NFL Daily with Gregg Rosenthal - QB Island Casting Call + Training Camp Begins!

Episode Date: July 22, 2026

Gregg Rosenthal, Jourdan Rodrigue and Steve Wyche get you ready for the next season of Quarterback Island with a casting call for the show. Find out the six quarterbacks they think could be serious contenders for next season Quarterback Island members. Plus, training camp has begun! Get caught up on news from around the NFL including Jordyn Brooks' new contract with the Dolphins and injury updates for the Panthers.  NFL Daily YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/nflpodcastsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human. There's no shortcut for saving time, but saving money is simple. Just combine your car and home insurance with Bel Air Direct and save. Get a quote at bellair direct.com. Do you throw touchdowns and avoid costly turnovers? Can you scramble out of the pocket away from the Miles Garrett's sack? Or look off Patrick Sertan as he drops into coverage?

Then quarterback Island is looking for you. Join the likes of NFL MVP. P's like Matthew Stafford. A dazzling darts from Matthew Stafford. And Josh Allen. Alan looking for the end zone and he's in. The beast has been released. As you define the quarterback position during the 2026 NFL season,

can you lead your team on a game-winning drive as time expires? Then quarterback Island is looking for you. Dak Prescott. He made the island, Caleb Williams. My goodness, the iceman. did it one more time. He made the island. Get over that late season collapse.

Baker ball. And send in your resume for quarterback island today. Quarterback Island is characterizing to get a non-ranked and non-listic way of the players who define what playing quarterback in. Hey, hey. Well done. We are here. Yes.

On quarterback island. But this is an irregular quarterback island episode. This is the first ever episode of the quarterback island spin-off. quarterback island casting call. Great job there by our producer Eric Roberts surprising us with a new intro. And yes, Jordan from the mind of QB Island, Jordan Roderick executive producer, comes QB Island casting call as we take a longer look at some gentlemen who might earn a spot on quarterback island this year.

I'm so happy right now that we heard that cold. I kept trying to get Eric to let me listen to it early because I was so excited. excited about it. That was everything and more. Shout out to Randy. I called in a favor and he crushed it. He sent me a couple takes. I might have to send outtakes out. So he could be a voiceover artist. I should have mentioned Jordan Rodriguez with me and QB Island regular. Although he hasn't been in the Chris Wesleyan podcast studio in a while NFL Network's own, Steve Weiss here. I'm so glad to be here, but I also want to see what type of rules you guys are going to create and later bend for the 2026 QBI. Well, first of

First and foremost, I do want to shout out to Dalton Ross. He is a beat report. I call him a Survivor Beat Reporter. Over at Entertainment Weekly, he obviously does much more than that. He actually has been talking to me about quarterback Island all year. He's a reality TV show expert, right? He's been messaging me about Quarterback Island, loves the show, and he gave me the idea for Quarterback Island casting call as the newest in the family of quarterback Island.

Hey, when you got a cash cow, you got to milk it. You know? Got to milk it. As that intro referred to, quarterback island is the place that defines the quarterback position. What eight quarterbacks at the end of last season to find the quarterback position? Traditionally, we start the season with 12.

We will have that first episode for the 2026 season in about a month, maybe a week, two weeks before the NFL regular season starts. But for this episode, we wanted to introduce some character. some possibilities of guys who could be considered then, who could make it on to the island eventually. And it did refer to some of the gentlemen who would not be eligible to be talked about today because they finished last season on the island. And that's Josh Allen, Justin Herbert, Trevor Lawrence with a big closing kick. I like that. Drake May, Dak Prescott, Brock Purdy, who played well at the end of last season, Matthew Stafford and Caleb Williams.

And you'll notice some big names who were hurt late last year, not on the list. And maybe we'll talk about them today in this casting call Steve. It is awesome having you back. wearing your Black College Hall of Fame. Classic shirt. I know we'll be seeing you on NFL Network throughout training camp and at Canton for the Hall of Fame game and all the

Hall of Fame festivities. But we got you in the studio now. This is your other home and I want you to get us going with your first nominee for acting. I mean, you know, this is obvious based on my trumping player last year. It's actually where I'll be starting.

Our inside training camp in Denver. Bo Nix. Bo Nix is coming back now. He had the ankle injury that he suffered late last year. He's had two procedures to get it done, but they're expecting him to be ready to start week one against the Kansas City Chiefs. But Bo Nix, not only does he have a new play caller

and Davis Webb, Sean Payton is going to take a step back for now. I don't know how long this is going to last. But Davis Webb has been his old position coach, right? So they've got this relationship. It's going to be his play designer and play caller. But they went on and they got him, Jalen Waddle. They got him a speed. speed burner on the outside to pair with Cortland Sutton.

And I know you like analytics and stats. And here's one thing about the Denver Broncos. Since 2024, they have led the ball and led the league in throws of more than 20 yards, air yards. So now you get a burner like Jalen Watton. We think he's so much of a catch and run guy. Now he can go. It's going to clear things up underneath for the other guys. I think this offense is going to be far more fluid.

It's going to run just because they've got that outside speed. Bright, who's incredibly reliable, can run the whole tree. How about my guy, Bo Nick, especially when he breaks the huddle? Well, as someone who's wanted him on quarterback island in the past and is bringing him up here, just as a guy that could be cast during this season, he is entering his third season, but he will be turning 27 right after the season end. Older than dirt. That's Greg Zinnermanelot.

He has thrown a lot of those plus 20-yard passes, just because he's thrown a lot of passes, period. He led the league actually in past 1030 attempts. It was very pass heavy. What do you as a Bo Nicks believer? Think he needs to develop to convince maybe some of the doubters of like myself out there that he deserves to be on there. What does he got to get better at? Clearly he's got some of the Caleb Williams in him, like early in games figuring it out. He's got to come into games a little bit earlier and hit things on schedule.

Make this offense click a little bit more smoothly so he doesn't have to come in with those late game heroics. like he often does. I mean, you go 14 and 3. A lot of it's because he was great in the fourth quarter. So again, being on schedule early, getting this offense on time, and that's why I think, again, Waddle will help out. He's got someone who can do the timing routes, they can go the long routes,

and that's going to open up a lot more opportunities for the other receivers. One of the things that Davis Webb is supposed to help with remains to be seen because we don't know yet. He's calling plays really for the first time. Probably hard to do it with Sean Payton, like still actively in your ear as you're doing it. But getting the play call in faster, that's going to be really important. And it sort of sets up to what you're talking about, Steve, which is what I think of

Bow Nix. And that is presented with the opportunity some development, obviously over the last couple of years, he's a really clean canvas for you. If you're an offensive designer, if you're an offensive play caller, if you want to get the play in quickly, if you want to play different tempos, if you want to get the ball, stretch the field, but also really move the quick game. He can be clean. He's been streaky, but he can be clean.

and he's sort of one of those clean canvas type players where you can do a lot of different things based on what he can do and the way that he can protect the football when he's doing it well. That combines with Jalen Waddle in a big way who I think yes is going to stretch the field, but I think going to be a little bit of a move player for it too.

And I think that's really important because you're building complexity around the quarterback and all you want the quarterback to do is continue to be that clean canvas, get the ball where it needs to be, not point guard necessarily because we know he can extend plays, but to almost raise what the level of like artistry is within that offense overall. I think his reputation coming into the NFL is not been what I've seen on the field.

