# BEST OF: NFL Offseason Moves, Mike McCarthy, Maxx Crosby, Kenneth Walker

An episode of [The Colin Cowherd Podcast](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1551365571), 16 Mar 2026, 1 h 00 min.

Audio: https://podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/arttrk.com/p/D5CA5/pscrb.fm/rss/p/prfx.byspotify.com/e/pscrb.fm/rss/p/traffic.omny.fm/d/clips/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/4013d28e-5f67-4885-bff1-ae3300346830/a1330a64-f768-4f16-8856-b40f0174eb12/audio.mp3?utm_source=Podcast&in_playlist=e829cf60-fc06-4d61-8691-ae330034683e

Colin’s top takes from the NFL offseason. He discusses the biggest moves starting with Mike Tomlin’s replacement Mike McCarthy joining the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Maxx Crosby saga with the failed trade between the Las Vegas Raiders and Baltimore Ravens, Malik Willis signing with the Miami Dolphins, Mike Evans signing with the San Francisco 49ers, Tyler Linderbaum, Rashan Gary, Kenneth Walker III leaving the Seattle Seahawks for the Kansas City chiefs, and more. (Timestamps may vary based on advertisements.) Follow Colin and The Volume on Twitter for the latest content and updates! #Volume See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

## Transcript

[0:01] Speaker 1: The volume.
[0:03] Speaker 2: Today's show is brought to you by are presenting sponsor
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[0:53] Speaker 2: for America dot Org. And with that, let's end it
[1:04] Speaker 2: with this. Mike McCarthy got hired by the Pittsburgh Steelers,
[1:08] Speaker 2: and as we talk about the Patriots Seahawks, let's just
[1:11] Speaker 2: give this five minutes. So McCarthy, to me, is an
[1:18] Speaker 2: offensive Mike Tomlin. He feels like Pittsburgh. He'll win games,
[1:25] Speaker 2: He'll be loose when they face a really well coached
[1:29] Speaker 2: team with a good quarterback, you'll feel like you have
[1:32] Speaker 2: the second best coach. But he's a good motivator like
[1:36] Speaker 2: Tomlin in defense, he does no offense. His teams play
[1:41] Speaker 2: with great enthusiasm. But to me, Pittsburgh, once again, is
[1:46] Speaker 2: always reminding us how important Pittsburgh is and how they
[1:50] Speaker 2: really love Pittsburgh. They love to hire Pittsburgh guys. They
[1:54] Speaker 2: you know, they draft Kenny Pickett, they hire Mike McCarthy.
[1:57] Speaker 2: It's kind of a Pittsburgh thing. They're the inserts, the
[2:00] Speaker 2: very proud. I thought they could have done better. I mean,
[2:04] Speaker 2: I probably. I don't know if Chris Shule is the answer.
[2:07] Speaker 2: You could hire him tomorrow. What did you make of
[2:09] Speaker 2: the hire?
[2:11] Speaker 1: I feel like the reaction was shocked, people like they
[2:14] Speaker 1: really hired Mike McCarthy. I honestly, when John Harbaugh got fired,
[2:18] Speaker 1: my jaw hit the floor, just because I didn't expect
[2:21] Speaker 1: him to get fired, right, this was a situation where
[2:24] Speaker 1: I went, of course, they hired him the owner. Whatever
[2:27] Speaker 1: was two weeks ago when Tomlin steps down said I'm
[2:30] Speaker 1: not into throwing a season away. We do not plan
[2:34] Speaker 1: on tanking losing. We plan on competing every year. That
[2:38] Speaker 1: showed me when everyone in the Pittsburgh fan base was
[2:41] Speaker 1: tired of Tomlin, the Rooneyes were not. They like going
[2:46] Speaker 1: nine or ten wins. If that is there, you know
[2:48] Speaker 1: the floor. They want no part of the tanking teams.
[2:51] Speaker 1: They don't ever want to have a season like the Jets.
[2:53] Speaker 1: So Mike McCarthy represents at minimum stability of competing and
[2:58] Speaker 1: at least giving us a chance to maintain what Tomlin
[3:01] Speaker 1: has done. And he can say I can coach quarterbacks
[3:05] Speaker 1: and call the offense, because in fairness, he's right now.
[3:08] Speaker 1: I was thinking about this. This is gonna be his
[3:11] Speaker 1: first situation. When he got hired with the Green Bay Packers,
[3:14] Speaker 1: Brett Farv was on the roster and the year before
[3:16] Speaker 1: they had drafted Aaron Rodgers. He was the offensive coordinator
[3:20] Speaker 1: of the Niners who took Alex Smith. Aaron Rodgers talked
[3:23] Speaker 1: about this like he had to get over it a
[3:24] Speaker 1: little bit. Then when he went to the Cowboys, they
[3:26] Speaker 1: had an established Dak Prescott. He's now going to a
[3:30] Speaker 1: team where they don't have a quarterback, right, so he's
[3:34] Speaker 1: got to be involved in which you and I watched
[3:37] Speaker 1: a lot of college football. This ain't a great quarterback draft,
[3:40] Speaker 1: and I don't know who's really on the open mar
[3:42] Speaker 1: you know, the Davis Mills and Mac Jones type. There's
[3:45] Speaker 1: not a lot of There's no Dak Prescott's or Aaron Rodgers
[3:47] Speaker 1: walking through that door this job. I don't know if
[3:50] Speaker 1: you watched the Dolphins. Guys, they're two really at the
[3:54] Speaker 1: press conference, it was like, I see what Troy Aikman likes.
[3:56] Speaker 1: These two guys. They're impressive. But Steven Ross clearly we're
[3:59] Speaker 1: gonna a little bit of a reset and be bad
[4:02] Speaker 1: before we get good because we're in shambles. It's kind
[4:05] Speaker 1: of the Steelers, a lot of old guys, a lot
[4:07] Speaker 1: of bad money. Why not Once upon a time you
[4:10] Speaker 1: did this with Mike Tomlin at thirty four. Now, the
[4:12] Speaker 1: difference is that team was equipped to if Tomlin was good,
[4:15] Speaker 1: they were gonna be good than they were. But like,
[4:18] Speaker 1: why not just go a little younger, do a reset.
[4:20] Speaker 1: And it's like, well, the Roonies don't believe in that,
[4:22] Speaker 1: like they're at like that's a core value of that family,
[4:25] Speaker 1: which in a weird way I can respect. But I
[4:28] Speaker 1: think this thing is not. You know, when he got
[4:30] Speaker 1: to the Cowboys, twenty twenty was a fake football year, right, remember,
[4:34] Speaker 1: But once he kind of settled down, got dan Quinn,
[4:37] Speaker 1: they were a real team there for four years. Google
[4:40] Speaker 1: who was on that team? Like they had young in
[4:42] Speaker 1: his peak, like a twenty three, twenty four Michael Parsons,
[4:45] Speaker 1: they had Dak Prescott in his prime. They get ceedee Lamb,
[4:48] Speaker 1: Like that's this is this is not the Steelers And
[4:51] Speaker 1: how are they equipped to acquire any of these players? TJ.
[4:55] Speaker 1: Watt is making a ton of money, he's a lot
[4:58] Speaker 1: of respect for his career, but it's the wrong way.
[5:01] Speaker 2: The good news for McCarthy, I think he realizes that.
[5:04] Speaker 2: I think the first thing they have to do to
[5:06] Speaker 2: me is and they're not going to be able to
[5:08] Speaker 2: find their quarterback unless they go get TYS. Simpson. But
[5:11] Speaker 2: let's say they can't get.
[5:12] Speaker 1: It, you like Ty Simpson in the weather, in that
[5:14] Speaker 1: in that conference or that division, I don't know.
[5:19] Speaker 2: They have to switch the money from the defense to
[5:21] Speaker 2: the offensive side. So they've had the highest paid defense
[5:24] Speaker 2: four years in a row. So you just in the
[5:26] Speaker 2: way to do that is They've got some very good
[5:29] Speaker 2: young offensive player Fraser the center, Warren Friar Moose not young,
[5:34] Speaker 2: but he's a good player. They need another wide receiver obviously,
[5:38] Speaker 2: but in the quarterback. But my take is they've got
[5:41] Speaker 2: their offensive lines, got some youth in it. The running
[5:44] Speaker 2: back rooms, got some youth in it, their dynamic. I
[5:46] Speaker 2: think Friar Moose really good in Washington. Broke his arm,
[5:49] Speaker 2: but he you know he those are two big bodies,
[5:53] Speaker 2: good player. So and DK Metcalf still athletically in his prime.
[5:56] Speaker 2: It's one of those things where they have to do
[5:58] Speaker 2: is they have to take about six different defensive players
[6:01] Speaker 2: and just get young defensively. If you look at the
[6:04] Speaker 2: Seahawks and the Rams, if you really look at the
[6:07] Speaker 2: secret of it is the Seahawks and the Rams are
[6:10] Speaker 2: not paying a lot of their defensive players. They're not
[6:12] Speaker 2: They're paying their quarterbacks. They're paying like maybe a left
[6:15] Speaker 2: tackle or somebody on the offensive line. They're paying one
[6:18] Speaker 2: of their weapons. But I mean they're if you really
[6:21] Speaker 2: look at what the Kansas City Chiefs have done, as
[6:24] Speaker 2: they've paid Mahomes and Travis Kelcey and Joe Tooney, they've
[6:28] Speaker 2: kept that defense really really young. So you know, I've
[6:32] Speaker 2: talked to GMS about this going forward. The recipe for
[6:37] Speaker 2: success is you pay for offense. You just keep drafting defense,
[6:41] Speaker 2: stay young. And the Rams, who are they paying on
[6:43] Speaker 2: a defense? I mean, nobody's getting paid yet. Same with Seattle.
[6:48] Speaker 2: Murphy will get a lot of money. Leonard Williams probably
[6:50] Speaker 2: makes it pretty some coin. But I think the Pittsburgh's
[6:54] Speaker 2: got it all backwards. Pittsburgh paying everybody on defense, so
[6:57] Speaker 2: they've just got They've got to draft about six having
[7:00] Speaker 2: different guys. I don't know what their draft picks look like. Whatever,
[7:03] Speaker 2: just draft defense. Let about four guys walk trade another
[7:08] Speaker 2: and just switch where the money's at. And once they
[7:10] Speaker 2: can do that, then you can go find your quarterback.
[7:12] Speaker 1: If I want to defend McCarthy like he has a
[7:15] Speaker 1: branding issue because I saw people putting his resume next
[7:18] Speaker 1: to John Harbass. That's pretty similar, and google John Harbaugh.
