Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - NFL Squad: Will Abdul Carter Be 1st Overall Pick in 2025 NFL Draft?

Episode Date: February 28, 2025

In this week's NFL Squad, the crew discusses whether or not Abdul Carter will be the 1st overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft and whether or not if it's more important in today's NFL to have a game-changing pass rusher in comparison to other positions. Plus, will Ja'Marr Chase become the NFL's highest paid non-QB this offseason or could there be another player that gets that type of bag and is banning the Tush Push the right move by the NFL and where might players like Harold Landry, Jonathan Allen, and several others play this next season if traded?Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!FanDuelRight now, new FanDuel customers can get ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY DOLLARS in Bonus Bets if your first FIVE DOLLAR bet wins!Download the app or head to FANDUEL.COM to get started. Bet with FanDuel—Official Partner of the NBA. FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN)d

The NFL Scouting Combine has arrived and we are here talking about what everybody else is talking about. That's up next on today's Locked On NFL Squad. You are talking ball with the NFL Squad. From the Chiefs to the Bills, Falcons to the 49ers, and everyone else around the NFL, it's the local experts of the Locked On Podcast Network bringing you scoops, breakdowns, and the most comprehensive preview of the upcoming weekend for hard-hitting football with our harder-hitting take. Buckle up.

It's the NFL Squad. Then we have a seat for you. No hurt feelings allowed. Squad up. You're part of the NFL Squad. Welcome inside, everybody, to this week's NFL Squad episode. Sit back, grab your favorite drink, and join us as we go through everything going on during the week here in Indianapolis, Indiana

during the 2025-2025 NFL Scouting Combine. We are all part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. I want to bring in today's or this week's squad, Cody Rourke of Locked On Broncos, Mike DeBate of Locked On Patriots, Spencer German of Locked On Browns, Kevin Ostreicher of LockedOnRavens. I'm going to be kind to you, Kevin, because you just went through it. So I'm going to leave you alone. Thank you.

Thank you. I appreciate that. I am, of course, your host of this illustrious program and the only NFC host present for this week's NFL squad. So hopefully that doesn't come back to bite me. Are we going to kick up on them, guys? Yeah. Let's give a special shout- out to Joe Marino here.

Look, Bill's fans, we see your comments. I know. Absolutely. If Joe's not on the show, I know you guys say no Joe, no show. But Bill's Mafia, you guys are a fantastic fan base. Join along. You help Joe out by watching the show, and we hope to get Joe on here in the future whenever he's ready.

Well, I do want to tell everybody I have DMed Joe Marino on Twitter. I have asked him to come through for this NFL Squad episode. So he may be coming through this very episode a little bit later. You know what? We won't boo him because if he does, it'll be the first time. And, of course, we want those mafia to be happy. So perhaps Joe Marino coming through for today's Locked On NFL Squad episode. Let's see how many Bills fans believe me and stick around for a little while.

Let's talk about the top prospects here in Indianapolis. Abdul Carter, number one pick, potentially. Tennessee Titans have to make that decision or trade out and let somebody else make that decision. But he believes that he should be the number one pick in this year's NFL draft. Of course, he's not going to be the first prospect that ever said that. Certainly won't be the last prospect to ever say that. But there is some legitimacy to him claiming

that status. I want to ask you gentlemen, and we'll start, we'll just start right here next to me, Cody work locked on Broncos. What do you think about Abdul Carter, uh, stating that he should be the number one pick in this year's draft? Well, I mean, when you look at him and we, we had Keith on from lockdown NFL draft last week, who said that pound for pound, he believes that Abdul Carter is probably the best overall prospect in this year's draft cycle and i think when you look at what he can do he's got a legit case but

i think so much of this depends on where is the lean here when it comes to offense versus defense i mean obviously there's a lot of skill players in this year's nfl draft we talked about the quarterback position this year are you really sold on cam water shooter sanders being really being you know quarterbacks gonna move the needle for your franchise i know there's a lot of debate about that when i look at abdul carter i mean with the tennessee titans with the harold landry trade request stuff coming through and then looking at offsetting him now i look at you know a guy like abdul carter saying okay yeah he can't be the first overall pick of tennessee stands pat there he's a terrific versatile player and man I

