NFL Daily with Gregg Rosenthal - NFL ATL: Best free agent fits, offseason headlines

Episode Date: March 6, 2014

A room full of heroes -- Dan Hanzus, Marc Sessler, Gregg Rosenthal and Chris Wesseling -- cannonballs back into the free-agency pool.  The gang makes a return trip to the laboratory for a chemistry experiment, endeavoring to match marquee free agents with their future destinations.   Elsewhere, the scientists touch on all the biggest offseason questions around the league, including how Brandon Browner’s reinstatement affects his signing potential and if the recently franchise-tagged Jimmy Graham is worth the price to pry him away from the New Orleans Saints.  Who is in the market for Hakeem Nicks?  Which of the heroes will pair up as lab partners?  Has Wess finally ordered the world map?  All these questions, and more, answered on the brand new “Around the League Podcast.”  So, listen in and join the conversation on Twitter: @NFL_ATL or #NFLATL.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 League podcast has been linked to on Drudge Report. Welcome back to another edition of the Around the League podcast. My name is Dan Hansen. I'm joined by a room filled with heroes, Chris Wessling, Mark Sessler, and Greg Rosenthal. What up, boys. Hey, Dan. Let's pick it up, Dan.

He usually come with a little more energy. That was a little little tempo. What's the... Well, now you're in my head a little bit. Well, what's the issue? There is no issue. Hashtag, blast. Hashtag, rise and grind.

Well, Dan's shift started today before 10 in the morning, so he's... It's tough. I don't want to hear it. I'm in at 6 tomorrow, by the way. 6 a.m. So, I'm all over the map. I'm the utility man of the schedule. Everybody knows this.

You're a key known as. Hashtag. Hashtag ATL mailbag, which people should use the gold standard behind the glass. Our producer, Zach Goldman. how are you buddy doing great thanks for the full name intro yeah um the man we call the gold standard we should tell our listeners to use the hashtag a tl mail bag on twitter and send us questions and every once in a while we'll answer them absolutely jack usually so genteel came with some packers patriots trash top today i was just surprised because he's always such a nice guy and then he just walks by

points at uh the packers patriot super bowl replay going on right now he's a packers fan he knows my fandom, he's just like, you like this game? Enjoy this one? How do you really hurt a Patriots fan's feelings? He's like, excuse me, three Super Bowls post this date. I think only Giants fans can truly hurt a Patriots fan. How do you get to be a Packers fan via Oxford, England? So my first grade teacher lived next door to Sean Jones.

Oh, wow. I didn't have a team at that point. And so she lured me to the dark side of the teeth. You had a first grade teacher that lured you somewhere? I would like to be lowered by a first big teacher. It's probably a great choice of words just now. Yeah. That's great.

All right, well, that checks out. We'll sign off on that. All right, big show today. We are going to go through our list. We'll go back down into the lab. It's that time of year to do plenty of laboratory work with the scientists and go through best free agent fits. We're going to kind of each of us are going to grab two names off the list and kind of pontificate. Is that the right word?

We're all putting on lab codes today. We were all scientists and this project. Yeah. Today we are all scientists. I think Dan and I obviously lab partners. Well, you guys have been studying, and you did well on your final exam, and it's time to give you a promotion. So we'll be doing that. We're going to have a little conversation about Jimmy Graham that maybe will get Wes riled up.

A big part of the show is getting Wes riled up. We're hoping that will happen. I haven't hit a good rant in a few weeks. But we'll start, as we almost always do, the Gold Standard, with some news. All right. start in Seattle, where Brandon Browner's indefinite suspension from the NFL is over, the cornerback still will miss the start of the 2014 season. He'll be suspended four games, and then he'll have to pass up four more game checks after that.

But ultimately, he's surprisingly in the mix now with free agency around the corner. If I'm Brandon Browner, I'm like, maybe I'll just be suspended eight games. If I'm not going to get paid for four of them, just keep me out. I don't want to play for free. Give me a break. Yeah, but that strategy would affect his signing potential. I'm not sure that works for free agents. I guess that's not an option, but that is weird.

You're a little more down on Browner than Wes and I are, I think. Well, yeah, let's talk about where he fits as a free agent a little bit. Before we do that, though, let's talk about how Brandon Browner's stare down the shadowy league figures and live to tell the tale. Maybe this is a lesson for all of us here and behind the glass, Zach, whenever things start to get hairy, just double down. Maybe the shadowy league figures aren't so bad. No, we should not do that. So basically, Dan, saying if the next time some sort of dispute comes up with the superior, threatened to sue the living daylights out of them, which I believe was the quote from Browner's agent.