[7:21] Speaker 1: The last several years with some of these big leads,
[7:24] Speaker 1: a lot of ls Google Mike McCarthy's resume next to
[7:27] Speaker 1: Tomlin's resume pretty similar. Not a lot of playoff success,
[7:31] Speaker 1: recently made the playoffs a bunch. His branding is bad.
[7:35] Speaker 1: You know, John Harbaugh gets fired, ten teams are calling
[7:38] Speaker 1: his agent. McCarthy's begging for a job last year, no
[7:41] Speaker 1: one will hire. So this is not McCarthy's better than
[7:45] Speaker 1: the way we speak about him, right, yeah, because he
[7:48] Speaker 1: can coached. The other thing he's got going for him
[7:51] Speaker 1: Jesse Meant a really impressive defensive coordinator. First time head
[7:53] Speaker 1: coach in a pressure pack job. That's not going to
[7:56] Speaker 1: be easy. You know, Zach Taylor is going to be
[7:58] Speaker 1: coaching for his job. Surely this year that coaching staff there.
[8:01] Speaker 2: Is Cleveland doesn't have a coach.
[8:03] Speaker 1: I mean, Colin, did you see the story that Cleveland
[8:05] Speaker 1: makes you write an essay to try to get the
[8:07] Speaker 1: this It'd be like you telling me, hey want you
[8:10] Speaker 1: to do a podcast for us, can you write us
[8:11] Speaker 1: a three page essay. It's like, Colin, this is a
[8:13] Speaker 1: verbal medium, Like, I don't care the coaching is. It's
[8:16] Speaker 1: a verbal job. You don't You would never write an
[8:18] Speaker 1: essay ever, even your the things the team puts out
[8:21] Speaker 1: the pr staff does that for you. It's really I
[8:24] Speaker 1: don't want to go talk about the Browns much, but
[8:26] Speaker 1: that's I googled. I couldn't figure it out. But I
[8:29] Speaker 1: would imagine Barry's parents were in academia because I couldn't
[8:33] Speaker 1: even grasp how someone would go the personality test. I
[8:36] Speaker 1: understand it's a big job. I don't know, but doing
[8:39] Speaker 1: homework in essays. So McCarthy and the Steelers have an
[8:42] Speaker 1: advantage on the Browns, but it's I think it's going
[8:46] Speaker 1: to be a little more difficult than his cowboy stint.
[8:49] Speaker 1: But he also he's been the head coach of the Packers,
[8:52] Speaker 1: the Dallas Cowboys, and the Pittsburgh Steelers. It'd be like
[8:56] Speaker 1: I've been the head coach of the Knicks the Lakers.
[8:59] Speaker 1: Like Pat Riley his career. He doesn't get any better
[9:01] Speaker 1: than that football wise, going.
[9:02] Speaker 2: Yeah, and I think and I and I'll say it
[9:04] Speaker 2: about Tomlin, and I'll say it about Mike McCarthy. They
[9:06] Speaker 2: are above average NFL head coaches. Uh and and John
[9:10] Speaker 2: Harbaugh's not far off. I think that's fair. Mike McCarthy
[9:15] Speaker 2: will you'll win games with Mike and he's going to
[9:17] Speaker 2: switch a defensive culture to an offensive culture. So there
[9:19] Speaker 2: are some positives, but I've always thought Tomlin and Big Games,
[9:23] Speaker 2: his teams were a little loose. Aaron helped slow down
[9:26] Speaker 2: the penalty problem in Pittsburgh. Their offense had been had
[9:30] Speaker 2: penalty problems for years. On offense, Aaron brings in you know,
[9:33] Speaker 2: his iq EQ. Their penalties went down, their turnovers went
[9:37] Speaker 2: down because of Aaron Rodgers. So it was it was
[9:40] Speaker 2: better this year as forty two year old Aaron Rodgers
[9:43] Speaker 2: took control of the offensive ship.
[9:46] Speaker 1: And I think Aaron entertain's coming back now with Mike.
[9:53] Speaker 2: Yeah, I could see that. Aaron's you know, Aaron always
[9:57] Speaker 2: feels a little bit like a grudge holder, but Aaron
[10:01] Speaker 2: also cares what people think. And for him to just retire,
[10:07] Speaker 2: that would feel weird sort of to just retire because
[10:09] Speaker 2: he played so well at the end of the year,
[10:12] Speaker 2: and he'd be like, wow, is he retiring because I'm McCarthy.
[10:14] Speaker 2: And for the record, I think McCarthy will be better
[10:17] Speaker 2: for Aaron. I think I think I mean by and large,
[10:23] Speaker 2: Seattle and maybe New England. The Super Bowl teams are
[10:26] Speaker 2: a little bit of an exception, but usually the offensive
[10:28] Speaker 2: coach helps the quarterback. You know, Vrabel hands the offense
[10:31] Speaker 2: over to Josh McDaniels. But yeah, I could see Aaron
[10:36] Speaker 2: coming back. And I don't think my knock on McCarthy
[10:41] Speaker 2: isn't that he's bad. My knock is it feels like
[10:43] Speaker 2: an offensive Mike Tomlin, I was just looking for a
[10:45] Speaker 2: more dynamic young guy. But Pittsburgh loves Pittsburgh, and I
[10:51] Speaker 2: respect that. I mean, it's you know, there's certain cities
[10:54] Speaker 2: in this country, Saint Louis, Pittsburgh where if you go
[10:56] Speaker 2: to a party and people ask you, oh, where'd you
[10:59] Speaker 2: go to high school? Like, people don't a lot of people.
[11:03] Speaker 2: How many people in your life who are go getters
[11:05] Speaker 2: and have moved to Pittsburgh. It's very much about Pittsburgh.
[11:09] Speaker 2: People love Pittsburgh. People from Saint Louis love Saint Louis.
[11:13] Speaker 2: Not a lot of people moving to Saint Louis or Hertford.
[11:16] Speaker 2: So Pittsburgh's very proud of its history. A lot of
[11:20] Speaker 2: good people they I mean, it's just it's just it
[11:24] Speaker 2: felt like, yeah, that's kind of what Pittsburgh's gonna do.
[11:27] Speaker 2: I was hoping for a bigger swing, but I don't
[11:30] Speaker 2: think they have it in their their makeup, their DNA.
[11:34] Speaker 1: Rudy's just they can't even fathom. When they see the Jets,
[11:38] Speaker 1: the Titans, the Cardinals and they see that, they can't
[11:40] Speaker 1: even they refuse, which you know, we talk a lot
[11:44] Speaker 1: about tanking and some of these other sports. It's respectable,
[11:47] Speaker 1: but also in football. You know the way you guys
[11:50] Speaker 1: got Roethlisberger once upon a time, didn't you draft like
[11:52] Speaker 1: eleventh that wasn't one? But you're not gonna land you know,
[11:55] Speaker 1: most of these starting quarterback you're not gonna find Purtier
[11:59] Speaker 1: or Tom Brady. Typically, right, most of these starting quarterbacks
[12:02] Speaker 1: that are good in the NFL are drafted where Drake
[12:05] Speaker 1: may drafted second? Where was sam Donold's drafted third? I mean, typically,
[12:08] Speaker 1: you gotta it's okay. The Steeler fans that they've had
[12:12] Speaker 1: enough good times and respectable seasons, they would understand a
[12:16] Speaker 1: five and twelve season to kind of reset the French
[12:18] Speaker 1: of course, the but the owners refuse, and that's why
[12:22] Speaker 1: I think they did this instead of hiring Davis. Wait,
[12:25] Speaker 1: you know some thirty two year old guy that was like, okay,
[12:29] Speaker 1: we'll have some growing pains with you. McCarthy could sell them.
[12:33] Speaker 1: Look at my resume. More than likely we will compete
[12:36] Speaker 1: for a playoff spot and that was probably sold the Rooneyes.
[12:40] Speaker 2: Good stuff. All right, here we go, John Middlecoff and
[12:47] Speaker 2: I I don't work tomorrow on TV, so this is
[12:49] Speaker 2: my I was down in Florida all weekend and hanging
[12:54] Speaker 2: out with my wife in Naples.
[12:55] Speaker 1: Have you ever gone to Naples? By the way, Back
[12:56] Speaker 1: when I was with the Eagles, they had these scouting
[12:59] Speaker 1: meetings at I forget the name of the place. I
[13:03] Speaker 1: mean right on the water. I think it's about thirty
[13:05] Speaker 1: minutes away from Naples, and then the end you have
[13:08] Speaker 1: a week long paid vacation. I'm with the buddies, like,
[13:11] Speaker 1: let's take a I don't even think ubers existed. Back
[13:13] Speaker 1: in twenty thirteen, we hopped in a cab, went up there,
[13:16] Speaker 1: had dinner. It was it was nice fifteen years ago,
[13:20] Speaker 1: I'll tell you that much.
[13:22] Speaker 2: Yeah, it's exploded. Naples, Florida has exploded. I rented a
[13:27] Speaker 2: little with a friend, a little twenty two foot boat
[13:32] Speaker 2: to kind of go around and look at the billionaire
[13:34] Speaker 2: row of homes and my friends in realty. He's like, oh,
[13:39] Speaker 2: that's boom boom, boom boom. Some people live. Well, that's all.
[13:44] Speaker 2: I'm on a twenty two foot boat looking at thirty
[13:47] Speaker 2: five thousand square foot homes. But it was beautiful, so
[13:51] Speaker 2: you know, listen. Well, let's start with Max Crosby. So
[13:55] Speaker 2: I had said this before. I think he was kind
[13:57] Speaker 2: of the soul of the Raiders, but they're breaking it
[13:59] Speaker 2: down to the foundation. I thought they they may keep
[14:04] Speaker 2: Max because they have like twelve draft picks, eleven or
[14:06] Speaker 2: twelve draft picks, so if they hit on seven or
[14:08] Speaker 2: eight of those, they've got plenty of money. They're not
[14:10] Speaker 2: paying their quarterback for four years, so I would just
[14:13] Speaker 2: keep Max Crosby. But I think you know, they're looking
[14:15] Speaker 2: at he's an older player, still great. But I think
[14:20] Speaker 2: I saw a story today They're interested in Tyler Linderbaum,
[14:23] Speaker 2: the great center from Baltimore, and it's like the Giants
[14:28] Speaker 2: and the Raiders, which I think would be a huge
[14:29] Speaker 2: move because they drafted Jackson Powers Johnson.
