NFL Daily with Gregg Rosenthal - NFL ATL: DeSean reaction, Jeff Darlington in studio!

Episode Date: April 2, 2014

A room full of heroes -- Dan Hanzus, Gregg Rosenthal and Chris Wesseling -- welcomes NFL Media’s Jeff Darlington to Studio 66 to run through the latest offseason news.  Which free agency moves does he believe will pay dividends?  Is the gang sold on the Washington Redskins’ chances in the NFC East with DeSean Jackson in burgundy and gold?  Tune in and find out.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. The Around the League podcast is where Toasters go to retire. Welcome back to another edition of the Around the League podcast. My name is Dan Hansus. I'm joined by room filled with some heroes, Chris Wessling, and Greg Rosenthal.

What up, boys? Hey, Dan. What's happening? Special guest in the state. studio right now, guys. You see him here, but the listeners are about to find out. He is a NFL media columnist, Miami resident, newsroom fashion icon, potential member of the Luminati. He is. Jeff Darlington. The Luminati. How come your enthusiasm? You guys did not match the opening enthusiasm there. That's true. I usually do get excited. I mean,

I brought it. I love it. But the best part about that was like the second before it was not that Before the show started, it was like, yeah, you know. We're saying that we're not inherently authentic. Is that what you're going for? Maybe that is what I'm saying. Well, when he says, what up boys, I feel like that is such an inane question. It doesn't really deserve an answer, so that's why I don't respond. And you've been answered the question, by the way, Illuminati, yes or no?

No. You're not in New York. I just saw it down in Miami. Maybe things are going on down there. How about fashion icon of the newsreys? You are... That's like being the least guilty criminal. That's very true.

Jeff Darlington is here. We are very excited. Jeff, what is new with you? What is going on in the off season? I'm sure you're a very busy man. You've come to California for a high-level meetings. High-level meetings. Yes.

You know, we just had the owners meetings in Orlando, which Greg Rosenthal was working the room like a magician. Right. Rosenthal and Mark Sessler. Did you get a lot out of that in Orlando? Sessler, too. cracked me up. So, you know, a lot of the times when you're in the field, and, like, you hear about guys, like, getting close to different people,

and then usually in the newsroom, there's a little bit of, like, resentment toward that. Like, oh, he's just biased because he's, you know, RG3's boy, or he's tight with this guy. Well, so he comes in there, and, you know, I sense that from him sometimes. He comes in there. Yeah, a little bit, you know. Interesting. Not really. Not in a bad way.

I like it. But he comes in there, and I see him. And he's like, he met all the guys from the Browns. And he's like, man, I am so sold on these guys. It's going to be great. All because they accepted him into his circle for like a three-minute conversation. And now he's, you know. Do you think they're manipulating him?

I think that he's just getting a dose of the field. He did go speak with everyone during the NFL party. That's what I'm talking about. That's what you're talking about. That's exactly what I'm talking about. He came up and he's so excited about the future of the Browns. I guarantee you a week before he was probably ripping this. just crushing the Browns for everything that they've done.

So you're saying Sessler is flying high on borrowed wings right now. I think that he is, yes. Well, when I assigned, I assigned Wessling and Sessler to a team each during the Super Bowl. And by the end of the week, they were both sold on that team. That's what I'm saying. See, that's what happens. In the newsroom, you guys get a little bit upset with the people in the field for being a little bit biased based on relationships. And the second you guys get, you know, a little dose of the.

I don't like this you guys stuff. formula. I like it. I like it. That's what it is. We're creating, I'm creating tension. Mark and I were full on Manchurian candidates at the Super Bowl.

I won't even try to object to that accusation at all. It's what happens. It's a scary thing. And it takes, it honestly takes a long time before you can really get over that. Well, most guests come in here and they let us set the tone. But I like that Jeff is coming straight at us.

So I'm going to come right back at you. I walked by. a room you were in today, and I heard some frightening sounds coming out of it. I don't know what was going on, but it basically sounded like you were having the most uncomfortable lovemaking possible. If you define that in any way as lovemaking, I apologize to your wife for your own performance. We need to explain this. What was going on here, Jeff? Well, this is called vocal awareness, Greg.

Awareness. Part of what brings me out here to the Los Angeles area. And what is that? The great Arthur Joseph has a unique way of teaching both on-air talent, really CEOs across America. This is, it's actually pretty impressive stuff, but superficially, it sounds ridiculous. And in fact, like the first few times I did it. And what Greg's referring to are these different... It's guttural noises.

The vocal exercise. Could you sample of a few? Wow, you're really putting him on the spot. I mean, I can't do it in the microphone. You could. But he'll critique me. He's very... He is a fan of the podcast.

I'll just give you an example. It's like a... Ha! Is that who you heard? That's great. I heard some more... Sounds like a saw six. Ha, ha, ha, ha.

Yeah, I heard that. That's what I... I heard more. That was not a good example. That was getting weird. That was not a good example of it, but that is essentially, I'm resting my tongue, and it's coming from my It was so great

I had Dan walked by just to go listen to it did you? Is that like your roommates and in with

some some female and you you want to There's a scrunchy on the doorknob scrunchy

I just showed my age there Is that you use the scrunchy on the doorna always the scrunchy It was a

tie for the real men The men used ties Me and my friends scrunchies At Florida it was It was they'd write

on the whiteboard outside Need milk If you need milk Wow Interesting I didn't live in the dorms, though, so. But anyway, that's where you heard, the great Arthur Joseph.