think you're always looking for these guys that can maybe transcend your defense and and there's only been a handful of them and there's still I think a handful of guys in the league that you put them on one team like let's talk about Spencer's guy for example Miles Garrett that defense in Cleveland is drastically different when he's on the field versus when he's off and you know hopefully they don't have to experience that. I know Miles wants to be out of there, but that's been the case. And Kevin, we talked about on Locked on Ravens here on the NFL squad show that if they can add a pass rusher, a legitimate guy there,

then that defense is going to be the next level. That's going to help them get further in the playoffs. Abdul Carter is that type of guy for whoever lands him. Yeah. I mean, look look i think abdul carter has as a really good case to make and i'm with you on the thought process of they allow harold landry to kind of go out there and seek out a trade partner because i can't lie and maybe i'm i'm kind of carrying a little bit over from the chicago bears last year who uh settled on caleb

williams in december of 2023 as the number one overall pick but i'm kind of like maybe the titans have already made their decision maybe abdul Abdul Carter is going to be that guy, and that's why they're letting Harold Landry go seek out a trade partner. Spencer, let's kick it over to you. Cody just mentioned it. Having no quarterback, but having a defensive guy like that who you could potentially build around, how valuable can that be for an NFL franchise?

Yeah, I think it's super valuable. It was interesting. Part of the Abdul Carter press conference today, he was asked about, everyone talks about a franchise quarterback, but what about a franchise pass rusher? And this idea that even that position on the defensive side of the ball sort of is what a quarterback is to an offense, a defensive end, an elite pass rusher can be to a defense.

I do think there's some truth in that. I still think, and I think the Browns are an example of this. The chasm between what having an elite quarterback gives you and having an elite pass rusher gives you, I think is pretty still pretty wide because you can have that elite pass rusher and he might be worth like, you know, one or two wins for you. But a quarterback is it changes the game. Like, I mean, David, your team is the living testament of that. Like, you get the right quarterback, and all of a sudden the commanders go from, you know, picking number two overall to NFC Championship game. So, yeah, like, I still think that has to be the target, but I do think, like, the next

tier down from finding that elite quarterback is finding that elite pass rusher that can wreak havoc. And if you have that, you know what it means for your defense. It just creates so many different opportunities for your offense to get the ball back, you know, get the ball back to your quarterback. So, yeah, there's definitely some truth to that. And I do think Abdul Carter feels like he fits that billing. And I love the confidence from him coming out and saying,

I think I'm the number one guy in this class. I asked him a question about, like, people are sort of saying he's undersized. And he talked about like they might say that but I have a lot of heart and that's something like that can't be measured that I've never had to worry about so you know I think he comes in with a lot of confidence in any team that's thinking about taking him is going to get a player that's highly motivated and certainly highly talented yeah listen I just got done watching a five foot eight cornerback play the perimeter like he's a six foot two dude named Mikey Sanger still coming out of the Michigan Wolverines.

You talk about competitive spirit, being able to make a guy play taller, play bigger than he actually is. Kevin Ostriker, you know about competitive spirit. Unfortunately, a little bit too recent. Mike DeVay, you know a few things about teams winning Super Bowls. I know in Patriots land, right, it's been forever since the past one of Super Bowl. I'm sure Patriots fans are really stressing out over the lack of championships happening right now.

But I want to give you a quote here from Carter. So he says, quote, defensive players impact the game just as much as the quarterback. All the teams that have won Super Bowls, they've had that one standout player. I feel like I'm that end quote coming from the team that you cover. Can that one standout player really be on the defense and help a team be a continuous contender for the Superbowl? Yeah, I think it can be. And I think you've seen that with the new England Patriots dynasty.

Look, there is no one that's going to take anything away from Tom Brady on my watch. As long as I'll wear a headset, I will definitely say that he is the reason why the new England Patriots were what they were alongside Bill Belichick. But they do not win six championships without Ty Law taking that leadership role in Super Bowl 36, gaining that interception against Kurt Warner and helping that team forward. They don't win without the strong play of guys like