And that makes him an interesting player to watch. But I think he did change from his first year to his second year. And it was just more of everything. Like more mistakes, more big plays. I think he's a better. and a bigger playmaker than we really expected. You mentioned the deep throws. He was third in design runs among all quarterbacks last year.

Like he's close to like Jalen Hertz and some of those guys. And he obviously got hurt on one of them, just an unfortunate play that he's now had a couple follow-up surgery. So that's a bit of a concern because he is a guy who specializes in throwing on the move. So his athleticism really matters. But one thing I definitely noticed kind of picking through his number was, and I think it speaks to a guy who the highs were really high, but it wasn't that consistent.

You were talking about the slow starts the game, but then he finished awesome. Like that Bill's game in the playoffs, mostly great. They were the one scene and everything, but there were even ups and downs in that game. And if you kind of look at his turnover worthy play percentage, his big throw percentage, it was both way higher last year. So I think he was doing more, he's giving you a little more flash. But when it all averaged out, and you look at kind of all the DVOA and success rate and EPA and it's all kind of landed in the middle. And that's why I think Broncos

fans are unhappy with some of us who look at those numbers and say like, yeah, a lot of it was exciting, but it all kind of added up to a mid-level quarterback. And how can he be a little more consistent? I think that's a well. And again, Jordan made a great point. Like maybe getting the plays in quicker. You know, Sean Payton is very big, every play there's a new personal group on the field. I mean, sometimes that takes time. And sometimes you're young quarterback. You're hearing the play call. Okay, I'm seeing a fullback, tight and wait, pulling back. I decided to change my mind. getting a Jalen Waddle, a guy who can move, you may not have to change your personal packages.

Maybe you change some of the groupings, but that's something that can clean it up a little bit. And I think that could help out Bo Nixom. I think he can hit the areas of spacing on the field, downfield, and also the way he can extend or create as a runner. Like, you know that he can capitalize on the spacing that you want to extrapolate. Like, you want to make sure you're, it's like I look at it,

like when you're a designer, you're painting, and you're trying to just target all of the voids that you know are going to be there. Well, he can use those areas. He can hit those throws. It's just getting players there, getting the communication in sync. The protections are really complicated to effective, but complicated, to make sure that everything is happening a lot faster earlier in the play clock.

And then giving more dimension. And I think that will just really, really lift what we've seen from him already. They've talked about it. You guys have already mentioned it now, like the uptempo, a little up tempo, a little more spread. But that sounds to me like what he could be really good at. And that, if you're looking at the way defenses are playing now, seems like maybe the next step of how offenses counteract,

like the trends of defense. And Bo Nex seems particularly suited to do that. But like I said, like he has these little problems in his games. Like he threw less to the middle of the field than any quarterback in the NFL last year. I think according to DVOA, it was like his numbers to the middle of the field were like way down. but I think he could be good with the spread him out and play fast. That's because he leaves that pocket pretty quick. Maybe Sean's going to get him or Davis Webb will get him in that pocket a little.

But you don't want to take that running ability away from him. I still view him as a young player in third year. Like he still has room to grow and in that playoff game. Man, his great games were really great. That Packers game, really both Chiefs games. It was just a little more up and down. I think then Broncos fans want. And so we'll see if the consistency comes here.

14 and 3. I mean, I think they'll take it. They made it to the AFC championship game. I'm going to nominate someone here. All right. He was a man who did finish the year on quarterback island two years ago as a rookie. And that's Jaden Daniels. Coming off his supporting starring role in quarterback,

which we could get to maybe as part of this conversation. Look, I did not expect him to be one of the most accurate quarterbacks in the NFL based on his college tape, and yet that has been who he's been as a pro. Wasn't quite as sharp last year, but the accuracy is there. So if you're telling me you have a young player who is accurate,

is athletic, is excellent in terms of decision-making, I believe overall, and has natural pocket movement in the pocket. That's a player that you can work with. And yet, he was not the same player overall, last season even when he played.

And so I went back and I wanted to watch some of that film from a year ago because I do think it's gotten a little lost in all the injuries that, okay, well, he wasn't hurt those first two games. And they were a little uneven when you go back, especially that second week against the Packers. He was taking a long time to get rid of the ball. There's a lot of reasons why this could have happened, but he just wasn't comfortable last season in that Cliff Kingsbury offense.

He's running a lot. He's getting hurt a lot. That's obviously a big concern. And yet, I love the intangibles so much that he seems like a young man and I hate to bet on the intangels, but he seems like someone that is going to figure out the problems that he has faced so far as a pro and learn how to move forward. But is he, is he that rookie quarterback or is he the guy in his second year that, frankly, wasn't that much more effective than Marcus Mariotta. They didn't really get any worse or better when Mariotta was in there versus Daniels a year ago. Yeah. And I definitely remember those

couple of games because I had them for our recap shows and Commander's fans were very mad at me for pointing out that he did not look the same and he did not look comfortable. And that I think, to your point, Greg, is something that we have to, we have to consider in his pool of data here, even if it's incomplete, because that was a little bit of a second year slump, a sophomore slump for the quarterback. But I think being injured and being out as long as he was and watching what worked and watching what didn't work, in this case, because he's so young, And because there's still so much football left in front of him could be beneficial to him. Having things slow down, not being the one who has to create everything,

understanding how he can create and lift everyone in certain points, but then trusting kind of what he sees and what he's given, not having to do the out of structure superstar stuff as much maybe, but also doing it when it's like time to hit that like power button or whatever. And I think that David Blow, that's part of the reason why he's the offensive coordinator there. kind of a mystery bag with him. We remember him as a quarterback, and I remember the old show, the Blauards, right?

Oh, yeah. That was the fan base. But he's a little bit of a mystery bag, but what we do know is that he was in collaboration with Cliff Kingsbury and Anthony Lynn during that first rookie season of Jane and Daniels. We know that he's someone that the organization thinks very, very highly of. For me, I'd like to see the table set for Jade and Daniels

in a way that really accentuates his superpowers while not frazzling him. And that's going to depend on the line and also the receivers group, which I'm still not really sure. And that's the thing. I mean, think about what he didn't look great early on last season, right? They were trying to incorporate

Debo Samuel into that offense. That's a player Cliff Kingsbury really doesn't... Well, they're sending him on Go. Yeah, I mean, they're just doing... And look, I mean, let's... And you know this, talk in defensive court. It's Cliff Kingsbury's offense after a while. You kind of know what they're going to try to do

even when you got a wildcard quarterback like him. So they couldn't figure out the running back situation. The old line was getting, there was just instability across the board, including Jayden Daniels. It's not playing well. It just didn't seem right. That's going to be fixed because Dan Quinn knows he's in kind of a big make or break type of year. However, what's their tight end situation?

Right. And they were a heavy tight end team when he was, you know, the Zach Erd stuff, you know, when Jayden Dan is playing well. You got Terry McClure, but what are you working with again? They brought the Army roundback. good. That's somebody that that Jane Daniels really played well with. They've got some type of relationship. I think the offensive line

is absolutely going to be better. Right. He's going to have to elevate a receiver position we talked about on our position battles that is among the sketchiest in the league after Terry McLaurin. Now, McLaurin being healthy would help a lot because there were games and I'm watching this tape and it's like it's a lot of Jalen Lane. Yeah.

