NFL Daily with Gregg Rosenthal - Checking On Some Guys

Episode Date: May 27, 2025

Gregg Rosenthal is joined by Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic to check in on some guys as OTAs get going around the NFL. First, Gregg and Jourdan chat about some news out of Buffalo with Joey Bosa missing time due to injury and James Cook not being at OTAs for the Bills (02:20), Kirk Cousins not being at the Falcons OTAs (06:40), the Bengals having a hang up in their contract talks with Shemar Stewart (09:30) and other news. Then, Gregg and Jourdan check in on Caleb Williams (16:30), Matthew Golden (24:00), George Paton and Bo Nix (27:19), Garrett Wilson and Sauce Gardner (37:10), Sam Laporta (40:50), and more! Note: time codes approximate.NFL Daily YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/nflpodcastsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Hey, everybody. Daniel Jeremiah here. And I'm Bucky Brooks. On Move the 6th, we take you inside the game from breaking down college prospects and NFL rookies to evaluating team building philosophies, coaching trends, and how front offices construct winning rosters. We study the tape, talk to decision makers, and give you a perspective you won't find anywhere else.

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Listen to the NFL Fantasy Football podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Toyota, the official automotive partner of the NFL. Visit Toyota.com slash NFL now to learn more. Welcome to NFL Daily, where we love naming some dudes. I'm Greg Rosenthal. I'm here in the Chris Wesleying podcast studio with my friend Jordan Rodriguez. of the athletic, and yes, it's one of your favorite episodes, Jordan. We're going to check in on some guys.

Checking on some guys. Which is a close cousin to name some dudes. Just naming some dudes. I think that has to be a future episode this off season. We get a full studio, maybe Colleen, Patrick, whoever else in here. Steve Weish would be great. Steve Weish would be good. And just we named some dudes for 40 minutes.

Naming some dudes. One of the favorite pastimes of the sport. But today we're checking in on some guys, one of Jordan Roderig executive producer trademarks segment. And it's the offseason. We just want to check in on some guys. And I laugh every time you say it. It's great. It really is.

And we're also celebrating that we're 100 days away from the start of the NFL season. And the NFL celebrated today by getting back on the field and practicing football. 20 teams started their OTAs on Tuesday. more, the final six, will start on Wednesday. So most of the league is jamming the abbreviated OTA season into the next three weeks or so. Some may argue that now football is back. I would argue that football has never left, but it is so, so back. It does get you those feelings when people are putting the first team defense on Twitter, you know, and also, and also the very tightly edited shots of the spiral pass

that somehow is not unclipped at all as it travels through the air perfectly and lands gently in the hands of the star receiver like I love this time of year man this is this is everything is good nothing is bad it is funny because the Colts I think they had

they had one up maybe they had an earlier OTs there were a few teams that were getting going and it's like they have an Anthony Richardson nice pass and then just a little while later you see them post a nice Daniel Jones pass so it's just equality even in terms of... That's a true quarterback battle right there, Greg.

The social media. All right, we'll do a little bit of news and then we'll check in on some guys and because, yeah, there's a little bit of news coming off of this Memorial Day weekend. Joey Bosa has a calf injury. He is not expected to be ready until training camp.

And even then you have to wonder because it's a new injury. It happened while training, whether training camp is definitely a lock. Sean McDermott, their coach said it was concerning. And I would agree with that. This was a risk when they signed Joey Bosa to a $12 million contract. Yeah. When I saw the headline come up, my immediate thought was like, okay, here we go again kind of thing. Unfortunately for him, the injuries, they just keep coming up regularly. Sometimes this

time of year, your second reaction after, here we go again, is, does he not want to be an OTAs? Is this less concerning than maybe it's being made out to be kind of a thing? But for Shaw McDermott to come out and say, hey, I am concerned about this, something to watch, definitely someone to check in on. Yeah, you never know this time of year how serious the injury is going to be. But when it comes to Boso, when they made all this talk about, hey, they've got a different training staff here in Buffalo. And we've got some really great ideas on how to keep him on the field. And he's such an important part, I think, of what they want to do.

They also have these. Have to. Got some suspensions. Right. Two players that were suspended to start the year. I think it's just disappointing. And we'll see how that goes. James Cook is also not at OTA's McDermott. Spoke about that on Tuesday. Yeah, we're staying in touch like you'd expect a player and a coach to do.

So, you know, James will be here when he's ready to be here. And, you know, we move forward. Do you know you and Sean McDermott are almost wearing the same outfit today? What's that? You have the same shirt on, just different colors. controversial piece of apparel in my household. My wife says I cannot pull off the short sleeve hoodie look. Yeah, I walked in and I asked you when shoot around was.

