NFL Daily with Gregg Rosenthal - Free Agency Frenzy Day 3: Hendrickson Lands In Baltimore, Daniel Jones Gets Paid and Fan Bases That Need to CALM DOWN

Episode Date: March 12, 2026

Gregg Rosenthal is joined by Colleen Wolfe and Steve Wyche to recap all of the action from day three of the Free Agency Frenzy. Trey Hendrickson lands in Baltimore after the Maxx Crosby trade fallout, the Colts got a deal done with Daniel Jones, Kyler Murray is officially on the market and may be headed to Minnesota and more! Plus, the crew tells you which fan bases need to CALM DOWN!NFL Daily YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/nflpodcastsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. I'm Daniel Jeremiah. And I am Greg Rosenthal. I know that, Greg. We're teaming up on 40s and free agents, the podcast that owns the NFL offseason. This is where teams are built.

Free agency, combine, pro days, trades. Every move matters. From my draft boards and mock drafts to my vaunted top 101 free agents and how rosters come together. Quarterback movement. Surprise signings. We'll tell you what it means.

And who really really. really wins. Open your free IHeart radio app. Search 40s and free agents and listen now. Welcome to NFL Daily where we would never back out of a trade agreement. I'm Greg Rosenthal here in the Chris Wesleying podcast studio with my friend Steve Weiss. Colleen Wolf is coming up a little later on the show. We have reached the new league year. We're here in the NFL. And like a lot of first days of the new league year, it's not as busy as the first day of the negotiating period on Monday. But, oh, Trey Hendrickson and the Ravens

gave us a good juicy piece of steak. We'll also get to some trades. A Cowboys trade happened just before we started taping. I like a lot of the moves the commanders are making. That's coming up later in the show. But let's get to the Trey Hendrickson, Max Crosby saga. When we last left off on NFL Daily, the trade was canceled.

We speculated, hmm, this looks pretty good for Trey Hendrickson. And it did wind up being. just that $60 million guaranteed, a four-year contract for Hendrickson. Let's start about just how Trey Hendrickson landed in Baltimore and how you think this all went down. Well, first off, he's got to pass the physical before the trade becomes official. Look, this is one where clearly Trey Hendonchen, I think the market was slow for him. And then all of a sudden, the Max Crosby deal gets voided in Baltimore because he fails a physical. Baltimore is like, oh man, okay, we get the draft pick.

We have him, you know, Hendrickson out there, and the market's not as juicy as maybe he thought it would be. So let's get him for $28 million a year, which is actually $2 million a year less than Max Crosby. So he's there at the same time. As good of a player as Hendrickson is, the way this all came about, that they agreed to the trade with Max Crosby.

They knew he was coming off of knee surgery. They got their imaging and saw some stuff that they didn't like, And they were like, we're not giving up two first-round draft picks, and we are going to get Trey Hendrickson instead. Let's listen to Eric DeCaston. We might listen to a couple of clips. But let's listen to him talk about the signing of Trey Hendrickson. And the notion, this was put out there by some of the reporting, too,

that they could have had both Trey Hendrickson and Max Crosby. In terms of Trey, I think, we came to a point probably after we lost Tyler, where, as we're trying to find the best way for us, to get better as a football team. Trey kind of made a lot of sense as a possible guy to look at. So we started some discussions with he and his agent, thinking that, you know, potentially we'd have two pass rushers on the defensive line on both sides of the line.

Again, I think it was disappointing, you know, to us, and probably in a way, you know, potentially disappointing probably to Trey as well. Basically, DeCosta was saying that when he wanted to, you know, potentially sign Trey Hendrickson, like he thought about, okay, we could potentially do both. But when I looked at the overall kind of timeline and how it went, and Mike Garifolo talked about this too, I think they're trying to have their cake and eating too. Like, they were in on Trey Hendrickson at one point, but they weren't necessarily.

going to go to the mat for him. And then once they find out that the Max Crosby thing is not going to work, okay, now let's get this deal done. Because it sounded like Trey Hendrickson wanted about $10 million more than he actually ended up getting. And I think the Ravens ended up making up the difference. And they were one of those teams that were in the mix at the lower end of the spectrum. Correct.

And you heard Eric Dacostas say when they lost in our Tyler Linderbaum, and they knew they had a little more cash to play with. And then when Max Crosby, when they avoided that trade, that's when they had the money to go get them. Now, the notion that they could get those two to play together, that's if Trey Hendrickson wanted to maybe come in on a one or two-year deal at a lesser number, which there's

no way he's going to do. This guy's who wanted to get paid his entire career. So this is just how it fell out. But I'm with you. I think this is the Ravens like, hey, we entertain the notion of doing this of these two playing together, but you know, it didn't quite work out because Wouldn't you rather have Trey Hendrickson

and the two first round picks than Max Crosby? It really all depends. Look, Max Crosby is a great great player. A great player against the run. People don't talk enough about how good of a run defender he is. It's a big drop off to Trey Hendrickson. And in that scheme that

Jesse Minter is going to play that as a significant role. So I think Max, plus Max mainly plays on the left side. Trey is almost exclusively on the right side. Now there's not so much schematic differences, but you design pressure is different. And so I don't know, man. I'm a big Max Crosby guy.