You know, it's Luke McCaffrey. They did bring in Chigacanquo, so you add him and John Bates who's a good blocking tight end. That could be a good tight end position. But I'm trying to even remove the, you know, the situation around him and thinking about what Daniels needs to do. And what he needs to do more than anything is avoid sacks. Yeah. He has been one of the worst quarterbacks in the league both years in terms of the

sacks that he is taking. And his, it's one thing if you're Lamar Jackson and you're avoiding these big hits, but running the ball eight to ten times a game, which he has done both years, it really didn't change. He gets hit. He doesn't avoid the big. He doesn't necessarily avoid it. Like the second injury.

that he had. And to review, he plays two games, hurts his knee, comebacks after a couple games, and then hurts his hamstring, comes back a game after that, and dislocated his elbow or hurt his elbow, which that's just bad luck.

Misses four games, comes back, and then gets thrown on the ground on a pick six and hurts his elbow again, and that was it for the season. But those last couple of games that he played, which were against the Seahawks and the Vikings, were eye openers, I think for him and Washington, and it's why they sat him for the rest of the year,

because they were just, they were bad offense. They were not good. That's why they made changes. He was absolutely lost. And one of the things that I think he got into a bad habit of was what you talked about, trying to just make plays. And it wasn't as effective.

Like, he just wasn't the same runner. And maybe that was partly because of the injuries that he was playing through, although it was the case the first, you know, a couple weeks. but it was like defenses knew the book was to keep him in the pocket, however possible. There was a lot of good athletic linebackers that were kind of watching him and trying to take away what he did.

So the way he won his rookie year, I think it could be something that is important to him long term, but it's not necessarily sustainable long term. I used to really roll my eyes hearing people talk about this when I was covering like superhuman quarterbacks as a beat writer, Cam Newton, being the number one example here, which is, you know,

everyone would always say, ah, man, like take the check down. Don't be Superman. When it's like, how could you ask Superman not to be Superman? Well, also, Jaden Daniels is maybe a third of the bill. He's tall, but he's like slight. He's a little lean. And then the other thing is,

it was so annoying because in parts, they were right. Because when Greg Olson was fully healthy and was the friendly target, and gave an answer, a quick answer to the problem. When you sent multiple linebackers after the guy, when you're trying to keep the cup around the quarterback, as they say, contain him in the pocket,

when you're trying to basically put your foot down on the end of the cape, you know, or like, you know, in Incredibles be the jet engine to the cape, right? And like, that is what defenses will try to do. And then getting a Christian McCaffery, getting the quick, you know, very, very quick answer mismatch player, which is why I like your, point about the tight ends, but it's also the quarterback really, really internalizing that that is a problem.

That is a problem that is solvable immediately within the offense and having that be an answer for him and an option for him. It's hand in hand, in my opinion. Quarterback has to make the decision, but also the coaches have to make that available for him. And go get Stefan Higgs. I mean, go go get a player like that because he immediately brings respect and credibility. Defenses have to game plan for him. That would help. It would help. I don't like their receiving core.

And look, I spoke to a coach who was on that staff who said, Jaden Daniels covered up so many of our mistakes as a rookie that when he was hemmed in, the second year, all of those mistakes blew wide open. And those were things that as an organization, they overlooked. And that's why they've tried so hard this offseason, at least personnel-wise and some of the moves on the coaching staff to fill in some of those gaps. Yeah. So he, did you go, did anyone watch quarterback yet? I have not watched. So on my flight home, I was like, I don't have time to watch the entire series right now.

But I did just watch the Jaden Daniels sections and then fast forwarded. And so I watched Jaden Daniels on quarterback. You don't learn that much about him. I was a little like it was a bit of a missed opportunity. It feels like he wanted to be on the show. His mom is a huge part of his life. It's his manager. It's his agent. She's at every game. She's a big part of this show as well. And it was like, okay, they want to position them. And you think, man, what a run this kid has been on from Heisman Trophy to the rookie year that he had. And the difference between how high he is flying coming into doing this show to this, the frustration of just injury after injury.

And to be fair to him, he's a small guy. He's never been hurt before. He's never missed time with injury. So people are saying, like, that's a concern. It is a concern at the NFL level. but he's never been hurt before. But he's watching the show, like he's doing the scout team late in the year.

It does, you don't learn a lot about him, which I think like, if you're going to do the show, let's give us. Did you finish it? Yeah, I did. But like,

if you're going to do the show, give us a little more of yourself. They just didn't. Like, I didn't get a great, you don't get a great sense of who he is, other than he's a quiet, introverted guy. It doesn't seem to have like a lot of,

he seems like a young guy. Like, he seems like a very mature football guy who's, who's still just a kid. And that might be who he is. Yeah. We, we, we, we, after all the time Matt Ryan played, we're like, what is this, is this kind of it? Yeah.

Like, yeah, that's it. Like, Russell Wilson. Russell Wilson tried to change. And, of course, all of a sudden, he also, he also. He's so chill. I think it makes him a great quarterback because he's so chill in the box. Yeah. And even Terry McClor and Debo, who like showed up to his, his birthday party, a surprise birthday party.

But you got the sense, like he didn't, he wasn't super tight with everyone. They all really respect him, look up to him. But it's like an older team around him. Yeah. He's really tight with Bobby Wagner. Yeah. Yeah. Like, well, if you're going to be tight with someone, that's someone to be tight with.

But I think it's just, and they were talking about it, it's just like, that's who he is all the time. But he did seem like a guy to me that would be built to overcome some of the adversity. When you said, that's it? I had the arrested development line. Her? All right, Jaden Daniels. We'll see if we get back there. I bet we will be talking about him.

And that's part of the point of this exercise. and for that reason, I have to nominate Jordan Love here. Oh, yeah. Gordon Love, first of all, we were cut down, you know, on our numbers on quarterback island, a storm hit or something,

and we only had a few, we had a few fewer spots. We finished with eight. It's a greater honor to finish the season on quarterback island than to start. But I will say at the very end of last season's debate, we were going back and forth between Jordan Love and Caleb Williams,

and it was a really difficult decision to make. And in part, we put Caleb Williams on the island because of some of the late game, late season, heroics, the thrill factor. And also the protecting the football, avoiding sacks. Also things, by the way, that Jordan Love does very well. Jordan Love did very, very, very well last season. We have talked so much about Jordan Love on this show,

and everybody has been talking so much about Jordan Love. And so for the purpose of this exercise, I kind of wanted to talk about him maybe in a different context or present a question or a thought exercise that maybe we haven't done on this show. And what I'm really curious about with him is are we fairly talking about his performance

relative, first of all, to what is happening on the roster around him, which we've done, but also within what this offense is itself and what his partnership with the head coach and play caller is and what they have accepted and agreed to with the, other that what that this system will be with Jordan love as a quarterback because great it's a

great framing because I think he is like the the dream quarterback if I know I talk like listeners I know I talk about the Shanahan tree a lot I know that they're running the NFL it's okay it is what I have gotten my education in okay it's why I talk about it so much but I think that if all of these guys He is, he is like their dream quarterback. And I say that because they've all had a guy who can be agreeable with what they want to do as a play caller in the sense that they're not fighting with them, Aaron Rogers style, or even sometimes Matthew Stafford style about the play calls. They're not trying to make the coach change the offense to compromise with the quarterback. They all want that guy, right? They want a point and shoot.

