Geoff Schwartz Is Smarter Than You - NFL Free Agency Frenzy Begins

Episode Date: March 16, 2021

Geoff Schwartz is back to break down the first day of NFL Free Agency. Geoff talks the Patriots spending spree, breaks down the market for wide receivers, and shares a story about his free agency experience. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

It's Tuesday, March 16th, and welcome to the beginning of NFL Franchise. Things got hot and heavy as the tampering period opened up. We'll talk about all that. Some teams making moves. Some teams sitting still. What to make of the wide receiver. This is Jeff Schwartz, and this is the Jeff Schwartz is smarter than you podcast. We're glad to be here on the start of NFL Franchise.

Now, look, it is not the official start of Franchisee. That starts Wednesday at 4 o'clock. But the legal tampering period, as they call it, has opened up the legal negotiation window. Started Monday at noon Eastern. And, of course, you're not supposed to talk before this day, but you do. Your agents are in communication with the teams and deals were hot and heavy on Monday. So we'll cover all those. I am in Dallas.

The audio might not sound exactly normal. I'm here for a great project I've been working on or going to start working on, I should say, with Fox Sports. We've teased a little bit. It's offensive line camp, all our quarterback camp. So we're looking forward to bringing you that in the next couple of weeks. Something to look forward to. We have, as of right now, the top two tackles, the number one center, a second-round guard, and probably second or third-round guard,

great story, Quinn, out of Whitewater, Wisconsin, Division III school. So we have a lot to cover on that angle the next couple of days. I'll be doing it myself. We'll bring you all the goodies in the next couple of weeks when we get to the draft. So, Frenchie started fast, as usual, even during the quote-unquote negotiation period. And the team that went hardest,

the team you would never expect to do so, the New England Patriots went on a spending spree. They spent more money in this short window than ever spent at a single time under Bill Belichick. They spent nearly half as much as they spent the entire time Belichick and Brady were together. Here's who they have signed. They signed tight end Johnnie Smith from the Titans. Give him a top-end tight end contract. A ton of money for Johnnie Smith. He is an up-and-coming player. I think that money is definitely worth it for him.

They gave him four years, $50 million, $31 million guaranteed. Boom. Got themselves a tight end. We know they need a ton of weapons. They went weapon shopping. They're not stopped with the weapons. Wide receiver Nelson Aguilar and wide receiver Kendrick Bourne. Nelson Aguilar for career year in Las Vegas.

Kendrick Bourne of the 49ers. They signed those two guys for modest wide receiver deals. Kendrick Bourne, three years, 22 minutes, only $7 million guaranteed. That's basically a one-year deal, guys. Basically a one-year deal. And I'm trying to get the number for Nelson Aguilar. I believe it was a two-year deal, about, yep, two-year deal, $22 million. So, look, not top of the market for these wide receivers.

And we'll get to plenty more wide receiver talk in just a few minutes. A lot to talk about. There's a ton of wide receivers that are still available. They signed Matthew Judon, the defensive end for, excuse me, previously of the Ravens, for top money of the position. D-line Henry Anderson. Jalen Mills as well from the Eagles. They signed a D-tackle to fill that spot.

They also re-upped Carl Davis and Dietrich Weiss on their teams. They went hard on day one. And why? Why? Because they need talent. They need talent now. They just signed Cam Newton to another one-year deal. It's not as high as – it can't be as high as 14 million.

Not obviously. You're going to end up probably being there. But they needed to bring talent to the organization to give Cam Newton a chance, especially offensively, give them a chance with a tight end with two wide receivers with the, they went and got Trent Brown a couple of days ago in a trade, the former Raiders offensive lineman, go get yourself a ton of talent. The issue obviously is teams that are this hot and heavy during NFL free agency,

especially early in free agency, typically are either desperate, don't know what they're doing, or it's not going to work. And all those could obviously be very true here, that the Patriots are desperate to try to win a title with Bill Belichick and to prove that it's not just Tom Brady's reason why the Patriots have won all these years. Bill Belichick wants to show that he also knows what he's doing. So they're taking, obviously, big swings of all these players. And it's fair to say, hey, Nelson Aguilar coming off a career year.