Willie McGinnis and guys like their head coach right now mike vrabel somebody who absolutely stepped up made plays when plays needed to be made in the super bowl the greatest comeback in the history of the super bowl super bowl 51 does not happen unless dante hightower knocks matt ryan back into uh the nether regions when it came to that field and allowed that team to be able to claw their way back in so yeah i think that defenders absolutely have a right to say that they can change the complexity of a game change the complexity of a run and change the complexity of a franchise um you know it kind of made me think a little bit about what viper said to maverick and top gun when he says you know that's pretty arrogant it's pretty arrogant considering the company that you're in and he

looked back at him and says i I like that in a pilot. Well, that's kind of how I feel. I like that in this guy. And I really think that he's going to move forward and make some team extremely happy. Maybe it is the Tennessee Titans, but whoever gets him is going to get a guy that knows the targets on his back now. I think he knew that going in, he's ready to step up and he's ready to show the world what he can do. And I think that's exactly what you want in an edge defender. David, you, you said it, you kind of teased it. You mentioned like defenses, like people who've won super bowls. Like you look at

what the Philadelphia Eagles just did defensively. I mean, that, that, that four man rush that they had, it was impressive, but you know, there are a couple of teams here. Like you go to the Baltimore Ravens, they had Ray Lewis, they had Terrell Suggs. They had Ed Reed. You have transcendent players. And for the Broncos, Von Miller almost single-handedly won them the Super Bowl all the way back nearly 10 years ago in Santa Clara, Super Bowl 50. You need that type of impact player on your defense, I think, in order to really make a big run, a sustainable run. But I do agree. You have to have that quarterback in place. I think teams that have their quarterback in place, you can find that player defensively. It amplifies your chances big time.

Yeah, and I think even for like the Ravens, that 2000s team, like Trent Dilfer was their quarterback. The reason they won that Super Bowl in 2000 was literally because of their, all respect to Trent Dilfer, he did his job. But like that historic Ravens defense was the reason why they were able to get that far. So I think in today's game, you talk about the NFL would love it if you just had that Chiefs-Rams matchup from back in the day, just like 50 points versus 50 points, back and forth scoring,

like the excitement of the game. But defense does win championships, and I think that those blue-ch chip players on defense in an offensive era, it's not like it's going by the wayside, but you look at some of these teams like Cody, you mentioned the Eagles in that pass rush. It's like, where were the Eagles have been without a guy like Jalen Carter disrupting

the middle. And then that takes attention off of other guys, puts other players on one-on-one matchup so that you don't have to face a double and those guys help out. So look, it's one of the reasons why I'm very excited. Miles Garrett's coming to Baltimore this offseason in the trade.

It's never gonna happen. Come on. If we manifest, if Spencer just manifests it with me, it'll be a good thing for the entire AFC. I think Spencer wants to manifest it with you. That's bad for the Long John Browns business if I manifest a trade of the Ravens. I'm good.

Speaking of the AFC North, yeah, good. Speaking of the AFC North, yeah, absolutely. Speaking of the AFC North, we've got a good conversation to have coming up next. The Bengals want to make Jamar Chase the highest paid non-quarterback in the National Football League. We have two gentlemen who can tell us whether or not he is deserving, and I'm going to see if my text to Joe

Marino has gone through yet. We'll see if Lockdown Bill says Joe Marino comes through on our episode of Lockdown NFL Squad, part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. The Cincinnati Bengals want to make wide receiver Jamar Chase the highest paid non-quarterback in the National Football League. Kevin Ostriker, Lockdown Raven, just going to kick it right over to you, man, while we wait on Joe Marino to get through here. Does he deserve it?

I think he deserves that and probably more, especially when you talk about from a Ravens perspective what Jamar has actually done to Baltimore. Let's go back to his two games this past season. 10 catches for 193 yards and two touchdowns, followed by 11 catches for 264 yards and two touchdowns followed by 11 catches for 264 yards and three touchdowns over the course of his career in just literally only eight games Jamar has averaged 120 yards and a touchdown in each of his games against the Ravens 962 and eight he is not the only reason that offense is as good as it is but man if you take Jamar Chase off that team, that offense, the ceiling just plummets in the floor.

I think honestly plummets as well, because even when you talk about the T Hagan situation, I know we talked about that a little bit last week. You take T off of that team. I think it's still easier to find a running mate for Jamar Chase, even if it's not T Hagan. You take Jamar Chase off that team. Jamar Chase is a generational wide receiver. You put them up in that top upper echelon of wide outs. And that's just the name of the game in this off season. It's not just wide receiver, obviously quarterback. There's a whole controversy about those contracts continuing to inflate year after year. Well, with these wide