They want, they want progression passing. They want answers on the field for the quarterback through every single one of his reads, depending on, any type of defense that they can break the rules for, right? Jordan Love can do that. Jordan Love can absolutely do that. Jordan Love actually can do more than that because he also can extend plays. And it's not extending plays in a way that is,

um, is, is, is flustery or sporadic or freestyle or even like, sure, we could say the absolute thrill ride of a fourth, you know, a fourth quarter,

fourth down, fourth and 15 touchdown path. You know what I mean? Like the outliers, people are not remembering so much about with Jordan Love. What I think Jordan Love does, though, is he takes your pencil after the coach is done drawing on the page, he takes your pencil, and he continues drawing using the lines that you already started. And I think that is what is so exceptional about him that makes him this perfect fit and a double-edged sword for him

because when the coach is designing answers for him and they're deciding philosophically, this is how we're going to play. And suddenly the answers are gone. And then there is no clarity about the rest of the answers, aka the receiver's room. Tucker Kraft is injured. The number one person that this offense was going through, Tucker Kraft,

was gone by week 10 last season. The rest of it was a complete lack of clarity in the receiver's room. And then Jordan Love, there's some murmurings that he was a little banged up. He was banged up at the end of the year. When you take away the answers that you basically have agreed to

use for your entire system and then redo them mid-season, you are not going to look comfortable all the time. And then teams are going to pressure you more, which they did at a 30% rate between weeks 10 and 17 when he was in the game. And he struggled. And so that to me is the context with which it's a double-edged sword. He's the perfect quarterback to do with this coach

wants him to do and more and elevate it truly. And then the double-edged sword is, when all those things aren't working, then what do you do? You have to problem solve better. And yet, like, he was the best quarterback in the league, arguably the second half of the season,

along with Drake, me and Stafford, like, I've ever, like, man, my reservations on Jordan Love are looking up right here. Well, there was that pocket.

There was that pocket, right, in the, like, sort of, I would call it, the meat of the season, where he dazzled. He dazzled.

Yeah. There were also times, and we've talked about it. And again, you got, we're thinking, like, this is not a framing of,

we've all watch, You know, we've watched his tape. We've talked about it. We've talked about the stats. We've talked about the advanced analytics. We've talked about all of it. Yeah. My point is I think that for all of this sort of outside commentary to still, finally,

is to really think about this in a way where I think that there is no ceiling on what this guy can do, truly. No. I mean, the last three seasons, if you just look at the second half of the seasons, the, the Toyotathon thing is real. He is the number one quarterback in the NFL in terms of DVOA in the season. second half of the season, including, including last season. I think last season, he was a different player. He did prevent mistakes a lot more. He's been the best third and long receiver. As, as exciting as you can imagine, Caleb Williams is on those big plays. Like, Jordan Love has hit more third and long plays than anyone else. And I think that speaks to what you're talking about

in terms of taking what Matt Lafler did. And that's despite not having craft and the running game not being as good. I think it was the first time we really saw him elevate. And unfortunately, like the injury happened and that hurt, you know, it was a couple key games. I mean, it was just, it was just a game and a half. But that moment. And then the playoff game, he was okay. The numbers look great, but he wasn't amazing in the playoff game. And so you forget about him a little bit. But I think he's almost a lock to be on QB Island to start the year. Because to me, he's just an obvious, I think, top 10 quarterback at this point. And you look you look at a list of the eight guys,

who we had on this list. You know, Trevor Lawrence, Josh Allen, Justin Herbert. Like, they got that dazzle factor. You know, you could say, okay, Brock Purdy doesn't do it, but Brock has pulled out some games, like, whoa. You know, and then Drake Mays been steady, right? But he's got the ability.

He's got that Joe Burrow, right, to kind of come and kill you. So I think that's what, with Jordan Love, when I would sit there and watch him, like, man, like he may be executing the hell out of this offense, but where is that freaking flashing light? Like sometimes you see it like, oh my God, this guy's insane. But then sometimes kind of like, okay, now he's, now he's been what people he say about

LeBron. LeBron could take over games. Then it was almost kind of like he would meld into the furniture a little bit. And that's what I saw about Jordan Love. I'm with you. I think he's a guy who should absolutely start the season on the island and getting Tucker craft back was every once he got hurt. They didn't know that you talk about answers going out the window.

Well, and that's the thing, Steve. It's because like when these coaches from this system, like historically through even beyond the young guys that we see now, when they have a outlier mismatch player that's specifically a move player, so a player that they can align anywhere on the field, what they will do is they will design their entire offense. And in Kyle Shannon's case, he's had two often. They'll design their entire offense to flow to make that the first answer, the first, the first, not necessarily always the first read, but the first answer to any problem you get. And they know how to do that because they understand defenses so well. Jordan Love knows how to do that because he understands defenses. And so to me, it's a double-edged sword where if you're agreeing that you're going to protect the ball,

that you're going to run the offense, that you're going to like keep everything as risk averse, as clean as possible, which he did. He was the seventh least off-target percentage quarterback last year, according to True Media. like he protected the ball only 21 sacks he really really protected the ball and himself for the most part and when you agree that that is how you're going to run your offense the double-edged sword is what happens when everything you built suddenly goes away and you have to redo it right in the middle of the season as defenses are pressuring you more as your body is breaking down and as you don't actually have any clarity with that cluster of receivers about which one is going to be the the most targeted one per week and

I think the big clue on this, first of all, it really goes to show how mature Jordan Love is in that partnership he has with Matt LaFlor, because they are collaborators on this, right? We can't have one without the other. The other thing is, I think that you see clues, first of all, craft coming back is huge. Second, them reorganizing their receivers' room. Yes, letting go of Romeo Dobbs and everybody scratching their heads about that, but also paying Christian Watson, and then providing you hear rumblings out of there, there is more clarity than there was about who's doing what, which means to me, when one answer's not available,

five more will be, and you have it built in this time stripping everything down and redoing it, then maybe you were able to do last time. And I think that's where we will really see him elevate this year. Are you saying, oh, that all this stuff about, we don't really need a number one receiver stuff was kind of hogwash. It sounds like that's the moose that they decided to make. That's the nicer term than what I was using for it. Yeah, or like, yeah, we know who our three guys are going to be. And you're right that when he's looked his worst has kind of been late game situations where the other team is coming up with answers and they're not good at pivoting.

That said, he has been in that offense now for five years. Yeah. This is the reason why you keep bringing back Matt Lafleur. He is going to be 28 years old. Jordan Love is at, should be at the absolute peak of his powers to elevate what's not as good in offensive line. Maybe what's not as dynamic or running. game. And yeah, he's a guy you mentioned avoiding sacks. He actually leads the NFL since he joined

the league in avoiding sacks. Like this is a guy who has the ability, I think, to have an MVP type of season. And Moore is going to be asked to him because that defense, until Michael Parsons is good to go is not personal wise is not what it has been. Yeah, I think it was a bucket of cold water watching that defense not be what it was at the end of last season. And then really, I mean, Matt LaFleur even said it straight up to the media, stripping everything down like it was year one. To me, That's problem solving mode. I've been in that building before when they're doing that. All right.

