NFL Daily with Gregg Rosenthal - More Free Agent Moves; Teams That Still Have Work To Do

Episode Date: March 22, 2021

A room filled with heroes – Dan Hanzus, Gregg Rosenthal and Marc Sessler bring you all of the latest news in the NFL after a wild free agency frenzy. Kenny Golladay has a new home with the Giants (7:01), Juju Smith Schuster is staying in Pittsburgh on a one year prove it deal (12:45), and the Broncos add a new CB (30:32). Chris Carson stays in Seattle (39:40) and DeSean Jackson is heading to the Rams (43:40). The NFL has a big new TV deal (45:53) and the heroes spin through some 8 o’clock delight (51:12). Lastly, we close the show with a short segment called “Teams that Still Have Work to Do” (56:21).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. Hey, everybody. Daniel Jeremiah here. And I'm Bucky Brooks. On Move the 6th, we take you inside the game from breaking down college prospects and NFL rookies to evaluating team building philosophies, coaching trends, and how front offices construct winning rosters. We study the tape, talk to decision makers, and give you a perspective you won't find anywhere else.

It's everything you need to understand the why behind what happens on Sunday. Don't miss it. Listen to the Move the Sticks podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Marcus Grant. And I'm Michael Florio, and together we host the NFL Fantasy Football Podcast. Ready to dominate your fantasy league this season? Then you need the NFL Fantasy Football Podcast, your ultimate source for player news, draft tips, and winning strategies. Whether you're a rookie manager or a fantasy vet. We've got the insight to help you crush your opponents.

Listen to the NFL Fantasy Football podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Toyota, the official automotive partner of the NFL. Visit Toyota.com slash NFL now to learn more. The Around the NFL podcast is the face of porthole in America. Yeah, we'll take it. Welcome to another edition of the Around the NFL podcast. My name is Dan Hansis. I come to you from a virtual room filled with some heroes.

Mark Sessler, Greg Rosenthal. And, you know, certainly there are far better cornhole players than myself and Greg and certainly Mark. Shots fired. And even Wes, as great as Wes was as a cornhole player, when I watch the Cornhole championship tournaments on ESPN 2, as I

sometimes sadly do. And I would text Wes about that on occasion. Hey, Wes, it's on ESPN 2. It was never like, oh, let me go flipping on. It was like, oh, cool. Like, even Wes wasn't on board with watching cornhole on television. But the level of skill

for the greater Cornhole community, the true elites, is absurd that they'll go, you know, the two guys side by side and they'll just throw eight bags in a row. the hole. And I just want to say that in terms of underrated hand-eye coordination and feats of greatness in athletics, being able to go four in a row in the hole in corn is to me right up there near the top of the list. I don't care what anybody says. I think that's both right and also not right because I do think it's something like free throw shooting that if a ton of people

just practiced it nonstop, then a decent chunk of those people can get really, really good at Cornell in a way that you could not like, you know, dunking a basketball no matter how much you practice. Like those guys have so many reps. You've got to give them a little... And I know you guys think that I'm ultra-apathetic

and largely I am, but there was, there is one cornhole incident that I still think about probably weekly and it was at when we, the four of us went down for Wes's Bachelor weekend, At a questionable Airbnb, I would say, it had some pluses and minuses. I know, you're up in arms about it. But we played a lot of cornhole, and I was teamed with West,

and I was determined to put my best foot forward. And we were on the brink of knocking Dan and Greg out. And I honestly, do you remember this? I had played pretty well. I'd held my own. It was not an embarrassment. I actually had a few money shots. But there was a final showdown in which,

suddenly I had the skill of a newborn and was flinging like the bags like to and fro off the board and we crumbled in the final eight minutes and it sat with me to this moment and this time around I do accept the music because it was something that I will

It was epic. It was epic. I do remember that now. It's a good memory. Yep, I remember that. You put forth a really fine performance. I mean, Mark wants a big pat on the back because he kept it close while he was partnered with, you know, the most experienced guy there. Let's calm down a little.

Well, no, it wasn't like, typically it's like Wes hits 19 out of 20 shots and I go, I maybe like hit the board once. I held my own this time and had we won, you would have heard about it. It saved you some trouble because you would have heard about it five to 600 times a month since. Fair enough.

And yes, Wes, he could throw the hell out of those bags. And Nick Wessling, by the way, and you know, we talked about it last week, the Cornhole Showdown that, you know, there are different viewpoints and how it went down in May of 2019 at Wesleyan Lukisha's wedding. He sent me a simple text, two words,

based on how I told the story, revisionist history. I think it's fair. To which I say, all right, well, let's see what happens when we all get back on the island together, okay? And let's get on the island and let's play and let's settle this for real, Wessling.

Right. Right, but I agree with his point, though. It's like you've erased the pass and turn it into a future challenge as if the playing field is level, which is not accurate for anyone. It's level, baby. No, it's not. We got a great picture out of it. You and Nick both wearing tuxitos, throw in the bags, you know. Yeah, that was nice.

All right. We are a week out almost from the start of the new league year, and this is now, we're now deep, I would say, Greg, into the second. wave of free agency as the final big names came off the board it felt at the end of the week and over the weekend we're going to get to all of that and then we're also going to take another look at where we're at with available free agents as you know some teams I would imagine are starting to turn their attention to the draft in a big way so yes that's where we are at this stage of the league calendar and why don't we see where we are in the old Our League.

Hit the news, Ricky. Is it a level up in my heart deeply just understanding what he brings? It's a level up. Tough stitch there. I don't know if you guys are tracking this story. So that was Michael Brockers. Then a Rams star asked about the trade of Matthew Stafford to L.A. in exchange for Jared Gough

and he told TMZ that oh clearly Matthew Stafford level up, level up and then Michael Brockers gets traded to the Lions, the team where Jared Gough plays quarterback and he today, just today, TMZ had an update that

Lions Michael Brockers apologizes the teammate Jared Gough after shot at QB. I mean, talk about your all-time backfires. That's a mess. He tried to make it, and even Goff had to answer it and be like, no, it's all cool. And Brockers was like, yeah, I explained to him. I was just hyping up our new situation.

He gets how it is. And it's like now re-listing to him actually say, that's not really what he was doing. He was just being real. It was a level up. Well, you don't get a sense that they were like super tight friends who always had each other's back. If that quote came out at all, you wouldn't imagine one of us doing that to each other in a public sphere. had we shifted from one show to another, you know? He thought he was safe.

He thought he was safe. He thought he was in the clear, can make a statement like that. And he got banged in the biggest of all spots. Like Jared Goff himself, by the way, because I look at it and we're just about, we're about to talk about Kenny Goladay, who's no longer a member of the Lions.

And we also know that Marvin Jones, the great underrated receiver, no longer with the Lions. Breshard Perriman's in the house. late as a starter Tyrell Williams another team that was another player

who was cast off by his previous team those are the top two receivers with 74 year old Danny Amandol in the slot I guess is he even he's a free agent too

I believe I don't think he's been signed so yeah you still got Hawkinson it's not a great it's not a great not a great group tough situation for golf

and then he's got people in the media and his own head coach and his old teammates that become his teammates all bagging on him. It's a trying time for Mr. Goff. All right. Let's get into it starting with Kenny Gallaudet, who entered a wide receiver free agent market that wasn't too kind of many of his contemporaries, but it all worked out for him because he signs a four-year, $72 million contract with the New York Giants.