And that was the last we heard of him. And the next time we hear from them, he's back. Got it in my back pocket. So it works. It's an interesting strategy. I'll have to keep note of that. I don't like that strategy. All right, Greg, as you were.

I'm surprised. No one expected Browner to be reinstated, but he had a strong case. It had to do apparently with when he was in the CFL, missing drug tests, and whatever it was. We don't know all the details. Clearly, the NFL listened, and they came to a compromise, and now he'll be back. So you guys think he's a difference maker, Mark? No, no, no. No, I think you talked about how, oh, he's out for four games, and that's a big issue.

For me, I look back on last season where Grunkowski was out for a long period of time, Crabtree was out, Von Miller was out. These guys, for a team that's going to sign him, Browner, and Adam as a sort of a final piece in the defensive backfield, and a playoff type team, it's fine to not have a guy for a month. He's also not at that level of those three names you brought up. I'm not saying he is, but I don't have a big problem with missing a game. guy who's a contributor for the first

month of the season. That's all I'm saying. I think people do forget that entering this past season he was viewed as a legitimate member of the Legion of Boom, and it was only after his suspension that people started to kind of pile on on the guy and say that he was really no good anyway. I mean, is it... He was struggling

in 2013, but there were a lot of injuries involved. Point is, you know, yes, he's not a young guy, but he's not old either. I mean, he could end up being a low-cost, high-upside guy for somebody. turns 30, which isn't young for a cornerback. And I think he made the Pro Bowl his first year in the NFL after coming from the CFL because he had six interceptions, 200-something yards on those interceptions and two touchdowns.

So he was on the highlight reel. He was making big plays. But I think the lesson here is that you can stick anybody in that defensive backfield opposite Sherman with Earl Thomas covering your bases, and they're going to play well. They coach them up, exactly. I think Seattle Seahawks defensive backs right now are like New England Patriots wide receivers from the middle of the last decade. You don't want to sign them when they go away from New England or else you're going to get a big steaming pile of David Givens or Dion Branch or David Patton. That's what Browner is going to be.

Gus Bradley is going to zoom in and take the sky. I agree with Mark. I would look for the Jags maybe to snatch him up. Interesting news out of Buffalo where Aaron Williams signed a four-year, $26 million deal. really interesting because of his partner in the secondary there. Jairus Byrd is ready to leave town and they didn't use the franchise tag, and then they go and they lock up Aaron Williams. Isn't this a little odd?

No, I think it makes sense. It means that despite what a bill source told NFL media insider, Ian Rapidport, this is totally related to Byrd. They want Williams to play center field back there, I would imagine. He's a former quarterback. He was drafted as a cornerback, so he's best suited to that coverage rule anyway. So you're saying someone would lie to Ian Rappaport? I'm saying in the NFL, if you're not lying, you're not trying.

Oh, I think it's a little upstate New York, good cop, bad cop scenario where it's we're not going to play with Bird here. He's going to make it hard for us. So we're going to go take your teammate, probably a guy that you text and hang out with a lot in the position room, and just give him a nice new contract. Have a nice day. We call this pulling a Pittsburgh Steelers. Mike Wallace, you don't want our contract? We're giving it to Antonio Brown. That worked that well.

Kind of like Carlos Dunlap, too, last. year with the Bengals. But if I'm a Bill's fan, it's annoying because, hey, we can't afford and we don't want to pay the guy who's one of the very best at his positions. So let's take the B, give him a decent contract, and keep him around. Bill's fans have been annoyed since pre-9-11, so it's just more of the same. This is kind of a Bill's type of move. A cheap move.

That's fair. So that's a bad move, then. I think so. Well, I don't know if Aaron Williams is bad on his own merit, but you hate to see someone that's better at the position leave when you're... It's underwhelming. Bo and Luke Duke aren't even in Buffalo anymore, and they're still making these kind of moves. And, Mark, as a native of the state of New York, upstate New York, there are...

You said good cops, bad cops, some bad cops up there. I'm sure. A lot of good cops, too. You guys are from upstate New York. I was born there. But I don't like to think of Rockland County's upstate. Right, right, right. I was born in Rochester.

