NFL Daily with Gregg Rosenthal - Day 1 Free Agency Recap! The Darnold Gamble and Tunsil Trade

Episode Date: March 11, 2025

Gregg Rosenthal is joined by Patrick Claybon to update you on all the news from around the NFL on day one of free agency. The guys start with Sam Darnold heading to the Seahawks (02:00), followed by Justin Fields going to the Jets (09:26), the Texans trading Laremy Tunsil to the Commanders (14:45), the Patriots' spending spree (20:38), Chris Godwin staying with the Buccaneers (27:11), the Bears continuing to bolster their offensive line (30:45), the Chargers giving Khalil Mack a new contract (35:13) and locking up Najee Harris (45:35), Josh Sweat going to the Cardinals (01:01:50), Chase Young getting a new deal with the Saints (01:03:30), Cooper Kupp's market (01:08:26) and more! Note: time codes approximate. NFL Daily YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/nflpodcastsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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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're talking about another Laramie Tunsel mega deal. Just a six years later. Rosenthalm here in the Chris Wesleying podcast studio on the first day of the NFL negotiating window Patrick Claibon. And man, we have a lot of deals to talk about. And it's to think about the amount of time that's passed there because it feels like yesterday, but also it feels like 20 million

years ago since that 2019 trade. But it's symbolized by just how many things are constantly happening. And that's just one of the many things we get to discuss today. In the march of time, because the price tag for Laramie Tunsell in 25, not the same price tag as it was in 19, and yet very significant. And it was front of my mind because it was the most surprising news. I think that happened on Monday.

If you listened to our Sunday night recap show, Shook and I hit some of the big names like Devante and Gino Smith and D.K. And on the first day of Freedency, we had just a crazy amount of players signed as usual. It seems like it goes faster and faster every year. Maybe not as many huge, huge fireworks, Patrick, but we're going to go through it. All day, I was stressed about, like, what is the right time to tape this show?

I want to get it right. And so we're coming straight off the set. If you're watching on YouTube, you get a free... Yeah, Greg still got the pocket square. Look at my pocket square, because we did NFL insiders together, and people should check out Patrick on that all week long. I'll be back with you on Wednesday for sure on that show. let's actually start at the quarterback position. So we're just going to go through every item of news. My vision for this NFL daily week,

it's really just news focus. If you only listen to this podcast for some reason, I want you to feel like you have literally every significant deal covered. If you listen to Greg this week, you will be fully plugged in as if you were listening to our show for the entirety of the six hours. Whoa, whoa, we're going to try to squeeze it into about an hour. All right, Sammy Darnold's going to the Seahawks.

This was the move that. that every year there's one, that everyone knew was happening before free agency started, at least after the Gino Smith trade happened. And now I look back at last week and I think about all those reports and I fell into it too. We talked about it with Daniel Jeremiah. Oh, well, actually, the best option for Sam Darnold might be Minnesota and that's getting pushed, push, push. And now I look back on that as, oh, were they playing a leverage game, the Darnold camp to make it seem like,

hey, you've got to raise your price there in Seattle. And Seattle's waiting to finish that behind the scenes before they trade Gino. Well, they've got their guy, $37.5 million guaranteed three for 50 overall. Depends on how you look at it. It's essentially the Baker-Mayfield contract for Seattle. I think you can make the case of why they made this deal. What did you think about it when you're breaking it on NFL Network? Well, ultimately, the deal, it's very difficult, just like it was for the Michael Pinnock's draft pick to be viewed as just the deal.

Because the Seahawks got rid of a good quarterback, ultimately trading him away to play for their old coach and his old coach in Las Vegas to bring in Sam Darners, who had that spectacular year, not being dismissive of that, that spectacular year on a team that was loaded with offensive talent, on a team that featured the coach of the year and Kevin O'Connell calling the plays to go to a team that just fired their offensive. coordinator got rid of their best receiver, a long time great at receiver, and is in total turnover in the entire situation where it's difficult to view Sam Donald and say, yeah, I'm excited about Sam Donald when in my opinion they had a better quarterback last year. Right. So I need, I want to, this is one of the contracts. And I agree with everything you said, that I want to see the details to it. The report is $55 million guaranteed. How much of that money is into year two. It reminds me a lot of when Derek Carr resigned with the Raiders. It's hard

to keep which coaching staff was there at the time straight, but I believe it was with Josh McDaniels, and people were a little surprised. And I remember saying at the time, this is really a one-year deal. And it's a try it out and see if this marriage works. That one didn't work. I suspect that's what this Darnold move is ultimately. So if you just go through the logic of it, in a total vacuum. They are putting out there through the media, our guys reported it, the insiders, that Gino was offered basically the same or similar contract.

He said no. So from the Seattle's perspective, they're looking at it like they got seven years younger. That's significant. Gino is getting older. I think that that is a concern. He hasn't showed his age, I don't think,

but that's a concern. That he's going to be cheaper than whatever Gino signs for with the Raiders, maybe by a little bit. and Gino might get guaranteed money into 2026. And most importantly, in my mind, maybe Darnold's a better fit, or he's a good fit, at least,

in Clint Kubiak's offense. Clint Kubiak was in New Orleans last year. He was in Minnesota. A few years back with Kirk Cousins, this kind of paint-by-numbers, back to the offense, play action, what Sam Darnold was successful in Minnesota. Maybe Gino wasn't the perfect fit for that.

You add that all up together. And a little bit in a vacuum, you actually can see the vision. It's not that they didn't have a vision. I don't necessarily think it's going to be unsuccessful. But then I come back to the point that you said, which is, Gina Smith is better at football. He's just better. And that the problems that Darnold has, which I believe are reading defenses before

and after the snap, are going to get him in big spots. I don't think Gino would have had the meltdown week 18 game where it was really an opposing coordinator breaking Darnold. brain and making him freeze like Darnold did. And we'll see if that happens, you know, for Seattle. Yeah. Also, the Seahawks can improve in a lot of different

areas. And Sam Darnold can continue to approve. And he's always going to be younger than Gino Smith. Like, clearly like the linear nature of time has dictated that. But I would need to see a age-related falloff for Gino who again watched football for several seasons.

Right? So I don't know if Gino's age relatively to the people who played football for those entire seasons is the same, but considering that they had already made the Gino trade, I think Sam Darnold was the best option for what was available. Yes. And they had to pay that Sam Darnold price. So in that view, good. Welcome back Sam Darnold. It's just a tough situation for him to go to and try to be successful where all those people watch Gino and company go up and down the field, Gino doing spin moves in the pocket to get away from early interior a rushes, firing a ball down the field, where that's not necessarily Sam's game, and it's

going to be tough for people to see that to go to whatever this version of the Kubiak offense is going to be. Yeah, our friend Mina Kimes pointed out in a couple different stats, how different their pressure rate in terms of quick pressure. Darnold was 18th in the league in facing quick pressure. Gino was second behind only Drake May in that disastrous offensive line. And Gino's numbers against quick pressure were great. The case, again, four. is I don't think that's going to happen with Clint Kubiak. I know Darno likes to hold the ball a lot, but that should be an offense where you get rid of the ball quickly. The scheme is supposed to make up for some of the offensive line deficiencies. They're certainly going to add some

offensive linemen on the interior and free agency and the draft. And so like everything this week, it's not a final answer. And it's going to be fascinating. But I think you can only choose one. You're either in Geno Nation or you're part of the Darnold Hive. And this is going to be tough for Mina. I'm doing her show Wednesday, actually, so I will ask her about it in person. You have to choose one. You're either with me or you're

against me. You can't do it. It's spicy, though. It adds a little spice. I never bought the whole idea that the Seahawks are trying to reset by trading Gino and D.K. McCaff. John Schneider's on the hot seat. Mike McDonald's entering his second year. They're not trying to reset. They're going to try to win.

this is their way that they're trying to win. That's just, I don't think they're trying to take a step back as my point is I believe they're trying to win the NFC West, and this is John Schneider's idea of how to do it. Whether that works or not, I have my doubts, but that's his idea. I will say this. Sam Donald will have fewer attempts than Gino Smith had in 2024. I don't think that the offense will be as heavily featuring the quarterback and his decision making, and you will get whatever the investment's worth in Sam Donald,

but the ceiling in terms of what you can try to accomplish, I don't think they're going to do that with saying. Yeah, and we'll see. Maybe Geno does better away from Ryan Greb. Who knows? Maybe Ryan Greb at Alabama now does better without Gino. We will see. That was a one-year moment in time with the Seahawks.