And there's 40 million in guaranteed money. And that is big. That's a big payday, especially in this market, Marks Dessler. And I know last week on one of our programs where we talking to microphones, you were lamenting the giants and their strategies in terms of team building. To me, this feels like a great signing for New York. And it really gives them their first true number one receiver since O'Dell was traded a couple of years back. Yeah.

And you look at you get Sequin Barclay back healthy. Sterling Shepard, Darius Slayton, Evan Ingram, Kyle Rudolph is depth in my book. I don't know. But if you're Daniel Jones, it is a huge season you're rolling into because if he crumbles, he's out. I mean, it's like you can't, my issue was more with Daniel Jones, with sitting pat at that quarterback situation.

I get it, like they invested a lot and they're not ready to jump ship on that. But he's sort of run out of, you know, lingering excuses. Even last year, you could say without Sequin and stuff around them, maybe. But he isn't a quarterback that I would view as someone that, hey, everyone around him is better because Daniel Jones is here. It's like, can this guy keep on hold of the ball? He's a turnover machine. He's got to work on his own game and make use of Kenny Galladay. I mean, you could argue that it's not a great landing spot for Kenny Galladay if this offense continues to look stuck in the mud with Jason Garrett calling plays. That said, I do think that the

Giants went for it. They got the best wide receiver on the market. And so critique off and let's see how it goes well wasn't wasn't cheap uh it's funny i saw some smart people saying these wide receivers better take these these deals quickly because this money the big money is not happening for you and we saw a couple of them did we'll get to him juju will fuller uh but galate got that full money he he this is a real deal 40 million guaranteed really a 54 year uh 54 million dollar contract over the first three years that's top shelf money i love it for daniel jones I think he's played a little better than people, give him credit for, and I do think the excuses that you can make for him are enormous.

Because I think it's not the weapons, just the weapons, and the run-first approach with a bad running game. It's one of the worst offensive lines in the league. And I've been hard on Sam Darnold, and I think he probably deserves a little more leeway because of the offensive line. It's not about the weapons. Those two guys were protected as poorly as any two quarterbacks in the entire league. Joe Burrow, I would throw in there, too.

And so they haven't fixed that, so I'm still a little worried. But I do like Shepard and Ingram, Saquan's back, and Ghaladay. It feels like at least you've got a team here. We might see what Daniel Jones has and be a little more fun to watch. I would ask you a question, Greg, because I remember after the primetime game where Daniel Jones had the trip and stumble, well, you were, no, I mean, I was almost surprised with how strongly you buried the concept of Daniel Jones sort of evolving into anything. where I think, if anything, I was probably more saying, I still see things in him.

And I do here and there. It's just never a lot of complete games. So did something happen down the stretch with Daniel Jones that changed your opinion? Well, he was hurt, too. Yeah. I do think he played better down the stretch. That's part of it. I think I was a little emotional because I've been in on Jones.

I like watching him play. And I do think, you know, maybe the ceiling for him isn't like top shelf, but I do think he played better down the stretch to answer that part. He had a leg injury. A big part of his game is his mobility and his speed. and you kind of stripped that away from him down the stretch last season and you obviously didn't have

a true number one wide receiver. You didn't have Sequin Barclay for the whole season. And Goladay, that's top shelf money because he's a top shelf player. He's a true number one wide receiver smack in the middle of his prime. And you mentioned San Darnal,

this is what I had hoped for him. I had hoped that in the time that he had his three years as a starter, at some point, they surrounded him with a true number one. one wide receiver, for instance, and that never happened. And so I think with the Giants, they set themselves up well here to get one last look at Jones with a really good set of playmakers around him.

And then if he doesn't play well, then there's no questions. And maybe you draft someone at quarterback if you like someone this year as well. But I think this is a really smart move for them. It'll be interesting to see if Jones' play does take a step in year three. While we're on the Giants, I do want to throw in that. I thought it was interesting. They signed Mike Lennon, not because I'm a Mike Lennon fan. Just because it just shows where Daniel Jones is compared to the Drew Lox or the Darnold, certainly, of the world.

Like, they just signed like a full-on backup that's not going to remotely compete with Dana Jones. You mentioned Juju Smith-Schuster, and he is staying in Pittsburgh. This went down on Friday. It's a one-year $8 million contract, and Juju, obviously, I don't think he was excited. expecting Kenny Gallaudet money necessarily, but he's certainly thinking he was going to get a rich multi-year deal after the first four years of his career in Pittsburgh. The market wasn't too hot. So he goes back to Pittsburgh on a one-year $8 million deal, approve a deal essentially, and one that really works that well for the Steelers. Let's be honest, because I think they had

resigned themselves to losing Juju, and according to reports, Mark, he left some money on the table to stay in Pittsburgh. The Ravens were among the teams that were interested in bringing him in. The Ravens part would have been juicy, but I don't think that's, if you're on a one-year prove-it deal, I'd be hard-pressed to find a team in the AFC that I would find more of a the results could be so variable than going to Baltimore. Maybe it would work out. Maybe they would open up that passing game a little bit more, but it's certainly risky. Why not go back to a system and to teammates and an environment that you know so well? I mean, you take all those X factors out and you go play the best version of yourself next season. And I think, you know,

maybe this is a player that lost a little bit of potential money here and there or suitors based on the whole juju experience, which, you know, I get it. The Browns is the Browns, the dancing on the logo. And that's, you know, that's fine, but there's tons of players doing. that. And if anything, like, while that maybe heated me up a little bit before the Browns week, and I think that actually affected that game. I really do. But I would say this, like Adi, for instance, who is around the Steelers all the time and other people who are around Juju do also talk about him as one of the hardest working, best prepared guys who works on his game tirelessly. So I don't think it's a character issue at all. I think it's just that, you know what? Most reporters are in their

30s, 40s and 50s, and your players are in their 20s. And they're like TikTok, the idea of TikTok maybe annoys, even people like me at times. But I think there's very good things on TikTok if you take a look. You can find things you like. I would just say that I get to go. Let's dive into that more. What are you into? A lot of corners, a lot of categories.

And, you know, there are things to look into. I'll leave it at that. But I don't, I think juju has landed in the correct place. I like it. 97 catches 831 yards last season which is a truly bizarre stat line and I think that hurt his market and depressed his value as well because it reinforced this notion that Smith-Schuster is not a true playmaker he's a grinder he's a tough guy that will do the hard work but he's not going to be somebody that can light up a team for 1,500 yards in a season but that's not quite fair either because he did that once in a time about two years ago right I think it's a great setup for the Steelers. Now we just got to see if he has a quarterback that can get him the ball. It's funny, though, Antonio Brown was kind of right about Juju when he really slammed him.

He's like, that guy's not a number one. And like the two years since, the league agrees with Antonio Brown. And sort of the Steelers do, too. Guys who play the slot and are rugged and tough over the minute, they don't tend to get paid. Guys on the outside get paid. That said, I look at some of the contract signed. Corey Davis is with the Jets and Nelson Aguilar with the Patriots

being the ones that stand out. I'd rather have Juju than either of those players for sure. Definitely more than Aguilar who had played a lot in the slot and got 16 guaranteed, you know, 2 for 20. I don't know. But Juju would be a great fit

with the Patriots, by the way. I wonder if they just never thought his price would get this low. Not a Patriots guy. He is, though. He's a throwback in terms of the way he plays. Yeah, but those. that Mark was referring to kind of... In his perfect world, he is an Edelman Welker type.

