NFL Daily with Gregg Rosenthal - Ravens Back Out of Maxx Crosby Trade!? Geno Smith Back with the Jets and FA Questions We're Still Asking

Episode Date: March 11, 2026

Gregg Rosenthal and Jourdan Rodrigue react to the breaking news that the Ravens have backed out of the Maxx Crosby trade with the Raiders. The NFL Daily duo then breaks down all of the action from day two of Free Agency Frenzy... Geno Smith is back in New York playing quarterback for the Jets, CB Tariq Woolen is taking his talents to Philadelphia, WR Romeo Dobbs is going to the Patriots, the Lions are brining in RB Isiah Pacheco and more! Plus, Gregg and Jourdan tell you the big questions they're still asking heading into day three of the Free Agency Frenzy. What's up with Kyler Murray? Is there a market for A.J. Brown and Brian Thomas Jr.? NFL Daily YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/nflpodcastsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. I'm Daniel Jeremiah. And I am Greg Rosenthal. I know that, Greg. We're teaming up on 40s and free agents, the podcast that owns the NFL offseason. This is where teams are built.

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really wins. Open your free IHeart radio app. Search 40s and free agents and listen now. Welcome to NFL Daily where we love to tape two opens in a single show. I'm Greg Rosenthal. I'm here with Jordan Roderick in the Chris Wesleyan podcast studio. If you're listening to the podcast, you don't even know that we already taped a complete podcast that did not include the news that Max Crosby is still a member of the Las Vegas. Raiders. The Raiders announced just as we wrapped up our show on Tuesday evening live on YouTube, on the NFL channel, that the Ravens have backed out of their trade agreement with Max Crosby. And so in a bit of good timing, we can tape our reaction to that. And by the way, we've got some

other news we're going to include here as well. But wow, there are so many things to think about here. but I think the first is to give some context into the why of why this would happen. And Mike Garifolo of NFL Network and other reporters do say that he failed a physical with the Baltimore Ravens. Where do you want to start, Jordan? Wow. Just by the way, ignore all of our Max Crosby coverage from Sunday night and Monday. We've got some Trey Hendrickson talk that I think could be affected later in this very show. that also maybe ignore that because it's all different now.

We're in a different world. Yeah. I mean, it's stunning. There's such little precedent to this type of thing happening. But trades are not official until the start of the new league year on Wednesday. And they can be obviously agreed upon well before that. But they also are contingent upon passing a physical, I believe, was my colleague at the athletic, Diana Rossini, who's reporting the failed physical.

And then, you know, the statement that the Raiders released, including that's on their team website right now, puts the onus directly on the Ravens for backing out of the trade. It says the Baltimore Ravens have backed out of our trade agreement for Max Crosby. We will have no further comment at this time. So they didn't.

Not exactly centered in like the alignment. You're worried about the kerning right now. A little wacky. It's a very interesting statement. The Raiders have had different fascinating statements like this in history. It kind of reminds me of the Al Davis projector. But what a crazy moment.

It struck you that the Raiders were the ones that put this out. Yeah, it did strike me that the Raiders were the ones that put it out because, again, it doesn't say anything about it being the, I don't want to say fault because injuries suck, and surgery recovery sucks, but it puts the onus on the Ravens for backing out of the trade agreement, which, by the way, sent multiple first round picks from the Ravens to the Raiders. So instead of saying anything obviously about the situation that led to the Ravens backing out, it is directly upon the Ravens for backing out of the trade. The Raiders sort of centering it like this is, to me, interesting language, maybe a little salty.