[14:34] Speaker 1: I think, what is it?
[14:36] Speaker 2: Jackson Powers Johnson JPJ from Oregon and he didn't play center,
[14:41] Speaker 2: he played guard, so he's more comfortable at guard. He's
[14:44] Speaker 2: very good. So to me, this feels like the Raiders
[14:47] Speaker 2: are doing if they get Tyler Lindebaum. It feels a
[14:50] Speaker 2: little bit like Ben Johnson into the Bears. Here's the quarterback,
[14:53] Speaker 2: and I'm gonna get the interior of the old line.
[14:56] Speaker 2: I'm gonna go get now. Drew Dollman just retired after
[14:58] Speaker 2: one year in Chicago. But do you like the Max
[15:02] Speaker 2: Crosby deal for them, especially for the Raiders if they
[15:06] Speaker 2: get Titler Lindebaum because of the availability to you know,
[15:10] Speaker 2: pay him time.
[15:11] Speaker 1: I like it simply because it was time, you know.
[15:14] Speaker 1: I think quietly he kind of wanted out. He wasn't
[15:17] Speaker 1: gonna do it, kind of like a yawna situation, because
[15:19] Speaker 1: he loves the fans, he loves the franchise. Colin, they
[15:22] Speaker 1: got more again. We'll have to see what plays out
[15:25] Speaker 1: next year. The Dallas Cowboys traded Michael Parsons and they
[15:29] Speaker 1: are lucky. I mean, it took up Micah Parson's injury
[15:32] Speaker 1: and a crazy comeback in a playoff game. They got
[15:34] Speaker 1: picked twenty. I didn't quite realize that the moment the
[15:38] Speaker 1: trade was made, and then you give it five minutes.
[15:40] Speaker 1: The Ravens missed the playoffs and win eight and nine,
[15:43] Speaker 1: which sometimes gets you picked eighteen. It's picked fourteen, and
[15:47] Speaker 1: I think I saw one sharp. This is the highest
[15:50] Speaker 1: amount of draft capital any team's ever had because they
[15:52] Speaker 1: got the first pick in every round. You'd rather have
[15:55] Speaker 1: picked one in fourteen than pick eight to nine. I mean,
[15:58] Speaker 1: it is the fourteenth pick that that to me is
[16:01] Speaker 1: where it's like, damn that that was a lot Colin.
[16:05] Speaker 2: You know. The other thing John to remember is they
[16:08] Speaker 2: already have The Raiders have two ones, A two to three,
[16:11] Speaker 2: three fours, two fives, two sixes. Those top that top
[16:16] Speaker 2: of round two. John, you do the first round. Guys
[16:19] Speaker 2: are making deals, gms are making deals all night. You
[16:23] Speaker 2: could move down seven spots and get another third, or
[16:27] Speaker 2: a fifth or a fourth, so the Raiders really can
[16:31] Speaker 2: rebuild the entire franchise. Quarterback first pick, fourteenth pick, you
[16:37] Speaker 2: could have the top interior old lineman from Penn State.
[16:41] Speaker 2: You could have the second best corner. I mean, you can.
[16:44] Speaker 2: You can do it. You have to probably replace Max
[16:46] Speaker 2: with one of your first three to four picks, you know,
[16:50] Speaker 2: but I mean, I it's the first time because Jackson
[16:53] Speaker 2: powers Johnson, You've got one and Colton Miller left tackle.
[16:58] Speaker 2: Jackson powers Johnson. You add Tyler Lindenbaum it's like, oh,
[17:02] Speaker 2: this is what the Bears did, so I don't I
[17:05] Speaker 2: can't tell you the last time I was. I think
[17:07] Speaker 2: John Spytech it deserves a lot of credit for this.
[17:10] Speaker 2: How many teams do you think we're interested in cross?
[17:15] Speaker 1: This is why I never understood they won't get two
[17:17] Speaker 1: first round picks. Guys, every playoff team. There are fourteen
[17:21] Speaker 1: playoff teams. The Raiders are obviously not even remotely close
[17:25] Speaker 1: to one of them. They were all interested, and then
[17:28] Speaker 1: you get and you then throw in the Cowboys who
[17:31] Speaker 1: have that ammunition, who think they're going to be pretty
[17:33] Speaker 1: good this year if they can flip it around on defense.
[17:35] Speaker 1: So I think when the dust settled, you probably had
[17:38] Speaker 1: five teams willing to get really aggressive, but no one
[17:42] Speaker 1: could trump that fourteenth pick. You know, you see stories
[17:44] Speaker 1: on the Jags, you see you know, teams like the Bear.
[17:47] Speaker 1: All these teams are in the twenties, colin in the
[17:49] Speaker 1: mid to late twenties. And then you go, if I
[17:51] Speaker 1: give a max, if I trade them to the Jags
[17:53] Speaker 1: or I trade them to the Bears, well, if they're
[17:55] Speaker 1: in the playoffs again, that's picked twenty five, and next
[17:57] Speaker 1: year that's picked twenty four. Where that's what the cap.
[18:01] Speaker 1: What's the likelihood that the Cowboys pick. I guess they
[18:04] Speaker 1: might have already traded it because they traded for Winning Williams.
[18:07] Speaker 1: But the way that they had set up the Micah deal,
[18:09] Speaker 1: that was looking like pick twenty eight and pick twenty
[18:12] Speaker 1: eight back to back years, which I'm not opposed, but
[18:15] Speaker 1: when I see I can't believe they the Bills gave
[18:18] Speaker 1: up a second rounder for DJ Moore. Guy, guys, it's
[18:21] Speaker 1: pick sixty, it's not picked thirty seven. That these things
[18:24] Speaker 1: are not equal. You know, Colin, I'm in my home,
[18:28] Speaker 1: you're in your home. We're both homeowners. Were not equal
[18:31] Speaker 1: if we sold our homes. They're not the same. So
[18:33] Speaker 1: it's like, when I see these things get thrown around, well,
[18:36] Speaker 1: they're offering a first round pick, Well, we're in the
[18:38] Speaker 1: first round because pick fourteen is fantastic. Pick twenty nine,
[18:41] Speaker 1: like the Chiefs, they did well. But pick you'd ask Andy,
[18:45] Speaker 1: would you rather pick? You know, there's a big difference.
[18:47] Speaker 1: There's a big gap. If I would have told you
[18:48] Speaker 1: they would have got the random fourteenth overall pick, you
[18:51] Speaker 1: would have been like, oh my god, what a hole.
[18:55] Speaker 2: Yeah, the Dj Moore pick to me. I thought worked
[18:58] Speaker 2: for Buffalo because Keon Coleman now there's no pressure on
[19:02] Speaker 2: him to work. He had a touchdown in the game
[19:03] Speaker 2: against I think Denver in the playoffs, so he's a
[19:05] Speaker 2: big he's a big play kid. But now you've got
[19:09] Speaker 2: your running back, your quarterback, your left tackle, a very
[19:11] Speaker 2: good slot receiver, a number one, and if Keon Coleman
[19:15] Speaker 2: is kind of a fifty catch forty three catch guy,
[19:19] Speaker 2: but a big you know, he's sort of like Rashid
[19:21] Speaker 2: Shaheb for the Seahawks. He's just a big play guy
[19:25] Speaker 2: about twice a game. You go downfield, you keep the safeties. Honest,
[19:30] Speaker 2: I thought DJ Moore to Buffalo was a great pick.
[19:32] Speaker 2: And you make a great point on this is that
[19:36] Speaker 2: Brett Viach is a very very good general manager for
[19:39] Speaker 2: the Chiefs. I mean, Xavier Worthy last year at the
[19:44] Speaker 2: end of the first round is kind of I wouldn't
[19:46] Speaker 2: say a gadget receiver, but he's not a volume receiver.
[19:50] Speaker 2: That's that's about as well as you can do late
[19:52] Speaker 2: first round, which is get an explosive first round level athlete.
[19:57] Speaker 2: But if he was a volume receiver Makai lemon us
[20:00] Speaker 2: c you'd go mid first round and mkayle Lemon doesn't
[20:03] Speaker 2: have worthy speed or explosiveness, but you know you're the
[20:07] Speaker 2: end of the first round. I mean years ago the
[20:09] Speaker 2: Chiefs kind of whiffed on a running back out of
[20:11] Speaker 2: LSU late first round.
[20:13] Speaker 1: So it's no, this is very when you look at
[20:15] Speaker 1: the Ravens. I was reading a couple of stories over
[20:17] Speaker 1: the last twenty four hours. They've never I mean, obviously
[20:19] Speaker 1: they've made big acquisitions on older players or veteran players,
[20:23] Speaker 1: you know, historically from Ankuon Boldens to Steve Smith's to
[20:26] Speaker 1: Rokewan Smith. Like they are an aggressive organization. They've never
[20:29] Speaker 1: traded a first round pick for a player, and typically
[20:33] Speaker 1: over the Lamar era, they have drafted what I would
[20:36] Speaker 1: twenty four to twenty eight range, right, So they are
[20:40] Speaker 1: not This is a very valuable pick, if memory serves
[20:44] Speaker 1: me correct. Kyle Hamilton was the fourteenth pick in the draft. Now,
[20:47] Speaker 1: all drafts aren't equal, and I'm not saying there's Kyle
[20:49] Speaker 1: Hamilton in this draft. And my point is that's how
[20:52] Speaker 1: gms think, Like if I'm fourteen, I can get a guy.
[20:55] Speaker 1: I mean, Michah Parsons was the eleventh pick. You know,
[20:58] Speaker 1: Jalen Carter was the ninth pick where the kid you
[21:01] Speaker 1: just never know how a draft shakes out, Laramie Tunzel,
[21:03] Speaker 1: the picture comes out all of a sudden, he's there
[21:05] Speaker 1: at whatever pick ten or eleven. Weird things happen around
[21:08] Speaker 1: the draft. Stories come out, like the Raiders have an opportunity. Now.
[21:13] Speaker 1: They did this once upon a time, and I was
[21:15] Speaker 1: living in the Bay Area. One they had three first
[21:18] Speaker 1: round picks one year because they had traded Khalil Mack
[21:20] Speaker 1: and they had traded Amari Cooper in the same year.
[21:22] Speaker 1: And they whiffed on basically every pick over that run
[21:26] Speaker 1: except for Josh Jacobs. So it is now incumbent on
[21:28] Speaker 1: them to hit the pick. But listen, I've known Spy Tech.