That's what I'm trying to say. I'm just saying the things that Mark was alluding to, that feels like something that maybe Bill would be down with. That's fair. And that Agalore signing has been... I mean, that is getting killed by people at this point for being a jump quick, pay too much for a guy with questions of his own on the...

Well, that one, and I would say Davis, too, but Aguilar even more so looks worse after the Juju and the Fuller signings. That they look worse. I don't know what it would have taken because the Jets talked to Smith-Schuster as well. Would I rather have James and Crowder for $10 million or Schuster, Smith-Schuster for the same price? I don't know.

Maybe Smith-Schuster, but I like James and Crowder. I do. I like Crowder. All right. Will Fuller, he is a member of the Dolphins, which feels like it was just fate. I feel like Will Fuller was always on the dolphins in some way. In some reality, some universe out there, he's always been a member of the Miami Dolphins. now he is in this one. He signs a one-year contract. And, you know, he kind of blew it. Let's face it. He was having the breakout year, everyone he expected with Houston last year after D'Andre Hawkins went out the door in that infamous trade. And it seemed like he was going to go into a contract year coming off a 12 or 1,300-yard season with 10 touchdowns. And then he gets popped for PEDs and get suspended for the last chunk of the season.

That depressed his market. Good for the dolphins who now have a guy with huge upside. And I like this one too, Greg, because Tua, you want to get a good idea of who this guy is and what he can do. And if you surround him with better weapons, like the Giants just did for their young quarterback, you're going to get a better chance to see whether he can really do it. Yeah, you hit it on the head there. I think that got overlooked that, you know, their two best receivers were Devonty Parker and Gassiki, who's a tight end. Yeah, it's okay.

And then after that, it was like a fall off a cliff to like the Jakeem Grant or Preston Williams coming off in ACL. Like that was not a good skill position group. I think it was close to the Patriots as being, you know, one of the worst in the entire NFL. I think Fuller is an even better pickup than Schuster. I love that. I mean, I could see them resigning him to a big contract in December or January or using the franchise tag because it goes well. I mean, there are the, you know, he hasn't played more than 11 games since his rookie year half a decade ago. And we, I mean, every year we've talked about when he's not in that offense in Houston, like, it changed markedly.

And I think it will be the same in Miami that if they were to lose them for three or four games, you're losing your deep threat. And maybe, you know, certainly they're ripe to draft someone too. But he adds an element because I think Tua was in a tough situation to your point of who the two leading receivers were a year ago. A lot of contested catches, a lot of stuff over the middle. give Tua a chance to throw deep and create big plays. This does it. Isaiah Wilson, the tackle who was a first in terms of, yeah, one year drops in terms of where you are as a professional, you could go across the spectrum out of the football world.

This is pretty tough one. This is a toughie. 29th overall pick by the Titans last year. They identified him as a guy who could be a big time tackle for years. he totally bombs in terms behind the scenes, being on the field, two trips to the COVID list, a DUI, all that sort of stuff. The Titans say, we can't make this work. They essentially dump him to the dolphins.

And Isaiah Wilson now has a fresh start with the dolphins, and what does he do? He shows up late for his physical, then late for his onboarding process, then he skipped voluntary workouts. And according to the Miami Herald, he refused team efforts to help him to get his life on track. So in two weeks, the dolphins say, okay, we're done. And now he cleared waivers, which means his football career could be over, potentially, less than a year after being a first round pick in the NFL. It's kind of remarkable and not in a good way. I don't know why if you're another team.

You don't swoop in and grab this guy and see what you can do with him. No, it's like, you know, I think it was the cherry on top of a terrible, pretty terrible offseason for the Titans a year ago. One that really cost them. I mean, if they made different choices, they would have been a different team. They were relying on him after letting Jack Conklin go and other guys. And he does not show up for the challenge. And these little things, these are the little things, showing up to work on time, you know, putting your best foot forward, X, Y, and Z. And he seems incapable of that.

It just reminds you that a lot of these guys are immature. I mean, you've got to, there is something to be said about who you are off the field. He kind of reminds me a little bit for a comp, like Justin Gilbert, who was a super high draft pick in Cleveland. And basically, if you wanted to pick, like, the 10 stupidest things you could do to have your career fade away, he did them. And Isaiah Wilson has also checked every possible box, including getting COVID multiple times where he was caught at, like, frat house. Fratheaus. That's what you do at a frat house with other people who were not asked. Fratheaus and out of frat house.

Yes, so it's quite troubling. I mean, he doesn't, he's not that into football. It happens. You know, he's not, he does not seem that interested in having an NFL career for whatever reason. It might be a simple one where he's like, he's just not that into it. So I don't know if it's sad or there might be more serious things going on. I was going to say that might end up being a simplification. He seems like a guy that's a little bit lost at C.

Right. I mean, he doesn't. And it doesn't sound like he has people that are there to help him. make the right decisions or if there are people he's ignoring them but it's it's pretty sad actually because if you take a step back and you don't think about it but then it's like it's like a 22 year old kid like and he's totally like you know part of the french up his life right now and only he can really get himself back on track and right now he is off yeah i had i had a conversation about this actually with someone over the weekend and i it's my theory like i saw this tweet going around

it's like hey just because you're in the NFL doesn't mean you like football like plenty of these guys don't really like that much. And I thought, okay, well, that, I think the majority by far do, because it's so hard to get through. But I do think there is like a subsection of NFL players. And it's often the most talented ones who can get by enough with their talent. And they don't become like the best players in the league. They probably are just like on your roster and they're maybe middle of the pack. And they can just like get by with their talent just because they're talented enough. And they're not really that into it. And I think I think he's, He could have been in that category, but he doesn't even make the bare minimum of caring, apparently.

You know that Greg had a spicy weekend when he was having off-the-cuff conversations about Isaiah Wilson, unnamed individuals. This story. It was an interesting story. Spicy. All right. So off-the-field issues have been an issue for Isaiah Wilson. Also, off-the-field issues alleged coming to the forefront here around Deshaun Watson. And this is a story that's getting bigger and now we have to track and see how it plays out because there's a lawyer named Tony Busby who said that 12 clients will sue the Texans quarterback for alleged misconduct during massage sessions.

And the latest of those lawsuits is on an incident that happened allegedly just this month. So it is now officially up to 11. So he promised 12. The official count is 11. At a Friday press conference, Busby said that the misconduct continued even after this started to pick up some steam as something that was happening in these lawsuits. And the league is monitoring and investigating the situation.

He could be disciplined, Watson, under the personal conduct policy. He could face criminal charges. That is still in play. So we have to learn more about this, but at a time when Deshaun Watson is the centerpiece of the NFL in terms of intrigue, he wants out of Houston, now there is a huge off-the-field issue around him, and you just wonder how that's going to play a part in whether he stays, goes, or even comes off the field entirely.

