NFL Daily with Gregg Rosenthal - Free Agency Day 3: Joey Bosa to the Bills, Darius Slay to the Steelers and Aaron Rodgers' Decision

Episode Date: March 13, 2025

Gregg Rosenthal is joined by Nick Shook to recap all of the action from around the NFL on day three of free agency. The guys start by discussing the Bills signing Joey Bosa (02:10) followed by the Seahawks signing DeMarcus Lawrence (05:30), the Steelers signing Darius Slay (10:15) and waiting on Aaron Rodgers (12:20), the Broncos signing Evan Engram (17:10), the Ravens signing DeAndre Hopkins (19:09), the Cowboys making moves (31:45) 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 the start of the new league year means we're getting drunk tonight. I'm in the Chris Wesleying podcast. studio. My friend Nick Shook is in Ohio. Probably not getting drunk, but maybe get a little wild,

Shookie? What do you got going on in Cleveland? I mean, it's a Wednesday, Greg. My God. It is St. Patrick's Day weekend in Cleveland, and Cleveland loves to celebrate that, so I'll get out and about and get after it on Saturday for sure. Okay, yeah, there isn't really the celebration when it comes to the new league here. And frankly, we got, you know, some sound here.

It's not what it used to be, because so many teams are just pouring over my top 101 that all the good free agents are gone by now. I'm just going to give an update. We're taping this East Coast time Wednesday night. As of this taping, there's only one player left from the top 25, shook. There is only seven from the top 50.

So, yeah, Assante Samuel Jr., for instance, is the second highest player on my board. I think I might have ranked them too high. You have regrets. He's at 21. Aaron Rogers will be added to the mix. For whatever reason, the Jets still haven't cut him. But he's going into my top 25.

I mean, he's a reasonable starting quarterback. More on him a little later. Seven in the top 50 are available. And then the thing that's crazy compared to previous years, only 28 of the top 101 overall. So that's in three days. The second half of the list has absolutely been decimated. And yes, the new league year started.

That means official signings, trades, all that stuff. could officially be processed, and we're going to get you up to date. It's a meat and potatoes type of show, Shooki. We're going to get you that news because I want to be a completist, and we're going to get out of it. It's a meat and potatoes week for a guy who's kind of a meat and potatoes guy, frankly. Oh, I'm a big pot roast guy. I was raised on it and still enjoy it very much, so it's right up my alley.

Meatloaf has got a bad buzz for a while, I feel like, and meatloaf is coming back. I'm a big meatloaf fan. As long as it's not too dry. Let's go with what I think is the most interesting. signing since we last recorded. This came late Tuesday night. Joey Bosa is joining the bills for $12 million guaranteed 12.6 to be exact. There's some incentives there. When this news came across, I was very surprised because it was supposed to be the Dolphins and the 49ers that were in on him

and they were, but the bills came over the top. And I just wonder, why do they expect the Joey Bosa signing to work any different than the Von Miller signing? I mean, If you're talking about health and availability, you shouldn't have much of a difference in expectation because Von Miller wasn't available half the time. Joey Bosa has struggled to stay on the field, which is a big reason why he got cut. But I think that there's the allure of what could be because you know what he was when he was healthy and you know what he can do when he is healthy. He just hasn't been healthy for a long time. Other than that, I think it's just let's replace one guy who was at the top of his game at one point with another guy who's younger than him. And that's essentially it.

It seems to be their strategy. Right. He has played a total of 1,000 snaps in the last three years. So that's an average, do the math, of 333.333 into infinity. I mean, that's nothing. And last year, it was the year he actually played the most amount of snaps. And one of the reasons was he was so sick of not being available for his team. He was almost tearful about it. And you would see him go out on the field.

And he wasn't really Joey Bosa. He played the first week of the season. I remember it so vividly. It was against the Raiders. he looked like he was going to win defensive player of the year. And that's, that one game might have got him signed. And then he ended up with a nerve issue, the second week of the season. And he struggled with that the whole year.

And I know he had some pressures in the playoffs, but if you watch that tape, he clearly was the second best edge rusher there. And so, yeah, the ceiling is high for a guy who, who could have been a Hall of Famer definitely won't because of the injuries. And yet, I don't know, the bills have had a weird offseason to me. or a weird free agency week. And this is part of it. It just seems like they're just taking shots.