Mark. Not too far from Canada Niagara Falls Did you guys know Bill's fans refer to Chan Galey And Buddy Nick says Bo and Luke Duke I didn't know that

This is awesome Moving on The Pittsburgh Steelers Had a busy Wednesday On the same day Wes was laughing about that to himself For a minute before he made a joke And a minute after he made a joke

And a minute after he made a joke And none of us knew what he was laughing at We just let it go Some things are perfect together Like salt and pepper peanut butter and jelly, Chris Wessling, and Dukes of Hazzard, all these things. That is Duke's of Housard, right? Correct.

Come on. Oh, I forgot. You were knee-hide to a gym book. Was it Chips? No, it was not Chips. That's California Highway Patrol. This is where the generational divide come in. I never saw that show.

Yes. Oh, so I had it right. So get off. Well, you quickly hopped to another franchise. Get off me. Hashtag. Get off. Uh, moving, what, Greg, were you saying something there?

No. Yeah. There was a generation divide. That was like the 40 and over divide. We can talk full house if that's more comfortable. I know, I know my full house. Gold standard, I can guarantee you he didn't know what you were talking about. No, I was blank, but full house, I can vibe with that.

Gold standard, were you even 10 when the, uh, when the Jessica Simpson version of Dukesa Hazard came out? I was in fact, yeah, older than 10. Thank you. Uh, the Pittsburgh's deal. Pittsburgh Steelers at a busy day on Wednesday in addition to handing out contract extensions to Troy Palamalu and Heath Miller. The team also released longtime linebacker Larry Foote, offensive tackle Levi Brown, and cornerback Curtis Brown. Just kind of housekeeping for Dave Damashook's team, correct? Just fraying up roster salary cap space.

Well, it's keeping Palomalu around. That was a decision they had to make. This is the one we expected. It's nice to see. I mean, don't you like it when players like Troy Palomalo have a chance to stay with the same team? And it was a little dodgy there. I think if he didn't stay healthy this last year, they would have cut him, but he had an okay year. He played 16 games.

He was fun. He had a good year. Well, you could have seen it. It's great. If Larry Foot and Palomoto switched roles, Foots the one that got hurt early in the year, he was one of their best players in defense in 2012, gets hurt early in 2013. He gone.

NFL, tough business. Nothing surprising out of Pittsburgh. They are in terrible cap hell. They're right now, I think, about 11.6 over. And I think they're not done making moves. Yeah, everyone thinks they're cutting Lamar Woodley. Chris and I aren't... Chris has brought me around to the side that maybe they do keep them around.

What do they have to gain from it? Wouldn't he love it as a Steelers fan that you pay Lamar Woodley to go away and then he makes the Pro Bowl in another uniform? Put him in CINCY with James Harris? And Woodley, he's had a bad couple of years. I know that they think he's been overweight and hasn't been in shape and hasn't lived up to his contract. But he's arguably the best talent, I said arguably. He's probably the best talent on that side of the ball right now.

I've made a strong stance against the word arguably down in the newsroom. I'm happy Wesleyan has taken it to heart. Woodley is a guy that I think it's misunderstood. If he's cut now, you can still give him the post-June 1st designation, but it doesn't really have. help your cap situation in the short term. So why not see what he looks like in the off season? Is he motivated? Is he back in shape?

Yeah, maybe give him a shot. Big news, Wes. You're going to enjoy this one. Chris Johnson tweeted today that his talks with the Tennessee Titans about his contract situation. Wait, we're doing this? Oh, yeah. Oh, we're doing it.

Talks are at a standstill, West. So just so you know, I know downstairs you thought it was very important that we did this story, both on the website and talk about it on the podcast. Chris Johnson might be back with Tennessee, but he doesn't know, and neither do we. Wes. Well, it's nice to have an update on the no update that we've had for the last three months on his status. Nothing has changed, but this is the NFL news business we live in in order to keep up with the Joneses. Whenever somebody tweets nonsense, that means nothing, we have to write about it to keep up with the other website.

Is this like your Jerry McGuire moment where you write the manifesto? Look, we've bemoan the fact that... Who's coming with me? me. In today's NFL news coverage, we don't get an offseason because there's all this news we have to write about. And we could change this. We are the instrument of change.

When Chris Johnson tweets, there's no update. You know what that is? That's a hint to all NFL writers. Don't write about me today. There's no update. Be the change you want to see in the world. Michael Garbachev, 1986. That was him.

