Green Light with Chris Long - Jason Kelce! Vernon Davis! Luke Kuechly! DeVonta Smith! Day 2 at SB LVIII Radio Row

Episode Date: February 9, 2024

Green Light at the Super Bowl! We've got another round of great guests at the Super Bowl! Jason Kelce comes through to talk with Chris and Beau about Eagles memories and his New Heights podcast. Then Jason's teammate DeVonta Smith follows to talk about this Eagles season, Nick Saban and Alabama. Vernon Davis comes through to remind Chrirs about their battles in the NFCW and talk Jim Harbaugh as a HC. And we finish today's episode with an appearance from Luke Kuechly, who talks about his memories of SB 50, his career since he retired and the Q Collar, a revolutionary tool in limiting brain injury impact in sports. Throughout the show, you'll also hear plenty of shoutouts to guys that rolled by us on radio row. Join us as we get to hang out at the Toyota Tacoma stage in Las Vegas and get a feel for the Radio Row life! (00:00) - Jason Kelce on the Eagles, nearly fighting Chris on Mount Kilimanjaro, Super Bowl and New Heights (49:19) - Vernon Davis on 49ers battles with the Rams and Chris, Jim Harbaugh wearing pads at practice and Super Bowl memories (1:00:07) - DeVonta Smith on Nick Saban and Alabama and the Eagles (1:16:41) - Luke Kuechly on playing with Cam Newton and Christian McCaffrey, SB 50, life after football and the the Q collar Have some interesting takes, some codebreaks or just want to talk to the Green Light Crew? We want to hear from you. Call into the Green Light Hotline and give us your hottest takes, your biggest gripes and general thoughts. Day and night, this hotline is open. Green Light Hotline: ‪[phone]‬ Make sure to check out Fax and the King every Wednesday on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@FaxAndTheKing Send any Talent Search submissions to: [e-mail] Include any video of your talents, takes and bits as well as a little bit about yourself. Love hearing from the Green Light fans. Also, check out our paddling partners at Appomattox River Company to get your canoes, kayaks and paddleboards so you're set to hit the river this summer. https://paddleva.com/ Green Light Spotify Music: https://open.spotify.com/user/951jyryv2nu6l4iqz9p81him9?si=17c560d10ff04a9b Spotify Layup Line: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1olmCMKGMEyWwOKaT1Aah3?si=675d445ddb824c42 Green Light Tube YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/GreenLightTube1 Green Light with Chris Long: Subscribe and enjoy weekly content including podcasts, documentaries, live chats, celebrity interviews and more including hot news items, trending discussions from the NFL, MLB, NHL, NBA, NCAA are just a small part of what we will be sharing with you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I mean, one day he came out, and he was suited from head to toe, cleats, helmet. No. Shorter pads, yeah. He was suited. And he went out, and he was with the, he was with the number two offense, right? Parbaugh ran with the twos. He ran with the twos and number two offense. And he was out there just slinging, man.

It was crazy. Could he still throw it? Yeah. Thanks to Toyota and the brand new Toyota Tacoma. We'll be broadcasting from the NFF. NFL media center in Las Vegas from the most badass set in all of Radio Row. That's right. The all new 2024 Toyota Tacoma with its trail dominating power,

legendary capability and captivating style, is arriving in dealerships. And it's arriving at the 2024 Super Bowl in Las Vegas as we are helping Toyota launch the all new 2024 Toyota Tacoma. That's right. It's going to be right next to me. You'll be able to see the all-new best-selling mid-sized pickup in America featured on the Greenlight podcast set recorded from the Tacoma Content Studio.

The all-new Toyota Tacoma dares you to come out and play. The all-new 2024 Toyota Tacoma, the most powerful Tacoma ever, is your chance to experience trail-dominating power, legendary capability, and captivating style. It's time to make your off-roading dreams come true. With the 2004 Toyota Tacoma, a truck that's tough on the trail and easy on the eyes, electrifying power, maximum torque, the all-new Toyota Tacoma is the most powerful Tacoma ever. Toyota, the official automotive partner of the NFL. Welcome to the Greenlight podcast.

Another day of Greenlight being on Radio Row here in Las Vegas at the Super Bowl. We've got Jason Kelsey, the big Eagles man himself, stops by to hang out with Bo and Chris. Talk a little Eagles memories when they were all in team together. Talk a little Super Bowl, New Heights. They have a general good time. A lot of laughs. You'll enjoy that one. Then we get Devon DeVon Smith, another Eagles guy.

Some good bird stories there. And then we roll into Vernon Davis. Chris and Vernon had a lot of battles back in the day in the old NFC West. They talk about that, how Chris still feels those hits. And Vernon shares his thoughts of being a story. Super Bowl winner and having played in this game before. And to wrap things up, Luke Keeckley comes on. He's going to talk about his Super Bowl memories, what he's up to since his retirement,

and the Q collar, a piece of equipment he's championing that is a big help to football players. So enjoy the entire show. We'll be coming live to you from Radio Row on Friday. Make sure you tune in. We'll drop some more info. Enjoy the show. Check out all the interviews on YouTube. Much love.

Welcome back to the Toyota stage, bright and early. Good morning. Good morning. Good morning, Chris. Hey. I got my boys here. I got, I got Bo Allen, and the man that needs no introduction. Honestly, I would say my most famous friend.

Would you say that? I guess. Jason Kelsey. Kind of hurts to say it like that, though. No, it's true, though. I don't think that's true. We were with... You know a lot of famous people.

No, but not like you now. I mean, right now, we walked through the lobby yesterday at Aria, and, like, my man's... It's a pride. Yeah. How you feeling? feeling good. Happy to be here. It's a fun week.

This is probably the best setup you can ask for for something like this. Like 7X my money on the blackjack table yesterday. Yeah, guys, Kelsey absolutely filled it at the gambling yesterday. It was insane. That was incredible. So, Bo is like, yo, me and Kelsey are at Aria, and I had like two hours. And I go, you know, I'm going to pop over there. We're playing tables.

And I don't play tables. This is not a casino table gambler. When I walked in there, it was like the who's who of like of everybody. It was obviously Kelsey was there. And I told you what a big deal that is. And then Tom Segorah and Burt Kreischer and our boys from Buss and Taylor and Will. And who else was in there? Baker Mayfield.

Baker Mayfield. Great guy. Who I love. I love Baker Mayfield, dude. Yes. Incredible, dude. You can't say enough good things about this guy. And so happy for him to have this year.

Anthony Pettis. Showtime Pettis. I was gambling with him. He was there as well. We had a really fun time. Anthony Pettis. Who is that? Yeah.

Fire. That's the guy who is right next to. Incredible guy. I had a feeling that guy could kick my ass. He was badass. You can just tell by looking at the guy's traps and the way they sit. Yes. This dude wrestled before.

No question. Yeah. And you got to look for the call. Exactly. Telltale sign. And then. It was electric too because Tom was at our table and Bert was at your table. And we just wanted to make Bert have FOMO.

So every time anybody won anything, we just yelled. his plowed his blood. Yeah, and every time we won, we yelled too, and I didn't do a whole lot of yelling. I was over there trying to do a little call back, call back and forth, try to get the juices flown. Couldn't get anything going to the table. Your boy was down bad, but that was actually a really fun event. Like, Bert was, like, lit up a cigar for me. Like, I haven't smoked a cigar in years. Turns out he's from Tampa. So, like, he's from that area. He was talking about, like, smoking cigars in Ebor City, but it was really fun, man. Dude, I have no idea how to play any table games, and you guys were like, here, take some

Baker Mayfield gave me like $300. Yeah. And I felt like a kid, like going over to my dad to get some money for something. And then I went back over and I turned it into like $600. There you go. I tried to give it back to Baker. He wouldn't take it. I would have taken it.

I know. I'm sorry. I ended up giving it to Funny Marco. Do you know who that did? See that guy, Funny Marco when he walked in? Yeah, yeah. He's one of the funniest people on the Internet. He actually accepted the $600.

Oh, yeah. I was like, bro, I'm a huge fan. I was like, here's $600. He was like, no problem. But Tom's vodka was good. If anybody gets a chance, it was really good. Yeah, really good. And I wasn't planning on drinking.

I had a little of his vodka. And then you boys ended up going to you two last night. Dude. So these guys are all loaded up going to YouTube. Bow's in party mode. I was having a good time. Bo was having a good time. They go to you two at the sphere.

I'm super jealous. want to ask you about the sphere, but first I want to ask you what it's like when you show up to a suite and Bose in party mode and you realize that my parents are in the same suite. Pop along. So like you had no idea. Well, okay, let me just preface this, Chris. I've been excited about going to YouTube at the sphere for months. It's been like this thing this week that I've been biggest bucket list item, like just, you know, YouTube Bono, the whole circus, the lights, the visuals, everything like that.

I've been stoked about talking about it nonstop. We went back to Kelsey's room to recharge for a little bit before we went there, and I've left my phone charging in his room, so I couldn't even document it. That's good, though. You don't want to be the guy that's like this the whole time. I was analog. It was awesome. Not only did you leave your phone, the only, he had an actual disposable camera.

I haven't seen one of those years. Yeah, one of those bad boys. He had to conserve. He had to be very specific in his choices of photography. There's no way those pictures came out good. when they made disposable cameras. That's kind of the fun of it, though. They weren't capable of capturing the sphere, dude.

Yeah. So, will we walk in and, like, I don't know anyone there besides Kels and Emily and Porter, who we went with? And just like a beacon in the light, your mom walks in and was just great energy, has having such a fun time. As soon as I got a picture that you were with my mom, I was like, oh, shit. Yeah. And Chris, you said Chris Rock, Adam Sandler, and who else was in there? Dude, Bob Odenkirk. So they were in the box right now.

Oden Kirk was there. It was, yeah. There was a star-study cast. Did you talk to Oden Kirk? Dude, I met a couple of them, and I was, I haven't been star-struck. You know, I haven't been star-struck in a very long time. Yeah. I didn't know how to react to eating, to meeting all of these, like, icons from.

Comedy legend. 20, 30 years. Yeah, I mean, it's. You don't get star-struck. I get star-struck sometimes. I was definitely star-struck then. I was speechless. I didn't know what to say.

And it was. You did great, Kels. It was cool. You did great. All right, so the sphere. Talk to me about the experience. Like, Kelsey, where's the best seat in the sphere? Do you think it was in the suites or somewhere else?

I think it was on a seat. I'm not going to be. We had a great setup. So you don't want to be too low because that thing's huge. So they said going in, you want to be 200 level. And we were like right at the 200 level. Like right underneath it. Right in front of Bono.

He was singing directly to me all night. Did you see the guy that climbed the sphere? No. You didn't see this? Regular dude decided to climb the sphere. the other day. Got all the way to the top. How do you do that?

There's nothing to grab onto, right? Yeah, but he did it. He scaled the suction cups? Yeah, I don't know. And then he got arrested. Spector gadgeted it? He got promptly arrested, but I feel like it's worth it

to get to the top of the sphere. Probably doing, you know, a couple hours. So we were talking about this backstage. If we could rent the sphere out and we could bring like Lane and maybe somebody else and it's just us. And we could put whatever

we want it on the big screen. What do you guys want to do? What do you want to watch? Planet Earth. Oh, yeah. Like some Jane Goodall. Dude, I want to see the best. So first of all, those of you that have not been to it and seen the videos online, I mean, does not do it justice. And that's a very overused phrase. I thought I was prepared a little bit.