You know, I got this at Uniclo, I believe. She said you need to be like a six foot to like Japanese guy in his 20s to pull this off. I feel like this is a popular look over there, but it's a football guy look. Okay. I mean, Sean McDermint is wearing basically the same thing as you. I don't know how you feel. about that. I feel totally fine with it. He got ranked 12th in our coaches list. Good guy, I guess. James Cook, he's not going to get any more money. So this is kind of one of the more pointless

holdouts, not really a holdout. These are voluntary workouts, but he just wants to let them know. He's not happy. He's made that clear. I don't think he has any chance to get another contract. It's just one of those things. One other item I wanted to mention, though, with Buffalo was Matt Milano was going to be one of the guys I wanted to check out. But since we were, talking bills here. I kind of wanted to just mention that he took like a big pay cut this year and I kind of combined

him and Bosa in this group of yes, they've suddenly got way younger on defense over the last couple of years but these two guys specifically are kind of boom or bust guys that could make or break their defense being great or just mediocre. Getting the old Matt Milano

back, which they must have doubts about if they made him take a pay cut. Making Matt Malano take a pay cut. It's dirty, dirty pool. Yeah. He's been such a face of that defense and a cornerstone player there, but obviously had some down, some down, see, like some down games, certainly. Yeah, just coming off an injury. He didn't look, what's what you'd expect. Maybe coming off quickly, a little quickly off of an injury that maybe needed a little bit more time as well. He's actually one of pro football focuses comeback player candidates of the year to pose one of those

types of seasons. You know, we always get this type of content out this time of year. But I think in Matt in Milano's case, there's a real possibility. He's not too far removed from the memory of the glory days to at least capture some of that. And I think that basically, this is probably a team that said, hey, we're going to try to really make a run this season. As someone who means a lot to our franchise, we'd like you with us. It's only going to be at this number. Right.

That's the situation reeks of that to me. Right. He's older than Joey Bosa. That surprised me. He's 30 years old. Milano and Bosa. Just two guys to me where I think the bills have done a good. good job getting younger, but you still need top shelf defensive players, not just a bunch of good

players. We'll see if they're on the field, you know, who wasn't on the field on Tuesday. No Kirk Cousins at practice. Shocking, nobody. Yeah, I guess it would be awkward. Plus, Michael Pennix is doing the press conference. I saw some practice foot, some of the people at the, at the facility saying, you know, not the most accurate day out of Michael Pennix. We're not going to worry about it too much on May 27th. But he is a guy who's accuracy kind of comes and goes a little bit. But no, Kirk Cousins. He is seating the floor to Michael Pennix. It's interesting.

I have to, I mean, they're at a stalemate a little bit right now, Kirk Cousins and the Falcons. And I have to wonder who blinks first in this scenario, because you would like to have a quality backup potentially if you're a starter that you've determined to be Michael Pennix. You know, God forbid gets injured or something happens has a setback down the season. Just coming into a second year in the NFL,

pretty much a must-win season for a few people on that team. and a few people in the front office, potentially even the coaching staff as well. So I really feel like this is, if you're the Falcons front office, you almost can't blink first. But I don't know what you do. If you're Kirk,

how do you force any more leverage out of this situation? I think it's like a soft version of the Derrick Carr situation with the saints that both sides are just like, let's just stay apart. And it'll naturally solve itself. And I don't know how that is whether,

you know, there was a report that, you know, he's kind of the backup plan in Pittsburgh, potentially, if Aaron Rogers didn't show up, but Aaron Rogers, by all accounts, is showing up. It's probably going to be an injury somewhere else where he ends up landing, or he finds that there's nothing out there and he shows up to training camp when it is mandatory and just is the backup for Michael Pennix, but I do not buy that. That's going to happen. Mike McCartney, his agent, is probably like texting Tim Younger, Derek Carr's agent.

Hey, man, you want to send over, email me that checklist that you guys went through to have the The little retirement and nobody tell anyone that we might actually be coming back, you know? See, Kirk, Kirk wants to play. He wants to play. That's why I thought the funniest outcome would be, not that I would wish this on anything, but if Tyler Shuck, like, suffered another one of those injuries and was out for a little bit of the off season, them trading him, Kirk to the Saints, like a dare would be hilarious. But also, like, what a fit with Kellyn Moore, honestly.

Like some of the pop gun passing, like I said with Tyler Shuck, they, like I could I could totally see it. And you mentioned the front office, you know, potentially having jobs online. Yeah, high-ranked front office in the latest podcast episode. All they got to do is show them the ranking

that Terry Fontno got on Patrick Claibon and I's very controversial GM rankings from the other day. Check that out. Kyle Pitts was also among the people not at OTAs. I'm not going to sweat it when it's first day. Sometimes we find out it just has a family thing or whatever. It doesn't matter.

But if we find out that it has something to do with this contract, then we'll let you know. The Bengals don't have their first round pick at practice. Shamar Stewart is not practicing with the Bengals because of contract language. And Bengals fans always think we're picking on them. And then stuff like this happens. I mean, come on. I read Pro Football Talks explanation of the language in the contract that the Bengals are changing

that Shamar Stewart's agent doesn't want to sign because it's different than the language that had been in all previous Bengals contracts. But honestly, even after reading the article, I don't totally understand it. So I'm not going to pretend that I like support or deny. But it's just like, of course, this is a Bengals story. You know what I mean? Yeah. There is something to it.