Matthew Judon coming off her career year. And it's easy to argue that these deals are going to backfire. But with Corey Davis signing with the Jets as a wide receiver for $27 million guaranteed, that is what they paid for both the wide receivers combined. There is some value in what they're doing, guys. I know that we see these big numbers, and we see Nelson Aguilar again, off a career year in Oakland, I assume in Las Vegas, and we rush to judge on the Patriots. And they have shown in the past they're not able to evaluate wide receiver position. But they paid

for two guys for the cost of one Corey Davis. And it's worth noting that free agency is for need. The draft is for value. So trying to plug holes of need. They need a lot of help to win as soon as possible. So they went and swung for the fences. Again, I like this new Patriots. I like them going for it.

I like the idea of them finally spending money. But again, history has shown us that spending so much money is not going to win you a championship. It's not going to win you a championship. So while it's great, while it's great, I don't know if it's going to pay off in the end. And by the way, I like Bill Belichick. I like great coaching. I like the idea of him just going for it now after so many years of not going for it with Tom Brady. But it's a big, big risk.

It's a big risk. And I'm glad, again, to see them try this. People are going to crush them for it. I will not be the one crushing them for it. Other big signings that I think were very important so far in the free agency. Joe Thune, the offensive lineman. Formerly the Patriots signed with the Chiefs. Five years, $80 million.

You heard that right. The highest contract ever for interior offensive linemen. And the Chiefs had to swim for the fences. A lot of negotiations and talks about Trent Williams coming to Kansas City. That felt a little pricey at $23, $25 million a year. You add Joe, and he's at your left guard now. You outgrade it to center. You still got to handle tackle, right?

You drafted Lucas last year at TCU, but the Chiefs had to spend money. And I saw people talking about how this was, that they were going to be aggressive in free agency. And I brought up the point that we've seen that position offensive line. They really have not been very aggressive. They have filled roster holes with bargain-free agents, with draft picks.

And they signed my brother in 2016, who, by the way, has been released. And I'll discuss a little bit more of that at the end as well. I want to get into that, what it's like to be a releasing player. We'll talk about Drew Brees as well. So we'll get to all that in just a second, guys. Boom. And there it is. Wireless on the most reliable network nationwide.

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$30 per line per month. Taxes and fees extra. Compares pricing of top carriers. Xfinity Internet required. Reduced speeds up to 20 gigabits of usage per line. Most reliable based on RootMetrics UL's report. Results vary. Non-endorsement. So the Chiefs went hot and heavy, man. $16 million a year for him. The Chargers

signed Corey Winsley, the All-Pro Offensive All-Pro Center from the Packers. The Chargers. How about Justin Herbert. And it's hard to give teams full grades on free agency as of now. You guys are listening to this Tuesday and maybe Wednesday. Free agency is not over. There's a long wave of free agency. And we're seeing right now one position group, the wide receiver position group. There's too many wide receivers.

There's too many good ones. There's Kenny Galladay, obviously. There's Juju. We saw Corey Davis sign. We saw Bourne sign. We saw Aguilar sign. There's so many wide receivers. I think what's happening is we've seen other positions. We've seen De'Anne sign big today. We've seen offensive tackle sign, offensive guard sign big today. We've seen a couple wide receivers sign big today. We saw Sha couple wide receivers sign big today. We saw Shaq Barrett, your rehab by the Bucs, for big money, the defensive end. And we should have seen Kenny Galladay, the Lions wide receiver, sign by now.

Here's what I think is happening, guys. When you have too many players in one position and there's not a need around the NFL outside of the Jets just signed a guy the Colts who are never going to spend money in the first round they've always said that in the first round of a frequency and the Dolphins I think it is

who really need one is there's not a lot of place for these guys to go. And you look at what happened with New England, signing those guys for, quote, unquote, a little bit of a bargain. Corey Davis signed for $27 million guaranteed. You know, Kenny Galli is going for that $40 million guaranteed contract, right? $50 million. He's going for the highest he can get with With a market with so many players in that position,

I'm not sure he's going to get it. I think there's going to be a depressed market because they know, just for example, right, I could get Corey Davis for $27 million guaranteed or pay Kenny Gallagher $40 million guaranteed. The extra $13 million, I could go find myself an offensive lineman. I'm going to find myself a pass rusher. And we'll be fine on offense with Corey Davis and Kenny Dahlgut. So I do wonder

if we end up with one year deals for some of these guys at the top. Hey, the cap is down now, $17 million this season. Maybe they get a one-year deal, whatever it is, X amount of money,

play really well this year, go somewhere where you're going to throw the ball, go somewhere you have a chance to catch the ball. And then next year, when presumably as more TV money comes in, the cap goes all the way back up and you get yourself a much bigger contract. I don't know. You know, the Corey Davis deal kind of threw that off in my opinion. I feel like there was an option for that with Juju, obviously, and now Juju with Kenny Galladay.