Yeah. This was the most intense, overwhelming, sensory overload. Highly stimulating. I mean, it is massive. They start spinning it. You're getting motion sickness just sitting there. Oh, you get motion sickness. I never get motion.

I go on any roller coaster, anything. They started spinning this thing. Like, it was almost like a film. Like, yeah. Anyways, it was very intense. Bono was spinning on stage over and over again, around around on this little pedestal, completely unfazed, just belting out song. I think they know that it was really spinning.

Incredible, spinning. I think they know that it's too much. So they take a break about. 45 minutes in an hour. And when they came back, it was all just what the strip looks. It was like an outdoor look at the strip. Outdoor look at Vegas. These beautiful scenic

views. And it feels like you're there. It was really, really cool. That was my favorite part. To answer your question, though, Chris. You got a good answer. So I would want to go, I wouldn't want to watch a movie. I'd want to play video games. I'm a video game guy. But like classic like N64, like Mario Kart or like Blitz. Yeah, NFL Blitz 2000 or like Super Smash Bros.

Oh, it'd be incredible. With your guys on there. It'd be incredible. So fun, man. Like, imagine hooking up the little, you know, you plug in an N64 and you have like the white, the yellow and the red little analog things. Just plugging that into the sphere. Turn it to turn a little plug right behind where Bono is. You got to turn the sphere to Channel 3.

Original Halo. Yeah. So you had a good idea. Kelsey, you and Trav had a good idea. It went viral. You guys were trying. And I never played this game growing up. up backyard football? So there's backyard football and backyard baseball. Did you play this? Yeah.

Did I miss my childhood? Dude, it's such a fun. Am I too old? Hopefully you were outside and you weren't doing that way. I was outside. That's what it was. Yeah. So what's the deal with this game? I think it was just really popular when we were growing up and it's got a cult following. Yeah. Everybody loved playing it. It didn't have like the NFL teams, but it had likeness. So. Well, Drew Letsoe was in it, right? It had players, but it didn't have the, like, it didn't have Patriots or like the Eagles like so you're just on like a weird looking team yes but drew breeze it was you play with like a child version of all the stars in the NFL but the thing about this oh so you look like kids yeah oh okay but the thing about this game dude is like it's beautifully simple so like all these games

from like back of the day on the n64 like early computer games yeah like they're just like simple you know what I mean minimal buttons yeah so you you in my opinion it forces the user to be more creative. So you have to like juke somebody with like the arrows on the keyboard. Instead of like a circle button. You know what I mean? Well that's what Madden's turned into. I know. I picked up Madden for the first time

in 12, 15 years. Like a couple weeks ago? No, it is not. Dude, it's not too much. It is amazing. It's awesome dude. You can run RPO's. You can run speed options. Like you can every hot route, it's not just go route. And you run Tush pushes, Chris? You can run

slants, fades, huh? Can you run a touch push? You can't run the tush push. Hey, how does that feel? How does it feel? Like physically. Because we got Devante on later. Nice.

And I thought I heard him liking it to being like in like he can't breathe for a while in there. Like when there's the pile. There's some guys in there. He's little. He's slender. But like I can imagine not being able to breathe. If you're at the bottom of the pile, it can get a little claustrophobic in there for sure. It's not a.

high impact. It's not a violent play. It's a grueling play. You're fighting for leverage initially. And then the whole mode is to grind it. You're just keeping your feet moving. You're pushing. The people behind you're pushing. They're pushing. The people

behind them are pushing. So it's a exhausting play. But it's not like a painful play, if that makes sense. No, I mean, I get it. I get it. Unless you're like Devante Smith. I can see it'd be painful. And then you get flattened like a pancake in there. The only thing I've really gotten close to getting hurt, I try and put my hands down while I'm doing it.

Yeah. And once I'm somebody fell into my elbow. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. That can be bad. Miniature. And I already got a crappy elbow. Yeah. So it doesn't want to go straight and it just went to straight.

I know what you mean. Hells, I love watching you emerge from the bottom of the pile after a tush push. And it's like, you know, in Game of Thrones that one episode like Battle the Bastard where John Snow is like crawling out of all the army, like the people in the army. I'll send it to you. But like, that's what it reminds me of. and just the look at your face as you're crawling out of the bottom of the pile after a touch push is just Here's what I think about that a lot because how do you stop that as a nose guard man? There's nothing well Vita Vaya.

Tampa Bay stopped. I know that was Greg Gaines. That was Greg Gaines. That was Greg Gaines. Why were they able to stop it? He did a good job but I don't know who it was on the right. He did a great job of getting skinny and kind of grabbing Jalen initially. That's what you got to do.

Well, you can't tell the secret. It's hard. Yeah. I mean, I don't know that there's any one way to stop. it because there's different ways to set the point of attack in apex. I think that you have to try and take off double teams on the play, right? In my opinion, or gap it all out. And if you're going to gap it all out, you probably go to pushers behind them,

like the old field goal block. You know, when they used to just put it in that outlawed. They allow it on that play to even the playing field. I think that's what you have to do. The problem with that is if we aren't running it, You are. Well, you guys have been running great counters off of it, too. The counters always work because the only way to stop.

There's so many numbers inside. You want to stop the play. You have to overload the point of attack inside, which makes you susceptible on the edge or for a pass. So I wish we did probably more counters at this point. Yeah. But it's hard to do a counter when you know you're going to convert over 90% of the time. It's your bread and butter. Yeah, I mean, the analytics behind it are like, this is a no-brainer.

It was interesting because we were with Drew Brees last night in the suite. and we were talking about this play from a quarterback's perspective. Oh, from backyard football, Drew Brees. No, he was. He probably was. No, it was Drew Bledso in backyard football. But anyway, when I was in Tampa,

he was with the Saints, and they used to run a very similar play where he would take it, like, he scored on this in the goal line twice. Yeah. We'd take it and then just elevate the ball over the top. Yes, real quick. Every time.

And pull it back in. And then pull it back in. He used to do that all the time, and it's the same philosophy as the touch bush, you know? The problem is they didn't always do that. and they were under center a lot more. Like for us, we don't do a lot of under center stuff. Right.

In the moment it's a short yard situation, Jalen's under center. Right. That middle linebacker is trying to jump over and time the snap. Yeah. We actually, who were playing. Like that old Troy Palomalo shit. I forget who we were playing late. Oh, the Giants.

Dude jumped over. Yeah. Early, right? Yeah, yeah, yeah. So, like, they're trying to time it. So it's hard to, like, reach. Yeah. And then, you know, the interior defensive linemen are trying to time it, too,

like the dude from the bills. Yes. I have, I overreacted to that a little bit. Can I, can I? Can I sell my idea that I had off backyard football? Let's go. You're thinking about the kid versions of these players? Yes.

How about a real league for older football players and they play tackle football? I mean. Tell me that would not, like obviously. That sounds perfect for people that never want to retire. Waivers that people would have to sign. Some of former NFL players are just older. I'm talking about former NFL players. I can't play T.

That's what makes it great. That's why everybody retired. You can't play it. But what did you say? I can't do it. Wait, does that thing? It's the perfect league for people that just can't hang it up, you know?

But think about it. There's a kind of guy and the unpredictability of it. Because Jerry Rice might have been Jerry Rice, but how is he doing it 56 years old? It's like pros versus Joe. So gambling on it would be really hard. Who's got the real longevity here? You could do pay-per-view stuff. You know, like it's like you assemble a team.

You call out another team. Remember during the pandemic they would do these rap battles, like on Instagram, where it was like they just pop up and somebody would profit off it, like, you know, in an individual sense. The same thing could happen for like pick up, washed up football. I'll tell you who I want on my team, Howie Long. No, dude, that's howie Long looks great on the outside, but on the inside, Howie Long feels terrible. He'd give you two snaps. Howie looks like, what are those like Kia?

He's just a box. Yeah, he looks like an auto bot. He looks like an auto bot. Yeah. That's a great. He does, dude. His head is a perfect... He's not a deceptic gun.

And dude, his hair just stands up perfectly every day. It was impressive. Every time I see him and I haven't seen him a long time, it's jarring. How big he is. And just how, like, solidly built the cat is. But also an unbelievable guy, Chris. He saved our lives on Flathead, remember? He did.

So the story is, well, he saved our lives. and then he saved me in Lane's life. He also... He loves doing lake rescues. And we're trying to get Kelsey out to Montana one of these years, but Bo comes out every couple years, and we rip it up for a couple days, and we take the whaler out, which is a little boat.

It's fun. Yo, dude, there's Ocho. I beat that guy in Madden. What up! I beat that guy in Madden. No, you're good, bro. Anytime. Interrupt anytime.

Anytime you want to come sit, We'll pull up another chair. It's my favorite dude in the world. What a guy. I fucking love you, man. I fucking love you. I love you, Ocho. Ocho Sinko, everybody.

Working with him on inside the NFL is incredible. When I was at University of Cincinnati, and he was still with the Bengals, he came out to a practice and was just like showing guy. And it was, you know, when you're in college, you think you're with high caliber athletes. Yeah. It was insane to see how quickly he could change direction, run all the routes. He was dicing everybody up. But you know what the cool thing about him? It printed in my head.

The cool thing about him is, like, he's a triple OG to me. The guy's, like, in his 40s. He looks like 30. He looks fantastic. He looks fantastic. He dresses fantastic. He looks way better than night. But he treats me, you know, like we're teammates.

You know, it's like he's a great teammate, you know? Like, we didn't know each other at all. And whether it's him or Ryan Clark, you saw Ryan yesterday. or Channing Crowder, who's awesome. Jay Cutler, been a lot of fun. It's been a fun show. But back to Montana, me and Lane getting this little whaler, and the ass end of the boat starts sinking because of Lane,

and we had too much beef in there. And the thing's got like six inches of water, and it's turning into a foot. So what do I do in situations like this? I call my dad. Put your life jacket on. And dad comes out there, and his big-ass cobalt, he almost sinks us with his wake.

You know, he's definitely, like, proud of the boat. Sonny a little bit. One time we had these vets in because we do conquering Killy, which Kelsey's done. A couple of the guys, you were Fred, a couple of guys, so all these guys are on our trip. All these guys are at Jimmy. All these guys are out there and I didn't

realize that we were over capacity. And the boat starts sinking. And I'm thinking, fuck man, these vets, they've survived all types of crazy shit and they're going to die in my boat on. They should have seen how quiet it got at a reunion for a veteran deal that we're like

It's supposed to be helping the vets, and, like, I'm taking them out in the boat, and there's... All the water started to rise and start pouring out of different parts in the boat, and it got so quiet of the boat. I just look at Chris, and we're just like, call dad. Fuck. Call dad. He's there and five. By the way, that Killy trip has turned into the greatest... First of all, the experience itself, unbelievable.

Yeah. And meeting all the guys and everybody. The gear you had to get... I still... That gear is held up. Yeah, dude. It's the best gear I have. Yeah.