No, it's something else. It's actually, it's hilarious to people who are hearing it. 90 minutes, too. Yeah, that was a good session. Isn't Joseph Arthur a musician? He is. Arthur Joseph is also a singer. He's kind of like the interesting one.

I'm wondering why they haven't approached us, hit podcast. Maybe you guys just have it already. Right, I think my voice is. I think that's what they're trying to do here. Just soothing and mollifluous. I believe that they are... They just walk through the newsroom and say, that man needs some help.

And they walked right past your desk saying they are helpless. All right. Jeff, busy man. He's got a high-powered lunch to go to. That is not a joke. We're delaying his lunch with your boss, my boss. All of our bosses, really, David. But to do so, Greg actually went up to my boss and said,

look, I need Darlington for 20 minutes. And there's nothing you can do to stop it. You said that? I don't think those were the words. But I got the job, then. That's the big boss. So before you go to that lunch, where I hope you're not paying. He probably doesn't listen to this anyway.

He started to. He is on top of it. Oh, yeah. Oh, yes. Let us go through the news because Jeff Darlington is plugged in. He is one of the insiders, really, of the NFL media team. We're going to go through some news, and then Jeff's going to get out of here. We're going to do some, go through some free agents that are still out there, veteran, big names, talk a little bit more.

But why don't we start there, the gold standard behind the glass? Where are you, buddy? I'm right here. Let's do some news. Let's do it. All right, the big news, Deshaun Jackson and the Redskins strike a three-year, $24 million deal. The contract includes $16 million guaranteed, according to NFL Media Insider Ian Rappaport. Jeff Darlington, I ask you.

you. This wasn't a shocking move. This seemed to be coming to play. Was this a smart move by the Redskins in your mind? We'll see. I like, obviously I like it from, I'll tell you exactly, I'll name drop it for a moment here with Robert Griffin III. I was discussing this situation saying to him, look, it seems like a really good weapon. The question is, I don't know the guy personally. You know, what do you think about that aspect? And Robert met Deshaun. and got great vibes from them and you know it's off to a great start and from a weapon standpoint that's great

from a chemistry standpoint it seems to exist the question of course will be whether or not they can coexist when things aren't all that good. Jackson had his introductory conference call on Wednesday and he said

that RG3 reaching out to him immediately after he became a free agent and then staying in contact was a big reason why he went there. I mean, he said that in the conference call, but that sounds to me like this guy, RG3 played a big role in this. He did. And I think it's important, too, to maybe distinguish the fact that I think when at this

point, after what we went through with Griffin last year in the whole Mike Shanahan situation and Kyle Shanahan, that anytime you suggest that Griffin had a role in an acquisition, it immediately comes with, you know, who's running the show there. But I do get the sense from people I've spoken to within the organization and Griffin himself that it's not a bad situation. It's not a situation where he's overstepping his bounds, but did instead make it known that he would love to see Deshaun Jackson on the team. And I think that that courtship certainly helps give Jackson the conviction to make the move. But of course, it still comes down to money. I know.

I was going to, yeah, let's get down to it. Of course, the quarterback is important, but, you know, the coin is too. Wes, you tell us about this offense now. What are you doing over there, man? He's soaking it in, but now the mad scientist is about to chime in. Tell us about the upside is the ceiling off for this offense with all these guys they have in place now. Before Free Agency, I made two bold statements. Robert Griffin, the third, will win comeback player of the year award.

Oh, yeah, I like that. The other one, the Eagles have a strangle hold on the NFC East. One of those statements is no longer true. The Eagles don't have a stranglehold anymore. They lost their best part of their aerial attack, and the Redskins got him. So now the Redskins have two of the fastest wide receivers in the NFL. An elite move tight-in in Jordan Reed, a good slot receiver in Andre Roberts, fastest quarterback in the NFL.

Alfred Morris, a guy that's in the first two years, showed as a big-time player. Trent Williams. Yeah. Could use a nice right tackle, but. They could use the whole rest of the offensive line, maybe. They need a few pieces on defense, at least a few pieces, but this team looks pretty frisky, don't they? They sure do. Here's my question, though, is that I understand the Eagles, the Brain Trust got together.

They had to have thought, okay, if we release this, what's the worst case scenario? He signs with a division rival. So this cannot have come to, like, as a shock to them, that this type of scenario could have played out. But still... But that doesn't make it good necessarily, like, the right answer. Right, but to me, it makes the move that was already a little shaking. to start with. Now it really seems bad, but they would have to have been prepared for this as a possibility, I guess. Right. I don't really understand it. I get that Deshawn Jackson is,

can be a headache. But I also subscribe to the theory that there are so few, it kind of goes along with that Billichick theory. There are so few big men when he talks about nose tackles walking the earth, the whole planet theory that Billichick has. There are so few men of that, that have that type of gift, that type of speed, that type of presence on a field, that sometimes you have to manage those guys. And I'm not going to get into the whole nj.com about the gang ties thing. Maybe the Eagles do have more information on that than we know. But if this is strictly from a locker room standpoint, I think you've got to manage a guy

like that, especially, look, Chip Kelly, these athletic guys, I mean, you got to, you just, you have to somehow make sure that you get them in the locker room. you just figure out how to make them fit your system rather than going out and just trying to find guys that already do. And he probably couldn't have done it a year ago because Chip Kelly wouldn't have the history and the ammo to say basically, look at my offense. It just turned Riley Cooper into a good starting wide receiver.