But I do wonder, because we've seen everyone else sign, and there were talks about, oh, lots of talks about the teams. Okay, sure, but how come Matthew Judon signed for big money? How come Shaq Barrett was on teams? How come Corey Lindsley? How come Joe Dillon? How come all the top guys have signed for big money except you and Trent Williams? Now, Trent Williams is an interesting case, left tackle, Niners.

He lost $23 million, $25 million a year. It's a lot of money, and we'll see if he gets it. So free agency, guys, is off of the bay. It's a lot of fun to be a free agent. And this year is a little different because of COVID. Remember 2014 when I was be free agent and this year's a little different because of covid remember 2014 when i was a free agent the legal tampering period but we started on the morning of my wedding so it was march 8th with this legal tampering period so i was a free agent one of the top guards of free agency day of my wedding we're on the west coast in los angeles my wife is at the

hotel getting ready with their friends and the legal tampering period started at 9 00 a.m pacific time so my agent was that we were at the house my parents house we're having an out of town uh kind of function for out of town uh guest uh family members and whatnot so my agent was over 9 00 a.m., phone rings. The phone rings nine times, nine teams calling between 9 a.m. and 9.30. Good morning, my wedding. About 10 a.m., my agent Derek. Derek, my agent, calls me into the living room. It's me, my brother, Derek, dad, Uncle Fred, my uncle.

We're all sitting there in the living room, morning of my wedding, talking about which team i'm going to sign with we had a pros and cons list we listed all nine teams out the giants were the favorite i mean there was no team offering as much the rams eventually got to the same number as the giants for many reasons one is they had a tradition of winning with Tom Coughlin, Eli Manning. I wanted to win. I was in my seventh year. I wanted to win. We liked what we heard about the Giants.

We liked what we knew about them. We liked the city. We liked the vibe. The Giants were number one. It was the place we wanted to go to and the place, obviously, that was going to pay us the most money to do that.

So my agent had told me that the goal was $4 million a year, which I ended up getting my agent had told me that the goal was $4 million a year, which I ended up getting just over that. That was the goal, $4 million a year. That was the goal we had. So he goes, look, get ready for your wedding. We will talk later. So go to the venue, get dressed.

I'm probably, I would not imagine, I'm on Twitter all day. I'm getting ready for my wedding. I'm not looking at what anyone else is doing. This is also, too, since seven years ago, there was no official announcement of contracts signed in the first hour of the tampering period, of the negotiation period. It was all done like it used to be, four o'clock on Wednesday is when all these came in. Back then, I think it might have been a Tuesday, the year that I was doing it. I think it was even a Monday. It was a Saturday, probably Monday. So we get married, go take pictures,

come back for cocktail hour, probably at 6.30. And my agent comes up to me and he goes, hey, we're good, man. We're good. I said, we're good? Yeah, we're good man we're good so we're good yeah we're good so i knew i had to deal with the giants for four million a year and i was set so i went to the marriage with my wife uh right from that marriage hey tara told me we're good she's like we're good for what just no understanding what's happening no understanding it's beautiful that's why i love her just no pain never knew how much I made. Never knew how much,

how long my contracts were. She's along for the ride. She had no idea. Of course, it's our wedding night. Maybe we should focus on different things. But nonetheless, I knew that night I'd sign with the Giants. I would eventually make that official a couple days later when I flew to New York. Got my physical, got it done. But

the free agency process for players, especially when you're a top-end guy, there's a lot – it's not so much wooing of teams. Teams aren't – you're not taking three visits if you are a high-level free agent. You're going typically where the most money is. But teams are trying to get you to come there. And I remember I got a call right at 4 p.m. on the day of franchisee from – I believe it was Jeff Fisher of the Rams. And I just was like, don't answer it. You're not going to Los Angeles at 4 p.m. on the day of franchise from, I believe it was Jeff Fisher of the Rams. And I just thought, don't answer it. You're not going to

St. Louis at that time. Don't answer it. And there's some moonness. You get to your city. I went to New York, man. We got, flew in, got a steak dinner. You're being winded down by the coaches. I stayed overnight. There was J.D. Walton and Rashad Jennings.

