:31] Speaker 11: in touchdown catches. I mean, you bring it back, you
[32:34] Speaker 11: pay him, you pay them, you know the market value
[32:37] Speaker 11: right there at the top of the food chain. He
[32:39] Speaker 11: deserved it and kind of after you make this kind
[32:43] Speaker 11: of a movie. You kind of wonder was Ty Simpson
[32:45] Speaker 11: really necessary, Like why wouldn't you go get another receiver
[32:49] Speaker 11: right there to help out the MVP after what.
[32:52] Speaker 7: They just did.
[32:52] Speaker 11: So like he's going to be there maybe for two
[32:54] Speaker 11: more years, who knows. But you don't see any slowdown.
[32:57] Speaker 11: He started every game. Last time we saw him in
[33:00] Speaker 11: that playoff loss to Seattle, he threw for three hundred
[33:03] Speaker 11: and seventy five yards three touchdowns. It was almost unstoppable
[33:07] Speaker 11: right until the very end. So congratulations to Stafford, rams
[33:11] Speaker 11: have themselves.
[33:11] Speaker 7: The MVP is probably looking for a lot more right now.
[33:17] Speaker 3: Yeah, Baldy completely agree with that. Fine wine and Ubus won.
[33:20] Speaker 12: Like we played against him, who I's with the Giants
[33:22] Speaker 12: and there were certain things we thought Stafford, you know,
[33:25] Speaker 12: we could kind of get him on. But just seeing
[33:26] Speaker 12: him over the last couple of years, especially this year,
[33:29] Speaker 12: he has gotten better. You never see that in players,
[33:32] Speaker 12: you know, they always declined, but it's almost rare to
[33:35] Speaker 12: never that a player, especially at quarterback, gets better this
[33:38] Speaker 12: late in their career. I mean, the way he can
[33:40] Speaker 12: just still manipulate defenses, the way he can still move
[33:43] Speaker 12: around and adjust in the pocket, and by himself time
[33:46] Speaker 12: is just incredible for this point in his career.
[33:49] Speaker 3: And dude completely agree with you.
[33:51] Speaker 12: Though that that ty Simpson pick was definitely a head
[33:54] Speaker 12: scratcher for me when it happened, just because the Rams
[33:56] Speaker 12: were so close and they couldn't get a premier player
[33:59] Speaker 12: at that position to or at any position to kind
[34:01] Speaker 12: of help them get over the top. So now it's
[34:03] Speaker 12: like two years down the line for a Ty Simpson
[34:06] Speaker 12: who's older and hasn't played a lot, So that to
[34:09] Speaker 12: me was still makes this even a more dubious pick
[34:12] Speaker 12: there for ty Simpson. But Matthew Stafford one earn what
[34:16] Speaker 12: that contract that he just got.
[34:20] Speaker 1: Seven primetime games for the Rams in the twenty twenty
[34:23] Speaker 1: six schedule, most of any team in the NFL. And yes,
[34:27] Speaker 1: Matthew Stafford also a part of some of the top
[34:30] Speaker 1: QB matchups. If you can squit and read any of
[34:33] Speaker 1: those names, I can't. Mark A'll just come to you.
[34:35] Speaker 1: What's a quarterback match? If you're looking forward, Well.
[34:39] Speaker 12: Let's go first week four with Patrick Mahons and the
[34:42] Speaker 12: Chiefs going to the Las Vegas of Greaters and will
[34:45] Speaker 12: from Nando Mendoza be playing at this point? I think
[34:48] Speaker 12: he should be out there week one, but we'll see
[34:50] Speaker 12: how long it'll take him if Kirk Cousins has taken
[34:53] Speaker 12: some snaps at Perth before Fernando Mendoza gets into the mix.
[34:56] Speaker 12: And also for Patrick Mahomes, you know, coming off the injury,
[35:00] Speaker 12: how many games will it take him to be back
[35:02] Speaker 12: to his normal self? You know last season he was
[35:05] Speaker 12: running all over the place because he didn't block anybody,
[35:07] Speaker 12: you know a little bit.
[35:08] Speaker 3: How well will it take him to look like that guy?
[35:10] Speaker 12: Hopefully for the teams he won't have to do that Baalby,
[35:12] Speaker 12: but we'll see with how healthy Patrick Mahoons look. And
[35:15] Speaker 12: will Fernando Mendoza be under center for the Raiders?
[35:20] Speaker 11: Yeah, I mean Patrick Mahomes will have played three games
[35:24] Speaker 11: they get ready to go to Allegiant Stadium, And I'm
[35:27] Speaker 11: with you, Mark, I believe that if Fernando Mendoza is
[35:30] Speaker 11: close anywhere close to understanding being able to do all
[35:33] Speaker 11: the things that you have to do with the quarterback position,
[35:36] Speaker 11: I would put him out there and let's see the
[35:38] Speaker 11: training begin.