If this is going to come up for any one team during the off season and during OTAs, specifically as it pertains to the language of a contract or a financial situation or some small detail that ends up being really, really important in the minds of the player and the agent, it's going to be the Cincinnati Bengals. I think we know that by now. have precedent. It could become a real thing because it's one where, like, one of the sides has to bend or Shamar Stewart's going to miss a lot of the off season.

And if anything, it's given me, you know, nice nostalgia. Back in my rhodo world days, pro football talk. Brick by brick. A lot of our off season was spent on, unfortunately, rookie holdouts and whatnot. And just like the drama behind that and there was more in training camp. Usually they would show up to the OTAs. This is a little odd that he's just like not even showing up to OTAs, but he's not under contract. And I like, for the most part, that rookie contracts are no longer actual news.

We try to make it into news, like inside it, but it's really not. Like Mason Graham, for instance, the number five pick of the draft. Are you aware that he signed his contract today? It really doesn't matter. His contract today, I think that a lot of times it's used to engagement farm, specifically like in the case of Shador Sanders, signing the same rookie contract that every other draft pick of his status in the draft has signed major news because of course he's going to sign the contract. He's going to probably be playing quarterback on the field in significant games for them at some point. Agree. And it also might be the insiders and whoever's reporting on and the team reporters do it as well, the beat report. Just like, hey, I'm here. I know it's a full time job all year

round. I'm doing something. Kind of like an Instagram post essentially. Just like, hey, remember me. I existed. Here's my purpose for being. I've done that before. I recently did that, actually. It's totally fine. Sean Murphy Bunting is a Arizona Cardinals quarterback, part of the search bar defense from a year ago, as named by Patrick Claibon, who people might be familiar with because he came from Tampa and had some good moments there. He's unfortunately out for the season with a non-football injury. And I thought about, does this even belong in the news? And then I looked, he was guaranteed $7.6 million.

in base salary this year. That was second on the Arizona Cardinals. He was the second highest paid in terms of total guaranteed money. He was third behind Justin Jones, which is a weird two, three. That just shows how under the radar this team is in general. But a guy who's played a lot and wasn't even locked in to necessarily start

because their secondary is so deep, maybe the deepest part of their team, but it will test their depth. Yeah. And it turns out good value potentially in that Will Johnson pick up because they got him a little bit later and there's questions and concerns about some lingering injury with him,

but if it turns out that they need him earlier than they expected and he's cleared medically to go, that is a lucky draw because you can't possibly predict obviously injuries in OTA. Well, I wish I should have informed, I should have mentioned this

as part of the news setup. So that is on me, but ESPN's Josh Weinfuss, I believe. He said that the Cardinals actually did know about this. It happened, I believe in the office. off season, but they knew about it before the draft.

They did take two cornerbacks in the draft. I don't know if that informed. I think Will Johnson would have been. So not lucky. Good planning. Good planning. Good planning. Good planning by the Cardinals?

But who knows? They might, you know, if Will Johnson wasn't on the board, they might have felt pretty good about their depth anyways. Because, yeah, we talk about the Cardinals defense a lot, and this just gives us a little chance to do so. Max Melton is a guy they took in the second round last year that had a good rookie season for a second round pick. certainly Garrett Williams is their nickel back

and he was probably boxing out Sean Murphy Bunting from snaps on this roster because he had played well. So it probably was going to come down to Will Johnson and Murphy Buntin on the outside or kind of rotating. Yeah. And he likes, Jonathan Gannon likes and Nick Rallis like to rotate their

coverage shells. They like to do a lot of different types of things with their looks, especially their defensive backfield and their pressure front. So I feel like that's, you're just more limited in that regard, but that's what, again, why you go a little heavier in the draft at a position that a lot of people, including us, didn't really expect them to, although we did expect them to just in the first round and not later. Right.

And Will Johnson, yeah, one of the key, I think, rookies to track in the league now, and this just highlights it. Oh, we've taken a lot of time here. I want to check in on some guys. You have a certain way of saying it. Checking on some guys. Okay. Checking on some guys.

And yeah, this is a Jordan Rodriguez. executive produced trademark moment and you've had a lot of hits lately you know you've had some bangers who who is uh i'm trying to think of like the the big uh executive producer that signed like a hundred million dollar contract with netflix the woman i'm totally oh phoebe waller bridge sure with amazon this is your feeby waller bridge although she didn't actually made anything yet she didn't actually create uh any shows but but just a couple weeks ago i did want to give you credit for coming up with would you rather

or at least making that into a segment which was a huge hit. So you get us going to explain the segment say it the right way and then give us a player. Check it on some guys

is really all it is. We're checking on some guys. Around the league as OTAs start we want to make sure we're not looking too far ahead. This is just truly within the context of checking on some guys

we're interested in during OTAs and why they might be relevant to specifically the spring period. Okay. Now you have to try to say it. Now you're going to start. Try to say it like I said it. Check it in some guys.