It's like a fun little mini-era and it's over. A good Seahawks team, by the way. Pretty good. They won 10 games. They won 10 games. Do you change a couple things? The results are a lot different. Justin Fields is the new Jets Quarter.

back. Love that. Two years, $40 million, $30 million guaranteed. I was one of the more, like, I don't want to react to the reactions all the time, but some of the most surprising reactions I saw today were people thinking that, wow, that much money for Justin Fields. And I was like, that's a, that's great money for Justin Field. First of all, it's half as much as Sam Darnold. That seems appropriate. I mean, after the Darnold seems. season, but it's like, it's not a lot. It's $20 million per year. It's 30 guaranteed. This is another one year type of deal. And I think considering the market that was out there a better option, I would much rather have Justin Fields on this contract and get off of Aaron Rogers, which they're

going to do, than keeping Aaron Rogers or really going after any other free agent quarterback that was available. They didn't have amazing options. I think this one is pretty intriguing for a few reasons. Yeah. And shout out to former Patriot, former Raider. Marshall Newhouse on social media web Skype, blue sky, pointed out that this is the rate to be the starting quarterback of a team that's going through the rebuild. There's going to be a lot that's put on Justin Fields as this team tries to find out what they want to be, what they're going to be. And yeah, 30 million guaranteed because that's where I start. It is a dangerous trend that we're going on where there's contracts that have, quote, in guarantees, but some of those

guarantees are conditional. And I ask the question, if the guarantees are conditional, it's not a guarantee. But anyway, this is just how things get reported sometimes. I think 30 million over the course of two years to get a guy who has made plays, like a top five rusher in the league since 2021 at the quarterback position. And he hasn't necessarily played that many games. He's ever done six yards of carry. And we never really got to see what the passing game could look like for Justin Fields because he lost his job by then. Here's what he has in New York. Four-fifths of a pretty good offensive line, I think, on paper. Olu Fascheneu looked good at tackle the rookie last year.

They need another tackle, so that's pretty important. But their interior line looks pretty solid. Number one, true number one receiver in Garrett Wilson. And a really intriguing backfield in Breeze Hall and Braylon Allen, that field adds to. And you just have a feeling they're going to be a run-first offense. They have a defensive-minded head coach. I think it could be fun. And I think they could add to it in the draft.

and maybe it speaks a little bit to where the Jets are in the draft and not believing necessarily that Shadur Sanders is going to be available or that he's going to be their future quarterback. But who knows? Like, if you told me, they wind up taking Sanders at 7? Like, this signing certainly doesn't prevent that. Yeah, $30 million doesn't necessarily change that. The math has changed.

We just have to get used to it. And I include myself in that because there's a couple of contracts today that was like, whoa. The cap is going up. Just for some examples. BJ Hill, $16 million guaranteed. Okay? And he's a rotational defensive tackle.

Tutu Atwell gets the $10 million contract. Diombi Brown, who had, you know, $3,400. Okay, if those guys are worth $10 million, Justin Fields, who's probably going to be starting week one for your team and showed a lot of potential is worth 20. It's just how it goes. Like, that is now between a starting quarterback and a backup quarterback, there's always been that market.

It's a small market. and Justin Fields, that's now where that market is. I think it's fascinating though. By all accounts, the Steelers wanted to keep Justin Fields over Russell Wilson. And I think the credit that everyone gave Mike Tomlin for benching, Russell Wilson ultimately blew up in their face, right? Well, I think the-

He flamed out and they couldn't keep Fields because I bet if they had stuck with Fields the whole time, he wouldn't be leaving them for the Jets, but why would he be loyal to the Steelers and give him the Tomlin discount that players like to give. And also, it feels like discounted on some blame was perhaps Arthur Smith's management of things as they went on

where we don't really know what could have come from either of those guys last year in Pittsburgh where it just, the offense fell apart. It seemed out of sync to an extent that a lot of it was the schedule and they were just playing better teams

down the stretch. True. Including playoff teams. But just weird. It's like, when six years from now, we'll look back and be like, remember that year, Justin Fields and Russell Wilson were the quarterbacks in Pittsburgh? And I think it blew up a little in their face because it doesn't sound like they want Russell Wilson back. It sounds like Aaron Rogers is going to go to the Steelers of the Giants. We're not going to spend much time on that because at some point it'll

happen and we'll just talk about it there. But it really seems like he is now the top name available at quarterback. Those are the two teams that are interested in him. We'll see what happens. The Jets, by the way, also gave Brandon Stevens three years, $36 million. Again, I want to see the structure and all that, but a cornerback that was picked on more than just about anyone in the league for the Ravens last year. But if Aaron Glenn likes him, I tend to trust Aaron Glenn, so that's an interesting signing. He's kind of replacing DJ Reed more on him in a minute. All right, let's get back to the tonsil trade. This was the other really big item in terms of a name value. He goes from the Houston Texans to the Washington commanders.

They swapped fourth round picks in terms of the years. Let's just ignore that and simplify it. Laramie Tunsell essentially got traded to the commanders for a second, a third, and a seventh. And he got traded for a lot more when he went from Miami to Houston. And he looked like a potential future Hall of Famer. And who knows? He's got five Pro Bowls. And he had a really great run in Houston.

Coming off his worst year, a ton of fall starts. maybe not consistent in the run game like they want him. But anyone that knows anything would say he's one of the best past protectors in the entire NFL. And that's why he costs so much a second, a third, and a seven.

And everyone's like, this is what you do with a rookie, you know, quarterback. You have them on that contract. You take advantage by being aggressive. And I'm thinking, what about the Texans? They've got a pretty great quarterback

on a rookie contract. Oh, hi, what makes some sense of this to me. Well, we had discussed, right, in our AFC South preview, the hopes for the Houston Texans that were directly tied

to having money in cash available where they need help at wide receiver. They have to make these changes. The protection up front that wasn't Laramie Tunsell wasn't necessarily great. How much of that was going on the offensive coordinator,

how much of that was going on the offensive line coach. They made both of those changes. That was their spot to create space, was shipping out Laramie Tunsell. So now that they've done that once the play started and I again I understand the fall starts back you off five yards they put you in bad situations it becomes must pass situation situation but once the play was going

it was it was less than three sacks allowed by let me tonsil it's like you can't take that away but the Texans have they have sent it away to the benefit of jaden daniels and and now they've got the one problem to fix but they've given themselves another one to do it i think it can be a good trade for both sides obviously washington has to be excited for the next couple of years with Tunsell. A second and a third are significant. In a league where guys just aren't going for draft picks, teams are so low to give up those draft picks.