receivers, it's whoever sets the market, the next guy's going to want to set the market. And then the next guy's going to want to set the market. So when you talk about, for example, the quarterback conversation, that's why you want to get those guys done early. So you don't have to fork up that extra cash. Well, wide receiver is kind of the same thing. And it's why for Minnesota, like, okay, they got that Justin Jefferson deal done. Now they don't have to worry about if Jamar Chase signs, well, what is Justin Jefferson's deal going to look like now? So yeah, in my opinion, Jamar absolutely deserves it. it's unfortunate for the ravens if that does end up going through because it means they have to go face him twice a year for the foreseeable future but if you're

talking about the player he's a heck of a player yeah listen some uh some four letter networks out there like to have their panel shows just intentionally contradict each other for the sake of creating drama so spencer german look i don't want to put you in the corner here man but is there a reason that jamar chase shouldn't be the highest paid non-quarterback in the nfl so what i'll give you is like i kind of think about this like backwards where it's like okay if i'm not making jamar chase the highest paid non-quarterback who who is like who is the player that you're giving that money to? I guess there's a case to be made. If you were to go on the defensive side of the ball, like Miles Garrett's due for a contract extension,

the Browns might actually try to make him the highest paid non-quarterback in the NFL just to convince him to stay. So we'll see what that sort of shakes out like. But there's not a lot of reason to think that Jamar Chase isn't worthy of that type of contract. The bigger question has kind of been like, how are the Bengals going to fork over the money to all these players Joe Burrow has been really holding their feet to the fire on that obviously um so I'm kind of fascinated to see how it all plays out once they do pay Jamar Chase because you know

they're going to prioritize him first and foremost um and I and as far as like you know what's funny is like Kevin brings up the numbers against the ravens his numbers against the browns are more like modest i think he's got like over 400 yards he only has like 62 percent of his he's got like 62 percent of his passes he only has three touchdowns in terms of like the teams in division that's been like his team he's done the worst against so i haven't been quite as scarred by by jamar chase um but i understand like the rest of the season what he's doing what he's putting up what does he have like a 264 yard game this year? Like he's, he's phenomenal.

I mean, I think honestly, as I said, like, as I think about it backwards and kind of deconstruct it that way, it feels like it's either him or Justin Jefferson, right? Like those are the two that probably deserve that money.

And Justin Jefferson already got paid. So of course, Jamar Chase is going to try to Trump it. Yeah, absolutely. Cody Rourke, Mike debate. I want to ask you both. if not Jamar Chase, is there

another player? And perhaps you go the way that Spencer has mentioned there. And for the sake of conversation, being able to be authentic, I don't want you to I'm not going to ask you to pick a player who deserves it more than Jamar, but let's just take Jamar Chase off the table. Jamar Chase off the table as the highest paid non-quarterback in the NFL. Who is the guy that you think could be that person? Mike DeBate, we'll start with you. Well, first of all, wait, you guys have receivers? You guys have wide receivers?

It's been so long since I've had to really delve into this subject here in New England. No, I kid you not, folks. Look, bottom line, when you look at someone like Jamar and what he brings to the table, I think Spencer, Kevin, you guys have made an amazing case for the reasons why he should be. And I'm in that camp. I do believe that if you're going to make someone that next level next to the quarterback, then it probably should be someone like Jamaro has such an impact on Joe Burrow and that Cincinnati offense as a whole.

But if you look at the way the league is structured right now, I know it's an offensive league. I know a lot of people are looking at the reemergence of the running back and you're looking at maybe, you know, you know, maybe tight ends becoming maybe a little bit more involved because of the Kelsey Renaissance and whatnot. I still go back to what I said in the previous segment about defenders. If you have an edge defender or a corner that is someone that changes the complexity of your team, and that's the identity of your team. That could be where you go to put out the big-time contract

and give that player an opportunity to be the highest paid. If you're asking me who, I know you didn't put me on the spot, David, but I go to what Spencer said. It's hard to argue against Miles Garrett if you're going to go with a defender, you know, being the highest paid player in the league as a non-quarterback. What he's done in the league since inception really is truly remarkable. And he's that guy that can change the complexity of a team just by his presence. So, yeah, I would say that someone like that could end up being. But again, receivers are a high profile position and Jamar Chase, in my opinion, has earned it with what he's put out on the

field. I mean, you make a great case for Miles Garrett, if that's in Cleveland or elsewhere. I mean, I don't know. Like if I'm looking at another wide receiver, if it's not Jamar Chase, could it be Tee Higgins? Tee Higgins estimated market value is like 25.4 average annual value per year. That's nowhere close to what Justin Jefferson or even what Jamar Chase is going to command. I'm just trying to think of another player right now that could get an extension that would make over $25 million per year in a sense, or even 30 at this point.