It just turned Nick Foles into a pro bowl or whatever you want to call it. My offense is more important than the Sean Jackson. I think the truth is somewhere in between. I mean, obviously his offense is great, but the Sean Jackson was a very top three receiver right statistically speaking I mean I wouldn't put him that high in general in the NFL but he's a huge I mean he's not Calvin Johnson or Des Bryant but he is a he's a huge weapon he was before and after chip Kelly and having him on the field enabled Riley Cooper to face single coverage all the time

look but the the most important part about this when as it pertains to the Redskins is going to be the chemistry of this team on paper they look great right now statistically when you talk about Pierre Garcia I mean if you had said two years ago that in 2014, they're going to have Pierre Garcin, Robert Griffin III, Alfred Morris, and Deshawn Jackson on the same field at the same time. There's no way you could convince anybody that that was going to be the case. Right. And I like Roberts, too, and read as... By the way, Robert Griffin III really lobbied for Roberts, too, really liked the idea of Andre Roberts. So right now, the chemistry exists, but it's about more than just on paper. This

This has to mesh. It has to come together. It's Sanjay Gruden. I mean, we've seen this before in Washington. Things look good in March and April. And if they don't go well this year, it's going to be a lot of criticism raining down on RG3 and Gruden. And Gruden in Cincinnati, let's face it, was not a guy you thought, well, there's a creative. But I think that Gruden is the type of guy that in some weird way will be able to manage this roster a little bit, almost from the standpoint that he's got.

a little bit of a laid-back demeanor. He's got this swagger, the Gruden family swagger, but he also doesn't have that very, I don't know, he doesn't seem to abrasive, doesn't just have to put his claws into something. I get the sense that he's got a little bit more of the Pete Carroll vibe, which is going to be really important when you consider all of those personalities in one locker room. We'll be interesting to see how it turns out. It would be great if they have the number two pick overall.

Also, that would have just turned. This team would have been off the rails. If they had the number two pick, they couldn't have signed Deshawn Jackson. Nor would they have had Robert Griffin III. We're going down like a butterfly effect where we're just tumbling through the ether together. Well, you know what it's crazy is that we did an instant debate today on the website. And the question was, who's going to have a better year, Nick Foles or RG3? And that would have just been an insane question to ask a year ago.

First of all, most people answered Foles. Really? Can you just imagine RG3 was coming off rookie of the year over Andrew Locke, over Russell Wilson. So now he's got all these guys. I picked RG3 because I want that to be right because I want a league where this team is fun. I think that Robert Griffin III is going to have a bounce back year. I completely agree with your assessment. I agree.

I mean, and I'm not saying that I believe that Griffin will last 15 years in the league and be a perennial pro bowl. I don't know. It's just there's too much to be told. But I do believe that the person we saw his rookie year is far more the player than we saw last year. That's the guy that I think will be. the player that we see well that's just because you're buddies with him though I'm not buddies with you see

well and the person we saw just like Sessler and Petner like that's what I was getting at I like this the person we saw his rookie year there's only a handful of people in the NFL that can do that right right

and Nick Fools is not one of them but Nick Foles look pretty good too just two different I mean it's two different players too I want to move on to another big Pennsylvania wide receiver signing okay oh my gosh the Pittsburgh Steelers announced Wednesday they have signed 50 year wide out

Darius Hayward Bay to a one-year deal. DHB, obviously, won and done it with the Colts last year. The dynasty is right back on track. It didn't work out in Indy as the Stonehands came back to haunt him once again. Now he gets another elite quarterback, but I don't even know where does he even factor in. Is he guaranteed a roster spot? What kind of player is DHB? What kind of future does he have?

He was benched late in the year for LeVan, Brazil, and Derek Rogers, and sent to special teams in India. I don't think he's guaranteed anything in Pittsburgh. And look, Andrew Luck, man, he's the kind of guy who made those players better. I wholeheartedly believe that he made the guys around him better, which is what you look for in these quarterbacks. Ben Rothelisberger is capable of doing it, though, in a similar vein because they both get out, they make things happen when the play is seemingly dead.

But if D.HB couldn't do it with the Colts, I don't know why it's going to be different with the Steelers. He's got to make them a lot better because after Antonio Brown, is one of the best receivers in the league. It's Lance Moore and Hayward Bay is the next two guys right now. Marcus Wheaton. Don't sleep on him. Well, let's see him do something. But, yeah. I mean, they're going to take a wide receiver high on this draft, you have to assume, right?

The beat writers have been saying Mike Evans and Kelvin Benjamin are two prime candidates. They're looking at, how do you pronounce his name, Darkes-Denard? Yeah. And the guy from Oklahoma State cornerback. And those four guys are the guys they're looking at according to the beat-rides. They got a lot of work to do. Uh, yeah, nine drops last year for DHB before you get phased out. And like 27 catches.

That's terrible. That's a three to one. Let's keep rolling with, um, underperforming, uh, wide receivers. It's that time of year, huh? Yes. Kenny Britt. Kenny Britt has found a new home. Uh, Ian Rapp report reported Monday that the wide receivers agreed to a one year,

$1.4 million deal with the St. Louis Rams. Uh, Brit obviously got off to a nice start in his career in Tennessee, despite, you know, some personal off the field, struggles, but now knee issues have taken to the forefront, and it's really hard to say what he is. That said, that's potentially a steal if he gets his stuff together and he proves himself healthy, right? Potentially.

