NFL Daily with Gregg Rosenthal - Legion Of Doom?! Plus, Free Agency Pressure Points

Episode Date: March 7, 2018

A room filled with heroes- Dan Hanzus, Gregg Rosenthal, Chris Wesseling, Marc Sessler & Colleen Wolfe- step away from the newsroom to recap the BREAKING NEWS of the day, including Richard Sherman saying goodbye to Seattle (5:00) and Michael Bennett getting traded by the Seahawks (11:00). They recap other news about Le’Veon Bell’s status with the Steelers (19:00) and Allen Robinson hitting the market (27:00). Connie Fox nearly nails the Odds & Ends tune (30:00), and the heroes take a look at who is facing the most PRESSURE as free agency approaches (34:00).Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comNFL Daily YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/nflpodcastsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. The Around the NFL podcast has stared long into the abyss. Welcome back to another edition of the Around the NFL podcast. My name is Dan Hansis and I am joined by a room teaming with heroes. Mark Sessler, Chris Wessling, Colleen Wolfe, and Greg Rosenthal. What's up, people? Hey, Dan. Whoa. Big room.

Happy to be back. Under the weather, as you guys alluded to, I believe, on a Monday show. Well, we wished you well. Thank you. And you seem to be in better health spirits. You sound and look great. Oh, thank you. As to you.

You look great. So I start the show. In a professional way, I think that you look very well. That was weird. Did you listen to our show? I missed it. I was very ill. I had a stomach bug.

This would not have healed you. And I know, like, I just want to say real quick. A lot of us have kids in this room, at least. 60% of us, nailed it. That we have a lot of younger listeners, Greg, right? Demographic is male, young. Yeah, we would like that to expand. So tell all your lady friends in your life about the show, please.

We're looking to build on that lady demographic, Mark. Tell your old friends. We want some of them. But, no, if you haven't started a family yet, you haven't had kids. I want you to know that they are transformative in your life. and what they can do and they're beautiful and there's nothing better than bringing children to the world

and living with them. But you have to understand that they are agents of disease and filth. Yeah, they are germ backpacks roaming around your house and if you touch a child, you will gain whatever illness they have quickly but in an adult version. Agents of chaos, I would say, too.

As well as that. But that could be explained by their brains or developing. The filth angle is the one that really gets to me because, for instance, we were at the restaurant yesterday. We finally got out of the house as a group because my parents are in town too. They also fell ill because of this bug that went around. And I look over and my three-year-old is putting his mouth on the actual chair of the restaurant. Oh, no.

And then, you know, then you'll see the one-year-old laying on the ground face down or picking up food that's not his. And you just think if everyone in the world live like this, the humanity would be wiped out in a fortnight. This whole talk reminds me of an article I saw this week in the New York Times that for the first time ever, American families are preferring daughters over sons. And I think that's what you're explaining. I haven't seen both, yeah, I can understand it. Especially multiple boys. The filth, you know, you're not seeing girls eating chairs.

It's just not happening as much. It's not, it's a weird thing. It's genetic. You just have to look at what's happening. They're not the, they're never the ones at the park like eating like paste and knocking their head against the wall. I mean, my dogs do this, though. Right. Counterpoint.

Yes. If we were to start doing more of this instead of the helicopter parents protecting their kids from ever having access to any germ whatsoever, we would have better defenses in order to handle these diseases. There's an argument there. West comes out of you with some high-octane parenting advice. That's Wes. That's Wes in a nutshell, Mark. And I'm nervous because Mark's waving a paper in his face. You have the vapos?

I mean, to your point, I was home this morning with a lot of newsbreaking. but my child Colton was on the couch next to me wanting to play Uno and he's home with a deep fever and various other ailments. So I feel like it's heading my way. Young listeners, many male, I'm not saying don't start a family, but take all of this into account before you make a decision. That goes for you, Colleen, as well as Wes. Taking all the notes, taking it all in.

West, by the way, West doesn't have a chance because we know the paramour is laying on the heat and all sorts of levels. There will be children. Including that, it's just a matter of time now. But that's a whole different podcast. Same for the Wes's freedom is about to be revoked podcast. Wow. I would just make the point that, you know, for many hundreds of thousands of years.

Counterpoint. Many hundreds of thousands of years, women have continued to have children despite having to go through pregnancy. So it's obviously worth it. Well, that's good. Wes again. Wes on fire. So positive, Wes. That's why we have them here.

Yes, welcome to the around the NFL podcast. We're all together. and that's great. And we have a lot to get to big news out of the Pacific Northwest, Mark. A little heads up for you, what region? Seattle is in. And we're going to talk about what's going on there. Also, oh, yeah, free agency, the legal tampering period, the stupidest thing, stupidest phrase in professional sports.

The legal tampering period begins on Monday, I believe, the 12th of March. So before that period hits, we're going to talk a little pressure. points. Who's feeling the pressure? Who's got a lot riding on how next week and the weeks that follow play out. It's really about a little bit of job security. I'm not saying hot butts, Greg. I'm not talking hot butt here, but I'm saying pressure. RG3 once said. Pressure makes diamonds? No pressure, no diamonds.

Greg has upgraded the phrase. Something you can put on a bumper sticker probably. If RG3 said it. All right. Let's start go. Let's get into it, though, and start with some news. The only people on the field who are open is us. That's where he got to throw the ball. He was open.

He hit you right between the number. Just can. Ah, yes, the dulcet tones of Richard Sherman, the former fifth round pick who became a franchise a franchise icon for the Seattle Seahawks. And now it appears that that bond is through. It's been broken. Richard Sherman, reported by Rapsheet on Wednesday at Sherman doesn't plan to be with the Seahawks. In 2018, Sherman told teammates goodbye over the past 24 hours, and he won't be with a team this season, according to sources.