I don't know if I love it. I mean, even the trade that they have that we'll get to, I'm sure, today as well. You know, with the cornerback, Kyrie Elam, it was like, not going to pick up his fifth year option, swinging a miss of a first round pick. Let's get some picks back in exchange for him. That's just kind of the tone of this entire offseason. Like, Rassul Douglas, I think they should pursue bringing back,

and he's still out there. So kind of a weird position for them as a team. They got better defensively last year, personnel-wise, they could use some upgrades and this is the best they can do. Yeah, I mean, they're just taking a shot in the ceiling tie. Eric, our Bill's fan behind the glass, is wondering why were we, you know, killing the bills. They signed Michael Hoyt from the Rams who can play a bunch of different visits. They signed Larry Ogden Jobi.

That fell under the cracks, $8 million guaranteed. He's just been passed around. Josh Palmer, a couple moves I did like. They re-signed Damar Hamlin for on a one-year deal, no terms available, but it's just good that he'll still be in a bill's uniform, adding some depth there probably won't be a starter this year. You mentioned the Elam trade. And then Ty Johnson, who I thought was one of the sneaky best third down running backs in the NFL. He's back with the bill. So overall, they're still one of my Super Bowl favorites. I might pick them to go back to the Super Bowl for the second straight year because I just think they're going to get it done one of these years. It's just been a little bit weird of an offseason. You mentioned that Cowboys trade, just to connect the dots here.

Elam goes to the Cowboys for a late round pick swap. You know, they got an extra fifth round pick. They trade a sixth away. Another cowboy leaving the nest here, DeMarcus Lawrence signing with the Seahawks three years, $18 million guaranteed, still waiting to see under the hood how much real money there is in this.

But $18 million guaranteed is better than I thought Lawrence would get coming off a Liz Frank injury, and man, this one hurts. I don't kill the Cowboys for not paying all this money for where Lawrence is in his career. And yet, if I'm going to give the Buccaneers credit for keeping their guys year after year, like this guy was the heart and soul of the Cowboys, one of the most underrated players of the last 10 years. And one of the things that happens when you don't manage the cap well shook is you can't pay guys like this. They should have done it maybe ahead of time. and he goes to Seattle in a surprisingly aggressive move

for a team that has a lot of guys up front. Yeah, when I looked at Seattle's death chart, I was like, whoa, they're adding this guy to this mix that they already had. Like, this is looking like a good unit. But on the Cowboys side, they did pay him in the past. They franchise tagged him twice. I think it was a case of him playing three games this year

because of the foot injury. He's 32. And they sat back and thought that money could probably be better spent elsewhere. Since we didn't have him anyway, we already got to look at what we might be facing in the future. Why not dedicate that elsewhere? where I know that he went on record at the start of the month and said, look, the ball's in their court,

it would be fantastic, it would be a dream to play there, you know, continue to play there, but the ball is in their court and obviously they weren't that interested. And he goes and gets a nice deal that pays him an average of 14 a year, which is pretty good money at 32 years old. It's great money. And yet I do wonder if the Seahawks would have even signed them if they had been able to pick up some of their other targets in free agency.

Word came out of Seattle that they were trying to sign the guard, Will Fries, who ended up going to Minnesota, and it's a typical Seahawks move. They just don't spend money on the offensive line. So all this money that they're supposedly saving for going for Sam Darnold over Gino Smith, what have they spent it on? What Mike McDonald really cares about?

DeMarcus Lawrence on defense, bringing back Ernest Jones on defense. And you mentioned how many players they have up front. Let's go through him. Leonard Williams, Byron Murphy, who looked good as a rookie last year, Jaron Reed, who they paid good money to bring back as well. an older player, but still a good player.

Boy, Maffei, Lawrence is there. You have Jonathan Hankins is a free agent. Euchenna Nuoso is still on the roster. And Derek Hall made some noise as a pass pressure. I mean, they are trying to win with defense. And I guess that's one way to support Sam Darnold, is just prevent so many points. They were coming together as a pretty great defense late last season.

Yeah, you know, writing up the Lawrence post today, I admitted that that's going to have to be their backbone this year because they don't have the answers on the offensive line that they needed to get. They don't have the answers at receiver after trading away DK and cutting Tyler Lockett. It's just going to be an offense that they're going to ask Sam to do a lot. And frankly, I don't really blame them necessarily for not spending a bunch of money on the offensive line, even though it was a massive need, just because the talent isn't there. And sometimes I think the caliber of talent ends up being lower than the money that you have to spend to get those guys

just to make a move to try to get better. But the good thing is, in this draft, there's a lot of interior offensive linemen that are available, that could be available in rounds two, three, two, three, and four. I just check they have a pick in every round. So why not go heavy on offensive line in the draft and see what you can do from there? Obviously, it might take some maneuvering to get the guy that you want, but there's still opportunities. It's just not in free agency where we saw guys get too much money

when you compared to Ronnie Stanley's contract. I guess, but you got to spend that cap space somewhere. And the thing about the Seahawks that bugs me a little bit is if you look at the dead cap of this season, like who has. the most dead cap in the league. All the other teams make sense. And then there's the Seahawks who just kind of chose to have all that money. You know, they chose to get off Gino a little early.