We're going to take a quick break. Those are three young men who got the casting call for this episode. QB Island casting call coming back in a few. There's no shortcut for saving time. But saving money is simple. Just combine your car and home insurance with Bel Air Direct and save. Get a quote at bellairdirect.com. Thanks again to our old friend, Randy Chavez, introducing the show.

former producer, great pipes. It's QB Island casting call. And when we came up with this show, we also wanted to conclude some young up-and-comers, you know, who maybe weren't really ever in the conversation. And maybe a guy in Tyler Shuck that I'll make the case. There you go. He's not going to start the year on QB Island,

but if things go right... You're about that? Yes, I'm sure about that. Greg has come all the way around. Top 12 to start the year. No, he's not defining the position now. But here are the things he does well, going back and watching his tape. And I think this is a bucket of qualities to build a streaky,

but potentially high-level quarterback around that maybe you start the year fast and you're in the QB Island discussion. Number one, he gets through his reads fast. I mean, that is one of the hardest things for any quarterback to do. Many good quarterbacks never really learn that. I think Shuck does that. He does not turn the ball over. Not many turn-over-worthy plays.

Takes a lot of sacks. That's his biggest negative. if we were going negatives. But he really protected the ball. So you're getting through your reads fast. You're protecting the ball. You have a combination of creation more than I ever expected out of him

in terms of him as a college prospect. A lot of his best moments as a pro was him in create mode. And he's a tough guy. And he took a lot of hits. He kept going and he stays in that pocket sometimes to go through those reeds and makes throws while under pressure. Did not see that coming when he was a prospect,

but look, he's made himself a favorite son of New Orleans. He knows all the best places to eat. Like, I like his intangibles. He's just one of those guys that somehow makes more sense as a pro than he did in college. And I think he could take a big step in year, too. And we see that, you know, this is a Kellynmore staple, the quick decision making.

Like every quarterback Kellynmore's coach, they can get to where they need to go. Okay, problem solace. problems off and the ball's out. Now you get him Travis H-H-H-N right as a dual threat running back. Again, that did carry a heavy load last year in Jacksonville. You keep

Alvin Camara. You can put them on the field at the same time. You've got three potential receiving tight ends. They've got some opposite to tight ends. They've upgraded the offensive line. You add Jordan Tyson to Chris Olive on the outside. Clearly the Saints are expecting Tyler Shuck to be good. They built

this offense to be better with him. They had a top 10 defense last you know, they get, I'm blanking on the, their nickel safety's name, hell of a player. Sunker. Or are you talking about, wait, which one? There's like a million of them that they use now. Jonas Sanker, I think they've got.

Jonas Sanker. I love that guy. Yonis. Yonis. My name is Jonas. But I think defensively, you know, Brandon Staley, year two, the uptick is coming. You know, Chase Young is going to, you know, he had a big year last year.

He got some people. I think the Saints, are going to be good, but Tyler Shuck, they have built this team for him to succeed. And that's, that's a reason why. He may not start the season on the island. No.

But man, we might have some, be talking about some land. Yeah, he's got, he's got a little James or Tannahill to him where, like, is he going to be a top 10 quarterback consistently?

I probably have my doubts, but I think the highs and the streaks could be really high. And he's like an intermediate merchant, and those are the quarterbacks I tend to love. Like, Claim rate at 20 plus. Right. He is a guy that over the middle of the field and you have Olave, you have

Devon Valey. There's a great throw of him getting to his second read to Devon Valey against the Panthers where he takes a massive hit. And the only reason he can throw it is because he gets to that second read quickly. And that's where he wins. And that's usually the hardest thing for a young quarterback to learn. And that's why I like Shuck is because he does so many of the hard things

well. He has some flaws to his game for sure, but he does a lot of the hard things well. Yeah. I mean, I think that you can tell immediately what the Saints and what Callan Moore thinks of him and what think of what they all think of Tyler Shuck entering year two. And specifically about the way that he gets through his progressions is because they built more of a layer to this offense. They added like multiple layers to this offense.

And I don't just mean they added players to this offense. You touched Donna with Achen and certainly with Devon Vali, I think is still maybe the front runner for their three. I know Jalen Polk has had a strong camp or according to the local media, but Valey they love in that building. Juan Johnson is kind of a three. But like there's there's dimension to it now.

You're basically making and building little blocks out for him because you understand he can get to everything on the field. And I just think that that's a surefire way to understand if the team really thinks they've got someone at quarterback. They're not changing necessarily their blocking structure. They're not changing necessarily. like the way that they play their system, you know,

not to be negative about someone else that's, you have him catch a stray, but, you know, they changed their entire way they were doing their front alignments with Bryce Young. They started playing more empty. Now I think that was a really, really good thing in Carolina that they did, but you're not seeing that in New Orleans.

And I don't think you will because they're going to build layers in because he's going to stand tall in there and get to all of his reads. And they know that. They were the fourth fastest team in terms of tempo last year. so I mentioned the tempo. It's a little more than it came to Jaden Daniels. I wouldn't be surprised if they are the fastest

because he excelled at tempo. And the thing that really got me was ultimately like the extra that he's adding, a little bit like you talked about with Jordan Love, that he can color outside the lines in a way that I did not expect. And it's tricky. You don't want to just count on like Bo Nix, these late game comebacks,

but man, he had some big time moments. There was a four play sequence in the Bucks game where he gets out of pressure to run for a key touchdown around the end, that I just did not think he had that sort of juice. But then there's a third and six, they don't win the game with four minutes left, unless he gets to his second read fast with pressure flashing really quick, and the decision comes out. And then there's another third and five where he's hitting outside window throws.

Like he can do the opposite hash stuff. He can do, there was a fourth and one like creation mode play that was called back by penalty, but it was incredible him getting out of things. and that was what I didn't expect out of him because I think he can do the tempo and the decision making pretty well. He's just got to stop digging sacks because the sack stuff is awful.

I mean, he was one of the worst quarterbacks in the league in terms of he wasn't getting pressure that much and he's just hanging on to the ball trying to make a play too much. You'll get killed. He was a rookie. I mean, that's something he's just going to learn

once he understands opposing personnel, what they're trying to scheme and do, you know, the tendencies of defensive coordinator. I hope so. He'll be, That was something in college too. It was like him and Brady Cook at the bottom of the league in terms of like...

Well, you comped him in your rankings with the great John Ledyard. You combed him to what, Ryan Tannahill? Yeah. You're like, man, he's taking a beating, but he's standing in there. Yeah. He's a tough dude.

So, yeah, Chuck, you proved me wrong with your rookie season. I was skeptical. You have one more, Jordan. Yeah. So, again, I know that we've talked about this player so much through the off season. And I think rightfully so, we've covered the warts.

We've covered the places to grow. We'll touch on some of those here. But with C.J. Stroud specifically, who I think we are going to be talking about as quarterback island material here into the season, we, I want to sort of reframe, like I did with Jordan Love, reframe some of the discussion just a little bit. Because I do think that this offense will take a step forward in year two with this system. I do think that the moves they made to try to improve the run game will help. David Montgomery looks like he's lost about 10 pounds.

It says via his Instagram posts in order to take on much more of that. That Kerry's share with Woody Marks potentially as complement. They've redone their offensive line. Again, I'd love to see more true continuity there, but it sounds like they really like the guys they have. And then really importantly, it sounds like Nick Cayley is, I don't want to say simplifying because I don't think it will be a simpler offense, but I think it will be less dense. Like I think he'll be trying to do less. He'll be trying to not do so many things from multiple systems every single time and every single game and sort of cluttering things up.