[21:32] Speaker 1: He left the Eagles right before I was with him
[21:33] Speaker 1: and Jason Light at the combine. He I think he's
[21:37] Speaker 1: really good. And if you watch Max Crosby's I don't
[21:39] Speaker 1: know if you watched it, it's about his genuine no notes, yes,
[21:42] Speaker 1: him talking to have that much loyalty and passion to
[21:46] Speaker 1: a team that he didn't have any success on besides
[21:48] Speaker 1: personally but not as a team. It was you know,
[21:51] Speaker 1: that's just refreshing to see a guy if you're a
[21:53] Speaker 1: Raider fan, this guy really cared about my organization, even
[21:56] Speaker 1: though we're the butt of everyone's jokes. You could tell
[21:58] Speaker 1: it was difficult for him because he kind of has
[22:00] Speaker 1: to sign off on this as well. And I just think,
[22:04] Speaker 1: did listen. He's you know, these coaches. He is as
[22:07] Speaker 1: highly thought of as anyone you're gonna find in the NFL.
[22:10] Speaker 2: Oh.
[22:10] Speaker 1: I mean, he's been sober for six years. He's in
[22:13] Speaker 1: there every morning at five am. He is a nobleshit guy.
[22:16] Speaker 1: He plays the game like he practices, and he's an
[22:20] Speaker 1: impact player at a premium position. The Ravens gird a
[22:24] Speaker 1: really really, I mean a Hall of Fame level guy.
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[23:36] Speaker 2: New Jersey, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia. So in the last five years,
[23:45] Speaker 2: the Ravens have blown the most fourth quarter leads. Now
[23:49] Speaker 2: the last two they're seventeen and five if Lamar is
[23:52] Speaker 2: playing and they lead in the fourth quarter, so they're
[23:55] Speaker 2: better at it. But I get I get them saying, Okay,
[24:00] Speaker 2: we planned a division with Joe Burrow, you know, probably
[24:06] Speaker 2: Aaron Rodgers, Josh Allen, Mahomes, Herbert C. J. Strouder in
[24:12] Speaker 2: the division. I think what Baltimore is saying is and
[24:15] Speaker 2: I thought Green Bay did this as well. We're just
[24:17] Speaker 2: going to go it's our Mariano Rivera. We're gonna go
[24:20] Speaker 2: get a closer if because I know what Bill Paulion
[24:24] Speaker 2: told me this years ago. He said, when we drafted
[24:26] Speaker 2: Peyton Manning, we knew we would lead most of our
[24:29] Speaker 2: games in the fourth quarter. That's why Dwight Freeding was
[24:32] Speaker 2: so valuable, is that, you know Max. I said this
[24:35] Speaker 2: the other day on FS one. Think how great Max
[24:39] Speaker 2: Crosby was. How often do the Raiders lead in the
[24:42] Speaker 2: fourth Never there's nine minutes to go, Teams are running
[24:46] Speaker 2: the ball on the Raiders. They're trying to kill the clock.
[24:49] Speaker 2: They don't want players hurt. They're trying to get out
[24:51] Speaker 2: of Vegas and go home. Max Crosby now is going
[24:54] Speaker 2: to be his last twelve snaps are going to be sacked.
[24:59] Speaker 2: But twelve snaps with the Raiders are usually you know,
[25:03] Speaker 2: it's a run play. So I think I think the
[25:06] Speaker 2: Ravens are gonna listen. The bottom line is if Max
[25:09] Speaker 2: is a monster for two years and they get to
[25:11] Speaker 2: an AFC championship, you're gonna look at it go worth it.
[25:15] Speaker 2: The only things it's funny with the Raiders, John and
[25:18] Speaker 2: and I you being a former scout. So the Raiders
[25:21] Speaker 2: have so many picks now, so two first to second,
[25:24] Speaker 2: a third, three fourth fists. They can have multiple picks.
[25:27] Speaker 2: But Tom Tellsco told me this year's ago. He said,
[25:30] Speaker 2: you know, you have to be careful about being too young.
[25:33] Speaker 2: You know, Let's say you could trade a great player
[25:35] Speaker 2: and get four picks. He said, I'd sometimes rather have
[25:38] Speaker 2: three picks and a player. The Raiders are going to
[25:42] Speaker 2: rebuild their franchise, but people should be patient. But with
[25:46] Speaker 2: that many picks, like I could see the Raiders if
[25:48] Speaker 2: they have three fourth round picks, I could see them
[25:51] Speaker 2: using two of them and getting a second third. Like
[25:54] Speaker 2: I look at the Raiders and I think to myself,
[25:56] Speaker 2: in that division, it's not just about making sure your
[25:59] Speaker 2: picks can play. You need impact.
[26:01] Speaker 1: I think I think one thing they have to do
[26:03] Speaker 1: over the next I don't know, three or four days,
[26:06] Speaker 1: is potentially overpay a high level, veteran winning type guy.
[26:12] Speaker 1: You know, get a guy who has been a part
[26:15] Speaker 1: of a winner, who is a high character team leader.
[26:19] Speaker 1: If you got to overpay them and the listen, they
[26:20] Speaker 1: got advantages, people like living in Vegas, no state income tax.
[26:23] Speaker 1: It's not like a tough sell in free agency in football.
[26:27] Speaker 1: This isn't basketball or baseball. Like these guys go where
[26:30] Speaker 1: you give them the most money. And I would imagine
[26:32] Speaker 1: Spike Dick because he can't. He came from Tampa where
[26:35] Speaker 1: by the time Brady got there, they had the infrastructure.
[26:38] Speaker 1: Tom just provided that veteran leadership and now once he left,
[26:41] Speaker 1: all those guys were equipped because they just watched Tom.
[26:44] Speaker 1: And then you had the Vita veas you had them.
[26:46] Speaker 1: You know, Mike Evans was already a high level guy.
[26:48] Speaker 1: If I'm the Raiders, Hey Mike, who's offering you? What?
[26:51] Speaker 1: What's the most you got at ten? Hey, Waffiya fifteen?
[26:53] Speaker 1: You know you've already wonted Super Bowl, You're already going
[26:56] Speaker 1: to the Hall of Fame. We will overpay for what
[26:58] Speaker 1: you bring in tangibly two our facility because, like you said,
[27:03] Speaker 1: you can't put that all on Mendoza, you can't put
[27:05] Speaker 1: that all on Hornell Tait or whoever you take with
[27:08] Speaker 1: the fourteenth pick. You're gonna need some guys for them
[27:10] Speaker 1: to look up to. And that was Max, who is
[27:13] Speaker 1: probably as good as anyone, and he's like him Fred Warner,
[27:16] Speaker 1: like it's a short list of like you could not
[27:19] Speaker 1: meet a human that can say a bad word about
[27:21] Speaker 1: these guys and then when you factor in how good
[27:22] Speaker 1: of a player they are. But I thought that like
[27:26] Speaker 1: it had come to the you know, the happiest three
[27:28] Speaker 1: guys in the league, not in Baltimore. They're Jim Harbaugh
[27:31] Speaker 1: and he Reid, Sean Payton because the Raiders have not
[27:33] Speaker 1: been a good team, but they were a pain to
[27:35] Speaker 1: play when Max was playing because he could throw off
[27:39] Speaker 1: Those are three offensive guys. You know Andy, I mean
[27:42] Speaker 1: talk to Andy about him. I mean he revers Max.
[27:45] Speaker 1: I think I read something Sean Payton set Max Crosby
[27:47] Speaker 1: a text yesterday. So I mean, these guys they don't
[27:51] Speaker 1: just they're pretty numb to good players, right. They view
[27:54] Speaker 1: Max as like high level respect because they also know
[27:57] Speaker 1: how bad that team's been and how good. Remember we
[28:00] Speaker 1: turn on like random Friday night Blackfry or was it
[28:03] Speaker 1: Christmas Eve games and the Raiders are playing the Broncos.
[28:06] Speaker 1: It's like, God, this is hard, you know because.
[28:08] Speaker 2: Max, Yeah, yeah, no, they often played the Chiefs and
[28:13] Speaker 2: the Broncos tight. You know the utter thing I thought about,
[28:17] Speaker 2: think about Joe Burrow. So they let Trey Hendrickson walk
[28:21] Speaker 2: instead of trading him for a really good player like
[28:24] Speaker 2: the Raiders John spy Tech smartly did. He got a
[28:27] Speaker 2: two first round picks out of it. The Bengals classic
[28:30] Speaker 2: Bengals let Trey Hendrickson, who's not as good as Max Crosby,
[28:33] Speaker 2: but it's a very good player. They let him walk.
[28:36] Speaker 2: So Burrow now in his division, has Max Crosby twice
[28:39] Speaker 2: a year, Miles Garrett twice a year, and DJ Watt
[28:43] Speaker 2: twice a year, and his rush end is gone. I
[28:47] Speaker 2: have theorized with I just saw a picture of it
[28:51] Speaker 2: was Joe Burrow. I think it's this offseason in Vegas
[28:53] Speaker 2: playing with some celebrity, beautiful woman Jessicalba. And my take
[28:59] Speaker 2: is Burrow, just for his sanity, has really enjoyed his
[29:06] Speaker 2: off seasons because I think deep down he knows. You know,
[29:10] Speaker 2: I'm not playing with the same level of scouting department.
[29:14] Speaker 2: We don't make deals during the deadline. I mean, letting
[29:17] Speaker 2: Trey Hendrickson walk and getting nothing for him. It's just
[29:20] Speaker 2: it's to me, it's outrageous, and I think sometimes fans
[29:24] Speaker 2: don't understand, like the most exciting thing about the Raiders
[29:28] Speaker 2: is not Fernando Mendoza, and it's not Clint Kubiak, it's
[29:31] Speaker 2: John Spytech. You have a competent general manager who's deal making.
[29:36] Speaker 2: So I don't know. I look at the Bengals letting
[29:40] Speaker 2: Trey Hendrickson walk, and I look at Joe Burrow and
[29:42] Speaker 2: I think, God, that division and that Bengals, for the record,
[29:46] Speaker 2: have a bottom ten offensive line. Adding to it.