It was Huey Lewis, actually. We're just layering on the inside jokes that none of our listeners have any idea what's happening. Well, we were told at the Combine There are some people from other sites That listen to this podcast I would like to make a pact right now Guys, when people say nothing

When this obviously not news Let's stop making it into news Dan loves writing about Chris Johnson And he was into writing this post C.J 2K I for one I wasn't going to stand in his way It was The update is that there is no update

Which is actually an update When this close to three agents I think we should do this for everyone. We do. Look, update. Andy Dalton is still the Bengals quarterback. Write 200 words on it. Get paid.

Yeah, Wes, come on. Put down the violin. That's what we do for a living. With the right headline, Chris, I think that post could work. The Dalton post. Do well, I think. It would do very well on our website. Look, if you want to make it an analysis piece, a jumping off piece, I'm all for that.

But let's not just follow every bread. from laid down by athletes on Twitter. All right. Well, he made his stand, and we're happy you did. And I'm glad I brought it up in the studio. I like that you didn't tell anyone you were going to bring that up. It was like a sneak attack. All right, so that is the end of the news.

This is a top. It's semi-news, but I want to kind of bring it up independent of the news within the structure of this podcast. A Packers official told Mike, we talked about Jimmy Graham a little bit on Friday, I believe it was. And, Wes, you had said that you were... I said if I was running the Packers, I would at least consider the option,

knowing that they haven't drafted well in the late first round of giving up two first round picks for a difference maker like Jimmy Graham. Well, that's very interesting, because Mike Freeman of a Bleacher report spoke to some people on this topic about Graham, and now that the Saints have put the non-exclusive franchise tag, is it possible someone would go after Graham in free agency?

If you signed Graham to a contract, not only would you have to pay in the money, but you would also surrender two first-round picks to the Saints. Two interesting quotes. One is from an AFC general manager unnamed, said, I think the only player is more valuable than Jimmy Graham are three or four quarterbacks. That's it, which I thought was very interesting.

And then a Packers official told Freeman that the idea of giving up that much for a tight end was, quote, dumb, beyond dumb, ellipsies won't happen. I feel like he was speaking directly. to me. I hope so. It's interesting. First of all, I don't know who that

AFC general manager is. He'll probably be fired within six to 12 months. Mark had a good theory. Why? Well, I felt that it was potentially someone like Dave Gettelman or an opposing NFC South GM saying, listen, just

call me an AFC GM, but let's drive the price up, let's get things going. But honestly, the only Packers do make some sense because one of the three or four quarterbacks that would be valued above Jimmy Graham is on the Packers. If you aren't a team, well, no, but if you aren't a team that's sitting on the cusp of potential Super Bowl glory were adding Jimmy Graham maybe turns your offense

from highly intriguing and dangerous to elite, that's who you give up two number one picks for. For any team less than that, it's a disastrous idea. Yeah, but is defense the problem in Green Bay? is getting a, I mean, is offensive problem in Green Bay? Is getting a tight end going to put them over the home? Losing Finley, but adding Graham would turn that offense into an outrage. And Wes, you asked, you know, why I had an issue with that quote?

I mean, Jimmy Graham is potentially the number five most valuable player in the entire NFL right now? Before his plantar fascia tear last year, which nobody wants to acknowledge, ever happened. you never hear a national analyst ever mentioned Jimmy Graham's injury. He went from averaging 120 yards a game before the injury to 50-something yards after the injury. He was a totally different player. In mid-October, Jimmy Graham was mentioned as an MVP candidate. He was the most unstoppable offensive player in the league by mid-October. Well, are you making a case for him because he has an injury, though?

Planter fascia and foot injuries, to me, would be one reason not to trade for him just because you don't have all the information on that. That's a fair point. I don't think you can call him the fifth most valuable player in football, healthy or not because of the way that football operates. There are already five or six quarterbacks. I'd take over Jimmy Graham from a T-building perspective in a second. What I do agree with what you said, West.

Cornerbacks, he said? Quarterbacks, right? No, no. He's saying after three or four quarterbacks, Jimmy Graham was the most valuable. I'd say that's generous on Graham's part. I would say on most lists as of mid-October, he was behind only Peyton Manning in the MVP race last year,

before the injury. I would always take a top wide receiver over Jimmy Graham. But he considers himself a wide receiver. Wouldn't you take AJ Green and Calvin Johnson and the very best of the best wide receivers over Jimmy Graham? Calvin Johnson, yes. A.J. Green, I don't know. Julio Jones.