And we just, you know, we spent the next day there. I don't know if we met the media or not, so I might deal with the Giants. And we had a big Giants State dinner, Smith and Walensky's, all the coaching staff. Like, you feel like a king. Like, everyone is whining down you, taking you out, enjoying it.

Now, this year might be different depending on where you live. You're probably not going to have the same experience. Maybe you are. But a lot of fun to be a Franchise. This is a great time for a lot of players. They're getting paid. They're making their dreams come true.

And they're getting to experience what it's like to be wanted. A lot of times in the NFL, you don't get told you're wanted. You don't get told that you're appreciated. You don't get told that you're loved. You see that with money, but this is an example of you're going to have a coach call you and tell you, hey, Jeff Schwartz, we love what you did in this game. We love how you play. We love your attitude. We love your leadership.

We love your physicality. We love whatever it is. Maybe they don't. Maybe they don't like you and find out if of the sign, but they tell you that anyways. And you feel great. You feel like, again, that you're wanted in the NFL. We all know that we love to feel wanted. And that's an example of just wanting to feel wanted. And so it's a lot of fun.

And I'm glad these guys are able to experience what that feels like. And it's a great day for a lot of players. Unfortunately, not the best week for my brother, Mitch Schwartz, was released by the Chiefs. That's the other end of this, right? You go from signing a big contract this week to veterans getting released. My brother was released alongside Eric Fisher, the left tackle for the Chiefs, my brother the right tackle for the Chiefs.

And getting released is almost inevitable for every player. Most players do not ride off into the sunset. Obviously, some do. And getting released is just like I would imagine. I've never had another job where I've been fired from. I've been, my contract's been not renewed in the media world, but never been fired. And, you know, one day you're on the team, just like I would imagine, same as any other job. You're on the job, you get fired, and you're just not doing the job anymore and for us as regimented as we are how connected we are to the team how short

our careers are um getting released is never fun um it's jarring it's emotional um you know there's other things that go into just look i'm not saying they're any different than anything else but you know with the family yeah you typically you leave the city you're not staying in the city you're in uh you're just packing your shit up and you're bouncing as soon as possible go back home um and it's just over that quickly i mean mitch had been there five years he's very well respected the organization he made four all pros and and he won a super bowl i mean he had great time in kansas city there's no better way to put it all of a sudden it's just over just done um the older older you get, the easier it is. I was cut as a rookie to go in practice squad. I knew I was getting cut. They called me right when they said 6 a.m.

Told me I was getting released. Not fun. 2011, the Panthers told me they weren't going to tender me. I was just released. I didn't physically have to sign paper to release me, but I was rehabbing injury at that time. I didn't physically have to sign paper to release me, but I was, I was rehabbing injury at that time. I had like two, I was just like rehabbing as a dead man walking till the day that free agency opened and boom, I was off somewhere else to do my rehab off to different teams to be

ready to play. I was with the Vikings that year. I got released by the giants. Obviously they called me. I was at rehab and getting my ankle worked on. I got a missed call from the Giants front office. I saw the Giants number. I saw the team number. I knew I was getting released. I called them back right away and you're being released, going to New York. It took me a couple weeks to get up there and send their paperwork. You put your shit

in a bag or a box, and they send it to your house. You grab what you can or anything you want from your locker that day, and they pack your shit up, and they ship it off to your house. And I have two boxes in my house. Get to Detroit, and then I was released by Detroit. I knew I was going to be released by Detroit in training camp. This is when you get older.

I was 30 years old, and you start getting signs. You understand the business works a lot better. The third preseason game is a game where, you know, if you play with the ones or twos, you feel pretty good about things, right? If you're the number one backup, you feel pretty good that you're going to get a chance to make the team. Well, I didn't play in the second game. I played the first one.

I was the backup interior offensive lineman. I was the backup at right guard, left guard. I believe I was backup at right tackle. I was going to play the whole second half. I was going to play the whole second half. And halftime, my offensive line coach, Ron Prince, goes up to me and goes, hey, you're not playing. They're sitting you down in the second half.

And I was like, oh, shit, I knew what this means. I know what this means. I've been around my ninth year. I know what this means. So we go back out. And we're playing in Baltimore. I distinctly remember this conversation on the sidelines in Baltimore. And I went up to coach, my offensive line coach, Ron Prince.