[29:49] Speaker 1: I at this point in time, I mean, he signed
[29:50] Speaker 1: a contract with a pretty questionable organization. Now you're young,
[29:55] Speaker 1: to offer you a ton of money, It's it's easy
[29:58] Speaker 1: to say, looking back several years, you know what you're
[30:00] Speaker 1: signing up for. It does inevitably have a feel of
[30:03] Speaker 1: like Sean McVeigh trading three ones, three twos and three
[30:06] Speaker 1: threes for him next offseason when he kind of makes
[30:09] Speaker 1: a stink in demands a trade. I mean this this
[30:11] Speaker 1: thing feels headed toward a weird spot. Now, offensively they
[30:14] Speaker 1: are pretty good, you know, defensively some major question marks still,
[30:18] Speaker 1: but I mean they were kind of in the mix
[30:21] Speaker 1: in a weird way, you know, the last couple of years,
[30:24] Speaker 1: with a lot of flaws. So now Joe's got to
[30:27] Speaker 1: stay healthy as well. But I hear you, I mean
[30:29] Speaker 1: they I still think they could be competitive. If he
[30:32] Speaker 1: plays seventeen games, They're going to be a playoff level
[30:37] Speaker 1: competitive team.
[30:39] Speaker 2: Yeah, I have. I've been very encouraged. Free agency officially
[30:44] Speaker 2: starts Wednesday, but I don't think but the McDuffie move,
[30:47] Speaker 2: the Max Crosby move, the DJ Moore move, Tyler lindebaum is,
[30:52] Speaker 2: I think if you're paying Lamar and Max is going
[30:54] Speaker 2: to be hard, and Kyle Hamilton, it's going to be
[30:56] Speaker 2: very hard to pay your center what the market's going
[30:59] Speaker 2: to offer. I think that's the next big shoot to
[31:02] Speaker 2: drop the Giants or the Raiders get Tyler Lindabaum. Is
[31:05] Speaker 2: there anything else out there a bomb dropping that you
[31:09] Speaker 2: would you think today?
[31:10] Speaker 1: I do you think once Dj Moore goes for pick sixty,
[31:14] Speaker 1: you know Howie goes well? If I'm gonna trade AJ Brown,
[31:17] Speaker 1: I gotta get at least a top forty pick, right,
[31:19] Speaker 1: So it it gets pretty complicated. Most of the teams drafting,
[31:23] Speaker 1: you know, from like thirty two to thirty nine forty
[31:26] Speaker 1: aren't good. AJ doesn't make that much sense to them.
[31:29] Speaker 1: And then you get into the high twenties, like who's
[31:31] Speaker 1: trading you know, Wood Kansas City trade pick twenty nine
[31:34] Speaker 1: for AJ Brown. I know, financially, some of these things
[31:37] Speaker 1: become a little complicated. But the other thing is al Pierce.
[31:41] Speaker 1: I mean, when Daniel was healthy, he was really good.
[31:44] Speaker 1: And I saw Albert Breer make this point somewhere that
[31:47] Speaker 1: Mike Vrabel's best friend is is the Wisconsin head coach Fickle,
[31:53] Speaker 1: and Fickle was the coach of Cincinnati when he was there.
[31:55] Speaker 1: I mean, this is a six to three guy that
[31:56] Speaker 1: can run and go deep. Well, what does Drake may
[31:58] Speaker 1: do well go deep? What do they just get rid
[32:01] Speaker 1: of step On Diggs? So they're wider now they do
[32:03] Speaker 1: have Kyle Williams, the Washington State guy who's also a
[32:05] Speaker 1: vertical threat. I would be stunned if the Patriots aren't highly,
[32:10] Speaker 1: you know, interested in Alec Pierce. But there's also, you
[32:14] Speaker 1: know most of these guys, Max Crosby, we would talk
[32:16] Speaker 1: about getting traded, right McDuffie that there was clear some
[32:20] Speaker 1: rumblings like they probably weren't gonna resign them, that they
[32:22] Speaker 1: would trade them. DJ Moore, it was clear that they
[32:25] Speaker 1: were gonna pick one of their offensive Yes, there has
[32:28] Speaker 1: I mean, these gms are really aggressive. This has turned
[32:30] Speaker 1: much more into baseball. And there are Howie. When I
[32:33] Speaker 1: was around Howie, he was an outlier. He was ready
[32:35] Speaker 1: to do deals. No one would do deals. Now it
[32:37] Speaker 1: feels like there's twenty five guys willing to make moves
[32:40] Speaker 1: at any moment, big money moves. These owners have way
[32:43] Speaker 1: more money, so they'll trade salaries. They don't care about
[32:46] Speaker 1: previous signing bonuses. I would get ready for just there're
[32:50] Speaker 1: gonna be a couple of wild cards these next guy.
[32:52] Speaker 1: There have been some rumors about Jalen Carter, the Eagles guy,
[32:54] Speaker 1: because he's gonna want forty forty five million dollars a year.
[32:57] Speaker 1: So it's like, are you comfortable investing in the human
[33:00] Speaker 1: being because the players excellent, but the human it's risky.
[33:05] Speaker 2: Well, and the other thing, this is one of the
[33:07] Speaker 2: criticisms I've had with the NBA, and I don't think
[33:10] Speaker 2: Adam Silver. Adam Silver is so concerned about tanking and
[33:16] Speaker 2: dynasties that the NBA now has been replaced by the
[33:21] Speaker 2: NFL and Baseball with trades. Baseball and NFL guys. Our
[33:27] Speaker 2: gms are wild day traders. The NBA you can't make
[33:32] Speaker 2: these big sweeping deals anymore because of the aprons, and
[33:36] Speaker 2: so it's like, God, the NBA does so many things.
[33:39] Speaker 2: They're like people like dynasties were more distracted because of
[33:43] Speaker 2: our phone. It's like, NBA, you want the Nicks and
[33:46] Speaker 2: the Lakers to be good, You really want them to
[33:48] Speaker 2: be good. I'm watching what these gms are doing in
[33:51] Speaker 2: the NFL, and John this used to be what the
[33:53] Speaker 2: NBA did eight years ago, huge stars, trading teams.
[33:58] Speaker 1: No, it's it's really crazy what it's become.
[34:01] Speaker 2: Because even within its own conference like Max and now
[34:06] Speaker 2: the Raiders aren't a threat, but in your own.
[34:07] Speaker 1: Conference, I do think the influx of money. I mean,
[34:11] Speaker 1: I tweeted this out yesterday. I think one thing. Football
[34:15] Speaker 1: obviously has a lot going for it, and it's thriving
[34:18] Speaker 1: right now. It does feel the majority of their players
[34:21] Speaker 1: really really care and are really really invested, and like
[34:25] Speaker 1: you said, when these trays happen, all these guys react.
[34:28] Speaker 1: They're just very invested into the game. They're always You
[34:31] Speaker 1: watch these guys' Twitter accounts during college football Saturday. I
[34:34] Speaker 1: mean they you can't really play football without being an
[34:37] Speaker 1: all in football guy. You can for a minute, but
[34:40] Speaker 1: you will get exposed. You can't have long careers. Most
[34:42] Speaker 1: of the top guys are kind of junkies, you know.
[34:45] Speaker 1: I mean, and I think you watch Max Crosby talking
[34:49] Speaker 1: hearing these stories about Trent McDuffie. I mean, these guys
[34:52] Speaker 1: are just all in. I think one thing the end
[34:55] Speaker 1: that hurts the NBA feels like half the people don't care.
[34:58] Speaker 1: And I'm not even just talking about the players the coach,
[35:00] Speaker 1: which is the GMS they're actively trying. It's like, do
[35:02] Speaker 1: you guys care as much as the people watching your sport?
[35:05] Speaker 1: Because if you don't, if the entertainment doesn't care, the
[35:08] Speaker 1: consumer is not going to care. And the one thing
[35:09] Speaker 1: football has we know the stories are well document about
[35:13] Speaker 1: the coaches, how they're maniacal workers. It feels like the
[35:16] Speaker 1: players aren't that far behind. So it's like, God, they're
[35:18] Speaker 1: as invested as I am. Watching these games and following
[35:21] Speaker 1: this sport.
[35:24] Speaker 2: Here are two or three things that fans. The ratings
[35:29] Speaker 2: and the clicks prove fans love big trades. NBA doesn't
[35:33] Speaker 2: have them, dynasties baseball, NFL regularly has them, and massive passion.
[35:42] Speaker 2: Well load management has been outrageous in the NBA for
[35:46] Speaker 2: like eight to ten years. Just think about the things
[35:48] Speaker 2: that and this isn't just a dump on the NBA,
[35:51] Speaker 2: but don't overthink the room on this shit. Dynasties, big trades,
[35:58] Speaker 2: guys that live cry after losses, that deeply care. You're
[36:03] Speaker 2: not getting that with James Harden like you're not getting
[36:05] Speaker 2: that with the NBA. So I thought that I thought
[36:08] Speaker 2: the Max Crosby comments were very symbolic of why we
[36:14] Speaker 2: love football. I think you really touched on something. I
[36:18] Speaker 2: think Matt and I've been bringing Max on a couple
[36:20] Speaker 2: of times a year for years. I'd see him at
[36:22] Speaker 2: every UFC fight I went to. He would talk to
[36:26] Speaker 2: anybody any time. Same with Christian McCaffrey. You come up
[36:29] Speaker 2: and talk to Christian McCaffrey, we'll talk your ear off.
[36:31] Speaker 2: And I think that's just a relatability that that matter.
[36:34] Speaker 1: And think about this and I'm going to talk about
[36:36] Speaker 1: this on my podcast. Is that McCaffrey, you know, comes
[36:39] Speaker 1: from I don't want to say NFL royalty, but Ed
[36:42] Speaker 1: was a really good NFL player. Went to Stanford like
[36:44] Speaker 1: Christian it would yeah, Max to me represents the NFL
[36:48] Speaker 1: and honestly kind of society. Didn't go to a school
[36:51] Speaker 1: that most people have heard about. Was not draft. He
[36:53] Speaker 1: wasn't even the first defensive end his own team took
[36:55] Speaker 1: in that draft. They took Cleveland Ferrell in the top five.
[36:59] Speaker 1: And when the dust settles, he just keeps grinding. He
[37:02] Speaker 1: had issues off the field, fixed that, became a great husband,
[37:07] Speaker 1: became a focused guy, started laughing people, and as he
[37:10] Speaker 1: got older, started taking people out in the dust because
[37:15] Speaker 1: that's the NFL. Came from a school. It wasn't Alabama USC.
[37:19] Speaker 1: Then all of a sudden, you look up. The guy's
[37:20] Speaker 1: made nine Pro Bowls and two hundred million dollars. Khalil
[37:23] Speaker 1: Mack just made it. I googled it yesterday and like,
[37:25] Speaker 1: how much money is this guy made? But at the
[37:28] Speaker 1: end of next year he'll have made two hundred and
[37:29] Speaker 1: twenty million dollars, played a Buffalo.