Wes will start with you on this one. Rap report, Ed, and nothing is set in stone, but according to those close to him, there has been no official announcement. Are you surprised by this news? I'm not surprised because I read Mike Silver's article in December about the changing of the guard. in the NFC West, in which he foreshadowed or essentially reported at the time that the Legion of Boom would be no more after this offseason that Sherman is due $11 million. He's now coming off of surgeries on both Achilles' tendons. That did not bode well for him.

Yeah, the whole Legion of Boom is being blown up and they're building around Bobby Wagner now. It sounds like the official word will come sooner than that. later because they need to get his salary off the book. So as we tape this, he has not been officially released. But what Rapshie indicated on our network was that this isn't a scenario where they're going to troll around for some trades. I think they recognize he doesn't really have any trade value because he's not healthy and because of that salary.

And it sounds like he'll be released. And Rapsh thought he might not even be able to get a job until June, July, sometime in the summer when he is healthy. I mean, he was in a walking boot. just a couple weeks ago, if not days, and to your point, Wes, you said, I mean, have Achilles, a major ruptured Achilles, and then had your other Achilles tweaked through an operation. I think back to when Michael Crabtree came back from an Achilles, and these two are not friends, but it wouldn't be terrible for him to have a phone call with Michael Crabtree

about how tough it was. I don't think that's going to happen. You don't think that's going to happen? Probably not. But I mean, if you, you can't trade for him, because you're not going to get any sort of upgraded speed version of Richard Sherman, maybe for two seasons. And then he's 30-something. Yeah, he's got a nice, healthy salary right now, and you have to see how he's going to be healthy. So that makes sense why the timing nature could take while. And, yeah, maybe this is, Connie, the end of the Legion of Boom, with Richard Sherman gone, Cam Chancellor, probably gone,

and Earl Thomas probably back. But still, it's not the same team anymore. Plus Cliff Averill, yeah, who's dealing with the neck injury. And you look at just the amazing change is that they've gone through. And they bring in, and they have a new offensive coordinator, a new defensive coordinator. You have Brian Schottenheimer and Ken Norton Jr. in there. And this whole entire Legion of Boom, which this team was known for, the defense, so much is changing there.

I think it's the right move, by the way. What do you think, Greg? Because, like, and I said it on the podcast last season, I thought the game, and it was December 17th, when they went down 34-0 at the half at home to the Rams. That they were done. And it was because, and it wasn't just, and Seahawks fans got pissed. They're like, oh, we're beat up, we're injured. Well, that's part of it.

You guys, this unit was together for five, six, seven years. And part of that is you start to break down physically. Guys leave in free agency. Guys age out of their prime. And it just felt like the ending of something. And I think Seattle, to their credit, I think they're trying to be ahead of the ball here and not hanging on one year too long.

I think it is absolutely the right move with that salary. And it's the time to do it. And you get the sense Pete Carroll was kind of ready to press the reset button. I mean, Sherman's turning 30. He's coming off a good season. but he's not the same level of dominant player that he was before. And I don't necessarily think that they are going to just go in the tank. They have enough players there and a good coaching staff and a great quarterback

that they can get it back pretty quickly. But they had to make it. I mean, it's rare, like you look at Arizona and Steve Kime is going to get an opportunity to rebuild parts of that, parts of that team again. But Ariens isn't with them. How rare, how often is it that you get the same coach and same. GM who get a chance to develop essentially a completely second era in Seattle. And John Snyder's the guy we'd have to trust to be able to do it. They play this thing out.

I wrote an article three years ago about how their Super Bowl window is going to last forever or whatever. But a five-year run for a defense is forever. But you were wrong, though. Well, I didn't say forever. I said it was wide open. And I know that they actually had all these guys who were under contract for three more years. And like their defense was together for about five years since.

Michael Bennett and Avril were signed, and Sherman and Thomas really set the foundation when they were drafted much before that. So they had a long run. They played it out as long as they could. They had the longest run of number one defenses and points allowed in NFL history. You look at great defenses. They usually only last a year or two. It's not like the Ravens lasted at that level or the Bucks or even the Broncos a couple years ago. What a great run, though, for Richard. If this is the end of Sherman and Seattle, he's a legend there. nothing will ever take away the fact that he was kind of like, I know you could say there are players that were better than him on that defense, but to me he was kind of the face of it because he was the brash guy, the one that got in Tom Brady's face,

he announced the start of this whole run with you, Maddrow, I feel like. Yeah, that's a great call. I think he was like kind of the face of all this, and you send the face away and things change. Now you're sad, bro. Also one of the savviest, and I don't mean this is a shot, but one of the saviest self-promoters at a time, when Twitter and social media was all sort of blowing up at once.

He had family members creating issues with radio stations and TV outlets. He suddenly was doing the rounds. He was in the ATL debate club. He came on us and he said when he came on with you and I, and we were a little intimidated because we had been in the process of writing 40 or 50, like, I'm so tired of hearing Richard Sherman, squawk at this player. And he's like, oh, I've read everything that you two wrote. And I thought this interview is going to go absolutely awfully.

And it went fine. It was cool. He was cool. And Connie, that's what a Stanford education is. vacation will buy you. Yep, that's right. Hey, speaking of Seahawks players that are moving on, Michael Bennett is no more class act, that Michael Bennett.

He was traded to Connie's Philadelphia Eagles in exchange for a fifth round pick and Marcus Johnson being sent to Seattle, a seventh round pick also being sent to Philadelphia in addition to Michael Bennett. What are you thinking about this, Connie? Nice pickup. Howie Roseman, he saw the light with the Super Bowl. Now he's like, I'm still in. We still have to be aggressive.