Yeah, and I think it's impossible to say right now, we'll start there. But I do think the story, as you mentioned, Dan, transitioned at some point as the number of women accusing him piled up that this is beyond like not nothing like this is not nothing this is not something they can put to the side that the charges also are getting increasingly serious and you know I went through and read all like a bunch of the different charges and you know some of them some of them involve you know, him touching. And initially, the first couple ones were a little more vague, but he has the texts and he has like some social media stuff that he's putting as part of it. And it's,

it's very serious and it complicates it. And you do think about previous domestic cases, like, you know, conduct policy cases. I'm thinking of James Winston specifically. He got suspended for that for what he did. And I think we have to see how this, you know, goes from here, but it makes it really complicated for Watson, for the Texans, for everyone. I think also if you're like Peter King pointed out and, you know, if you're into football, maybe you don't know some of how the legal stuff goes, but if it's civil, these are civil suits and you can't be put on the commissioner's exempt list with civil suits. If it moved to criminal suits, that's when guys like Adrian Peterson and Ray Rice were put on those lists because that's

the distinction there. But another thing that you point out from a football angle that I think is just weighs heavy over the next month plus is that we're about 38 days away from the draft. And, you know, we've all talked about any sort of Deshaun Watson trade. Obviously it has to happen. It could be close to the draft, but before the draft so that teams know, whatever team would be, know what they're doing a quarterback, including the Texans. And 38 days, with all this stuff thrown into it, is a very short amount of time. And it could just leave all of this in a very weird place. And you wonder, I mean, based on how all this goes, where does Sean Watson's playing at all next year?

Or if he's playing, and it's a wait and see, you know? I think you have to push pause on the whole thing from a football perspective, right? Because if you're the Texans, well, Texans, as we understand it, don't want to trade to Sean Watson. But if they felt like they had to and they didn't have a choice, you're going to want to move them for, you know, a mountain. You're going to want to be able to restock your franchise with that trade. And if you're another team, are you going to trade away your future? for a guy that has an unsettled legal situation and not just, you know, a one-off case of some kind, an alleged pattern of behavior that is really messy and disturbing and that is not necessarily

a guy you want to mortgage your future over until you find out whether or not, you know, this gets cleared up in courts one way or the other. So it does feel like, and as Mark mentioned, with the draft here, it all makes sense that you would want to do a trade before the draft, but maybe that's just not the way this is going to work out anymore. It is very messy. Oh, my goodness. Yeah, I think if it was someone other than Watson, the story would have accelerated even faster. I think his reputation and all the other things that he's done in his career and his life and his relationships and everything almost gives him some benefit of the doubt in terms of how it just was being handled publicly.

you know like for one or two of these complaints when they first popped up and there's a lot of focus on the lawyer and different things and that's all you know worth having context about but I think if it doesn't matter who you are what's happened before if you put the same circumstances with any player in the NFL would be like incredibly serious much less a guy who's a franchise quarterback and you know potentially getting traded right now I mean I think the thing is you can't get out of here without noting that when it started and it was just just, there were whispers of this, and it was like, oh, oh, this lawyer lives essentially sort of kitty corner to the Houston Texans owner, that there were layers of what is, this seems potentially fishy. We want, let's take, you know, of course, just wait and see. But to the point that you made, where the number of cases and the frequency and these, the similarities of them all, it's just pretty dense and intricate. And so, you know, our job really is just to not assume, just to wait and find out how the legal side of it carries out. But, I mean, the timing could not be thornier.

It's interesting how the story has been covered, because you're right. It pops up at a time where the Texans, in terms of PR, could not be worse right now about who's running the franchise, how it's being run, and how they're desperate to keep this guy. And then the conspiracy theory is about, oh, well, maybe this is one way to make that happen to depress his trade market. But now you don't, and then you have this lawyer and it was like the way he came out initially, it seems. like he was an ambulance chaser type guy that shouldn't be taken seriously, that he was looking for publicity, but that feels like it's shifted over the past week. So we will continue to track this story as unpleasant as it is. Back to football. Nice signing here by the Denver Broncos who pick up Kyle Fuller, a really solid cornerback formerly of the Chicago Bears. It's a one-year

nine and a half million dollar deal. Nice. spot there for Vic Fangio. They have experience together from their days in Chicago. And Greg, it just so happens that the Broncos really needed another cornerback. And now they have a really solid one to pair with Ronald Darby. And oh, by the way, Justin Simmons, one of the best safeties in the league, just signed an extension. Things are set up well in the back end in Denver.

I like their offseason a lot. They also brought back Shelby Harris, who was one of my favorites. That defense, I think, should expect to be in the top. five because they're a defense-heavy team right now. They need that defense because they're spending there. They have a great coach, great system. Von Miller's coming back. That's the type of defense the Broncos can have. I think from the Bears perspective, if you want to pile on the Bears for anything over the last week, it's not the Andy Dalton signing. It's the Kyle Fuller release. It's the fact that you were trying to trade Kyle Fuller and probably

Akeem Hicks to the Seahawks for Russell Wilson right before you cut Philips, Fuller that you mismanage your cap to the point where you have to cut a really good player. I said, you know, earlier this month, how they're not cutting players they want to keep. Maybe the Bears were an exception to that because Fuller is still playing at a high level, but you kind of mismanaged everything where you... There's been a few exceptions, Mr. Rosenzlinson. There's been a few, but my general point remains. I stand by it.

One of the legs of your table, your soapbox are wobbly right now, but you're still up there. There's a couple exceptions that prove the rule, but Ryan Pace has blown this. You've got to stand behind me on that point. It really makes no sense. I'm with you, Greg. It makes no sense, and I love it for Denver. He has. I mean, also, Kyle Fuller couldn't know Vic Fongio any better, and it's a great signing.

You don't wonder if he'll fit into that system. You know he will. And if you're the Broncos, and Vic Fongio is your coach, what are you doing other than building up that defense so the best it can be? He's not, he is an old school type of hire. If the defense isn't like loaded at every position, it's a weakness. And I know a bunch of listeners have been telling us that we've been calling the general manager. His name is George Payton, according to some. We refuse to acknowledge that.

We choose not to recognize it. Sure. We're not dumb to the suggestion. We just refuse to give in to that. We have our own name for him and their head coach. General Patton military marching music, Ricky, that would be nice. Yes, Peyton, we already got a Peyton, okay? We don't need to complicate things.

Well, plus we had a, you know, a George Patton. And he was a general patent, and this patent is a general manager. It's too perfect. It's just keep it. Exactly. From a wordplay angle, you can't ignore it, please. It's like some people on this network, an NFL network, call me Hansus. And they like, Sheck started it, and it stuck a little bit.

I could go around spending my life correcting people, as I've had to do. But at a certain point, I was just like, you know what, if certain people like hitting my last name in a different way, even if they know that it's been said multiple ways, whatever you feel works. And for our podcast, in our league, it's George Patton. It's the general. Well, you are the old Zeezer.

You are the old Zeezer, right? I know. It's complicated. Well, what happened to Daddy Rich, though? I thought you're floating. There seems like. People have multiple options in how they would like to address you. Daddy Rich is one that never really got off the ground,

but it was officially thrown out there. By you. The new old blue eyes is another option. I mean, there's just, you've got a lot of directions. The new old blue eyes, that one's, that's catching a little fire.

That one's where, that's bubbling up and who knows. Fire is strong. It might be turning into, you know how like nobody calls them Matt Smith. In fact, my old neighbor, now that I've moved,

but she was asking me right before I moved, you know, about what it's been like doing shows during the pandemic. And I told her, oh, yeah, you know, doing the podcast and we have a show and also do this power ranking show with Matt Money Smith. She's like, oh, you know Matt Smith? I was like, yeah, I know. Yeah, Money's a great guy. Oh, we love Matt Smith.

