Club Shay Shay - Best of NFL News Part 2: Ernest Jones IV Wants the SMOKE, Maxx Crosby's convo with Tom Brady

Episode Date: February 14, 2026

Shannon Sharpe and Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson bring you the best of NFL! They’re shocked by the drama surrounding the negative character of Ben Roethlisberger. Later, they interview Seahawks Linebacker Ernest Jones IV and his viral Super Bowl parade speech, as well as the possibility of Kirk Cousins returning to Minnesota Subscribe to Nightcap presented by PrizePicks so you don’t miss out on any new drops! Download the PrizePicks app today and use code SHANNON to get $50 in lineups after you play your first $5 lineup! Visit https://prizepicks.onelink.me/LME0/NI... 0:00 - Maxx Crosby officially done with Raiders?11:58 - George Pickens franchise tag?34:59 - Seahawks Parade51:50 - Ernest Jones joins the show! (Timestamps may vary based on advertisements.) #ClubSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I'm Bowen-Yang. And I'm Matt Rogers. During this season of the Two Guys Five Rings podcast, in the lead-up to the Milan-Cortina-2020 Winter Olympic Games, we've been joined by some of our friends. Hi, Boen, hi, Matt, hey, Elmo. Hey, Matt, hey, Bowen. Hi, Cookie.

Hi. Now, the Winter Olympic Games are underway, and we are in Italy to give you experiences from our hearts to your ears. Listen to Two Guys Five Rings on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever. you get your podcast. And the winner of the IHeart Podcast Award is, you can decide who takes home the 26 IHeart Podcast Awards

Podcast of the year by voting at IHeartPodcastawards.com now through February 22nd. See all the nominees and place your vote at IHeart Podcast Awards.com. Audible is a proud sponsor of the Audible Audio Pioneer Award. Explore the best selection of audiobooks, podcasts, and originals all in one easy app. Audible. There's more to imagine when you listen. Sign up for a free trial at audible.com. Last week, Jay Glazer made it clear that Max Crosby is done with the Raiders.

Now, Jason Lake and 4 reports that an unnamed general manager claims that Crosby has directly communicated his wishes to minority owner Tom Brady. He told Tom Brady he will never play for the Raiders again. The unnamed GM said, that's a fact. He told him he'll retire before he ever plays for them again. But I'm not sure they're actually going to trade him. Miles Garrett said the same thing last. year and we know how that ended up. Ocho, how do you see this situation unfolding?

Oh, man, understanding, understanding what Max Crosby means to the Las Vegas Raiders, I'm not sure if things can be rectified at this point. Most of the time when the players get to this point like this, where he feels I really can't do it anymore, there might be some thing going on behind the scenes internally that we don't know about, especially for Mac Crosby, get to the point to where he is now, to even let someone outside that building know that I would never play here again, especially if those words have been echoed to that of the greatest of all time Tom Brady.

He's not really playing, especially someone like Max Crosby who wants an opportunity to win and understanding that being at the Las Vegas Raiders, he's not going to have an opportunity to win. Hoping for a move similar to that of Dexter Lawrence in general, where he can go to a contender and hope that things turn out or pan out the way they should, where he can contribute on his side of the ball on defense. He can be an asset to so many different teams that are a piece or two. too away from actually contending and have a chance of reaching that end goal out there in LA. Well, the difference is that D. Law was an unrestricted free agent. So he chose where he wanted to go. Max Crosby, unfortunately, is under contract for another three years, three, four years.

I'm not sure how long, how long Chad, his contract is, is for. But he's not in that situation. And so probably we're going to want to get him out. If they are to trade him, the conversations that they're having, Ocho is that we want to get him out of the eight. and we want to get the most bang for our buck. Now, who's going to give us the most compensation? Now, I understand that sometimes when you have a relationship, a good relationship with a team, they'll work to send you to a place maybe to your heart desire.

But I'm not so sure that's going to be the case. When this situation, he's one of your better players. You know, I work with Jason at CBS also. He's made, if that's true, and Jay Glazer came when I showed last year and said, last week it said Max was done with the Raiders. Two guys I know pretty well. I know Jason a little better because I worked with him for a number of years.

If that's the case, the likelihood of them working with him to send him to his ideal setting, probably not going to happen, Ocho. But I do say that they're going to trade him. They're going to put him in the NFC because I ain't really trying to see this man in the AFC and I'm damn sure not going to trade him within my division. That's an absolute no-no. even though some teams Kansas City would be more than

glad to trade compensation to get him but I don't see that happening with that being said Ocho because he doesn't have he's not unrestricted and he doesn't have a choice in the matter of where he goes it's just hard he signed a three year

$160 million contract extension in March of 25 so he got some years on that contract Ocho. So I don't. Yeah. I mean, he does, but you have to understand his value. You have to understand his value, especially with Kubei coming over and understanding that there are so many

pieces, so many missing holes, so many questions that need answers on that Las Vegas Raiders team that I don't think he will have a problem, understanding the value that is Mack and allowing him to go elsewhere. Even if it's to an AFC team, what pieces can I get for someone who is

as valuable as him at the position and being able to continue to build for the future. If I couldn't win with you, then I have no problem winning without you, and I'll get as much as I can. I'll lose with you.

I can lose without you. I get what you're saying. But I think the thing is normally, yeah, teams that are most equipped to give up the most are teams, you know, and he doesn't want to go

from a losing team to a losing situation, but I believe the Philadelphia Eagles will have something on the table. Ooh. The Chicago Bears will put something on the table. I don't know I don't know

considering that they just gave Aidan Hutchinson that deal Jack Campbell's I don't know if they got Jack Campbell done this last offseason or they're going to get him done this offseason that you know they got money tied up in Joseph so they got and you know

oh Jamir Gibbs is do a contract oh yeah you took care of Armin Ra you took care of Penae you took care of Jerry golf you took care of JMO you took care of JMO so yeah but I think me I think the Bears

I think Philly would have no problem give him about a first and a third and maybe a third next year because he's that good. He's a game-altering player and they don't come around very often. And I promise you,

there's no one in the draft that's as good as Matt's Cropin. I don't know who they have. I don't know how high, who's rated where on the defensive side of football, but I guarantee you there's not a guy coming out in the draft that's better than Max Crosby will be next year in 26.

Not even close. Coming out of the draft. I mean, please. I mean, no disrespect to those coming out of the draft, but there was nothing like Matt Crosby based on the resume that he's, you know, done so far in the other. Can you imagine Matt Crosby with a star on his helmet? Oh, my God.

Woo! Can you imagine Max Crosby with a star on his helmet? No. I mean, with him, I mean, he's a game change. I mean, he's going to alter wherever defense he goes. And the more talent you have around him, the better he's going to be. You put him in.