Check it on some guys. It's like almost so close. This is like I'm wearing the Sean McDermott version of the cutoff hoodie. You're wearing the Greg version. Shonda Rhymes and Shondaland is what like everything. I haven't heard anything that you were saying over the last minute. Nobody could ever attain Shonda Rhymes elite. But that was the name.

She's. She is incredible. Also, the residence was a good show. It's a bad job by me. you got you got to be listening at all moments. And if you can't, if you can't come up with the name, you can't come up with the name. I want you to start the segment.

Let's go. Starting off, checking on some guys. I'd like to check on Caleb Williams. Okay. The Bears obviously already started OTAs, but he still hasn't been made available to the media, which is sort of normal. Coaches often talk first, quarterbacks and other players. We'll talk the next week.

Just depends on how the team wants to structure things out. But it is notable within the context of that Seth Wickersham excerpt from his book that nobody was teaching Caleb Williams how to watch film last year. That's actually the part that stuck out the most to me, not necessarily the fact that himself and his dad were at first, like, super wary to the point of trying to get out of being drafted by the Bears where the quarterback goes to die, if I'm remembering that quote correctly. What was more notable to me was the film, the lack of film study,

the lack of process, the lack of teaching, of real teaching progression. I would like to know as I check in on Caleb Williams, and this is my request of the Bears reporters. I'd like to specifically know what that looks like this year, under Ben Johnson. Tell me what that actually looks like. It's not just an indictment on last year's coaching staff. It's an indictment on Southern California,

on Lincoln Riley and that coaching staff. If he at that point is very clearly saying, like, I don't know what the process of doing this at this level is. That's an indictment on everybody. And I'd like to really know what getting that infrastructure in place looks like it's such a significant and crucial element of a quarterback's development. And I'd like to know the part to whole of how that piece of it slots in with the overall development as well.

You know what I was thinking too was it might be a place where like, you know, you have Tyson Baygent as like your primary backup. It's a good point. Yeah. You're not asking him respectfully. Like you're just not asking somebody who is your. No. If anything.

In age, like you're just not. And so that's the thing. And this offense is supposed to help the quarterback. It's supposed to set up the quarterback for success under. Ben Johnson, we know that by now, but what is the language, what is the base of the alphabet that you're installing with somebody who shows extreme superstar potential? But clearly the infrastructure behind the scenes was sorely lacking in, I think, ways if you look back at it, you could probably have predicted, and some people did. But this year, it has to be fixed top to bottom. It's why I've

always said, you know, coming into this year, it does look like everything is finally going in the right direction for the Bears. But this was far beyond a roster problem. This was an infrastructure and process problem on the side of the coaching staff. And that's where Ben Johnson has to turn his attention with Caleb Williams this year. And I want to know what it is. I just remembered Case Keenum is now on this roster. So smart move. Bring a veteran in. Right. They didn't really have the bring the most veteran of veteran of veteran. The Case Keenum guy. of veteran. He really is the

ideal of like coach slash quarterback. It wouldn't surprise me if he becomes a coach. All right. I am going to check on a guy. And it's a guy who was taken

in the top 10 of the draft last year who had a really important role who didn't get a ton of attention and there was enough issues that this offseason and he is changing positions that his coach even said publicly that, you know, he kind of learned what it meant

to have to actually work at the NFL level, at the level that you are doing it, which I think in a different market or a different setup, your eyes would be open. Chris Bobona in the back is just on the edge of a seat wondering who am I talking about, and it's not other than J.C. Latham, the tackle for the Titans.

Just a pick that I think got a little lost in the shuffle that they moved him from right tackle to left tackle. Now he's going back to right tackle. They gave Dan Moore a ton of money this offseason to maybe help make Latham more comfortable on the right side and help really complete that offensive line. But there were some comments from Brian Callahan, the coach last week that just opened my eyes a little bit.

And it makes sense. He's a rookie tackle and what Callahan said in terms of needing to learn how to prepare and work. And that may be in terms of what, he was in and the habits and all that by the end of the season, he was taking on a little bit of water. And so to me, he's really important. He kind of symbolizes that offensive line to me because they're really important in front of Cam Ward. And if you're going to make like a scenario where Tennessee blows their over under wind total out of the water, I think it starts with actually this

offensive line comes together and it's sneaky like a top eight offensive line under Brian Callahan and his dad, Bill Callahan. And I think there is a path for that happening. It's interesting. I want to trust the reputation of the coaches over there specifically where as it pertains to the Callahan's and that offensive line. It looks odd from the outside and it's a good person to check in on, a good guy to check on because it looks odd and you really, it makes you almost grimace when you think about flip-flopping a tackle back and forth like that.