A second and a third is a real thing. And the Texans have had a lot of extra draft picks. And when these trades happen, it's really all about the contract and it's strategic. And I think the Texans were at a point where they knew after this year, they would have had to address Laramie Tunzel. They were not going to address Laramie Tunzel.

They have to pay Will Anderson. They have to pay C.J. Stroud. They have other priorities. And for whatever reason, let's get some draft picks for him now. And then I flash back to this Texans Jets Sunday night recap I did with Seth Payne. And there were some low moments in the Texan season. And he knows ball. Former ball player.

Yeah, Seth knows ball. Would absolutely say what you're saying about Tunsel in the passing game. it was dry the tackles he didn't say it by name but he said the tackles on this Texans team and what they're doing in the run game were driving him crazy and that could have been coaching

that's where it's a little where he's a missed assignment effort just getting blown up and Tunsel was part of that so that just stuck in my mind is maybe that's part of it I don't think it was a leadership thing everyone says he was very well respected

in the locker room and sometimes it could make sense for both sides I do think strategically let's give it some time with the Texans. Let's see what happens. They did get a couple picks. I want to stay on board with this Texans crew because I think they've been pretty well run. So I'm going to give them a little benefit of the doubt. While we're here, let's just mention the other Texans thing. They have this thing where they just go hog wild on like the lowest tier of free agencies, but they do it on day one. They signed Derek Barnett,

Braxton Berrios, Sheldon Rankins, Tremont Smith, Daryl Taylor, and Justin Watson. If you don't know what positions those guys play, like you're, you're probably not alone. Barnett, Rankin's on the defensive line, Darryl Taylor, too, Berrios and Watson, like fourth, fifth receiver types, special teams guys. I don't know.

This is just Casario's move and he's going to do it. I just thought I would mention that they were the only team doing anything like that on Monday. I also will mention the commander, since we're here,

one of the most surprising contracts of the entire day. I would actually pick it as the most surprising, and you can give me your answer by the end of the show. What's your most surprising contract? I would give it

to Javon Kinlo, getting a massive deal from the commander. I just, I didn't see it coming. $30 million guaranteed. Again, like when people are getting on Justin Fields for getting that much money, Javon Kinla got more overall over three years. He got paid like a total of,

I think seven million like last year from the Jets. And I didn't think they were that happy with him. So I don't know. That was just surprising to me. I didn't see that coming. My media thought was kind of the same that Bill Warnerwell had over on Blue Sky. It was, well, why not Jonathan Allen for a year?

Right. Instead of Javon Kinlaw. but it's and the commanders and Adam Peters did get the Laramie Tunsel trade done because at one point I was like are we going to announce Levi's Stadium coming over to the RFK site right Kim Locke former 49er last year was with the Jets but Peters was with him in San Francisco and so like

you you wonder like how much the relationships play into that or if it was just purely the evaluation they felt like he was being misused over the past couple of years in spots elsewhere but yeah Kind of a surprise with the connection. I'm not going to pretend I was breaking down all the Kinlaugh film. Jets fans didn't seem overly happy with him or reporters. And he didn't pop at all. So that just surprised me.

Didn't expect him to be so early in the show. But we got the commanders in with Tunsell. So we got that in. Let's talk about what the Patriots did. Everyone thought the Patriots, they're just going to go crazy in free agency. And then they can't get Ronnie Stanley. and they can't do get Chris Godwin done.

And I saw a tweet from a Patriots reporter and they said, look, you know, and I made a bad tweet too. I was like, the Patriots can't give away their money right now. But I saw another tweet from the Patriots looking like, man, you wonder who the Patriots are going to get because they're really swinging and missing

on this first wave of free agency. And it was 10.30 a.m. Yeah. On the West Coast. Free agency started at 9 a.m. Guess what? A few hours later, they had spent a lot of that money. Oh, my God.

Milton Williams, the number one guy on my board after the tags got applied to T. Higgins and Trace Smith of the Chiefs there. Four years, $104 million for Milton Williams, an emerging defensive tackle who played the best football of his life by far late last season, especially in the playoffs, especially in the NFC championship game and the Super Bowl. Carlton Davis goes at the top of the cornerback market, three years, $54 million, about $36 million. guaranteed. Robert Spillane, who had a nice little come-up under Antonio Pierce the last couple years, like Carlton Davis, almost 30 years old, linebacker, playmaker, he signs with the Patriots. Morgan Moses, the tackle who's just kind of bounced around is almost like a replacement level like, you're not going to get too excited, but he plays pretty well. Morgan Moses, I put him on them on the Patriots, by the way, on that 40s and Free Agent Show, where we're trying to build what

they're going to do in free agencies. So got that one right. They also added Josh Dobbs, by the way. Josh Dobbs is going to be in the mix there with Joe Milton as the backup. And Mack Hollins is a New England Patriot, two years, $8 million for Matt Collins. Wow, that was a lot by the Patriots in day one. Is it going to be looked back on like that last Belichick spending spree? I don't know if you remember that year when it was Jonu Smith. John Hu and Hunter Henry, but there was a couple more and mostly didn't go well.

No, it's a different regime. It's a new era for the Patriots. Although when Carlton Davis came out and said, you know, no discounts, I'm trying to get money. I did think, like, oh, he's going to New England. Like, that was the first thing I thought. And then if someone were to just watch last postseason, they would think that Milton Williams is the best player in the world. And so, like, that money is deserved and owed. It's going to be interested to see when the snap counts go up, what the production is going to be like for Milton Williams because it's difficult to project that.

But this team needs talent. You know, they're not done. And I'll say, like, if you miss out on Ronnie Stanley and Chris Godwin, like, two career one year, I mean, one team guys, like, I don't know, like, if you set your sights to those type of players where they're ultimately going to go back regardless, like, you're going to miss out sometimes. These other guys were realistically leaving. Yeah, I think it raises the floor.

Some of these moves are going to go terrible. That's just how it goes. when you spend a lot of money in free agents. I mean, I think it's one of the reasons why the Eagles have been so good is they spend to the cap every year and it allows them to make mistakes like a Bryce Huff or a Jahan Dotson for most of the year. The Dotson showed up at the end in that trade

because they take about 10 swings and if you go 7 for 10 or you go 5 for 8, 6 for 8, like you're still adding 5 or 6 good players and that's why you spend to the cap and the Patriots did need to spend. I think it's tough that you're, you're getting a lot older. I add, Harold Landry was my least favorite of all these, and that was on yesterday's show. You know, Spillane, Davis, Morgan Moses, Harold Landry, I think it's safe to say

those guys are probably have their best days behind them. Like they're all 29 to 30 or older. Landry's not quite there. And so you're not getting guys in the middle of their prime. Milton Williams is more of a free agent that I think is worth the gamble, even though it's a lot of money, although we haven't seen the guaranteed money. That's usually a sign that it's a little less than you expect. We haven't seen the structure there. He got four for 104. Is it really like a two-year deal? Wouldn't be surprising. And he's a risk. I get it. Mike Tenier had a great stat, which, you know, he had a career high of 17 pressures in 23 at the time. In the first half of the 2024 season, 16 pressure is pretty good. The final six weeks of the regular season, 17. Oh, wow, we're getting

crazy. In the playoffs, he got 14, like even crazier. So he, he, was the anti-Sam Bradford? He made a lot of money late. I still think he would have made a good amount of money because people who know Ball, watch him, and he's got a lot of potential. Is it going to change what they do at number four? You don't go for Mason Graham? Maybe not. But I think he's a guy worth taking. And ultimately, even though I think it's only like pushing them to be closer to mediocre, I do think you got to spend that money. That's what the cap space is for. That's what it's for. And that's why the idea that the idea that they shouldn't, right? The idea that you got to keep cap space and try to carry it. No. No. That's why

I always try to make the case for draft abolition because the team should be trying, should be trying to win. We don't want to incentivize people to root for losing. So go out there, spin to the cap. Do cap chicanery like the, like the saints. Like if you, if you mess up, who cares? These people. They're just trying to get professional. I think in a perfect world, you know, they are like the commanders. They're not going to have that success. But I think the commanders who signed about 20 free agents last year, hit on seven or eight of them. And they were just veterans who could play football at the professional level. I think the Patriots are playing a little bit more of attacks here in free agency.

