Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - Latest updates on Carson Wentz to Indy + another mock offseason scenario

Episode Date: February 18, 2021

On today's episode, Stephen Reed of Stampede Blue joins Evan to go over the latest in the Carson Wentz saga. On Wednesday, Vegas' odds shifted heavily in Indy's favor. Is this a sign a deal could be close to happening?Should J.J. Watt be a realistic option for the Colts to pursue after being released? Even though it would be fun having Watt alongside DeForest Buckner, a big injury history could scare off Indy.Closing out the show, it's time for another mock offseason scenario! If Wentz ends up with the Colts, how would the other offseason dominoes fall? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You are Locked On Colts, your daily Indianapolis Colts podcast. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Hello everybody, welcome back into your latest episode of Locked On Colts, part of the Locked On Podcast Network. Today's always your host, Evan Cedric, joined by Stephen Reed of Stampede Blue. As we're going to recap the latest in this Colts news here on a Wednesday evening. And the Carson Wentz saga has not yet been finished, but according to Las Vegas, this might be a done deal here soon because Vegas odds, if you guys like to gamble out there, I know Indiana,

it's legal out there to do sports gambling. According to Fox Bet, which is a Fox affiliate for Fox Sports, for their betting website, which is available, I think, at Pennsylvania and Colorado, other states as well, the odds for Curse of Wentz being traded to the Cult of Skyrocket in the last 24 hours, Stephen. Yesterday, it was at minus 110 on Tuesday. On Wednesday, it went from minus 110 to minus 1,200,

a massive spike up there in odds. And usually once Vegas knows something, it usually happens. And I know for the 49ers odds, I think it skyrocketed up to plus 400 even. But minus 1,200 is a huge odd shift, and it seems like almost a lock. According to Vegas, that Carson Wentz is a future Colt. We've heard a lot of smoke still, Stephen, around that Wentz still doesn't want to go to Chicago. He prefers the Annapolis Colts.

Albert Breer has doubled down at our port, and many others have as well. It seems like to me, Stephen, the closer we get to March, today's February 17th, it feels like maybe by this weekend or maybe next week by the latest, this, this, when saga is finally going to end here. Yeah. When Vegas decides to, to weigh in and put their money behind something that's usually a pretty good sign that they've heard something that's a really reliable.

Most of the time, as we know that the house doesn't like to lose money in Vegas. So if that got out that went to the Cotorodon deal at the previous line, then Vegas, they might have lost some money there. And they don't like doing that. So once Vegas kind of weighs in on it, you kind of have a feeling that that's probably going to happen that way. And it's not really surprising to all of us that have been paying attention. My guess is that, you know, there, there comes a date where Chris Ballard was like, you know what, this is my drop dead date. And my offer is going to stay till this date. And that's it. So I look at it and I say,

the Eagles were never going to get two first round picks for Carson Wentz. Everybody pretty universally laughed at that from Howie Roseman. And we'll see what ends up being the compensation if a trade does get consummated between the Colts and the Eagles. But from what we're seeing with Vegas, it seems like that's probably going to be the landing spot for Carson Wentz. And it seems like too, I mean, with Vegas and as well as reports still that Wentz doesn't want to go to Chicago, the leverage that Wentz barely has in this negotiation where he has a massive contract and if the Bears want to send a first-round pick or even a couple second-round picks for a guy that might not even want to play for them, for also a team with a coach and general manager, Matt Nagy and Ryan Pace,

who are fighting for the jobs in 2021, if they don't have a quarterback who's all in with them in 2021, it might not be a smart investment on their end to maybe trade some heavy draft capital to go get him. If Wentz is using this leverage too as well in this scenario, which it sounds like he definitely is right now, what percent chance, honestly, Stephen, would you put for Wentz ending up at Indy here by the end of this month? I mean, honestly, at this point, we've been talking about it for weeks now.