You know I love Julio Jones. Greg Lillard Jones over just about anybody. Josh Gordon. How about Devon? No way, Josh Gordon over to the Uigham. Best. Devon Bess. Release today.

We didn't mention that. That's part of the news. Hang in there, Devon. That's my analysis. I think some GMs are talking to some funny talk. All right, gentlemen. It's that time really on a run right now with going down to the lab. So let's go down to the lab.

Yeah, close the door behind. Thanks, Mark. All right Lyell, get out of here What's wrong with you? A monster All right gentlemen So

Someone pick up the phone Nobody ever picks up the phone We wrote a joint piece On Tuesday For the Around the League blog NFL.com backslash ATL, is that correct? Greg shrugs

All right Breaking down I guess each of us took two predictions free agents and try to pair them with a team. So, just go around the room, and we'll try to be kind of quick with this. But we'll start with Wes, who postulates Hakeem Nix to the Carolina Panthers. Sell it.

I haven't recovered from your use of postulating. Nicolns. Nicolns. $3. Well, Hakeem Nix is from Carolina. Went to high school there. Was a star at University of North Carolina. So it's a homecoming for him.

Dave Gettleman, their general manager. was brought up in the Giants organization for years, was there when they drafted him, so he's familiar with Nix. They need wide receivers desperately. Ginn and Lufeller Free Ages, Steve Smith's futures up in the air. Keem Nix comes in, even if they keep Steve Smith, they need another receiver. So I like this fit a lot.

I just got to jump in because, you know, one of my skills that you guys don't know about as a scientist, ability to forecast the future. And those skills tell me that Wesleyan's going to include Hakeem Nix on another piece this week. Biggest busts in free agency. So you don't think that Nix is actually most overpaid players in free agency. You don't think Nix would necessarily be a good idea for Carolina. You just see this as a fit. Is that correct?

Yes, that's correct. Hakeem Nix was ostensibly healthy last year. It made not a single play all year. So, yeah, he looks like a candidate to be over. I like taking a swing on Kim Nick. That's why he's on here. Yeah. All right, Mark, I will throw it to you now.

You predict to your Cleveland Browns, they solve all their issues in the backfield with one depth signing, Ben Tate. Well, number one, this seemed like a home run back when Mike Lombardi was the general manager there. And I think because the running back class is so, for lack of it,

the word crappy, like, it still makes sense because there aren't another, there aren't a lot of guys that you could go plug in and say this is a potential lead horse. I'm not sure Tate's that guy, but I think the Cleveland would see him potentially as that player, and they absolutely have nothing in their backfield outside of a few third-down scat-back types. So Tate, to me, is the best combination of age. He hasn't been overused in Houston. I mean, he's got durability. He's got question marks. There's no, there's no arguing that but if they hit on them and listen they're ripe to overpay for him potentially too but i see him as a likely fit for cleveland solving a big hole and then maybe drafting and

running back as well we have another piece that will be going up uh later this week about potentially guys that can get overpaid i'm a little concerned that tate ends up getting too much money i remember that when i said that a minute ago three minutes ago did you all right well i apologize he's in the house chair it's excused i was busy all right i respect everything you guys So you've seen Mark enough of Tate personally where you'd be comfortable with him being your guy? Again, it's a really ruggedly thin running back class. It's not the guy I'd pick over anyone else, but of the groups of the people available. As I said, I think they will.

Again, there seems to be a common thread of you not listening to anything, anyone in the room is saying. Is ruggedly thin and style again? Yes, it is. Like, I don't know, they're going to definitely draft a guy to pair with, I think, a Ben Tate. There aren't that many one running back backfields anymore. I wouldn't see that being the case in Cleveland. It's anathema. Didn't he get coached by Kyle Shanahan in Houston?

Well, but you know, I had a weird thought in middle of the night. So did. Their quarterback. I had a weird feeling that Cleveland may sign their quarterback. Shop? Yeah, I have a weird feeling. Took me a while to get to where the night. I was thinking that they may bring in shop.

