Locked On Broncos - Daily Podcast On The Denver Broncos - RETURN: Denver Broncos MUST BRING BACK Ja'Quan McMillian

Starting point is 00:00:00 Debra Broncos nickel cornerback, J-Qaugh-McMillan is a restricted free agent, but the Broncos, they need to find a way to give this man a contract extension. You are Locked-on Broncos, your daily Denver Broncos podcast, part of the Locked-on Podcast Network, part of the Locked-on Podcast Network, part of the Locked-on Podcast Network, the number one sports podcast network in the country. Thanks to all you every day. Thanks for making us your first listen. However, you choose to do so as we break down today, restricted free agency. The Broncos have six players who are set to become restricted free agents. We'll tell you what restricted free agency means, what it looks like. And also, why the Broncos need to give nickel cornerback, J. Kwan McMillan, Macmillan,

Starting point is 00:00:51 a new contract after what he's been able to do since rising up the ranks as an undrafted rookie free agent. Plus, we'll discuss Jalulul McLaughlin's potential role in 2026. Is it time to let him go elsewhere and thrive? or with the Broncos find a role for him. And then we'll get into Alex Paucheschi, who had such an important role for the Broncos as a two-deep specialist at Guard and Tackle. But did he get Wally Pipped by Frank Crum?

Starting point is 00:01:14 We'll discuss it all here on today's episode of the show. I'm Cody Roar, Credential Broncos reporter from Ohio Sports, doing as always by Sarah Beniger, site expert over there, predominantly orange.com. Sarah, every single time Jake Kwan Macmillan made a big play last year, I always wanted to tweet, return of the Mac, right? he has risen so much from the first time that we saw him. And he was a player obviously at George Payton's end of the press conference

Starting point is 00:01:38 when he was asked about contract extensions. Obviously the Denver said, we're going to keep those things in house. But mention how, hey, he was an outside corner. We're like, whoa, we might have something here initially when he lined up against Mike Williams and the Los Angeles Chargers and the regular season finale just several years ago, he really stood his own.

Starting point is 00:01:56 And man, he emerged into such an impressive young player here in the NFL, one of the hardest spots in the game at the nickel. Back to back to back seasons with two interceptions for Jekwon, Macmillan, obviously 24 career passes broken up, five forced fumbles over the last three seasons. I mean, nine quarterback hits,

Starting point is 00:02:15 16 tackles for loss, seven sacks over the last three seasons, Cody, you'd be hard pressed to find many defensive backs in the NFL with that good of numbers, much less honestly on the Broncos roster. And so I think that, it's a no-brainer, right?

Starting point is 00:02:31 When it comes to being a restricted free agent, this is what we got to remember, right? There's certain levels of tenders for each player or whatever teams value players at, right? And those numbers are not yet concrete per the NFL. Those will be made final once the salary cap is officially finalized. And as we mentioned on yesterday's episode of the show, salary cap will be at an NFL record 300 million plus this season.

Starting point is 00:02:55 But the projection right now is that the highest tender, a first round tender is going to be roughly 7.9 million. And then right beneath that, second round tender, 5.65 million. And then the original round or first ride of refusal, 3.45 million. So once you got all that out of the way, you can kind of determine what is the starting point for re-signing somebody like Jaquan Macmillan. Well, you got to figure that the starting point is at least that first round tender at roughly 7.9 million.

Starting point is 00:03:25 And I think slot corners, Cody, they're so undervalued. in terms of contracts around a league. It feels like you're going to get a bargain no matter what. So why give a first round tender at $7.9 million, which counts directly against your salary cap, as opposed to maybe giving him $10 million per season or $11, or whatever the case may be. Pick your number out there.

Starting point is 00:03:47 We'll find some comparables, but give him a contract that lowers that cap hit in year one, as opposed to giving him a $7.9 million guaranteed salary this year and kicking that can down the road. I'm surprised he didn't receive as many votes for all pro consideration. Like they really have to differentiate that because, man, we talk about the impact. Remember against Patrick Mahomes, picked him off, sacked him. The only player, I think, in NFL history to be able to pick him off and sack him in the same exact game.