They're hoping Carlton Davis is a difference maker. I had Carlton Davis in my top 12 free agents because I think if he's healthy, he can play. And you know who else agrees? Like the Detroit Lions, they outbid Carlton Davis. Supposedly the Lions extended pretty far to get Carlton Davis. and they had a line they were not going to go over. And the Patriots just topped them from whatever it was going to be. Maybe a couple million dollars per year.

Maybe it was $5 million guaranteed. They're getting older, but they're getting spicier. You know, they're trying. Let's take a quick break here on this show of NFL Daily. We have a lot of signings to go. Eric is looking at me and he's wondering, like, is this show going to be 98 minutes? No, Eric, it's not.

Hey, this is Matt Jones. 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 High 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.

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Back on NFL Daily. Chris Godwin reportedly left $20 million on the table. We're not leaving any money on the table, Patrick. We're going after it. I just like to see it. I know that Chris Godwin is a very good football player and deserves everything. The number in the 66 range, so does that mean the number was in the 86 range? I mean, maybe it was, this is how I look at stuff like that.

Maybe the Patriots offered four for 86 or something. You know what I mean? Instead of three, for 60. It was a longer deal. A fourth year that was never going to happen in any real. Or maybe it was three for 86, but that third year is unlikely. The thing that I love is that Chris Godwin got paid, $44 million guaranteed,

so the Patriots probably helped push that number up. And they weren't the only team. The Jaguars were in on Chris Godwin as well. It's probably a two-year, $44 million deal for Chris Godwin, essentially. But what I love, and Jason Light to me is just one of the best general managers in the game for many reasons. There's another note for you, Jason. He said one of, all right? Mike Evans, Chris Godwin.

and Levanti David have played a combined 32 years on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. How cool is that? It's an entertainment product, Patrick. These are great buccaneers, great players, and they found a way to keep them. And I think they run their organization in such a way that these players want to stay and maybe, you know, and they are passing up somebody. So like, kudos to everyone. I like it. That's my big take. Yeah. You shouldn't have to like hold somebody hostage and denied trade requests and ultimately overpay to keep them. If you're a fan of a player and a team and you've got that jersey, like you should want to see those guys stick around. You don't want to be a Titans fan watching AJ Hoist the Lombardi in an Eagles jersey or see Derek Henry running

down by himself. Like if you've got good players, you acquire the talent and then you utilize that talent. And shout out to Jason Light and the Bucks for doing it. He comes from the Patriots and yet I don't think he has that, you know, everyone has a certain value and cut throw and cut them a year before, you know, it's too late. And like, it's worked out. Mike Evans is still Mike Evans. I think Chris Godwin, everyone's going to see that. And I think it's going to be a contract. The age is fine. This year, maybe he's not going to be Pete Godwin coming off that injury early in the season, but he'll get there. And even Levante, David, you just respect the guys that have helped you along the way. And I think the respect goes both ways. And I think that Buccaneers team,

not just well run, but I think they got a lot of potential this year. They also got Asan Reddick. Interesting deal. They don't like to spend a lot of long-term money, but give Hassan Redick a shot, one for 12. I like that. Yeah. And a lot of people forgot that Hassan Reddick eventually did come back and start playing football

for the Jets last season. Probably essentially paid $6 million to not pay, to not play for the Jets for the first bit. But finished it and ultimately played 10 games. A lot of guys that didn't play 10 games last year. It was a huge need for the bucks. Their edge rushers have been below average the last couple of years. And again, this is the best use of cap space. I think these veterans give him a shot.

Did not look great with the Jets. It was a lost season. And yet, if you think about a year ago, if he was on my free agents list coming off where he was in Philadelphia, he would have been in the top five. Like, he was a better player than Josh Sweat on the same team of Josh Sweat. And Josh Swet is signing for exponentially more money. And it makes sense.

Josh Sweat's a good signing. but I just think this could end up being a nice value. And if it doesn't work out, it was a chance worth taking. The Bears continued their offensive line makeover, and then they got involved with a defensive line as well. So after picking up two guards over the last week, they sign a center, Drew Dalman, my number one center on the market, three years, $42 million, $28 million guaranteed.

While we're here, let's talk Deo O'Don. Bengbo from the Colts, who we mentioned on this podcast, Tom Pelliserra mentioned was going to be a guy that maybe got paid a little more than people expected. Top 40 on my list, $32 million guaranteed for him, three for 48. And then Grady Jarrett, who in the span of the, what is it, 21 hours since we taped NFL Daily got cut and signed. Three years, 43 million, $28.5 million fully guaranteed. Just some context for Jared. I think when something happens that late. him getting cut Monday morning and then signing a few hours

later. My guess is they were trying to trade him to the bears and it was a bit of a stare off and the bear, they knew the bears were interested and the bears are like, now we're just going to wait for you to cut him, bro. We've got a deal all worked out. That's just my guess.

I have zero information but I think that's probably what happened. Yeah, it's a good vibes base guess on how this transpires where, you know, sometimes It was like three hours later. He got cut and then he had this deal done three hours later. Yeah.

Where, you know, everybody's having conversations and it is a, you know, a negotiating window. But sometimes things happen a little too quick to have not been previously discussed. What do you think about? I mean, the Bears, they weren't kidding. When Ryan Poles was on this show, said, we're going to be aggressive attacking free agency and fixing that offensive line. Jonah Jackson via trade, Joe Tune, Tune, via trade, Drew Dahlman, in free agency and they suddenly have

an offensive line. They could still be looking at tackle in the draft, but they have Braxton Jones, Darnell right, at left and right tackle and man, they went after it and then I'm surprised Jared got that much money. I really am

because he was coming off a serious injury last year. The Falcons obviously I think would want to keep Grady Jared. He's a lifetime falcon. They didn't believe in him, but the bears did, and he'll fit next to Gervon Dexter. Those are kind of different types of players. I think

Jared, at this point in the career, maybe they're viewing him as more of like, he's going to be the run stopper, he's not going to be the upfield penetrator quite as much, and next to Dexter, we'll see. Yeah, the skill set remains there with Grady Jarrett, perhaps in spots, maybe the number of snaps

isn't necessarily what it was during his prime in Atlanta, but the bears, in terms of addressing needs, because doing it in the draft is so difficult because you can't like need is a very bad talent evaluator because you wait around you don't know if the guy that you want at a certain spot

is going to ultimately be there they're still dealing with the impacts of trades as well draft wise so go ahead and fill these needs right now and take the best player available and on the interior offensive line able to move guys getting a center as well how do you how do you not grade it positively yeah Dalman is a guy who I think you're more excited about in the running game than the passing game.