You put him in Chicago or you put him on the Dallas. Could the Ravens put a package together? Now we're talking. Because they need a game changer. And they haven't had a game change in a while. Hey, listen, I know you haven't said it. And one thing we haven't had either over there in the 513, over there in Cincinnati, right across, right on the river.

We haven't had a game changer. Do I see them having the, the money to be able to take care of Matt Crosby, understanding how much we need on the defensive end as well, we need some pieces at one level. I mean, either we're going to get one at the first level or the third level, maybe at the second level and the first level. But we need two impact players that can make a difference over there on our team as well.

Now that the season is done, and you kind of look at each team and you can see what teams need going forward, especially those that already have a quarterback in place to actually give you a chance. Most of the time those answers are going to be impact players on defense, mostly the opposite line, if you already have a quarterback, or impact receiver.

Buffalo, can Buffalo put a package together? That's not fair. Because I think the thing, oh, Joe, at the end of the day, he wants to win. So who's close to winning? Who has a quarterback, the situation that quarterback, is stable enough that's conducive that gives him a chance to win,

26, 27, 27, 28 until his contract's up. You look at Philly. Obviously, they just won the Super Bowl last year, so they're equipped. You look at Chicago, got to the division around this. They're a young, up-and-coming team. I think they're a piece of weight defensively. You mentioned the Cowboys. Buffalo, quarterback situation.

Cincinnati, quarterback situation. Baltimore, quarterback situation. So I think there are some places that, that, have a quarterback in place, have a team that he's going to instantaneously make that defense better. So just imagine what a team can play with a lead. So that's what was so impressive about Miles Garrett. There are very few times

that his team had to leave. He got 23 sacks and 85% of the time, they were down. And he put them numbers like that. They're losing by double digits and he's still getting three, four, five sacks in a game. So imagine if they got to see. they're in a situation where they play with a lead and he can just go hunt the quarterback. Just go, yeah.

But definitely Max Crosby is going to make someone, if they trade him. We're speaking hypothetically because we've heard two insiders say that Max Crosby is not going to be playing for the ravers. We hear Jason Luckamore says that he's talked to a general manager and that he relayed this message

to minority owner Tom Brady. I'm done with y'all. He didn't take kindly to being benchy. Like, I've been playing with this banged up to all year. Now all of a sudden, y'all want me to sit out? Yeah. Don't worry about it. I sit out from y'all for the next 10 years.

Yeah, I can think of something too. And obviously them contending, them benching him might be a sign. It might be a sign to him. Listen, we don't want you to get hurt. We want you to sit down. We want you to heal up to make sure that trade value. We're going to give you what you want. You requested it. We're going to give you what you want. Won't you

stay out. I don't want you get, we don't want to get yourself hurt because we want to get as much we can back for you. Jacksonville. Don't worry about it. Yeah. Ooh, that's a good one. That's a good one.

Especially with the way they plan now. They get that Ferrari coming out at the garage after being down for a little bit. With Trevor Lawrence playing really, really good, really good football right now, I like that. I like that, especially on that defense. That's a good one. And so he's going to be looking to go. Like I said, he's probably going to go to one. of the teams that we mentioned, the question is

who's just going to give us the most compensation. Because that's what they need. They need draft picks. They need draft capital. They need to build this team. You look at Seattle, how they built their team. A lot of drafted players. Yeah, you got to go get a Leonard Williams. Yeah, you got to

get a D-Law to come over in free agency. But you drafted Spoon. You drafted Wolin. Yeah, Julian Love came over in free agency. You get lucky. You got really, really lucky with Sam Darnal. Because, normally guys that win 14 games, the other team is not letting them go.

It's just not. You drafted the JSCN. You look at that offensive line that they have. They drafted a K-9. So, sometimes you've got to be a little lucky. But I think the thing is that there are seven or eight teams out there

that does have the draft capital to, I think, to appease the Raiders. And I think it appease Max Crosby as well because, I mean, selfishness with me, I do like when great players get an opportunity to compete and see them on the highest level. Just like basketball players. I mean,

you want to see a LeBron, you want to see K.D., you want to see Steph, compete on the highest level. Not be higher than meteorocrity. So. Or being too loyal to stay at one place for a very long time.

That was Kevin Garnett. He was loyal to the soul until he realized that, man, I ain't winning nothing. Damn, I think. that happened to Dane. Game, yeah, yeah. Staying in Portland, you know, a little too long. So I think the Raiders, look,

they got the number one pick in the draft, though, Joe. Many believe they're going to go for a quarterback, they believe it's going to be Mendoza. It's hard to argue that. Like I said, they're not a handful of but a handful of quarterbacks

that's, you know, I think that are game changers, but we'll see. I'm Dylan Playfair. And I'm Tyler Smith. We're putting loneliness in the penalty box by talking to some of our favorite athletes about the importance of friendship. This is bromance. Bromance is brought to you by Charm Diamond Centers, proudly Canadian-owned and operator. Charm has been part of your love stories and bromances for over 50 years.

And you can find Bromance on the IHeart Radio Network or wherever you get your podcast. I'm Bowen-Yen. And I'm Matt Rogers. During this season of the Two Guys' Five Rings podcast, in the lead-up to the Milan Quartina, a 20, 26 Winter Olympic Games. We've been joined by some of our friends. Hi, Boen. Hey, Elmo.

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podcast of the year, by voting at IHeartPodcastawards.com now through February 22nd. See all the nominees and place your vote at IHeartpodcastawards.com. Audible is a proud sponsor of the Audible Audio Pioneer Award. Explore the best selection of audiobooks,

podcasts, and originals all in one easy app. Audible. There's more to imagine when you listen. Sign up for a free trial at audible.com. Right. The cowboys are expected to apply the franchise tag George Pickens, the projected cost of one year fully guaranteed franchise tag,

Ocho, will be $28 million. Does this make you think George Pickens will be in Dallas next year? Oh, I mean, you know, I don't like it. You know how I feel. You guys bought it. I think about the franchise tag. I do. The franchise tag, it's a gift and the curse.

Now, the gift side is the franchise tags that allows teams, that allows owners to try to find a way to get a long-term deal done. Some owners use the franchise tag as a way to say, listen, I like you, but I don't like you enough or trust you to give you the kind of money I want to or that you deserve long-term. So we're going to make you better on yourself. We're going to make you better on yourself and see if you can do it again. For another year.

Yeah, for another year. But when I look at George Pickers and having his best season statistically with the Cowboys, boys, if you were to probably ask him, he would love to stay. I think what he has going on with Citi there and having that is a great thing. It's a great thing. But you look at the team and in a general collectively as a whole, it'd be somewhat almost like the Bengals. You know, you have two great number ones, right? Offensive, you have a great quarterback, but she ain't got nothing on defense at any level, you know?