At this point, it seems like over two weeks now. But I think we're closing out around 90%, 95% that he's probably going to be a goal. What do you think? I'd put it probably pretty close to that. I think there could be hiccups. But, again, once Vegas weighs in on it, they read the tea leaves and they kind of know which way people are going, which way the winds are blowing. That's a really good point, though, that you brought up with Carson Wentz

and his use of leverage because he does have some in this. Yeah, he doesn't have the no-trade clause like Deshaun Watson does in his contract. But when you pair it like that, when you talk about Matt Nagy, Ryan Pace over there with Chicago, and the fact that if they get a quarterback in that doesn't want to be there, he's no interest in playing for Chicago. Reports were earlier today heard that Allen Robinson and Chicago haven't had contract extension talks since September. So that makes you wonder what Chicago is even doing

because he's by far their best offensive playmaker. You look at that and you say, okay, well, we already know what Carson Wentz gives you when he doesn't want to be there. And that's arguably the worst quarterback in the league. Now, when Carson Wentz wants to be there and he's healthy, he's an MVP candidate. So you look at that from the Chicago Bears perspective, and they probably, once they found out that Carson Wentz wasn't interested in playing there, they probably stepped away from the table completely. And so I think the Eagles now are kind of scrambling,

hoping that that offer that Chris Ballard made to them, which was reportedly, you know, Ron Jaworski reported as two twos and a future pick. We've heard from other reliable sources that it was never that much, that it was like a round two, like 54, and then a future round two or a future round three. And that's kind of where I've said before, when we talked about this, what gosh, it feels like a month ago, but I think it might have only been last week, where I thought it was 54. And then a conditional round three that could bump up to a round two if they make the playoffs and along those lines. And so I wonder how much the Eagles are scrambling, hoping that Chris Ballard leaves that offer on the table for them. Because if I'm Chris Ballard,

and I know that the Bears effectively have pulled out of this race, and it's just me, I'm probably going to lower my offer a little bit and let them know hey look you know this offer is going to be on the table until the end of the week and if you don't take it it's going to drop and yeah i agree and so like this is the leverage game that chris ballard plays and right now the eagles they just Howie Roseman just massively overplayed his hand wanting that Matthew Stafford package and you know we joked before that they didn't realize that they weren't the ones with Matthew Stafford and they were the ones with Jared Goff in that scenario and they just I feel like the Eagles, no matter what, there's a part of me that does feel bad for Harry Roseman, because no matter what, he's going to look bad in this situation.

If he can't trade Carson Wentz, then he's going to have this disgruntled quarterback that's making a massive amount of money on his salary cap this year that doesn't want to be there and could ruin the culture of the locker room. If he trades Carson Wentz and he no matter what he's probably not getting a first round pick for him so if he trades him then he's gonna get like a second round pick or two seconds or a second and a future third something like that where people will say well you didn't get what you said you think you should get you got way less than that

and then if Carson Wentz ends up no matter what with that that trade he's going to look bad there and then if Carson Wentz gets traded and then he blows up in say Indianapolis and becomes an MVP candidate then people are going to look at Howie Roseman and say what are you doing you just traded away an MVP candidate. You alienated a guy that could have been a franchise quarterback for the Eagles for how many years? And you totally screwed it up. You screwed up the relationship. So there's a part of me that does feel bad for Howie Roseman because he's really in a tough spot right now. No matter what he does, he's got egg on his face. It's just plain and simple last thing here

on Wednesday before we dive into some free ANC stuff and maybe talk about another mock offseason scenario for the Colts here from Zach Kiefer this morning of the athletic the Colts beat writer he said while it's been quiet the Eagles and Colts have continued trade talks for Carson Wentz one important aspect of this I'm told is Indy has significantly changed its offer from where it started more than a week ago. For the most part, the Colts aren't budging, which is going right with what you're saying there, Stephen. And honestly, knowing how

shrewd and calculated Chris Ballard is, it would not shock me at all if it was maybe, let's say, two twos. Now, let's say it's a two, number 54 overall, and in a fourth-round pick in 2022, you can maybe bump up to a third-round pick in 2022 if it's like maybe plays well and he maybe have some escalator bonuses in there as well that can make

a lot of sense here to me it just feels like to me like you mentioned it feels like philip really overplayed their hand here and they're probably going to walk away from the table thinking that chris bauer was ryan gricks and they really had a chance to maybe just finesse him but it turns out make chris bauer finesse the eagles instead and gets the guy Frank Reich as one-and-all while in cursive lands. Yeah, Chris Ballard is one of those guys that you just don't want to play poker against because he's just going to – you do and you don't because he's going to give it to you straight. He's going to tell you exactly what it is.