He is such a disruptive player. Well, you know who else is a big Max Crosby guy that too? I think Eric Dacosta, if he was acting on Wednesday when he met the media of how disappointed he was and saying how, look, this is not the result we wanted. We're hearing reports, you know, from Ian and whatnot. It's like, look, Max Crosby is one of their, like, his favorite players. I would believe that. I kind of believe it too. Let's actually listen to Eric Dacosta talk about, you know, some of the skepticism around the NFL, including on our network, about what the Ravens have been doing.

again, I understand how people might, maybe from the far would feel that way. But nobody's more upset about this than me, gutted by it, actually. And so I regret, a big regret for me. But we will move on as a football team. And I think there's many, many opportunities for us to grow as a team, to become a better team, to build the roster, and to be the team that we want to be. Yeah, I'm with you. I think they really wanted them. The fact that they were going to offer up two first-round draft picks,

something they've never done for this type of crew. Like what are the conspiracy theories really think the Ravens were trying to do here? That basically they just changed their mind because they realized Trey Hendrickson was available. Trey Hendrickson was available the whole time. They could have paid Trey Hendrickson $28 million year the whole time and they could have had him. I think they got to look at those scans and it's only a couple months out from surgery and they could have gotten that physical maybe done a little faster. They agreed to that trade on Friday.

Like why wasn't he there faster? And he's a guy who I saw the stats and it was the most. and it was the most snaps played in the NFL since 2019. And it was him and Byron Murphy. Byron Murphy was a cornerback way ahead of the pack, way ahead of any defensive lineman. And he's coming off a torn meniscus surgery. And maybe they saw some stuff that's like, I don't know.

One thing to add to that, and this is not being talked about enough. Again, we don't know if it factors into it. Remember, before last season, he had surgery on his ankle on the same leg. So maybe there was some residual. something that they saw in there from both of those. Now, Max played his tail off last year coming off that ankle surgery, so maybe not, but they're clearly with something in that imaging. And to go back to what you were saying about the physical part,

what people don't understand is these guys just don't go into a team facility when they get traded or a free agency and get examined there. They may show up, meet people, and then they go to an off-site facility to get examined. So maybe they couldn't get the physical done because the doctor wasn't available or the person was not available to do that imaging. There's so many fascinating. Yeah. I could talk about this for 20 minutes. I think we will.

They got a quote, and by they, I should be specific. Adam Schaefter got a quote by the surgeon. Oh, Neil Eletrae. Who looked at it. Whose doctors take care of my shoulders, by the way. How are they doing? Not good. Oh, well, that's not a good advertisement for them.

Got to get a report. That's unfortunate. You know, people don't know. Steve was an ex-player. You were getting it done. That's a high school level, the college level a little bit. I was a practice player in college. Okay, okay.

The quote from him was much more understanding of the Ravens situation than a lot of the conspiracy theorists. Here's, I'm just going to read a little part of it. He said, we truly respect the work the Raven staff did regarding his physical exam. We understand the challenge the staff faced when tasked to provide a future assessment. This is especially challenging when dealing with an elite player like Max, considering the level of commitment necessary for a team to obtain it. It keeps going. The timing of the assessments, unfortunately. because the risk will lessen as the recovery progresses and he can return to his performance.

And then it goes on from there. But how I read that is like, yeah, it's not looking great necessarily right now. It's pretty soon after the surgery. And we actually respect from a medical point of view why you would have some questions right now, which is why our guy Ian Rappaport was on this very show late last month saying, I don't know if this trade is going to happen until he gets better because this was a real deal serious surgery. And so I don't know if the Raiders made it sound like things were better off than they

were, but I find it really interesting that there's reporting from our Jane Slater that the Ravens actually tried to renegotiate this trade at a certain point talking about, well, look, after seeing what we saw, maybe we can just change the terms here a little bit. And that was kind of floating out there. And then they reportedly came back to the Raiders and were like, Actually, no, like, we're just out now because of everything that we know. Look, this is not the first time a player has been flunked on a physical. And, you know, this is because Max Crosby is such a superstar and such a great player.

But it happens all the time where teams will approve, their doctors will approve a physical to an injured player, a player coming off of surgery, because they trust their medical staff to be able to get maybe this player, we can get this guy through four years, we can get this guy through this injury. let's just make sure we have the proper plan. Clearly, again, what they saw was alarming enough because the Ravens have a very reputable medical staff. And so for them to say, yeah, we don't know. That's why I'm kind of like when people are like,

other teams will come in and trade for Max Crosby. I'm like, the Ravens has put out here, he's damaged goods, man. So if you're going to trade for him, understand what you might be getting. I'm a big believer that Max Crosby is going to come back and play next season to be great. Right. That's the thing is in the end, like,

there's a good chance that he's going to, play very well because he's been playing through a lot of these injuries and playing very well because he's Max Krosby. But I just, to me, just the level of outrage and just so many people are so mad about this. It's just like a team changed his mind based on new information. It's fine. Of all the things that I've seen our media get mad about it, everyone was fine with the entire league colluding against Lamar Jackson and the entire league fighting each other to give Lohshaun Watson, who's a serial sexual assaulter. the biggest contract in NFL history.

Like, no one really cared about that, but everyone's mad that the Ravens changed their mind. Well, here's, and the, like, calm down. Well, let's go to the prelude to that. How pissed were Raiders fans that they traded Max Crosby? They were livid. They were livid. And now that they're getting him back, they're ultra-livid because they're not getting two first-round picks this year to go with Fernando Mendoza after their teams done a great job of stacking the roster in free agency.

You can't have it both ways. And if Max Crosby comes back to this team with the players that they got, they are a significantly better team. You want 98. And so you know who I think was mad? The teams that didn't get Max Crosby, not Max Crosby, the teams that they didn't get Trey Hendrickson. We got reporting on NFL Network that the Colts were heavy in on him,

that the Colts were kind of the leader in the clubhouse and they saw them. And so when you're seeing these reports, oh, people around the league are mad. There's a GM who says it's PS. Well, maybe it's the, it's the GM that just lost out on Trey Hendrickson. and it's entirely self-interested. The Eagles are reportedly in, or they were reportedly in on Trey Hendrickson, at least getting in at the last second.