I'm sure they are. Let's put a pit in that and what it means for the picks, what it means for Crosby, what it means for the Raiders in terms of where they go next and where the Ravens go next. And at least just kind of close the loop on why this would have happened. immediately thought of Ian Rappaport on this show at NFL Daily in Indianapolis just a couple of weeks ago when I asked them about Crosby. And I'm going to quote from a transcript from our own podcast where he said he thinks it's going to be a while for Crosby because guys rarely get traded when they're coming back from a multi-month injuries. And so he says he doesn't know. And he

He mentioned this if you were watching our Super Bowl coverage on NFL Network. It was one of those pre-super Bowl day-like splash reports that he thought it was important because he didn't think, and I quote, people knew how serious Max Crosby's injury was. Now, he's doing great and everyone remembers those clips that Crosby threw out of him playing basketball. But I do go back to thinking about Ian's reporting and that if you're going to pay him and you're going to give him, and you're going to give up all of these picks that it would be complicated and difficult to trade him for a multi-month injury in the way that Ian reported it. We didn't get exactly what are the ligaments, all of that. But the Ravens got to take a look.

They had their medical testing clearly of Max Crosby, and maybe they just weren't comfortable with where he's at or with what they were told or that it was more. serious or whatever it is. And so I immediately just thought back to that. Ian report that like maybe this is an injury where Max Crosby isn't going to be ready to play football for X amount of months. We'll have to wait for all the reporting or whatever it is. And that was enough for them to just feel like not great about giving away the two first.

Yes. And we are we are recording this so quickly after this statement is released by the Las Vegas Raiders. We don't have the Ravenside yet. I'm sure that that will be out. why you're a real reporter. But that's, I... Both sides. That's good. Well, I mean, you don't...

You're right. You don't see it fall squarely on your shoulders via another NFL team like that without now you think I need to come up with a statement of my own, you know, as the team. And it's sort of explaining this and why it happened even though, you know, we do have the reporting of the failed physical. So that's fascinating to me. This is obviously a very much developing situation. But Greg, I do want to talk about the ramifications here.

because obviously the picks are significant. To have those picks and then to lose those picks if you're the Raiders is significant. The other thing that happens here, and there's a long way to go between what's happening right now and the overall how this plays out in the results of this situation. But if they were to actually have been able to execute this trade, the Raiders have a ton of cap space anyway. that's not necessarily a worry for them. However, they would have had 30.6 million in cap savings

with just 5 million in dead money with a pre-June first trade, which is what this was. If it's a cut instead of a trade, if we think maybe he's just not going to be on this roster, if it ends up having to be a cut, they then have to accrue 35 million in dead money. I don't think there's any chance he'll get cut in the end.

The question to me is like basically how much less of an offer do they get compared to the offers that they were getting. Oh, probably significantly, especially if it's out there like this, that he might not be ready to play. Well, every medical staff is a little different. And it'll be interesting. Let's say the Cowboys who were reported to be offering a first,

a second, and a player, are they going to get back in there? They still haven't gotten their edge rusher and free agency. The bills were reportedly interested, but they were at the back end of the first round. And so that was different. Do they become back, you know, in play? We have to find out, obviously. But I tend to think he's still going to get traded, if I had to guess,

and he's still going to accrue some draft picks. Now, the timing of it is really interesting, depending on the severity of the injuries, and maybe other teams are going to want to say, hey, let's get a look. We don't even need to agree, but, you know, let's just. A visit. Yeah.

Why Max Crosby in here if we're allowed to do that and agree, you know, quietly and check it out? And then maybe it can happen and it's at a letter lesser price. I'm glad you brought up the cap space. They reported, you know, according to over the cap, have either $67 or $37 million. And maybe they're doing some quick math here. They had so much cap space going into free agency. And they were putting a lot of that right into 26 because it's. all these signings that we talked about on Monday,

they were kind of front-loading those contracts as they had $121 million in caps. They had to spend it this year. I think they're fortunate that I think they can probably take Max Crosby back for now without any real repercussions and figure out a trade. It's hard to imagine any world where he's on the Raiders this season, but I also don't think that we'd ever get to a point

where they would have to cut him. No, I don't think so. And I do think that the, yes, every medical staff is different. but the terms as they were agreed upon is such a huge blockbuster that we we did see just a couple of days ago and what actually will be the compensation package for him are now going to be so dramatically different. It's great leverage for the Cowboys or the Bills or any other teams that might want to step in. And you know who this is actually the best case scenario for? Trey Hendrickson. Yeah.