The concept I want to talk to you guys about is the idea of pace. It's got two meanings here for the purpose of this discussion. The first one is performance after critical error. C.J. Stroud has fantastic numbers after he throws an interception specifically. he has courtesy of my friend tase seth who ran this for me really quick this morning he has a 0.43 EPA per drop back 50% success rate specifically after he throws an interception so the drive after he throws an interception on those plays after when multiple things happen when he takes sacks and you could see this watching watching him all year last year takes multiple sacks there's some misfires confusion certain types of pressure if if there's an error or or um he makes multiple errors in a single series. You see that start to compound. You see him getting frustrated. You see him start to sort of get in his head a little bit.

Yes. It happened in a huge way at the end of last season. So I'll pause here for you guys to weigh in. But that concept of pace, I think that there are a lot of tools, first of all, where C.J. Stroud to get back onto full-time quarterback island can address. And also that the offense,

and the offensive coordinator can address, too. When you're talking about pace, you're talking about in a series of certain tempo? Or what are you trying? His performance after critical error. So how he rebounds for things. So that goes to show you one, he's got a character,

but you saw in that Patriots game in the playoff, he just completely melted. And I think part of it, and I've spoken to some people about this who really diagnosed his film, some of it's on him, but some of it was on the offense. Yeah.

Right? There weren't always answers. Like he's dropping back. he can't get to his first read, second read, and then all of a sudden he makes a bad play, and it looks like he's panicking, but then what's supposed to be the third option, whether it was a receiver running a bad route or something,

or a block not being picked, like it did not happen for whatever executional region. Some of it looked like play design. So when you talk about Nick Cayley coming back for a second year, he's got to improve upon that. And that's part of what they have to do there, and getting a Dave Montgomery. And adding, you know, Keel and Rutledge, you know,

the center to that spot, four to five some of the interior run game. Maybe that helps because those young wide receivers, the stuff they're talking about Jalen Knoll and Jaden Higgins, like they're young studs to go along with Nico Collins. We know he's one of the better wide receivers in the NFL. I think of the Jaguars game early in the season, or another one where he got in the hole and he couldn't get his way out. Look, both of his playoff games, he struggled. He was bad in the Steelers game too. I do think he is such a cerebral quarterback. Weirdly, his greatest skill to me, which I think he's got a little bit of football genius to him.

He just has a great feel of the position. He, he's what I want out of a quarterback. And so you do think that when he gets older, he maybe won't overthink things as much. Because I think he has such a good feel that when he loses it, it was like he loses it all the way and he tries to think his way out of it. Whereas maybe some people that play quarterback,

they just, they're not overthinking it as much as DJ. I love that you guys have set me up for this next point because absolutely I think I agree with both of you. And it brings me to the other meaning of pace that I'm thinking about when I'm thinking about, you know, C.J. Stroud and kind of who he is. And that is just general pace of development, pace of playing quarterback in the NFL. I'm not talking tempo. I'm not talking game pace. So often to me, he has been in Congress with the person who's calling plays for him. He was, light years ahead as a rookie. And Bobby Sloick's offense, I think, was right where it should have been

that first year, C.J. Stroud remained light years ahead just mentally in terms of that he's such a smart football player that that offense did not take another step forward and evolve. And then there was personnel disasters. We don't need to relitigate anything. Then Nick Cayley comes in. And C.J. Stroud is clearly showing to him, his pace is fast. His pace is, I want all of it. I can do all of it. I can think about all of it. I can see all of it. And Nick Cayley sees that. And he's like, holy crap.

Like, this is awesome. I can try everything. I'm going to try to meld these two systems, the Patriots and the Rams. And I'm going to try to do all of it sometimes in one game. And my answers that I give to my quarterback in the heat of the moment in battle are going to be maybe too much or too complicated or too clunky because there's too much going on all at one time.

We don't have the run game to support it. We don't have the protection to support it. it. And you're asking then too much for a quarterback who wants to do all of it when sometimes the correct pace for both the play caller and the quarterback is to be together at the same time and to really dig and collaborate on how can I protect him from himself both ways. Yeah, they tried to skip steps, right? They skipped steps. And I think that is what exactly is happening here. And I think that's what they're very self-aware of in Houston right now. So the idea of pace in that regard, being in the same step as the person that you're collaborating with.

To me, that's what takes C.J. Stroud from being this really, really gifted player who we just, we know there's more in there. We know the highs are so high and turns him, I think, into this, you know, once again, because he was, his freshman year, essentially, his rookie year, a top 10 quarterback. The crazy thing is his numbers last year are almost identical, um, analytics wise to his rookie year. But watching the film, I don't think he played as well. I just, I think it's misleading.

And he was streakier. Now, part of it is since he entered the league, the Texans are second to last in success rate and EPA to play running the ball. Yeah. So it's like he's always in third and longs. He's always in a bad situation. There are obviously reasons for it. But I think what you hit on, they've talked about it. We'll see if they can execute it.

All offseason, they've been saying, we want to focus on what CJ does well. Build the offense around his strengths a little more instead of maybe just what we're doing. And what are those strengths? I think it's reading down the field and like... Downfield, maybe. But I also think that's only half of the story there because, yes, you should do that and he can do those things. But in the cases where then he was asked to do too much with less support or less pure answer,

you also have to protect him from himself. Just because he can do it, doesn't mean he always should. So I think that's just only part of the story there. Well, my final thing is, look, this is a big year for him. I mean, of course, he's got the contract coming up. But more than anything, they've got to balance out thing because it's defensive players, they've got to be tired of carrying this team.

And if everything works out and he does have a good year, they're going to have to let some of those defensive players go. Because remember, they've extended just about everybody. And the next one up is Henry Toe-toe. And he's a hell of a player. Like if he gets on the market, there's going to be other teams that are going to want him.

How about Texans Bills and then Texans Bengals, both 1 p.m. Eastern games in Houston to start the season. And I'm just, that's what so. Those are some good early morning on the West Coast game. Come on. Because CJ, to your point, I think there are certain players, teams, like, it's important, I think, for CJ in this offense to get off to a good start. You want those two teams early to let your defense get after them while you're bigger things on offensive.

Okay. Last person for the casting call. I mean, come on. There's a couple of guys you've left off. I know. Well, yeah. Well, we're not just saying who's going to get on, who's not. We're just wanting to have a conversation about.

And I'm just saying that. And I'm just saying this, and this is because of who he is, what he is, and what he brings. And that's Patrick Mahomes. Who? Who? Who? Coming off the injury. He's going to be ready for week one against Bo Nix.

Do we know that for sure? I think so. What a match of a guy's coming off surgery. Coming off of injuries. But this is why I think we really need to pay more attention to Mahomes than ever is. I think this offense, personnel-wise, yes, they got Kenneth Walker. But it might be more of a mess than what he's ever had. had to deal with. That receiving core,

it's not making team saying who are we doubling. It's not making anybody saying, oh, we've got to do X, Y, and Z, because Travis Kelsey is where he is in his career. This offensive line has been unstable. It might be better than it was. Could be good.

It could be better than it's been, but this might be the most ability that they've had. But what's going to be asked of the homes? What do we say every year? He gets asked to do more than any quarterback in the NFL because of his person. It might be more on him. than we have seen it. Now, Eric Bienemy, and Mahomes has said that he's back as the O.C.