Starting point is 00:04:14 You needed a big play. It happened. What do we see in the NFL playoffs against the Buffalo Bills? J-Quans interception gave the Broncos the momentum to go on and win that game. I mean, that game would essentially been over for Denver if he hadn't have made that play. So that's where I think the value is for him. Not only that, he's good in coverage. He's good against the run. He comes up and he tackles. He's been a proponent. I think, you know, from a defensive back standpoint of leading the team and tackles for a loss behind

Starting point is 00:04:40 the line of scrimmage from a DB position. That is extremely valuable here. And you mentioned this too, like all the different tenders. I mean, Sarah, it's crazy. They got one, two, three, four, five. They got five different tenders. They throw out first round. As you mentioned, second round, original round, right of first refusal and then upgraded tender. Denver, I think at this point, I agree. Why waste time with that when you can just take care of him? You're going to have the financial flexibility to do it. You want to keep your good players on this team.

Starting point is 00:05:06 And I think regardless the fact that they drafted Jaide Barron, clearly we saw Jayquan. There was competition between those two. And what do we see? Jayquan ran away with it. And yes, it was a rookie season for Jaade. But man, you don't let a player like Jayquan get out of the building. Or else he's going to go have success on another NFL team

Starting point is 00:05:25 that needs a really good nickel, and then the Broncos is going to be kicking themselves down the line for it. I think regardless of your decision to draft Barron, you find a way to pay Jayquan. He's clearly earned that role. It's his, and I don't think anyone's going to come for it. Right. I don't think so either. I mean, and that's another part of this discussion, right, is the Jaade Bayron discussion. I did just want to quickly throw out a couple of comparables that are out there. Last spring, Kyler Gordon of the Bears, signed for three years, 40 million, so roughly 13.3 million average genuine value, but he got 31.25 million in guaranteed money. Kenny Moore, who's kind of one of the notable slot corners in the NFL, Cody, three years, 30 million. So when you're talking about

Starting point is 00:06:06 locking up a player with this level of productivity, you're not talking about breaking the bank. That's what I think is really great about, you know, resigning slot corners in today's NFL market is that it's not going to cost you the same as it would to resign. Obviously, Pat Certan is a crazy example, but you get what I'm saying. I mean, those outside corners make so much more money than the slot guys do. But that does raise questions if you resign him to a, you know, long-term deal. And he's not even 26 years old until this summer. So he's worthy of that.

Starting point is 00:06:37 If you resign him to a long-term deal, what does that mean about Jada Baron? Because I think, Cody, and I'll throw out this hot take early on here in the off-season, I think you look at trading Jada Baron because there was never a vision for that in the first place with Riley Moss being entrenched as another starter. Chris Abrams Drain showing starter level qualities, and you have one of the best slot corners in the NFL in J-Quan-McMillan. You re-signed Pat Sartan to a long-term deal. Why did you draft Jada Baron?

Starting point is 00:07:05 I get he's a high player on your board. So that would be my sort of devil's advocate there is to say, I think you try to trade him this offseason. What do you think about that? And how much do you think it complicates his role going forward if you do give a big contract to J-Quan? Yeah, I mean, I think if you extend J-Quon, it takes the opportunities unless Denver's in a dime package for Jaaday to be on the field or unless

Starting point is 00:07:27 there's an injury that pops up. But Jayquan's proven to be very durable over the course of his tenure here in Denver since 2022. I mean, I agree with you. Like that's the thing. Unless you unless you envision Jada maybe competing for a starting outside corner job where I feel like you probably have competition with Riley Moss, Chris Abrams drain, as you made mention of here, is that what Denver does? Or it's like, hey, do the Broncos view it internally as we know Jayquan's going to be our starting nickel, but in case something happens to him, we need another guy that can step up. I think when you think about it, yeah, Jaday can do that.

Starting point is 00:08:00 Or do you just make the position switch? Maybe do you move him to safety? I don't know. I mean, to your point, though, Sarah, if you can find a way, if there's a team out there that needs DB help and Jada is a guy that's on the radar or someone, maybe you do. But that also means that the Broncos have to come out and essentially, hey, we reached on this one, like he was the highest player on a board, but we drafted him to the deepest, the best cornerback room right now in the NFL.

Starting point is 00:08:25 I don't know where Denver stands on that. I don't know if Sean Payton would be willing to admit defeat on something like that, so to speak. But maybe, maybe he could. I think it's an interesting point that you brought up. I never thought about trading him until you really brought it up here. Personally, what is the situation here in the short and the long term, right? Because what advanced to say?