You know, I think there's been a lot of conversation about position valuation. Like we've seen like a few years ago, the safety position was one of the more lucrative positions right now to pay because of the too high shell and the emergence of that thank you so much vic fangio for creating that blueprint but now we started seeing the last couple of years the safety position value has dropped financially which has been a little crazy we're seeing it go now to cornerbacks they you know pass or tan reset the cornerback market. And then a few days later, Jalen Ramsey gets the extension. That kind of changes that a little bit there.

I'm very curious to see what it could be. I mean, I know Sauce Gardner is in line, you know, potentially getting paid in New York. It's hard to imagine, but I don't see Sauce making more than $25 million per year at the cornerback position. That's crazy. So if any other player, non-quarterback, T. Higgins, if it's not Jamar Chase, T. Higgins has to be the next man up on the totem pole.

So I have kind of a fun question here. Because a lot of the names that we're talking about are pass rushers, Miles Garrett's name has come up a couple times, or the wide receiver position. I sort of pulled this up, Cody, while you were giving your answer. As you pull up the average annual value of contracts in the NFL, obviously you've got quarterbacks like one through I don't know like one through 16 but then the first non the first high-paid non-quarterback of course is Justin Jefferson next in line is Nick Bosa and then it's

like CeeDee Lamb sprinkled in there AJ Brown is in there Chris Jones is in there but there's a bunch of wide receivers after that like Amon or St.on iuk tyree kill jaylen wattle um brian burns is sort of comes into the picture here so i guess like my question is like as we talk about what what player maybe deserves to be the highest paid non-quarterback where at what like which of those does deserve the money should it be wide receiver or should it be pass rusher because we just felt like the whole first segment we spent talking about how those pastors can change the game and and like how long is it going to take for maybe one to surpass the other because right now it seems like wide receivers get the money but should it actually be the elite pass rushers that get the money i would say that's a really good question because i look at it right wide receiver

actually had this conversation with terry mccorn not that long ago wide receiver is one of the most dependent positions on the football field. For a wide receiver to be successful, it needs an offensive line that can give the quarterback time to find him, and it needs a quarterback that has the time and the ability to then find him, and a scheme that's going to accentuate his talents and allow him to be effective as a weapon in that offense. So a wide receiver can't just go out there and,'m great so we're going to win football games but like you said special like a pass rusher you know of course if they are playing with other good defense alignment and all that stuff of course it helps but your most elite pass rushers like a miles garrett to bring him back up can go out there

even with a maybe not so stellar cast around him still impact the game even without not as dependent as others so i think it's a really good question to bring up well and real quick off of that david because i'll just say like you know miles even even even in games he's getting like double team there's people that at this point teams are throwing every possible thing they can at miles garrett and so yeah there's games where he's quiet and browns fans you know they'll jump in my mentions and be like where the hell is miles garrett why isn't he doing anything but like the answer to that question is like even though he's he's not maybe getting the sacks or the pressures or whatever he still is impacting the game in a major way just on his own because he's out there on the field and he commands so much attention that opens up opportunities for other

people so yeah to your point like and receivers do that a little bit because if a receiver you have a good receiver defenses are going to scheme for that guy. But I just think, like, as I think about a team going through a game plan, if you have an elite pass rusher, that is like the thing they are scheming against the entire week. Same way you would do that with a quarterback on the offensive side. So, I don't know. I agree. I think it's kind of an interesting question.

Yeah. I think it's certainly something to look at moving forward into the future. Something I would certainly love to know what Locked On Bills host Joe Marino thinks about, so we'll see if we can get him in here and share his thoughts on that. But first, coming up next, we're going to talk about some topics that are hot here in Indianapolis. The tush push, the obsession about the Philadelphia Eagles tush is hot and roaring like a blazing fire.