The shoes I crying Mount Kilmajaro with are my walking... Anytime I got to walk him to Disney. The Moabs? The Merrill Moe? Yeah. Yeah. But then you end up with the gloves and the balaclava, and all of a sudden you're like, oh, I have things.

I can do outdoor shit. Yeah. So conquering Kelly, we do it for water boys. We have veterans and athletes up to climb Kilimanjaro, and we raise money for clean water. And Kelsey and Bo have been kind enough to donate nine days of their life. And possibly an untold amount of damage to their bodies because this is a grind, dude. It is a grind. And you didn't warn me, and I still kind of harbor that against.

This is my favorite Kelsey story, bro. The only time me and Kelsey have ever, like, bickered been at each other. Yeah. You know, like, and we both have short fuses, I guess, at times, but. It's fair. But we never argue. And we were up on Killy, and we get to the top. We have Helodianata, Bo, a couple three, 330-pounders going to almost.

I was 335 pounds when I started that climb, and I was 30-pound when I finished it. You lost, how much? 30 pounds. You legit. I weighed myself in the hotel after. They had scales in the hotel room. The funny thing about that trip was there was a battle between Bo and Helodi, like, because Bo is sensitive.

He is. Bo is an E-R. He is an E-R. I'm a poo, right? He's in E-R. Everybody was giving Helodi the credit for being the heaviest guy they've ever seen climb the mouth. This is amazing, Lodi.

Bo is like five pounds less than Helote. And he's getting no love. And he's just getting increasingly furious. but not saying anything because he's too good of a dude to take the shine off of Holody who's probably one of the most unbelievable guys are. Helodi is one of my favorite players of all time, by the way. Nice cover. I fucking love.

Nice cover for you being jealous of him. All hail God. All comments on the side. Like, the biggest guy on the mountain. We did it in the back. We go scarf down some soup at this fucking camp so I can be the biggest guy on the mountain by the time I get up.

He was trying to carve load to outweigh Holode. He didn't beef. Anyways, like, people would be like, great job. Helote. Can't believe you're doing this. So Holodi had this little flag in his backpack that he was going to retire on top of Kelly. So, like, of course, we're giving him a little extra TLC, but Bo can't fucking handle it. You know, Bo's in the back like, they're only talking about Hologna.

He's only five pounds heavier than me. Hey, let's not distract. Good job, Holode. Legend, all hill Holode. So we get to the top. By the way, like, everybody summits at different times. I make the mistake when I get over the rim of the volcano at like 18.5. I say, I'm with you the whole way, bro.

He's struggling. Yeah. So I keep my promises, man. And he did not make it when everybody else made it this way. Well, it's so funny how we're all like, you know, it's a team effort on the way up. Like, pole, polo, like, we're all kind of climbing in tandem, like doing all the switchbacks. And then. That was frustrating.

Bro, I remember we were doing the switchback. I was ready to abandon the team. So it's the middle of the night. To set the stage, you get up to the last. So dark. It is, obviously there's not, like, any light pollution. No light pollution. So it is so dark.

You can't see without a light on anything. It's like pitch back. You certainly can't see where you're going. The black is to black. It was actually probably good we did it at night because it would have looked crazy to try and climb something that high and steep if there was light. The last 2,500 feet from the last camp to the top feels like forever. And then, like, it's in the darkness of night.

so we get up there in the middle of day. We take a nap, and then at midnight they wake you up, and they say, we're going to the top. And all you can see is other people's headlamps. And they're very deceptive. So you think you're at the top. You're playing mind games the whole night. You get up to the top. I got to push Helodi like a Ford Ranger.

Like I'm doing sled pushes all the way up. Yeah, I'm sled pushing. It was an impressive performance way. So we get done, Helodi's like oxygen, the whole thing. They got him on a cart like an emperor. The Helodi mobile. They six dudes from Tanzania are like, they came to work in the morning. They're like, yeah, we're going to guide some fucking westerners up the mountain.

They're going to be 170 pounds. They're going to be a mountain. Nope. We have to get a gurney for a 350-pound man. The biggest man you've ever seen your life. Down the mountain to the next. They were on phase, too. We're all waiting at the tent.

No, they were phased. They were pissed off. So I'm waiting outside the tent. And I'm waiting, you know, we're kind of welcoming guys back. And we're like, hello, you're okay. Bo's in the corner. He's pissed off. I was throwing up on my shoes.

He's throwing up on his shoes. We're laughing at him. Kelsey comes down the mountain. I'm like, oh, I get a good hug from my boy. Me and Connor down there, Connor Barwin. Kelsey comes down, and he looks like when Kelsey's mad and gets a personal foul. And I'm like, what's going on? And he comes up, and I go out for the hug, and he's like, don't fucking hug me.

He goes, he goes, you told me this shit was easy. This shit was not easy. There was nothing. And so we're arguing in the tent. And I'm like, well, just, you know, I go around the room. I'm like, did you Google this trip? Did you Google this trip? Connor, did you know it was going to be hard?

He's like, yeah, Kelsey, I knew it was going to be hard. You know, it's a 20,000 foot mountain. Kelsey and I also trained really hard for it. We spent the week before Killie in Hawaii. Yep. Did a really, yeah, did a really, trained really hard in Hawaii. Yeah, I bet you. The idea was like we're trying to, you know, get as much oxygenation as possible into our bloodstream.

It was smart. So let's go to a Pacific island that's a, like, to the lowest possible sea level area where there's as much oxygen. You want to shock your body. Just saturate our system. You want to shock your body. Like oxygen load. Yeah.

It worked well. You guys did great, man. It was awesome trip. I did good. I did good. I did good. You did awesome, bro. You did awesome.

Even though on the way back, you were puking on your shoes. Yeah. And upset with us. Let's talk some Super Bowl stuff. Let's talk about it. Love it. So it's, Kels. Obviously, the three of us were on the Eagles.

in Minnesota when we won the Super Bowl. Good times. Kelso, see you got your ring on. I actually FaceTime Chris. I was like, hey, you're going to wear your ring out? Is this your ball? And he's like, no. No, I'm not doing it. I'm not wearing my ring.

I never, well, first one, he has two. True. But also, if you're Jason, you're like why they won the Super Bowl. True. What are you? The only reason. No, but I'm saying, like, you're like at least a fifth of why they won the Super Bowl. Me and Bo wear our rings out.

It's like, oh, cool. We were in the team picture. Look at these guys with their rings. rings. Dude, I look three assistant tackles that game, bro. Come on. I'm doing a podcast with the guys that I won Super Bowl with. Oh, you have a podcast?

No, but like it makes sense for you to wear your ring and the Rolex. Yeah. Like you playing poker with the ring. Do you want to have your Rolex either? No, I didn't bring it. But it's dope. I don't like losing. Let's talk about the Rolex, Kels, because I get a lot of questions about this.

And honestly, this is like probably one of my favorite things. The story behind it is awesome. So Super Bowl rings aren't fun to wear. first of all you feel kind of like a douche a little bit I feel like that's what I mean yeah it feels like you're like oh look at me I want a Super Bowl like we get it um the but and they're also really big and clunky like it's already giving me a blister on my finger they're not comfortable yeah you get a blister so we all decided along with a couple other guys on the team let's just have Rolexes made commemorating the Super Bowl you were shit talking

everybody that was wearing all these fancy watches I don't you're like it's a bracelet like why would you ever wear a I'm not a big watch fancy bracelet right but I feel like if there's one time to wear a fancy... It pairs good with the Carhart. Yeah, Rolex and Carhart. Blue collar look. Is there anybody else in the state in Nevada that has Carhart and a Rolex on right now? Sandals.

And sandals? Nobody in America. Kel, the best thing about the watch is that, you know, Seleck gets so excited about something. Yeah. You have no option but to just ride his wave and get it... But he was right. Equally, he was 100% right. But Seleck is so juiced about something.

And like, it's like this... childlike enthusiasm that you have no option but to just like yeah i'm on board man and so sell kind of spearheaded the whole thing it's fun because you have one they got the dog mask on the inside dude it's easily my favorite bracelet i own um yeah favorite bracelet so you know eagles fans want us to ask you about the eagles this year like i i dude i felt for you like you know we're boys and like i'll text to check in but i hate i hate doing that especially now because i'm in the media and it's like am I fishing for like why things are going wrong and shit? So like I'll text you every once in a while, but there's nothing I can say.

It was like me talking about texting you the night where I'm not sure if you're retiring. The whole world's not sure. Like what can I tell you as your boy? Yeah. How hard was that, man? Because you've been here. You were here a year ago. We've won it.

You guys start so hot. It's almost like you guys set yourself up for an unrealistic kind of standard with that start. Yeah. I mean, I think we had a, yeah, obviously we had a great start to the year. and to fizzle out like that is really difficult. I don't know that the expectations were, like, I guess, unattainable or, like, too high. But, you know, we just, I don't know, there was a lot of things that led to it. Obviously, schedule was really difficult in the way it happened.

Injuries timed up. And then it just felt like it was one thing after the other. And a lot of times it didn't coincide with what happened before. We play San Fran, offense doesn't move the ball very well, but it's not Blitz. Then I feel like we're getting the offense figured out, and then we play Wink Martindale in New York, and it's like we can't execute against a bliss to save our life. So I think, you know, it's hard to really put your finger on it. We all try to get a fixed, and it never really worked.

And I think now they'll have more time as a coaching staff to really look reflectively at, you know, what they could have done or what we could have done as players better and move forward. I think they'll have it figured out much better next year. It's also hard for the staff. You just pointed it out to come off a Super Bowl where you don't have as much time to prep for the next season. I mean, it's hard for the players. I mean, it's hard to go back to the Super Bowl. That's why it's impressive that Kansas City is back here again.

You know, the last team to repeat has been the Patriots, right? Yeah. So, you know, you have a shortened off season. Usually when you're in the Super Bowl, you're going to have new. coordinators you're going to have a lot of new staff members so there's your key players will leave them free agency because they've played well to get you to a super or not even the key players yeah the guys that really end up making a meaningful difference you didn't know they were guys but like you think hey you know you don't know until they're gone how much they actually like a

patrick robinson like selic or yeah oh allen i like joe edwards this last year i thought TJ was a guy that was really, really smart. And not to, I mean, listen, I think he's a special player and had a great year in Chicago. Yeah. I think it's hard. I mean, Isaac Sayamalu, we knew it was going to be difficult. Yeah. Everybody in the old line room knew how great he was.

But it's just hard to keep guys around. Everybody's going to get paid. Yeah. When everybody plays well. So anyways, those are a lot of excuses. I still think we could have done better. But they're all real. Yeah.

Like when you're on a team that's struggling, People think you can just flip the switch or it's all mental. And there is a mental aspect of it. And I wonder, you know, how much of it was this this year where it's like, when things go wrong on a team enough, people start expecting them to go wrong. And you start feeling like in this situation, what's the thing that's going to pop up? And you're doing your best to snap people out of that. Everybody is. Yes.