I mean, if you're thinking, I know, Cowboys fans, if you didn't here listen to me, Just stay with me real quick. If you were to let CD, I mean, let's CD, let George Pickens go, you know, and allow him to go somewhere else, allow him to flourish, allow him to have his own team and be able to use that money. But it's not going to go, Ocho, because they gave him a draft compensation to get him. So you'd be foolish to let him go without trying to get draft compensation for it. Okay, let's get draft compensation for him.

Let's trade him. I don't think that happened. Let's get some pieces. Listen to me. Let's get some pieces on what. what we need defensively. Because you got C.D. Lamb, you get your number two. You don't, you know, you get you a nice number two where you can still move the ball

efficiently, offensively, and get what you need on defense. As opposed to you got George Piggins, phenomenal player. You got C.D. Lamb, phenomenal player. And you ain't got no defense. So you score on 38 points a game and the other team scoring 42. Or you're scoring 21 and other team scoring 28. So the elephant in the room is still your defensive needs that need to be. to be met over in Dallas.

They're looking at it like, okay, look, DAC is going to be about $78, $80 million. We restructure DAC, get a long-term deal, give him a big-sided bonus. We can get DAC down. We restructure CD-LAM, get him under control. What do we do with Terrence Steel? Do we keep him restructure his deal or do we outright release him?

And plus, they feel like they got a first-round pick because of the Michael situation. So they got extra compensation that they feel they can go and can wheel and deal and bring somebody. You know, you hear people talking about Max Crosby might be available. You and the guys at Cincinnati,

Jeffrey Simmons, if one or both of those guys come available, if you're the cowboy, you got to try to move heavy to earth to try to get them. But the problem is, is that the cowboys have a log jam at D.E. They got Kenny Clark. They got

Odigizua. They got the guy that just got from the Jets. Quinty. So you got three D tackles already. So somebody's going to be the odd man out. Preferably you go get Max. If you can get Max Crosby

for a first and a third, you do it. Obviously, I don't see Miles Garrett going anywhere and what they're going to ask for you to get him. You're not going to get, you don't want to give that up. He probably, they don't want, Ocho, he's just an unanimous defensive

player of the year and he's not even 30. That's crazy. So they're going to want three, they're going to want two, three first round picks. Mm-hmm. And he's really the draw. He's really the draw. And it's rare that you have a defensive player, that's the draw.

But currently because they're kind of devoid of offensive players, he's the draw. He is. he's the best defensive player in football and I don't think the Brown to trade him. I don't. You never know. It's a funny business.

Crazier things have happened. I believe he they were going to trade him last year. Trade him after he won a second defensive player of the year and he won it unanimous after breaking the sack record. That would be strange. I mean, were you only won four? games with everything you just said. You're trying to win or not?

I believe they're trying to win, don't you? I do. But I just don't believe they're going to trade. I don't believe they're going to trade my own guarantee in order to help to speed that process up. But I've always felt this, considering the way George Pickers was playing,

that there was a great chance that they were going to probably franchise and try to get something done long term. He's going to big money. He's going to walk. He's going to want CD. He's going to want more. north of CD. Because CD signed that year two years ago.

Yes. And in order for you to keep elevating the salaries, Ocho, I can't well, well, CD's the number one and CD, I get it. I'm happy for CD. But I'm just based on what I did last year.

Right. And my numbers exceeded his. And I think Pick is younger than CD. Yeah. Yeah. He's going to won't. He's going to won't. He's going to won't north of,

going to want north of that. He's going to want 37, $38 million, don't you? To stay. Yeah. I mean, I don't. Anyway, I'm, okay, he's worth it. He's earned it. Yeah. I speak for the player in general. I'm not, I'm not, I speak for the player in general and

in, and in, in, in, wanting him to get all he can. That, that's all. And a lot of people, you know, upset at me, especially Cowboys fans. Oh, you didn't say that when it came to T and Chase and T, T, T, T, T, Higginson, Chase wasn't in a situation. like pick. You know, he wouldn't go on from one team to another, you know. I think he is in a great situation.

Just understanding the game that Jerry plays when it comes time to playing players. And, I mean, this is a unique situation, though. It's a unique situation. I just hope Jerry gets this one right this time, you know, for the sake of that fan base and in the sake of that team, offensively. But there's so many, so many questions that need answer defensively. They do. But you know, Jerry, like love offense, the triplets.

I mean, he remember Emmett and Troy and Michael. And, you know, he figured he has that with Giovante, Dacke, and he has two. And you heard Emmett was talking about it. You know, Alvin Harper thought he was the number one until he went to another team and was asked to do number one things. It's a little different. But even it also said something that I've been saying. Chase was upset at me.

I was like, hey, yeah, I'm not saying that it's number one, but number ones don't quit on routes. Number ones don't drift. Yeah. And that's, and that's, it's hard, Ocho, when you've done that a lot in your career. It's hard to break that. People think you just break a habit.

Like, people that have been smoking, how many times Ocho there's like, okay, I'm just going to start, I ain't smoking no more cigarettes. Or I'm going to stop drinking. I ain't going to drink no more. I'm going to stop. When you develop that habit over a period of time,

it's hard to just break it. Because he's like, here we go again. And you start drifting. You start, like, oh, boy. And it's hard to break. But I ain't got no problem. Look, he's going to want his money and he doesn't want to play another year.

I've already proven what I could do. Now compensate me. He's going to want maximum. compensation and I can't say that I disagree with him. Yeah. And it's going to be, it's going to look. He has a muligata as an agent. I talked, I talked to him at the flag game.

Who pick a mulogata? Okay. Just say hello. Just introduce myself, that's all. He didn't introduce yourself for? He ain't negotiated your contract. I just want to introduce myself, you know. Hey, how you doing?

How you doing, Dave, you know, my mocho. That's it, you know. I ain't getting nothing else like that. That was it. Oh, so when it comes out, you have some news to share, huh? No, no, no, no, no, no. We stuck, we didn't even talk football. Oh, you didn't think he knew who you was, huh?

I do that regardless to everybody, you know, that I don't know. Well, how did you know who it was? up to him how you didn't know who he was there? My agent that was with me told me, oh yeah, they were, man, you know who that was, stop it. I'm supposed to know, hung, I don't play no more. I don't know everybody by face.

You know David. Now, the player, yes. People who represent him, no. Yeah. It was cool. I took a picture with his son. A pink look. And people look at it with 28 million.

Do you have 28 million? It's a nice chunk of change. Yeah, not, not for it. But I want, but I want, but I want long term security. Security, yeah. I won't, I won't, I won't 35, 40 million over five years. I need to get by 85, 90 million at the time of signing. That'll make me very happy.