And, I mean, we heard about the Eagles looking to trade Vinnie Curry. So this makes some sense there. But Michael Bennett, I mean, he's been really good for the Seattle Seahawks. But 33, he dealt with knee and foot injuries last year. I like the move. But I don't know, I'm a little, I'm just a little hesitant about it. Why? You're still skeptical of Howie Rose.

They didn't give up much. What do they have to do? What did they have to do? What does a Super Bowl with Nate Sunfeld for you to get on? I know, you're right. They did it with Nick Folls. His salary is not too prohibitive. He's got three more years on the deal.

I mean, he talks a lot and he's getting older. Maybe that's not a great combination. I honestly think he'll be a good fit, though, in that locker room. I mean, you have... They can handle a guy like Marty Bennett. I don't think that'll be an issue... They became one of those teams that can handle a Michael Bennett personality. Right.

And if you have him and Fletcher Cox inside and... and then Derek Barnett and Brandon Graham outside. I mean, that's... So now you feel good. I know. Now you're talking about it. Okay, all right. Twist my arm.

Yeah. Greg's actually mad at you. Is this Super Bowl 52 fallout? No, no. I'm saying I love... I think the Eagles front office deserves some credit and deserves a wide berthier that they're going to be making smart aggressive moves and it's going to pay out. And it makes a lot of sense to me because they're going to lose Bo Allen, who is a backup defensive tackle who is, you contributed.

They're going to lose Vinny Curry. and Betta can play in both of those positions. And I think he'll benefit, like Fletcher Cox and Brandon Graham, from not having to play every down. I mean, he's going to be a part-time player there. You can keep him healthy, 400, 500 snaps, and then you really unleash him in the play. They're about 10 million over the cap right now.

So those players, you mentioned, Vinnie Curry, he might not be the only one that they're going to have to get rid of people. Corey Smith's got to be gone. When I think back to the dream team, which became this thing that everyone made fun of for Howard Rosen, because it didn't work. It just flat out didn't work. Also wasn't his phrase.

It was Vince Young, who was the last guy who should have been saying anything, period. Howie Roseman has always been very aggressive. And it came during a time with free agency where it was like, okay, you over-extended the way that we look at the dolphins on some level. But now it's shifting over, and Greg's written about this,

and everyone knows where at this point, trades are growing. Oh, wait, wait, wait, wait. You hear it a little, you heard a trade tsunami that's going? There it is. Oh, God. It's washing along the shore. Yes, Greg.

Still a week away to really hit. Look at two, Greg. Look at you, getting in on the drop. The winds are starting to read short. I don't know if I'm ready for Greg to be prepping his own drops. It's like 30 minutes before the show, it's like someone tweet about it. I was like, oh, yeah, we've got to get this ready. I'm flying.

The first thing I thought of with this trade was when Michael Bennett first got to Seattle, along with Cliff Averill, it was because of the competitive advantage of paying peanuts for their quarterback. And now the Eagles are paying peanuts for their quarterback. And you're able to do things like this. You're going to have to push some money around with the salary cap. But still, if Carson Wentz was making $20 million a year, you could not make this trade. Bennett's making half as much as Vinny Curry. I mean, he's only due $5.6 million.

I think that's why they were able to trade him versus Richard Sherman, who you're not going to be able to trade. Because his salary is very reasonable for what he can get. Big changes, Mark. Where? All over the league, Dan. Well, specifically. In the Pacific. In the Pacific Northwest.

The Pacific Northwest, man. Pacific Northwest also. Okay. That's where Seattle is. This is broadcasting, man. You tie it up. When I said all around the league, that was accurate. It's ironic, though, because there was that article in the New Yorker last year where I think

they wrote about a tsunami might be coming for the old Pacific Northwest. Might be coming for Seattle. This is the new Greg, and I like it. Yeah, it's acceptable. I think maybe Greg thought, well, Dan could die potentially with the stomach bug. I need to slide in and pick up the slack in. old drop department. He's wearing his new Puma jacket,

feeling good about us. This is an old one, an old one that I like to break out. Right. Did you have some type of dig at me? You want to throw out? You can. No.

I thought you had something lined up and then Connie interrupted you. No. Whoa. I welcome it. What? Breaking news. Whoa.

Yes is called for breaking. This is per ESPN's Adam Schaefter. Shortly after the Rams extended Alec Ogletree, they're sending him to the New York Giants. for two 2018 draft picks. Hubba, hubba. First and a second.

No. Wow. Mark, I was like, what? I was like, how do I top Wes's announcement? Wow. So there you go. What are your thoughts on that move, Wes? I'm shocked.

They just signed him to a new deal. And it's not like they have a new regime in place since they signed him to a new deal. It's surprising, but the Giants have needed linebackers, what, forever? But now the Rams do as well. Well, talk about the tsunami hitting. This is some next level stuff here by Les Need, because you said it. This is some, you see this sort of thing occasionally in baseball or the NBA. You never see it in the NFL, where they essentially signed Ogletree to a long-term contract.

But immediately they already were thinking that, okay, this is a tradable asset. Even though, of course, they liked him and want him long-term or would have been fine with him long-term. There's no way they would have made that move otherwise. He was playing very well after that trade. Not that there was much time after that trade. I think it was in December, wasn't it? I think they're getting rid of the people who aren't perfect fits for Wade Phillips defense. But why did you give it?

But they gave them that contract in the first place. I think it's maybe first of all, the Giants called or that there are some teams who are interested. And they just decided, okay, we want to prioritize Mark Barron, who was maybe going to be a cut candidate if not. Or they just decided, hey, we can move and we want some draft picks. Like, we're flexible. Some interesting linebackers in this draft. Amazing. Hey, Mark.

Yes. Pacific Northwest. No, no. Look. You repression there. Preciant. All over the league. All over the league.