They chose to, you know, trade away DK and different sort of moves. So like San Francisco, it makes sense to me considering where they've been. They've been at the very top of the league and the decisions that they made. They're taking some short term pain now. Philadelphia, they're always spending to the max. they're up there in dead cap. The Browns and the Saints, Dishon Watson's mistake.

The Saints, that's how they live, is with dead cat money. But then there's Seattle. To me, it makes less sense. I think they're under heat. John Schneider better be right and they better be great on defense. And Lawrence will help with that.

Let's go to the Steelers. They had an interesting 24 hours. By the way, they also brought in MVS. If you were looking for another wide receiver, MVS, Marcus Valde Scantling, is a member of the Seahawks for about 4. and a half million dollars. That doesn't get me too excited. Like, why not just keep Tyler

Lockett? All right, the Steelers, they brought in Darius Slay, one year, $10 million, a little more than I expected. And then they also signed Kenny Gainwell. Player I always liked in Philadelphia, they're just sitting out there waiting for Aaron Rogers to make his decision.

In the meantime, Mike Tomlin is doing what he does, which is add big personalities on the defensive side of the ball. How about Darius Slay and Joey Porter Jr.? No one is honking, more in terms of a cornerback duo like that they are winning any trash talk competition i would say like that's going to be a loud secondary i like it and joey is definitely leading the group in holding in pass interference calls and only he gets less handy going into year three yeah this is

what the steelers do they've done this over the last few years patrick peterson you can run down the list of all these guys in the past that they've taken swings at who are veterans that are looking for one or two more years in the NFL and they join mike tomlin's defense and it's usually a defensive back that's just how they've plugged holes for the last four or five years. So it's not a big surprise. It is interesting that he stays in the state of Pennsylvania, but I'm not surprised that he left the Eagles to go somewhere else. It all made a lot of sense. We'll see if the performance matches it, but at $10 million, it's not like I'm asking you to be a top tier player. That's, I think, solid money for what you expect to get out of

him at this point. Yeah, a bit of a red flag that the Eagles didn't want to keep him, but they really, they really did have cap issues this year and they had to make some tough decisions on on guys they like. I think that includes Kenny Gainwell, who I've always thought is underrated and deserved a bigger role. And Nick Siriani loved him too. And he actually had a number of big receiving plays against the Steelers in week 14 or 15. It's funny how this always happens. You make a couple plays against the team. They're often the team that signs you in free agency. Kenny Gainwell and Jalen Warren, usually they want a big bruiser. So maybe they get that guy in the draft, but I just think that's nice. Since I mentioned Rogers, I'm moving them up.

in the rundown. Let's just talk about him here because it's a little crazy to me that these two proud franchises, the Pittsburgh Steelers and New York Giants are just waiting on Aaron Rogers. And they're not just waiting on him. Like, they're waiting on a guy that the Jets said as much as we love or would love to have a good quarterback. We actually are going to eat $49 million in cap hits over the next two years. spread it out. That's how much we don't want Aaron Rogers as part of our team. And the Steelers, who in theory are playoff contenders, they sneak in every year as the seventh seed and the giants who want to get back in the mix. And it should have been planning for this

situation for a year. They're just waiting to find out who Aaron Rogers picks. It's pretty clear he is the number one option for both of these teams. Yeah, I had a minor meltdown in the Slack channel today over this because Aaron Rogers is 41 years old. And yet we are being held hostage by him once again to the point where we're trying to read the tea leaves on Twitter, the platform now known as X that I refused to refer to it as, and just being like, oh, this guy retweeted, they must know, they know something. Maybe the McAfee show knows that he's going to Pittsburgh because McAfee's a Pittsburgh guy. Like, why are we doing this? He's 41. He had a nice finish to last year. He also showed a lack of mobility. He also carries a lot of baggage when it comes