Yeah, very. That'll make me very happy. Hello. Let me get my. Well, that's what, that's Dave's job. Dave job is to get, uh, get maximum value. pick you done what you're supposed to do now this off season no speeding tickets no trouble keep your nose clean and uh phrase what phrase you start what second week of first week of

march because you have you know you can have your tampering period and then you have the next week oh jo you have the uh the signing so um it'll be uh it's gonna be very very interesting to see how this thing shapes up. I know he's not going to be pleased if he gets franchised. Yeah. Hey. Oh, Joe, what do you think about what Emmett had to say at a radio roll about PIC? Like, he thought that PIC the perfect place for him,

the Batman and Robin, 1A, 1B, whatever you want to call him, he said, but you said, well, Picks are number one? He said, are we sure? Because he had a lot of concerns that I've had. and, you know, mainly effort. I know when he get to cook it, yeah. Oh, he burned white hot.

Yeah. Listen, think it's the number one. If you watch football, you know what he can do. You understand he's one that can elevate an offense when used correctly, when put in positions to make the plays. You know what he can do in short routes? You know what he can do on intermediate routes. We know what he can do on intermediate routes.

We know what he can do on deep balls. Obviously, you put him in a situation or on a team that has an adequate quarterback, which he didn't have in Pittsburgh. You understand what Kepegans is capable of doing. You know, I understood what Im of saying, but he's going to see all the right things in favor of his cowboys. But I think the thing is, Ocho, is that you don't get put in position to make plays. Chase is not in position to make plays every single play.

Sometimes the play is from. And he said that. You said, well, when he's in position, yes. But when you're not in position, you can't take that time off. That's the problem. Far too many times. For your coach to come out and say what he said, Thanksgiving when you played Detroit,

that's not, we should not have that discussion about a George Pickens. So are, I have, can I have some? Are we going to keep using that same thing every single time? Did he do it? Are you going to keep doing it every single time?

Are we going to, hold on. Are we going to keep weaponizing, that one situation. So if it's a problem with that, why I want to keep them there? Don't keep them there if it's a problem. Ocho. You said it wasn't going to be a problem.

That's what you told this. Entire chat, it wasn't going to be a problem. Did he do that? He had multiple issues. Did he have? Ocho, you do realize, Ocho, you do realize.

He had one. Ocho. If you run a file with the law and they say you can have no more slip-ups, if you have a slip-up, what can you say? Well, I only had one. I know I had five previously,

but I only had one this. time. So you do know the job is not to have a slip-up, right? Yeah. I mean, we all have flip-ups, even if we don't want to. Yeah, but I'm saying is that in that situation, it was so obvious. You saw him have going through routes and getting plays picked. You watched it. Everybody watched it. It was trending. A guy like George Pickens shouldn't have that. He's too good of a talent. great he's too good of a talent to have that

oh shit what the hell happened to you that goddamn Coke that went down the wrong pipe that would you get for yelling no my bad my bad no I just say the thing is look he's too good of a talent

and and and and to have that We shouldn't, coach shouldn't have to talk to him about effort. Not at this juncture of his career. When you were young in Pittsburgh, I'm going to leave all that baggage in Pittsburgh. Oh, Joe. Only thing George Picking should have brought out of Pittsburgh was himself. I'm going to leave everything back in Pittsburgh.

I don't want no clothes from Pittsburgh. I'm going to sell my car. I'm going to sell all the furniture in my apartment. I'm saying I ain't bringing nothing but my black ass out of Pittsburgh. Clean sleep. clean slate. I'm starting from scratch. Mm-hmm.

Don't you know how that is? Yeah. And you know everything is magnified too because now you got the star on your helmet. Thank you. You got the star on you. Everything is magnified. Because there are some games,

Pittsburgh don't get televised. And Dallas? And then you play it on Thanksgiving? Yeah. Now, you know, everybody play on Thanksgiving. We're going to see everything. Mm-hmm.

But I want him to get it. I want him to get him money. Yeah. He had a little slip up. He had a little slip up. But outside of that, boy, he's the real deal. No questions.

After helping to see how the Seahawks win Super Bowl, 60, offensive coordinator Clint Kubiak confirmed. He will be the Las Vegas Raiders next head coach. You guys know I'm going to Las Vegas. I'm fired up about that. How big of a get is this for the Raiders? It's a good thing for the Raiders. Obviously, the first thing, first thing is first, though.

Mr. Kubiak has to figure out who the quarterback is going to be. Obviously, confidence with the draft stuff going up. Fernando Mendoza is probably going to be the first quarterback taken, first player taken. So I'm assuming he's going to be the quarterback of the Las Vegas Raiders. So outside of that, then you address issues with Mack and Crosby. Is Matt Crosby happy or is he looking for a move? Other pieces need to be added to that puzzle along with Ashton Gentie. I think another big receiver over in Oakland is needed.

Obviously, I don't know the team know that well. They got Brock Bowers. Yeah, Brock Bowers, obviously. I agree with you. They do need a number one. They do need a receiver. Go ahead. They need a big boy.

Someone that can move the needle that doesn't need much help from the officer coordinator. Get out there and just get it done like a Brock Bowers can at his position. Defensively, I'm sure there's some, some questions that need answers. They knew a lot defensively. They knew a lot, Ocho. Secondary.

I don't know if Devin White's going to be back. You got Max Crosb, but he can't do everything on his own. He can do it all. He can. They got cap space, but it ain't how much money you spend,

Ocho, it's where you spend the money at. Yeah, yeah. Sometimes you might be able to find a bargain because, you know, a lot of times teams try to win the offseason. Oh, they spent the most money. They got the flashes. No.

I need to know the guys that I'm getting fit to skiing, understand what it is to be a raider. Now, it's lost some of this luster. Obviously, going through head coaches and quarterbacks. But they got to get this thing figured out. How big of a loss is this for the Seahawks? Joe. Ooh, you know what?

It's big. Players, it's big. It is big, but players make coach a job easy when you have the personnel. So I think whoever comes back in, in place of Mr. Kubiak will still have the same personnel that he just left. Did they have the same personnel

in Detroit when Ben Johnson left? How was that? Offensive? Yes. Take your time. It was good. except for the injury bug defensively. It haunted them again. So you said Detroit looked the same offensively as they did when they had Ben Johnson?

No, I said it was good until the injury bug haunted them. It didn't haunt them offensively. They was injured last year. They was injured last year defensively two, two years ago defensively. When they lost to Washington, they was beat up defensively. But how did they look offensively? They look good offensively until the injury bug caught him towards the end of the season. caught him on what side of the ball?