All around the league. Within seconds, I am accurate. The contract was signed in October, to be clear. Maybe they did rethink his fit in Wade Phillips' content. Their run defense could have been quite a bit better last year. Rap sheet, for what it's worth. has confirmed this report. The Giants, just one quick thing.

It's worth a lot in this company. The Giants, we did NFC needs this week, kind of a meat and potatoes article, both Wes and I wrote. Half banger? Yeah, you know, it's something you get done. Fractional banger. The Giants linebackers have been one of the worst positions in football

year after year. Like, if you write these needs articles year after year, I have put Giants linebacker as like their number one need for five or six years. It does feel like since we've been at the game. company they've had terrible linebackers so it makes not into calvin monson i see calvin monson did you make that name of isn't that the legal expert on yes their will linebacker calvin monson not maybe not no longer i think he was part of the ESPN layoffs calvin he was on the munsters quickly found new work what about Gabe uh the two lane grad that's our legal guy loved

Gabe he's still in the mix Gabe feldman Gabe feldman is he on their uh depth chart uh don't see him but you know he could be up he could be behind this Calvin munson character so uh let's move on Steelers use their exclusive franchise tag on Labian Bell that is worth $14.5 million for 2018. By the, was this official on Monday show? I don't know. The salary cap did go up. That up in yesterday. Yeah, about $9 million.

I think it's at $177 now. That's correct. Okay. Anyway, Labion Bell has been tagged. So there you go, 14.5. There's a baseline for any type of long-term contract talks. but who knows if the Steelers are interested in that maybe he'll play on the tag

maybe he'll cause a big fit Greg and say I'm not even going to play the season but you probably won't see him until preseason at the soonest I thought it was interesting Adida Adidi Kinkawala who's kind of like the Woodward and Bernstein of the Lavion Bell situation thought that this

both of them this hold out yeah she takes both roles wow that's pretty impressive I don't know what is the difference between the two one is she maybe kind of like the nebishy Jew and the other is more like the party guy. Robert Redford is the other one. There's a bit of a deal.

Who is she meeting in dark parking garages? I just rewatch that movie. It's a great movie. I think she's meeting Steelers' players, personnel. She talked to a player who thought essentially that he might skip a game or two this year, that it might get a little uglier than it was like. I thought Lindsay Rhodes, our friend, had a good idea about giving him the non-exclusive tag where, okay, let's say someone else blows him away and they come up with a long-term offer

that the Steelers don't want to match. You get two number ones in return. or he finds out that the market is not what he wants and the Steelers have a chance to sign him. What would have been the worst there if you got two number ones in return for Levy on Belp and know the team got him? I think the thing with Lev, like he's...

Not a lot of backers on that theory in this room. Sorry, Lindsay, try to help you out there. I don't know if the team would... To answer you, I don't know if a team... I was thinking about it. I didn't have a strong take, but I don't think a team would give up two first. No.

So you're not going to lose them. Right. Moving on. Well, wait, hold on. Yes. Oh, sorry. he's not he you know he's not happy about this he actually told i don't know if you saw this he talked to billboard the magazine and said that uh he's focused right now on dropping two or three more albums in the off season

he's been in the studio with some rappers i know you guys have heard of let's hear him and he's had a bunch of i can't this is like deep source information like oh you are not allowed to say i can't say who he was in the studio with but you know what you have you have the news i know wow this is such a of hip-hop with Colleen Wolfe or winter of hip-hop, I guess, between the Cardi B, between your new drop, this is something. Now you're an inside of it. She's Queen B. She's like Lil Kim of this generation.

That's like the biggest compliment ever. Do you like Levian Bell's talents behind the mic? I think, you know, I'm okay. I'm a little Louie more. I mean, she's a colleague in that business. Sure. I want to know now. Right.

I want to know how you know this. And he's had a bunch of meetings with Capitol Records. So. Is it Migos? He may or may. not have signed with them. Whoa. Colleen is legitimately

breaking rap news. Had to get this in. May or may not. I'm just saying. I can't wait till like, I can't wait till hot 97 poaches Colleen from our podcast.

That I could total, couldn't you see her being kind of the hip-hop insider host? That is totally a good role. While we're on this topic, circling back to Michael Bennett, the tweet that he sent out with him

in the Eagles jersey. Did you see that? No. Sent out a tweet of himself in an Eagles jersey and underneath it says free Meek Mill. So he is on the free mill drain and I love that. Downtown Julie Brown for our generation. By the way, a little bit of other Bennett Brother news. Amazing. What do you got?

Released by the Patriots minutes ago. More more. More breaking news. The league. It's absolutely. I was absolutely correct when I said that the changes were not exclusively to the Seahawks but to other teams around the NFL. They're going to lock us in the studio.

It's going to be a 17-hour podcast. They're like desperately, they need writers downstairs that churn out this content. We're like, oh, yeah, Colleen likes rap. What these guys doing? Moving on. The Rams made their decision. They have franchised the player.

Oh, do we have anything else to say about Marty Bennett? I don't. I don't know what he says. He has said he wants to play again. And it's interesting that the Patriots, from what they saw of him, did not want to pay $5 or $6 million or whatever he was on the hook for. Maybe they were, I wonder if they were waiting to see where Gronk was going to come down. You could see them resigning him for $3 million.

They probably just don't want to be paying him a lot of money. Well, we'll get to it later, but they signed a raging, they picked up the option of a raging star on their own roster. Maybe that's why we'll get to it. We will get to that in odds and ends. It's coming up, Connie. Start warming up the Vox. the Rams made their decision

safety Lamarcus Joyner gets their franchise tag. Very publicly, everyone knew that they were trying to decide between Joyner or wide receiver Sammy Watkins. At first, Sammy Watkins, they were leaning that way

and then they leaned back the other way, went with Joyner, which means Sammy Watkins will hit free agency and also going to market while we're here. Alan Robinson, the Jacksonville Jaguars.