Starting point is 00:08:44 What did Sean say to us in the media this year? They said the vision for him has always been nickel. But when you got a guy who's playing at what I feel like is an all pro level of the nickel position there in Jaquan. I don't see why you move on from that for a younger guy. No matter how much upside Jada has, you have this guy right now. Keep this team intact. To me, this is where the dilemma truly is.

Starting point is 00:09:06 Especially because it's not like Jadae is, you know, like when J'Kwan was coming out of East Carolina, he was what, 21 years old. Jaude is, he's already turned 24. So we're talking about the difference of less than two years in age between these two. guys and yet jekwon has been doing this for three seasons and jade has yet to carve out a role so i would say this is the offseason that you feel good about your cornerback depth if the broncos feel any inclination toward also resigning riley moss which we'll have an episode this offseason dedicated to guys who are you know contract extension candidates as well as the team's free agents

Starting point is 00:09:46 but if you believe in riley moss's projections still or even chris abram's drain for that matter I think trading Jadae Barron and getting value, maybe even figuring out a way to parlay that into a, you know, addressing another need on this team. That's an interesting kind of thought process that maybe the team would scoff at publicly, but I wouldn't be surprised if they were getting calls at the very least from other teams saying, hey, you guys have a million corners.

Starting point is 00:10:13 Like can we try to trade for one of them from you? And Jadae's got three years left on his rookie deal. You could potentially address another need. if you think about that, if you're the Denver Broncos. Yeah, the Buffalo Bills need some help in the secondary. Jim Leonard is obviously over there as the D.C. now. But yeah, something to keep an eye on here. Broncos country, let us know your thoughts here on what the Broncos should do with J-Quahn,

Starting point is 00:10:35 whether they give him an extension. And also when it comes to Jaadee, do they look at trading him. Make sure you share your thoughts with us here on today's episode of the show. But coming up next, we're going to discuss Jaluma McLaughlin's role and whether or not that's going to be in the Mile High City going forward in 2026. He is restricted, but will the Broncos let him go elsewhere. Today's episode show is brought to you about friends over there at TurboTax. Tax season, it doesn't have to take over your life, folks.

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Starting point is 00:13:19 as well as a little bit more of a deeper dive on the running back position on today's episode Locked on Broncos. But Broncos Country, thanks so much to all you every day is out there. If you're already an everyday listener of the show, Cody and I want to invite you to check out the Everyday All Access Club where you're going to get an ad-free episode of Locked-on Broncos. We all love ad-free episodes of our favorite podcast. So it's worth the price of admission for that alone, but you're going to get tons of

Starting point is 00:13:43 other bonus content on there as well. Check out the link in the show notes for more. Cody, let's talk. Jaliel McLaughlin here, a very, I guess, polarizing subject on the podcast over the last year, I would say. I mean, his first year with the Broncos was the honeymoon phase, right? Undrafted rookie free agent, you know, Youngstown State, NCAA record for rushing yards. And he comes in, he wins a job during training camp.

Starting point is 00:14:08 And then not only that, but then shoot, he looked pretty darn good his rookie year when he got opportunities to run the ball. Year two, I would say, was a different story, right? the Broncos running game was tough sledding for both he and Javante Williams. It felt like the team was poised to move on. And then it also seemed like it after they assembled the roster and he was on it, he was inactive for most of this season until he was absolutely needed. What do you view as, okay, talking terms strictly right now of him being a restricted free agent,

Starting point is 00:14:39 do you offer him a tender? Like the minimum tender is going to be around 3.5 million. Do you offer that to Julelea McLaughlin to come back? Or do you say, hey, if you want to come back, it's going to have to be even less than that. Yeah, I mean, it's so hard because I don't know where Denver's thinking, regarding the running back position. Look, we talked about J.K. Dobbins, obviously,

Starting point is 00:14:59 whether or not Denver should run it back with him, what that looks like considering his injury history. We've both made the mention you and I here that Denver needs to obviously upgrade over Tyler Bade, who is going to be a guy we talk about in tomorrow's episode of the show when we talk about exclusive rights, free agents. But when it comes to Jalil, here's my thing with him. Sean Payton says he loves Jalil so much, but here's what we're seeing.