to drama. And yet we have two of these franchises, the Giants I can understand, because they're in a bad situation. And they got a coach in a GM who are working for their jobs this year. But the Steelers sitting back and waiting on him, they must have A, not really liked Russell Wilson's performance last year. And we already know what they felt about Justin Fields because they let him walk to New York to the other team in New York. It's just, it's where the Steelers have been over the last five years, basically since Ben Rothesberger retired. It was Kenny Pickett. And it was Russ. And it was Justin Fields. And now maybe it's Aaron Rogers. And you can list a few other quarterbacks along the way as well. It's just

frustrating for me because I think they're better than that. And they're just trying to plug a damn with gum again and again and again. It's very unlike them as a franchise. They're not better than that. This is who they are. They don't have a good plan on offense, period. Mike Tom, Mike Tomlin is a good head coach, maybe a great head coach. But he has not shown any ability to be able to solve their offensive problems in terms

of the hires that he makes in the coaching staff or the moves that they make as an organization. And that's certainly him and the front office, although I think Mike Tomlin has a big say there. and Bruce Ariens helped lift up that whole boat initially and some of the other offensive coordinators that they've had over the years during the Ben era, but it's definitely gotten worse since Ben left in the last couple of years. And, man, I don't know if Rogers even fits

with George Pickens and D.K. Metcalf, does he? I mean, he ran Mike Williams out of town in like five weeks. So if Pickens were to irritate him in two games he'd probably be on his naughty list as well. Yeah, I don't think the fit's really there either. I think the fit's actually more with Russell Wilson than with Aaron Rodgers. Right, throwing deep balls. Like Rogers doesn't hold on

to the ball long enough. I don't know what the allure is other than that he's Aaron Rogers. It's strange to me. Well, it could be that he's at a great discount compared to where he was money-wise. If you're Russell Wilson though, you might think man, this guy Rogers

is taking out the 2014 NFC championship when I came back. against Rogers and won that game to go to the Super Bowl, maybe Rogers is getting his revenge here because it kind of sucks to be Russell Wilson right now. You know, according to the reporting out there, that these two teams are almost looking at these two quarterbacks and saying, well, as long as Russell Wilson's there,

he can be our fallback option, that the Giants reportedly are interested in Russell Wilson if Rogers doesn't pick them and vice versa. And Russ, maybe being a little tired of that, is actually meeting old school NFL visit-wise with the Browns this week, maybe trying to push this process forward. It's a mess. I just want better for us.

The one thing I disagreed most that I saw in NFL network today, I did The Insiders with our friend Patrick Claibon and watching all the insiders talk is they're saying, oh, Aaron Rogers doesn't care about like what we're saying about them. They don't care if we're all just waiting. It's like, he cares very much. That's exactly why he's doing it. That's the whole idea.

The show. On Netflix, about him is literally called Enigma. And at no point did he say, maybe we, really? Can I be a little more self-aware than calling a show about me, Enigma? All right, let's move on from Aaron Rogers. It's too much. I support that rant. Thank you.

I was interested to see Evan Ingram go to the Broncos two years. $16.5 million guaranteed. Might be a fallout from Juan Johnson of the Saints staying in New Orleans. believe joan johnson got better money than evan ingram i think that worked out well for denver i'm pretty sure sean payton wanted to bring in his old guy joan johnson to denver and the saints because they just didn't want to let their old guy sean payton get one over on him out spend him and now i think they end up with a better option and evan ingram who can basically be a slot receiver for you and that team needs some juice i know they've gotten better on defense but they need

a little juice they'll mostly get it in the draft but ingram adds some juice as a kind of detached tight in. Yeah, I mean, where they need the most juices in the running game, and this isn't going to fix that because Ingram is a small tight end, and that's been the knock on him since he came out of college. But he had had that Pro Bowl season with the Jacksonville Jaguars, and it was a fantastic production year for him. And then they took a step back, so he kind of faded into the background, which is what

explains why he's getting this money and why he was available at this point. But I kind of disagree with the assessment of him versus Joanne Johnson, because there are two different types of players. Johnson is a taller, bigger athletic tight end. Ingram is a smaller one. You can do more with Ingram, which might fit Sean Payton's offense in the way they like to get Bo Nix out on the move. But I don't know necessarily that if it were up to me

and the way I like to build a football team that are taking Johnson. Well, we need more disagreements on this show, frankly. And I think the simmering tension that is building between the two of us with the Cavaliers Celtics. Oh, yeah. There's a reason this hoodie I'm wearing is a little blind. March, and I don't want to hear from Nick's fans or anyone else in the Eastern Conference that thinks they're getting into that Eastern Conference finals, it's Cavseltz, and it's going

to be a difficult couple weeks here at the NFL daily, but that's months ahead. Let's talk about the NFL. Let's talk about DeAndre Hopkins. This happened after we taped our last show. He is a member of the Baltimore Ravens. I always remember that tweet he sent out. It was a picture of him and Lamar Jackson and Derek Henry. Like, imagine how much, you know, we could do if We were all together, and this was during COVID, I think it was five years ago. Now they are all together. It's not the same nuke that, you know, he used to be, but it's kind of the same Derek Henry that he used to be, and it's even better, Lamar Jackson.