And I think that's going to be a focus for Ben Johnson is establishing this running game. Because to me, that's why you give Drew Dalman the money that he got. What is it? It actually was fairly reasonable. In this market, an offensive lineman, $28 million guaranteed to start, that actually shows me his market wasn't as crazy as I expected. It's basically a two-for-28 type of deal, and that's fine to get a starter. And when I spoke about Jared,

I, look, there's been a lot going on today. I meant to say, you think of Jerry at this point of his career, Gavon Dexter is going to be that run stopper there. Jared's going to be next to him, just kind of trying to upfield, get the penetration. Pass rush special. Yeah, pass rush type of guy. And so he could maybe look better

with a guy like Dexter next to him. So I'm correcting myself there. The Panthers were looking to spend a lot of money. They reportedly were in on Milton Williams to the point where the athletic, reported that it was a done deal, that they agreed to terms. And then the Patriots ended up coming over the top, or maybe that just never was the case, and getting Milton Williams. But they did spend a lot of money on Monday. Chavon Morig, who we talked a lot about over the last

couple of weeks, a safety from the Raiders, gets $51 million over three years. I know there were a number of teams in on him. J.C. Horn, before a free agency even started, got a hundred million dollars, a ton of guarantees. We said it in our NFC South preview that he was really the one young player on their roster worth investing in long term. And so they got that done before Free Agency even started. Hasn't played a lot of games. So a little bit of a risk, but an outstanding young player. And then they signed Bobby Brown, three for 21, the former Rams player. I was surprising to me, definitely a rotational guy, Pat Jones from Minnesota. So it's a lot of just beef up front. There's some conflicting reports

maybe on Tershan Wharton from the Chiefs, whether he's going to join the Panthers or not, so we will see on that one. But what do you think about the Panthers spending spree? Yeah, it makes sense, considering what was available. The number on J.C. Horn, like I'm going to need to see some details.

I know the discussion, right, was that it's one of the highest paid deals for a defensive back in NFL history. I just citation perhaps needed on that. I do like bringing Tommy Trimble back Like you get Tommy Trumbull for two years Ten and a half million

That's another one too Yeah It feels like a solid value ad And yeah We'll get Bobby Brown some more playing time To see to see where things go But if you're looking for like the it Yeah

For Carolina I have not seen it yet Yeah he was called the highest paid Defensive back in history That doesn't seem totally accurate We need to see the things But that's how the agency Is probably spinning it

We'll see I like Trevon Morg. We'll see on the Trifshon-Warton deal. That would be a fun combination. But I don't want to get ahead of myself here. You got Mike Jackson back. Mike Jackson is another one. Like, there's so many deals.

Two for 14 for Mike Jackson, who played pretty well at cornerback for them. It is really funny being in this blue sky, a little bit of Twitter environment, but in the news and all this and things getting reported. You really have to know which insiders you want to trust. There's some reports that are coming out there. and they're just out on an island of insider island and that's not a good place to be if they're on the insider island don't join them

wait wait for the guys and galsy trust that's all I'm saying yeah team rap sheet that's all I'm saying don't come in fact like you know don't talk to me in Starbucks that's all I'm saying

like you better try to leave what you came with You know what buzz, the insiders were given over the last couple of weeks? Was that the chargers were going to be really aggressive trying to keep Cleo Mac and that he would have a strong market. That turned out to be absolutely true. He got $18 million. I find it interesting that they hard chose

Khalil Mack over Joey Bosa. They essentially are eating some of Joey Bosa's contract and they're paying partly to get rid of him to pay more money to Cleo Mac, who's older. Shout out to Cleo Mac for just, the longevity of an outstanding career and the chargers who know him best saying we want that guy. We do not want to lose that guy. I kind of wondered if, if Khalil Mack was considering the need in Chicago at edge would be open to going back to Chicago, but at a certain point.

But they got like the opposite type of player. I'm glad you mentioned that because the dingbo is just like not a run stopper stopper at all, but is pure pass rush, like whirling fury and is a nice little compliment to Montes sweat. But yeah, even considering Khalil Max, age. He would be able to set edges in this league into his 40s. Well into his 40s. Just play him like a little less because he the last couple seasons there's been a trend where the first 12 weeks of the season he's one of the best defensive ends in the in the league and it just you're asking a lot for him. The Chargers by the way, we'll see if it happens

by the time you guys listen to this or by the time we tape another show. Supposedly in on Najee Harris. So we'll see. But they haven't closed the deal yet. They brought back tier Tart. A good deal for that. there, just $5 million, he played well for them. And Dante Jackson, who's moved around at the bottom of the cornerback market, two for 13, smart move if you're Dante Jackson's agent. I have a feeling this Jesse Minter, Jim Harbaugh defense, it's like you put him on the chargers and suddenly they have a lot more value.

I think they made a bunch of free agents, including Puna Ford, a lot of money this year. Not that Puna doesn't deserve it. We might as well go there. got three for 30 from the Rams. They also brought back Jimmy Garapolo. Another weirdly reported contract. Ultimately, it's only like a $4 or $5 million deal with a ton of incentives in at $9 million.

That probably helps Jimmy G out. For some reason, he has to start a long time and plays well if Matthew Stafford gets hurt. Jimmy G. Back as the backup. And go to get Devante in first and then sign Jimmy G. It is really funny. I didn't watch receiver in the end, but I watched the social clips

where Devante just indirectly trashes Jimmy Garapolo. And now they're back together. Yeah, reunited. Sean McVeigh is the healer of relations. Shout out to Spencer Hall. He had this skeet. We go and tweet on Blue Sky, whatever it was,

just saying, just talking about Jimmy G, you know, what he could do, you know, to really any human, it's the magic hour. He's on Sunset Boulevard. Just Jimmy G. Shout out to the dude.

Yeah, and Puna Ford. Love Puna Ford. This is where I'm talking about the charges. Three years, 30 million. He was freely available for any team to sign in the two previous seasons. Do you want to guess how much he made combined in the last two seasons when he was on my free agency list, by the way? Like $7 million.

Less than $5 million. Wow. And now he goes three for 30. And yet, the way he played last year, I think every team is kind of looking for those run stoppers up front so you can go a little lighter. I know the Rams will like to do that. They have these great pass rush. Now you can put this great penit, you know, just this force in the middle around all those young guys like that move for the Rams.

I mentioned the lines being in on Carlton Davis. Ultimately, they settle for DJ Reed. I think they had a price. Maybe this was it. Three for 48 for DJ Reed. $32 million guaranteed. Really not much less than Carlton Davis. Just about $3 million guaranteed less. $6 million in the overall deal. Two guys I had right next to each other on my top one. apparently the lines are thinking the same. We're just two to ball knowers, me and the lines. Yeah. Right there. Brad Holmes, Greg Rosenthal. It just makes sense. Jets cornerback, DJ Reed, I should mention, I do want to, you know, understand that like, DJ Reed's not a household name. He's a guy who arrived from Seattle. One of the best free agent contracts, I would say, of the last five years on the defensive side was DJ Reed to

the Jets. Fantastic production. You do worry about, you want to get him on that. that second contract that was a little cheaper actually than necessarily the third contract as a cornerback. It's old. The same thing with Carlton Davis. He's getting older too. We'll see. But DJ Reed was outstanding last year. Like you play across from Sauce Gardner and you have a lot, a lot of action over there. Literally, he was targeted more than any cornerback in the league. And all the numbers say he held up about as well as any cornerback in the league. So I like that move with the lines. Let's go to the offensive linemen got paid section of the show. The Titans, they Dan Moore, the former Steelers left tackle, $50 million guaranteed on an $82 million for

year deal. This was that first contract of free agency early where everyone just started making jokes. Are you going to make jokes? I'm not necessarily going to make jokes. I'm glad Dan's going to get an opportunity to be compensated in play for a team that potentially is going to take their quarterback of the future. one overall. Perhaps

this means that they're not done. I mean, they're done at left tackle, I would think. They just gave them $50 million guaranteed. You know, there's options, right? It could be moved on to the other side. You could get another guy. I don't know. I'm trying not to be derogatory. But it's tough considering the production in the last years.