Offensively. Who got injured? Armendarme. Ma was there. Jay Moe was there. Give was there. Montgomery was there. I'm trying to pick a, uh, uh, uh,

Jared golf is. You do realize, hold on. You do realize their offense was, was rolling all season long until to, except the last five weeks of the season. Let me see. I'll get back to you. Yeah. Because you know the thing is.

Check, check it out real quick. Bear with me, chat. I know about my lions, man. 20-25 C. they were fifth in total yards, fourth in points, third-down conversion rate was 44th. See? Keep going. Hold on.

Look, McLuhan suitcase. Go ahead. 2024, there was second in total yards, first in points, third and passing yards, seventh and rushing yards, first and third-down conversion. They were over to overcome some of that. Because the defense's been bad for a minute.

with the injuries. Yeah. Taron Arnold got hurt. What's the other guy? What's the other DB Ocho? Branch. Who? Brian Branch got injured?

Brian Branch, yeah. I think Arnold, I think the other one, isn't there another corner from Alabama? I mean, Terry, no. Yeah, he got injured. Got injured. The middle linebacker. I can't remember his name.

He came, Jack Campbell was back. Yeah, Camel was there. But the thing, Ocho, hold on, plus you got to remember, they demoted the officer coordinator and what's the call him, started calling plays. Yeah, and then they ended up firing him and got a new coordinator in.

It always takes you a little time to get to get the, yeah, to get to a groove of how he likes to call plays I thought Clint Kubiak Like I said, I've known Clint Kubiak He was, his dad bringing him into practice He could have been no more than about eight, seven to eight Right

And to see him, you know, to see him Be a head coach in the Ocho I'm like, that's dope Damn Everything comes full circle Same thing with Christian McCaffer to see him And to see former teammates You know, whole role, I'm like,

I'm Dylan Playfair And I'm Tyler Smith We're putting loneliness in the penalty box by talking to some of our favorite athletes about the importance of friendship. This is bromance. Bromance is brought to you by Charm Diamond Centers, proudly Canadian-owned and operator.

Charm has been part of your love stories and bromances for over 50 years. And you can find Bromance on the I-HeartRadio Network or wherever you get your podcast. I'm Bowen-Yin. And I'm Matt Rogers. During this season of the Two Guys' Five Rings podcast, in the lead-up to the Milan Quartina

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Explore the best selection of audiobooks, podcasts, and originals all in one easy app. Audible. There's more to imagine when you listen. Sign up for a free trial at audible.com. The Seattle Seahawks had their parade today. Let's take a listen to our free. in Ernest Jones the fourth. I'm gonna keep it a buck. I'm probably the last person they should have gave to Mike too.

But we're gonna turn up, man. First off, I wanna say shout out to Jody Allen, shout out to John Snyder, for making this all possible, shout out to coach Mike McDonough for helping us get to this point. Man, but also shout out to these bad ass motherfuckers who play this game the right way. Only do we have the best defense in the world. We got the best team in the world.

And quite frankly, if you got anything to say for my quarterback, you got anything to say for my defense, you got anything to say for our own line, and you got anything to say by the city of Seattle, I got two words for you. Fuck you. Damn. Well, he told you as soon as he got the mic,

he's probably the last person you should have given the mic. And he did not disappoint the adulation, the excitement. I mean, you know, they brought a world championship and they did it in dominating fashion. That defense was sensational throughout the playoffs. Yeah, they bend a little bit against the Rams guys. You know, Matthew Stafford had a night of nights, but Matthew Stafford won the MVP for a reason.

So we can expect them to have those type of nights. But in the Super Bowl, that defense was dominating. Ocho, you like, did you like where Ernest Jones de Ford had to say? I mean, hey, listen, Oak, I absolutely love it. You know, all the hard work they put in, obviously, reaching the Super Bowl, all the talk about Sam Donald and the stuff that, you know, they had to say, any of the naysayers that doubted the Seattle Seahawks, it's okay. You won a Super Bowl.

It's one opportunity you have a chance to celebrate and talk a little trash behind it because now you have that ring, you have that trophy. So why not? It doesn't happen often, and there's no, there's no guarantee that you get back there. So I'm all for it. I'm all for it. Joe? Hey, yeah, I'm, I'm, um, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm,

What Ocho, you know, you, you, you reach the top. I mean, we play this game, obviously, to compete, but, you know, we also want to win championships as well. He got his opportunity to shine. Hey, let him get it off his chest, man. Let him know how you feel, baby. John Snyder and Mike McDonnell like, uh, maybe, maybe a little less. But I get it.

But like I said, Ocho is so much excitement. And he's been through this before. He won it with the Rams. And so, you know, here he is. He changed teams in the division. I traded the Tennessee. Tennessee trades him to the Seahawks. And he's one of those guys

that led spearheaded that defense. But this was a total team effort. You look at the special teams. Look at the kicker. Five field, 17 points. Five field goes to be A T's. Look at the punter. And how many times he kept him pinned down,

pinned back. Rashid Shaheed did not have a big return game. But guess what he didn't do, Ocho? Put the ball on the dirt. So when they say total team victory, That's what it was. They ran the ball well. They threw the ball effectively.

Sam Donald didn't put the ball in harm's way. That first or third downplay, I thought Jones got a great jump, but he wrong-handed. Probably should have did this instead of that because you get more extension like this than you can like that. But all that being said, I thought as a team aspect, special teams, defense and offense, I thought they played a complete game.

Obviously, the offense wasn't as dominating as it was against San Francisco. but man, that's an unbelievable feeling. And for a lot of those guys, and look at the shirt, you got Sam Donald with a cigarette in his mouth, flipping people off. But that's what you have.

You want to, and we're going to talk about this. Yeah. You see what, how guys support you when you are a good teammate? Man. You heard what he said when they lost to the ramp and he said, look, y'all don't rock with a quarterback. He said the reason why we're in damn to every game is because of the quarterback.

And now he has a mishap. He doesn't play as well as we're used to seeing it. Now y'all want to beat him up. F y'all, he said that way back win. Now Sam Darnas is like, okay, now look at me. I'm at the top of the mountain. I'm at the top of the mountain. I'm sitting pretty.