He's a guy that's not going to move off his bargaining position. And like you said, what Zach Kiefer reported this morning, it's exactly what we've been saying all along with Chris Ballard, is that he's going to give you his offer, whatever it is, and that's his point. That's as high as he's going to go. He's not going to lowball you. He's gonna go he's he's not gonna low ball you he's not gonna sit there and and play these bidding wars he might bid up a little bit

but for the most part he's gonna stay within this range and once it gets beyond that he's out and that's what you really want as a general manager if you're a Colts fan because you don't get into bad contracts you don't get into bad trades but you look at that and you say yeah you you really want a general manager like Chris Ballard running your franchise because you know that he's going to make the right decision or you have faith that he's going to make the right decision and he's not going to put you in a bad spot and that's what I think Howie Roseman is learning because he thought he could, you know, leak these different reports out because all these reports talking about the Colts offer, the Colts offer, the Colts offer, that came from the Eagles. We all kind of know that because it's not something the Colts are going to leak what

their offer is, try to get another team to outbid them. You know, it's something that probably came from the Philadelphia front office to try to get another team to bite, to try to get another team to jump up and offer that round one, for example, Chicago. And Chicago, after, you know, probably doing some back channel work, talking with people that know Carson Wentz, found out that he had no interest in playing there and then once Chicago bows out like I said earlier it's it's just the Colts at that point unless if some some mystery team flies in last second and blows up the deal and and offers a round one or multiple multiple really high picks then great for that other team and you know I them all the best, but I'm glad that Chris Ballard doesn't get into those

bidding wars. I just think it's a really bad place to be for a franchise and a really bad tendency for what you'd want in a general manager. Bet online is the fastest and easiest way to bet on all your sports action. Football might be over, but the NBA, college basketball, and the NHL are in full swing. BetOnline even covers awards, TV shows, and reality TV. Real-time data, odds, and props, almost anything you can imagine. BetOnline has your card for all the news, scores, and odds,

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Colts here on Locked On Colts, but what about the rest of sports? Now the Locked On Podcast Network has you covered there as well as Locked On Today. It's hosted by the great Peter Bukowski and it's all the sports news you need every morning in under 20 minutes. Subscribe to the Locked On Today podcast for every year podcast. We'll obviously see where the Carson Wentz saga goes from here, Stephen, here. On Wednesday, February 17th, this trade still has not happened,

but from all the indications here, whether it be the Vegas odds skyrocketing up in the Colts' favor or these reports saying that Wentz is still pushing his leverage toward Indianapolis, it's something that might be getting closer to a Wentz trade in the Colts' favor, or these reports saying that Wentz is still pushing his leverage toward Indianapolis. It's something that might be getting closer to a Wentz trade in the Colts, and we'll obviously keep talking about that here on the podcast throughout the next week or two on Locked On Colts. But let's dive in now, Stephen, into a free agent who was recently released by the Houston Texans, a legend in the Houston Texans, J.J. Watt.

And we're going to dive as well into a mock offseason after this. But really quickly, I haven't covered on the podcast just yet after hisans, J.J. Watt. And we're going to dive as well into a mock offseason after this. But really quickly, I haven't covered on the podcast just yet after his release, Stephen. What's your thoughts on J.J. Watt? Because I have to imagine, I saw a report where it said around 12 to 15 teams checked in on J.J. Watt after he was released by the Texans. Not surprising. Let's go on there in Houston.

Just a complete disaster there where Jack used to be running the show. Deshaun Watson still is holding his ground and wanting out of Houston. Just everyone's really bailing right now out of Houston. And JJ Watts, the latest one out, I don't blame him on that. 12 to 15 teams checked in on him, Stephen. The Colts have about $70 million in cast space. I imagine the Colts were one of those teams that checked in on him. But I don't know unless the Colts really believe that Watt is a media upgrade.

I think he'd be fun next to the Forrest Buckner. But looking at his stats this past year, five sacks in 16 games. He's only played 16 games in two of his last five years. He's been very injury riddled his last five years. His first four years in the NFL were absolutely dominant. He's been a three-time defensive player of the year. But what do you think about J.J. Watt and the Colts? Because I saw a report today from Edward or VSPN where it said J.J. Watt is prioritizing a win now team in a cerebral

window to get a ring and whether you have to have like an elite quarterback and an elite supporting personnel then the money comes after that so I think Steven with that being said he's probably going to go to the Green Bay Packers but what do you think about Watt and maybe his possibility with the Colts? My guess is Chris Ballard reached out because that's just Chris Ballard's MO. He does his due diligence. He makes sure that he leaves no stone unturned, everything like that.

So I guess that he probably reached out to JJ Watt just to kind of gauge his interest, see what he kind of wants to do. Realistically, I don't think JJ Watt is a great fit for what Chris Ballard looks at in a free agent besides the locker room aspect and the culture aspect. Because when it comes to that, JJ Watt is absolutely worth every penny because he brings that culture. He brings that work ethic. He brings what ultimately will end up being probably a Hall of Fame career.