But under these coaches, I don't give this group, this coaching staff, this franchise, the benefit of the doubt in a lot of areas, but as it pertains to understanding how to develop and get the most out of offensive linemen over time, I have to kind of think they have a plan. He was the first pick and that's why I point him out too. I also was to do this exercise, here's how I started. Like, what teams have we not talked about much?

I did that too, except we've talked about the Bears. We have talked about it. And I was like, actually, that's interesting. And I missed these comments from Callahan last week. I thought it was, it was interesting. He was the first pick of this Callahan era. Has to work. But the GM is no longer there. But Bill and Brian were there, and he's an offensive lineman.

So clearly they were on it, so it has to work. And while I was looking at Titans talk, I did just want to mention, we're not going to fully check in. I did just want to mention Legerius Sneed is still not fully practicing. Their huge pickup from a year ago, not only as a trade target where they gave up a third-round pick, but also gave a really big contract. He is not only not practicing because he's still suffering from this knee that's being managed and then a thigh injury that mysteriously kept him out.

of last season. He is also waiting to see in Texas if a grand jury indicts him on a felony charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon connected to an alleged shooting in which he was alleged to be a passenger. He is also being sued in a civil trial related to this case. I got to admit, I forgot or never even knew this had ever happened. It was in December that this original arrest happened, but this is a really key player. And I just kind of want to leave it there, but I did just want to let the listeners know, like, this is an important player for the Titans. And so he's waiting to see. And that could be obviously very important for him and important for the Titans. Yeah. The reason why we are talking about it now is because the process is ongoing.

Right. It's leaked into now the spring where you have to get your roster construction settled. You have to figure out who's available to you and who's not. And this process is still unresolved. And the fact that Brian Callahan said he's still, you know, that's where the health part of it came up, boy, that he's still dealing with the injuries. And we hope to have him fully back, you know, by training cam and all this, like, man, just something to keep an eye on. He will be on that roster because he's owed guaranteed money, but we will see how that goes. All right, give me another guy. Check in out. I want to check in on Matthew Golden.

I think is going to be the Packers number one receiver by volume, specifically, over the next season and beyond. And part of the reason I think that is because I harken back to the last time I sat down with Matt LaFleur and he was going over Miami Dolphins tape and he was watching their explosive plays specifically and how they got their speed players into space, how they used lots of motions, manipulated space using speed and pre-snap and at-snap, trickeration and misdirection. And Matthew Golden has that type of speed that will absolutely be that type of player who could be that type of player that I think, Matt LaFleur has been coveting for a long time. And the reason I also think that he's ready to step into this role and be sort of that guy as a brand as well is because he's already positioning as that. He volunteered to go to Jordan Love's charity softball game over this past week and is doing media and is getting the second loudest ovation from the crowd, according to my colleague Matt Schneidman over there. And like, he's basically saying, like, I'm his guy, you know. So I really do think that, you know, in all of the preseason posturing, the marketing of what a number one really has to be,

it's like the Packers sort of dipping their toe in the water of like, okay, we're going to forget all that stuff we said about not caring whether we have a number one or not. And our actions and his actions and Jordan loves actions and our plan for this player will actually show you we're ready to step into a different time. Yeah, I'm really interested to read the practice reports. And there's some of the best in the league from Packers. They have a great beat. And they allow them to really cover football. And Golden, that's a classic move. Show up to the quarterback's, you know, softball game.

And he said, he's my quarterback. Of course I will. And I'm like, hell like that's an offseason. That is an offseason trope for sure. It is a 100% like more secure feeling than releasing a statement about your number one staff. Yes. You are referring to a weird story.

We mentioned a couple of weeks. ago where for some reason, Adam Schaefter released a report that was essentially a statement from the Packers saying, hey, Jaden Reed, they met with Jaden Reed and they told them that he's still going to be their number one receiver. Was he at the softball? But taking that into the context, this was the counter move, the subtle counter move. I mean, I love it already. The chess that's happening over there in that Packers receivers room. I think that's going to be really fun. It's going to make everybody better. Okay. Hopefully. Hopefully everyone's on the same page. that is something to be more real

that when you have a really young team that's all growing up together you can only all be equal for so long as you get closer to that second contract and keeping everyone on the same page is something to watch in Green Bay. Let's take a quick break and we will check in on some more guys after this.

Hey, this is Matt Jones. Now I'm Drew Franklin, and this is NFL Cover Zero. We're just here to try to give you an NFL perspective a little bit different. Did you see the Colts Pretzel? That was my other big takeaway from that game. What was that? Oh, my. We think NFL coverage should be informative and entertaining.

And twice a week, that is exactly what you're going to get. Listen to NFL Cover Zero with Matt Jones and Drew Franklin on the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcast. Toyota, the official automotive partner of the NFL. Visit Toyota.com slash NFL now to learn more. What's up, everybody? Daniel Jeremiah here. And I'm Bucky Brooks.