[37:32] Speaker 2: And he's still great.
[37:33] Speaker 1: He looks incredible last year if it wouldn't have been
[37:36] Speaker 1: for the elbow injury, probably has ten sacks. So it's
[37:38] Speaker 1: like the NFL is full of guys that, yes, you're
[37:41] Speaker 1: gonna get. You know, your Peyton Manning from the sec
[37:44] Speaker 1: number one pick, but you're also gonna get a guy
[37:46] Speaker 1: that was a one year starter that's drafted in the
[37:49] Speaker 1: sixth round become your greatest quarterback of all time. You
[37:52] Speaker 1: know Joe Montana forever, he was a third round pick
[37:55] Speaker 1: who's six foot one. You know, It's like guys come
[37:58] Speaker 1: in all shapes and size is they come all different
[38:01] Speaker 1: paths in football. It's not like some guys have early
[38:05] Speaker 1: good starts like check in after four or five years,
[38:08] Speaker 1: because the NFL year in year out to be a
[38:11] Speaker 1: really good player, especially in the trenches or a quarterback
[38:13] Speaker 1: or a linebacker. It is. And the other thing, I
[38:17] Speaker 1: just think there's a nature of the sport, whether it's
[38:19] Speaker 1: high school, college or the NFL. Even with nil, you're
[38:21] Speaker 1: still getting yelled at at practice. There's a nature your
[38:25] Speaker 1: teammates are yelling at you. There's a humility that just
[38:28] Speaker 1: comes along with being criticized by your peers and by
[38:32] Speaker 1: your bosses. Every single day, which I just think happens
[38:35] Speaker 1: less and less all over. You could argue society, and
[38:38] Speaker 1: I think that helps these NFL guys. They just feel
[38:40] Speaker 1: very relatable when you see them in social settings with
[38:43] Speaker 1: just normal everyday people that they can interact I'd say
[38:46] Speaker 1: most of them pretty easily.
[38:50] Speaker 2: Well, that's why people are so down on Kyler Murray
[38:52] Speaker 2: is he's such an outlier where you're not sure he
[38:54] Speaker 2: loves the sport. That's so rare in football. That's very
[38:58] Speaker 2: common in the NBA, where guys at four o'clock call
[39:01] Speaker 2: up and say, I, you know, I got a my
[39:04] Speaker 2: ankle hurts. You know, I took a nap. My ankle herts,
[39:08] Speaker 2: and they don't you know, and I don't. I'm not
[39:10] Speaker 2: saying they're lying, but it's just like you don't play
[39:11] Speaker 2: through certain things.
[39:12] Speaker 1: So well, that's why to be anyway Tyler, like, I
[39:16] Speaker 1: wouldn't be in that business. And if you are in
[39:18] Speaker 1: the business, whoever does sign him, it shows that that
[39:21] Speaker 1: seems pretty desperate, you know, pretty desperate.
[39:34] Speaker 2: All right, let's start with this, okay, I I know
[39:37] Speaker 2: he only has six starts. NFL free agency. Malik Willis
[39:43] Speaker 2: twenty two million a year three year deal with the Dolphins.
[39:48] Speaker 2: He is not to a stop saying that he's a
[39:50] Speaker 2: real athlete with a better arm. He's got a he's
[39:53] Speaker 2: got a much better arm than to it, and he's
[39:55] Speaker 2: really athletic. I know he's young. I like him. I
[40:01] Speaker 2: you know, John, I've said this for years. I don't
[40:03] Speaker 2: know anything about music other than I like it. I
[40:06] Speaker 2: can watch these musical shows. I can tell him thirty
[40:09] Speaker 2: seconds if somebody has like lounge ACKed, or you could
[40:13] Speaker 2: sign him to a record deal. And I don't know
[40:14] Speaker 2: anything about music. I know a little about football. When
[40:17] Speaker 2: I watched that kid's escapability arm he's got, I mean
[40:21] Speaker 2: he's got again, it's the it's Green Bay. So he
[40:25] Speaker 2: was well coached, but there were Packer fans saying they
[40:28] Speaker 2: thought he was as good or better than Jordan Love.
[40:31] Speaker 2: I think the Dolphins went and found a very interesting
[40:34] Speaker 2: player at quarterback.
[40:35] Speaker 1: Well. The other thing is the people that just signed
[40:37] Speaker 1: him know him. It's not the offensive goa to the
[40:40] Speaker 1: defensive coordinator that went against him forever, because you know
[40:43] Speaker 1: in the NFL, when you're the backup quarterback, you run
[40:46] Speaker 1: the uh you know, you run the scout team, you
[40:48] Speaker 1: service the defense. So Jeff Hafley had a front row
[40:51] Speaker 1: seat for two years, and the general manager who was
[40:54] Speaker 1: the right hand guy for Gudikins same thing. Right from
[40:57] Speaker 1: an evaluation standpoint, do you remember a guy in proving
[41:01] Speaker 1: this much this fast? Because remember what Tennessee, he was
[41:03] Speaker 1: pretty bad, like he was unplayable, and then last year
[41:06] Speaker 1: when he had to play, he was basically just a
[41:08] Speaker 1: running quarterback. When Lafloor, remember because he got hurt in
[41:12] Speaker 1: Week one in Brazil, loved it, and then he had
[41:14] Speaker 1: to play and they started winning. It's like, okay, there's
[41:16] Speaker 1: at least something there. I gave Lafleur a lot of credit.
[41:19] Speaker 1: This year to me, with his arm was fantastic because
[41:23] Speaker 1: he proved two things. One he could come out of
[41:25] Speaker 1: the bullpen. So he played in a game when Love
[41:27] Speaker 1: got hurt against the Bears that he was not planning
[41:30] Speaker 1: on playing. And then let's face it, Love was kind
[41:33] Speaker 1: of hit or missed this year. In that game, he
[41:34] Speaker 1: was fantastic. And the cold weather, which is a big
[41:37] Speaker 1: knock on Tua and a big knock on the Miami
[41:39] Speaker 1: Dolphins can't play in cold weather? Well, why is that
[41:42] Speaker 1: the case? Usually when you have a p shooter arm
[41:44] Speaker 1: what doesn't pierce the cold in the wind? Weak arm strength.
[41:47] Speaker 1: Look at the great quarterbacks you know historically in that region,
[41:51] Speaker 1: Big Ben, Tom Brady, Peyton, Manning, and Breeze played in
[41:54] Speaker 1: a dome. Rivers played in southern California, Eli Manning, huge arm.
[41:58] Speaker 1: Where did he play in New York? You know Donovan McNabb,
[42:01] Speaker 1: Michael Vick, Patrick Mahomes. Cold weather quarterbacks. Burrows somewhat of
[42:05] Speaker 1: an outlier, not a great arm, but he's just he's
[42:08] Speaker 1: like Montana, just a great player. So it kind of translates.
[42:11] Speaker 1: But I'm with you. I not only like it, I
[42:14] Speaker 1: think it's an incredible story of just improvement. Clearly he
[42:18] Speaker 1: was always a high character, interesting human, but the play
[42:21] Speaker 1: was really raw when Tennessee drafted him. But the Lafour
[42:25] Speaker 1: deserves a lot of credit because that offensive staff improving
[42:28] Speaker 1: the player deserves a lot of credit. Incredible story. I'm
[42:31] Speaker 1: with you. I think no brainer for him. Miami to
[42:34] Speaker 1: me is more interesting than going to than Arizona. So
[42:37] Speaker 1: I like picking the spot, and you know, the guys
[42:40] Speaker 1: know you and believe in you, so he wouldn't shock
[42:43] Speaker 1: me at off. I don't think he becomes like a
[42:45] Speaker 1: top seven eight quarterback, but has just a solid career.
[42:48] Speaker 1: Like what we saw last year. There is no disputing
[42:50] Speaker 1: he was a really good player in limited action. Really good.
[42:54] Speaker 2: Yeah, and it should be noted that Sam Darnold and
[42:58] Speaker 2: Baker Mayfield. You know, we've seen this before. There's more
[43:05] Speaker 2: good offensive coaches, there's more sophisticated schemes. If you're a
[43:09] Speaker 2: hard working kid, you're not gobbling up you know, too
[43:12] Speaker 2: much cap space. Although they have to pay two off
[43:14] Speaker 2: for two years, so I think we both like it
[43:17] Speaker 2: all right. Here's another one. Mike Evans to the forty
[43:19] Speaker 2: nine ers, so he is a big red zone target.
[43:22] Speaker 2: They have been hit and miss on receivers. I thought
[43:25] Speaker 2: they over played their hand on debo. He was good,
[43:29] Speaker 2: briefly got hurt, moved him. I yux a disaster. Ricky
[43:32] Speaker 2: Piersoll's solid, not great, but you know, late first round pick,
[43:37] Speaker 2: Mike Evans, red zone guy, Kittle, McCaffrey, Trent Williams. It's
[43:41] Speaker 2: again older player picks up the playbook with Kyle Shanahan
[43:46] Speaker 2: quickly a playmaker. It feels like Kyle Shanahan didn't have
[43:50] Speaker 2: a ton of patience with young players. He likes guys. Yeah,
[43:54] Speaker 2: I mean, it feels like to me, he likes veteran players.
[43:56] Speaker 2: So Mike Evans to the Niners again. This gives brock
[43:59] Speaker 2: per another weapon. Feels like it works to me.
[44:02] Speaker 1: Yeah. Fits their kind of mold, high character, high level guy,
[44:06] Speaker 1: very productive. You know, Fred Warner, Christian McCaffrey like that
[44:10] Speaker 1: type human slash player. Ricky Piersall is a good player.
[44:15] Speaker 1: You just can't stay on the field. And Dwan Jennings
[44:17] Speaker 1: is going to get a lot of money. So the
[44:20] Speaker 1: IU thing blew up in their face. Yeah, I mean,
[44:23] Speaker 1: they have a major question mark at the wide receiver position.
[44:27] Speaker 1: And the other thing is the Rams are loading up
[44:29] Speaker 1: on their defensive backfield. So I think the forty nine
[44:31] Speaker 1: ers had to do something offensively because you saw in
[44:33] Speaker 1: those last couple games against Seattle. Obviously Kittle went down
[44:37] Speaker 1: in the second game, but they just had no firepower.