Because it is he still is unsigned and he clearly has. you know, a market of teams who are interested, but not at a certain number or a certain price, especially relative. It seems like to the, the younger ages of some of the other players who did get paid out there. And now he becomes the bell of the ball again. It's really fascinating. Your co-worker at the athletic Diana Rusini basically said he has offers, Pre Hendrickson, and that he will be making a decision and will sign on Wednesday was the expectation. Now it really benefits him

that he didn't just sign for the best deal that was out there potentially on Monday night or Tuesday morning because there's another team that could get in the mix. It's the Baltimore freaking Ravens. I mean, they've seen Trey Hendrickson. They need the pass rusher.

They don't have to give up any picks. Is there a world where Eric Dacost is seeing what's happening with Trey Hendrickson and that's even influencing his decision to drop out of this Max Crosby race because I'm just putting it out there. Obviously, he failed the physical. Like, I'm not questioning that he failed the physical.

But in a world where you're the Ravens, and you see that Trey Hendrickson's not getting as much as he wanted, the reports are that he's asking for $10 million more according to Jonathan Jones of CBS than what he was getting offered, I guessed in a segment that you'll hear later on this show because, you know, that's what we do. that it was maybe like he's asking for 33 or he's asking for 35 and he's getting offered 23 or 25.

Well, maybe the Ravens now look at that market and think, well, I don't have to give up two first, but I could give Trey Hendrickson $26 million a year for the next two years, which is less than we were going to pay Max Crosby. I don't have to give up the picks. He's not as good a player. He's a little older, certainly. But all things considered,

we save what's a difficult situation. Yeah, I mean, I would do it if I was the Ravens. I mean, it's clearly not going to work out with your, also to make the Bengals mad. That always feels good. They probably do want to hurt the Bengals a little bit on this one. But no, I think that this actually will ramp up Trey Hendrickson's market beyond what we were possibly, what we were talking about,

it possibly being earlier because there's now less risk involved. I mean, we know that there's multiple teams and we don't know still. I mean, it's two first. That's not going to happen, right? in the 35. We don't know what he's asking for, but 30s, I think maybe high or 20s could happen,

maybe even low 30s. In a weird way, though, now he has competition, though, because now Max Crosby's kind of back out there. It's very complicated. But a Max Crosby that the Ravens, who have a lot of respect around the league for how Eric DeCosta operates

and all of that, the Ravens who have very publicly now backed out of one of the biggest trades for a non-quartered back we've seen in recent NFL history. In NFL history, period. There's only been like 14 or something. The number was crazy of two first round picks, period.

And there's only been a handful for defensive players. And a lot of them are in the last couple of years. Soss Gardner being one of them. But man, tough day for John Spitech and for Raiders fans. Because I think the Raiders fans will be. We had two picks at these two future. I think Raiders fans will be fine in the end because I think they'll end up getting, if I had to guess, a pretty good package for Max Crosby and just not going to be as good.

But it's just like you did something really great at work. You solved something. You had one of the best days in recent Raiders history on Monday. And you're just like, okay, everything's gravy now. And then suddenly it's like, wait, we have to deal with all this again. Life comes at you fast. Actually, you know, we talked earlier this week. Our friend Jane Slater was reporting the Cowboys weren't willing to go as high as two first.

But we're definitely in the mix on this. And I think the Cowboys are now the favorite. the clubhouse to watch something like this. They have handled, they have been, I think, a little bit more flexible with how they've handled certain medical situations. Oh, yeah. They'll just do it sight unseen. Oh, it'll be fine.