Like, you'll flip out and practice just like trying to try and snap something. You? Yeah. Which seems like it's supposed to work, right? You go out and you're like, hey, we're all going to go out to a team dinner. You do things to try and snap it. You try things a little bit different offensively or defensively to, you know, maybe we can get out of this. And it just felt like we never could catch up with it this year.

I mean, that's what it felt like. And at each step, we thought we were going to get it and then it would be another one. And that was, I mean, it was one of the roughest stretches in my career. I mean, losing six and seven games, that's a tough stretch no matter how you start. Well, it's just a reminder because. you were you were helpful to me when I retired you know and you people are hey is Jason coming back is he not I I I think and I said this on my show this show when people are asking me what you think Jason does I said Jeff Fisher told me something that I always remembered and it's don't

retire in a J month yeah don't retire in January don't retire in June or July in January it's too fresh you don't know really who you are at that moment there's too much baggage from the season your body feels terrible. And then don't do it in July because you're probably running away from camp. Yeah. But I think, you know, that's the risk. You know, when people are like, hey, come back for another year.

It's not like the NBA where you get to come back for another year and get on a bunch of flights and hang out with your boys. And it's basketball. And if you're losing, when you lose in the NFL, it's demoralizing. It's emasculating. It ruins your mental. So much of what makes football fun is the, is the camaraderie behind it,

is the togetherness, is winning and executing with your teammates. So regardless of how you're performing individually, it's not fun when you're not winning. And that's the risk. That's the risk of coming back. You're like, well, yeah, I could come back and we could do what we did last year,

and it could be like everything can fall in place. When I almost came back in 19, I came into Jim Schwartz's office, we had a three-hour meeting, and I decided not to play again. You know this whole story. But a year, later, I'm like, boy, I'm glad I didn't come back.

Yeah. Because 2019 was rough as a friend and a fan. Terrible, yeah. You know, like, you just never know what the next year is going to be. So I guess for people wondering, how are you feeling about the whole thing and you don't know anything? Do you? You're still trying to figure it out.

I'll say this. I feel really confident that the Eagles are going to be good next year. Yeah. I still think they have great talent. I still think they have great coaches. They've added two new coaches and Kellan Moore. Well, I don't even know. Is Kellyn officially? I think he's there. Yeah, I think he's there. So Kellyn and Vic are obviously really talented, well respect to coaches.

So they're going to have a whole offseason to figure out what's stalled out, what they can do to improve it. And with not just the coaches, but all the people in that building, I really think they're going to come back with a vengeance. I think Jalen Hertz is going to have a tremendous year next year. I am very confident.

The Eagles are going to be very, very good. So I'm trying not to let that affect what's happening because I really want the decision of whether I'm going to play to just be based on whether I want to do it. Selfishly, I need to make that decision of can I commit, can I mentally be there, and do I want to, like, endure that again? Winning helps that. But I think that, you know, you're trying to not factor that in, I guess, in the decision.

And, Kels, we've talked about this a lot. I mean, you are somebody that has put so much of yourself into not only, you know, the Philadelphia Eagles organization, but the city itself, too. I feel like everybody in the city of Philadelphia sees a lot of themselves in Jason Kelsey. And it's hard to think about not having that anymore. So I think you've got to find ways to stay involved one way or the other, whether it's still playing or something beyond that. Luckily there's the podcast where I'll still be able to stay a connection with the fans.

But there is something very, I don't know, there's a feeling that you get, I think the closer you get to stop playing, that you really start to grasp, you know, what the team and the organization means to the fans and to the city. And what an honor it's been to be able to go out there and represent the city. Yeah. And you grasp it when you're younger, but the more you play, especially in one area, and the more people tell you that when you're walking down the street,

the more I think you realize that that is something that you're, you know, everybody is going to miss when they stop. Yeah. And I think for somebody like me or Bo, who hadn't played in Philly their whole career, When we get there, it's obvious. But for guys that have been there, their whole career, it's all they know. It's not like that other places. So I guess my question without asking you, are you retiring?

Because that's the dumbest question because of what I just said, don't retire in a J month. He's not going to do it here in front of a Tacoma. All right? If you're going to do it in front of any truck, do it in front of a Toyota, but you're not doing it. What excites you about the prospect of retirement, whether it's this year or next year or two years from now, because I remember towards the end of my career, I was fantasizing about, like, what life's like without this burden, you know, because it is an awesome honor and a privilege, but it's also, man, this business will wear you down.

And it's all you know. And the other side, you're like, is the grass greener? I got all these ideas of things I want to do. What are those things for you? You know, obviously the podcast of Trav is doing well, and I want to keep doing that. It's exciting to think about possibilities. But it's also... Waking up not sore?

It's exciting to be able to, you know, lose weight, feel good, and not have to, like, physically fight for my life every day. But I think it's also daunting, and it's anxiety. And at the end of the day, it's the unknown. And I tell us all the time, like, people are like, you know, do you get nervous for games? The only games I get nervous for are, like, the first time I'm doing something. So, like, my first game in the NFL, nervous is all getting.

out, right? Because you don't know what's in store. The first time you're playing a premier player, you're a little bit more nervous. You're ancient, like, first time I'm playing Dexter Lawrence, I'm like, yeah, this guy looks pretty good. You know, I'm a little nervous. And ironically, sometimes it makes you play better. I feel like because it makes your senses alive. Yeah. But that's kind of where it's at when you start thinking about retirement. You know, it's exciting. There's the possibilities. I mean, you can, all of us were fortunate. We can go in a lot of different areas, right? And I think that's exciting, but it's also very

nerve-wracking, because at the end of the day, you don't know. You don't know what you're going to like until you're doing it. You don't know what you're going to get fulfillment in until you're doing it. You don't know what you're going to be great at until you're doing it. So all that stuff is also in the back of your head. Scary, too. Yeah. Uncharted territory

for you. No, it is scary. It's a hard couple years. Oh, believe me, I know, Chris. And no matter how you handle it, and I've heard this from everybody, I've heard it from you, I've heard it from selling. Like, no matter who you are, how well, you know, prepared you are to enter the next stage, everybody goes through a level of depression, really. It is.

Like, you're the end of what you, one of the things you love most in your life is there, and you're going to have to come to grips with that. I don't know what the five stages are off the top of my head of grieving, but I swear to you, I, I think, I think you go through the five stages. ages, dude, with your career. Sure. And I bet if I went back and looked at the last four or five years, I'd be like, yeah, that's where I was, that's where I was, that's where I was.

And you're so equipped to think I'm okay. Yeah. You have to convince yourself you're okay. You have to convince yourself as a football player. I can do this. Sometimes you're struggling. You don't even know it. Yeah.

Like the people around you know it, but you don't know it because you're like, survive, survive, survive. Survive. Survive. Survive. I kind of equated to this, Chris. And you've been on different teams, you've experienced this. but when you sign with different teams, you have to almost reinvent yourself.

To figure out what your role is going to be on a new team, you have to make new friends, meet new teammates, kind of figure everything out. And that's how it's kind of been for me in retirement a little bit. You've got to reinvent yourself. You've got to understand what life's going to be like. And it's like going to, you know, it's a whole new world. And you got to understand other people. There's no Lane Johnson's at work.

Yeah. And maybe, because you just said something that, so like every, you might be struggling and you don't know it. I feel like you struggle in football, but whenever you get a win or something, something you get like that little shot. The victories are very black and white. That's why you do it. You're like, I got it. Yes.

I got it. And what are the victories? Hanging out with your buddies in the Super Bowl. What are the victories? So, hanging out with your buddies in the Super Bowl, but that's such an interesting question, Jason, because I think the best way I can describe it is, there are no big victories. The big victories are in your life. Like, you know, you're a parent.

your kids smile yeah like they're every day they're little things but retirement's like this and that's a challenge for a lot of guys we're used to this and this yeah and this like week to week season to season practice to practice dude we're right in the wave yeah and we get these incredible highs but we get the incredible lows for sure so when you walk out that door you say okay you trade in the highs but you don't get the lows as much yeah not like the acute lows right you just got to be better at this, which is a fucking challenge. I've always been terrible.

It's a challenge in and of itself. I'm a big hit guy. But the reward is when you figure out how to live like this. Right. Because if you can unlock that, you're like, I am happier than when I played football. You're going to miss football. There's going to be playoff games and Sunday night games where you're going to sit there and say, I can do what that guy's doing.

Yeah. But your body's usually playing a trick on you. You know, because sitting on the couch, you feel great. But can you do all the things that necessarily? necessitates being a pro football player. If you're no longer able to wake up and be excited about coming to work, then you don't have it in you. Sure.

You know? Speaking of waking up and getting excited to go to work, Kels, how exciting has a podcast been with Travis is here? It's been great. It's been our second year. I think, you know, we've gotten a lot better at it, I think. I mean, you're no green light, but you guys are all right. No, they're really good, man. I feel like, first of all, we have a tremendous team.

Our input is very minimal. We just talk. They lay everything out for us. Intern Brandon does a phenomenal job. And I think it's been fun doing it another year and talking to my brother. And I've never, I haven't been this connected with Travis over the last two years since college. Yeah. And I think that that's been one of the best, probably the best thing of the podcast.

It forces us, because we're brothers. Like before this, we would go months on our own deal without talking. I mean, Chris understands with Kyle. You would text. You would send like a funny video or something like that. But truly like sit down and talk with them, it would be a long time. Doing this once a week, we were going to sit down and talk. And we were going to have very meaningful conversations, fun conversations,

and really know where each of us are at in their lives. And that's the most fun part about it. You know, it's reached a higher level. thanks to a lot of different factors, including my brother's love life. But I think, you know, it's fun to see people enjoy it, and it's fun to see where it's at, yeah. So let's talk about that. Famous girlfriends, and everybody wants to know the answer. What do you think about Josh Allen's girlfriend?

Who is she? Haley Steinphone. And what does she do? She's an actress. True grit. True grit. True great. Great movie.

She's been in a lot of other movies. We've been a lot of stuff, yeah. All right, so last question for you. Jason Kelsey's been awesome with his time. You know, for his boys, man, for his boys. We appreciate the dude. What a guy. New Heights.

It's awesome. Who's a bucket list guest for you? And then I'll ask you for Greenlight. Who's a bucket list guest for you? I mean, my bucket list is Greenlight. We need to get you guys on the show. Yeah, I think we're funny you say that, Kel. It is funny.

Swing by that. Actually, before we move on completely, I want to ask you. Because he's got to go in a second. Giant, creepy, golden baby. The trophy. Yeah, we just unveiled. So we're trying to do. Oh, that's creepy.

I think it's awesome. Fan competitions and stuff like that. I'm going to win the baby. You got to win the baby. Baby Bo. That baby will stay with the show. Everybody who wins a competition will be able to sign that baby, and they'll get a miniature 24-carat gold version of that baby.

Oh, sick. How's the resale value of something like that? I know if we... It's creepy, bro. You look at it and it stares into your soul. price for us. That baby is 104 pounds, cast bronze. I think all in, we're in the six

figures trying to make that happen. I want that baby. I'm going to win that baby. They have a budget for a golden baby. It was my, nobody else wanted to do it. Travis is like you're in moron for trying. I don't get it. I don't know if I like it or not, but I'm going to make that baby mind. I like it. I'm going to win the baby.