So I like him trying to rebound from what was a pretty disappointing run as a member of the Kansas City Chiefs. Yeah, you know, he shows up and he makes some plays early and then disappears, and we've seen that with a number of in-season acquisitions. I'm not going to hold that against him because I still think that he's despite the age that he's at, which, you know, he's going into year 30, age 33 season. You know, he turns 33 in June. That's, you know, that's going to be a bit of knock on him, but I like the fit with this offense because I think what they lacked was a taller target not playing tight end.

And DeAndre is not, you know, Calvin Johnson. He's only 6'1, but he's still bigger than Zay Flowers, and he's probably around the same size, if not a little taller than Rashad Bateman. And I think that the fit and the style of play works well. Flowers is a speedy guy. He's catch and run master. Bateman can take the top off of defense. Hopkins still has fantastic hands,

even if he's lost half of a step or so in his career at this point in his journey. So I think the fit's great. I think it balances out their offense. It makes a ton of sense for me. As long as he can stay healthy, he doesn't have to be the guy. And he gives him another experienced player who can help them as they try to make the Super Bowl and finally get over this hump. And more great players should just chase rings at the end of their career.

DeAndre Hopkins has made enough money to do so, but I suspect he really prioritized getting with a team and a quarterback that would give him a chance because he's their number three or four receiver. They might add someone, but Bateman makes more money and is more important to them. Zay Flowers obviously is too,

but he is one of the great improvisers of his generation, DeAndre Hopkins. He's kind of the wide receiver, Travis Kelsey. He's running his own routes out there and he's making it happen and he made great magic with Kyle. Murray. And when I think about Lamar Jackson, obviously a great pocket quarterback, but also a great creative quarterback when the play breaks down. And that's where I think you'll see Hopkins's value

along with the Red Zone. They also released Marcus Williams, their safety, who was close to the top of my free agent board a few years ago. That was a signing that did not work out. They also released Arthur Millett, who was a slot cornerback for them. We're going to take a quick break and then we'll wrap up the news from yes this first day of the new league year hope you guys are getting down with your new league year parties 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, from college football prospects to the NFL stars of tomorrow. We break down the draft, analyze matchups, and evaluate how teams put it all together on game day. Plus, we dig in the coaching strategies, roster construction, and the trends that shape the league year after year. Whether you're a diehard fan or just love understanding the game on a deeper level, we give you the full. picture. If you want insight that goes beyond the box score, this podcast is for you. Don't miss it. Listen to the Move the Six podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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. What was that? Oh my. My. We think NFL coverage should be informative and entertaining. And twice a week, that is exactly what you're going to get. Listen NFL Cover Zero with Matt Jones and Drew Franklin on the IHeart 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.

I'm Marcus Grant. And I'm Michael Fiorio, and together we host the NFL. Fantasy Football Podcast. Ready to dominate your fantasy league this season? Then you need the NFL Fantasy Football Podcast, your ultimate source for player news, draft tips, and winning strategies. 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. It's Sicko's Week. You know, we'll, yeah, really, it is.

We'll do awards and we'll have fun segments and all that. But this week, this week is for the people that want Nick Shook's take on Levi-on-Wuzareke signing with the Lions. And you might say, and when I re-listen to the show sometimes, I'm like, you've got to say what position to he plays, some context. A defensive tackle, drafted pretty high by the Lions, second rounder four years ago. A lot of back problems, but I thought really played well. One of those guys that I might have ranked higher on my list, Nick, than the NFL viewed, because he ended up settling with the Lions for only $4.5 million. That might have been a medical issue reason, that people wanted to see his medical before really giving him a lot of money. But the Lions have

done a quietly good job actually bringing back a lot of their own players. What do you think? Yeah, the only surprise so far was that they got rid of Zadarius Smith. Otherwise, they're keeping most of that group intact, which big fan of. I think that they still need to make an addition on the front opposite Aidan Hutchinson. But overall, this works out for me. This is fine. And the money is, you're absolutely right. You talked about one disagreements. We're not going to get a disagreement here. This is a guy who has had some injury issues. It's cost him some money. But ultimately, he goes back to the team that he knows well. And they try to make another. they're running it. They're really deep

up front and they have been aggressive trying to basically solve a defensive line that's been a problem. Here are the players on their defensive line right now. Aiden Hutchinson is your starting edge. The second edge spot is definitely their biggest weakness. It's Josh Pascal. It's Marcus