They might also be in on Jonathan Grinard. So they're upset because it's hurting their own personal interest. And they lost Jalen Phillips. Right. And you know who else is upset? Max Crosby. Mike Garifolo says that he was absolutely furious. We actually have a graphic of Max Crosby on Instagram,

and that was him coming back the night before. four where he's he's got uh you know looks like a private he's on the PJ oh yeah he's on the PJ the kid called the PJ called the PJ we're not kids private jet everything's an acronym I mean but he doesn't own that he's like a you sure about that he's just buying that the net jets I mean I know mark davis isn't sending him a private jet to pick him back up at this point yeah I mean maybe that was the Ravens private jet actually saying hey look for for everything you're going look he's going to be pissed because he's disappointed because I'm sure he didn't love the fact that for everything that suppose he went down at the Raiders. He loved the fact that he

probably didn't love the fact that he was leaving. He loves that organization. He loves that community. But then all of a sudden, he gets this imaging. He's all excited. He's posted pictures from the inner harbor from his hotel room. I know exactly where he's staying because I've stayed in that same hotel and have the same views. Thinking he's getting ready to go, hey, this is the closest I'm going to be to get

into a Super Bowl. I'm going from the Baltimore Ravens. And now they're telling me my body is the reason why I'm not going through. And it's a sure he's... And it's a feeling of rejection. So I'm glad you brought up the potential trade coming up. Now, initially, and I saw this from Diana Rossini, and I've seen it kind of intimated from our network,

you know, the Raiders are not changing their price tag for Max Crosby, that they still want to first for now. Good for them. They're not going to get it. No. And I still believe he will be traded. The only thing I'm backing off of is that it's going to happen soon. It still wouldn't surprise me if he gets traded for a first.

round pick later this week, maybe a first than a late round pick, something like that. Because at this point, but if you're the Raiders, maybe you don't rush it, maybe you wait till he's getting healthy again, and that this trade happens down the line. In the end, even though they can fit him under the salary cap, I think he'll be more valuable to another team. And I expect him to have a plenty good market, just not a two-first market. And I do think he'll get dealt. Or if you just wait to the summer, you deal these for 27 picks.

Right. I mean, that's another thing that you have to look at. Because remember one of the Ravens picks was a 27 pick. It wasn't. There was one this year and one next year. They weren't both this year. So we talk about the Raiders having two first-round picks. One is their own, and one was the Ravens, not two. So hold on to the first-round picks and stack them for future years.

You know what's fascinating is that the Cowboys, you know, Team Doctor was what is the guy who examined him. And then immediately afterwards, we heard actually the Cowboys are out now. They're out. And they're saying it's because they got Rishon Gary. Rishon Gary's no Max Crosby. And you could have both. Or you could get out of Rishon Gary. I'm not going with the medical part about it.

You know, Jane Slater and all the people with the Cowboys are talking about, we're not giving up two first round picks. But they were willing to give up a first and supposedly like another pick and a player. I feel like if the Cowboys were willing to do that before that the Raider, that they should have been willing to do it after. And so maybe it's because of their medical information. Before we move on from this, I just wanted to point out, you know, I wish I was on live with Claybon on NFL Network when this happened because he's a Ravens guy. And actually, I think he told me, I don't think he would mind me betraying this.

He'd rather have Trey Hendrickson in the first round pick. He's a big Trey Hendrickson guy. And I think the Ravens agreed with him, in the end. Well, see, it's easy to say now, though, because you keep the first round pick. You've got to replace your center, right? Tyler Lindelbaum's going, they've lost so many pieces now. They lost Isaiah likely. They've lost some good players.

So now you want that first round pick so you can fortify the roster that has been depleted. Glad you mentioned that. That part. This Raiders team looks much better than when Max Crosby was last on it. And they could afford to keep them. So who knows, if ever there was a relationship that could maybe come back together, that would be compelling, although I still think he'll be an ex, an ex-rater before the start of the season. but if you look at what the Ravens need right now,

they just lost their center. Yep. A huge hole right there. I mean, according to Eric DeCasta, they were ready to sign Trey Hendrickson and Max Crosby. So you could use another edge. You're telling us that you're not too happy with your edge group right now. They drafted Mike Green last year.

Remember, he was supposed to be the stud. You got a big hole. You got no Max Crosby there. They lost Isaiah likely from a group that I thought didn't have enough weapons in terms of catching the football. Agreed. already so they could use a wide receiver. Those are big neat.

They did sign Jalen Hawkins from the station. Defon Diggs is still out there too. And he's from that area. I think Stefan Diggs would be a beast on that team. That I could totally imagine. He's from the DMV too. Happening. Wow.

Okay. They also signed that Chidoby Awuzi. So they did a re-sign him at cornerback. And they restructured Lamar Jackson's contract. Acosta said that they're still hoping to extend Lamar Jackson, but they ran out of time with the new league year starting. He doesn't think the restructure will get in the way of potentially extending Lamar Jackson. Wow, that was a lot.

Let's get to the rest of the day. But first, let's take a little bit of break here on YouTube and on the NFL channel. If you're watching us on YouTube, we'll be back in just a couple of minutes. I'm Luke Wilson. Join me each week for Film Never Lies. Since retiring from the NFL, I've had a lot of my mind, and now got my own show. So if you're tired of lazy takes, if you want honest conversations, join us each week. Film Never Lies, available on all TSN platforms in the IHeartRadio app.