I saw it. Got to win a competition. bucket list guests for us on Greenlight, Danny DeVito. We were talking earlier in the pod about like if you've ever been Starstruck. Yeah. The only time I've ever been Starstruck of my life, Kelsey and I came out and we did a episode on It's Always Sunny and they were great to us. It was really fun. But when kind of Rob was bringing us through the studio, introducing us to everybody, like we met Caitlin, his wife and Charlie Day and like everyone was so cool to us. And he's like, oh, I'll introduce you to Danny.

And I'm like, oh my God, the Anavito. and he comes out, he's wearing a bathrobe and nothing else. No way. Day before I got there, I didn't get to see that. You didn't get to see Danny in the bathroom. But it wasn't even weird. It was like, oh, Dan de Vito is in a bathroom. That's the most natural thing in the world.

He's this tall, dude. He's like, hey, Danny, nice to meet you. Firm handshake. And they're just kind of... Five three? Maybe on a good day. Like a roster height. Boston Scott.

Yeah. Darren Sprouls. And then he just walked away in his bathroom. It was an incredible experience. I'd love to get Dan. Well, work your connections. Maybe we can get him on. Yeah.

My answer is Willie Nelson. Everybody knows that. Jason. Do he just do like, is he still touring? Or is he done? He's, he's, I saw him. Because he just came to feeling I missed it. He's still doing stuff because I went to the, I went to the 90th birthday party at the Hollywood Bowl this offseason.

Yeah. So he was doing songs up there, but it was dope. They had like everybody. You have a show lined up. Yeah. I would love to see Willie before. Let's go. Let's go.

You should have gone to the Hollywood Bowl. It was incredible. What's your favorite? My favorite album is IRS tapes. Oh, Red-Haded Stranger? That's a good one. Red-headed Stranger is the best country album of all time, in my opinion. The whole thing's the story.

The reason I like IRS tapes is just because it's just him. Yeah. It's just acoustic and it feels like very, like, I don't know, intimate. I mean, he's made 200 albums. They're all great, man. Imagine Willie Nelson at the sphere. All right, guys. Jason, Kelsey, everybody.

Appreciate you coming by, dog. Thanks for talking about. We love you, man. I love you. Listen, this guy was an absolute dog. I had to see him twice a year, and I still talk about him because my neck's so fucked up. And I think once a week, I've been in the studio, like, I think this was Vernon Davis. I can't turn my head all the way to the left, and I think it's Vernon Davis.

And so we don't get to see each other a lot, but we had some battles, man, and one of my favorite players to play against. We'd go at each other's throats, but we were always respectful of each other's. other and I just got so much respect for you bro it's great to see you Vernon Davis is joining us in the Toyota studio how you doing bro I'm doing good man it's good to be here good to see you you guys this is great 49ers are in the Super Bowl so that's a that's a plus for me but everything's going well do we had I just want to talk about the old NFC West I mean it's again there's great teams in there but back when we played bro y'all's group was so physical and Seattle was so physical and we had the defensive front but like i don't want to leave arizona out but those games

were like dog fights bro what are your memories of the nfc west when we when your teams were really good and how physical it was um yeah i mean that was oh some good days man very physical that's when um that's when guys were really bringing at me most both both both up front defensively for you guys um the secondary but it was it was it's something to remember is the game's not the same anymore No, it's changed a little bit. It's changed. It's changed. But those were some good times.

Memories I'll take with me for the rest of my life playing against guys like you and just holding on to that experience, man, because there's no great experience than experience I had playing on Sundays and games against you guys. It was incredible, man, and I missed the old candlestick. I don't know, have you been to the new stadium a bunch? Levi's. Have you been to Levi's a bunch? Not a bunch.

Well, I played in it quite at the end. Yeah, you played it at the end. But not. much as candlestick. Because I missed that old stadium. Oh, Candlestick was amazing. Like, it was definitely, like, about to fall down. Yeah.

But I miss those old stadiums, like the vibe. You know, it's great to go to Seattle, and it's super live, and it's state of the art, but the old stadiums were my favorite. Jim Harbaugh was a big part of that run. And I can remember, and I point this out when he got hired, the first year, when he came in, it was a lockout year, wasn't it? It was a lockout year, yeah. And you all found a way.

to turn that team around with Alex Smith, his quarterback, who I think is a really good quarterback, doesn't get enough credit, but he's certainly not like a Mahomes type guy, 13 and 3 that first year. So Jim Harbaugh walks in the door. You got old vets and young guys and new people, new pieces. What was the first impression of him? Was there any like, damn, this guy's different?

I don't know if he's going to stick. Yeah, no, I knew right away that he was going to be around for a while because of his energy and enthusiasm. I mean, what he was talking about, He was talking about plays and how he was going to design them for the tight ends, the wide receivers. And he felt like he was a – he didn't feel like a coach. He felt like a teammate. He felt like a teammate that was calling the shots.

And I knew it was something special about him. And he had this unique ability to be able to get guys to rally behind him. I mean, one day he came out and he was suited from head to toe cleats, helmet. No. Shoulder pads, yeah. He was suited. And he went out and he was with the – he was – he was with – he was – with the number two offense, right?

Harbaugh ran with the twos. He ran with the twos. I like that. He ran with the twos and number two offense and he was out there just slinging, man. It was crazy. Could he still throw it? Yeah.

He was throwing. He didn't pretty good. It was the most hilarious thing I've ever seen. I was like, this guy's hilarious, man. What do you think? Helmin on, helmet on. Helmin, everything, full pads, man. But he's also, he's like, and I'm,

because I love the hire in L.A. I think it's amazing. I think it's a great hire, and I think they're going to be super happy with him because I'd said it. I played twice a year. But he's different. Like, is he hard to relate to, or is that something for the people outside? Like, when he connects with his guys, you know, I'm sure he's different than the guy you see in an interview. Yeah, he's different than the guy you see in an interview.

Yeah, he's totally different. I mean, this guy, he's a, he's a play, he played football. So he's, the energy and the vibe that you get from him is totally different than any other coach. But he's totally, well, he's in that life. He's all about football. He's football to the team, man. Yeah, I'm psyched to see him coaching again, man. And I think the guys won at every level.

He's up there with anybody. I mean, very few guys winning college and winning the pros. So I'm excited to see him coach again. What do you think about the game this week? You still follow these guys a lot? Yeah, I follow these guys. I think this is going to be a tough game for both teams, offensively, defensively,

because we have two good teams going head-to-head. I mean, Brock Purdy is Brock Purdy. But he's taking a lot of. He's getting a lot of criticism right now. Patrick Mahomes is, I mean, we know he's going to come out and do. But this game can go any way. You just never know. We have to be prepared for the unexpected.

Yeah, no question. I think it's going to be a tight game. And I think both teams are going to want to run the ball, right? Because I think they both can. You've got to score prediction. I think it's going to be really close, man. It's going to be one of those. We might be looking at an overtime game.

Okay. I go overtime. High scoring or low scoring? You know, I like to bet the totals here, Vernon. I think it's going to be a low-scoring game. Okay. Yeah. Like a 23-20 type of.

I think it's going to be a low-scoring game, man. It is. All right. So tell me about what you're doing since football, man, because every time I see you, you're doing something else really cool that has nothing to do with football. And you've always been that guy that had other interests. Yeah. Absolute dog on the field, but you had other interests off the field.

Like movies, did I hear Morgan Freeman? Oh, well, I do have a movie that's popular on who. right now with Morgan Freeman. It's called The Ritio Killer. I played a serial killer with Morgan. Oh, that figures. Yeah. That fucking figures.

I just did a movie with Stephen Spielberg, his daughter. No way. I'm starring that one with Michelle Dockery. No way. It's going to be pretty cool. But the coolest experience I have is working with a group called Smyranov. Diageo's the parent company. They've been truly amazing.

I mean, like, even some of the connections that they've given me with my life after football. Yeah. It's been awesome. Samaranov Smash is one of their most innovative products that they've been working on. You know, innovation occurs when you understand the world and you figure out what people want. They've done that so many times. This Samaranova Vaka Smash has 100 calories.

That's good for us. Great. It takes – this is good, man, because it takes me 10 minutes to burn 100 calories, and I can burn these calories off. Quick, man. Quick. To have a Smirnoff Smash, go for a quick run. Quick.

But we also have a pickle bowl competition with Kay Adams is my partner. Oh, yeah, yeah, Kay. Yeah, 2.30 p.m. on Saturday. Okay. It's going to be awesome, man. Picklebow. Pickle bowl. Pickle ball. We got to get bow.

We got to sample some of that Smerinoff smash. Yeah, we definitely. Because Nate, Nate loves trying new drinks. I get a case of that Smeanor smash. Yes, a case. And I want to cancel all my afternoon interviews because I'm going to be, I'm going to be toasted. I have one question. I want to ask you, like, emotionally, being on a team and getting traded at the deadline,

but then ending up on a Super Bowl team, like how does that work for you, like emotionally during the season, knowing you're about to get, or if you knew or not that you were about to get traded during the deadline, but get to a new team and then end up winning the Super Bowl. That happened to me. Yeah, that's what I'm saying. Debra Broncos Super Bowl 50.

I was. But when you got traded, how were you doing it? I just finished playing against the St. Louis Rams. What year was that? That was 2015. Yeah, I was all hurt, so I wouldn't even like. Yeah, thank you. I think, thank you for that.

by the way. Yeah, yeah, you're welcome. You're welcome, bro. I was gimpin. Man, I was happiest happiest day ever. God, this guy was crazy, man. This guy was so hard. Dude, he's probably the hardest defender I ever had to go against.

Like, this guy and Jared Allen, but the guys that, they were tough, man. They didn't make that those guys are awesome. But anyway, getting traded, going into the office that morning, I knew something was up. There was, I knew something. I just felt the tension. And I go in and then Trent, at the time general manager said we're going to we're going to trade you and I'm like getting emotional because I was like I was with this team for 10 years and now you're going to send me

off but I understood it was a business and it was bittersweet so I left went to Denver by the beam by the boom and I went in Super Bowl 50 that was an incredible game too it was an incredible game it was a fun team to probably be on with Peyton at the end and that sort of thing I I here's a great teammate oh Peyton's awesome when I first got there I walked in he was was calling me as I was walking in. He's like, oh, Verne. Come in, borough. Come in, come see me when you're getting the office. I got one for you, guys, but I think you can play Peyton in a biopic.

Hey, I can't wait to watch your movies, bro. I'm just a big fan of Vernon Davis. Great dude for a Maryland Terrapin. I mean, I don't like a lot of those guys, but this dude, he's awesome. So thanks for coming by and great seeing you, man. Thank you. Grats on all the success. Thank you, man.