Starting point is 00:15:21 He's not using him as much as he should. And I think one area where Jalilil showed vast improvement here this season was pass protection, being in a passing situation, being able to block bigger guys. He's done that. But also, he was close to averaging a career best, like his rookie season that you mentioned. He averaged 5.4 yards per carry that year. This year, and when he's touched the football, he's averaging 5.1 yards per carry.

Starting point is 00:15:45 And it's like, Jalil will rattle off a big run, right, a 14, 15 yard run. And then all of a sudden he won't touch the ball in the next play or he won't touch the ball in the second half ever again. So to me, it's just like the rotation, the scheme that we've talked about. I think the scheme is a really big issue for the Broncos run game. I don't think it's necessarily a personnel issue. I think it is scheme related. I just don't understand why, like, if you value Jolil McLaughen as much as you say,

Starting point is 00:16:09 if you're Sean Payton, how come you're not giving him more touches and more overall opportunities. You know, I've asked him questions personally at press conferences this year where, you know, you've got these backs. This one, JK was healthy. You've got four backs on your active roster. And he's like, well, typically you only feed two of them. So it's like, what's the point of the third one then if you're only going to feed two of

Starting point is 00:16:28 them? You're going to bring in a guy, you know, on third down and passing situations where now teams know, hey, number 28's in the game. We know exactly what's coming on this play. To me, that's what frustrated me. And I feel like Jilu McLaughlin deserves better, to be honest with you. And if you're Denver, like I would love to see him back. But I think at this point, if you're not going to use him, let him go thrive elsewhere.

Starting point is 00:16:49 Do him a favor because I guarantee you, Jalil is the type of guy that will leave Denver, Sarah. He will go to a team and he's going to have success. And then all of a sudden we're going to be sitting. You're like, John, like you had this guy in your building. What happened? That's what I see playing out here with Jalil. I could very much see that happening.

Starting point is 00:17:07 You know, I mean, we saw it with Javante Williams, right? And I know Javante was a second round pick. and featured back for the Cowboys. So different situations most likely. But at the same time, Jalil will have a chip on his shoulder if he has to leave Denver because the team doesn't want him back, right?

Starting point is 00:17:23 I think that always puts a chip on your shoulder when you know you're not wanted somewhere and then you have an opportunity to stick it to whoever said they don't want you. So that definitely is something to watch for, certainly. And once again, friends in high places. I mean, you know, Darren Moji, the GM of the Jets. You know, there's tons of people out there

Starting point is 00:17:40 who would probably love Pete Carman. Michael's with Buffalo. You know, there's tons of ties that bind around the NFL where Jalil would be able to quickly get a job this offseason at some point. So it really does just confuse me overall the running game for the Broncos. Like we've mentioned this before, even when J.K. Dobbins was playing at his best this past season. It didn't feel like the Broncos had sort of that consistent balance that you truly covet offensively, right?

Starting point is 00:18:07 It didn't feel like, oh, man, I mean, they're just pounding teams on the ground. and Bo Nix is thriving off of every, you know, situation because of it. It felt like everything was still very forced. So what is the answer? I think to me, it's just an upgrade of talent all around. And that may mean taking these risks and saying goodbye to players like Jolil McLaughlin and resetting the clock. Like who's going to be the new Jalil McLaughlin, right?

Starting point is 00:18:33 The Broncos also resigned a couple of guys to reserve future contracts. The two players who were on the practice squad, Deuce Vaughn, and then Cody Schrader, I think it is. Cody Schrader, who was signed late in the year. So they've got those two guys who could be kind of maybe the next Jolil McLaughlin, right? So I think the time is now to let him go put that chip on his shoulder elsewhere, try to upgrade the top of your depth chart.

Starting point is 00:18:58 Yeah, and look, I could see Jalilil ending up, let's say, L.A. or San Francisco or maybe even Kansas City. And all of a sudden it's like, wait a minute, it we just had this guy in the building. I could see it. I could see a Jililil McLaughlin revenge game against the Broncos. I certainly could see it. He's just got a great mentality, works so hard. And I know Broncos fans are seemingly split on him.