I'm Daniel Jeremiah. And I'm Greg Rosenthal. And this is 40s and free agents. The games may be over, but the NFL never stopped. This is my favorite part of the calendar. Yeah, mine too, Greg, free agency, the combine, the NFL draft, pro days, trades. This is where teams reshape their future. This is where Daniel Jeremiah makes his money.

On 40s and free agents, we break down every move that actually matters. From my draft evaluations, mock drafts, and team fits, to my top 101 free agents and how real rosters are built, cap space, contracts, and all the tough decisions included. You got quarterbacks on the move? We got teams rebuilding. It's hope season. Yeah, absolutely. It's hope season.

We'll tell you what's real, what's noise, and what it means for your favorite team. Smart analysis, real conversations every week. I don't know about the smart, but definitely analysis. Listen to 40s and free agents on the I-Hawks. part radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Back on NFL Daily, we completed our biggest acquisition of the season during the break. We've negotiated with ESPN slash NFL Network to get Colleen Wolf for the rest of the show. Hello.

A new league year acquisition too. Yeah. Happy New Year. This is an ultimate Colleen Day here. Oh, you have no idea. How much can I reveal about it? Please, I'm an open book. It's fine.

Email was shut down because you had 17 different workplace video safeties. I was behind on my compliance. And the one that triggered it was called Who Works Here? And I was like, well, I don't know the answer, actually, guys, if we're being honest. But yeah. You're dealing with that Uber accident that's been in the mix. That was something. And then more importantly, yeah, you're driving through like Mario Kart trying to get in.

through the closed streets outside. So it's all happening. I drove through construction cones to get to you guys. So you're welcome. We love Colleen whenever he arrived. They're getting the road ready for the World Cup. Let's go. Or ESPN.

Hopefully Kyler Murray's, you know, trip to Minnesota, not as tricky for him. He is going to the Vikings, but it doesn't mean he's necessarily signing there. He is visiting the Minnesota Vikings to take a physical, which we've learned is an important part of the signing procedures.

And according to our insiders, they are, you know, the favorites to land Kyler Murray. This is very important for G.G. McCarthy, for the Minnesota Vikings and for me, because if Kyler Murray goes to the Vikings, I'm probably winning that matchmaker game that we did last week. But we'll see. What do you think about Kyler Murray going to the Vikings? And also the reporting saying, like, he still wants to listen to whoever else might be calling and anything else that's out there?

I feel like that is just kind of like an extra little add-on because it's from the very beginning, this is the fit that makes the most sense, I think, for Kyler Murray and for the Vikings. J.J. McCarthy might not think so. But I think that this also obviously signifies the Vikings moving on from any potential reunion with her cousins. And it's just, I think that Justin Jefferson

will be happy about this potentially. Oh, will you ever. Because I think. A guy that can throw to the outside. Yeah, exactly. So Kyler Murray, I think, has a really good shot at winning the job. If he's, I mean, who else is he listening to? Saskatchewan, the Ruff Riders.

Okay. Well, when I mentioned the Matchmaker game in Jordan, hello, I know she's going to be listening at some point. She's a big NFL daily listener. We need it. She threw out the Rams as a potential. He's not starting for the Rams. Yeah, but if when I heard that like, well, he wants to listen to see what's out there. what's right for him.

She's not just putting that on the show out of nowhere. Oh. And so if you're Kyler Murray, and we haven't heard any reporting elsewhere about the Rams, but if you're Kyler Murray, if let's say either Andy Reid or Sean McVeigh calls and says, hey, we have these two different situations. You can kind of take a step back for a year.

You can go through our almost quarterback school. You could win some games for the Chiefs. You might end up playing for the Rams. You might not. But either way, you'll learn the system that the whole league is running. That's something to consider. And the Chiefs do need a backup quarterback since Gardner Minshu is now in Arizona.

So I get that. That's not a bad idea, but if you want it to start. Yeah, the problem is Kevin O'Connell gives you a lot of that too. That's the system and nobody like quarterbacks just, I don't know what Kevin O'Connell does. It's worked for Daniel Jones and it's worked for Sam Darnold, the two biggest reclamation projects going through there. I mean, people get with Kevin O'Connell and they do. just swoon. Like, quarterback, they just want to go there.

Caleb Williams talked about it in that Seth Wicker Shame book that, like, he just was hoping. He knew he wasn't going to go to Minnesota, but he just wanted to go to Minnesota because that's kind of like he's the quarterback guy. Well, then I feel like this is, as long as he passes his physical, which there should be no issues,

I would think. How good is this team? He's got the list frank. He's got the four. Like, they won nine games a year ago with pretty poor quarterback play. They won 14 games the year before with, you know. And they weren't just hurt by quote.

quarterback play. Their offensive line was decimated. Christian Daryosol was out of the lineup. They had some issues on the offensive line in terms of just durability, injury issues, but they're still a really good football team. Their defense is going to keep them in game. What do you think his ceiling is, Kyler, with the Viking? I think he's fantastic. I've seen, I have seen Kyler Murray play so many times live, and I am a big Kyler Murray guy. That's the thing is, I think a coach like McHawkerle or Sean McVeigh or Andy Reid, like, sees him at his best and see, man, if I could get a hold of that, because I'll answer my own question in terms of like, what's this, like, where, where would

you put them in the hierarchy? Like, yeah, I think they can go to the NFC championship game. I think they can be a contender. Because if they were that good with Sam Darnold, I think Kyler Murray has a chance to provide that level, level of play. The lions, you mentioned, you're not happy with how they're offseason's going. Well, I mean, they just haven't been able to get people, but I mean, there's such big believers in, you know, draft and develop. Like, we're looking at a video of Kyle Murray right now. People like, okay, he's small and he runs around. When you see that ball leave his hand, okay, there are five or six guys when you look at throw the ball,

and you're just like, okay, pretty. They're different. That ball leaves their hand. I mean, Stafford, something, that ball leaves their hand different. He is one of those guys. It's a boom when it leaves his hand. And Colleen mentioned Kirk Cousins, you know, that's not going to happen. It sounds like in Minnesota. There really hasn't been the interest there. There was some interest in Geno Smith from Minnesota, but he's obviously with the Jets. There was a report by the athletic Diana Rossini that the Raiders are interested in Kirk Cousins and that he might end up going there to be, you know, presumably Fernando Mendoza's backup or, you know, short-term starter before Mendoza's ready to go.