Yeah. Appreciate it. Thanks to Toyota and the brand new Toyota to come. We'll be broadcasting from the NFL media center in Las Vegas from the most badass set in all of Radio Row. That's right. The all-new 2024 Toyota Tacoma with its trail dominating power, legendary capability and captivating style, is arriving in dealerships. And it's arriving at the 2004 Super Bowl in Las Vegas as we are helping Toyota launch the all-new 2024 Toyota-todew4 Toyota-Taylor. That's right. It's going to be right next to me. You'll be able to see the all-new best-selling mid-sized

pickup in America featured on the Greenlight podcast set recorded from the Tacoma Content Studio. The all-new Toyota Tacoma dares you to come out and play. The all-new 2024 Toyota Tacoma, the most powerful Tacoma ever, is your chance to experience trail-dominating power, legendary capability, and captivating style. It's time to make your off-roading, dreams come true with the 2004 Toyota Tacoma a truck that's tough on the trail and easy on the eyes electrifying power maximum torque the all new Toyota Tacoma is the most powerful Tacoma ever Toyota the official automotive partner of the NFL joining me from our beautiful Toyota studio by the way Devante that's a good looking truck isn't it oh yeah definitely

dude I think we need to get you in a pickup truck man We got Devante Smith from the Eagles. One of my favorite players on the Eagles. I told him offstage, man. I said, I got kids that watch the game now. And my 7-year-old, he thinks he knows everything. And we're watching the game. And I said, you need to watch this guy right here because he does everything right.

I think he's perfect for Philly. He's a great player. So without further ado, I want to welcome Devante Smith. How you doing, dude? I'm good, man. I appreciate you having, man. Of course, bro. Of course.

Up and down year, we can talk about that and everything. We just talked about it with Kelsey, but I know you guys are going to bounce back. The first thing I want to talk to you about, dude, me and a couple buddies this year, we had a weekend where our wife said, go do what you want to do. And we went down to a game in Tuscaloosa. And my kids are going to go to Alabama, dude. I got an Alabama flag in the podcast studio now. We went to Galettes.

You know Galettes. He doesn't go out much, but he probably went to. Walked in the stadium. It was like nothing. ever seen, dude, when you walk through the tunnel and it opens up and you see all the fans, I was like, this is, this is football heaven, man. Talk to me about going from Tuscaloosa to Philly. It's like you hit the jackpot twice with the place you played. Yeah, like you said, hit the jackpot twice. Definitely, you know, two places that love their sports, especially, you know, Tuscaloosa. It's nothing there.

Nothing there. No, dude, not around it. Yeah, it's nothing there at all. So it's all football, you know, basketball team is doing good. So it's all sports. And, you know, Philly Sports Town. They love their sports and things like this. So it's kind of, it's kind of similar in that way. Have you, do you remember a moment that that stadium got louder than any time you played there? I'm talking about down in Tuscaloosa. What was the loudest moment? I'll probably say any night game or any time you was playing Auburn. You know, the plays get crazy, especially, you know, touchdowns have been. score. The defense getting a lot of turnovers and things, man. The stadium would be rocking.

We did LSU. We went down there for the LFU game. That's a good game to pick. It was incredible, dude. I'm a total Bama guy now. So I wanted to talk to you about route running, man, because I think you're obviously surgical when it comes to, you know, your technique and getting out of breaks. And I think there's some commonality with pass rush. Yeah, I agree. What's up, dude? Sorry. Got a little delayed. I was talking with Jordan. Jordan Milata's going to pop by and walking Kelsey out, man. It's like fucking Elvis has left the bill. Yeah, I can't fucking, my employees are all over the place.

They're partying. I'm here working. Well, I'm back. But the route running, though. It's a lot like pass rushing, because especially when a guy's up on you on press, like I played in Tampa with Mike Evans. And he's hitting like counter hump moves almost on these corners that are up in press on them. But it's so technical.

It's fun to watch you guys kind of develop ways to get separation, you know, because it's a lot like pass rush. Yeah. Do you ever watch like us do indie? and like think about going over there and getting some reps? I actually, I do watch the D. Laman. They be like racing at the beginning of there so you can get off the ball fast.

I do watch that and I enjoy that. Yeah. What do you think the key is to being a great route runner? Do you think it's a body type? Do you think it's a certain athleticism, quick feed? Or what is it? I think it's being able to react because sometimes you're going to have to react to what the DB do.

You're not going to win every rep. Sometimes they're going to, you know, get the first move and you're going to have to react to them. Sometimes it's about you just making them react to you. So it's being able to react and being able to make them react. So basically you walk up to the line, kind of like us. Yeah. You got a plan.

You've watched tape, but you don't know what kind of set he's going to give you. Like for us, we might get short-sitted. You might get jammed and not expect to get jam. Or some, you've got to scout the guys. Like some guys have long arms. You know what I mean? Some guys have short-arms. Sometimes it's a taller ranger quarterback, like, I don't know, Carlton Davis or Kyle Hamilton

or something like that. And you need to know the best way to do. beat that. I mean, it's interesting. But also, you have to worry about, you know, are they in man? Are they in zone? There's a lot more going on. I'm not saying as a noseguard. We're rock heads, dude. These guys are real smart. But straight ahead, bull rush. But I think the most interesting part for me was we heard a lot about your size coming out. You know, like, you know, your weight or whatever. And two years later, that doesn't seem to be a problem. Yeah. So at what point did you realize that? Were you worried at all hearing those

doubts? I mean, like, it creeps in my head when somebody doubted me. I mean, I want to go show them. that they're wrong, but it definitely can get in your head. Like, what was the moment you realized you could hang? And what do you think the key is to being a little bit lighter guy out there? I've been like that my whole life. No matter what level I was playing on, I was always considered one of the smallest guys. So, you know, I've been doing it the majority of my life.

But it's just a mindset thing because at the end of the day, they still have to come and guard me. They still have to, you know, we're still in the same area and somebody has to win. You know, it's a mindset just going out there knowing that, I got a chance to go out here and dominate, and that's, I expect nothing less. How about the scramble drill? Because obviously at Bama, you had athletic quarterbacks.

College football nowadays, like plays get extended, you know, so a lot of receivers, that's like a prerequisite. If you can't work scramble drill, you're not going to be able to help us on long downs. Jalen is one of those guys who can extend and, you know, you can take the top off late in the down. What's the unspoken language that you guys speak to each other during the week to get ready for non-verbal cue kind of things? Or is it just what you see and he's seeing the same thing out of the pocket? And then you take the option either way. Like what's that process like working through the scrum?

Major of the time it has to do a lot with, it has to do a lot with the play call. Because sometimes you call the play and it's like, okay, this is not going to work. We call this and we're not going to get the look that we want it. So it potentially may be a scrum address. So it's kind of like a ticker. Like, okay, we think we might get this. We may, we may not. okay we get the coverage and it didn't work okay now it's a ticker now we have to go off schedule we know where to go

and now it's like everybody around like you have to have one guy going short had to have one guy going deep you have to have one guy in the middle like everybody can't be bunched up in the same space so it's everybody being on the same page knowing where to go but you guys are getting on the same page in a moment right yeah like so if you see somebody on a shallow cross you're going to fit in behind them yeah and it's just kind of like you guys work off each other in the moment yeah only time it really get rough is when you run out of space and I's like don't nobody have no way where to go. Yes. And then two guys are standing by the by the hash and you're like, where's he throwing the ball? He's throwing two guys. Yeah. But it's not perfect. I'm sure. There's no perfect way to do it. It's hard. It's just a get open. And the more you play in the same scheme with the same guys, you know, whether it's guys in your room or the same quarterback. I'm sure you develop that comfort and that familiarity. Like Kelsey and Mahomes. That's what I was just about to say. Look at Kelsey Mahomes. He's unbelievable like out of like extending plays out of the pocket, hold on the ball.

I mean, that catch that Travis had against. He caught a ball in the ESC, championship where when Mahomes threw the ball he's on one side of the backer. Circled around the, comes around the back of him and makes the catch on the other side. Like that comes with being together for a decade. Exactly. And it's so fun talking to skill positions like you because like, dude, we're grunts, man. We're not thinking about that.

Beeline, like, we're, it's the, the game is just, is just so much different from you. So it's, it's, it's fun to get your insights. I want to ask you a little bit about the Super Bowl this weekend. Just kind of what you think, what you're looking forward to seeing the most from these two teams. Obviously, it's not fun watching. team's play when you want to be there. But can you be a fan? Like, can you kind of watch and enjoy the game?

I always love watching football. I mean, we're not playing, but I'm still going to watch it. Two explosive offenses, you know, for the honors, you know, have a lot of guys that can make explosive plays. She's have a very great defense. Throw a lot of different looks at you and things. So it's going to be a good game. Definitely with, you know, the talent that it has out there, you know, with Mahomes,

you know, making the crazy plays that he makes. It's going to be a great game. Who do you like? I don't too much care. You don't care? I just want to watch it. I wish I was there. I think the Chiefs are going to play cover two.

I'm going to play cover two. Take away the underneath stuff and make Brock beat them. Yeah. Because I think they got the corners. Those corners, man, Sneed. Yeah. It's a fucking problem with cover two is the Niners have a great, a great row. Trent Williams and George Kittle and then Jusheck, like all those different.

Obviously, they got to get the caffin. What's it like, what would it, you know, like an offense like that where you have so many different. moving parts and guys like Juice and Christian McCaffrey that can line up in so many different places. You know what I mean? Like you have so many weapons as a quarterback. Like it's got to make it easier for you as a wide receiver, you know? Yeah, definitely because especially when you have a run game that's so good, it makes it easy for us. When you're not able to run the ball, it definitely makes it tough for us. So them having a run game, you know, it's going to allow those guys Debo, I used to, you know, go out there and do that. Dude, we were just, we had Kelsey on and we were

talking about push push. And I said, Devonte, I heard Devante say that. it can be painful, that sometimes you can't breathe in there. And he said it's not painful at all. But I said, you're not considering the difference. He else is used to that. So is that shit as rough as it looks? Being at the bottom of a pile, man, it just seems like everything's just closing. Like, there's no room to breathe.

You can't move. You just shouting for everybody to get off you, man. It's terrible. You can't talk, baby. Kellyn Moore, man. I think what's exciting about Kellan is he's going to take shots. like what was your first impression when he was hired? Do you start looking at tape? Or do you talk to Kellyn? Have you talked to Kellyn? He actually called me like two days ago.

We talked a little bit. You know, he told me some things to watch. And from what I've seen so far, you know, I like it. A chance for guys, you know, to move around more. A lot of, you know, matchups, attack the matchups where, you know, you're going to get the matchup that you want. And that's the beauty of this game, man. This game is all about matchups. It's all about making plays. So just putting us in the place to go out there and do that. Is it the, like you guys didn't motion a lot. You know, like there's not a lot of pre-snap movement in y'all's offense last year. I feel like that's going to be an uptick.

Is that the kind of thing that can get you those matchups when they don't, you know, when they don't travel guys and, you know, you kind of can dictate where you want to get you or AJ. Yeah, that's what it's all about. And then it's also a man's own indicator. Indicator. So like, you'll know if it's man his own. But you have a lot of people that do it. now they travel and then they do a false man and go to zone.

But, you know, the majority of the time is just all about making it easier, you know, for Jalen, making it easier for everybody on offense. So we can just see what's going on instead of us just going out there and like, okay, just line up and go win your one-on-one. Who's a coordinator so far that you guys played that you were like, you came out of the game and you guys were like, damn, that guy was in his bag today? I would say Shanahan. Yeah.