[44:41] Speaker 1: And the one thing you have to do the Rams
[44:42] Speaker 1: prove this if you have some firepower, that this is
[44:46] Speaker 1: not nineteen eighty seven, the rules are on your side
[44:48] Speaker 1: as an offensive coach. But they were rolling out practice
[44:51] Speaker 1: squad level guys. So you get Mike Evans, a future
[44:54] Speaker 1: Hall of Famer, love that move, doesn't shock me at all.
[44:57] Speaker 1: I mean that the forty nine ers at this point
[44:59] Speaker 1: in time haven't been that active the last couple of
[45:02] Speaker 1: years in free agency. But that's a Kyle shanahand Tip
[45:05] Speaker 1: guy for sure.
[45:06] Speaker 2: Yeah. I mean, listen, the entire team gets nicked up.
[45:10] Speaker 2: I mean there's been stories about some right next to
[45:13] Speaker 2: their practice association there's a substation which weakens tissues. I
[45:19] Speaker 2: don't know if it's true, but to me, he feels
[45:22] Speaker 2: so forty nine ers. All right, let me throw another
[45:25] Speaker 2: one at you. We talked about this yesterday. Tyler Lindenbaum.
[45:28] Speaker 2: I'm not sure why Baltimore didn't sign him, Probably because
[45:31] Speaker 2: they have a Lamar contract renegotiation coming up, renegotiation coming up.
[45:35] Speaker 2: Max Crosby's expensive, Kyle Hamilton outside of Creed Humphrey of
[45:39] Speaker 2: the Chiefs, there's an argument Tyer Linderbaum is the best
[45:42] Speaker 2: center in football. I thought they were going to resign him.
[45:46] Speaker 2: He was a first round pick out of Iowa. Tough, smart, durable,
[45:50] Speaker 2: doesn't miss a lot of starts. I love. This is
[45:54] Speaker 2: an A plus move to me by the Raiders because
[45:56] Speaker 2: this is what Ben Johnson did with the Bears. You know,
[45:59] Speaker 2: they went drafted JPJ out of Oregon last year. He's
[46:03] Speaker 2: more of a guard. He was a center in college.
[46:06] Speaker 2: He's more of a guard. Then they bring in a
[46:09] Speaker 2: Pro Bowl center for Fernando Mendoza. Now their offense. Basically,
[46:14] Speaker 2: they'll probably they have so many picks, they'll probably get
[46:16] Speaker 2: a receiver in the second or third round. They'll also
[46:19] Speaker 2: probably draft a right tackle fourth fifth round. I love
[46:24] Speaker 2: this to me, this is my favorite signing so far
[46:27] Speaker 2: in free agency.
[46:27] Speaker 1: Well, look at all the good teams, right. The Ravens
[46:30] Speaker 1: for the last four years have had one of the
[46:31] Speaker 1: best centers. The Chiefs have one of the best centers.
[46:34] Speaker 1: The Bills just paid their center. Like I mean, center
[46:37] Speaker 1: kind of matters, especially when you have a young quarterback.
[46:39] Speaker 1: And I think if you're a Raider fan, you look
[46:40] Speaker 1: at it.
[46:41] Speaker 2: Go.
[46:41] Speaker 1: We essentially traded Max Crosby for two first round picks,
[46:45] Speaker 1: one being fourteen and a center who's one of the
[46:48] Speaker 1: better centers in the league. I just looked. He hasn't
[46:50] Speaker 1: missed a snap really in the last two years. So
[46:52] Speaker 1: this is a very durable classic like Midwest center. Right.
[46:56] Speaker 1: The other thing is, I would say this for the
[46:58] Speaker 1: raven standpoint. He was banged up last year, but the
[47:01] Speaker 1: previous two years when you factor in the center obviously
[47:05] Speaker 1: was an excellent player, and Likely, who accounted for eleven
[47:08] Speaker 1: touchdowns in twenty three and twenty four, was very productive
[47:11] Speaker 1: in their two playoff or their two playoff runs those
[47:15] Speaker 1: two years. Like, he's not Kelsey or Kittle or anything,
[47:19] Speaker 1: but he was a unique player for them and made
[47:22] Speaker 1: huge plays, even the play that led to the missfield
[47:25] Speaker 1: goal against Pittsburgh on that Sunday night game. Who made
[47:27] Speaker 1: the crazy catch Isaiah Likely? How many teams have a
[47:31] Speaker 1: six to six guy. I mean, he kind of plays
[47:33] Speaker 1: like a little Darren Waller basketball player, elite athlete. You
[47:37] Speaker 1: just you don't need to be that accurate. Just throw
[47:40] Speaker 1: him a fifty to fifty ball, because it's not a
[47:41] Speaker 1: fifty to fifty ball. So there are some injury concerns.
[47:45] Speaker 1: He's not the most durable player. He is a unique player, though,
[47:48] Speaker 1: So you tell me the Ravens on offense with this
[47:52] Speaker 1: twenty nine year old aging quarterback, new offensive coordinator lose
[47:55] Speaker 1: their you know, kind of just stalwart guy at center
[48:00] Speaker 1: and this unique chess piece with Likely. You know, Henry
[48:03] Speaker 1: still got something in the tank. But he's a little older,
[48:06] Speaker 1: say Flowers isn't exactly Jerry Rice good player, but I
[48:09] Speaker 1: mean their offense has some question marks assuming their defense
[48:13] Speaker 1: will improve, which it will, but I don't know. That's
[48:16] Speaker 1: that's to me something to keep an eye on. With
[48:18] Speaker 1: the Ravens, who are clearly trying. You know, we talked
[48:21] Speaker 1: about this last night, right super Bowl or bust, I
[48:24] Speaker 1: mean making it to the super Bowl. They're in this
[48:25] Speaker 1: little couple of year window now of them and the Bills.
[48:29] Speaker 1: There's no well we made the playoffs. That's not really
[48:31] Speaker 1: their standard in their organization now.
[48:35] Speaker 2: Rashawn Gary to Dallas Rusher off the edge. I mean,
[48:38] Speaker 2: listen Quinn Williams, Kenny Clark and the trade for Micah
[48:42] Speaker 2: Parsons Rashaun Gary. It allows them to go get a
[48:45] Speaker 2: corner and maybe a Caleb Downs in the draft in
[48:48] Speaker 2: the first round. I mean, that's what it feels like
[48:50] Speaker 2: to me, is that they're they're gonna buy you know,
[48:53] Speaker 2: they're gonna spend money defensively up front. They don't want
[48:55] Speaker 2: to wait for developing players. Jerry Jones is getting older,
[48:58] Speaker 2: Dack's getting older, so they're gonna go by veteran players
[49:01] Speaker 2: up front, which they have, and then they're gonna draft
[49:04] Speaker 2: on the back end. I still think they're gonna draft
[49:05] Speaker 2: defensive players with their picks in the first round.
[49:08] Speaker 1: Yeah, I think clearly there's gonna be a good defensive
[49:11] Speaker 1: back there with their first pick, which is what is
[49:13] Speaker 1: it thirteen? Like they're gonna get Caleb Downs. Definitely, there's
[49:17] Speaker 1: a chance he's there Whinny Factory.
[49:19] Speaker 2: Or one of the two best corners.
[49:20] Speaker 1: Yeah, they're gonna get And I think at pick twenty
[49:23] Speaker 1: gives them a little leeway of just they can take
[49:25] Speaker 1: a great player right who doesn't have to be a
[49:28] Speaker 1: position in need. Say this about the Cowboys, They've they've
[49:31] Speaker 1: drafted pretty well, especially in the first round. From Zach Martin,
[49:35] Speaker 1: you know, Zeke was really good. Obviously, Ceedee Lamb, like.
[49:38] Speaker 2: What Kyler Smith has become a good player, Tylers.
[49:40] Speaker 1: All their offensive linemen have become, you know, starters for
[49:43] Speaker 1: their team. So I one thing you'd say about Jerry
[49:46] Speaker 1: in the front office operation, Jerry's not the guy breaking
[49:49] Speaker 1: down seven games on every player right now. He's the
[49:51] Speaker 1: guy front and center when the press conference comes. But
[49:54] Speaker 1: they have a really good scouting staff. So I think
[49:57] Speaker 1: the Cowboys. I was just texting somebody, I think the
[50:00] Speaker 1: Giants this NFC East. You know the Eagles, they lose
[50:04] Speaker 1: Jalen Phillips. Their pass rush when they won the Super
[50:06] Speaker 1: Bowl a couple of years ago was like historically great.
[50:09] Speaker 1: I think they have four guys get double digit sacks. Well,
[50:11] Speaker 1: since then, Brandon Graham retired, came back, probably retire again,
[50:15] Speaker 1: Fletcher Cox has gone. Obviously, Sweat is now on the Cardinals.
[50:20] Speaker 1: They have this Jalen Carter situation, who is an elite talent,
[50:23] Speaker 1: but they are very uncomfortable paying him forty forty five
[50:26] Speaker 1: million dollars. So it's like, now you look at the Giants,
[50:29] Speaker 1: who have some stability. The Cowboys offensively have been fantastic
[50:33] Speaker 1: Shottenheim approved, Like he's a pretty good offensive play call.
[50:36] Speaker 1: If their defense is just solid, they're gonna be a
[50:38] Speaker 1: pretty interesting team. So you gotta have the Giants and
[50:40] Speaker 1: the Cowboys like that division is gonna be, to me,
[50:43] Speaker 1: dramatically more competitive than I would say it's been over
[50:46] Speaker 1: the last ten years when it's basically just been the
[50:48] Speaker 1: Eagles or those couple of years with McCarthy when the
[50:51] Speaker 1: Cowboys were pretty loaded. But now the Commanders, I think
[50:55] Speaker 1: Commanders still have a lot of question marks I think
[50:57] Speaker 1: they clearly wanted Linderbaum. But what did the Raiders have.
[51:00] Speaker 1: No state income tax can offer a huge amount of money.
[51:03] Speaker 1: You just have a fresh slate. Here come you get
[51:05] Speaker 1: to be the team captain. So the Commanders had cut
[51:08] Speaker 1: their center. He's now on the Chargers. I'm sure they
[51:10] Speaker 1: wanted Linderbaum. They don't have that. Their roster's kind of
[51:13] Speaker 1: old to begin with. So and the Eagles just got
[51:16] Speaker 1: a lot of moving parts. Now, they still got a
[51:18] Speaker 1: lot of talents and talent in the NFL matters. But man,
[51:22] Speaker 1: there's just that that division, to me, has gotten a
[51:24] Speaker 1: lot more interesting in the last couple months.