We listen to a show every day. It's like, who calls him Matt Smith? You know what's so funny? Like I had, you know how Facebook they'll throw you suggestions on who to add as a friend? and I was looking at them and it was like become friends with Matt Smith and I was like

I don't know anyone named Matt Smith and I was like wait a minute that's money and like I realize I totally get why he injected

the his birth name with a saucy nickname in between because it changes the entire energy everything changes by throwing money and that's why

the new old blue eyes I don't know if that ends up being my thing where my when you see my nameplate on NFL Network it's going to say Dan

new old blue eyes hands that's in play maybe but I don't know for sure I don't control it I don't control I'm I'm more interested just that you that your vision of yourself was throwing this nickname out there I didn't that's the nickname you want that's the nickname you want

I just go with the flow I just go with the flow all right Chris Carson went with the flow and it took him right back to Seattle nailed it two years 14.6 million. There's one of those stupid void years in there.

Now, that can't be new, but I feel like that's being stressed more this year. People are like, like that Taysam Hill contract, which not to get off track here, but we never really dug in on it. Taysam Hill got the $140 million extension, which clearly isn't that, but why did they have to make it so giant? Was that trolling people that don't understand the salary cap or me specifically? I don't know. that contract so giant it's voids every year it's like there's like oh no don't take the contract seriously it has voids after each year like again not to hit on this again but what what are we doing here what are we doing here why is everything so complicated i think probably appeases certain

the egos of certain agents where they know that a vast majority outside of like sort of some you know a group of nerd not i won't call the nerds but like people that understand numbers um they're going to see through that haze right away, but the most football fans think that Taysom Hill signed this monster contract until. Until smarter people, like 10 minutes later describe it. Initially, you don't have your average guy or girl just saying like, well, wait a minute, that contract looks voidable and strained. Like you need like that layer of analysts to come in and break it down for you. Go check out the like whoever it was, whether it was Rapsheet or Schafter, I don't know who it was. The initial tweet of the numbers and then look at all the replies.

for like the next five days. Just a total free cap. Within three hours, like calmer heads have come in and said, this is probably what's really happening with the financials. No, to your point, to answer your question, Dan, though. Taste, I will be. Mark doesn't do a lot of voice work. Yeah, that was good.

And I just have to say, maybe we need to have more Sessler voice work. I don't know who that was. That was like an announcer type of person. That was PFF like underscore cap expert, I feel like just the general general guy. Like a snob. He's like a snob at a country club from an 80s movie. What were you saying? I would say to answer your question, yes, the Taysom Hill thing was, what was the word you used?

It was having a little fun with us, trolling us. Yes, it was 100%. Because his contract, unlike some of these others, didn't have anything real in it. They just were messing around. They weren't adding anything real to his contract. And you're right, these voids, and they've been around a little bit, but they've been growing. and it's been, it's old Loomis in New Orleans who really brought it to the forefront.

I hope. And the Drew Breeze, like all of Drew Breeze's contracts lately, have had these voids, and then the Patriots copied it with Brady, and like now it's like everyone's just going void wild. You know what I hope? Because I don't like being trolled. I don't like people being showy and say, oh, look, I know the cap so well.

I could, you know, I can make this a billion dollar contract if I want. I want something to happen with old Mickey Blue Eyes himself, Loomis. I want him to. to somehow miss something in the notes and end up being a guaranteed $140 million to Payson Hill. Like, he just gets banged for being the show off. That's what he deserves. I think it's Sean Payton, too, who's just like,

well, we got to do this crazy void with someone. Who should we do it with? And they're like, hey, let's do it with Tason. That'll really get them going. Chris Carson. Back to Chris Carson. Yes, good job by the Seahawks. Another guy that you kind of thought might end up leaving

and making that team weaker as a result. but he comes back on a team-friendly deal, I like to think. And when he's right, which isn't always the case with health issues with Chris Carson, Mark, but when he's right, he's a really good freaking running backs. And they got him back in the fold. He's the kind of running back that I kind of just like, I think he makes the Seahawks fun when he's on his game. I mean, if you go back to like 2017, I think he's fourth in the league and sort of tackle-breaking

elusiveness and creating yards after contact, those kind of metrics. And, you know, they also acquired Gabe Jackson from the Raiders. So I think there's something here where it's like, let's, we're trying to show you Russell Wilson. We want, we're not just appeasing you, but we do want to put the parts around you to quell this storm. Because if the Deshaun thing goes south, there may be extra attention on making this Russell Wilson thing happen. If you're one of these teams that doesn't have a chance to draft, you want to go swing for the fences, the spotlight turns to Russell Wilson. I think if your peak hair on the Seahawks, you're saying we're getting you a right guard, we're getting your right guard, we're getting your. running back back here we have a draft coming up bang i i am i feel like they've had a curious

off season though i know their fans do and i share that that they they really valued uh signing carson and then trading for gab jackson who's making 10 million dollars meanwhile you didn't and signing gerald everett the tight end from the ramps for seven million like that money adds up to a lot and you chose not to keep dunlop you don't really have a a pass rush you chose to keep jaren read over some of these other guys. The offensive line, okay, Gabe Jackson and you re-signed Pochick, it's like, I don't know. But Dunlop's contract was out of control. Yeah, it was $14 million, but I'd rather have Dunlop than Everett and Carson or Everett

and Gabe Jackson, however you want to add it up. I think there's a lot of grumbling going on in Seattle right now about how their team's being run by the fans, and I get it, I do. And by the way, and this is quieted down since the trade, but they still have to pay Jamal Adams. Yep. They gave up two first round picks for that guy, and he's going to be wanting to be paid at a market resetting level contract. And by the way, if you delay too long on that, he will start to let you know about it. And I know from experience, you don't want to go down that road with Jamal Adams.

So, yes, it's going to be, I think we talked about this with Mike Dugar when he was on the show. And this feels like such a pivotal year in the future for the future of the Seattle Seahawks. Like, everything can change if things go poorly. And conversely, if things go really well, if they're back in the Super Bowl, but this is all going to be forgotten. But we'll see what happens. Moving on. He would have been nice for the Patriots, by the way, Chris Carson.

You're going to fall back on Lenny for Nett? Yeah, I really like Chris Carson. I just was surprised that he got so much. And it shows the Seahawks priorities. Yeah, I would have loved him on the Patriots for a lower price or for any price. Well, I'm not the one paying. What do I care? Well, those guys are, the Patriots probably would have overpaid him twice what Seattle did.

I think they were, they must have been in on him pretty hard. And that's why he got so much, I think, from Seattle. I said that Will Fuller and the Dolphins felt like it was always meant to be. I kind of feel the same way about the Sean Jackson and the Rams. Doesn't he feel like a guy that was always going to end up on the Rams? and now he is there. He signs a one-year contract, so he'll be catching passes. That's a good thought.