On Move the Sticks, we take you inside the game from scouting reports and player development to team building philosophies, coaching trends, and how front offices construct winning rosters. Every week, we study the tape, talk to decision makers, and share the insights you won't find anywhere else. It's the kind of conversation that connects the dots

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Whether you're a rookie manager or a fantasy vet. We've got the insight to help you crush your opponents. Listen to the NFL fantasy football podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Toyota, the official automotive partner of the NFL. Visit Toyota.com slash NFL now to learn more. Back on NFL Daily, we were debating in the break whether drinking out of a straw is infantilizing. I don't. Especially out of those big water bottles. I don't believe drinking out of a straw is infantilizing. I do condone the use of reusable straws as opposed to plastic straws. Greg keeps delicately sipping out of his hydroflask as we...

Brand new gift. I think in the future, yeah. I'm... He keeps trying to miss me up. I never use a straw. Yeah. It just... He's doing it in a very... It looks so ridiculous that I was trying to make you laugh while we were talking. It's May. Not a straw guy. If you're at like in and out and you're an adult and you get the top in the straw, I don't know. And it's, you're drinking. out of the water cup. I feel like get reusable straws, my message to the audience, use reusable straws, not plastic, and also clean them people.

Right, that's part of that. I don't want to deal with that. You have to clean your bottle regularly. I'm down with washing this bottle regularly. I don't want to deal with the top. So I think this is going to be the first and last day. The top is there. Let's check in on George Payton.

We don't hear from the Broncos GM too often. he is the guy who's going to have to decide this off season. And I was trying to think of who matters in the next two or three months when frankly not a ton matters other than just staying healthy. GMs matter who have a lot of lingering potential contracts to handle. And when I was looking for like a team that fit this description for this exercise, I thought the Broncos were at the top of the list. Here are the potential players that could get extensions from the Broncos.

entering the final year of their contract, who right now are all quite high on my free agency list. Nick Benito, who literally got some defensive player of the year votes. Zach Allen, who's been one of the best free agent signings of the last handful of years, but it's getting a little older, but was an all pro last year, I believe, second team. And then Cortland Sutton, maybe. He's in the last year of his contract. There's a couple other guys on the team that just because you're going to have to rank them, I think, are further down list.

Jonathan Franklin Myers was voting. about saying he won an extension. I just can't imagine that would come before those other guys. And so that's a lot of players. There's a couple others, Alex Singleton. So just George Payton, just checking in on him. Where does he prioritize all those guys? Just something to watch, I think, in terms of their team building in the next couple of months.

I think the fascinating thing about George Payton is, is that he was like the architect, maybe not so much the person who was saying that this was his A-plus plan. But he was basically the architect of the all-in off-season. that the Broncos had in 2022, where they basically did the F them picks model of trading picks for players. In this case, it was an absolute disaster with the Wilson contract.

Amazing. He survived. And the Nathaniel Hackett hiring. And then to me, it's incredible that he not only weathered that storm, but it speaks to when you hire the right head coach, when you really nail certain elements of the draft, when you pick the right veteran free agents,

when you also continue to develop in-house because that coach brings over a really solid coaching staff. I think there's microcosms of that all over the roster. It's also Sean Payton making sure that even after an initially bad start to the defense, that he retained that coaching staff to be what it is. I think that there's lessons and patience all over that team. And I like that we're checking on on George Payton because, hey, he's still here. Right.

And it's a lesson in who keeps jobs and who doesn't in the NFL. So, to me, you have to, at that point, go along to kind of get along with Sean Payton and understand he's the, obviously, he's the most important person in the building when he arrives. But he's also the most important personnel-wise and figuring out how best, essentially to serve Sean Payton to the point that Sean Payton wants to keep you. And I'm sure ownership had a big part in that too. But now it's lasted and it's worked the last couple years. So I'll be interested because Benito, to me, on paper, he is worth a big new contract, but is he really, like, close to the top shelf of pass rushers? I don't know. Zach Allen actually

is, but he's 30. It's his third contract. And Cortland Sutton's a tricky one. So just interest, I don't really have any big takes. People around the league, though, especially the size and the speed and the catch radius of Cortland Sutton, how many people were so high on him coming out from the draft. There's enough front offices around the league that would be probably willing to hand him a strong contract. No question. There's also with Nick Benito, you're paying for long term potential. He's an ascending, very much an ascending player. When you see a pass rusher start to pop at his age and do so in a big way, you're only scratching the surface in the minds of some of these teams. And that's why I think they should pay them early because they'll, I think both of them will have competitive market.

Zach Allen, you know, 31 teams would love to have that guy too. So. all three of them, really, it's just figuring out the right price. And so I'll be interested in that because, yeah, Sutton and Allen are going to be 30 when they sign that contract. Sutton, I think, turns it during the season, so technically not. But like, a guy who, you know, is trying to get another contract. While we're here, by the way, I was thinking about checking in on Bo Nix, just because we haven't talked about Bo Nix. And I didn't really have anything that interesting to say about him.

But I did learn that he had an awesome first pitch at the college. Colorado Rockies game this year. So if you're watching on YouTube, you can see it. The Rockies. The jerseys are great. Are 9 and 45 this year. So one of the worst teams in all of sports.