[51:27] Speaker 2: I would say today's show is brought to you by
[51:29] Speaker 2: our presenting sponsor, American Beverage. If you think about some
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[51:48] Speaker 2: right here in the US. While there's a lot of
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[52:19] Speaker 2: the good work and what they're doing. We deliver for
[52:23] Speaker 2: America dot Org. Kenneth Walker from Seattle to Kansas City. Again.
[52:30] Speaker 2: He's great after contact gets dinged up. But they have
[52:33] Speaker 2: no juice. They're losing backs to free agency. They have
[52:35] Speaker 2: no juice in the backfield. I also thought this made
[52:38] Speaker 2: sense because they don't have a ton of draft picks,
[52:41] Speaker 2: but it allows them. Now their first pick could be
[52:43] Speaker 2: the right tackle Pheno from Utah. They need a corner
[52:47] Speaker 2: for McDuffie, they need an edge rusher. They have three
[52:49] Speaker 2: big needs now with Kenneth Walker, they'll probably draft another
[52:52] Speaker 2: running back later in the draft. It's not a good
[52:54] Speaker 2: running back draft, so I mean to me, Kenneth Walker
[52:59] Speaker 2: is more valuable that This sounds weird to say as
[53:02] Speaker 2: a Super Bowl MVP, but I think because of Charbonay
[53:05] Speaker 2: with the Seahawks as a backup, they have another couple
[53:07] Speaker 2: backs in Seattle that are, you know, spot players. They
[53:10] Speaker 2: don't play a ton, but I think Kenneth Walker to
[53:13] Speaker 2: the Chiefs feels incredibly valuable. And with Seattle, not that
[53:18] Speaker 2: he was disposable, but they have such a stacked roster.
[53:21] Speaker 2: It feels like if they if they drafted another running
[53:23] Speaker 2: back in the fourth round, one of the a Penn
[53:25] Speaker 2: State running back in the third round, You're like, they're fine.
[53:28] Speaker 2: I think Kansas City had to do this.
[53:30] Speaker 1: Yeah, I don't think they had a choice either. I
[53:32] Speaker 1: think it's pretty clear to them too.
[53:34] Speaker 2: Now.
[53:35] Speaker 1: I don't think they would have taken Jeremiah of but
[53:37] Speaker 1: at this point in time, you're weighing all your options.
[53:39] Speaker 1: I think they understand that that wasn't even going to
[53:41] Speaker 1: be an option at pick nine. So you go quote
[53:45] Speaker 1: unquote overpay. I mean they gave him a substantial amount
[53:48] Speaker 1: of money three years, forty five million dollars, almost guaranteed
[53:50] Speaker 1: thirty Remember a couple of years ago that was essentially
[53:53] Speaker 1: what Howie Roseman gave Safehaud Barkley. So these running backs,
[53:56] Speaker 1: they've been on zoom calls, always bitching and mona. They
[53:58] Speaker 1: don't get any money like this has been better the
[54:00] Speaker 1: last couple of years. The buddy is gravitated towards them. Listen,
[54:05] Speaker 1: the Chiefs. They weren't gonna let Baltimore and Buffalo have
[54:08] Speaker 1: all the fun like Andy Reid. They don't plan on
[54:11] Speaker 1: I know a lot of people talk about this, I'll
[54:13] Speaker 1: just have an off year and they ain't mailing anything
[54:16] Speaker 1: in that. Their game plan is Mahomes start in week one.
[54:19] Speaker 1: They plan on winning. They get a plug and play
[54:21] Speaker 1: running back. Now, one thing that he's going to have
[54:23] Speaker 1: to prove he can do Andy like's throwing the ball
[54:26] Speaker 1: to the back right, Shady McCoy, Brian Westbrook, Jamal Charles
[54:30] Speaker 1: when he first got to So it's like, now, could
[54:35] Speaker 1: they maybe want to adapt a little bit to take
[54:37] Speaker 1: some pressure who they bring back? Eric b Enemy What's
[54:40] Speaker 1: he a running back guy? Right? So maybe they want
[54:43] Speaker 1: to take a little pressure off coming off an injury
[54:47] Speaker 1: right coming off in ACL They're not gonna want him
[54:48] Speaker 1: to throw forty fifty times a game like he did
[54:50] Speaker 1: earlier in his career. So could they maybe try to
[54:53] Speaker 1: lean on Kenneth Walker a little bit more? Now that
[54:56] Speaker 1: would be very opposite of Andy's history. But listen, who
[55:00] Speaker 1: counted people in any industry? Do they adapt? They change?
[55:03] Speaker 1: And He's changed how many times his offense? His offense
[55:06] Speaker 1: now ask anyone is dramatically different than it was ten
[55:08] Speaker 1: years ago, twenty years ago. So what if you tell everyone,
[55:12] Speaker 1: I don't think many people in the league would believe
[55:13] Speaker 1: you they're a rushing team this year. Right, they got
[55:16] Speaker 1: a good guard, they got a good center, they got
[55:17] Speaker 1: a young stud left tackle. Like you said, what if
[55:19] Speaker 1: they draft a right tackle and they go, you know what,
[55:21] Speaker 1: why don't we do some Kyle Shanahan and just run
[55:24] Speaker 1: the ball, take a little pressure off our quarterback, build
[55:28] Speaker 1: up our young defense with our stud coordinator. So what
[55:31] Speaker 1: if the Chiefs are their game plan this year is
[55:34] Speaker 1: to be one of the better rushing teams. Look at
[55:37] Speaker 1: you know the Bills with Cook. Now Cook's a better
[55:40] Speaker 1: player than Walker. But what if the Chiefs are about
[55:42] Speaker 1: to throw a little curveball here and become a running offense.
[55:46] Speaker 2: Do you think Travis Kelsey signs with them or somebody else? Well?
[55:49] Speaker 1: I thought he was gonna go to the Giants and
[55:50] Speaker 1: then they signed likely and that's not happening. I mean,
[55:52] Speaker 1: by all accounts, maybe they're just as a tie that
[55:56] Speaker 1: I undervalue a little bit. This is a unique play
[56:00] Speaker 1: with a unique connection to Andy and the Chiefs, and
[56:03] Speaker 1: for the right price. I mean, at this point in time,
[56:05] Speaker 1: he's so wealthy on and off the field that maybe
[56:08] Speaker 1: he's just cool with Like, hey, man, I understand, I'm
[56:11] Speaker 1: not a fifteen million dollar a year player anymore. Could
[56:13] Speaker 1: we go like five and incentivize that up if I
[56:15] Speaker 1: give you ten touchdowns? But this is where I want
[56:18] Speaker 1: to be. These are my people, which which I value.
[56:20] Speaker 1: I think I do understand from a player standpoint of
[56:24] Speaker 1: seeing some you know, Kobe Bryant types, like this is
[56:27] Speaker 1: the only franchise I ever played with, even though historically
[56:30] Speaker 1: that's not really how the NFL works. So I am
[56:32] Speaker 1: a little surprised if it does work out. But I
[56:34] Speaker 1: think the reason that we haven't seen it yet is
[56:37] Speaker 1: the Chiefs aren't just gonna well, Travis, here's the check,
[56:40] Speaker 1: you fill it in, like those days are kind of
[56:43] Speaker 1: over because he wasn't great last year, Colin. I mean,
[56:46] Speaker 1: the drops, he definitely looked his own question. I think
[56:50] Speaker 1: he got to be very careful and Andy has been
[56:53] Speaker 1: over the course of his career of kind of you know,
[56:57] Speaker 1: separating the emotional connection to the human in in the past.
[57:00] Speaker 2: Right.
[57:01] Speaker 1: But this might just be a really tough one given that,
[57:04] Speaker 1: I mean, Andy says, well, I might owe some Super
[57:06] Speaker 1: Bowls to this guy, right, I mean, yes, I do. Listen,
[57:11] Speaker 1: We're all human beings. So this is probably really tough
[57:14] Speaker 1: internally for Veech and Andy. This is most players they'd say,
[57:17] Speaker 1: hey see you, godspeed, good luck at what you can
[57:20] Speaker 1: because this is this is a little abnormal to what
[57:23] Speaker 1: good teams do in the NFL. Right, But maybe there's
[57:26] Speaker 1: just a connection that unless you really in that building
[57:29] Speaker 1: with these guys every day, that I even undervalue from
[57:32] Speaker 1: the outside.
[57:33] Speaker 2: So Alex Pearce one of the moves I think Alex
[57:37] Speaker 2: pears is Alex pearis is very good out of Cincinnati.
[57:40] Speaker 2: Twenty nine million a year is a lot for him.
[57:44] Speaker 2: That's a little steep. And the Sauce Gardener. Two first
[57:47] Speaker 2: round picks for Sauce Gardner. People thought that was too much.
[57:51] Speaker 2: So suddenly Chris Ballard is hyper aggressive. The Steelers get
[57:55] Speaker 2: Michael Pittman, which they needed a number two receiver. You
[57:57] Speaker 2: know what that feels like to me, the Michael Pittman
[57:59] Speaker 2: of the Steelers. From the first of all, it frees
[58:01] Speaker 2: up room for Pierce, who's a better downfield receiver. I
[58:04] Speaker 2: think he's a faster guy. Pittman's a big, strong Pittman
[58:06] Speaker 2: almost felt like a great two. Pierce feels like a
[58:08] Speaker 2: middle one. I mean that that's my interpretation that they
[58:11] Speaker 2: really like Pierce and he can really move. Pittman's a
[58:16] Speaker 2: very tough, durable you know, his dad was a running
[58:20] Speaker 2: back for Tampa. Pittman was a great player at USC, tough, motivated,
[58:24] Speaker 2: self starter. Always liked him. But that feels like a
[58:27] Speaker 2: Mike McCarthy banged the table. So the Steeters are paying
[58:30] Speaker 2: DK Metcalf and Michael Pittman. Suddenly Pittsburgh now is got
[58:35] Speaker 2: an offensive staff that you've heard of them before. Now
[58:38] Speaker 2: they've got two expensive wide receivers. I don't know, it
[58:41] Speaker 2: feels like that's a Mike McCarthy bang the table move
[58:44] Speaker 2: that Pittsburgh has been the highest spending defense for I
[58:47] Speaker 2: think four years in a row, and I've argued for years,
[58:50] Speaker 2: just move your money to offense. That's what teams like
[58:54] Speaker 2: the Rams are doing, so Pittman to the Steeters. To me,
[58:58] Speaker 2: it's sort of a change of the not only the guard,
[59:02] Speaker 2: but changing of the tide where they're moving offensive money over.
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