Wesleyan called him the worst player in the NFL last year. At the end of September, after three weeks, he was the worst player I saw on tape in the NFL, and he got worse. He dropped past his committed. How much was that a product of everything that was going on there, though? I mean, do you think that that's the guy? I think that played a lot into it, but even the year before coming off of surgeries to both knees, many surgeries.

He couldn't separate from coverage. I agree. I mean, look, I'm just throwing that out there. I tend to agree. I don't see this one as being, I mean, I think he still sees himself as like a number one receiver, right? He speaks about himself in the third person on Twitter. So he definitely thinks that's a sign you think very highly of yourself. Oh, wait, on Twitter?

On Twitter? He speaks, does he like do the ad? Does he do the ad? Does he do the username? That would be kind of meta. I would like that. I would respect that. That's next level.

That is next level. He's still only 25 years old. There's nothing saying he can't bounce back, but I would guess that Hakeem Nix has a much better chance of bouncing back than Ken is great. They remind you like Steve Smith back in the, I don't know. They have a lot of guys who are okay. They have Chris Givens and Tavon Austin who should be pretty good. And then they have three or four guys that are all. Deadman Bailey.

See what happens with that team too. That's another team you love because your buddies with everyone there. Man, I'm friends with all the people. You want to read, Greg. So you got to do. You got to hustle. Not friends. Let's come on, Sessler.

I can't wait until Mark hears the show. He's like, oh, my God, I was assassinated on my own podcast. He was like a kid in a candy shop. Oh, my God. You wouldn't believe the conversation and just had with the Brown's organization. They talk to me. Jimmy Haslam's the greatest owner is Greg. Very earnest.

Jump in, Greg, Greg. That Mark is the intrepid reporter. of ATL on the floor. That is true. When we're out there... I'd be careful the bias thing. And not in the party situation or whatever. If it's not the team that he roots for,

he's the one that's angling in there and just asking the questions. Boom. No, he's got that pit bull quality. Right. But the second that these guys gave him the time of day, it was over. He was mush. Well, he's a fan. Yeah.

He admits it. Yeah. All right. Moving on. I loved it, by the way. I wish I was there. I wasn't even invited. No, he was really actually funded.

be around at the owner's meetings. He was, every time I saw him, I swear, he was really fun to be around at the owners' meetings. That's why we call him the sizzler. Yeah. Moving on, we have some more news. John Idzik, the glacier. Iceberg! Run ahead!

That's what we call him the glacier, because everything moves very slowly with John Idzik. Made some big moves. He's back. He's hunting in the bargain alley, and he signed Jacoby Ford, wide receiver. Cornerback, Dimitri Patterson, both joining. the teams filling voids on the roster that they don't have to worry about anymore, right guys? We've reached a damaged wide receiver portion

of the show. I know. That's what's incredible about Deshawn Jackson being among this group. I mean, it is pretty wild. I don't mean to just hijack your conversation about who were we talking about again? Jacoby Ford. This wouldn't have made the show if it wasn't the Jets. Dan's the Jets fan. But

when you consider that Deshawn Jackson and even go back to like to Marcus Ware to Jared Allen, think about some of the players that ended up available unexpectedly after the fact after free agency had begun. I mean, it's wild.

And to have a guy like Deshawn Jackson in the same conversation as Kenny Britt. Right, he was the highest paid wide receiver of any of them. He didn't get as much money as he didn't Philadelphia, but he got more than Eric Decker did. One million more guaranteed. I like Ford, by the way. Of all these three random gambles that we've just mentioned...

Well, he gets special teams too. I mean, he's still got the goods to be a return man. Yeah, Liz Frank injury, and then last year started the season with a knee injury. But he's one of the fastest players in the league when he's healthy. South Florida, too, by the way. South Floridian. And another group of people you're biased towards South Floridian. See, that's the best part is you can find bias for everybody.

The problem is I'm like an eternal optimist. You know, like, I'm like, oh, Jeff Ireland will be great. John Beck Hall of Famer. Rex Grossman, that's my guy. John, I miss John Beck so much. So does Mike Shanahan. Right. I remember Shanahan's most crowning moment of the Redskins era was when he said,

I stake my reputation on John Beck or Rex Grossman on these two guys. He should have been fired the next year after saying that. That was during the lockout, he said that, right? Yeah. Hey, look, guys, John Beck's got some real potential in this. Is this league the CFO? And Rex? And Rex?

Don't even get me started. And since you are close to the Miami Dolphins, Jeff, I'm curious. what you think about Demetri Patterson. I'm now, just as a jet fan, I'm asking you a question. You know, he was pretty effective. The injuries were the problem, though. Yeah. I think he'd still be with the dolphins if he wasn't so prone to...

Because, I mean, look, that guy had what? Am I thinking of the right? He had like three picks in the first like... You had four interceptions with the bad groin and then... He only played six games. Right. So that that was clearly the problem, but, I mean, he was a real surprise for the dolphins earlier in the season

when you considered that you had Patterson and Grimes really making some plays. So, look, if they can keep him healthy... I'm shocked. Yeah, do you kid, does anybody care about this? Yeah, I'm shocked that they gave him, 44 people. They gave him essentially the same contract the Cardinals gave Antonio Cromarty, and I would much rather have Cromarty than Dmitri Patterson. Look, if Dmitri Patterson can stay healthy, the way Brent Grimes did this year,

after coming off an Achilles situation with the Falcons, hey, maybe you're going to get something decent. All right, Jeff Darlington. You have to go. He has to go. What a treat. I know. If we hold you here any longer, we're going to get in trouble with the boss.