Let's go to a quarterback who's been near and dear to Colleen's heart, the team of Colleen Wolf. The Indianapolis Colts, in the end, they did kind of what we said they were going to do, which was get Alec Pierce and Daniel Jones to stay. day and now Daniel Jones has a two-year contract. The details are very interesting, Colleen. It's a two-year contract for about $88 million. About $50 million is guaranteed total. And 60 for injury.

When I hear $50 million fully guaranteed, it kind of sounds like a one-year deal where like if everything went horribly, and I wouldn't want that to happen, but for him and or the Colts, like I feel like that organization is on a one year deal, but if it goes well, then they got him for two years and they can give them another contract

if they want to be the long-term guy. And so, like, with a lot of these moves, I'm looking at what the move signifies to in terms of like the other guys on the roster and automatically my mind goes to Anthony Richardson. And what that, what this says to everyone about Anthony Richardson and where they are with him

because I know that they were talking about, potentially trading him and what that could look like. But you know where I am with Daniel Jones. I love Daniel Jones. I want him to be the Sam Darnold. He was the Sam Darnold of last year. And then everything sort of collapsed. But I know that they are,

I don't want to say that they're living in the past. I think that they saw the success that they had in the first half of last season. And I think they know that they have so much talent on that roster. And they could do it again potentially. and maybe they're just trying to run it back to see how close they can get. Right, but they're running it back with a guy that has a torn Achilles tendon

and they don't have Michael Pittman anymore and they tried to get Trey Hendrickson and instead they signed Michael Clemens. Fair. I just, I did a whole segment. Would you send that out? I'm thinking about sending that out on social, but it's basically saying,

negging their whole season, you know, like, oh yeah, are we workshopping your social? I'm just saying like it's pretty negative for the first day after free agency to be like, It doesn't sound like that great a plan. And then I get some comments of like, yeah, well, Jason Tate was playing already. It's like, okay, but that's 10 months after his injury. We're hearing he's going to, like, Daniel Jones is going to be ready for week one.

Like, you don't know that. You don't know that, but. It was December. I mean, this is clearly, when you talk about some of those guarantees, there's clearly some triggers in there that trigger the guarantees. But I don't think they're rolling their dice like this, you know, if they don't think he's going to come back. I don't think Alex Pierce resigns if he doesn't think his buddy, Daniel Jones. Jones is coming back.

So I think all of that factored into it. And, you know, I just think they feel that, okay, some of the guys who are Franklin guys like this, we've got guys on our roster who we think can play. There's still some other players out there we can get and we can draft. Okay, so that's, you know, that's what they feel like. They're in a division where they've seen Jacksonville take a lot of personnel losses in free agency so that maybe they feel they can get right back there. Remember, we were talking about the Colts being the Super Bowl team halfway through the season.

Right. I know, but there is something Danny Hyphitz pointed out in the Ringer fantasy show of just like, there's almost something a little sad that they're just like, we gotta, we gotta run this back because this was the best run that the entire Chris Ballard era had. It worked so well. I know, but they still finished.

They still finished eight in nine last year. Like they didn't win a single game after he got hurt and they started losing even before, I don't know. I just think it's a high bar to reach. Let's listen to Daniel Jones. Maybe he can perk me up. He was on ESPN. He brings that smoke to perk you up.

Okay, haven't heard this one yet. Let's hear him on ESPN earlier today. I wanted to be back and glad we got it figured out. I didn't, the transition tag, that whole process was, was interesting, but I always wanted to be here and, you know, had faith it would work out. So, yeah, definitely appreciative, grateful and fired up to be here. We got a special thing going and working with this coaching staff,

working with the guys in the locker room and fired up to get Alec back and all that. looking forward to it. Come on down Riley Leonard. Yeah, no, that made me feel a little better. I mean, how do you feel? I mean, because I just feel like they got to get, they got to get out to a fast start. It's going to be tricky.

I thought they might do something at quarterback, and it's been quiet there. Like, how do you feel about Riley Leonard holding the fort until? Well, that's, I feel like that's a different story. Like, I have a lot more confidence in Daniel Jones, but I think that we just have to wait to see where he is. in his rehab. And obviously there's a lot of questions

that are going to have to be answered this offseason and training camp and preseason too. I like that. I take, you know, Colleen gets right off the street. She's ready.

And then just, I'm just like putting her on the hot seat. I know. I still have my lanyard on. Like, I mean, the 49ers have traded for Osa Odigizua from the Cowboys for a 2026 third round pick.

This started bubbling up a little earlier in the week. I mean, this is a big time. player who they gave a quote unquote $100 million contract to is earning a little over $20 million, a pocket pushing defensive tackle and it helps, you know, the

team get some more draft picks. Solomon Thomas also was traded to the Titans in a swap of seventh round picks from the Cowboys. But the Odigizua move is big for San Francisco and it's interesting because Dallas is like trying to get picks back. It's very confusing because they have the extra

first round pick from the Micah Parsons deal, but you kind of forget, oh yeah, they gave up all those picks for Quentin and for George Pickin. So they didn't have many picks after that. I don't really know what the plan is here. Like the defense keeps changing. Christian Parker is the defensive coordinator. So maybe Odigizua didn't fit as well.