And he'd bring that to the locker room. And that's the type of person you'd want to bring in as a free agent. But he does have some physical limitations. And sure, it would be great to see him play next to DeForest Buckner, where all of a sudden you can't double team JJ Watt all the time, because then DeForest Buckner will eat. And you can't double team JJ Watt all the time because then DeForest Buckner will eat. And you can't double team DeForest Buckner all the time because that means JJ Watt will eat. So it'd be fun to see them go up next to each other. But I'm not certain that it makes a lot of sense. You know, JJ Watt is 32, like you mentioned.

He has had significant injuries the past three of the past five years. So 60% of the past five years, he's had some pretty significant injuries that have ended the season. He's still got the motor that you want him to have. But at the same time, he's just not quite the player that he used to be. Now, who knows? Maybe it changes scenery maybe playing against a better supporting cast um maybe that changes things around last year he was the only guy on that houston defensive line that really could consistently get pressure so of

course teams would would shade their shade their blocking assignments blocking protections over to jj watt's side um you know maybe that but quite honestly, I think you're right. I think that most likely scenarios for JJ Watt, I think probably the Packers or potentially the Bills make a lot of sense. Those are the two teams that I think are the most likely landing spots for JJ Watt when he signs elsewhere. Built Bar is the best tasting protein bar ever. We just got new shipments in actually to my doorstep a couple of days ago.

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You don't want to miss a Locked On NFL podcast Monday through Friday here on the Locked On Podcast Network. Subscribe wherever you get your podcast, Colts fans. Totally agree with you there. I think J.J. Watts, a pipe dream for the Colts, and especially with how he values the Super Bowl window and the team having an elite quarterback. I think Tampa Bay, Buffalo, Green Bay, all those teams really make a lot of sense for J.J. Watt. The Colts, not so much, outside of money. He'd be a lot of fun to force Buckner, of course, like we just outlined there. I think it's probably not going to happen there as far as J.J. Watt ending up in a Colts uniform. But let's dive in now, Stephen. It's another mock offseason scenario that I came up with. And let's circle back to Carson Wentz for a second here, because Wentz is a part of this mock offseason scenario. Let's say they trade 54 plus a 2022 pick, whether it be a third or fourth round pick conditionally.

How does that change the offseason for them? Because obviously they're going to have to absorb around $25 to $30 million in cash space there. Their cash space would go down from around $70 million to $40 million. You still have enough money to play with as far as extensions go. You have enough money to get one or two big free-in signings on board. How do you think bringing Wentz on board in that contract for at least the next two years will change the Colts' outlook for the offseason? Where in my opinion, if they do bring Wentz on board, you're probably targeting left tackle and Ed pretty heavily in free agency and or the draft.

I think the if if Carson Wentz comes here to Indianapolis I think the first thing I would do if our Chris Ballard and the Colts is I would immediately restructure that contract and try to push out some of that money. So then this year when there is a decreased cap, you can get a little bit more of that money back. So that's what I would first do when I make a trade for Carson Wentz is try to get that restructure done. Then in terms of the draft, I think this draft is pretty loaded at the left tackle position, which is great for the Colts because, again, obviously a pretty massive position of need. I think that's where they will focus their left tackle position is in the draft. Whether it's there at 21 and, say, a Christian Derrissaw out of Virginia Tech is there available to them

or if a Rashawn Slater out of Virginia Tech is there available to them, or if Rashawn Slater drops down, out of Northwestern drops down a little bit. Those guys make a lot of sense. They're at 21. If either of those guys aren't there, I could see Chris Ballard potentially trading back into the draft, picking up an extra second round pick to help offset the loss of the second round pick trading for Carson Wentz.

And then going with a guy like Liam Eikenberg out of Notre Dame or a Dylan Redunes out of North Dakota state makes a lot of sense to me at that left tackle position. I think that's the position. I think that's the real reason why Chris Ballard has been so reluctant to trade 21 more so than anything else. And we've, we've talked about before about potentially trading up in the draft and using 21 as leverage to be able to get up into that top top five top

six range not a lot of teams are going to want to drop all the way down to 21 so that's that's why it's a little bit more difficult there i think he will target the edge rusher market hard in free agency. I think that, you know, Romeo Acquara makes a lot of sense out of Detroit. Another guy that makes a lot of sense is Carl Lawson. Yannick Ngakwe would be be a great great addition as well i think chris ballard for sure is going to target hard an elite edge rusher in this class um just because in this free agent class because of the lack of of those guys on the roster right now i think ben banigou and

kamoku toray are the only like true pass rush defensive ends on the roster unless they want to go ahead and play taequann Lewis there full time. And then I think that they're probably going to look into potentially signing a big name wide receiver as well. Then use the rest of the money, whatever they have left over in cap. And again, what people have to realize is this year the salary cap has decreased. Next year it's going to shoot back up because you're going to have attendance. You're going to have possibly a new television deal coming up.