Jerry will examine them. And they got, who turned them down today? They need some branding. They need good branding. The Nicopi Dean turned them down on Monday. On Monday. So they need a little pop here. Another interesting Nug related to the Cowboys and potential trades.

And it could be related here is that CBS Sports, Jonathan Jones reported OSA, Osa Odigizua could be potentially available in a trade. That's a $20 million a year defensive tackle. Could he be in the mix for a potential Max Crosby trade? Here's one of my big takeaways before we get to just a couple little items, and then I throw it to the other top of the show. I think there's going to be a lot of – I've been waiting for the trade tsunami. We've had a lot of trades.

We've had a punter trade even on Tuesday. But I think the big trades can still be happening Wednesday, Thursday, Friday. It makes more sense because everyone needs to get under the cap. And then at that point, after Wednesday, once the new league year technically starts, it kind of opens up the possibility for more veteran trade. So I think this is only going to make it more likely. All right. Let's move to the back end of the show.

Really quick, before we do, how are you feeling about the regular season right now? Because I think everything. Meeting expectation. It's good. It's good. It's hoping in some form or fashion to make this period of time more exciting is happening. Tuesday was a little quiet. Now, this is just how things happen now in free agency.

I've noticed it's now a massive Monday players come off the boards faster than they ever have. And then Tuesday is kind of like a letdown. And then Wednesday, I think it'll pick back up, not all the way back to Monday, but we'll have some, we'll some bangers. But yeah, like I mentioned only three of the original top one, you know, top 30 101 were available after 12 hours. Congrats. And Trey Hendrickson and Kyler Murray are the two big names there. So you'll hear about Gino Smith's big move. You'll hear about some of the Patriots move, some big, you know, Kyler, A.J. Brown, Brian Thomas, Jr.

Big picture stuff coming up on the show. But we did have, like, just the end of the show that we were going to tape. So even if it's a little, like, funky in terms of putting it right here, I'm just going to run through a couple items that I want included on this show and just get your thoughts. It's a speed round as people are bailing out of the building. You ready? Teddy Bridgewater, back from the line with Lion. Commercial star, Teddy Bridgewater, who recently got a new resolution passed in Florida that actually can help high school athletes afford the things that they need to play high school sports

because Teddy Bridgewater was unfairly punished for it. No, Teddy. Right. This would normally be at the end of the podcast, but we're here. Let's just put it in. It's a messy, messy Tuesday. I wanted to just mention how the Packers cut Nate Hobbs, who was a big free agent signing from a year ago,

and then signed Benjamin St. Juice. And it's just a little bit of an overall Packers look that they now have lost Elton Jenkins, who goes to the Browns, Romulo Dobbs, who will talk about goes to the Patriots. Rashid Walker is still sitting out there in free agency. One of my highest, you know, players ranked available. In Akbari, goes to the Jets.

Roshan Gary goes to the Cowboys, Malik Willis. goes to the dolphins, just a lot of pretty good players. Yeah. A lot of players that contributed a lot to the Packers. Any concern there? Yeah. Well, I think some of it's them sorting through now. You can say like Romeo Dobbs and Elton Jenkins and also Malik Willis, obviously those

are big losses players who contributed at times at a high level, even though if they weren't the full-time starter as Malik Willis wasn't. Otherwise, though, it just seems like they're cleaning out their contract structures. they're loading up on compensatory picks right now. So if and when they do not make the type of run they're thinking they'll make this year, they're going to need to reload in the draft big time in the middle rounds. And they're, I think, leading in compensatory picks right now. Even Jenkins is kind of similar to Rashon Gary in that.

He's had a lot of injuries and it was a big contract. So I get it. Cam Hayward. We love Cam Hayward. signed a one-year extension with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He was not a free agent, but they just tacked on a year to his deal. Dawson Knox, who, you know, our friend Adam from the block party podcast with the Saints, he really wanted some Dawson Knox.