But that's a big time acquisition to be paying that much money if you're the 49th. Clearly, it's a cap move for Dallas as well. Kind of clear some salary off their roster. But look, San Francisco, Rahim Morris is now the defensive coordinator. We know he likes those hyper athletic defensive tackles. Gap type defensive tackles. He fits what they want to do. Now, Nick Bosa is coming back,

but they've got to get something on Mikel Williams. They've got to continue to develop some guys on that defensive front. But this is something where they clearly, like, we've got to be better against the run. Fred Warner's coming back off of an injury. I know they've got D-winners and, you know, they're at one of the linebacker spots. I would not be surprised

if Greg Greenlaw, who was let go by Denver comes back to play the linebacker spot there. But this is a nice pickup of what Rahim Morris. wants to do with his defense. Yeah, and he rarely missed time. Yeah. This is a player.

So he's durable. He's consistent. You can rely on him. And you talk about some of the guys that are now there in San Francisco, including Matt Iberfluse, who comes over from Dallas to the 49ers. Good call. You're always connecting the coaches. It's sort of my lane.

I like to do that. But that sort of makes some sense, too. We're spending a lot of money in terms of, like, defensive tackles in Dallas, Kenny, Clark, Quinn, and William. Right. And then O'Digizuo was kind of in the old scheme. And I thought San Francisco was going to be like the sneaky, super aggressive win now team in this free agency period. And I don't think they got everything that they've wanted necessarily.

I think they were a good Y receiver. You know, they were in on Alec Pierce and then they wind up convincing Mike Evans to come instead for very little money. Trent Williams still on the roster. I don't know if that's going to change. Don't figure that out. I knew they needed some pass rush help. So I'm just thinking edge, edge. But instead it ends up being kind of an interior move and giving up a third round pick.

That's a real pick. Yeah, the real pick. That NFC West just feels like it's absolutely. It's an arms race, man. It is an arms race. What's going on out there? Let's talk about the commanders making moves. And they were the team I talked about at a certain point on Wednesday, March 11th here,

first day of the new league year. Like, there were the two highest guys on my top 101 were Kyler Murray, who just became a free agent on Wednesday. And then Rashid Walker, the tackle from the Packers. The next three on the list, which were like between 30, I think, and 35, were Caleb on Chase him. Commanders took him for a one-year contract, $12 million, edge rusher. Then it was tight end Chigo Conquo.

They signed him for about $9 million, I think, base salary on a three-year contract. I like that move. And then the next guy on the list, the highest defensive player remaining, was Nick Cross. And they pick him off for a low-cost deal. and I'm just thinking like oh yeah I forgot Leo Chanel by the way is there too

and they got him and they got to meet Robinson too Robertson the corner that was like a little earlier but in terms of what happened Wednesday they were just like picking off my guys so I feel like I could be a consultant as we're taping this when the league year started there was only two in the top 42 players that's never happened before

free agency is just like moves faster than ever that there's only two out of a top 40 but what do you think about the commanders in your division I mean, first of all. You are an eagle. Making smart moves. I'm kind of in, I wasn't sure about the Adaféi-O-A-Wi move.

It was a lot of money. A lot of money. Man, they have added a lot of pretty good defensive players in El Concoe for, like, guys who are in the middle of their careers instead of at the end of it. Well, just to put some context into the way that free agency is moving right now, Steve and I were on a show Monday, and it was the second half of the right after the legal. tampering period window opened. And we're sitting in a production meeting trying to go through what the show would look like. We were going to be on for four hours. And as we would start one topic, it was just like moves were rolling in left and right. Everything was changing so fast. And the commanders

were so quiet during that first day. But they made up for it. And I like that they, as Colleen the analyst here, I like that they focused on, defense, which was obviously a major liability for them during the season. And they had all of this cap space. So they were able to make these signings and have the flexibility. As Colleen, the Eagles fan, I hate it. I hate it all. And it's guys like in their 20s.

It's athletic. And I think it's really interesting. Durante Jones is the new defensive coordinator. He comes from Brian Flores. And, you know, you wonder, is it going to be Dan Quinn's defense or is it going to be Durante Jones? Well, I can just see Nick Cross and Leo Chen. specifically in that Brian Flores type of defense,

just jackknifing and making some big run stuff. And Leo Chanel rushing the passer from the linebacker position, it could be fun. Well, look, they've got to get some guys you can win. Last year when they went to free agency, like you mentioned earlier, they wouldn't got guys like win now. We've got to get defensive front guys who can win on first down, right? They couldn't stop the run the year before when they went to the NOSC championship.

That did not work out. And because they were slow up front, their pursuit angles were terrible on the back. And they got hit for big run after big run. So now getting guys like Jason who can run. Oh, way, he was super athletic, right? You get Tim Settle from Houston. Forget that's a guy who can reset the line of scrimmage. He's going to rotate in there with Javon Kinlaw, who they love.

And I love Nick Cross. I mean, I think he gives them an awful lot at that strong kind of hybrid safety spot. So we'll see because Durante Jones, he is a secondary coach by nature, but he's an aggressive guy. He's one of those guys who's on the fast track on the way up and a lot of people's eyes as well. So it's a wait and see. But I think Chanel and Frankie Louvo

just adds significant athletic as that interior linebacker court. To me, they're the most like Patriot Blake of an off season where they just have a ton of starters. They got a hit on it, but I just mean from last year where they just got a lot of players who were going to play. I think the one big miss aside from Alec Pierce would be not getting Tyler Linderbaum

because of losing Palliades. That's a huge, huge part of the offensive line. And they end up spending it, which I think was smart. I like the middle tier of this free agency group. They didn't have to spend too much on Chase on. So they got two new edge starters and him in Oway.