I was surprised by this. Maybe I shouldn't have been. Maybe I should have been, plugged in. But when I saw it on the scroll, when I watched Northeastern, blow it in the CAA finals against the college of Charleston to blow a chance to get into March Madness, when I saw that in the scroll, I said, wow, I bet the jets are going to go heavy after Alan Robinson. Those two wide receivers on the market thoughts. Not about Northeastern. Tough loss for the Huskies. I think it makes sense that they franchised Joyner instead of Watkins

just because the tag is a lot cheaper for safeties. And also, I think it might be a little bit more difficult to replace Joyner than it is to replace Watkins for the Rams. And then in terms of Alan Robinson, I mean, he's still rehabbing from that ACL. So they didn't want to take a chance with their one tag on a guy that's not 100%. Jaguars also have one of these teams, not unlike Seattle to some degree, they're going to have waves of young players all come up for new deals at the same time, players they want to keep.

And so they already have to make that prioritization. The one thing I'd say about Watkins is there's a lot of teams. teams out there with a lot of cap money, the Bears, Browns, Jets, like you said, the Colts, the 49ers, the need wide receivers. But do you really want to go to your third team in 12 months? Or would you rather, where are you going to succeed more than in Sean McVease offense in Los Angeles? Well, Ian, I would consider resigning. Rap sheet has emphasized that the Rams will aggressively pursue a deal with Watkins before the start of free agency. And the Jaguars are supposed to do something similar with Alan Robinson.

but I see Alan Robinson as a guy who's going to get paid. There's going to be a lot of guys going after him, and I don't think the Jaguar's going to be able to match what he's going to get. I found that move. I was surprised too, Dan, and I thought it was curious because they've struggled to draft offensive players under David Caldwell. Robinson's one of their best draft picks that they've had under David Caldwell. So a team that spends so much in free agency and brings all these guys in,

letting one of their better picks go when you don't really have. I mean, you're going to lose him. You're probably going to lose Marquise Lee. Blake Bordels is your quarterback. I mean, that's a lot of questions about the passing game. They might have Alan Hearns? Yeah, I would want to keep him. A lot of 12 to 10 victories next season.

Right. They hope. Sammy Watkins, I think, will still get paid, even though he got under 600 yards. I think when a player is this close to free agency and he's young and he hasn't been productive in a couple years, but he was productive before that. he's 24 years old.

Teams are going to. I mean, Alan Robinson closed out 2015 with four 100-yard games in the final six weeks. And then all the chaos happened from... Well, part of the chaos was he himself had a horrible year in 2016. I still think teams are going to...

He's going to have... He's going to get paid. Finally, in the news, Kyle Fuller will be back with the Bears. Maybe. Probably. In that zone. The team applied the transatlantic.

position tag to the young cornerback. Rapsheet reported this first. That means that any team can match the bears on an offer. Or excuse me, that means, I'll tell you what it means, all right? I'll get it out. Tell me, tell me. He is confusing. He does hit the open market.

A team can make an offer, but the bears have the opportunity to match it, or is that restricted for a agent? No, that's exactly right. They can match it. That's exactly. And ultimately, he has to sign a contract with the new team. So he would, you know, go visit, sign a contract. something and then the bears get a chance to match it.

I mean, this is Chris Wessling's prized free agency pick right here. He loves some Kyle Fuller. And don't worry, Wes, I've talked to the shadowy league figures. Kyle Fuller's staying on the top 101 free agents. When your transition tag, that's like being a free agent. You can stay there. He might work his way up toward the top of that list. I mean, I think, too, like, he took such a step forward last year in 2017.

2016 he was still coming off that back surgery or 2016 he just struggled and so 2017 I felt like he the coaching staff did such a good job with him he improved so much and then this way with the transition tag it allows them to possibly work out a long-term deal with him so then that way if they can get that done the bears can then just focus on possibly grabbing

a wide receiver and free agency usually the transition tag is a little pointless especially when the dolphins use it But in this case, he has such a unique career that he kind of came out of nowhere and he's getting paid a lot. And it sounds like the Bears really want to keep. Mike Garifolo believes that ultimately Fuller will wind up with the Bears, whether they match a deal or whether it's just under the tag. They want to keep him, but they don't know what to pay him.

So this is a way to find out what they should be paying him. Odds and ends time. Odds and ends. Odds and ends. Hey, everybody. friends because the time is here. Damn. You were so close.

That was pretty smooth. I said she just closed it. She lands this sucker. She nailed it. But then when he said, so the time is here or whatever, then you blew it. Yeah.

Extra line. I think what helped is there was no buildup to it. Suddenly, Dan was just starting. She didn't have time to get pre-song jitters. You're right. You're right. And the only time I can ever practice is live here. That's the only.

You tried to go second first. You don't practice this at home all the time. Maybe that's what I do. I'm the only one. Odds and ends. Here we go. The Cowboys signed franchise player, DeMarcus Lawrence, to a one year $17.143 million dollar contract.

So when I mentioned back surgery before for Kyle Fuller, not the case. It was actually for DeMarcus Ware. He was the next guy down on my list. Marcus Lawrence. DeMarcus Lawrence. 2017, great year for him. 14 and a half sacks the most by any player since DeMarcus Ware. And in 2016, he only had one.

He was coming off that back surgery. So great year for him. Kenny Britt experience will rage on for another season at the NFL level. That's the lead from Mark Zessler. What an annoying individual. I can't believe the Patriots did this. Like Cleveland gave him a ton of cash and decided, you know, in early December, this guy is an absolute toxic poison.

Do only one and a half a million dollars. And it doesn't hurt to just keep him on the roster. I have talked to people in Cleveland said he was an absolute toxic spill in that locker room. Well, and they probably should have known that before they signed him to the four for 32. Absolutely shit up. A movie on the bills. Agree on a two-year contract, Chris Wessling, with another Chris. Ivory, anything left in the tank?