He's a guy who the Steelers were always looking to replace, but couldn't find someone better to replace. So even though it's a lot of money, I actually put this in the same bucket of some of those Patriots signings. Like, he can play tackle. Like, he's just a lot more money than Morgan Moses, but he's a lot younger.

So it's more like four years of a Morgan Moses level of just replacement level starter. And they do have Brian Callahan's dad running the show here. And so you're paying a premium to settle with a guy that's probably closer to average. But you have more. You have J.C. Latham,

who I think they wanted to move back to run. right tackle. So now he probably moves over there. He was a top 10 pick. You have Skoronski who they drafted high. You have Lloyd Cushenberry. Suddenly your offensive line is looking okay. You have an offensive line coach. And I think it's just, they got to spend that cap space too. They almost have too much space and can't find. So it's just filling a spot. It's just like a little too much money, but I don't know. He clearly had a market. Yeah. It doesn't go there in a vacuum. Other teams were willing to pay them. It's telling though the Steelers were not one of those teams. Yeah. And you just have to evaluate it with the cap going up and considering that

there's a premium to pay to not have to be overly concerned with a need at that position at this point in the off season. And you can have somebody that's played a lot of football. You know, maybe the offensive situation in Pittsburgh wasn't necessarily that great and we didn't get the tape. But the Callahan's know and they can evaluate talent up front and they don't something the rest of us don't. Or they can coach it up.

Yeah, I think it's a positive. I now feel bad. Titans fans are upset when I made a joke about it. I want to update you on something that's breaking as we tape this. Oh. Najee Harris is joining the Chargers on a one-year deal. Sources tell the insiders. How about the partnership here between the insiders?

They're not even looking for credit. It's a one-year deal, Naja Harris. We'll see. We heard it was going to be ahead of Free Agency about $6 to $8 million, but they don't have any money attached to it at least right now. Yeah, an opportunity, perhaps, to see Najee in an offense with a fully functional and supported quarterback where the needs are almost elsewhere at this point. And the offensive needs, considering the way that Ladd had a great rookie season, you're able to see guys like Josh Palmer walk and they're able to fill needs in other spots. So it's an exciting opportunity for the Chargers and for Najee.

I'm told he's getting $9.25 million. I want to see all the deals on that up to 9.25 million. So the up to is often doing a lot of work. I'm going to guess seven in like two and a half. That's being generous, six to seven. And, you know, some incentives. Some incentives. Five days.

But as the president of the Nagee Harris fan club, you got to be thrilled because I think that's a great spot for a running back. Yeah, it's a good spot with a quarterback who's. Yeah. Again, fully supported. I would, you know. my qualms with the Greg Roman offense are passionately stated

but the one thing it's going to do is put Naji in a position to get the ball moving downhill and play and play the way that he needs to play and so it's a chance for an offensive player to be liberated from his previous regime. You know what Herbert is great at? What's that? Mix and

tempo. Playing fast if he wants to. We got to challenge ourselves to do that the rest of the show because yes there's more transactions on this show than literally any other. And so I don't mind if it's a little long, but it is time. We'll get you your time back. We're going to go. Aaron Banks, uh, four years, $77 million. He's a guard who played the last handful of seasons, his entire rookie contract for the 49ers as a starter was a late round pick.

I admit, I ranked him too low on my top 101. He ended up at 98. I'm glad I got him in there. He got massive money. The Packers also gave Nate Hobbs, who was on our friend Ali Connolly's list of free agents, he would like to sign. And I like that pick too. I thought I had him rated quite high on my list. Four years, $48 million. Nate Hobbs' slot cornerback for the Packers was with the Raiders previously. But yeah, man, like if you, I don't know if your son, Malcolm, is going to be built to play football or not, but just keep feeding them. Get him to play guard. Yeah. If you're just like a halfway decent guard, you're going to get $20 million a year. Well, the issue is a lot of these guards were tackles and you know that that's a part of the evaluation as well so you still have

to be able to get that evaluation but it's we talked about the departure from santa clara earlier today on the insiders like it it's real yeah let's talk about it while we're here just uh banks Aaron Banks who is their starting guard I don't think they want they were extending to sign him deba got traded last week of course uh Tallaneo funga we haven't mentioned but he's going to the Broncos so is Drake Greenlaw. We'll talk about them in a second. Elijah Mitchell is gone. Charvarius Ward is gone. Jalen Moore, their left tackle in waiting behind Trent Williams is now the left tackle of the Chiefs. That is a lot going out the window. What is happening with the San Francisco this offseason?

Got a free up space for double Bosa. They are resetting. They are resetting. Now, I don't think they're going to try to compete, but they are resetting. They are not paying some of the guys that you would expect them to pay. We'll see on the Packers. I think they're There was a couple players they maybe missed out on. Man, that's a lot of money for Aaron Banks. But when they lost Elkton Jenkins in that playoff game and everything kind of fell apart against Philadelphia, they really trying to improve their depth.

Bills had a weird day. Josh Palmer got $18 million guaranteed at wide receiver 3 for 36. You know, when Jeremiah's in this studio kind of being like, eh, Palmer's just the guy that doesn't make me feel great. And then Michael Hoyt was a nice role player for the Rams. Listed as a defensive tackle, and yet I remember him, you know, covering tight ends and running backs in space three for 24 from the bills.

Two of the signings of the day, I was like, huh, okay, bills. Yeah, you asked for my biggest surprise of free agency. The three for, for 30 for Josh Palmer. Yeah. I wasn't mentally prepared for that, considering the way things have looked. Okay, so $18 million guaranteed.

When we get to see it eventually, is it closer to, well, 18 guaranteed, Is it closer to 2 for 18 or 2 for 20? The crazy thing is, and we're trying to figure this out, in terms of veterans, I think a rotational 3 slash 4, that's about the price now is $10 million. So I think I just have to wrap my mind around it. Is he a good one of those or not?

He ultimately didn't step up when the Chargers were really hoping to have him step up with a new coaching staff, a good coaching stuff last year, so we will see. The weirdest trade of the day was Browns, and the Eagles. How we did it again. The Browns traded a fifth and Dorian Thompson Robinson

who I'd rather have than Kenny Pickett for Kenny Pickett. You would rather have DTR than Kenny Pickett? I don't want Kenny Pickett. I'm prepared to say a lot of things about Kenny Pickett, but considering the way things have gone for DTR,

Andrews of Sassiliano pointed out that the one DTR win came against Kenny Pickett and the Steelers. But that being said, it's been a rough go for DTR in Cleveland and I'm just wondering why either of these guys? Well, why a fifth round

why is a fifth round pick involved? I know it's only a fifth round pick. By the way, everyone should check out our friend Andrews new YouTube show at Siciliano show. Big fan. Yeah, a huge fan. Why are you giving up a fifth

for Kenny Pickett at all? I'm standing by my take. Not that I think DTR has been impressive, but I was so unimpressed by Kenny Pickett in Philadelphia, which is the best place to be a quarterback. And by the way, this is a vote of confidence for Tanner McKee, who I think is going to have a good

career as a backup. I bet DTR in Philadelphia will look better than Kenny Pickett looked in Philadelphia. Let's go to the Giants. Paulson Adebo, the former saint who's coming off a serious injury, gets three years, $30 million. Curious on the structure of that, because

it also said pending a physical when the team released it, and he is coming off a big injury, so that one just keep an eye on it. Roy Robertson Harris goes to the Giants. Darius Slayton, this cracked me up, is back on three years, $36 million contract. It can't get away,

which makes me believe that they have told Darius, you know, a quarterback might be impending. What? You think Darius Slayton is dictating terms of quarterbacks in this year?