Starting point is 00:19:20 But shout out to my man, Jililil, always been great to me. Love seeing the underdog story thrive. And of course, Jay Cole's new album drops on Friday. I'm stoked about that. I know Jalil is as well representing Fayetteville, North Carolina here. Dreamville, Cole World. You know what it is. Anyways, we're having out plugs and promotions here on today's show there.

Starting point is 00:19:38 of Broncos country. But coming up next, we're going to get into the final round of restrictive free agents, including Alex Paucheschi, who showed versatility at two major positions of need here for Denver when injuries took place. But did he get Wally Piped by Frank Crum? We'll discuss that more here on today's episode of the show. Today's episode show is brought to my friends over there at Home Chef. And as the New Year gets going, a lot of people, they're trying to simplify their routines. And dinner is a big one between busy workdays, the cold winter nights and the pack schedules, having an easy, reliable dinner plan. It makes a huge difference. And that is where Home Chef comes in handy because Home Chef, they take the stress out of

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Starting point is 00:22:19 That's something we'll discuss here on today's episode, Lockdown Broncos. We just want to say thank you once again, Broncos country, for tuning in, making us your first listen. Even though the offseason is here, there is never an off season for the true fan. I know last week I got that mixed up. I said there's never a true fan in the off season. But I'm out to Vicky for keeping me on my feet there. Sometimes I go a million miles an hour. You know how it is.

Starting point is 00:22:40 But we appreciate you all, Broncos country. Sarah, I was curious your thoughts here. Alex Paucheski is one of the several remaining restrictive free agents we'll discuss here today. Obviously for him, he stepped in and filled in nicely at the left guard position after Ben Powers went through his injury.

Starting point is 00:22:55 Matt Pert filled in for powers initially, got hurt. And then Alex Pauceske actually looked like someone you might be able to roll with in the future. at that position. And it could come in 2026, to be honest with you. But after Paucheschi kind of got upended out of the lineup once Ben Powers returned, his old role as reporting as eligible, it got overtaken by Frank the Tank Crumb. So is Alex Paucheske, in your opinion, a guy that the Broncos will be bringing back here

Starting point is 00:23:25 with some sort of tender? I think you've got to. I mean, he's proven over the last two seasons that he's valuable depth in the starting lineup. I mean, he took over from Mike McGlinchie and then Ben Powers in consecutive years at right tackle and left guard. So he's got that versatility that you look for, although I will acknowledge, and I think we have to acknowledge the fact that he was not necessarily the backup left guard. Was he? I mean, the Broncos had a number of other guys that were in front of him on the depth chart, but I think he proved himself. So, I mean, you talk about Wally Piping certain situations.

Starting point is 00:23:57 I mean, Matt Pert, who probably won't be back this next season, the Broncos can move on from and rely on guys like Palchewski if they need him in that sort of situation. So I think in terms of being a restricted free agent that's worth bringing back, or at least just giving a new contract to, that's the thing that I wonder right there is, do you give him a restricted free agent deal or do you try to work out something else on like a multi-year deal? Remember, that is important to Sean Payton is to have these positions

Starting point is 00:24:25 solidified on the offensive line, no question marks whatsoever. I don't know that the Broncos would choose him. as their left guard of the future, Cody. I think he did a solid job with the circumstances considered, but I don't know that you necessarily want to build him into your starting five offensive line at left guard. I think the best spot for him is what Sean Payton has said in the past, right,

Starting point is 00:24:46 tackle, right? So that's not opening up right now as of what we know, you know. So I think that the left guard position where Ben Powers has no, you know, he's nothing on his contract beyond this year besides void years. So that's the discussion right there that that is fascinating to me when it comes to the left guard spot, the offensive line going forward is Ben Powers back this year. And yeah, what does that mean for Palchowski? He may not be the reporting eligible guy, but he's certainly somebody that they believe can step into any of those. I mean, at least I would think at least a few of those different roles on the old line if somebody gets hurt.