How much are we going to edit out? Zero seconds. There is no editing that goes on. We did all the magic just now. We edited out the lovemaking conversation? No, that's it. You leave that in, and then you wait to see

if there's an angry email that follows. Who would the angry email come from? Your wife's not listening to the show. Shadowy League figures. No, she definitely could care less about the show. I tried to put it on once for like a minute, and she was having it. Do you think David Eaton's listened this far into the show?

Sure. I think he's locked in. David, this is the big boss here. If you're still listening, please let us know, send us an email. Oh, I think we'll hear from him. You think so? Like a lot of listeners, at first, they're not sure what to mix.

But once he was in, every single time, oh, yeah, he calls me about it, has suggestions. Okay. And with that, you will go to lunch with David Eaton now. I will. Jeff Darlington, thank you. Please come back and visit us. We've got to get you in the Sessler in the same room to just hash the things out also. So I'm looking forward to it.

We really do. I love Sessler. It really does make me laugh. Jeff Darlington. See you guys. Illuminati member. Y'allie, Illuminati. Got my tattoo, right?

Right back. Out goes Jeff Darlington, but we move on our next topic of discussion. Greg Rosenthal, known popularly as the boss around here, wrote a post. Classic Greg Rosenthal headline, by the way. We write our own headlines many times. Big name NFL veterans still looking for a job. That is the headline of this post. And it was a good piece.

I don't know if that was my original. That's got your name written all over it. And not just because your name's underneath the headline. What are you trying to say? I usually kind of bring it with like a bread and butter headline. Nothing wrong with that. Like any job? Sanitation engineer.

So anyway, so big name. I like to explain what's in the column underneath. You know, you don't have to get too fancy. Don't get too cute. I got you. Big name NFL veterans still looking for a job. There's a whole host. I'm going to change that headline by the time.

listen to. I'm not even joking. Don't get fancy, as one person said on Twitter to Dan and I, you're aware that most of your audience wipes their nose on the couch. Why are you talking about Various Militude? See, I don't think that. I think we have very sophisticated listenership. All right, so let's go down this list because Greg put together a nice list here. And right in the beginning, in what we call the industry, the lead of your piece, you talk about Champ Bailey and Ed Reed. So, Champ Bailey obviously spent many years with the Denver Broncos after starting his career in Washington, obviously showed some tread and wear on his tires last year with the foot injury,

then came back and wasn't the same guy. We saw him get toasted during the Super Bowl, and now he's a free agent. Bailey visited with the Saints on Tuesday. We don't know if that is going to lead to something yet, but I guess do we assume that he will be in the league next year? See a guy that has enough left? I do. I don't think we know what he has left because last year was ravaged by basically a chronic foot injury

that he couldn't get rid of until the playoffs, and by then he wasn't in really game shape, so I don't think we know what he has. New Orleans would be a perfect spot for him in a defense and a defensive coordinator that can creatively use him and his intelligence, and he'll play a little cornerback, a little safety. I think he still has a chance to matter. I definitely think he'll get a job.

I like that Saints fit, as you mentioned, and they don't have, behind Keenan Lewis, they don't have any proven cornerback. And you could, I think he's one of those guys where you will not see him sign with the Oakland Raiders or a team like that. You know, being up close with him during Super Bowl week, this was a guy that wants the ring. He wants it badly. The Saints, to me, make a lot of sense as a team where he could land, and they don't have a lot of depth in their secondary. I could see him as a rare guy like Rod Woodson or. Charles Woodson. Or even Daryl Green, who does have a useful mid-30s.

There aren't many in the secondary, but just where they're out there, they're kind of a coach on the field, and they're helping out. All right. What about Ed Reed? Obviously, won a Super Bowl with the Ravens, went to the Texans, had the bad hip. It didn't work out there. Went to the Jets, had a few interceptions, but clearly wasn't Ed Reed anymore. He is also on the street, and we have heard nothing about Ed Reed.

This is one guy where I'd be comfortable saying, I think it's over for Ed Reed. I don't know if he's going to get another job. I think that's fair. Wouldn't stun me if you got a job, but I think you're right. I think both him and Champ Bailey, our first ballot, Hall of Famers. I don't think there shouldn't be much of a question. And I think Reid will get in first because I agree.

I don't think he'll play this year. Start that clock. We've all heard the Bill Belichick clip calling him the best safety he's ever seen. That's five years ago. He said that now, right? Right. He's not that guy. I mean, even the Patriots don't seem to want him. No, but I mean, that's first ballot Hall of Fame.

Right. When Bill Belichick tells you you're the best safety he's ever seen. Yeah, I think we all agree. He's definitely that. I thought, Greg, you made a good point in your post. Again, if you want to see it on the website, the headline, big name NFL veterans still looking for a job. Ed Reed went from out of football right now. It's really the A job.

They're all looking for the same job. It's a bad headline. Ed Reed went from a press conference last off season where he was seated at Adaius with Bob McNair, the Texans owner next to him. That means you're a big shot signing to now being on the street and not getting a whiff of interest. It just shows you that's how this league is.

This is the first time I've heard his name since the free agency began. Right. I tried to look for any scrap of anything with Reed. It wasn't there. and it does show you this is such a year-to-year league. I think he got a helicopter at some point in that whole mix. There was a helicopter involved. Right.