Matthew Stafford throwing passes the Deshaun Jackson deep down the field. The problem is the man cannot stay healthy. We all know that. So he's 34 now, those paper-machet hamstrings. I don't imagine they're going to get stronger as he enters his mid-30s. I've just been through a week of moving, and my body is in a full-on revolt, just the aches and pains of live. And lifting boxes and putting together things and going up and downstairs for Deshaun Jackson,

it's going to be tough for him to stay healthy. But if he ever did, if he ever did, he'd be a star. My guess is it's for very, very little money. The money hasn't come out. So my guess it's just kind of a flyer. I'm glad as a fan because I just don't like Deshaun Jackson going out on two total injury-plagued years. The league is more fun watching him. And as recently as Week 16 last year, whenever he plays.

he, like, rips off an 80-yard touchdown. You remember that touchdown he had from Jalen Hertz? It was against the Cowboys. So, like, even though he never plays, he seems to get a 70-yard touchdown every time he plays. So give it a show. I mean, he hasn't had a full season in seven years. But I think this is a show.

That's a lot of evidence. That's their, yeah, if you get, like, eight great games out of him for a million or two million dollars, which is what I would guess. That seems like a lot. Which is what I would guess he was signed for. Then it's worth it. Eight quarters.

Eight quarters is the over-under. I really do think so. And, like, I mean, look, the problem is the Eagles were legit counting on him the last two years. And you're right, though, if you go back to the opener in 2019, he blew up Washington. And it was like, this guy still can play, but he can only play one or two weeks a year. I mean, but Sean McVeigh got the best out of in Washington. I think this is a relationship signing. And they lost Brandon Cooks. Josh Reynolds was signed by the Titans. So you've got Cooper Cup. You've got Van Jefferson. So he has a

chance to see targets and snaps if to Dan's point the paper shay hamstrings you know if you get a little too much heat on paper mache it gets gluey and it goes back to that it's not you know it doesn't keep its form he's an LA guy too you know I like that that whole that whole uh what could go wrong he you know he's an exciting athlete and all that but I don't I don't want him on my team I just feel like it's not weeks one and two you have to worry about it's weeks three through 17 what about as I I guess I got to see the money but as like a fourth receiver for two or three million dollars or third receiver okay I mean that that is the limit though and maybe yeah yeah they're paying um you know their top two guys good money woods uh and cup and the and you know

the fact that he's still in the league at this point is a testament to when he has been on the field because otherwise I mean his body's clearly telling the national football league I can't do this I can't play football on your team because this doesn't I can't do it it's not going to work. I want to. I'd love to. But I will not cooperate with you for three months. I just can't do it, let alone three weeks. Wouldn't it be worth it for like one Matthew Stafford 75 yard? You'll get it. In the air bomb to him. That'll just look beautiful. I guess I'm just saying, saver it. Give me $1.2 million to work one week a year. And I will give you something special in that week. You won't forget it. Greg, Greg Rosenthal, Rams fans out there, savor that incoming 84-yard touchdown. It will be cool. While you're down 27 to 10 in the fourth quarter, this was exciting. This was the first ever NFL news I can remember my wife, Emeka, broke to me because she's on some mailing list because she bought my daughter a Rams t-shirt. And it was like, they were out front with this Deshaun Jackson News right off the bat.

You're busy talking Isaiah, you know, whatever his name is to, like, random sources. Right off, right after we got off the podcast air on Thursday, as this always happens, Big news went down in the NFL business news. The league announced a new 11-year deal with its television partners. According to the AP, the NFL will earn a total of 113 billion, that's billion with a B from the deal, and it will run through the 233 season unless the NFL ops out, which they can't, I believe in seven or eight years,

and I'm sure they will, and then sign something worth, I don't know, trillion, $112 trillion, maybe, next deal. Anyway, it's pretty crazy. But in terms of what it means to you, the football fan, a few notes. And then I'll throw it to you guys if you had anything else you took out of it. Number one, we don't get any of the money. That should be noted. Monday night games starting in 2023 will be flexible starting in week 12.

That's interesting. There will be more Monday doubleheaders. There's going to be a Saturday double header. This is all a couple of years down the line. but Saturday double-header during the final week of the season with teams that have playoff aspirations. So that's flexible. And Thursday night football is headed to Amazon

in a full-time capacity starting in 2023, which is obviously a total game changer for television, the idea that watching a primetime spotlight island NFL game, now you would only be able to do it unless you had your computer, internet, hookup. And that's a game changer. And that looks like the future. Yeah, the home markets will get those Amazon games.

I was curious about that on some sort of over-the-air TV. But nationally, yeah, you'll have to have Amazon Prime. That changes. It's a bummer here for us at NFL Network. They said the NFL Network will have a small, you know, selected series of games. It's a little unclear what that would be. Maybe holidays or Saturdays will. see. But it just

goes to show. Coming off the pandemic to be able to do this is wild. And I love the fact that they're going to be flexing Monday night. And I think it shouldn't go without saying 17 weeks. Starting.

Starting this season. That's part of it too. That's not official, I guess, but I think it's close to as it's official. We've been calling for more flexing. And as as of others for a long time. So I love that they're open to that.

I do wonder who would be the announcers for the Amazon scenario. TBD. You still, you know, TBD on that. Here's one little thing that stuck out for me because how long have we been watching football where Network A owns the AFC and Network B owns the NFC.

And all of that is going away that there is no more CBS-AFC partnership in Fox NFC marriage, that it's all being dissolved. And I find that fascinating. I don't, maybe that's just a nerdy thing, but I grew up with NBC being tied at the hip to the AFC. That became CBS, but Fox has been with the NFC for so long and all of that's being thrown into a soup, which I think is causing, may cause some consternation because you don't have those,

you can't rely on those certain properties if you're one of those networks, those certain teams year after year, so we'll have to see how they figure that out. But I think most of this is how lucky that they signed that CBA when they did. None of that, I don't, none of this would be happening right now. They got that thing out in time at the weirdest time in our nation's history to be signing massive contracts. Hmm. Get your, 8 o'clock. Get your 2B, by the way. You know how like each, each network has their own, you know, streaming platform? Like, if you don't, if you're a cord cutter, you can get Paramount Plus and you'll get NFL games. That's going to get everyone to, you know, sign up for Paramount

Plus. But Fox's, you know, streaming thing is called Tubeby, T-U-B-I. So you might. We might have some NFL football at Tooby. On Tooby. Yeah. Tube has a separate version of NFL network that just hosts all sorts of other programming. It's pretty good. Sorry, probably didn't need to jump in to talk Tooby, but I just like the word Tubey, T-U-B-I. Let's do it.

I like, I just like an entire show that just Mark and Greg breaking down the streaming wars. Who needs Marchand? Going Upstream with Cessler and Rosenball. I would be the Robin to Greg's Batman on that front. He is, like, obsessed with television deals. Let's hit 8 o'clock to light. Philip Lindsay, formerly of the Broncos, signs a one-year $3.25 million contract with the Texans.

The Texans who also just signed Mark Ingram and also brought back David Johnson. Okay. They've signed 12 different players to one-year, $3 million contracts. But this was maybe my favorite one, this one in Desmond King. Yeah, I don't hate what they're doing a little bit because they can reset the board next year, run a little single wing with all three running backs and Tyrod Taylor.

Wow. Cincinnati Bengals, they finally add someone to their offensive line, and is Riley Reef, who has recently been with the Vikings. They also, as we know, let A.J. Green walk in free agency. While they also say goodbye to 32-year-old Gino Atkins, the great defensive tackle, who is cut after 11 years in Cincinnati. Injuries have taken their toll rate. They have potential Hall of Famer. I think he'll get another job. And I know you are worried about Burrough, so at least they're trying. They're trying. They better use that first round pick in the draft on a tackle.