Bienemy will be far more accountable than what they've had the past. He'll keep guys in line. But just, again, what's going to have to happen with Kenneth Walker in this run game, they're probably going to have to score more points because this defense, half of it is on other rosters in the NFL right now. I think this is where Patrick Mahomes is really going to show us how great. We know how great he is, but this is going to be a next-level move. do think it's a great, first of all, we haven't talked about him despite him that much

this off season, despite him being, as I've often said, the greatest player I've ever seen enter the league. And yet, look, Peyton Manning and Drew Brees and Tom Brady never had a three-year run of statistical decline in the middle of his prime like Mahomes has had. Now, you can look at the tape and understand that he has been better than that. But I would say at the very end of last year, they were out of answers in a way that they never had been before. And he had more value per game that he played running the ball. Yes. QBR or DVOA than any quarterback in the league, more than Josh Allen, more than anyone. And that's not going to be part of his arsenal this year. So they are so pass-heavy. I think Eric B. Enemy will help to change that, but they are the

most pass-heavy team in the NFL in almost every situation. It's just so much on his plate and then you're taking away potentially his mobility this year. It is an incredible test of how great he is. So I don't think it's enough that they've done. But I do think I can understand their thought process of why they've done what they've done, which is, hey, Patrick Mahomes, how about instead of you running to extend plays, we design a bleep load of screens to Kenneth Walker, the best screen running in football right now. And Andy Reid, the best screen playbook in football right now. And we just say, okay, here, here's how we mitigate pressure. Here's how we get the quarterback to stop running so much and trying to do too much.

We just give this, we just give this option to them. We build it into every single play as like a new type of a run pass option, like that type of a thing. It's an extension of their wide zone, whatever you want to call it. Like, I think that that is exactly what they thought. Like, hey, who needs more receivers and who needs them to stay out of trouble, right? Because we can just go ahead and dump it to Kenneth Walker. got the best screen game ever. And I just, you know what I mean? Like I just, I don't know if it's

going to work, but I do think, and I think it's also a part of the reason, you know, you see like some of the, the builds of their alignment, they're athletic, they can move with that type of block. Dandy Reed. You know, that type of a thing. So I really do think that that, I don't know if it's going to work, but I do think that that is legitimately what they thought. Their offensive line, if it hits, has potential to be one of the very best in the league. Josh Simmons could be a top tackle. And he's leaned out. Sue and Matea got better last year. It was a nice development story for them.

They've replaced their right tackle. It's now going to be Jalen Moore, not Joanne Taylor. Like that could be better. You have Creed Humphrey and Trace Smith. So they're going to ask for that to be a lot of work. Because to your point, it's like, oh, wait, we're really doing Taekwan Thornton as wide receiver three for a second straight year. We're going for that.

It was a different Mahomes last year. They started throwing deep like crazy again. And it was like not that effective. It wasn't terrible. But other. teams blitzed them and that used to be kryptonite against Mahomes. They didn't really have answers. They blitz them. They were bad against

blitzes. They were bad against man. It was a new Mahomes. He's going to get blitz one, week one, because they're playing Denver and Denver's got some dudes who can bring smoke. But they want, teams are going to try to get them out of the pocket to test that mobility. I mean, he's coming off the AC on LCL, but

that dude is made out of the most pliable ligaments. Look how many times he's jacked up his ankle and just bounce right up. So I think he's going to be back, but I think this is going to be, you know, the showcase of just how great he is

because I think he's working with less. And again, the Stonewall defense has been broken down. He's more interesting this year because of the adversity. Because of the, we've never seen a Chiefs team enter a season like this.

Like, yeah, their projected wins is going to be like nine, you know, eight and a half, nine and a half. Oh, good. Won't somebody please give the Chiefs a chip on their shoulder? Right.

Full. And what I mentioned about the three-year period. Like, I, I think he knows that. I think he's a little disappointed. Like, he's a guy that has had all the team success in the world, but he wants to put up big numbers. He wants to have flashy plays. I'm excited. Yeah, I'm excited. He's someone we definitely, and then we should not, we'd be remiss to say, you know, another injured player we probably will be talking about very quickly on the island. It was Lamar. Well, yes, yes. These guys, we'll have to decide whether they immediately get put onto the island. But that's for a month from now. Let's actually take one. Quick break. Before we let you get to your day job today, you're hosting NFL Insiders on NFL Network tonight. Everyone check that out Wednesday night. But we're going to do just a little bit of news. Trading camp has started. Let's go. Should have mentioned that. Getting real. There's no shortcut for saving time. But saving money is simple. Just combine your car and home insurance with Bel Air Direct and save.

Get a quote at fellairdirect.com. I should have mentioned right at the top. It's July 22nd, 2026. I'm back. in Los Angeles, by the way, for good. Until we make a trip overseas. More on that coming up on NFL Daily. But Jordan might be coming with me this time around. Going to Paris?

Just riding on Greg's coat tail. Okay, you gave it away. Yeah, we're going to Paris. We'll talk more about that some other time. As we're taping this... The girl who went to Paris. You don't get that reference. The two... No, I don't. Emily and Perry? I don't know. The Panthers in the Arizona Cardinals have

showed up to their facilities. training camp is opening for the two Hall of Fame teams, although they didn't go as early as they could have. And so that means some of the other teams that are starting early, like the Seahawks and the Patriots, they're showing up in a couple days. The 49ers and the Rams are going to be over the weekend. Everyone will be there by early next week.

But yes, the Panthers and the Cardinals are in camp. And so we'll start just with them, since they're the teams that are there, and you start getting these little news items. Number one, Jacoby Brissette. Ian Rappaport says that there is some agreement. He deserves a little more money. It sounds like this is going to be solved.

And then the Cardinals also have a starting guard, Isaiah Adams, who is facing weapons charges in his home country of Canada. That sound pretty serious. So that's something we'll monitor with them. But I did want to ask you, Weish, about the Panthers, who got some rough news in terms of injuries. We knew Ikea Kuanu, who's on the PUP list to start campus. No surprise there. He's going to miss a big chunk of the season, maybe all of the season, because of his knee injuries.

We did not know that they're projected starting right tackle. Taylor Moten has a blood clot issue. And the Panthers, after this was initially reported, clarified that they're hopeful he could return at some point mid-season. But that has been a real linchpin for their entire team. And suddenly, it's one thing if you're down one tackle. and then he draft a player in Monroe Freeling in the first round to maybe help fill the gap. It's another thing you're now down two tackles with Taylor Moten out for a while. Yeah, I mean, Monroe Freelings could have to play right away. I mean, Moten, I think they're saying the blood clot could be near his lung.

That's a dangerous thing. So he's going to have to go on blood thinners and this and that. We know you get cut and things like that in the NFL. So best of luck to him getting healthy. But these are big blows. I mean, this is something you have to form a certain type of pocket with a short quarterback who's not an evasive type of guys, not Kyler Murray, that, you know, Bryce Young we're talking about.