Starting point is 00:25:25 What do we learn this year? How important it is to have depth, plain and simple. And I think on the offensive line specifically, you need really good depth. I think Paucheski makes it up. Is he a starter in the NFL? I don't know. I mean, at this point, you know, he's got a lot of college experience. He had a lot of college games that he's played and started in, which is obviously

Starting point is 00:25:42 a factor there for him. But in the NFL, it's different. Like some guys could just thrive in that backup role. I still think he'll probably get paid decent money for what backups get paid. But knowing what we know about the NFL and how physical offensive line play is, it's only a matter of time before some guy gets paid. banged up, right? And that's why we saw him step in last year when Mike McGlinchy went down with the ankle injury at right tackle. This year with Ben Powers, he's proven to be a good too deep

Starting point is 00:26:08 option for you at this point. I think that's where the value is of bringing him back. Now, there are a couple other players, right? There's two tight ends, tight in Lucas Crowell and tight in Nate Adkins are also restrictive free agents. Where do you stand on this? Because I think you and I are in agreement on this. The tight end position needs to be revamped here in Denver. So what does it mean for guys like Krollin Atkins? I think for either of those guys, you should be able to re-sign them for cheaper than it would cost to do a restricted free agent tender, right? Remember, the lowest one is $3.5 million or roughly $3.5 million. It might be, it might clock in somewhere, you know, around there when the salary cap is officially set.

Starting point is 00:26:47 But we're working under the assumption that it's roughly $3.5 million. I don't think you put that much of the salary cap pie towards guys like this, right? These are guys who may make your top 53, your 53 man roster, but they may also not count against your top 51 salaries during the off season. And that's an important thing to remember about a number of these in-house free agents for the Broncos is that you can resign a number of these guys and basically not have them counting against your salary cap effectively because you're able to get them back for cheaper than what is your top 51. So I know there's a lot that goes into that. terms of the understanding the salary cap of which I am not an expert. I ain't going to be working for over the cap or spot track anytime soon, Cody. But I do understand that there's 51 contracts

Starting point is 00:27:36 that are higher than the others on the team. And it's restricted free agents like these two guys, as well as a couple of others that we've got to mention quickly. I think Matt Henningson, I don't think you necessarily bring him back, Cody. But I feel like when it comes to restricted free agents, you want to try to sign them for under the tender amount, then there's no risk of losing them to other teams that can negotiate with them either. Yeah. No, I'm with you there. And I think if you had to choose between bringing Nate Adkins back or Lucas Crowell,

Starting point is 00:28:06 I think Adkins probably brings more inherent value right away, right? When we talk about the role he played, I mean, he's a good blocker. He could play the fullback role for you. I know we talked about Michael Burton, but then again, do you bring Adam Prentice back for the fullback position if you're Sean Payton? He did a really good job with that. For Adkins, I do think if you need a blocking body type on your tight end roster, I would bring him back.

Starting point is 00:28:29 As you look to obviously revap that room, you're bringing him, Evan Ingram back, probably not bringing Troutman back at that point, but you can add to this room. And I think keeping a guy like Adkins because of what he brings to the table is a blocker. But on top of that, special team's value, I think Nate Atkins has proven himself. He'll probably be back here with the team. And I agree with you on Matt Henningson, and probably unlikely that he's going to return to the team,

Starting point is 00:28:53 I think based on if we're reading the T leaves at this point. The thing about restrictive free agents to, I think that people don't realize is that these players are free to sign and negotiate with other teams, but the Broncos, this is where the right of first refusal comes in. They have the ability to match or not match. And if they don't match,

Starting point is 00:29:08 then those players can sign with those teams essentially there. So something to keep an eye on. When we talk about the leverage game here, we know the Denver's going to have flexibility in the salary cap this year with Russell Wilson's dead cap off the books. they got draft picks. They might be able to make even a trade for some big name players this year. The Broncos, we know they're going to be aggressive.

Starting point is 00:29:26 You want to bring back some of your key nucleus guys and some of your key depth pieces. But I think that Denver is going to be very much on board with upgrading their roster in a handful of areas. And I'm very curious to see what they decided to do here, ultimately with the guys that we named on today's episode of the show. But Broncos Country, thanks for rocking with us, making us your first listen. Tomorrow's episode of the show for all you every day. Here's what Sarah and I are going to break down. We're going to take a look at exclusive rights-free ages. The Broncos, they have two really big names in Dandre Tillman and Devin Key.

Starting point is 00:29:54 We'll tell you why they need to keep these guys on board as much as possible in 2026 and why they should move on from players like Tyler Badegh and Jordan Jackson. You'll get that on tomorrow's episode of the show.

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