Or is it more? Jacksonville just wasn't a good fit and needs a fresh start. Well, I think it was telling that he sort of lost his snaps to T.J. Yeldin by the end of the year. And guys with Chris Ivory's running style tend to fall off the cliff pretty quickly. But the bills need a depth there. If Lashon McCoy went down, who were they going to plug in? Kicker stuff, Graham Ganoe, a four-year deal with the pay. There's only a few kickers in league, maybe a handful, that get a deal like this.

And Graham Gano, one of them. Y'all in, Greg, on a little Graham Ganoe experience? The great kickers aren't making it to free agency. Venetary. I know you were excited. A lot of them were in our top 100 initially. NFL referees, Ed Hockely, and Jeff Triplett are retiring. We should have led with this one.

Yeah, what are we doing? Oh, my God. Mark, Hockely, guns himself, steps down his son, Sean, and this is a sweet tale. we'll take his spot officially. I think Ed Hockle, for me, the takeaway is at any age, any one of us in this room could decide I want to get wicked jacked. I'm going to take the next 24, 36 months. I could be at Hocklead, 14 years from now.

I could start doing this and still be younger than Hocklea. That's my off-season goal. I don't think, no matter how much work I did, I don't think I would get to Hock. You should not view your physical self that way, Greg. You could transform. Well, Greg, you have to go to the gym. People have different frames. It's okay.

And Jeff Triplett has a good body, too. I applaud this move. we need some fresh blood in the referee circles which have grown to be a huge problem in the NFL way too many flags I'm not saying Ed Hockeying Jeff Triplett wanted to see themselves on TV but Triplett was always throwing more flag than anyone else in the league no one's sad to see Triplett go

Counter-Counterpoint the grass is always greener on the other side let's hope the new guys are back in the NFL cannot get worse literally cannot get worse Jared Jones I worried that this would be something to drag on He has reimbursed the NFL $2 million. Good for you, Jera. Don't drag this thing out. Let's move on.

It's like four pennies from his pocket. Yeah, it's nothing. He's just going to Venmo it. Great job. I do like on Venmo that you have the option where you can see what you can have other people see what you. I hate that option. You can hide it. It's very faint.

Whenever Dan Venmoes me things, he's very concerning subject heads that I have a question about at home later. Wait, Mark once paid me for something. It just said, like, removal of dead bodies. And it's just sitting out there, you know. All right. Let's talk a little pressure points. Pressure. Yep, it's a tough gig.

You see it on the faces of these men when they're at the podiums of the combine. They got a lot on their plate, especially this time of year. But we'll throw it out to anybody. Who's under pressure in the NFL entering free agency? A GM, that makes a lot of sense. but you could also say a coach or a player or a scouting director or a rival podcast. Greg, get us going. Well, that rival podcast really got me thinking.

Do you want me to start with Mark? No. My cousin Justin Milner just started a big time podcast. I don't know if he's feeling the pressure. Really? Any relation to D. Milner, the infamous Jets draft bust. Eddie Milner. Let's go with a more conventional start.

I'm going to go with Rick Spielman. Pressure. Spielman runs a team without a quarterback and a lot of expectations. Mike Zimmer said at the NFL scouting combine. Vikings General Manager. Viking's general manager said, if we don't get this quarterback decision right, we're all going to get fired. And everyone kind of laughed.

It was a dark joke. I don't know if that's totally true, but I think they're in a tougher spot than people think because everyone just believes, oh, they're loaded. They're just going to be right back. It'll be the same defense. And a lot of the same players are coming back. But it's so hard to get that magic going again.

The offensive coordinator is going to be different. And whether it's Kirk Cousins or Case Keenham, whoever it is, there's going to be a lot of pressure, and that's not necessarily a situation that's going to be easy to meet expectations. So they're missing two starting guards there this year. They have some defensive players whose contract's going to come up soon. There's a lot to deal with thinking short and long term for Spielman. I think he's under a lot of pressure.

No doubt. I question that Spielman would suddenly if we don't have good quarterback play our jobs are in peril. Rick Spielman has spent the 90% of his career in Minnesota with horrible quarterbacks. I mean, he survived over and over. No, now you got to get it done. You're kind of hitting on the point that I've had. I was talking with Keith Hansis in between bouts of illness the past few days. And a big thing about Kirk Cousins and why the Vikings are seen as the favorites to land the quarterback is like, he has a chance to go somewhere to win now.

And it's like, yeah, probably. But this idea that it's a sure thing that you go back and it's the same Vikings team that went to the doorstep of the Super Bowl, you never know what team comes back the next year. Never know. I agree. And by the way, my cousin's podcast is called Critical Value from the Urban Institute. He makes me smarter just talking to him in life.

He's much smarter than I am listening to this. I've become smarter about public. Does that count as our ad read? I'm throwing in there. Why not? I support it. I came up. Look, look, he, I don't think he was attacking either.

I just asked to count it as our ad read. Okay, yeah, that's good. Critical value. Apple Podcasts. Mark? Well, I'll spin off the Vikings and say that the other team that's still hanging around in the Kirk Cousins' sweepstake, one of a couple, is the Broncos. And when John Elway lured Peyton Manning to Denver, it was all but, oh, the John Elway gravitas and, like, you know, pulling him in, like, that big white truck towards Denver

with the hopter shots. And it was like, oh, only Elway could pull this off because, you know, Peyton trust John Elway. I'm different. There you go, right. Actual sound bite from the free agent luring process. But I mean, now it's like if you swing and miss on Kirk Cousins and you have to turn around and all respect to Case Keenum for what they did last year. But if you turn around and sell Case Keenum as your long-term deal that you get instead of Kirk Cousins and you're the guy that has Paxton Lynch probably still on the roster and face-saving move, I just think Elway, the shines off a little bit. and it starts at the position that you're supposed to secure year after year.