A lot of teams gave up on me, but he said something. Sam Darno said something very interesting. He said, I appreciate you guys believing in me. Because, oh, you remember the last game of the season? And then the playoffs, he didn't. look good. And maybe that scared Minnesota off. That didn't scare Seattle off because John Snyder and McDonald felt like, you know what, with the what we have assembled here, we get a quarterback, we can win, we can go far. We can go really, really far. Go ahead, Ocho. Now, I'm going to say,

what Minnesota saw, it shouldn't have scared them off. It shouldn't scare them off. I mean, it's ridiculous because now look where they are. Again, I'll say it again. Minnesota is in quarterback purgatory because you don't know what you're where you're going to go or what you're going to do from now on. Okay, maybe J.J. McCarthy comes back and he, any, any, any somewhat half of what Sam Donnell was before he left Minnesota. But as of right now, everything is up in the air. Maybe Kirk Cousin come come back and save you if J.J. McCarthy doesn't play up the par and that offends the way it is. But Sam Donald, in, in certain conversations now because he's won a Super Bowl trophy, he's going to go into the conversations with some of the quarterbacks.

that we talk about all the time, that having won one year. Some of the grace. I'm not saying he's one of the best in the game, but he has that ring. So therefore that catapults him in the conversation of the Lamar Jackson, the Joe Burroughs, the Josh Allen's,

and the Patrick Mahomes. Yeah. But it also goes to show you situations, sometimes being in the right situation at the right time. I'm not one of those guys, and I've never been one of those guys, and Joe, let me know what you think. Because a lot of times what people try to do,

you win a Super Bowl, and then they say, well, you better than that guy. Brad Johnson, won a Super Bowl and they never said he was a top 10 quarterback. Trent Deerford won a Super Bowl and they never said he was a top 10 quarterback. Guys win championships and they never say they're top 10 NBA players. So we got to be careful.

Let's look at a total body of work over an extended period of time before we start arbitral to just try to put somebody in that bracket because they want a super bowl. Go ahead. Take off for Joe. And one thing, Joe, one thing I do want to say, Unk, I want to clarify that too. Now if you take a, let's say you talk about the quarter, right? I'm not saying Sam Donald is better than those top three, those top four, top five. I'm just saying the fact that his name is in the conversations because he's won a Super Bowl.

But if you're picking a, if you're taking a choice and you're starting a team, he has Sam Donald, Joe Burrow, Lamar Jackson, Josh, Allen, Patrick Mahomes. I'm sure everyone is going to say him for any of those guys. Exactly. So I'm not saying that I'm just saying his name needs to come in come up in the conversations going into next year when we talk about some of the better quarterbacks in the NFL. I think it will. I think it will. Joe, what do you think about that?

Because we've seen that in the NBA's, guys win a championship. And the first thing they say, well, he's better than this guy that's never won a championship. No, that is a team victory. We can say for a moment he had an unbelievable. But I'm not one of these guys because you won a championship. Now all of a sudden, I'm thinking you are Pantheon great. Yeah, it's like we're prisoners of a moment.

Okay, oh Joe. You know, this is what's going on right now, right now in time is what we stuck on. So Seahawks won the Super Bowl, Sam Donald got a ring. and now that's all everybody's talking about. You know what I mean? Yeah. So, but yeah, I'm with you.

It's like, you know, you got to give it an extended period of time, and then you can really gauge on how great a person is, you know what I mean? We all can have one great year, you know what I mean? Two pretty good years, but let's see if he can sustain and put together, you know, a few great years like that. That's what, you know, enhances your greatness. And I think the thing is, if quarterback is the only, position we do that with because a DB wins a Super Bowl ain't nobody saying well he's better

than this or he's better than that. A defensive lineman win the Super Bowl, a linebacker wins the Super Bowl. That's not what we do. Now if they're, if they're already on the cusp now Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, Joe Burrow, now they were to win a Super Bowl. Now we're going to really have to have a really a real, real, real discussion. Because now you're talking about Lamar that's one of them BP, two of them. Josh Allen, that's one of them VP. And now you're talking about we're going to attach a Super Bowl. to it and a whole lot of guys that can say that. So with that being said, I just,

I just like to be patient when we start throwing things around. And Sam Donald had an unbelievable season. We are not trying to take that away, but we need to be careful because I'm not, I'm sure nobody is saying, give me Brad Johnson over Dan Marino, give me Trent Dierfer over Dan Marino, give me some of these other quarterbacks

that's won a Super Bowl over Dan Marino. So let's, let's just be careful. He should enjoy. with this. They should redo his contract. They should redo his contract. What he signed for? He signed three years like $100, $105 million,

but he made $4 million in incentives. A million dollars for the Super Bowl, $500,000, AFC championship, $NFC championship, $500,000 for the divisional, $500,000 for, you know,

making the pro bowl of the thing. So he made $4 million just in incentives. Hey, so listen, when you're not playing up the part of your contract and they want to restructure it then. So can you can you come in and renegotiate when you just won a Super Bowl? You're like, hold on, this ain't good enough for me. Normally they do that for the quarterbacks. They're not a whole lot of positions that they're willing to do that for. But the quarterback is the one position that they're normally willing to do

that for. We see that a lot with Patrick Mahomes because seem like every year, Ojo, they tear his contract up. Give him more caret, but he's taking less money. Because Patrick Mahon, when he signed that 10 year what was it was a $450 million deal it was out of discount but he knows uh within it basically like the day after the season they've got to guarantee the contract for next year so he like I'm cool and plus he understands like the Tom Brady time's like look yeah I could be the highest paid but at what expense because I'm trying to collect rings and the best way to collect that is to have money so I can keep a Travis Kelsey. I can keep a Chris Jones.

I can keep a Trace Smith. I can keep some of these guys in order to build out my roster. And so we're not so top heavy. We're paying a handful of guys and we're not able to build a complete roster. But what Sam Donald has been able to do, the turnaround that he's enjoyed, I don't know in my time of really falling the NFL basically since about 76, 76, 77. I've never seen a story like this. I've never seen a guy.

I mean, he was basically a reclamation project, Ocho. He was on the trash heap. The Jets got rid of him after three years. Carolina got rid of him. And he goes to, he goes to San Fran for a year. And think about what he said. Right. He said, I learned a lot in San Francisco.

I learned a lot in San Francisco. Yeah. Then he goes to Minnesota, parlay that goes 14 and 3. That's what I tell guys, Joe. I tell you guys, Ocho, you know, I've said this. The team that you're playing for, they're not the only one that pay players. You're auditioning for the other 31 teams.

Yes, sir. And I need guys to understand that. You think, well, oh, man, so it's just like if you're a young lady or a young guy. Your girlfriend ain't the only one that got eyes. Your guy ain't the only one that got eyes. And just because they might not want to be with you or what might want to be in this relationship long term, that doesn't mean somebody else won't. Yeah.

Right. And so I just need more guys to think about that because sometimes they get caught up in the thing. against the end all be all where I'm at. And it's not all 32 teams pay. All 32 teams have a scouting department and they watch tape and that tape don't lie. Man, when you put that tape in, that tape don't know what position you play.

It don't know how much money you make and it doesn't know where you came from. All it does is record what it sees, Ocho. So what you put on tape, that's your resume. That's who you are. Yeah. You know, to me, obviously, I'm not sure we're down, where Sam Donald ranks as far as pay goes.