They got a new linebacker and Chanel. They got crossed. That center thing is big. Yeah. Biotish and Jayden Dan. I think they're going to elevate Nick Allegretti, who was there and played a couple games at the end of last season. Allegretti.

At the end of last season. Super Bowl winner, right? They also might be adding Brandon Ayyuk, by the way. I think he's officially expected to get cut. Maybe he's not going to solve their wide receiver situation, but it might be like a one-year type of prove-it deal. While we're talking commanders, Leo Chanel was part of something I just wanted to talk about a little bit,

which were these messages on social media in which I think, I don't know for sure, but I think the players are using AI to write it. If you're watching on YouTube or the NFL channel, you can see the image from Leo Chanel. And it just looks very similar to a couple of the images that I saw early in the week, especially the Zaire Franklin and then the Rashaun Gary one that he deleted. Now, if you read these closely, and you guys can do this in your homework, your off time, especially the Chanel and Roshan Gary ones, they really include no information that is particular,

to them. You know what I mean? Like it just could be any chiefs player or almost any Packers player. And it just feels like either their agency or they are using AI to construct a goodbye letter. They are. All you have to do is look at the transfer portal exits. Yes. When all these collegiate players hit the transfer portal, there's a million of them and they all. No. This is like such a trigger for me because I've gotten a few emails recently with pitches for things or like treatments for like shows or ideas. And it's so clearly AI that there wasn't even the thought to go through and like read it because the words are running together.

Things don't make sense. I'm like, guys. I mean, the Rishan Gary one said something like, wherever I go, I'll, you know, bring my six foot seven, 250 pounds. Goodbye, Rishon Gary. Nobody talks like that. To quote one of the greatest NFL network employees of all time, like we're losing recipes.

It is not great. And we're wallying ourselves. Do you remember the movie Wally? Oh, yeah. It's happening. Don't let that happen. Better than I robot at this stage. It was really telling.

Before we break, I'll just mention it. Be smarter, everybody. Yeah, please. Aaron Jones, by the way, we mentioned he was going to get cut, is going to stay with the Vikings after all on a reduced contract. I think that's great for. both sides. And Harrison Smith is getting released in a procedural move. He hasn't decided whether he wants to retire or not. The lines of communication are open. And if he chooses to play

still in 2026, he could come back. But I like Aaron Jones returning to the Vikings. Let's take another break here. And we will be back in just a couple minutes. Stick with us. I'm Luke Wilson. Join me each week for Film Never Lies. Since retiring from the NFL, I've had a lot of my mind and now got my own show. So if you're tired of lazy takes, if you want honest conversations, join us each week. Film Never Lies, available on all TSN platforms in the IHeartRadio app.

I'm Daniel Jeremiah. And I'm Greg Rosenthal. And this is 40s and free agents. The games may be over, but the NFL never stopped. This is my favorite part of the calendar. Yeah, mine too, Greg. Free agency, the Combine, the NFL draft Pro Days, trades. This is where teams

reshape their future. This is where Daniel Jeremiah makes his money. On 40s and free agents, we break down every move that actually matters. From my draft evaluations, mock drafts, and team fits to my top 101 free agents and how real rosters are built, cap space, contracts, and all the tough decisions included. You got quarterbacks on the move? We got teams rebuilding its hope season. Yeah, absolutely. It's hope season. We'll tell you what's real, what's noise, and what it means for your favorite team. Smart analysis, real conversations every week. I don't know about the smart, but definitely analysis.

Listen to 40s and free agents on the IHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Let's rip through just a few other news items. But I do want to confirm the email. Is it back? I don't know. I'm working on it. All right, Greg, everyone's working on it. I was thinking, and there's no way HR is listening.

I was thinking it would be great in the future because some of these are hard. I could pay my son to do the HR requirements. for me at home. It's like a, be like an allowance. You, someone else that's me. You should get kids because it's super fun to do the ninjis for your children. Do that. Nothing on an open bike.

A couple other moves. And I'm just going to ask you for one liners on a couple of these. Devon Hargrave goes to the Green Bay Packers. I'm really surprised that he got $13 million guaranteed two years for 23. He's in the salary Hall of Fame. And they needed a detackle. Javon's a good run stuff. So the Vikings cut him.

He goes right to Green Bay. Bradley Chubb got $29 million guaranteed from the bills three years, $52 million. They're a team. I was going to call you Jordan. Colleen, just so used to it. You know, she's here a lot. We need to hear more. I love them.

So I will take that as a compliment. Like, I don't know. Like Bradley Chub's coming out. He's had a lot of injuries in his career. They have a lot of holes to fill. So in not a lot of cap space to spend this much money on Bradley Chub seems like a lot. That's a lot, but I mean, he would start, what, opposite Greg Rousseau, and it's going to be a new defense. They're changing base systems.

So there's kind of a lot in flux, but I think it's sort of, it's similar to the schemes that he played in Miami previously and Denver. So that could help. Well, and yeah, they got the coach from Denver. Yeah. So there's. Yeah, Jim. She did it again. She did it again.

The Patriots have signed Kevin Bayard up to $9 million. Not sure what the real money is. but an interesting older edition. Yeah, but I'm surprised that the bears let him go. I am too, but, you know, it's going to make that defense a little slower, but kind of like a leader. Well, yeah, he'll stabilize some things in the back end. They cut Anthony Jennings, who's been there a long time.