Because they have nothing. They've got nothing. Mark, moonwalk past your desk if they do. Mark, I apologize for hitting your points. It's just that it happens when you talk, you hit every relevant point, and there's nothing left in the rest of this. I make it tough for you to find a second angle. I'm sorry. It's like somebody's uncle at Thanksgiving.

There's nothing left but carnage. It's not right. Greg, this is a very interesting one that I enjoyed quite a lot. Forget about the lions. Forget about the lions. It's all for sure. I know he doesn't mean it. Titus Young's replacement.

Forget about Nate Burleson. That's over. How about Jermichael Finley as Calvin Johnson's sidekick? Yeah, everyone's talking about you've got to get another pair of hands there. They can't afford to pay so much money at wide receiver or at receiver in general. You can't afford Eric Decker's contract, Nix. You know, they're got to shop at the bargain basement bin for wide receivers. But how about your number two wide receiver be your tight end?

And Jermichael Finley, take a shot. We say that we like to take a swing for the fences in free agency. Don't go for guys that are just going to be average starters and pay him a lot of money. Sign a guy on a one-year deal because he's obviously down in value coming off his surgery, and you have to check him out medically. He has to pass with it. But wouldn't that be a nice little addition for Matthew Stafford and the boys? It would.

And, you know, he does have the requisite dropsies, which, you know, will make Matthews. Matthew Stanford field. Very Brandon Pettigrew, like, well, they have to sign someone. Kind of like Mark is predicting Tate to the Browns. I mean, there's no doubt they're signing a running back in Cleveland. They have to sign one, maybe two. It's going to happen. The Lions are going to sign a tight end.

It could be Brandon Pedigrew bringing him back. I think his price tag from the rumors that are out there is insane. I'd rather take a shot with him. Somewhat related. I just wanted to bring this up. I spoke with James Jones, pending free agent receiver. And he had an interesting quasi-burn of Matt Stafford, I thought. Don't make it sound like you guys were out at a bar or something like that.

You don't know where we were. Set up through work. Jones said that he wouldn't sign with a team that didn't have an entrenched quarterback. He had this to say, this kind of off the cuff. It's different for me as a receiver because you need a good quarterback to be successful. Yeah, you have the Calvin Johnsons, but even Matthew Stafford's a decent quarterback. decent bomb he also gave you some nuggets of some teams he was looking at yeah he was looking at oh we're at it the Colts and the charges he dropped them

specifically his two teams if the Packers don't sign them which they probably won't great fits yeah right for him and for them I think Jones would be a really nice little second or third receiver for something coming around on James Jones I really like yeah and that's a good score one for me again on the scientists battle they have scoreboards and scientists later The fans are keeping track. Speaking of the Colts and wide receivers, I predict that Eric Decker will land with the Colts.

That's what I feel is going to happen. I know the Colts have perhaps a bigger need or a greater need to spend their money fixing the middle of their offensive line, which has been an issue since Andrew Lough got there. But when you think about it, Reggie Wayne, he's coming back off the serious knee injury. We don't know how much longer he'll be around or if he's still Reggie Wayne. You put Eric Decker, who Wes loves,

Next, the T.Y. Hilton, that forms a pretty nice one-two punch for seven, eight years, potentially. That's nice. Well, they got the money to do it, and, you know, Wes is under the impression that we keep trashing Decker, which I think the angle is more on something that you actually brought up initially, Wes, is the Decker is the wrong guy for probably three quarters of the league. He's the right guy for a couple of different offenses. He's perfect for Indy. I don't think he's perfect unless the price is right.

If he's paid like a number one receiver, And I do think he will get paid at least what Greg Jennings got last year, which is $8, $9 million a year. I don't think he's the right fit. Would you rather overpay for Eric Decker a very good football player or overpay for the likes of Eric Walden, Donald Thomas, Loran Landry, and Ricky Jean-François in one all. I'm with you.