We thought maybe he would get cut or traded. He gets a new three-year contract and the bills re-signed Kyle Allen, which sparked one of the funnier blue sky posts I saw today, which was nothing has better job security than being Josh Allen's golf buddies. Yeah, so like Katan friends. Those are like his like two best friends. Josh Allen is running the bills in a way that I feel like. Like if Lamar Jackson was running the Ravens, for instance, would get a lot of criticism.

I'm just saying. It's fine, but just saying. Patrick Queen is potentially available in a trade. Reportedly teams have called about him with the Pittsburgh Steelers. I'm going to watch out there. Kiami Fairbairn is now the highest paid kicker in the NFL. Justice for Kaimi. Walker, if you're listening, your guy is making $13 million over two years.

Kaleef Raymond, a nice piece for the game. the Lions over the last handful of years is now joining his old friend Ben Johnson in Chicago. I think he'll have fun potential. He'll have a moment for the Bears where it's like, oh, that was a good signing. I want to say shout out to Hayden Hurst who retired, who was a first round pick by the Ravens the same year they took Lamar Jackson in the first round. They took Hayden Hurst before Lamar Jackson. But I'll really remember him as someone who kind of, I think, pushed the mental health

conversation forward when he talked about his struggles with considering. suicide and mental health in general and was really good talking to ESPN the magazine throughout his career. So, you know, happy trails to Hayden Hurst. P.J. Locke went to the Cowboys. That was a move. I just wanted to get in there. And then the Cowboys will not be cutting Kenny Clark. They restructured his contract. Also, Luke Fortner is going to be the Panthers new center. He was with the Saints last year. They get him for cheap. Played pretty well as a backup for the Saints last year. As we were going through all of this, Patrick Claibon did walk by the glass. And I just have to think. Where is he? I want him in.

How is Patrick Claibon, Ravens fan, Patrick Claibon, feeling right about it? I want him on our show. You know, NFL Network and ESPN buys them. And it's like, hey, we're doing Claibon on insiders all week long. I'm on insiders too. But you know, I'm on it for five minutes before getting to the important stuff. And that's NFL Daily. They got Claibon on there for hours at a time.

He can't join us. They ran late because of this Max Crosby thing. I want Claibon with us. Okay. As great as he would be, I don't think you could top the show we put together. So I'm now going to throw to a break. And on the other side of the break is the top of the actual show that we thought we taped before. I'm Daniel Jeremiah.

And I'm Greg Rosenthal. And this is 40s and free agents. The games may be over, but the NFL never stopped. This is my favorite part of the calendar. Yeah, mine too, Greg. Free agency, the combine. The NFL draft, Pro Days, trades. This is where teams reshape their future.

This is where Daniel Jeremiah makes his money on 40s and free agents. we break down every move that actually matters. From my draft evaluations, mock drafts, and team fits, to my top 101 free agents and how real rosters are built, cap space, contracts, and all the tough decisions included. You got quarterbacks on the move. We got teams rebuilding. It's hope season.

Yeah, absolutely. It's hope season. We'll tell you what's real, what's noise, and what it means for your favorite team. Smart analysis, real conversations every week. I don't know about the smart, but definitely analysis. Listen to 40s and free agents on the IHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Welcome to NFL Daily, where I guess we just got to be Jets fans now. I'm Greg Rosedall here in the Chris Wesleyan podcast studio with my friend, Jordan Roderig. It's day to a free agency. That means we're on the NFL channel. We're live on YouTube. We're in your ears as a podcast. That's what we love the most. Audio medium, Greg.

It is. And look, wasn't as busy as day one, but right before we're taping, it's 4 p.m. on the West Coast. We had a flurry of signings, but nothing more important than my beloved Gino Smith getting traded to the Jets. What is old as new again. I kind of can't believe this is actually happening. He wrote back. Well, they wrote back. They wrote back, I guess.