No, I just think Darius Slaten could have had a great opportunity to go be successful somewhere else and he was convinced to come back to New York where he is, led them in receiving for every season that he's been in the league

except for the one and it's almost been despite. Yeah, they always bury him. And shout out to the guys at the podcast talking giants. I enjoy that, but they always laugh because every coaching staff tries to put Slayton as the number four guy, the number three guy, they don't want to bring him back,

then a GM doesn't like him. And every year he's literally the best receiver on the team until Malik neighbors show up. And then he was the second best receiver. And the Giants are like, you know who's pretty good? And it's worth a really solid, role player type of contract,

three for 36, Darius freaking Slayton. And that's why it's so surprising about the Josh Palmer numbers because if you look at the years in the total, it's the exact same number. Slaten's a much better player. I agree.

And that's what blows my mind about, and again, Josh Palmer could be great this season in Buffalo and have all the success in the world. But it feels like Darius Slayton, the football player, is more valuable than this. Adibo is the type of contract I often say teams should make in free agency

Number one, a guy who's shown it at the high level. He looked like a pro bowler in 23. Number two, he's a bit of a distressed asset. And number three, he's young. It's really hard actually to combine all those things. He's played well, but he's not at peak value right now. Unfortunately, it's because of an injury. But, you know, we've seen NFL players respond well to injuries.

It's a three-year contract. I think that is a risk, if it even is one at that price, worth taking. Really like that. like the Charvarius Ward signing for the Colts. Three years, $60 million, waiting on the guaranteed for that. They also signed Cam Bynum, four years, $60 million.

One of their beat writers, Nate Atkins pointed out, these are the two biggest free agent investments in the nine-year history of Chris Ballard as the general manager of the Colts. And it's not just like in the secondary.

They are both the biggest investments at all in the secondary. Just period free agency, they've never spent this kind of money. that's a GM who knows the talk clock is ticking but two really good players I talked about Ward

as one of the free agents I would most like to go after because I think he's due for a bounce back year. Yeah, two huge parts of the secondaries that they depart and when we were talking about the Colts last week

you described their draft strategies as they stay where they are and I said that was an entire franchise strategy but shout out to Chris Ballard for bucking that trend here the offseason for the Colts is not just blaming Anthony Richardson they're going to work on improving the roster

which is good. I am curious what else they're going to do. But those were two guys that I think fit into any secondary. You always worry about bringing a guy in at corner or safety. Are they going to fit what they do? And those two guys, I think, are very smart, very scheme versatile. Welcome to Jags Corner. They were aggressive.

They supposedly gave Jordan Lewis the biggest cornerback contract for a nickel in NFL history. And it was three for 30. And I'm like, how is that a fat? That's not true. First of all, Durwin James is like a nickel. Nate Hobbs topped that. I don't think that's true.

I also, it said $20 million in guarantees, not guaranteed. It's up to 30. So I think Cowboys fans that say, what, Jordan Lewis got that? He's coming off a good year, by the way, and his beloved as just kind of a glue guy and a locker room leader. So I like that the Jags are trying to add that. I suspect when you peek under the hood, it's not going to be nearly as much money as it looks like. Weird, though, because they have two guys who already played the slot there. Jerry and Jones, a recent draft pick, and Darnel Savage.

They also got Diami Brown one year, $10 million. Patrick McCari gets three years, $37 million, $20 million guaranteed. He was both a guard and a tackle for the Ravens. It sounds like he's getting slotted into guard, which doesn't make a lot of sense to me. He thought he was better at tackle. And then Robert Hainesie, a former center for the Bucks, gets three for 21.

So just, I think I'm missing some Jags signings, but hell, we have this whole offseason to get to him if I did. Yeah. A lot of Jags. signing. Very, very busy for the Jags and, you know, congratulations to Jordan Lewis's agent for having everybody say that this is the biggest nickel deal. Okay. We talked about the biggest deal in terms of nickels. We actually haven't hit one of the biggest contracts of the entire day so far.

We will do that after the break. It's some next level radio stuff right there. It's a team. Most podcasts don't even say we're going to have a break. Maybe we shouldn't. Hey, this is Matt Jones. 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-offer.

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Like I was saying before the break. These are the moves that shape an off-season. It all happens in one week, and then we spend four or five months kind of picking it over, and how does it all work together? So it's just first reactions here, and my first reaction is that from the Denver Broncos, is that they're just trying to rebuild the 49ers defense?

Because DJ Jones, who they re-signed late Sunday night right after we finished recording a defensive tackle, three years, $39 million, $26 guaranteed. That's kind of the going rate, by the way. all the like solid five to 600 snap defensive linemen that aren't stars but are good players. They all got about $26 million guaranteed 13 per year. So that was just the going rate. And then as I mentioned a little earlier on the 49ers,

they bring Talaneo Hufanga, who had a bigger market than I expected $20 million guaranteed. Safety's did pretty well finally in free agency. We talked about it going into free agency, that offball linebackers and safeties were really good in this class. And they did get paid $3.45 for him to the Broncos. Drake Greenlaw also goes there three for 39 suddenly this is just like a nastier defense it was already a good defense and now it's got like a little extra attitude they're not resting on their laurels there no and we I said it during the the insiders on Monday if Drake Greenlaw doesn't Terry's Achilles are jogger back on the field I think the 49ers win that game ooh I don't even know if it's that that hot of a take the margins were very small you know the defense was impacted. I think Fred was emotional

about it. And he comes back after the Achilles tear and the Achilles injury with Rogers and cousins. I think a lot of people looked at it as being like this end and you're going to need to season plus. Dre looked pretty good considering what he was coming back

from at the end of last season. Yeah. The three quarters he played were electric against the Rams. Unfortunately, got hurt again to the calf. So there's a lot of risk there. And yeah, yeah, these contracts, it's funny. Jamie and Sherwood who signed on Sunday night for the Jets

he actually got more guaranteed money in his contract than Fred Warner did his last extension and so Fred Warner is looking at like what just happened to the offball linebacker market so there's these cascading effects

where these contracts come out and then there's going to be players around the league that aren't too happy about it and that's some of the stuff we'll be talking about down the stretch but yeah the 49ers have a wild offseason a total exodus

and we're being told as we're taping this Kyle Eusecheck is getting released by the 49er. So that's another long-time 49er. One of the few remaining from the 2019 Super Bowl run that was on the team

is no longer. Let's keep it with teams that used to be in the Bay Area. The Raiders, they keep Malcolm Coontz on a one-year, $12, $13 million deal. They watch Morrig go out the door

and they sign Jeremy Chin at safety to a vastly cheaper contract. What was the number on chin i don't two years up to 16 thank you that's that's why we got you know patrick always always rebounding my misses you know well that was that you know that was my job uh growing up because you couldn't shoot uh so so you had to do that they get Alex Kappa as well on a relatively low deal um for two years and 11 million dollars and you know it's it's all positive in Vegas because

you're just you're just uh you're just tatum crashing the boards those big big shoulders after like missed Peyton Pritchard three or something. Again, he's got the green light. I could not be accomplished to any green lighted guys. Okay. I like those two deals by the Raiders. I know some of their fans are upset that some good defenders are leaving. Hobbs was injured at times there. I guess I just want to give Pete Carroll the benefit of the doubt, especially in terms of building a defense.