We'll see. Sheldon Rankins, formerly of the Saints, signs a two-year $17 million contract. Another guy that's been dealing with injuries, he's now joining a Jeff's defensive line that needed a little more depth. What do you think about Rankins, Greg? Big upside. His 2018 season, he was awesome. It's a nice signing bird for that. In 2018, he had eight sacks and forced to fumble.

Eight 16 starts for Sean Payton. All right, Xavier Rhodes, re-signed by the Colts, one year six and a half million. What do you think, Mark? Well, I think Matt Iberflus got the best out of him last year after he really kind of crashed and burned in Minnesota, so why not? They could use an extra pass rush, though.

That makes the secondary better. Dan Quinn, fired by the Falcons, resurfaces as DC with the Cowboys, and now he brings along one of his former guys, Gannon O'Neill, the linebacker's safety, one year $5 million. Yeah, they're trying out a few other ex-Falcons. It's like, yeah, let's get the whole Falcons defense back

together. That was a great group. It's going to play linebacker, too. He's a good thing. Anthony Harris with safety signs a one-year $5 million deals with the Eagles. I like this player. They got him for $5 million. That's a good bargain.

I mean, he played with their new defense coordinator Jonathan Gannon. Pro bowler. So good job. Two Brown signings, Troy Hill, cornerback, four years, $24 million. And also Malik Jackson signs as well with a Bent Browns, formerly of the Eagles.

I think the John Johnson, Troy Hill signings were quietly some of the best work in the F.C. Perfect. 8 o'clock, though. But listen, Mark, you, you're feeling good about it. the Browns, aren't you? You've kind of, you've ducked into Slack it for a couple of times,

a couple texts, you had a haiku on our network show. What are we thinking? I think the haiku is really just a way to continue to troll Big Ben in the whole concept of Big Ben returning this season. But I do think, and I'm not saying this, but I've seen some reports saying they think that the Browns have one of the most well-rounded rosters in the conference. And I think it's fair. I mean, they needed to address secondary. they still have a few other things to do and maybe we could get into that in our segment if we wanted to.

But Mark has a lot emotionally invested right now in not just the Browns, as he always does, but in the Browns bringing about the demise of the Steelers. So that'll be a fun, fun supply to watch this year. Right. If that goes south, or if it just goes back to the norm of before last season or really just before last wild card game, I will be punished by many

from the Pittsburgh area on Twitter. This is setting up, though, potentially as the true. Now, the playoff game was a lot of fun, but maybe, Mark, truly the table's turn starting in 2021, and you become the bully. And how will you handle that? Will you comport yourself in a way that you felt the Steelers fans didn't always handle their business the right way?

Will you handle yourself with dignity if that happens? I hope I would, but I would say it's very up in the air because I'm already noticing that my behavior is becoming less cuth post-wild card game. I'm starting to inhabit some of the traits that I found unlikable in others. All right, let's, let's, before we say goodbye quickly, let's talk about it. Teams that still have work to do, whether it's going to be free agency or the draft mark, do you want to get going? I will.

I thought that the Jaguars, And there's a lot of places you go here. I thought the Jaguars were a logical landing spot for like a Hunter Henry type or maybe even a Janu Smith. And obviously no one, but the Patriots snagged both of those guys. They let Josh Oliver go, who was a bust. They have Trevor Lawrence coming in, barring something unexpected. You'd love to give a rookie quarterback, even if you're as good as Trevor Lawrence, like a security blanket. I think that's something like Sam Darnold's missed in New York, for instance, because they've had,

issues at that position in health. They've got your dude, Chris Mann Hertz, lined up to play snaps. And James O'Shaughnessy, I like the idea of James O'Shaughnessy on your roster doing one or two things, but not as like these two guys as you're starting tight ends. So there are, they're in tough position because there are a couple good tight ends in the draft, but they're not going to go in that direction in the first round. And they're kind of out of luck right now. So I think it's a position that they need to look into.

I did a best, worst, contracts piece for NFL.com that's going up this week. I'm not sure when. And the Jaguars were on the worst because they were the one team that I felt like all these deals were below what you expected, except if you signed with Jacksonville. Like there was like the top of the market where everyone was about where you thought, and then a lot of bargains, except for Jacksonville giving like a lot of money to Roy Roberts and Harris and Malcolm Brown and Marvin Jones and Ray Sean. Jenkins and Griffin, their cornerback that they got, just felt like they paid a premium.

I don't know if that was like a hey, we're bad, were the Jaguars premium or what, but I don't know if they had a great month. It feels like a Trent Balkei premium. That was an interesting person to hire a GM. How about you? Let's go with Miami. It seems weird because they just signed Fuller, and yet I like want more. I just got, maybe it was expectations being too high that I thought they were going to do a lot

this offseason and they got rid of some good players and they you know they brought in fuller they brought in justin coleman who's a slot corner but especially on offense where i'm not totally convinced that offensive line no matter how much uh handsome hank says they're better than i think uh that they're great and then you know i just want more receiving weapons and i thought they'd bring in a nice running back there so maybe that's the draft maybe that's bargains in free agency there's still players out there but i i want to see more out of the dolphins That makes sense. But I do like, I like that they haven't panicked and we'll see.

Maybe something changes between now and the draft. But I never like that idea of pivoting away from Tua potentially or going crazy. I would like, I think it would be totally, it would be nonsense if you essentially soured on Tua based on last year, which had so many obstacles against them. So I like the Fuller signing, but you say you want to add another big time piece. I want more. Maybe it's the running game. Did you want them in the Gala?

Did you want them in that conversation? Yeah, and I think it were to some degree. But even another, it's just a thinner group than you'd like. They did sign Matt Scura, the Ravens Center, who I believe was the one that was struggling with snaps. Am I crazy or the one that got hurt? Either way, they did sign a center, but I want them to like take the next step

and looking at the roster, not sure if I see it. I think in another world, they could have gone after Aaron Jones, which, I mean, a lot of people were connecting those dots. I thought that would happen. but they have a lot of draft picks and I think they have, I really do think Chris Greer is the kind of guy that maybe says

we're going to get our running back in the draft and there are some good backs in there. We kind of touched on it quickly so I won't dig on on this one but yes, I think good job. The Bengals signed Riley Reef and they had a steak dinner where they sealed the deal.

Joe Burrow was there. Zach Taylor was there after dinner. Reef walked away saying I walked away from eating that steak and I was like, I want to block for that guy. All right, good. So that's a good start since the 90.

Let's not settle now. I know Mitchell Schwartz is out there. I don't know if he's continuing to play. Obviously, the top of that draft. But I really want to focus on a different team in the AFC North and it is the Baltimore Ravens. And, man, it's interesting to me that they are not more active in trying to build up their wide receiver room right now. And I'm not saying they should assign Kenny Galladay because I'm not. That was a lot of money to give to Kenny Gallaudet and you have financial restraints.

But, you know, you didn't go the extra mile to get juju. I imagine you could have if he signed a one-year deal worth $8 million. And I know maybe they did offer a little bit more, but maybe you have to go another year to add someone there. But the fact that you still have Hollywood Brown at the top of your depth chart, it makes me think that this team is going to struggle with Lamar Jackson to take that next step on offense unless they've made. make a splashy move via trade or really focus it on draft upgrading at wide receiver. And this fact, whether you could put whatever you want into it, but I think it does hold water because Ozzie Newsom gave way to Eric DeCosta, who learned under Ozzy Newsom, they've never drafted a Pro Bowl wide receiver in the history of that organization.