[35:39] Speaker 7: But if Kirk Cousins is there, it's not going to
[35:42] Speaker 7: have quite.
[35:42] Speaker 11: The same matchup like Sizzles that I think we're all
[35:46] Speaker 11: looking for. I think we want to see Mendoza against Mahomes.
[35:50] Speaker 11: Can he following those footsteps? Can he do some of
[35:52] Speaker 11: the things that we have watched Mahomes do, which you
[35:55] Speaker 11: know it's been recon setting since eight years now of starting.
[36:00] Speaker 11: So I'm anxious to see that game. It's a division game.
[36:03] Speaker 11: The Raiders have to find a.
[36:04] Speaker 7: Way to get into the division. They haven't been.
[36:06] Speaker 11: Competitive in the NFC West for quite a while, so
[36:09] Speaker 11: this will be a good standard to kind of go
[36:11] Speaker 11: up there with the new coach, a new system, a
[36:14] Speaker 11: lot of new players to see how they compete against
[36:16] Speaker 11: Andy Reid, Mahomes and that Chiefs team that's trying to
[36:19] Speaker 11: get back to the top of the division.
[36:22] Speaker 4: A lot of quarterbacks on that list, and why not,
[36:24] Speaker 4: it's a quarterback award. So we've got some quarterback MVP matchups. Mark,
[36:29] Speaker 4: which one are you looking forward to?
[36:32] Speaker 3: Yeah?
[36:32] Speaker 12: Week five back MVPs of Josh Allen and Bill's going
[36:36] Speaker 12: to LA and the aforementioned Matthew Stafford led Rams and
[36:40] Speaker 12: you know for Josh Allen, it's Joe Brady the new
[36:44] Speaker 12: head coach, and how different will this Bill's team look
[36:47] Speaker 12: after so many years of Sean McDermott. Will it be
[36:50] Speaker 12: even more open on the offense and that'll be intriguing there.
[36:54] Speaker 12: And then for the Rams and Matthew Stafford, we just
[36:57] Speaker 12: talked about quarterbacks getting better with aids and will this
[37:01] Speaker 12: he looked the same as he did in his MVP
[37:04] Speaker 12: season last season?
[37:05] Speaker 3: Will he look even better? Baldy?
[37:07] Speaker 12: So this will be an intriguing matchup of Josh Allen
[37:10] Speaker 12: still on the rise saying hey, I can still win
[37:12] Speaker 12: this MVP at Matthew Stafford saying I'm defying father time.
[37:17] Speaker 7: A couple of things on this matchup here.
[37:19] Speaker 11: Mark One is, you know this Rams defense should look
[37:22] Speaker 11: even a lot better than what it has been with
[37:24] Speaker 11: those two new corners out there, with Trent McDuffie Jalen
[37:28] Speaker 11: Watson out there, They're gonna look a little bit better
[37:30] Speaker 11: on defense right now. So it might be a bigger
[37:32] Speaker 11: challenge right now for Joe Brady and Josh Allen what
[37:36] Speaker 11: they're looking at. And then on the other side, Stafford's
[37:38] Speaker 11: gonna be looking at a defense that might look a
[37:40] Speaker 11: lot different than what we used to seeing classic zone
[37:43] Speaker 11: defenses spend but don't break type style that Buffalo has played.
[37:48] Speaker 7: Will they be a more aggressive defense. Will they be.
[37:50] Speaker 11: Able to get to the quarterback and affect Stafford better.
[37:53] Speaker 7: Than what they have done in the past.
[37:55] Speaker 11: They've been loading up on the defense line. Can some
[37:57] Speaker 11: of these guys you know, start beating some one on one,
[38:00] Speaker 11: some tackles up the edge, he gets some pressure on
[38:02] Speaker 11: Stafford to see if they.
[38:03] Speaker 7: Can slow him down.
[38:04] Speaker 11: So good matchup, But I'm looking at it from the
[38:06] Speaker 11: defensive sides here and what these quarterbacks are going to
[38:09] Speaker 11: be looking at?
[38:12] Speaker 1: Mark Albolt won more KB matchup you be looking forward
[38:14] Speaker 1: to in twenty twenty.
[38:15] Speaker 12: Six, Well, let's go Week seven, Joe Burrow's Bengals going
[38:21] Speaker 12: to Baltimore against Lamar.
[38:23] Speaker 3: Jackson and his Ravens.
[38:24] Speaker 12: And we know in years past this has always been
[38:26] Speaker 12: must see TV because, as Baldy mentioned, that defense has
[38:29] Speaker 12: been optional in these games with the Ravens and the Bengals,
[38:32] Speaker 12: particularly because they couldn't stop anybody.