But when Bo Nix showed up and throw a strike, like an actual good pitch. That pitch was barreled and pitted. He inspired them enough to get the W over the Yankees that game. So they're 1 and 0 when Bo Nix is there. He's just a winner. They're sitting there right now. He's like whispering to it.

Can we sign you? Like what did it? Can we bring you in here? Shout out to the hat that Bo Nix is wearing, which is part of a trend. The 90s big lettering print hats I was wearing back in the day are kind of back in style. So everything comes around again. Let's go check in on another guy. Good job by Bo Nix.

Yeah. Let's check in on a guy who we really haven't talked about at all, except for when he made the transition into offensive coordinator for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Let's talk about Josh Grizzard. We talked about him with Jason Light. We're checking on some guys. I love that. So he's actually in the rare case that Bucks OTAs begin on Tuesday.

We're obviously recording at that time. And they have no Chris Godwin because the injury recovery. Now they're going to install and carry forward this offense in the passing game. It's already pretty well constructed with Amika Buka in the mix as well. This is one of the rare cases of one of the youngest offensive. of coordinators in the league, he's just 34, who is taking over a roster that is not just built to win right now, an offense specifically that is built to win right now, but also one that Baker Mayfield really pushed to have continuity within because he's lost two coordinators

in respective years. And Josh Grizzard was like his guy that he was pushing. Where Jason Light told us this when we sat down with him at the NFL Combine earlier this season. And I think that this is super interesting because he's got some of the best. tools in the NFL to work with in terms of a really under talked about offensive line, one of the best in the league, an ascending run game with Bucky Irvin, a really solid tight ends group, Kate Otten leading the way on that. And then one of the best receiver receiving core in the NFL. And I think that, you know, the sky could be the limit for this offense. But what I really wanted to check in on with Josh Grizzard, because his last name makes

me laugh. And I mean no disrespect by that. But every time I hear it, it makes me laugh. Yeah, double Z is funny. Especially because he's from a place called Lizard Lick. Wow. North Carolina. And do you know when you look up Lizard Lick, North Carolina, the list of notable people from that town has one name on it. Can you guess whose name it is? Josh Grizzard. Yes. And so when I hear Josh Grizzard from Lizard, North Carolina, I think of the Australian psychedelic band, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard. And I don't know why my brain does this, Greg, but that's what my brain does. And I wanted to share that with you today.

Well, I think we should forever more refer to him as Josh Grizzard from Lizard Lick, if nothing else. Josh Grizzard from Lizard Lick, hopefully a fan of King Gizzard and the Lizard. You could have led with that. You didn't have to go through the whole spiel to feel like you had to justify it.

That alone was worth checking on. Checking on some guys. Yeah. And it's a big offseason. If they don't deliver, he's going to get blamed because everything else kind of looks great. And now we'll never forget his name. No, Josh Grizzard from Lizard look.

I viewed this exercise too as like a, oh yeah, remember, remember him? It's just a random shout. I just wanted people to kind of remember there's a gentleman by the name of Patrick Paul. And he was drafted in the second round by the Miami Dolphins last year. And he is one of the most important players on their entire roster. He has their left tackle. He is replacing Taran Armstead. When Toronto Armstead decided to retire,

Chris Greer, their GM, immediately said, we already have our left tackle of the future. It's Patrick Paul. He's going to be our left tackle. I should check this. I believe he said that before the draft. Like he was just like putting that out there that Patrick Paul is his man.

So that's just a guy I wanted to check on that, I know it's not to his blindside technically. It doesn't matter. The two tackle positions are equally important. We've learned this. He is vitally important to this Miami Dolphins team. Just checking in on Patrick Paul. Yes.

Two guys that I want to check. check getting on simultaneously, Garrett Wilson and Sauce Gardner. I mean, like, can we just talk really quick, though, about how the Jets have seemed to do everything right this off season so far?

Not only did they shut down the Rogers situation very, very quickly and with authority, but also they have some buy-in from their players, some disgruntled tweets from players like Quinn and Williams, disappointed at the concept of another rebuild. Like, he took that back as OTAs began this last week. Garrett Wilson went from being grumpy and rightfully so last season to basically saying that he wants to be a jet for life. I think we have the audio of that, Eric.

You know, I'm hopeful. I'm a jet for life. And that we get this thing rolling and that we, you know, that all of our best days are ahead of us. You know, I don't know exactly what that looks like. But I'm going to go do my part to make sure that, you know, that it's inevitable, not inevitable. It's the word I'm looking for undeniable, you know, when the time does come. those conversations are being had, you know, I'm going to try and do my part to make sure that it's undeniable. I love that. And I also love that the Jets have been very clear about some of the steps in the process with

some of their former first round picks. Sauce Gardner and Garrett Wilson's fifth year options were both picked up earlier this year. So was Jermaine Johnson's. The reason I bring this up this early in the off season is I think there's a very real scenario and a very real possibility that both players get contracts. extensions before training camp starts, certainly before the season starts. And I think showing up to OTAs, which Soss Gardner did as well, despite the fact that they are both due for contract extensions from a team that did not draft them, notably, is good faith. It shows good faith. It shows

buy-in. It shows Aaron Glenn has got the juice like we've talked about before. But to me, it also shows that the process is being set in motion to eventually come to terms with these two. And I think the smart thing and they've made smart decisions all season is to get at least two of these done Garrett Wilson and Soss Gardner before the season starts. 100% OTA attendance for the Jets. And yeah, they have plenty of cap space. You can make it happen now, spend your cash now.