Man, like we played them. Like, you've seen guys moving around. You've seen guys just like wide open. like he's over there really downing it up right now. Yeah, no question. So with the week, man, Bo was asking about the Super Bowl of the game, but like it's all about the week too.

And I know for you being a rookie last year and getting ready for the Super Bowl, with everything you've been through, do you think your experience having played in championship games, haven't played for Nick? Like, you know, it's like guys can do one or two things when they get here. We can fuck around

or we can remember that we don't get this opportunity back. Like, was that easy for you to make that adjustment. Did you feel the distractions as a player? Yeah, for me, it was easy. I knew what I was here for. I knew the goal that everybody was trying to accomplish, and it was easy. But the main thing is, like you said, it's easy to get distracted. You got all this media. You know, it's two weeks before the actual game. So, you know, you get a week and wherever you're at, and then you get a week where the

Super Bowl is. You think, oh, I'll do it later. I'll watch that later. Yeah. Yeah. Man, and it's just like, it's so long and so draining. You have the install for two weeks. So you kind of get bored with it. You go out to practice, you're just trying stuff. And it's just like, man, you just ready to get to the game. And with all the media, man, that just makes it so much more overwhelming.

But for me, it was kind of easy. Is there, like, we got, we always talk about people that if we ran into, we'd be, like, fan-boying over? Because there's a lot of people just walking around here. A lot of interesting people, celebrities. Is there somebody that you wish you could meet at the Super Bowl? If you just ran into, like, favorite players, people in the league that you like, or celebrities that might be around here.

No, I don't think it's nobody like that. I like running into Ocho, though. Ocho? Ocho, funny. He just missed him. He just rolled through here. I always like running into Ocho. We had Ocho on the plane.

We took like a team plane out here from inside the NFL, and he likes to fly Spirit Airlines. So he was complaining about the G5 that we were on the whole time. He's like, there's no Wi-Fi. This is bullshit. He's about the funniest co-worker you could possibly have, dude. Definitely. Was he your favorite?

do growing up? Yeah, I used to watch Ocho all the time. I've been going on YouTube to the videos, him in the park, doing the ladder drills, the cone drills, and I used to go out there and do the same thing. Do you model your game a little bit after anybody? Or? I would say Ocho. Ocho and Keenan Allen. Those are my two guys that, you know, I grew up watching guys that, you know, I try to model my game after. That's awesome. You got anything? I'm good, man. Let me make sure on everything else for DeVante, man. Are you going to be down in Tampa training with Yo at all this offseason? Oh, yeah, yeah. Got to. Yeah, because I'm down in Tampa for my time with the box and spent a lot of time with yo.

Yo Murphy, shout out to Training House on there. Oh, sorry, House of Athlete down there. Here's what I want to ask him. Are you the best dressed guy in the NFL? I heard that. I think I am. I've seen some of the fits, man. I don't know if I could pull them all off, but they're...

I think I can pull them off. Now, what do you think about... You're going to your closet? Analyze Jason Kelsey's fashion sense. Hey, that's him, man. You know, it's kind of like, you know, you can't blame him. That's what you like me. I like wearing, it's either this right here or a suit.

A suit. Like, it's nothing else. Leisure wear a suit. Yeah, it's that. And that's him. Dude, he had a Carhart shirt, a Rolex, and flip-flops on him. And a Super Bowl ring. I ain't see the Rolex.

That's crazy. Yeah, he had our Super Bowl Rolex. Yeah. It's beautiful. So, and I talked to Lane yesterday. Lane came here for NFL honors because he might win a man of the year. I hope he does. He said, see long.

I forgot my suit. I had to go to men's warehouse. Yeah, like they just got an off-the-rack size for Lane. Yeah, bro. He's going to look fucked up at this NFL honors, dude. Devante's going to be like, oh, gee, what are you doing, dude? Last one, because we walked through the casino yesterday, and I walked by Trayvon Diggs. I know he was hurt this year, but that's got to be one of the biggest fucking corners

that I've walked by in the last calendar year. The guy's huge. Yeah. Is playing that Dallas D. defense, the physicality, the rushers, the whole thing. Like, how do you attack that? And when you come into a game against Dallas, because they're not going anywhere, even with Dan leaving, how do you, like, what's the biggest thing you worry about?

Is it even as a wide receiver, are you in the wide receiver room hearing about Parsons? Or is it just the ball hawking, Duran Blan? Or what do they talk about going in a week like that? You know, their game is going to always be different from any other game that you play. And for me, it's always about, you know, switching things up, especially going against digs. Like, I've been going against dig for what? Right.

Six, seven years now. So, like, it's not a move that he hasn't seen. It's not a technique that I haven't seen that he has. So it's like always just being able to switch it up. And then it comes down to, like I say, reacting. Come down to, okay, he knows every move I'm going to do. So now I just got to react to him. It might just be a game.

I have to react the whole game. And, you know, it's fun playing against him because he's going trash talk. But at any day, you know it's all love. Yeah, we're boys. But you know it's all love. But in a day, we're boys. we both want to just sit there and just dominate the other one. Yeah.

That's all he's huge. And now Dan Quinn in Washington, you expect them to probably be a little bit, have more of an edge and play a little bit better defense. So, you know, Dan Quinn stays in the vision. That defense isn't going anywhere. Devante Smith, everybody. One of the best dudes on the Eagles,

one of my favorites. And I hope you guys have a great year next year. We get back on the show after a big win, man. Appreciate it. Yeah, appreciate you, dude. All right. to me now in front of this beautiful Tacoma was an actual truck. That's what I think about Luke Keekly when I think about him playing football.

He was like a pickup truck out there. And he knew right where to be. And he went from zero to 60 faster than anybody. And he was a leader. And he did things the right way. So I've always wanted to get Luke on the show, fell into this this week. I don't think we've actually ever really met, dude, other than seeing you on the field. So welcome Luke Keakley to the show.

How you doing, brother? I am good. It's good to be here. I've looked up to for a long time, and it's fun to be on the show. Got to play against your brother for a while. He was a monster. A tank. Tank.

The dump truck. It was like a pickup truck. Athletic could move. Yeah. Yeah, dude. Well, it was fun watching you play, and like, we were talking. I grew up a Panthers fan, so I always did like seeing the Panthers fly around. And honestly, what was your last year?

Uh, 2019. So, 2018, because I was cool with Charles Johnson. Chuck, yeah. And I think this is a year he came back for one more year. Yeah. I was a free agent and I was like, I want to go play for the Panthers. And I had it like eyed up. And I was kind of talking to Chuck.

And he was like, yeah, I'm coming back. So when I found out he was coming back, I was like, okay, I'm going to go somewhere else. So Charles stole your spot. He did. And I love Charles, dude. He was such a good player. He's a great teammate, too. Great teammate.

Yeah. What do you think the key is to being a leader? You know, because obviously you were a great leader. We both had to be vets on teams. What do you think the number one quality in leader? leadership is in the NFL. I think that was that's a question that everybody asked to the combine. When you come in, how are you going to demand respect, not demand respect, but how are you going to lead older guys? And I always said that you got to do it through how you act. You got to show up on

time. You got to play hard. You got to make plays. And you got to be the guy that's consistent. And then as you start to make plays and as you're around more, people start to realize like, all right, he's consistent. He's where he needs to be. He sets good example. He helps younger guys. He treats people the right way. So I think it's less about how you play on Sundays. And it's more about how you go about your business, how you conduct yourself, how you treat people, and then ultimately people start to follow you. I do think that's a really key point, like how you treat people in the locker room, because I always say it's like emotional intelligence, social intelligence,

understanding everybody has different buttons. You know, you're not going to talk to somebody the same way that you're going to talk to another guy because, you know, he might come from a different place or he's going through a certain type of thing, like communication with every corner of the locker room. And I always watching you, I could tell that you were connected with. everybody. You know, how was becoming that vet and bringing guys along? Like, because it kind of happened quick for you. Like, you were the rookie, and then you were one of the guys on a really elite defense. Well, I think a lot of it was I got to see guys do it. And I think that's powerful

when you get to watch other people do it. So we had Ryan Khalil, Charles Johnson, we had Greg Olson, we had Jordan Gross when he was young. And then, yeah, that was the guy that was going to talk about. I got to see it from Thomas every day in the linebacking room. And what What he did really well was he formed relationships with every guy in the team. So he could be like, hey, like, Chris, I've got a great relationship with you. I know something's going on. So if you have a down day at practice, I understand why. And he understood that, and he could talk to everybody.

And there was nobody in the locker room in the building that he couldn't talk to. And he could get the most out of guys. So then I was like, all right, well, TD's a great player. Everyone loves him. He treats people the right way. I want to be like that. So I get to see it. Isn't it great luck of the draw, getting a great vet like that?

And that's football. It's a lot of situations. What situation do you end up in? Because that ultimately affects your career. It totally does. The context, we look at quarterbacks, it's easy to see. Like, look at Bryce. Yeah.

Like, I said this this year. I think C.J. Stroud is the next whoever you want him to be. Yeah. I mean, he's that good. I also think, like, when you watched Houston play New York that one week, and they had a bunch of guys down outside, and he looked human. Well, what do you think is going to happen? And then I look over at Carolina, and people are passing a lot of judgments on Bryce.

and I'm not saying I know for sure if he's going to be a good player, but his situation is dire. I mean, you're talking about a coach getting fired in your first season in the middle of the season. That is not an ideal setup for a young dude. And so when you look at Bryce and you talk about context, what do you see and what do you think they need to provide him? I think with Bryce, the one thing that we saw,

I mean, obviously everyone talks about accuracy, intelligence, football IQ. His toughness, I think, was the one thing that stood out for everybody this year because everybody, him coming out, he's small. Is he going to be this? Is he going to be that? He got hit a lot this year. And I tell you what, he stood in there, took the hits, got up, walked off the field, toughness. And that's the one thing that I think going in the year, too, that he answered a lot of questions with that. Obviously, it wasn't the year that he wanted as far as wins and stats and how he played. But his toughness and his ability to get back up and, man, I watched him get hit a lot. I do the games and we see him get hit and we're like,

But you know what? He stands up, walks off the field, and comes right back out again the next series. So for me, we're going to get better outside. We're going to get better up front, hopefully get a little bit more stability with the coaches. I mean, he had Frank Wright called plays and then Thomas Brown and then Frank Wright called him again. And then Thomas Brown called it again. So like Thomas Brown's more like wide zone. Frank Reich's more gun inside.

So there was so much going on that Bryce, it was just a lot. But his toughness, I was like, man, he's got it. And everything in the passing game or everything in the passing game comes off the game. Exactly. You know, so if you're, if you're varying the run looks, it's going to be harder to have consistent concepts outside. Yeah. And so I think giving him that consistency would be great. You talked about toughness, his toughness. I think when I think about you, I think about toughness, but I also think about a guy who is smart enough to draw that line between toughness and maybe finding that point of diminishing return in your career. And everybody knows, you know, they remember you on the field

getting hit. It was so hard to watch because you're like super, super. man, man. And I mean, fuck, for me, it was hard to watch because I'm like, this guy's a superhero. And, you know, it just the human element of we're not just these robots that go out there, run them 100 miles an hour. We got to think about our health. We got to think about the next 50 years. And you made a decision to walk away. And I wonder how difficult that was. And were there any moments after you made that decision where you doubted yourself in your decision? I think we talked about it right when I came up to you about you're always going to miss. you're going to miss the locker room.