I think we're all with you. If you're getting a good player and you have the salary cap space, pay what it takes together. I think the thing is you don't want to be the team that has issues a quarterback and has one other maybe tangible number two receiver and then go add Decker as this number one guy. He fits in Indy where you can surround the field with all these other pass catchers too. It's sort of taking a page out of the Bill Pulley and handbook

that when you have a guy like Peyton Manor, Andrew Luck, make sure you get him weapons every year. That would be a brilliant move. If I'm Eric Decker, and that would be great because he's very successful and very handsome. I've been on record about that. If I'm Eric Decker, I'm taking a little less. money and signing with Andrew Luck,

I'm going from Manning to Luck, and I'm basically setting myself up for the pro bowl for the next decade. That's the move. I feel like too many of these guys get lost. They take the first, the biggest, they pull of Greg Jennings, and then where are you? Oh, where are you? You're making more money than any other team

would have paid you, and you don't care. You don't care. You'll probably be cut before you see the contract through, and nobody would have happened anyways, and he's not going to have a job for the rest of his life that pays him 100th of what he makes now. I'm with Dan on this one. If you can get 7 million for the Colts versus 9 million for a bum team,

because you get more job security in Indy, you'll probably be more of a household name in Indy, more Pro Bowels. And after you get cut after those two years, you don't know what teams are going to be good. You probably have to sign a much lesser contract to continue your career. Let's say Greg Jennings in 2015, it probably at the end of the day, you're losing money by taking more early like that. One of our TV guys...

Your argument was strong until that one. Except one of our... One of our TV guys yesterday was saying that he was talking to a player who has the option you'd think to go to multiple teams and make this I want to go play for a winner for less money thing. And they asked him where you're going to go. He goes, I have no idea. He goes, my agent will tell me where I'm going. The agents construct these deals. The players don't sit around twiddling their thumbs.

That's their fault. Well, it is their fault, but that is the business to a large extent. A lot of these free agents, they go out and they get the best deal for them. They say, this is where you're going. It depends on the person. I guarantee you there are strong-minded people. people out there making their own decisions, whereas some of the people just would feel more comfortable with their agent.

I don't disagree. And, Dominic and Sue wants to negotiate his own contract. That goes over the line of ridiculous. Matt Elam negotiated his own rookie contract, and now he's working in a shoe store during the offseason. Well, that doesn't, that's not a, that's not how to pitch that process. He's a very strong-minded man who wants to be, he wants to get his blue-collar roots and say, hey, when I'm done with football, I need to know how to run a business.

As long as you don't hire Master P, that's my philosophy in the NFL. Yeah. One of my favorite MTV Cribs episodes, Mascopee. How many do you have? I think that's the only one I really watched all the way through because I was just so impressed with the self-portraits he had in every room. It was a different one. Self-portraits?

Right. It was just gigantic oil paintings of Master P. Like with a dog or out with a show. or out with his friends or whatever. It sounds like Royal Tenenbaum's-esque. It was certainly owned by the government now, too. More self-portraits or more posters of Scarface? Well, that was, yes, part of every Cribs episode of a hip-hop star.

Scarface was in there. All right, on that note. Master P. did some damage. And he made a lot of money. In many ways. He changed the game. Wasn't his name Percy Miller and he tried to sign with the NBA? Yes, he did have aspirations.

Never quite made it, though. Oh, we have, before we leave, I have an update on the map situation. Go ahead. It is ordered. The map and the tax are ordered. It should be here by Friday's podcast. What do the tax? Are they colored, multicolored?

I did get the multicolored box, yeah. Very good. All right. On that note, it is time for us to both leave the laboratory, so let's come up to stare gentlemen, but also it's time to go. It's the end of the ATL podcast for Wednesday. We need some stair sounds, Zach, going up the stairs. Wait, we do.

Oh, that we are walking up the stairs. You don't listen to the podcast. That's what was added on Wednesday, on the last show. Well, there's a lot to get to, a lot of reading material. Gold standard. You see how you do all that work, adding in the sound effects? All right. Well, they're not sound effects.

They're real. It's really happening. We're leaving a lab for real. A short time in the lab in the studio today. Yeah, the studio is booked, and we don't get to do our normal amount of time. of time, so we apologize if you're expecting our typical length of the show. But a promise that we will be back on Friday, we're going to do, I'm thinking, a tight 46.

On Friday? You know what? Yeah, three days a week, we have nothing to apologize for. What other podcasts are coming at you with the NFL three days week? There isn't one. He's out of his chair. Maybe there is one. Maybe there isn't one.

We bring it. Wes and Mark are still down in the lab. All right, let's just get out of here then We'll go, we'll find them We'll be back on Friday We'll be talking all about the news of the league And free agency and the draft And everything you can imagine

Until then This is Dan Hansa signing off For the boss, the sizzler The mailman The gold standard behind the glass Until Friday I don't know where Wesleyan The character ends

And the real man begins anymore This is an IHeart podcast.