Davenport. They need to add someone there. But in the middle, it's Onusarike. They sign Roy Lopez from Arizona. That's a signing we have not mentioned, but a typical lion, kind of a try-hard lunch pail type of guy who made some noise with the Cardinals. Alim McNeil is their star there. DJ Reeder is still on this roster. They drafted Mackay Wingo, who played a decent amount for them.

They brought back Derek Barnes, who's sort of a linebacker, but he's also an edge, maybe a little bit of a Zach Bond vibe with Derek Barnes. They have a lot of dudes up front. And I think anyone that thinks that the lions are taking a step back just because whatever, they're oh maybe they're super bowl window clothes like i don't buy it to me they are the favorites along with the eagles at least early and i know we got a while to go in this off season but i don't see why they wouldn't be the favorites and they had one of my favorite corners and dj reid a guy who i thought was lost in the shadow of sas gardner who's played really well in new york over the last few years

so yeah i agree i think they've done a great job this off season and yeah they have to deal with coordinator changes because they lost the coordinator's head coaching jobs but it's if you're gonna weather that you keep most of your guys intact and hope that you can run it back with you know largely the same group, make another edition in the draft, a few maybe, and, you know, line them back up. So a former lion, Kevin Zitler, who played well for them at Guard last year, raised his value, ended up getting $9 million from the Titans. Surprising move. They really have their offensive line totally locked up.

They have spent a ton of money between Dan Moore and Kevin Zitler and the draft picks that they have on their offensive line. But Brian Callahan, he's got a vision for it. that offensive line better be good because they basically invested their entire team between picks and money in making it good. We will see how that works. Let's talk a little quarterback backups here. Marcus Mariotta is back with the commanders,

didn't end up having a market elsewhere, got $8 million. So that's true backup money about the same that he got last year. I think he might have got a million dollar raise. He played great for them. So that's a no-brainer. Jonathan Jones, my NFL Daily buddy that joined us. You were with me on that interview, right, Shook? No, I was with you and Jonathan Taylor.

Okay, Jonathan Jones and Christian Gonzalez. They joined us on NFL Daily and... Oh, I was there. Oh, come on, bro. It was a former one. It was Malcolm Butler that I was there for. They're all Patriots. Okay, he joined the commanders too just while we're on commanders.

And then Jacoby Brissette is in Arizona Cardinal. I like that Jacoby Brissette move. We heard that they were going to invest in their backup and they got a good one in Jacoby Brisset behind Kyler Murray. Yeah, this time of the year, you see a lot of familiar connections rekindling when players move around. And this time, it's Brissette, an offensive coordinator, Drew Petzing, who was the

quarterback's coach in Cleveland when he started those 11, 12 games, that number. The first year that Deshaal Matson was there and was out due to suspension and did a pretty good job, was a locker room favorite, master of the quarterback sneak and kept the Browns competitive that season, and the Cardinals have a nice insurance policy for Kyler Murray. And if Kyler Murray struggles, like, they'll play Jacoby Brissette. The buzz around Arizona this offseason was strange that they wanted to invest a quarterback

and then they end up with Brissette. Obviously, he's not competing for the job. I just mean if Kyler Murray had an awful season, they would probably pull the rip corner. That's unlikely to happen. I think Kyler Murray is going to have a good season. But this signing also reminded me how quiet it's been in Arizona. I thought they were going to be one of the teams

that spent like crazy in free agency and we've heard that they were in on a lot. lot of these free agents and they didn't get very many of them. I know they signed Josh sweat, but since then, they have been quiet. I thought they'd be like the Patriots and the Jaguars and the Bears. I thought they'd be one of those teams that was just all over free agency and they really haven't been. I know their fan base is a little frustrated right now. Let's talk about the Jets who brought in Josh Myers, another guy who I might have rated a little too high in my free agency. I need to get like an offensive lineman consigliary who helps

me out because some of my offensive linemen that I went with, they got huge money, but in other hands, like, Josh Myers didn't get much cash. Kevin Jenkins is still out there. Meanwhile, Aaron Banks is getting $78 million. You're shaking your head at me, Shook. Well, I'm just saying, give me a call, man. Okay, would have you have told me not to rank Josh Myers in the top 50? Would have you?