So, you know, these are tough blows. We'll see how they adjust. A good thing is you know now, so you can plan schemes, see if somebody comes available that you want to add, but depth-wise and just frontline talent-wise, this is not what the Carolina Panthers need, you know, especially playing in a division

where you got some guys you can get after the court. I doubt they knew before the draft, but we could try to find that out because Monroe Freeling was a little bit of a surprise pick there in the first round, but now they do have two guys in Rashid Walker who they picked up in free agency for the Packers who has his own injury issues,

who you would assume is going to slot in at left tackle, and then the first round pick at right tackle and Freeling that you at least have options there where most teams would not in terms of their fourth tackle. Yeah, I know that some of the stuff on Freeling was like, oh, he could use a year to do. develop or whatever. I was pretty high on him as someone who could play right away, who I thought would win that job against Rashid Walker. But it's like you, you at least wanted the opportunity

to compete for it without that pressure, right? Of, hey, now you're going to have to go in right away. This seems to me, I don't know. This is not reported info, but this seems to me like something that gets picked up in those physicals. Right. They're taking before camp. It's a real bummer. Like I covered Taylor Moten early in my beat writing career. Really, really good dude. And, and, and and just like a stalwart for them who's been through so much with that organization, through ownership changes and multiple front office changes and multiple coaching changes and has always been their Iron Man for something like this to take him down is really, really upsetting, frankly.

And we've seen Christian Barmore for the Patriots as an example of a player that came back from blood clots and played well last year. So yeah, happy, not happy trails, but just get better. Soon. Get well soon. Get well soon. And I should have mentioned Jacoby Brissette, according to reports. It hasn't been confirmed Wednesday, but the expectation was he was going to show up to

training camp. He was not going to hold out. And so. They hold in. So they, we'll see. This sounds like one to me that could get solved by like the first day or the second day. You would hope so. A couple of contracts that got signed recently.

Jordan Brooks got that money from the dolphins, three years. $51 million, $35 million guaranteed on a three-year deal. So what a success story for a guy who early in his career in Seattle. They're like, is it? They didn't know what to do with him with an inside guy and outside guy. Yeah, is it going to work? Great job by the dolphins getting him locked up. And then Devante Wyatt, the defensive tackle.

This one surprised me. Three years, $57 million extension, $20 million signing bonus there. I know you have talked about Brooks as one of the weight-bearing wall. Bearing walls of their sprint rebuild and they put their money where their mouth is. I am starting. I'm clocking this. It's on my radar that they're being very adamant that they're calling them pillars in Miami, not weight-bearing walls. I do think that pillars just makes you feel a little bit better about yourself, like body-wise, probably. You don't want to just copy the Rams. You want to get better. Yeah. So, and honestly, like, look, I understand. Like, I, this is a exorbitant, historic amount of dead money. Not just this year, but some of it spread into next year. It's almost impossible.

I get that. All I'm saying is this is how a sprint rebuild works. This is very expected. It is to me, they have a plan. They're following that plan, whether it works or not. I personally am higher on the dolphins than most, not at the beginning of this year, but by the end of this year and into next year. And I just think that it just makes, all of this makes a lot of sense. You're one of the best players in the league right now on that side of the ball. And he also is certainly someone who he's going to be a bridge with their young. linebackers that they just drafted. It's like Jacob Rodriguez and then I forget his name, Lewis and I forget his Kyle Lewis. And they are going to play early. Paul Lewis is a good player. Yes. So by the way,

they're not going to see him in the new system. When you come to the other dolphins, I'm most, when you see you're higher on them most. I'm most. I'm most. You're most. Yeah.

I noticed when you're talking about building the pocket around the quarterback with the two tackles. I mean, you're looking at our pocket right here around Greg. Oh yeah. We got a pretty solid one. we got a pretty solid. I mean, yeah, you're looking more, I'm trying to think of, like Andrew Whitworth over there next to me.

What do I look like, Greg? Just kidding. Yeah. Don't answer that. Yeah, I won't answer that. I'm a little surprised, Devante Wyatt, who I didn't think, you know, it was injury plague last year. That was a lot of money for him. You do.

You do sometimes wonder about, you know, the extra edge you get when your GM wants to be proven right. Some of it is also, how does this help our locker? We got a good player who want to build around any show that if you go through it, you do it the right way. We're going to pay you other guys look at it. And I think that's another Jordan Brooks thing as well. They've spent money on a lot of players over the years. And sometimes it's been resignings on guys that were just okay.

You know, Goudicunst and all the resources he spent on that defense over the years just to be okay. Sam Leporto was cleared for training camp. That was great news for the lions. And yeah, I mentioned the Seahawks are showing up this week. And the Patriots are a little earlier. So we're already getting these like PUP list. I get a little tingle when I see the reports. I don't want anyone to go on a PUP list,

but I'm just saying like, okay, now it's happening. Zach Charbonnet is starting. But didn't the Nick Eamon Worry one get your attention? Nick Eman Worry got my attention. Harold Landry for the Patriots was another one. Charbonnet is one. When it comes to the Seahawks, though, I did think it was interesting.

Our insider Ian Rappaport said the Devin-Witherspoon contract extension, he believes much closer. they're working very hard on it than a Christian Gonzalez extension. Same agency. Yeah. But we'll see. Seattle wants to get it done. It sounds like they're kind of racing to make that thing happen.

Well, and at least one side is racing to see what the other guy gets so they can try to ask for more. Well, I would imagine, and I could be wrong, that Christian Gonzalez is one going to be in the Patrick Sertan neighborhood. Whereas Witherspoon might get that slot discount. No, they're both. They're both. We got $30 million range. That's all us Gardner contracts at the bar. Chris Bell went to the reserve NFI list.

That was a day three pick that I really loved from the Miami Dolphin. So, yeah, these transactions are already starting. That's why Jordan's like the momentum is going. He side-eyed me. He side-uped me. Mass and furious. He said bad. No, I like some Chris Bell.

He's coming off at Jordan Fiel. So that's no surprise. The Seahawks, by the way, will be the hard-knocks team this year. So who knows? We might have a Devin-Witherspoon pulled in or contract signing as, one of the stories there. And then, you know, before we go, I like to say goodbye to these players when they retire

and not forget about them. How about Danico Atri? Good NFL career. Great NFL career if you think about where he came from and everything. But always an underrated player. He is retiring. So happy trails to Danico Atry. Happy trails.

How many years was he in the NFL? A 2014 draft pick. 12? East Mississippi. community college and then Mississippi State. I think that was hard knocks you. The hard not,

was it the last chance you? Last chance you. Was he? I think East Mississippi was the last chance you. But yeah, he started with the Raiders, Colts, Titans, Texans.

So that's it for Nikko Autry. And that's it for the news. We're just, we're just sprinkling a little bit of news right now. You know what else we've been sprinkling in our timeline over the last year or so? Power players with Jordan Roderig. We got another episode coming on Thursday.

Who do you got? I'm so excited. We've got Rams Assistant General Manager, John McKay. We're going to talk a little bit about what they do differently. What's copyable, what's not copyable around the league, in terms of their scouting and talent identification process. We're going to talk to some Miles Garrett behind the scenes. Might tuck a little Aaron Donald as well.

We'll see. So that will be our show on Thursday. And then Jordan and I will be back on Friday with the first of our around the division previews. starting with the AFC West. And we'll also hit any news that pops up. Hit that music, Eric. Let's get out of here. Oh, my gosh.

This was so fun today, guys. How about this? I've gotten a call from one of my favorite baseball players of all time. I saw that Vince Coleman is calling Steve Weiss right now. And I'm like, is it that Vince Coleman? It's that Vince Coleman. You get a hundred steals one. Steve Weiss is the best.

Thank you, Steve, for joining us. We'll have you next time on QB Island. Until that, we'll see you. This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed human.