But after winning Super Bowl, I would love for them to give him some of the pay raise. But not, yeah, not, not not a pay raise where depletes being able to sign other players. I think Tyreek willing is up. I think there's some other. I don't think he comes back, Coach. He's going to get too much money. And you got spoon. What you're going to do with spoon?

What you're going to do with JSC? Yeah. Oh. You. Hey, hey, hey, Jay, S. You know J.S.N's in third year, Ocho. He just finished in third year. So they want to do it now this offseason.

Spoon. You know, Spoon is a month. If I'm not mistaken, I think Spoon and JSC came in together, didn't he? Yeah, Devin, Devin, Devin, Wetherspoon, might be, might be up to you. So he has to take care of them. Tyree willing, you're going to hit him across the head on the market. He's going to hit him across the head on the off market. Outside that, I mean, just give him, I understand, just looking at Sam Donald on,

and understanding the situation that he's in. and the fact that he has a competent organization around him, a competent GM, they're going to continue to build and put pieces around him. His ceiling is extremely high on. And he's young. He's a very, yeah, he's young.

He's fairly young. So I'm excited for him. I'm excited for the Seahawks. They found their quarterback of the future. All they have to do now is continue to put pieces around him. As long as he stays injury free, damn Seahawks are always going to be competing coming out to NFC. Hey, but y'all know,

y'all know the more you win now the more money you got to spend it is and the more people they come think about it you already lost your office coordinator he gone just like that oh joe yeah yeah no when you win everybody wants winners so they come rid of your handhouse to get your your your chicken that's laying golden eggs yeah that's how it works yeah so you start to lose a lot of players the more you win the more they rob you now well and i will say this Yes. He gets lazy sometimes. He got beat for a touchdown because he got lazy. He got lined up late, didn't he Ocho?

And then he bulljab and then he realized that Mac Hollis was already buying. Yeah. You cannot have a lap. The man that hesitated, I had a coach tell me this. He said, the man to hesitate is beat. In the NFL and Joe, you know this in basketball. If you hesitate on Joe, you beat. Because the margin is so small, so small in order to win.

Go ahead. Oh, okay. I'm going to tell you, hey, Joe, there's a reason why in football they call it it is a game of inches, but that's all it takes. Joe, one one mistake, one mishap, one false step, one hesitation, and you beat. And you think about the NFL, I'm speaking from a receiver standpoint and a DB standpoint. Like Joe, wide open is this. This is wide open.

Yeah. Joe, I swear for God, this is wide open. So most of the time, quarterbacks have to throw players. is open, you know, and sometimes you see busted coverage or stuff like that. But understanding when people say it's a game of Venge's, it's simply that. And most of the time, it comes down to three, maybe four plays at a, out of 70 plays and four quarters. Yeah.

That makes a difference. If you between the man and the ball, that's open. Yep. Basically. So if the DB on my hip, Joe, I'm open. Yeah. If he's right here and I'm here, I'm open. This is college when you're got to.

and you five, six, you, no, unless it's a busted coverage, that ain't happening. That's about the only time. That ain't happening. Yeah, that's about the only time. And there's a few receivers, Joe. Yeah.

There's a few, and I'm talking about a handful, maybe two or three, that can create that kind of separation where it's like, well, God damn, he wide open. Now, they, it ain't too many. I'm talking about off the muscle, Joe. You know how you call for ISO? Yeah, yeah. I don't want no help.

Right. And every time you're gonna give him that See, I want that one four. Give me that one four. Now I go on, get out of here. Skram, skid down. Come on that, back up. It's about three of them, Joe.

Hey, I don't need the officer coordinator help. Hey, I don't need you to put me in motion. I don't need to condense my split. Line me up to yours outside the numbers. I'm fin to go to work. You're going to get money. Man, get money. It's only about three of them, Joe.

That's it. All right, guys, we got a very, very special guest joining it. You know, he'll love a nightcap. He starred in Seattle Seahawks Parade. yesterday. Y.J. the fourth, Ernest Jones

the fourth. Congratulations, man. Hey, you said, I'll be back. You said, I'll be back. You weren't all

the sports, and they were terminated. You said, I'll be back, and you're going to be carrying hardware with you. Congratulations.

Yes, sir. DJ, you was on the Rams when they won this thing actually in, in your own home stadium. Right. What is, is there a difference?

I mean, can you compare or contrast the two if you could. Yeah, I mean, the biggest thing, man, I won that, I won in LA my rookie year. So I thought it was sweet, man. I thought that's what you, I thought that's what you do every year, man. And then, you know, it took me, you know, three, four years to get back to this point and to do it with this group, man, the way we love each other, the way we, we fight for

each other each and every day, man, it definitely was different because I, you know, I understand, you know, the struggle and how hard it takes to get back to that point. Yeah. Ocho, Joe. Hey, look, you won a Super Bowl with two different teams, bro. Tell me, tell us what's like, what's the mindset and preparation that separates, you know, championship teams from, you know, I probably would say just regular teams. Yeah, I think the biggest thing, I think is the mindset.

Like, man, we went into that game. Like, you know, we weren't going to be denied. We were coming out of that game with something. And it had, it was something. We were coming out of it would win. and mentality on, you know, all sides of the ball was just that. And I think that's what separates, you know, the teams that, you know, get the job done versus those that, you know, don't make it all the way.

Right. Yeah, EJ, after watching that game and the way you guys dominated defense, obviously having a moniker for your defense now called the Dark Side that is reminiscent of that of the Legion of Boom. Did you know you would dominate the game in this way and fashion the way you guys did? Yeah, man. I mean, we were watching, you know, watching the film for, you know, two weeks, man. We were like, man, ain't no way you give Mike McDonnell two weeks.

But not only that, we're watching the film. And we're like, man, we've seen it all. What is this team going to do against us? And you can tell from on film that we're a different group. But when we get in front of you is much different. It's real life at that point. So I knew we would come out there and dominate. E.J., you must have been on it, Laporteur, yesterday,

because you all been the other day, feeling good, man. I was like what... Yeah, I wish I had some of that. I wish, no, man, that was a little bit of that done then. What you get that T-shirt from? I had it made on the spot. I had been seeing it online.

Like, I've seen pictures that were floating around. And I'm like, man, I've been saying F you and about my quarterback all year. So let me go ahead and get this shirt. When you... That's what so. You mentioned your first Super Bowl, you're a rookie. So you're coming in and you got Jay Ram, you got Aaron Donald, you got, you got veteran players, you got OBJ, you got Stafford,

you got Vaughn Miller, you got Leonard Floyd, you got veteran guys on that team. Now you're in a different role. You're a leader now. And so now guys are looking to you because even though you were a rookie on that team, they're looking to you, okay, EJ, what do we need to do? Okay, we win the championship game. What do we need to do between the time we win the championship game leading up to the actual Super Bowl game?