I would have been in the top 50. I'd probably land in the back end of the top 50. I wouldn't put it off. I would feel fine if he was at 75 right now, but he would, he would. too high up. I think I had him in the 30s. He settles for one year, $3.5 million. I think the Jets have a good offensive line on paper, and I'm going to be interested

to see how their new coordinator, Tanner Engstrom, coaches it up because in Detroit, they certainly knew how to do that. He comes from Detroit and Myers could either start. He could be a swing guy. He could push their young guy, Joe Tipman, to guard, and he play center. We'll see. They also

released CJ Mosley, so that's a little surprising because it just came so late in the process, just happened a few hours ago you're shaking your head well i mean they've been they were waiting on releasing rogers as well so like it just seems to be that's the way they do business but mosley when it came to releasing him made a ton of sense because he never lived up to the contract that he signed with them he was never the guy that they thought they were getting when he left the ravens to go to the jets so they have better players and jamie sherwood's been a better linebacker and he got paid for

it so i i felt like this one was coming in fact mosley was one of those players where i was like wow he's still on that roster huh interesting i i i yeah i don't know what they're doing in terms of waiting to make these cuts or not. But, yeah, Mosley, ultimately they paid huge money to Jamie and Sherwood. That Mosley contract didn't age well. And this is how a new regime should run things. They should have their own vision. They should get rid of the guys that don't make sense from the previous regime.

It's the type of stuff we aren't seeing, for instance, in New Orleans. So to me, it does make sense. Let's go to Miami and just a couple little updates on the Dolphins. They signed Nick Westbrook Aquine, two years, $6.5 million. They brought back Tyrell Dodson, who played well for them at linebacker, former Bills player, two years, $8.5 million. They also signed James Daniels, who was a good guard for the Pittsburgh Steelers, but Tours Achilles last year, they gave him three years, $24 million.

That actually is a discounted rate. If he was out there fully healthy, I think he would have done really well in this market. And they also signed Ifay Milafanwu. So a lot of guys that were tough to pronounce, but I nailed it. I like that Nick Westberger-Kina signing because it wasn't much money. And they really could use a third receiver. He's been lost in the abyss that has been Tennessee. He's actually been a pretty productive player.

And if you look at their receiving core, after Waddle and Hill, it's been like, and it's kind of just been a rotating, you know, a revolving door. Like, if you look at their depth start now, they have a bunch of, like, potential guys. They have a bunch of speedsters or guys that, oh, maybe this guy will work out if he gets under the right coach, but they didn't have that solid number three or they just kept rotating between guys that they were giving shots to. So I like Westbrookina in here. I think he fits. He's a nice guy that you can depend on to make catches in key situations. He's never going to be a massive big play artist, but it's a good fit in this offense. I thought the dolphins would make more noise this offseason. Maybe with a Tyree kill trade, I'm not totally ruling that out. Is Westbrookickeena kind of a just a speedy option to replace him? No, but he is a speedy.

speedy option in general. Bradley Chubb's still on this roster. I just feel like they need more. Chris Greer, their GM, is very much on the hot seat. And he actually did a good job in free agency last year, kind of filling the holes without a lot of cap space. He's trying to thread that needle again. We'll see if he can do it.

We mentioned the Kyir-Elam trade, so he was a first-round pick of the bills that just did not work out. And the Cowboys are, you know, throwing a late-round pick for him to give him a shot. Not a big deal. They basically did the same with Kenneth Murray, who was another former first round pick. Originally with the Chargers, didn't really work out

for the Titans. Like, sure, but these moves, these low risk, low reward moves, it's just typical of this Cowboys offseason where they bring in Giovante Williams. Meanwhile, they watch Rico Dowdell, who to me is a better player, end up signing for the

Panthers with what I suspect is very similar money. I don't know. The cowboy, like, their selective aggression is quite selective. It's not very aggressive. I don't see any reason to think that they're going to be better unless they just really nail the draft. Yeah, I totally agree with you on letting Rico Dattle walk. I thought that was an ill-informed decision, especially after the year he had last year.

And replacing him with Williams, who is a guy who people loved at a college and loved when he first came into the league. And then it has been, you could say he's been saddled behind an offense that can't run the football well. Well, the running back has a lot to do with that as well. I think that's a downgrade as well. Interesting on the defensive side, though, because you're banking on DeMarvie and Oversone coming back healthy at some point, like Jack Sanborn's on this roster.