We had a really good relationship. I was like, hey, my office line coach, Ron Pritchett, we didn't relationship. I said, hey, hey, Ron, am I getting cut? He goes, probably. Doesn't look good. And lo and behold, next day they call me. Boom. Cut.

I knew it was coming. I knew it was coming. But, yeah, man. It's never fun. Never fun. As we're talking, by the way, Carl Lawson. Jets, three years, $45 million, 30 guaranteed. As we're talking, things are happening.

Broncos, Phillip Lindsaysey low rfa tender it's just this thing i mean flies hot and heavy man i love it steven's office line and matt feller which is green with the chargers 21 million dollars strength in the offensive line. Chargers are doing work, man, in the offensive line. Smart. Protect Justin Herbert. As the week goes on, we'll get more of these, right? We'll have a show later in the week to break down all this. We'll get you a nice guest.

I think I'll be in Los Angeles. I haven't been in LA in a long time. That'll be fun to do. Last thing I want to hit today before we leave is the retirement of one Drew Brees. Drew Brees retires from the New Orleans Saints as the best favorite signing of all time. I think there's no doubt about that.

You might argue with Tom Brady or Peyton Manning, but what Drew Brees did on the field, he won the Saints Super Bowl, and off the field, what he did in the community, bringing that community back from Katrina, it's unrivaled. Unrivaled what he's able to do in that community. And a great career.

You know, walk right into Canton. He's going to work for NBC right now. And deserves all the credit for winning the Super Bowl and being as accurate, going for as many yards, and everything else. But, guys, it's fair to say the Saints have massively underachieved with Drew Brees as their quarterback. How about this? 2017 season,

they are number one in DVOA as a team. 2018 season, number two in DVOA as a team. We use DVOA football terms. We love it. 2019, second in DVOA football. We love it. 2019. Second in DVOA. 2020. First in DVOA.

Guess how many championship appearances they had? Zero. Zero. Zero Super Bowl appearances in that time. They played in one conference championship game and lost. The last three times they have left the playoffs. They have left the playoffs as home underdogs.

Lost to the Rams in the non-call. Primary River non-call, I get it. It was a bad play. Tanks also had the ball in overtime first. Had a chance to win the game. Turn was a bad play. Saints also had the ball in overtime first. Had a chance to win the game. Turned the ball over.

Next year, we lost the Vikings and Cousins at home as, I believe, a touchdown favorite last season. The one that just ended. They beat the Poultry Bears at home and got smoked by the Bucs as a home favorite. They have massively underachieved. There's no way about it. Since they won the Super Bowl in 2009,

they have not won more than one playoff game in any postseason. They have not won two playoff games in any postseason. If this was Andy Reid and not Sean Payton, we would mock Andy Reid, hold against Andy Reid, whatever else.

We would crush Andy Reid. But since Sean Payton, for whatever reason, he gets the tag of the only genius ever to be a coach of the NFL. Why does he get a pass for all this shit?

I don't know why he gets a pass. Makes no sense. Three of the Saints, for agent, James Winston has agreed to a deal with the Saints. Sean Sharani, hilarious NBA guy. So, Drew Brees and Sean Pinch, you're not going to pass for this.

They have massively underachieved in New Orleans. No way about it. If I told you your favorite team finished DVOA one or two for four straight years, you would expect a Super Bowl appearance and a Super Bowl title. None of that happened for New Orleans and Drew Brees. Where do they go from here? Well, obviously, Jameis Winston is going to be their quarterback. The Saints get that ridiculous, avoidable year contract at Taysom Hill.

Four years, a bazillion dollars. It was all avoidable. I don't still get why they're paying all that money. But James Winston's back for the Saints, and we'll see if the dynasty continues. I'm not sure if it continues. I don't know about the dynasty, but the winning. It's possible if it continues with James Winston. So I'm looking forward to it.

All right, guys. Good, tidy show today. We're going to have a longer show Thursday. Excuse me, Friday morning. We'll record Thursday. I have a guest. Have some fun with it. We'll go over NFL free agency.

Totality. Winners, losers. Teams that still need to find a place. Players still need to find a place. We'll do all that. I just want to come on and talk to you guys about what knows the first day of the NFL. All right, guys. Take care. Talk to you guys in a couple of days.