You're going to have all these other things that are going on that potentially, I might be wrong on the television stuff, but you're going to have revenue coming back in from stadiums that's going to boost that salary cap back up to what it was before, well over $200 million. And so what you're going to see a lot of teams do is try to restructure or sign one-year deals, things like that. The Colts are in an enviable position because they've got all this salary cap space, but i see them targeting an elite edge rusher in this class a free agent class and then looking at a wide receiver in this free agent class and then focusing in the draft at a left tackle position especially if they trade for

carson wentz looking at the left tackle position in the draft early and then potentially going and doubling up in free agency with the edge rusher and then maybe even drafting one uh in in round three of the draft like a peyton turner out of houston or a jordan smith uab ellis ellerson smith um out of northern uh northern illinois um that are UNI. And so those are the three guys that I think – and Zach Hicks had this article out on Stampede Blue today, his Build a Ballard series, where he discussed the different edge rushers that make a lot of sense

for the Colts in this draft. And those three guys were on that list. And so that's where I think Chris Ballard would go in a mock offseason um you you obviously look to get some extensions done um resign some of your own guys if you can resign Xavier Rhodes I think that's a great great resigning he had a great career or a great year here in Indianapolis really really likes uh working with maddie reflux in this defense really excelled in this defense and so i would if i were the colts i and and i were the general manager i would do what i could to resign xavier rhodes as well to try to short that cornerback position and once you do that you've got an opportunity to really put all

the main pieces in play for your for your. Because ultimately the Colts are going into the soft season with five big holes in the quarterback position, left tackle, edge rusher, wide receiver, and corner. And if you can address the quarterback position in a trade where Carson wins, you draft the left tackle early, then you're able to sign an edge rusher or two in free agency, sign a wide receiver, and then re-sign Xavier Rhodes, all those things are possible. And again, I think that if you can restructure Carson Wentz's deal, it makes a lot more sense for the Colts and it'll freeze up a lot of money for them to be able to go and make these moves.

Yeah, really good layout there of the options there, Stephen. And I put down on my list for an edge rusher, Aquara or Lawson, those two I think really stand out to me as far as realistic young edge rushers to replace Justin Houston. I personally think Justin Houston is going to be back this time next year. I just think at age 32, he really was inconsistent last year.

He's probably, his best years are behind him. He can get a cheaper, younger edge rusher in a Lawson or Okwara this year. And really, I think it'd be a really shrewd move and smart one by Chris Bauer. I think one scenario here i think that a lot of colts fans i think me and you steven are really locked up in agreement here if they were to get a course of wentz on board and let's say they trade number 54 overall i think the colts aren't going to stay at 21 in that scenario i think they would move back whether it be too late later in the first round or maybe early in the second

round i think one chance that stands out to me is the New York Jets at 34 and 66. They actually still have two first round picks at number two overall, number 23 overall from the Jamal Adams trio at Seattle. But if they want to get aggressive and move up from 34 to get 21 and 23, the Colts recoup 34 and 66, the top of second and third rounds, a trade like that makes a lot of sense to me, or even maybe move back with a playoff tonight, Buffalo to like 30 overall to get one of those left tackles,

like we're doing during Eichenberg there. I'm almost a bet your mortgage type of walk that if they do get Wentz, they trade 54, that was going to be back for 21. Yeah, I'm with you there. I think that I'd feel very confident in making that bet that if the Colts are able to trade for Carson Lawrence and Vegas seems to think that that's going to happen I definitely see them trading 21 and dropping back and recouping some of those picks so then it's basically a net loss or a net wash for the Colts so it's ultimately the difference between you know the the pick pick values that you got there and Chris Ballard is

has been masterful at moving around the draft and i could see it happening just like it has i feel like every other draft for the past like three or four years since like maybe since molly cooker was the only year that he didn't move back it feels like um it might actually be the only draft he didn't move back now that i think about this um but yeah it seems like that's going to be a lock if they do trade for Carson Wentz, and especially if they trade 54 or 84 for him. Yeah, looking at free agency in the draft, like I mentioned, edge rusher, I think is my top priority there.