I didn't know where I was going there. We also got some player updates for Matthew Stafford, Harold Landry, and Jonathan Allen all coming up next on this week's NFL Squad, part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Wrapping up this week's NFL Squad episode, we've got some buzz building here around the National Football League during the week of the NFL Scouting

Combine here in Indianapolis, Indiana. And yeah, man, tush push. There's a whole lot of rear-end talk going on here in Indianapolis. And I was actually asked this about Tony Wiggins on the Wednesday afternoon episode of Locked on NFL. I got to tell you guys, I'm kind of on the fence. I'm kind of the old-school type of guy when it comes to this of if it's good,

copy it or stop it, and then it'll just go away if you really don't like it. But then I'm also kind of like the neutral zone isn't really being respected with the tush push play. And it should be respected because it is a rule that's in place. So I want to go around the horn here. Cody, your work, what are your thoughts on the tush push, man? Should it be just eliminated? Or is there another part of this conversation that really needs to be accentuated green bay is so soft for this like mark murphy what are you doing like just say you you can't figure out how to like the eagles have done so much and look it helps when you have a quarterback who can squat almost 600 pounds and jalen hurts if it was easy to replicate a lot of people would be able to do it but you look at the Eagles offensive line, the biggest offensive line in football,

a quarterback who's a dog, and you've got a running back behind you who can almost squat 600 pounds as well in Saquon Barkley. That is a – get good. Like, be better at your evaluation, Green Bay. Like, figure out a way to do it. Trying to take away something because they think it's a mismatch or it's unfair just goes to show, like, hey, you you got to do a better job coaching against it and i feel like if there's any team that we saw maybe do well against it not necessarily against philadelphia but when josh allen and the buffalo bills did the

push in the playoffs they didn't have success i can't kansas city found a way to stop them in that matchup that they had there so for me find a way to stop it now to your point about the neutral zone like you get guys and i remember even just seeing this as well like you know washington was at one point being threatened like hey we may even allow a score if this continues you're trying to stop it like that's just the the commander's defense saying hey we're struggling for our life here we're just trying to get a stop we're trying to time it i i have no issues with that but just to ban it completely because nobody can figure out how to stop it, stupid.

It's stupid and it's soft. Yeah. No, I hear you, man. I mean, look, it's a play that in its essence fits every rule the NFL has right now. And it's not a safety issue. There's no safety concerns. I mean, there might be a safety concern of lining Chris Jones up sideways

and letting him get dome rocked by an offensive line. I don't know how smart that decision was. But, you know, yeah, I agree with you. There's three player updates that we want to talk about before we get out of here this week, gentlemen. I'm going to go to you, Spencer, and listen, I say this as I cover the Washington Commanders. So when I talk about you being familiar with rotating quarterback situations,

believe me, I understand the pain here. Matthew Stafford is probably going to be on the move. Sean McVay did not necessarily do anything to try to put out those flames. understand the pain here uh matthew stafford is uh probably going to be on the move um sean mcveigh did not necessarily do anything to try to put out those flames uh he he happened to run into one tom brady um on the ski slopes of montana because that's a crowded group and you know who doesn't run into each other out there uh where do you think matthew stafford's best location is where do you think maybe he ends up by the time this whole story is over uh so i'm in best location i i mean i think like the giants probably make some sense um i'm trying to think if there was another team i had but i can't remember the time i hit who i was thinking of earlier that i

i had talked about but i do think the browns would make some sense um in terms of more so from probably from cleveland's perspective than than matthew stafford's because if the browns are looking for like a quick fix at quarterback, and I've said this on my show on Locked on Browns, like he's the number one option for me if he's available. Like talk about a guy who can like come in, help you win immediately, like the Browns want to try to do, maybe convince it, maybe can sort of like mend fences with Miles Garrett.

Like, hey, we got this guy, Super Bowl champion, you know, playing at a high level still, even though he's in his late 30s. You know, what do you think about this? It keeps them competitive, but he can also sort of serve in that bridge role. Like, it still forces you to, okay, we got to find a quarterback. We have to address this because we can't bank on Matt Stafford for being our franchise guy for like 10 years. So, I mean, like the Browns would make some sense, but I don't know that he would really want to come to Cleveland. I mean, if you think about just like his journey in general, like goes from Detroit where he's beloved and then ends up in LA. It seems like his family really likes it out there and a different change of scenery and wins the Super Bowl.

I don't know if he'd come to Cleveland, but I do think they're going to show some interest. I do think they would be a fit ultimately if that were to happen. You mentioned Matt Saverd's family. I almost wonder if we put video game clauses in Kyler Murray's contract, I wonder if you could put family clauses in Matt Stafford's contract. That might be something somebody would be interested in doing. You know Kelly Stafford on podcasts or anything? Yes, please.