You're going to miss the guys. You're going to miss the daily interactions or just being around the guys. I don't think we're ever going to be able to replicate that. And I think it's really interesting when you kind of think about it. Like, I've never met you before. And we came and talked to here for 15 minutes,

and it's like we've known each other. Yeah, it's like we play together. I'm like, it's crazy. And I think that's what makes football special. But I think at the end of the day, it's like you've got to understand that there's your football life and you love the game. But then you've got a long time to live after.

And I just wanted to make sure that I can, live the life I wanted to live when I got done playing. So that was ultimately kind of why I got out. I love it. I wish I could still play. I wish I was still playing. I'm sure you do too. But at some point you're like, man, I've done what I needed to do. I've had a ton of fun. And let's go do something else. And also when you cross that threshold, people always ask, could you still go? And they asked me for like two years. And I would have said yes, two years after. I've done now. Now, no chance. But the whole thing is, and I always answer it this way. Yeah, could I? But if I'm not willing to do the things Monday through Saturday anymore. I don't have the right to sit here on Sunday and say,

this looks fun. I wish I could play. No, I'm done, yeah. Because it takes everything. Well, takes a whole off season. I mean, it's funny, I came up to you and the first thing I noticed is like, man, we are both skinny now. We're skinny guys, dude. Skinny guys now. What are you weighing now? I'm like, 2.20. Yeah, I'm like, 2.40 and it's funny now. It sucks because people are like, you're so skinny. I'm like, I can still throw you around. You know, I'm still a big man, but they're used to seeing you in that form. Yeah, it's crazy. So it's, it's, it's fun. I I feel great. Everything's good.

Good. Yeah. So you feel great. The Q collar stuff, man. You know, like, you said to me off, you're like, I got smoked a lot when I played. Like, you know, it's a, it's a concern. It's a natural question. But I guess I'd ask you, like, not just the Q caller, how important can that be?

But also, like, what do you do to take care of yourself after football? Yeah, so I think I wore the Q collar for three years when I was playing. My last three years. And the idea behind it is we're just going to, we're just going to provide. a little bit of a little bit of help for all the sub-concussive hits you get. It's going to give your brain just a little bit of an opportunity not to get banged up as much. We've had a ton of success with guys in the NFL. I think we're around 50 to 60 guys wearing it.

We've got a lot going on in the military, which I know you appreciate. We're actually out here a couple weeks ago for Shot Show. So that's all the special forces guys, seals, Delta Force, Rangers, all those guys. It's been a ton of fun. So on the football side, it's man, we're just trying to help. help guys play longer and safer and let them play the game as long as they want without brain stuff being the issue. So, um, and that's the thing on your net. Yeah, it's just a collar. So when people see, you know, I got one. I got one little product placement. Boom.

Here, let me put it on here. I feel like to be safe when I'm too small for you. Let's throw this one on. That one's a little bit more adult size. To be safe, if you're around Luke Keekely, you should put one on your clothes. Nice boots. And I'm going to get a little Tukovas. I'm going to get yelled at. You got, you got it upside down right now. now. We got it upside down right now. There we go. And I'd love to do, I'd love to do a close-up on your side of your neck because you could see exactly where it's doing its job. It's going to put a little bit of pressure on the muscle right there and it's going to put a little bit more blood flow around, in those blood vessels around your brain. It's going to be a little bit of a little

bit of it. So that if you get hit like here or something, you know, where carotid artery or whatever. Yeah. So it's, yeah, not that. Not that. It's just going to give your brain a little bit of a cushion. Yeah. It's just, it's going to help mitigate subconcussive blows. I feel good. Feel great. You look great. I feel ready. Who wants to do Oklahoma?

But as far as like, we were talking about this, the, there's so much that goes into being retired. Yeah. Not just the head health. Yeah. You know, we were talking about my pops. My pops played old CBA 13 years. Sharp as attack. You know, like a lot of subconcussive blows, a lot of big hits.

They didn't take care of us the way you take care of them the way they took care of us. Like being retired. and sticking the landing on the entire experience is tough. It's like an existential crisis. You know, your whole identity changes. You're not around the guys anymore. But also, you've got to take care of yourself and getting in the gym and the physical stuff. Like, what do you think are the most important things if you were going to explain to somebody,

hey, you're going to stop playing football. Your life's going to change. What do you need to do to take care of yourself? I think, you know, for me, it's, I'm going to stay active. Yeah. I'm going to eat well. Yeah. I'm going to get sleep, like all those little wellness things that everybody talks about.

I think that's super important. I think your relationships with people are huge. I think you need to keep learning. I think you need to keep your brain active. And then for us, you think about what did we do our whole life that we loved and that we've got so much knowledge on? That's the game of football. And you're finding ways to do it.

I love being here doing this. This is honestly, Q-Col is a ton of fun. Yeah. I love the game of football and trying to find ways like, like I said, I wish I was still playing. And this is going to help guys play a little longer. situations. Yeah, and so there's that side and then the military side. I'd tell you what, the military side of it, I think is fascinating. These guys that are special forces, guys that are going on these deployments, they're shooting big guns every day, they're riding in tanks and

helicopters. This really helps them. And it's just fun being around those guys. They're the closest thing I feel like to what we had as far as like the connection, the brotherhood, the relationships, and to kind of talk to them about what I went through, what they went through, how much fun we had together and finding ways to help those guys do what they love to do, just like we did, is cool. And that's a big part of what Q30 does. It's that loss of your group. Yeah, your boys.

And the purpose is bigger than you. Yeah. You know, it's like I would never say it's a clean comparison. Like, I know you wouldn't either because it's life or death for them. But when we do our conquering Killy thing, I don't know if you've seen when we take vets up to Killy and we take athletes as well. like the camaraderie in those tents through six days. It's fun.

It's like everybody knew each other their whole lives. The thing we were talking about there, because you immediately, you pick out and you're like, these are like-minded people. And I think, you know, for our vets, too often we're like, how can we help the vets? How can we get the vets to be power players in our society when they come home? Give them a tool.

You know, they want to help people. And so I think the veteran part of it is awesome. Yeah, it's awesome. It's super fun. And if you ever get a wild hair, you should climb with us. Yeah. When is that? We do it every February. Okay.

So it'd be a good time. We had Bo, who's out here at 330 pounds. He got to the top. We had Helodianada retire. Big boy. Yeah, so if he can get up there, I think Luke Keighley can get up there. So talk to me about, I know everybody thinks running back is the position that gets devalued. But I think linebacker in today's game, very under the,

radar devalued. When you look at the best teams in the league, the best defenses, they have great lineback and cores. And the way the West Coast offense is now and everything comes off of it, if you don't have that if you're playing Miami or San Francisco, you're screwed. Do you see that that linebackers being a little bit undervalued? And when you look at a game like this Sunday where you got great lineback in course, what do you think factors in? And how to, who wins that game? Well, I think you look at these guys that are playing this week. And obviously in San Francisco they got two studs yeah you know Fred Warner's really good Dre Green Lott's a monster and those guys just patrol they patrol everything I think Fred is so I think he's very smart he's quick to

trigger I think he processes extremely fast and that defense that they playing with with Wilkes is awesome for those guys Fred can be active and run around and then Dre is just a tone setter for him great in the box oh my gosh but I think it's in the especially now you look at kind of the two you look at the two tight ends in this game. Both big, big guys that can get open, that can run, that can uncover, that are active, intermediate, and can get down the field. You've got to find ways to cover them. How are you going to cover Kelsey? Fred is a guy that can do that. He's long. He's athletic. And then you look on the other side of the ball. I think the guy Nick Bolton doesn't get enough credit. Incredible. You know, you look at that defense with Kansas City, and they talk a lot about

Chris Jones. Carloptis has had a great postseason, but Nick Bolton and Drew Trankel. Drew Trankel, actually is a Q-collar guy. They're going to have to... Tough. Yeah, they're going to have... The edges he was setting last week. Yeah, smacking, dude. So you got to be able to troll the middle. You got to be able to match up with guys inside and zone coverage and a man coverage. And now the way that the offenses are, how can we create mismatches?

And the easiest way to do it is put a speed guy on a linebacker. And if your linebacker can cover that guy and hold off long enough and play zone and push him over to the top to his help, you're effective. And that's what Fred can do. That's what Nick Bolton can do. and then you got Drew Trankel and Drey Greenlaw just mashing dudes. And Willie Gay was so, when Willie Gay was down last week, I was so worried about them against Baltimore

because I thought he'd be the guy with the speed that could run with Lamar and Spy and all that stuff. And they won without him because the guys like Drew and stepping up in the run game. Do you have a, let's say, top three favorite linebackers that you watch today? In the game right now? Yeah.

Okay, so I love Levante David. Yeah, he's awesome. So he came in, we came in the same year. Yeah. And I don't think he gets enough credit for what he's done. If you just pulled him, you took his name out, and you showed stats. It's crazy. TFL's forced fumble, sacks, picks, tackle.

Hall of Famer. Hall of Famer. And then the other guy that's been doing it forever is Bobby Wagner. Yeah. I think he's really good. And then, obviously, Fred, but the guy that I like a lot is Roquan Smith. Roquan's awesome. Dog.

Just physical edge, edge, but super smart. and I love that about him as he's like mean physical tough hit you in the mouth but he's super smart and gets the game and I love that sounds like somebody I know he's great somebody he's way he's he's super physical is this does somebody remind you you oh man I like Fred's game a lot yeah I can see a little bit of me and him in the sense of like 4 3 Mike backer like I just like his game a lot and he's way more athletic than I am well you might be selling yourself short but I really like Matt Maloney's Yeah, BC guy. Yeah, BC guy. Yep, he's a stud. I feel bad for me. He got banged up this year. I told my kids, if my son Whalen wants to play linebacker, I'm going to lock him in a room with Matt Milano tape for.

Yes. And I might throw some Luke Keeckley in there, too. So Matt was a great blitzer because in college at BC, he was like a slot, like a big nickel blitzer off the edge. And like, then he translated to that McDermott system and he's perfect. And that makes sense. When you watch all the pressures that they run. So good at it. He's surgical, so you get a prediction for the game before we let you go.

And I love the Niners. Obviously, Christians there. Wilkes is there. I think if they can get out to a lead and run the ball, they got a really good shot. But Mahomes is like, he's like Brady. You can't root against him. Dude, it's like it just does it. He gets a win.

If it's tight, and there's artist Twyman, one of the great, great media personalities in the NFL, artist Twyman. Dude, I got, I got chief 2721, but now I feel like one of the smartest football players of our generation took the other side. Okay. Check out the word that Q Collar is doing. I think it's awesome. I think, you know, like Luke's the perfect pitch man, not just because of what he went through, but because he's smart.

And he knows that something like Q Collar can extend the career, careers of some of the guys that we love watching play. So Luke, appreciate you taking the time. Hope you come on again and enjoy the week, bro. Sweet. Yeah.