Be interesting because do you prioritize one over the other? Which one would that be? Man, Soss Garner has a case to be the highest paid cornerback in the league. You're kind of looking at a stingly contract. who he was drafted, you know, one pick after, right? And you're basically looking at that and adding a little on top of that.

So it will be interesting the timing. Who knows? That's one, you know, because of the fifth year option, they might play it out. And it's something that happens like in week three, week four even. It's during the season. But I think that would be a great sign for the Jets

if they do that. And it wouldn't be surprising. Garrett Wilson is going to get a wide receiver contract near the top of the market. Three consecutive. 1,000 yard plus seasons, despite all of the chaos and mess that's over there. I mean, these are two guys. We always talk about how smart the Eagles are for extending their guys early.

And no, they didn't, Darren Moogie did not draft these two. They're players you want in the building. Yes. And it might be a great person, Garrett Wilson, especially to reward before they run the ball like 48 times a game. And Garrett Wilson is a clear number one drawing a lot of double teams and being very valuable as he quote unquote only gets like one. 1,070 yards or something like that and you want him totally

on board with that. I would do that. I'm going to check in on Sam LaPorta. Just because like, hey, remember Sam LaPorta? Not that he's been that under the radar, but I just feel like last year fantasy-wise, people were a little

disappointed and he did turn it on late in the season. He just had like a little quieter role. He still became the first tight end in history. And this is with 600 yards and six receiving touchdowns in each of his first two seasons. So that's like slicing up the numbers. I'm annoyed when people do that and I just did that.

But still, you get the point that he's been extremely productive. Another one, and I like this one better, total of 1,500 receiving yards and 15 receiving touchdowns in your first two seasons, one of only four tight ends to ever do that. So he's produced at a really high level. He spoke last week and he said some things, but mostly I just wanted to view this glorious mustache again. in HD.

Oh, my God. Every year we feel like there's unfinished business. We know that we have the players to go out and win games and the biggest ones as well. So unfinished business, of course. And yeah. He seems supremely uncomfortable and just with the rest of the press conferences, there's a couple other like coach speak type of things. He's just like trying to say the right thing.

It's like no one's grilling him or anything. your mouth is a gait. I'm speechless. By the mustache. I mean, it caught me so off guard. I mean, it is, uh, it is its own living entity on his face. I love it. He, he pulls it off.

He could be like a science teacher. Doesn't he look like Dan Campbell to you in this freeze? A little bit right here. Yeah. You can pull that off when you are, uh, the size of Sam Lipporta. Also, he's not coming off in ankle surgery. He missed almost all of last off season. He noted that like this is my first normal.

off season in three years because he's not coming off an ankle surgery. He's not preparing for the combine in the draft. So I think we might see it even better Sam Laporta. Do you want to check in on any guys or you're good? I'm, I'd like to wellness check on my brain right now. It's broken after saying that. He's got to be careful. He's going to start getting called Yosemite Sam Leporta. Hey. The mustache of all mustaches. We will be back later this week. And we're going to hit even more. Thanks, Eric. She always delivers them so quick.

I can't get the sound and then it goes by and I'm just going to start dropping them, even if it's 10 seconds later. She's always got these one-liners and I'm upset that we don't give them enough shine. So I see these indirect shots at me for not selling the joke enough. Okay. Yeah, you don't. You kind of leave me twisting in the wind often, Greg. I got to say, it does.

We'll just have better jokes then. It does make me better, truly. It's a bad job. Bad job, baby. Let's wrap this thing up. We will be back. We're going to go over all the OTA stuff this week. We're going to do some more rankings.

We've got Patrick Claib on it in the mix. Soon we're going to check on more guys. It's like I was going to do the Jaguars cornerback two battle. And it's like, we can just save that. We've got a whole offseason to go. All these teams on the field this week, football's back. Hey everybody, Daniel Jeremiah here. And I'm Bucky Brooks.

On Move to Six, we take you inside the game from breaking down college prospects and NFL rookies to evaluating team building philosophies, coaching trends, and how front offices construct winning rosters. We study the tape, talk to decision makers, and give you a perspective you won't find anywhere else. It's everything you need to understand the why behind what happens on Sundays. Don't miss it. Listen to the Move the Sticks podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Marcus Grant. And I'm Michael Florio, and together we host the NFL fantasy football podcast.

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