I don't know if he took it or it was an owner that took it to go see him. It was just a helicopter involved. It should be a fireable offense. Also another Asante Samuels, a guy that made close to $5 million last year. Also, you haven't heard a lot about him either. I would think he, if he wants to play in the NFL, should be able to find a job. He was a starter last year. Maybe not a great one, but I would think bring him back to New England for one year, one million.

Let's do it. They don't have any room for him now. Who wouldn't like another Asante Samuel run? I think his problem is I don't remember a week that's gone by in the last two years where he's not been on the injured list. That's a problem. All right, let's go through some other names. We'll start at the quarterback position. And we will start with Josh Freeman, one-time future star of the Bucks, now out of work.

This one is kind of weird to me because I have. would have thought, I would have guessed, I would put almost anything, like 17 different high-octane sandwiches on the possibility of Freeman quickly catching on with some team as a backup, and Brandon Whedon hanging out there, but instead Whedon immediately signs with the Dallas Cowboys, and it's Josh Freeman that can't find a job, and now maybe he has to wait until after the draft, and his future is very much in doubt right now. Josh Freeman, where is he going to be? It might not be anywhere.

That's crazy. That's crazy, too. I think when people look for backup quarterbacks, this is one of the reasons why Tim Tebow is not in the NFL. They want reliability and they don't want a circus. And Josh Freeman now is stained. But that's so unfair to the guy, though. He's not teesbo.

He has a reputation now as a guy who's not committed, doesn't have the work ethic, and football is not his first priority. A malingerer. Malinger implies a guy like Jared Gaither where he had a reputation of faking an injury to not play football. We don't think that. No, I don't think that about Josh Freeman.

I mean, Dan mentioned Brandon Whedon, signed, which is very surprising before Josh Freeman. How about Curtis Painter? Curtis Painter's in the NFL. Luke McCown. Charlie Whitehurst not only signed, he got a great job. Poor Jesus. Great money. Derek Anderson is a starting quarterback for OTAs, at least, in Carolina.

I mean, give Freeman a shot. Quick aside, by the way. We will. We're going to. This is crazy. Someone's going to sign. for not having a job. This is crazy.

He's another example of why you should never use Pro Bowls as an evaluation for things like the Hall of Fame. Josh Freeman, Pro Bowl quarterback as a replacement. By the way, is there a better marginal player past their present with a better nickname than clipboard Jesus? That's a great nickname. The beer man was pretty marginal as a player. Do you remember the beer man?

Michael Lewis, the Saints guy. because he had once driven a beer truck. That's pretty good. Maybe this should be called the He Hate Me All Stars. I smell a post, Dan, and I think you're the man to write it. The news cycle slowing down. I already announced the Greg that I'll be doing an Eric Decker and Jesse Jane reality show on E-Post coming up in the next couple of weeks. Jesse Jane, the adult film star?

I don't know what her name is. She's married to Decker. Oh, that's a different woman. They have a stupid e-show together. Maybe it's not so it made's brilliant. I haven't watched it yet called, like, Great Catch, the Eric Decker story. I don't even remember what we were talking about anymore. Oh, but yeah, he hate me might be the best nickname for a bad player, but clipboard Jesus.

It would be funny, though, if you threw out that idea, and then we also were like, well, who should write it? Maybe let's give it to Wesley. He hate me was self-monicored, wasn't he? Yes, yes. I think that should be illegal. that Kobe called himself Mamba. We should do some type of like Freaky Friday thing where I write a post on the 15 best interior lineman in the NFL

and Wes does something on Eric Decker and Jesse Jane. Freaky Friday. More quarterbacks. Kevin Cobb and Colt McCoy, Greg, you wrote in your piece. You wouldn't be surprised if both of their careers are over. West, do you agree that those guys are out of the league? I'll be shocked if I ever see Kevin Cobb again because of his concoct. Bucing history. Colt McCoy, I would put it 50-50. I think

Greg and I have talked about this before. We could both see him coaching at Texas next year. Some entry-level job, something like that. And here are two guys we figure we'll have jobs, but it just hasn't happened yet. Rex Grossman and Matt Flynn. What's more likely? Oh, oh, oh. Just throwing it in there. Impromptu. Uh-oh. Hey!

Live from Culver City, California. It's a America's favorite game show. Goldstander is ready with this one. What's more likely? You know. Now you can go, Wes. Sometimes, hold that thought one second. Sometimes when something happens during a podcast and a perfect time for a drop

and Goldstander's working on another thing and he doesn't have it ready. But for this, Goldstander's like, oh, I got my voice in it. It's going right up. I like it. West. What's more likely? No, wait, wait, no. What's more likely?

Likely. Matt Flynn re-signs with the Packers before anyone on this list signs with anyone else. It would make sense, right? Why would the Packers play with fire again after the nightmare of last season with Rogers where they couldn't have anyone that could do anything until they got Flynn back in the building?

Frankly, I'm surprised he hasn't been signed yet, which makes me think that they're overthinking the situation once again. Well, they said they want to bring him back. Maybe they're just waiting for the draft for some reason. So I'm going to say I'm taking the field. Greg always takes the field. Right. Partly, there's a lot of names in the field.

We haven't gotten to them all. That's work out for you on Arthur Jones. Not too well. But Sidney Rice, Antonio Holmes, Kevin Williams. We have a bunch of names. And then secondly, you know, I'm just kind of bored with life and I need just a little more action to keep it spicy. All right.