So if you're leaning on that, there's some history that tells you they're not, they have a little bit of a blind spot at wide receiver. so if you're going to pass on free agency, you better hit on somebody in the draft, unless I'm crazy, Greg, and I know you love Lamar Jackson, that this is fine the way it is, and they're a running team anyway,

and you don't need to build up around. No, I agree with everything you said. I'm not shocked because it's how the Ravens have approached things over the years, and we knew they were coming into this offseason in a tough spot. You know, they also lost their top two pass rushers, and they've made some moves.

Kevin Zitler, they picked up for their offensive line. There is one name out there, who's at top my receiver rankings, really the top two there left, that I think would be good for them, which is T.Y. Hilton is number one left. I think that would be a nice sign. I don't think he's done,

but the Colts are trying to bring him back. And then Antonio Brown, who they were rumored to be talking with at some point last year, is also available. I don't know if that's the right fit. Right. I don't know if that's the right fit,

but those are the top two receivers, at least, available on my board. I could imagine Antonio Brown being very annoyed in question I don't want him there I don't want to know it just seems like a little right no I didn't I just wonder if you're talking to your camp your agents your managers and you have equal deals from team A and team B and you know the Ravens are a tough place if you're a wide receiver to think I'm going to go and become I'm going to blow up here this is a great fit it's like you maybe you will but you have no idea and like the Greg Roman offense feels like the last offense you'd want to run

into, based on their star wide receiver there, saying, you know, multiple times this year, this place is a trash bag place to go for a wide receiver. So our Taylor Bichita report that Juju got a $9 million offer from the Raven, so $1 million more, but more incentives, like some incentives too, but it was still a one year offer. Why not make a little more, give it a little more guaranteed? I think Juju would have fit perfect in Baltimore. That's where Lamar throws best is over the middle. Tough.

Y. Makes sense. Sammy Walken's also out there as an option. So, I don't know, but make a move. Make a move. Give you, give you that guy a chance to lift his game as a passer. If that's the jury's out on him in that sense, well, you've got to build up around him. I don't know. Anybody else have something? I think I just want Denver to fill that quarterback spot with Locke, because I don't want to, as someone who really likes this roster, I like their defense. I like the weapons around Locke a lot. I'm not feeling good right now. Right now, Noah Fant and Cortland Sutton and Jerry Judy and Tim Patrick and Handler and even Melvin Gordon.

Like, they're all relying right now on Drew Locke. I want an option B. I don't know. I think all the good options are gone. So it might be too late unless you draft. It might be. I mean, I think the Colts left tackle with Anthony Costanzo is something to look at. Go get Teddy, Denver.

I just thought of that one. I don't know. Denver. You love Teddy. You love Teddy two and a half times. more than any other person. You really should look into who his agent is, and I know you know, and replace him. How about your boy, Matt Rule?

How about your boy, Matt Rule? You love sending sea poems about who gave him $50 million guaranteed when no one else was, who told us on his show how much he loves him. And by the way, helped him produce at a really high level for about 10 weeks before the wheels. Well, Greg, that was when you buried Dan and I in front of Matt Rule to showcase yourself as a Teddy fan boy, which I didn't appreciate. But secondly, that entire organization has said, we're going to go get a real quarterback. You were right, by the way.

I get it, though. I think you were right. But I also think Teddy is way better than Drew Locke, is my point. Teddy is that Alex Smith, you know, or even a little lower, like 23rd or fourth best starter in the league. And to me, that might be a huge upgrade from Locke and might be a pretty big difference. I wouldn't hate that. That'd be a good spot for Teddy, too. I'm saying.

It would be. That's all I'm saying. All right. I mean, I'm just, here's the thing with Teddy, Greg. At this point, where we are now, where it's now 2021, last year really felt like the chance for him to establish himself as a guy

that you could really say, that's my QB1. He is not the greatest quarterback ever, but, you know, he's in that conversation of like a, you know, in the top 15. I don't,

I don't think he had his chance and it just didn't happen. So is that a solution? You're right. Right. But I think I get it, but that's not what they're looking for. They're looking for a guy to pair with Locke that is kind of a break in case of emergency. Better than either of those. I think he's perfect for that. I think what I just said without realizing it was...

Well, no one else is available. He's on the wrong side of the Dalton scale, Teddy. Yeah. So if you don't, why go, you know, whether it's, I think Locke is definitely on the wrong side of the Dalton scale, maybe they should have went in a different direction because that is a roster that can win. If it has QPie play. I think if you watched it, all of Teddy's snaps last year. Here we go.

First of all, it did go south. But I think it was better than people think, if not for one really big problem, which is he played his worst in the late portions of fourth quarters of games. And that really sour people on Teddy. And that's understandable. Like when everyone switched to the Panthers game with five minutes left, that was when Teddy was at his worst. But that's not what you want out of your quarterback.

Like every Panthers game seemed to come down to like a six- 51-yard field goal attempt. I don't know if you were trying to help Teddy Bridgewater's. I've just being real of what it was. That's money time, baby. The last five minutes of football games. I'm just being real of what he was. But Greg, you are going to have to at some point verbally accept that he's not quite as shiny as you pitch him to us as.

I mean, if he is going to be on his fourth team in four years, if he's on his fifth team in five years a year from now, will you still be, you know, song and dance scenario here with Teddy Bridgewater? Can we chill just a little bit on the PR machine? I don't know what your relationship is with the Bridgewater family. It's very close. Has he reached out to you? He's a likable guy. No one's questioning that.

We like him to watch. It's sad. You kind of replace Gino Smith with Teddy, like is the guy who loves on a level that is hard to fathom for others. We all have those players, though. You're not alone. That's true. All right. Good stuff.

Good stuff. We'll be back on Thursday with another show. Another big week of action for the Around the NFL podcast. There is no offseason. So we have a show on Thursday. And then the network show returns on Friday. And please check that out. Any closing thoughts?

A haiku, perhaps. I'm still thinking about Teddy. I'm still thinking about things I could respond about Teddy. It's like if Sam Darnham, How do you always do that? You always be a Donald. I am not saying Donald's any good. I just, you know.

I'm just saying if he had done one season as good as Teddy's even last season or his first or second season, it's like we would be talking about him until the cows come on. I don't know, man. That's like when you start to get upset, you just bring up Sam Darnold and say. But if he was Sam Darnold, I mean, I'm probably right. Okay. That's it. Dan Hanzah signing off for Quiet Storm, the old boss. Ricky Holly was very silent, assassin behind the virtual glass today.

Possibly asleep. Maybe coherent, maybe awake. We don't know. But anyway, until Thursday, he's the call. I'm going to be able to be. Hey everybody, Daniel Jeremiah here. And I'm Bucky Brooks. On Move the 6th, we take you inside the game from breaking down college prospects and NFL rookies

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

podcast. Ready to dominate your fantasy league this season? Then you need the NFL fantasy football podcast, your ultimate source for player news, draft tips, and winning strategies. Whether you're a rookie manager or a fantasy vet. We've got the insight to help and crush your opponents. Listen to the NFL fantasy football podcast on the IHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Toyota, the official automotive partner of the NFL, visit Toyota.com slash NFL now to learn more. This is an IHeart podcast.