We mentioned earlier that Kirk Cousins could potentially be, you know, interested in the Raiders. A couple other minor signings that Dolphins bringing back Josh Uch, Willie Gay. And then the news in NFL all but confirmed it with a statement that their circling Thanksgiving Eve, Colleen and Steve. Are you ready to work another game? Thanksgiving Eve could be coming to the NFL schedule

as early as this season. They played a Wednesday game on Christmas. Chris is, you know, so it's coming. It's coming to set up the, you know, all the streamers and the 18th game. Listen, I mean, there's going to be a game on Valentine's Day. There's going to be a game on Easter. I have two thoughts.

If I can get more like another job out of it, I'm all for it. If not, you know, we'll just combine it into the Thanksgiving Day recap, I think, on NFL Daily. So NFL Daily, it's a daily show and you would like another job on top of that. Well, I'm saying, you're saying streamers or whatever, who knows, there's always opportunities out there. Thanksgiving Eve, but that would really, it really hurt the teams the week before because they'd have to have a buy week. But then they don't get a real buy week. Or they'd be a Thursday team playing on a Wednesday.

Ah, that's true. Either way. It's weekday work, man. North we'll figure it out. A long time ago, I suggested on the around the NFL podcast, my plan. This was way back in 2015 to play NFL. This was before I had two kids, but to play NFL games every day of the week. I came up with a whole schedule that we could do two games a day for the entire season. The NFL is getting closer to that each and every year. It's the part of free agency where a lot of fan bases are just like, how come my team's not doing anything? Can we do something more?

Why don't you care about us? And so we're going to do a segment about it. And it's really just an excuse for Colleen to talk about the Eagles. Listen, all right, fine. I was going to say that usually when you tell someone to calm down, it goes really well. Oh, yeah, good point. So I say this with

like some caution for Eagles fans to calm down. And I don't know if it's honestly, like if I'm projecting, if this is real, are they, is it just my family like kind of talking about? No, it's happening. All right. So and I think in a way it is warranted.

because they lost Jalen Phillips, Nicopi Dean, Reed Blankenship, the wide receiver room is sort of uncertain right now with all of the rumors swirling about A.J. Brown, Jahan Dotson has gone. Dallas Goddard, that is unclear what's going to happen with him.

However, I just feel like, at this point, Howie Roseman has showed us that even when things look awful on this roster, that he finds a way. And there's always internal replacements that are already in place. Like Jahad Campbell for Dean.

You have Andrew McCuba for Blankenship. I mean, they have a ton of draft capital, nine picks, including four compensatory picks. And the wild card lost last year to the 49ers. It's not like it was some blowout. Yes, they lost that that was bad at home. But it was a close competitive game. And Howey's track record, I just think everyone needs to take a deep breath and watch him cook. Let's see what happened.

You know, by the way, it's like, oh, the roster's in tough shape. Oh, yeah, I'm sure a ton of teams out there feel bad for the team that has A.J. Brown and Devante Smith and three of the best offensive linemen in the league and a Super Bowl winning quarterback and Saquan Barkley and J. Garland Carter and Zach Bond, like, and the guys in the back and calm down. Also, Baldy heard that maybe they're talking A.J. Brown to the Broncos is a little something that would be interesting. I don't know who would be coming back. Maybe it would be Cortland Sutton. Well, the wide receiver.

class this year and the draft is really deep. And then there has been other reporting too that they could be talking to the Vikings about Jonathan Grenard to fill that edge. So I'm with you. Calm down. Let Howie do his thing. It's not about the first couple days. I thought you're going to drop a, hey, Sean Mannion's got this

on it. How about yours? Yours is simple. We've talked about it. And I say this because at least the Raiders have a legit like hardcore fan base, but they didn't chill. I mean, the other day they were so upset like, oh man, we got rid of Max. He's a heart and soul of our team and our community.

All of a sudden, Max fails to fiscal. Oh, we got Max back. It sucked. We lose a second round. We lose that second, first round draft pick. What the hell? The NFL is against us. It is funny.

Yeah, calm down. And for everyone. Both ways, it's not like you guys have been ripping off Super Bowl championship. Just continue to be tortured like Eagles fans, except Eagles fans of once, continue to be tortured and trust the process. And if all those teams are so mad about what the Ravens did with Crosby, go get Crosby. You know, the, the price of it.

down. You can go get them. I'm going to talk about the Chargers who I think I over index and following Chargers fans and in media. And so I don't think this would be known nationally, but they are freaking out right now that the team has not addressed the offensive line specifically enough. They got Tyler Biotish. You know, they got Tyler Biotish. They re-signed a couple guys that didn't really play that well for them, Pipkins and who was it, Trevor Penning. But again, it's like these offensive line contracts where you're paying up the nose. McDaniel has two great tackles now and it's

day one officially of free agency and so it's more about the timing of it all like let them do their work don't evaluate the entire off season at this point you can find other offensive linemen and you can coach them they didn't love their guards who they let go they didn't love their guard they got a blocking tight end to help compensate for the

injured tackles who are coming back but charges this is the first they should feel good this is the first time they've ever been told to calm down You know, ever since, you know, Roth furnished. That's true. Extra points and fuel goals. The expectations are higher, just like they are on this show. Look, Colleen Wolf, like Grand Deftado, through the streets of Los Angeles.

She gets here just in time. Steve Weish. It's been fun all week. We've been going live earlier in the week. We'll still be doing NFL Daily every day this week, but not live. So see you later. I'm Daniel Jeremiah. And I am Greg Rosenthal.

I know that, Greg. We're teaming up on 40s and free agents, the podcast that owns the NFL offseason. This is where teams are built. Free agency, combine, pro days, trades. Every move matters. From my draft boards and mock drafts to my vaunted top 101 free agents and how rosters come together. Quarterback movement. Surprise signings.

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