That's a real reveal right there. Anything else you want to talk about? We'll do what we got to do to get by, you know. I got you. If I were a GM, I would sign Matt Flynn, know that the Packers will get in a bad way at some point and get a six-round pick out of it. But that's where I'll never be higher.

Nobody's going to give up a draft pick for Matt Flynn. That's why you're not a GM. Exactly. And Rex Grossman, he will get a job, you think? Yeah, he's going to the Cleveland Browns, I think. Yeah. Get excited, Sizzler. All right.

I got what's more likely. how about that? All right. What's more likely? Sidney Rice, Santonio Holmes, and Miles Austin. Of those players, who's more likely? So what's more likely is the game, so it's messing it up a little bit, but who's more likely to have anything close

to what you might call an impact season? We all three might pick different guys on this. We've had this debate down in the newsroom at least two or three times. In different forms, I'm sticking with Miles Austin. Only one year removed from 66 catches, 960 yards,

5 TDs, and reminds me a little bit this is show of my age. When I first started playing fantasy football in the mid to late 90s, two wide receivers. Isaac Bruce and Curtis Conway were written off

because they have back-to-back years with hamstring injuries where it ruined their seasons. They came back strong. They weren't sentenced to the rest of their career with hamstring injuries. Wes

West supports argument with 20-year-old fantasy advice. I like that. That's pretty good. Curtis Conway, often in our newsroom works for the network now.

You could bring up this story to him. To him. Next time I see him in the hallway? Why not? Just be like, remember when everyone gave up on you in your fantasy leagues? He'd be like,

what are you talking about me? Next time I see some fit man walking through the newsroom. I'm not sure who Curtis Conway is. I tend to agree with Wes on this. I don't think, I can't trust Antonio Holmes ever being motivated

enough and we don't know if he's healthy enough to be a big time guy. Sidney Rice, you know, whenever somebody goes to Switzerland to have stuff put into their body, I never think it's a good sign. That was before he tore his ACL. You're right, and that's a good point. And that was before he blew out his knee. So, yeah, I think Austin makes the most sense if he lands in a place where he has a nice role.

I'm taking Sidney Rice, and I hope that Seattle resigns him because I think that would be a good spot for him to make a nice impact. He's got at least six or seven more seasons of 550 yards and four TDs. He is the youngest one of this group, so I like that. And it's crazy that none of them other than, I guess Holmes in Austin, like Ed Reed, but they're not 35 years old, have had no interest. Rice has had some stories written about them that Seahawks, Patriots showed a little interest. There are some teams that sniffed around.

We haven't heard anything about Miles Austin or Holmes. Well, you know what? Listen to those receivers that just we talked about. Jacoby Ford and Hayward Bay and Britt. Yeah. They all got jobs. It speaks to what you were saying about Josh Freeman, West, which is, I think these guys get a little stink on them. And then people kind of write them off prematurely.

It's a fair point. And sometimes NFL teams are all wrong, all 32 of them. Look at Laurent Robinson two years ago. Nobody wanted him. He's sitting there in September for the Cowboys to take. 10 touchdowns 900 yards he gets what 20 million the next year there are all kinds of guys like that did you say your own point was a fair point which is awesome if you did i don't know did well they basically pointed out your point and then you're like that's a fair point that was very

kett britt of you i didn't even know i was throwing it uh look at a guy like martellis bennett was available for the giants got paid peanuts nobody wanted him coming out of the cowboys he has one decent year for the Giants. Now everybody wants him. He was the same player. Sometimes teams get every team in the league get a player wrong. True. Moving on. Speaking of Interior lineman, Davin Joseph, who was a two-time Pro Bowler cut by the Bucks, only 30 years old, still in the street. Another guy, Trevelle Wharton, are two guys, interior guys that are not employed right now but have shown to be useful in the past, even high-end players,

and now they don't have a job. What about these guys? Trevelle Wharton reportedly now leaning toward retirement joining Jordan Gross, which means the Panthers offensive line is in a world of hurt. Then there was another Panthers offensive linemen that retired too, right? Like a lower level one? Jeff Hangartner? Right. 75% of the organization retired.

Of the entire organization? Including front office officials, groundskeepers, the guys that, you know, rip the tickets up and scan the tickets in. Among the 25% not retired, Mike Shula, still running that. that often. And among that group, Cam Newton, who will be going to a new team in a couple of years. Ouch, wow, just sending daggers to the Panthers. David Ely from our newsroom is a resident Charlotte fan, really has taken issue with you just

dumping all over Charlotte. I would have no problem with the Panthers or the people of Charlotte. It's the team's ways. And just mark my words, after they go six and ten or seven and nine this year, you will start hearing whispers about Cam Newton and him being unhappy. and potentially wanting a trade. You're going to have NFL media insider Ian Rappaport sitting in front of a bookcase saying Cam Newton is unhappy in Carolina

and is looking for a trade, like something like that's going to happen. That sounds suspiciously like a very accurate cessler. Ooh, that is a Sessler. I think you're going to say that sounds like an accurate... Yes, Ian Rappaport. What happened to the end of the Sessler? Bring it back. It was very quick.

Bring it back. I got to bring it back. It does sound like an accurate, Ian. I can see him in front of the bookshelts. Definitely. Here's another one. Jermichael Finley. This thing seemed like it was going to be a done deal.