[38:35] Speaker 3: We know these guys are great.
[38:36] Speaker 12: But now with Joe Barrow coming off in an injury,
[38:39] Speaker 12: with a revamped defense, you know a lot of free
[38:42] Speaker 12: agent signings in the offseason there, so will they be
[38:45] Speaker 12: much better? And then for the Ravens, a whole total
[38:49] Speaker 12: team makeover as we talked about earlier with Jesse Mitcher,
[38:53] Speaker 12: the new head coach, the defensive minded head coach there
[38:55] Speaker 12: in Decklan Doyle with Lamar Jackson.
[38:57] Speaker 3: How much different for that offense?
[38:59] Speaker 12: Look Ken take his game to another level under a
[39:03] Speaker 12: new offensive bourd Nators.
[39:04] Speaker 3: So always a.
[39:05] Speaker 12: Fascinating matchup between these two guys who are completely different stylistically,
[39:09] Speaker 12: but both know how to put points up on the board.
[39:11] Speaker 3: A lot of excitement, Baldi.
[39:13] Speaker 12: But will the defense is be better to make this
[39:15] Speaker 12: a more even tight matchup between both sides?
[39:20] Speaker 11: What we The last time we saw these two play
[39:22] Speaker 11: was on Thanksgiving night and Joe Burrow and the Bengals
[39:25] Speaker 11: just lit up the Ravens that night. They have had
[39:29] Speaker 11: some great shootouts in recent years. I remember forty one
[39:32] Speaker 11: thirty eight in the Jungle two years ago in overtime.
[39:35] Speaker 11: The Ravens pulled that one out. But you know, I've
[39:38] Speaker 11: just heard Joe Burrow say yesterday, probably right.
[39:40] Speaker 7: On this program, that we have everything you take, everything
[39:43] Speaker 7: you take to.
[39:43] Speaker 11: Be better than we have Ben and so Joe fields
[39:46] Speaker 11: pretty good about it. Don't have any controversy with contracts
[39:50] Speaker 11: or anything like that. This year, they've been loading up
[39:53] Speaker 11: on defense right now, we'll see what Baltimore's offense is
[39:56] Speaker 11: going to look like. But you know, the one thing
[39:58] Speaker 11: I know, Mark, is that when you get great quarterbacks
[40:02] Speaker 11: like Lamar and Joe Burrow, like just get out of
[40:04] Speaker 11: the way. Just let those two guys go operate, because
[40:07] Speaker 11: it's going to be entertaining, it's going to be fun.
[40:10] Speaker 11: You never know what play what is going to turn
[40:13] Speaker 11: the game on its head right there, because they have
[40:15] Speaker 11: both been able to do that.
[40:18] Speaker 1: Paldie, Mark, thank you both very much. Still more to
[40:20] Speaker 1: come on this edition of The Insiders. More to come
[40:23] Speaker 1: every weeknight from now until God only knows when Monday
[40:27] Speaker 1: through Friday's MDM Eastern time stick round.
[40:29] Speaker 4: More upan US.
[40:41] Speaker 6: Matthew Szaffort has signed a one year, fifty five million
[40:45] Speaker 6: dollar extension that is coming from our friend Adam Schefter
[40:49] Speaker 6: with the Los Angeles Rams. That means the league MVP
[40:53] Speaker 6: is under contract for two more seasons.
[40:55] Speaker 3: At age thirty eight, entered the.
[41:00] Speaker 1: Day Lions, wrapping up Jack Campbell four years, eighty one
[41:04] Speaker 1: million dollars.
[41:04] Speaker 4: Mike, yesterday, I was texting our coordinating producer Jeff producer
[41:10] Speaker 4: Jeff Colett, and I said, Jeff.
[41:11] Speaker 7: I cake it in the meeting.
[41:12] Speaker 5: I cake it in the meeting. Jeff, can you let
[41:14] Speaker 5: me in? I didn't realize he was.
[41:16] Speaker 4: In Japan where he was watching The Insiders.
[41:20] Speaker 5: Yes, I don't know. Is it nip on TV that
[41:23] Speaker 5: carries the Insiders?
[41:24] Speaker 7: I have no idea.
[41:25] Speaker 4: But there we are, me and Michael f Florio breaking
[41:28] Speaker 4: it all down for the folks there in Japan are
[41:30] Speaker 4: getting ready for the Fantasy drafts.
[41:34] Speaker 6: I hope the bar wasn't empty because we're on the TV.
[41:40] Speaker 1: Yeah, I got think of our things to do in
[41:41] Speaker 1: Tokyo besides watching us. I'm just gonna be straight up
[41:44] Speaker 1: honest with you, and that was the most shocking part.
[41:46] Speaker 2: Anyway, We're back tomorrow, thanks to everyone.
[41:49] Speaker 7: I got to Jeff

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