Kevin Ostriker, Locked on Ravens, I want to go to you. We got two defenders here, Harold Landry, Jonathan Allen. Both have been granted permission to seek trade partners. Again, you know a thing or two about great defensemen not saying that either he's necessarily great defenseman but at least solid defenseman right I'll let you pick your your your defender here Harold Landry or Jonathan Allen uh what do you think happens with either of these guys where do you think the best fit is for either of these guys we'll leave the other one uh for Mike debate I I'll go with the Jonathan Allen and I will go go, I think, a little outside the box,

but it does depend on what the cap situation looks like for them. But if there's some level of a deal, that Bengals defense does need help. Now, you have to pay Trey Hendrickson first. I think that's first and foremost. If you don't pay Trey Hendrickson, you're going to make Joe Burrow unhappy. You're going to make a lot of other people in Cincinnati unhappy. But we saw how historic that offense was in Cincinnati this season. And they had absolutely nothing to show for it because they couldn't stop the run.

They couldn't stop the past. They have other needs, but if the money is right and there's some level of something that can be worked out and they're able to pay their guys, I wouldn't do that. If it means they can't pay T Higgins. If you have to do T Higgins or Jonathan Allen, you take T Higgins. T Higgins, that's the guy or same thing with Trey Hendiggins. If you have to do Tee Higgins or Jonathan Allen, you take Tee Higgins. Tee Higgins, that's the guy. Or same thing with Trey Hendrickson. But I'm just trying to think of ways that they can help their defense because it is so apparent that they have the firepower, especially if Tee does decide to play on the franchise tag this year. I don't know if that's

going to actually happen, but let's just say it does. You can't go out there and let joe burrow just have this great year again and have nothing to show for it so i think that jonathan allen could help cincinnati on the interior they lost dj reader last offseason i think they felt that really badly this year and putting in another guy jonathan allen who might not be that like dj reader guy but it's still i think a pretty decent player you can go out there and maybe that can work for Cincinnati. Yeah. I mean, look, I, I want to lock on commanders. I said, I think at the end of this whole thing with John, now I think he ends up released.

Um, I don't think anybody's probably going to trade for him, uh, the 15 and a half million that he is not guaranteed, but do in base salary this season. And once that happens, you can go out and find a deal. I think probably six to $8 million, to $8 million is probably the ballpark I think he'd probably be had for. Certainly something that the Bengals might be able to swing. He's a Buffalo Bill now. He's a Buffalo Bill.

Mike, let's finish this off with Harold Landry, one of the newer players. Joe Marino has not responded to my DM. In fact, actually, if he listens to this episode, he might block me on Twitter and not allow me to DM him in the future. Harold Landry, what do you think happens there, Mike? Where do you think his best fit is? Well, as soon as Kevin mentioned, Alan, that Grinch sly-like smile came over my face. And anyone that saw that knows that I believe that if Mike Rabel and Elliot Wolfe and Ryan

Cowden are not on the phone trying to make this happen with the Tennessee Titans right now, they're doing themselves a disservice. Look, Harold Landry, 28 years old, 31 and a half sacks in the last three seasons, started all 17 games last year, 71 tackles, nine sacks, 18 pressures, four pass deflections. By simply walking through the door in Foxborough, he makes that defense better. This is someone who played under Vrabel before in Tennessee. He played under Terrell Williams, the new defensive coordinator in New England. He knows that system. He'll be able to integrate himself immediately into that system. And at the bottom line, he's also a guy that has ties to the area, being a Boston College alum.

So in my opinion, if the Patriots are willing to or trying to make this defense better, especially now with Devon Gottschalk requesting a trade and the Patriots going to facilitate and allow him to go out there and to facilitate potentially a trade. This is a move I think the Patriots should absolutely do everything they can to make. It just makes too much sense for New England right now. I think Harold Landry would look very nice in a patriots uniform in 2025 yeah i 100 agree they can't no arguments come in uh here thank you gentlemen cody rourke mike debate kevin ostrich spencer german thank you uh for coming through being our nfl squad this week

thank you to everybody out there for coming through to watch or listen this week bill's mafia special thank you to you for coming through this entire episode waiting for joe marino sorry he couldn't make it. I promise you he will be here next week. Promise you that's going to happen. Of course, each of us is bringing you all of our best effort and content covering your favorite NFL teams. So make sure you're following. Make sure you're subscribed.

Don't miss a moment of all the coverage happening right here on the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day.