You're missing on draft picks at the quarterback level, and now you have to go and get Kirk Cousins, or it's going to be a big fallout for that Broncos team, a team that stunk last year, by the way. Remember the helicopter spin? That was me! It's not going to look good for any general manager to bypass Case Keenham for one year and $2 million last year

and then overpay for him this year. When we're not even sure, I'm not even sure, if he's a better quarterback than Trevor's. Simeon. Hmm. Ouch. The whole room wins. Put Trevor Simeon on last year's Vikings.

I think they do a lot better. He's a guy who's very dependent on his offensive line blocking. Yeah, I don't think that's crazy. The thing, you're so right about Elway, and you could get this a little bit from the Combine, just the way he was talking. He seems like, he feels the pressure. Pesh, like last year was such a miserable experience for him. He just wanted to wipe it away.

He said that immediately, just like, I'm so happy because it's 2018 and, you know, the worst year ever is over and I'm going to forget that ever happened. But he might be in a spot where this year is not really that much better. Well, they haven't had back-to-back losing season since any of us in this room has been alive. The standards there are very high. They go for Super Bowls every year. Wow. That's a great little nugget. It's been since the early 1970s.

Well, the Cubs have won a World Series. The Eagles just won the Super Bowl. Maybe it's time for Denver to experience a little back-to-back. Little losing campaign. Dirt nap, as you say. A little dirt nap time. As you're known to say. That time.

I like it. Wes. I will spin off Mark's pick. Pressure. And another Hall of Fame player who's been one of the best general managers of his generation. Ozzy Newsom, there's some pressure on him. His legacy's intact. He's done enough.

But he does not want to leave a mess for Eric DeCosta, who's going to be the next general manager. And this roster right now has potential to be a mess. They have, as in every. iteration of Ozzie Newsom's tenure there, they have to blow up the wide receiver core again because it didn't work out and Ozzy has not been able to figure out that position. In addition to that, who is Joe Flacco at this point? They keep backing him, but there's whispers that they're going to target a quarterback at some point in this draft.

They have to figure out if Joe Flacco is going to be the guy for the next, you know, Eric Dacosta era. Defense, they spent a few early round picks on edge rush, last year. They're getting a little old in the secondary. They have to fix that. They've got some holes up front. Their cap is a mess. The Ravens could go either way this year. They could go back into the playoff hunt. The Bengals knocked them out last year. Or they could fall back another couple steps again and become a team that has to do a massive rebuild. Ozzie Newsom when he was under Bill Belichick in Cleveland, one of the first, Belichick, one of the first times

he said, I know Ozzie Newsom has this special gift to scout and see players, was when he found Michael Jackson, the wide receiver, not the singer. Michael Dyson for like three games, then he went back. But you remember Michael Jackson was an incredible talent. Yes. And you go to Baltimore. Then they moved to Baltimore. Do we owe Tom Jackson's royalties after that? They go to Baltimore, and I feel like they haven't

found a wide receiver since. No. I mean, it's been the entire run with the Ravens. How many great wide receivers can you name that they picked in the draft? Oh, yeah. The only good ones they had have been free agents, old veterans, Bolden, Mason. Spent first rep. Colleen's close personal friend, Steve Smith.

Mark Clayton, who was the other one, Travis Taylor? You get it. Your point about DeCostas is interesting because if they do have a losing record, the first thing DeCosta is going to have to do is fire John Harbaugh, I believe, if they have a losing record this year, he's not going to say. So fire one of the five best coaches in the NFL? They said they considered firing him this year, and they admitted that. That would be Steve Bichotti's decision, not Eric DeCostis.

Right, that's fair. But that would start his run and maybe get a new quarterback. too if flacko looks poor. Connie. All right, so obviously Kirk Cousins is under a ton of pressure and I was trying to think of someone who is a little bit more under the radar. So I

know that this is a GM who's only in his second season but the Colts are a mess and Chris Ballard they had he took the first season What's your favorite type of frog? To clean things up there, take stock and what's going on they went four and 12 but they have the third overall pick. They have the third I believe

most cap space in the league. Their quarterback situation is one that's kind of shrouded with mystery, not to him, but to us. So whatever Andrew Luck is going to do, if he's going to be healthy or not next season, you just had Josh McDaniels publicly blow you off in front of everybody. And so you have your second choice as your head coach. They have so many needs there. I mean, that offensive line has been a mess for years and years. You need two corners.

You need an inside linebacker pass rushers. And if the rivalry is still back on with New England, who they play this year, they have to at least be competitive. plus the division is a lot more competitive than it's been in the past with Deshawn Watson at the Texans and the Jags, what they were able to do. It's not as easy as it used to be for them. So they need to get talent in there. The one thing I'd say in is, I think, A, the owner loves him.

Right. And he's handled a lot of, who thought they would have come into this situation, really essentially not have Andrew Luck at all. And having to answer questions 7,000 times about a thing that he can't definitively say if Andrew Luck is healthy or not. But over and over, stuff's been thrown in. Ballard's face, and Ballard continues, I think, to answer with a lot of grace and he's been a really skillful guy navigating an organization that the GM before him was a giant mess.

It's crazy. Doing the exercise that Greg referenced earlier, I had the AFC section. It's crazy to see the Colts still have the same glaring holes on the roster they've had since they drafted Andrew Luck, running back, offensive line, and the entire defense. Yeah. How much is the, well, we'll find out because we all rooting for Ballard and we like Ballard and we like frogs. But how much of it is the GM and how much is it that is upstairs beyond the GM? And if that's ultimately what's holding back this franchise, then any GM is kind of up the old creek.