You pay big money for one of those top-yielding edge rushers and their salary cap after getting Carson Wentz on board in this scenario. Focus on the draft there. You go for left tackle first, in my opinion, get an Eichenberger or Dunes on board. Drafting their cornerback, I think, on day two makes a lot of sense because Rakia Sin has proven not to be most so far in the NFL. I know they really trust him still, but Xavier Rhodes,

maybe he's on a one- or two-year deal if you re-sign him. Get someone on board to compete with Rakia Sin and Marvell Tell. Then playmakers in the draft, too, whether it be tight end or wide receiver. I think those make sense, maybe day two or early day three. And as well as some more offensive line depth and another edge rusher in the draft as well. I think just going in the trenches on edge and left tackle and then adding some playmakers as well on day two or day three

I think makes a lot of sense for the Colts. You add in that edge rusher as well, and a loss in Rockwater. Or if you want to listen to all the names me and Steve went into on in depth last week on the podcast, around 10 to 12 names. We went through as far as previewing this edge rushing class. One of the best ones you've seen in a very long time for agency, the Colts probably going to walk away with maybe one or possibly two of those

names off that list. Go check out that episode if you have not already, but last one halfway Steven here, as far as in-house free agents go for this scenario i have them bringing back xavier rhodes like you mentioned i think ty hilton the close free of the free agency i really feel like ty is going to be back i just don't know if chris power's going to spend big money on a receiver if he brings carson wentz on board maybe just resign ty and run it back you obviously resign zach paschal as a restricted free agent as well. And then my other two guys outside of Rhodes and Hilton are Al-Kadim Muhammad,

who's a young veteran defensive line re-signing. He's only 26 years old. He'll be cheap on the contract. And then Danico Autry over Justin Houston. I think one of those guys is going to be back. I think they're going to pick Danico Autry. So what do you think about those four names there as re-signed candidates? I think definitely going to – I would prioritize Al-Kadim Mohamed over Danico Autry, either two just because of age.

And you saw AQM kind of show up when he was given playing time. I don't think that they're going to completely disregard Danico Autry. I think they're going to bring him back if they can. Zach Paschal is a no-brainer to me that they're going to bring him back. T.Y. is one of those things where if Chris Ballard is able to go out and get a big free agent wide receiver, then I don't see T.Y. Hilton coming back. I could see T.Y. coming back if, again, it ultimately comes down to compensation.

If T.Y. thinks that he's worth like $12 million, then there's no way. I just don't see T.Y. coming back at that price. If he wants to finish his career here in Indianapolis, then I could see him, you know, Chris Ballard potentially bringing him back at a lesser value. So I think that's ultimately where it comes to TY is if Chris Ballard strikes out and the big, big name wide receiver market, then I think that TY is going to be a fallback option. But I don't think TY is going to be a priority. But, you know,

I've been wrong before. I feel like that's just kind of where I would go with it right now. Just because you've got such strong, you've, the tough part is in the wide receiver room, you don't have a strong personality, a strong leader. And that's kind of what TY was, even though he's quiet. He was still a leader. He showed you how to do it on the field. You've got Michael Pittman Jr. Now you've got Zach Paschal,

two guys that are going to be like hard-nosed guys that are going to, going to work. And then you've got the offensive linemen that are leaders in that offensive room. With Quentin Nelson, he's not going to let anybody take a playoff. Ryan Kelly has become such a great leader. And then if you bring in, like you said, we're in this mock draft or mock scenario, so you've brought in Carson Wentz at that point. So you hope that he can come in and really be a leader in that locker room as well. But if you're worried about chemistry and you're worried about

culture on the offensive side of the ball and you don't feel comfortable with Frank Wright being that guy that really sets the tone for the entire offense, then you bring back T.Y. But I just, I have a hard time given how T.Y. struggled last year, bringing him back at what he believes market value is. I think that if he does come back, it's going to be at a lesser value. Steven, always appreciate the time, man. And thanks for going in depth with us here on the latest on Carson Wentz and this latest Mox offseason scenario. Hopefully we get an end to this Wentz saga here soon. It sounds like we might be getting to that point,

but always appreciate having you on, man. You guys can go follow him on Twitter if you're not already at NiceRead. Steven, go read and listen to his work, as always, over on Stampede Blue. Appreciate the time, Steven. Thanks, Evan. Have a great one.