They're obviously willing to spend. Let's see what the rest of their offseason looks like. The Cardinals, and this was the contract I was referring to before the break. We hadn't mentioned. Josh Sweat got $41 million guaranteed four years, $77 million. You can basically expect that he's getting paid about $20 million a year over the next two years. They struck out on Milton Williams. They were reportedly deep into that one, and they used some of that money on Josh Sweat,

who was obviously with Jonathan Gannon back in Philadelphia. And they need some defensive players so that they're not the search bar next year. Yeah, and we learned a lot about the search bar. to shout out to, you know, the ability to learn. They get Bayer and Browning to come back as well as Joey Blunt. And so they keep some of those guys, but they add the talent, which is where they need to be. It's just time to finally see it. And I don't think they're done.

No. No, all these teams were going to be back every single day this week. They're just getting going. So don't give the grades. Don't be upset about what your team didn't do on day one. Day one, free age of service. Day one, day two, day two, day three, day four, they matter two. B.J. Hill is back with the Bengals, three for 33.

Again, I mentioned those rotational kind of defensive line. It's $16 million guaranteed. Very similar contract. Although you look at that and you're like, can you just give some of that money to Trey Hendrickson? Let's just figure it out your star instead of your rotational guy who's like 31 years old. But the ideally you can do both because B.J. Hill has been a good player for them.

The Saints traded for the Patriots runstopper Devon Godshaw. They gave up a seventh round pick. And I believe they're going to redo his contract. And he was excited. You got a name that ends in A-U-X. That's your spot. Going in New Orleans. Go on home.

He is from Louisiana, rather. That's the place to be. An elite run-stopper in the seasons that he's been elite, which have been more years from not than not. And then for whatever reason, he'll have these down years and his team not too happy with him. But overall, I think they'll get good value out of him. and our reporter slash producer Eric Roberts

lets me know that Chase Young is going back to the Saints. That's happening as we trade. It doesn't matter, I mean, as we tape. It doesn't matter how late we tape. These items are going to keep coming. Are not stopping on Monday night. It's a three-year, $51 million deal for Chase Young. Again, I want to see the guarantees

because I just can't believe that Chase Young commands more than one year of good guaranteed money. He's getting a raise off of what he got last year in free agency, but I don't know. I guess I got to see that. It doesn't say the guaranteed money, and that's usually a bad sign for the player relatively. I'm just saying if

he's getting three years for 51, Chase Young, I don't know. Well, we just talked about like your standard issue defensive tackle. That's fair. Kind of warning 26. And Chase Young, you know, electing not to take the, because you know you do the comp with your Davian Clowney.

maybe like a Stefan Gilmore where it's like you can get to that one-year mercenary type spot. You know, Chase Young kind of saw his career kind of come back to him a little bit and he'll stay there. Somehow only 25 years old. This generation, Sammy Watkins, where you're just like, what? He's only going to be 28 at the end of this deal. How is that even possible? You know, we haven't talked a lot of Vikings on this show. They bring Isaiah Rogers in from the Eagles, who is good in a supplementary role, two for

15 and just kind of as a third fourth cornerback. Ryan Kelly, the Colts center comes in two for 18 like that move for them. Rare value. I know there's risk with the injuries, but it's a really good football player and a position of need for a lot of folks where, okay, if it works, that's incredible. If it doesn't, it's two years 18 million. Yeah. And Garrett Bradbury, their old first round pick probably is getting benched or moved to guard. Byron Murphy, and again, I'm, I'm springing this on you, Patrick. As we're taping, the Pro Bowl MVP of the Pro Bowl games on defense is going back to Minnesota. Three years, $66 million. A rare guy that's getting two good free agent deals. Now, he's also a rare guy who kind of bet on himself last time with a good two-year deal,

was hoping to get even more the next time around while he's still in his 20s, and he did it. And I was worried when you started to say his name, I'm like, wow, are they losing Murphy and Cam Bynum, but no, they get at least one back, and that's a big part of their secondary, and they had to, they had to keep some of those guys. He was really good. More questions to answer Minnesota. You know what he is? And they say this about every undersized cornerback?

Scrappy? Feisty. He's feisty. That means he's small. All those short people sneak disses that, you know, we see you. We see you out there. The Chiefs, the Chiefs signed Jalen Moore at left tackle. this was a surprising one, $21 million guaranteed

on a two-year $30 million contract. So if you don't know who Jalen Moore is, he played at the end of last season when Trent Williams was not playing. So he got five starts, and those five starts got him $30 million because otherwise he was on the bench. I kind of like the idea behind it.

Now, the Chiefs were reportedly in on Ronnie Stanley, and then that didn't happen. And it's almost like when the Patriots drafted Matt Castle, It's like, this guy's barely even been on the field, but they saw something they like in jail and mourn, and they paid him handsomely. So it's either going to be a great deal or a terrible deal. That's my prediction. It just feels like, and I know that there are spots that they've spent elsewhere, but the Chiefs have been like bargain hunting at tackle with their generationally gifted quarterback at the best of all time. And it feels like stop doing that, but whatever, I'll take it.

They also signed Elijah Mitchell, the former 49er. There's another guy who's leaving. the 49ers at running back. He'll just be kind of a backup. Zach Wilson, speaking of backups, got $6 million guaranteed to be the Dolphins quarterback. If Sean Payton and Michael McDaniel

can't fix you, you can't be fixed. That was the answer to the Stidham versus Zach Wilson quarterback battle that ultimately Bo Nixon was like, hey, I'm better than both of these guys. Stidham, by the way, back with the Broncos. I forgot that one, two for 12. So Sean Payne really does like him as a backup quarterback and good career if you can get it.

their former Bronco, Giovante Williams, signed with the Cowboys. That's up to $3 million. That's really backup running back money. If anything, that sort of spells out to me, they could still take one in the draft. And, you know, just some other little deals. Browns will cut. Dalvin Tomlinson, he'll hit my top 101.

Aaron Rogers will get cut one of these days. Evan Brown was an offensive lineman who re-signed with the Cardinals. Braden Smith is back with the Colts on a rework deal, a tackle. And I guess one last note is it was. it was reported. Nothing's really changed that Cooper Cup will be released on Wednesday. No trade has materialized. They're looking like they're just waiting until the last minute for Cooper Cup. I question if the market's going to be as strong for him as fans and other beat writers seem to think it is. People are like slotting him in as like a number one or a two or a difference maker.

He's he's barely going to crack the top 101. And that's mostly just out of respect, but I'm putting him below Keenan Allen. I'm putting him below Mike Williams, like towards the bottom regions of the top 101. Kind of a role player, I think, at this point of his career. I'll make a case for Cooper Cup to

he's not going to be at the point of impact in the run game anymore, hopefully if somebody's giving him a big deal. He'll be able to go out there and run routes and be a receiver. Hopefully keep him on the field, limit those impacts, and have him be a guy that can get open and

you know where he's going to be, and there's value in that. Josh Palmer again got three years, $36 million. All right. Let's stop talking until, you know, just to prevent anything else happening. There is no right time to tape the podcast, Patrick, fortunately, or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it. So that is everything that has happened as of right now. As of 9.45 Eastern time, that's when we're taping it, 645 on the best coast out here.

Let's be off with the day. Play that music, Eric. We will be back on Tuesday. You love him. You know him. It's Jordan Roderig of the Athletic and Colleen Wolf's Day in the studio. We'll wrap up everything that happens on Tuesday. You know, until then, look, when we're trying to save Zach Wilson's career again, you know, football's back.

Didn't hit the post. Hey everybody, Daniel Jeremiah here. And I'm Bucky Brooks. On Move the 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 Six podcast on the IHeart Radio app.

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