Their linebacking court is like a collection of guys that he's got potential here, but can we make it work here? I do like the Elam trade, though, just because it adds a little bit of depth at corner, and they've had injuries at corner over the last few years, whether it was Trayvon Diggs or Doran Blana. They've been caught kind of with their pants down.

They had to go trade for Andrew Booth last year just to fill another spot. So I like this move. It's somewhat proactive, but it's not aggressive. And for a second straight off season, yes, there's been some moves, but nothing big. And oftentimes when you win for a agency, you don't win on the field with the Cowboys.

Score one win, please, for your fans, at least. Matt Eberflus can coach up the secondary, but so can Sean McDermott. If Kyriellum couldn't get it done with a team that had all the investment in the world for him, I just doubt he's going to get it done. I know Eric is agreeing with me back there. All right, a couple more moves.

We'll just fly through these. DeMarcus Robinson got good money from the 49ers. Two years, $9.5 million. He had a nice couple seasons with the RAM So that that move makes sense For a team that needs a little bit of depth there The Titan signed Van Jefferson for a couple million dollars They added safety Xavier Woods

They gave $10 million over two years A.J. Dillon goes to the Eagles I mean, that's another big boy for the tush push. You're excited. I always have thought AJ Dylan could be a solid backup running back And the Eagles is the place to be a solid backup running back. They could use the power back and as long as he can keep his neck healthy,

he can be that guy for them. You don't have to give him a ton of carries to give him in short yard situations behind that offensive line. He could make a difference. And also, Greg, nerd alert here. This is me. It's a self-fulfilling prophecy

of when I was in a fantasy draft Lincoln Madden with a bunch of people from the network and A.J. Dylan was my power back with the Eagles. Okay. I love me some A.J. Dylan, especially in that role. That really wraps up the transactions that I wanted to get to.

As we're taping Cam Jordan our colleague, Nick, as part of the IHart NFL media podcast family, announced he's returning for the 2025 season was a little up in the air, whether he'd be back, whether the Saints would keep him. So the contract,

it looks like they're all good with that. And he's at 121.5 career sacks. I know he wants to get that number up even higher, help that Hall of Fame candidacy someday. And so, you know, one of the great longtime Saints will be back. Like so many other Saints, They're just running it back.

Also wanted to mention Patrick Mahomes and Chris Jones both restructured their contracts this week. And it freed up almost $50 million in cap space. So teams that want to spend as much as the chiefs do, and they are aggressive. They tried to make as many good moves this week as they absolutely could. This is why you can do it because you can always restructure your great players contract. They freed up $50 million in cap space. I know the salary cap, it's real, Nick, but it's less of it. a thing than ever. I'm actually just annoyed by the salary cap at this point. You know how the

Patriots that spent all this crazy money way more than any other team in free agency? You know how much cap space they still have like $90 million? What is the point of all that cap space after spending? It's just, I'm going to stop making this point at the end of this week because I've made it too many times, but it's annoying. It feels a lot like the tax code for the wealthy. They can just find loopholes everywhere just to exploit it to their advantage. And that's what the chiefs are doing. The rich get richer. Speaking of which, the Minnesota Vikings secondary,

it's rich in talent and in terms of players getting paid, Eric lets me know that Harrison Smith is officially returning for his 14th NFL season. His status was up in the year.

He gets $10 million with incentives up to 14. So I think they were renegotiating. He was not a free agent, I don't believe. But they figured out how to bring him back And man, that defense is awesome on paper.

I think he just loves playing football. And he's like, man, this defense and this coaching staff is too good to say goodbye to. Yeah, I thought that they might be in on a guy like Javon Holland if Smith were to walk away. Instead, he comes back. I think he probably feels like they have unfinished business. And as a bonus, another season's worth of coffee in the morning with Kevin O'Connell, which they love to do together. Okay.

Yeah, now that Cooper Cup and Matthew Stafford aren't getting their coffees, wasn't that a thing or breakfast together. Really, Harrison Smith and Kevin O'Connell taking over as the preeminent breakfast duo in the NFL. We're not leaving anything on the table this week. Great job by our friend, Nick Shuck. Appreciate you, man. I'm a pancake guy myself, Greg, since we're talking breakfast.

But this week, it's Wednesday. Dedicated to Waffles. Yes, we will be back on Thursday, tying up all those loose ends with my friend Patrick Claibon. Yeah, when I am convincing myself that Jacoby Brissette just found the perfect landing spot he's never looked better you know football's back hey everybody daniel jeremiah here and i'm bucky brooks on move to six we take you

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