He went to Seattle. I think I'm like the first day of free agency. And it was just a matter of the physical checking out. But I guess he's not cleared yet from that spinal fusion surgery. And that, you know, put a pin in the plans. So he's still out there. He probably is still going to end up with the Seahawks if he gets cleared. But as of right now, it's not done.

You know who is 100% correct about Jemichael Finley? Daniel Hansis. Was I? You said before free agency, how do you guys have him ranked that high? He's got a neck injury, a C3, C4. He might never play again. I'm smart. It doesn't mean we had him ranked poorly.

He is one of those injured guys that has to wait until he's healthy to sign. But as long as he's healthy by training camp, who really cares? There's other guys out there, like that Anthony Spencer's one of them. This isn't a strained groin, though, Greg. This was, you know, spinal fusing. His camp was telling pro football talk a month and a half ago. he's going to be cleared in two weeks. And now the Seahawks won't sign him

because they can't clear him. They'll probably sign him in a couple months. Although if they were sniffing around at other options, that would be a bigger concern. True. All right. Let's go quick through the last few of them.

Anthony Spencer, twice, two-time franchise player for Dallas on the street after micro fracture knee surgery. He gets a job once he proves he's healthy, right? Yeah, you would think so. Like Finley, he's got to pass the physical and maybe he'll sign in right before camp micro fractures no joke right uh two tight ends here of note owen daniels long time texans uh past catching tight end dustin keller former dolphin

and jet suffer that awful knee injury last preseason both out there uh i think keller as long as he proves that he's back to his old self but i don't know if that's going to happen the i don't think he's ever going to be back to his old self the ravens john harvoss said they're interested in Owen Daniels at the owner's meeting and then when we were getting up from the end of the session at the owner's meeting, actually heard him pull a reporter who knows Owen Daniels well to the

side and was like, so does Owen have anything left. Which is, it's funny to just think that the head coach, they'll get information wherever it's from, that they'll pull the reporter aside and be like, what do you think about this Daniels fellow? My guess is that's a matter of money. He's also been connected to the Packers.

So I think teams have been doing their homework on him and maybe have contacted him, but maybe they haven't settled on. Maybe he thinks he's worth more than they do. All right. And finally, three what I like to call, JAG running backs, just another guy. Felix Jones, Ronnie Brown, and this is unfair to Willis McGa.

He's had some nice years. Former first-round picks don't have jobs. Are all three of these guys done in the NFL? Willis McGahey never touches a football again on an NFL field. I was going to say, where is he going? Ronnie Brown probably should never play another down in the NFL. A good role player, but, Just the speed is no longer there.

And I think Felix Jones has been kind of a detriment the last couple of years. I take offense to calling Ronnie Brown a jag. First of all, he had some very nice years in Miami. You're just thinking of that one Patriots game in the Wildcat. Whatever. Second of all, you're just saying he doesn't have the speed anymore, Wessling. Can I remind you of a little 58-yard scamper through the secondary of the Bengals during the playoffs? That was pretty exciting.

Ronnie Brown gets a big playoff touchdown. He's out of his chair. He probably got caught from behind by Damata Pico. No, he's got it to the end of. I can't believe Ronnie Brown just got you out of your chair, Greg. That was interesting. Wesley knows. Maybe he doesn't, but I used to be.

You're a huge Ronnie Brown fan. I love Ronnie Brown. Oh, there you go. And I think he's had a great career, but I think he's probably hung on a little too long. All right, gentlemen, that is it for Wednesday's edition of the Around the League podcast. We will be back on Friday. We have a special guest lined up. We won't tell you who it is, but we have somebody lined up for Friday,

and we'll obviously go through all the news in the league, as we always do. The Gold Standard, you wanted to send out a reminder to our listeners or some type of call to action? Yeah, we got such great money tags last time. We wanted to continue it and give you guys the opportunity to... We're not out of money tags. No, we're not. No, okay. I just sort of like to stockpile them.

I have the Fort Knox of money tags in my computer. Yeah, the more the merrier. So what's the hashtag? It's hashtag money tags. I thought it was money intros. No, money. No, we're doing money tags. Excuse me, I'm sorry.

I apologize. Hashtag money tags. You know what's weird is I started following that hashtag when this came up. And there were a decent amount of hashtag money tags that were not from around the league. That's part of the fun is that I just sit through the miscellaneous money tags. People did a great job, by the way. Hopefully, if you've been listening to the list. last couple weeks you've heard your money tag pretty much every tag that we've used in the last

couple weeks have been from our listeners so do we want to explain what a money tag is for new listeners yeah basically yeah it sounds like this the around the league podcast is the cure for locker room cancer or like this the around the league podcast could beat down And to your point, Greg, you had said that sometimes we go through the hashtag and you see strange things. I remember one a couple weeks ago, it was kind of like, Latrell ran my car into a ditch, hashtag money tag. What does that even mean? Who knows? It was like it had nothing to do with our show.

It was just someone used money tag as a hashtag related to some life crisis. That just solved the mystery that I've been wanting to crack. What? What's LaTrell Spreewell doing with his life these things? Let's do. It's working out of car wash. He owns them. All right.

So that's it. We'll be back Friday. As I said, until then, thank you to Jeff Darlington for stopping by. We'll have him back one day. Until Friday, this is Dan Hansis signing up for the mailman, the boss, the gold standard behind the glass. See you. Hey everybody. Daniel Jeremiah here. And I'm Bucky Brooks.

On Move to Six, 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. 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. This is an IHeart podcast.