I think most football people would tell you that Jim Ursay is a very good owner to work for. I think that we may see, and we've seen it already, some of the value of. Peyton Manning, not that anyone doubted his value, carrying an organization that maybe does have some poor leadership at the very time. Because look how he's handled the era since. I think Jim Mersey has certainly made decisions that he regrets. There was a Hall of Famer who built that team. Right. Bill Pollian. Right. But I'm saying everything that's gone on since then has not been handled

well. They were given Andrew luck. I'm not giving him any credit for that. They were given Andrew. No, I agree with it. A magical one in. 15 seats and gave them Andrew luck. I would take that true. I think Jim Ursay is more knowledgeable on football than most owners, but that could also get him in trouble by getting involved in things. Knowledge is a part of it. I don't think he's one of those owners that's, you know, lost in space.

And I will not name some that I believe are. He's a former general manager. That's coming up later this week on the end around. Good week, bad way. Tune in. All right. We're logging. Either way.

It's a website. I'll throw one out there a little full circle or we started this podcast. podcast, John Schneider. Oh, Johnny. Oh, Johnny. He did something that I think, or at least Greg and I agree with getting out now. And if you feel like the end is near with this group, try to rebuild and build around your superstar linebacker and go from there. However, that comes with a lot of risk, especially when you have a fan base that has grown to love and fall in love with the idea.

of the Legion of Boom and it's become the identity of that defense. When you make that decision, we're going to start taking that apart and we're going to change this defense. Your fans are going to expect, and probably your bosses, are going to expect a succession plan

that is, you know, bonkers. It's lights out. Because why else would you then throw away this amazing part of the legacy of your organization? So I think you really need to be, you need to know what you're doing and you think that Schneider

has a track record to prove it, but he's under a lot of pressure. He's got to pick the right players. They don't have a lot of cap space. I just checked it out. I don't know how things will change with some of these moves they're doing. It got to save a lot between Sherman,

April, Chancellor. But even that will put them maybe in the middle of the pack. Right now they're in the bottom third. They only have $14 million, according to over the cap. And then that's not even half. I mean, he's also got the other side of the ball to worry about. Paul Richardson's a nice player. He's probably gone.

Jimmy Graham, who's maybe not Jimmy Graham anymore, but was a part of their offense, an important part. He's going to be gone. most likely. And they still have no running game. And I know they got Dwayne Brown at left tackle, but their offensive line probably still is a unit that you would think needs to be addressed.

Yes, Pete Carroll's there. Yes, Russell Wilson. But GM's got a lot of work. It almost reminds me it's not the same level because you do have the same coach and you do have the same quarterback and a lot can ride on that. We saw that last year with that team.

But when the Niners, like post Jim Harbour, when they lost so many people all over the place that the Seahawks are going to look like a completely vastly different organization. I would say this. Jim Schneider's the guy I trust to do it. And secondly, if you tell Seahawks fans, hey, we're going to give you five or six of the most fun football seasons ever. If you would ride with us through a little bit of a hiccup after,

I think most fans would take that. Yeah, they've proven it. It was one of the best, you know, reconstruction jobs anyone's done this century in Seattle when they arrive. But they haven't really hit on their draft picks well for a while. I mean, at the incredible level that they were. So they need to find their new Earl Thomas's and Sherman's and KJ Wrights. Schneider needs to start hitting on his picks. You've got to be smart and lucky because you have to have teams pass on guys like Russell Wilson and Bobby Wagner and Richard Sherman in order to get them where they got them.

Matt Flynn was going to be their quarterback. Chaz Whitehurst had a little time there, a little cameo. One more shot of Matt Flynn out the door, huh? I'm just saying, I mean, talk about a guy that got overpaid. Seems like just yesterday John Snyder had that championship wrestling belt. feeling his eyes. Oh, my God. Toast of the league.

Nice, nice man pecks on display. He's still a guy who has a healthy level of swagger. Oh, yeah. Yes. You're going to need it. Maybe it's not fair, but kind of the lasting image I'm going to have. And maybe this is because I'm a Patriots fan of the end of that era is Richard Sherman's face on NBC reacting to the interception. Like, the cameraman that had the camera on Richard Sherman's face, give him a bonus NBC.

Great getting people paid years later Years later yeah Great memory I'm just saying it was like that face Ended the Seahawks Dynasty It's like an $800 check shows up And it's like thank at Greg Rosenthal The guy would be like what is happening

All right that's it for today's show We'll be back on Friday With oh yeah It's free agency props time It's tough free agency props are tough Just go get my lunch right Go get my lunch You giant piece of filth

Is this the one where you, Dan, were O'Ford, like you went O'Four 14, or was that draft? One of them, you, and you've climbed out of that basis. Yes, I believe it was the draft where I almost had Johnny Manzano of the Cowboys. I almost had this, almost had that, but I had nothing. But thank you for bringing that up, Mark. That wasn't. Remember that time when you missed all of your guesses?

In general, I've been strong to very strong in this game, and I intend to have a strong free agency prop ses. So you just get your head on straight. Good luck to you. Wow. After your Super Bowl performance, fell off the wheels. The wheels fell off. Well, I'm going to stop predicting things

that have like a one in 75 billion chance of happening. He's heads are falling off. I don't believe it. I don't believe you can do it. I think you like the spotlight. I can't wait to you. Oh, that's a good tease. He likes the spotlight of the long shot.

The spotlight of going one in eight on like a props. I think what this needs that Mark and Dan need to have some props really directed at each other. We'll like that out. Organically, let's hope. Orginine rivalry. I like it. Here we go. This Dan Hans is signing off for Quiet Storm, the mailman.

You can do it. You can do it. Honey Fox. The old boss. And Lindsay Fulton behind the glass. Until Friday. Podcasts.