So what type of advice were you able to give them? Man, honestly, for me, you know, it was a lot different being in L.A. because our Super Bowl was home. Everything we did, you know, was at home. Media Day, you know, everything was at home. So I just told them, you know, get ready, enjoy the experience. But ultimately, man, when it comes down to when it's time for us to go to practice or go to meetings, man, let's be locked in.

We came here ultimately to win this game, win us the Super Bowl, and that's what we're going to do. So that was mainly my advice. What do you do now? You got the trophy, you got the ring coming. Offseason is here. Obviously, your offseason is starting a little bit later than others that didn't make it to the playoffs. So what does E.J. do now that the season is over?

Man, I'm about to go get away. You know, me and my family, we love going to Hawaii. So we're going to get away here for a little bit. Yeah. And then, you know, at some point, I get back in the lab and get ready to go, you know, do this thing again. Yeah. You're from Georgia, E.J. Yeah, South Georgia.

What part? Oh, yeah. Way Cross, Georgia. Oh, hello. You're coached a trail. See, Unk, that's what I'm saying. You didn't even, you just finding this out, man. I didn't know you from way cross.

Yeah, I bet I'm right there. Man, we used to catch chickens over in Waycross and Baxley. Baxley, yes, sir. Hey, check this out. That ring, you guys kind of started that giant Norm was one of those big, I'm talking about this thing this big around. You're trying to top that with the Seahawks? Almost definitely.

We've got to. I'm hoping and praying they let me design this thing. you know, let me, you know, get a few ideas out there. Man, the Seahawk, he might be a real, instead of the head, he might be the whole Seahawks. But on a more serious note, John Snyder's smoke at the ceremony of the presentation about how you, Jake, Bobo, Drew Locke, and Charles Cross all lost your fathers this year. Right. Talk about that special kind of bond that you guys had going through loss, but still having the main focus

because you know the football season doesn't stop, even though there might be a loss or tragedy that someone in the family might have faced. Man, it was definitely tough, and we all had those conversations together. You know, I think I lost my father first. And then right around the time that I was losing mine, you know, Charles had started going through, you know, the complications with his. So it was tough, man, you know, speaking to him and, you know, not having all the answers myself because I'm still trying to deal with it.

But we got a great support system there. That team, I'll tell you, they look out for you. They really truly care about you. So it was easy when we came back to work because they knew, you know, that we were dealing with stuff. But they let us, they let us grieve. They let us have our moments. They let us come back and be around our boys and, you know, do this thing that we love. So it honestly, you know, made it easier being around the guys.

Because it takes a special type of compartmentalization. Because you realize, like, you know what, I am grieving, but I know my dad would want me, would want X, Y, and Z. and I know the level of expectation because, you know, a lot of times sports is not like a regular job. You know, a regular job, they might give you bereavement time you might get able to take a week or two. That ain't how professional sports work. Now, maybe in baseball, I can just speak to football,

so I don't want to get out of, you know, get out of character and say, well, this is how it is in basketball. I'm talking about football. Right. Man, hey, basically, you go to the pay also, you go into a funeral, when you think you'll be back. Right, yes, for sure. And that's what I say, like,

And for most teams, and I can't speak for every team, but I know that, you know, they wouldn't be willing to let their start middle lineback and leave too much and miss that much of time during training camp and the things before. And they didn't stress me out about it at all. They let us, you know, do what we had to do. So I really appreciate them for that. Yeah, it's funny, especially when it comes to losing loved ones. I think teams understand that the owners and GMs, obviously the head coaches we've all

dealt with loss sometimes. that happens during the season and end season, I lost my father when I was with the Patriots uncle. He passed away from a pancreatic cancer as well. And they allowed me to do what I needed to do, to do it was necessary as far as funeral arrangements and going to a funeral and having to come back. And they understand that most of the time your brothers in that locker room, they understand what you're going through. So sometimes it's somewhat good and you want to be back in that environment of your extended family. you know, to be around the fellas, to kind of get away from that. Because most of the time you go to work, especially after a tragedy like that,

that's your sense of peace. That's just a sense of peace being around your brothers, man. It may make you feel a lot better. Oh, for sure. Definitely. Well, the thing is, the best thing about that with you, E.J, is that you're a vested player. Because a lot of times, I remember my great-grandmother passed, I was afraid to ask.

I was like, no, I ain't going to even ask. I ain't going to even ask. Then when my grandma, my dad's mom passed, we ended up like, we're going to have to have this thing on the, a Monday. Because if you don't have it on the Monday, I'm not going to be able to make it. So, you know, fortunate enough, like you said, you're a vested player and, you know, they gave you

that kind of time because they, like I said, we understand that this is they say this. This is what they say, oh, you know, family is the most important thing. Man, stop it. Yeah. It's football important, too. Exactly. Man, E.J., congratulations,

man. We're proud of you. Thanks for coming on during the season and talking with us Ocho and I at Nightcap. Congratulations. two-time Super Bowl champ. Yes, sir. Now, hey, in the same division, one with the Rams and now with the Seahawks. That's it.

Been a livebacker for the Seattle Seahawks. Great defense, had an unbelievable game. Before we get you out of here, what did you guys see on tape? Because y'all brought Spoon a lot more on the Blitz. Normally it's emo that would come on the Blitz. But this time, it was spoon. And he was getting home because he timed it up perfect.

What did you guys see that said, you know what, that McDonald's? that coach Max said, you know what? Spooned. We got to play them next year. But I will say this. I will say this. The way coach Mike seen it is how it worked.

Yeah. So in other words, they had a tail. They had a little tail and we had to do what we had to do. Yeah. Well, that's awesome, man. Well, congratulations, E.J. man. Enjoy. Hey, get away with your family for a couple of weeks.

weeks. Hey, you know, it's either being the hunting, Hunter, then at the end of the hunt is. Yeah. I love to hunt, though. We still go hunt. That's what I'm talking about. All right, man, congratulations. Enjoy your time off and we'll see you down the road.

Thank you. Thank you. Congratulations. Ernest Jones, the fourth, Super Bowl champ of the Seattle Seahawks. I'm Bowen. And I'm Matt Rogers. During this season of the Two Guys Five Rings podcast, in the lead-up to the Milan Cortina, 2026 winner Olympic Games, we can do.

joined by some of our friends. Hi, Boen, hi, Matt. Hey, Elmo. Hey, Matt, hey, Bowen. Hi, Cookie. Hi. Now, the Winter Olympic Games are underway, and we are in Italy to give you experiences from our hearts to your ears.

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