I suppose. It was always a little confusing. You know, I didn't write. Who was writing to who? Yeah. The logic of it wasn't the point. It was a bar. And look, Gino Smith has been underestimated, misunderstood throughout his career.

He's coming off the most disappointing season of his career. A very difficult situation. But you know what? As this offseason started, you started to see some of the advanced stats come out. And some of the other teams were interested. Rich Sommini, VSPAN reported that Minnesota was in on Gino Smith. And that's the reason that the Jets decided to send a late round pitch. pick swap, just a seventh and a sixth, but also they're going to pay about $3.3 million of

his salary. The Raiders are going to pay the rest of it, which I believe is around $16 million. So they're paying a lot of money. But the Jets are paying a little more than they have to, a little more than the minimum, a couple million dollars more than the minimum, and sending in a pick swap because they wanted to get their guy, Gino Smith, back. If you had told Jets fans in 2016 at the end of his career there that they would be getting him back a day. decade later? I think it would have blown their mind. What do you think? Well, I just remember how Sauer some Jets fans were about Gino Smith and then Sauer watching him go and thrive in Seattle. And then just the lore of Gino has been a little bit of a painful, sometimes bittersweet one.

I think that some can rise above, obviously, and just be happy for the guy when he was succeeding in Seattle. You did see a couple people still Jets fans and there's a lot of them online. And I feel for him because they go through it. Seems like every year. And I can't believe I'm saying this, Greg, but I'm kind of stoked for Gino that he's going to play behind this offensive line compared to what he had just went through last season with the Raiders. Yeah, he had a text.

Let's put that up on the screen again. Like, Gino Smith, he sent it to Ian Rappaport. I'm a little jealous that Rhaps, he's just on text relationship with Gino. Complete full circle moment back to where it all began. I'm excited to connect with my new teammates and coaches. everyone in the building as well as a new relationship with the fan base and community. In other statements, he said he spoke with Aaron Glenn.

That meant a lot to him and that helped convince him that this was the right place for him. This is not a popular move for the most part in New York and with the Jessica. Just like, what are we doing here? But I do think he was the best available player. I wanted different for Gino as a fan. Minnesota was a better option.

But I act like a fan. more with Gino and different players that you really love to watch over the years than I do, I think, with any team situation. So I've quickly now turned the corner and have convinced myself, to your point, really good offensive line, though they lost Elijah Vera Tucker. We'll get to that in a minute. You got Garrett Wilson, Breeze Hall, Mason Taylor. Need a little more, frankly.

Just need a little more. And you have the Frank Reich offense, which, you know, maybe that could work. I mean, I wasn't going to be too high on the Frank Reich offense, but if you think about how the best version of the Frank Reich offense and really counting on the quarterback to make smart decisions and throwing over the middle of the field, and maybe it doesn't require the biggest arm in the world, like maybe that works for Gino Smith.

Like on a football level, I do think this was the best that they were going to do, and they're not paying any money for it, so Jets fans calmed out. Well, and also none of these things, especially when a veteran is either traded for or signed in free agency, and we'll get to some of those other guys in a minute. and cheaply done, by the way, that's never in a vacuum. Like, it doesn't preclude the jets from doing something else at the position in the draft.

I think when you look at all these moves that they've made, if you look at them in a vacuum, it is a little confusing what they're actually trying to do. Are they trying to compete? Are they actually just resetting the floor of their roster, which I think they're doing with Gino-Smith? I think that gives them stability at the position, and it doesn't preclude them from going after a quarterback in the draft because people keep forgetting how many freaking picks they have, too. And so packaging those together is something that every competent team does all the time. Are the Jets ready to be competent as they turn their attention to the draft?

The problem is there aren't many great quarterbacks in this draft. So maybe it's packaging picks in the next draft. I just think of the journey and I think about my own journey. Look, I wrote an article back in 2015 entitled, Making the Leap, number 19, Gino Smith. Little did I know. It took 11 seasons for him to actually. get a real shot because of course the way his Jets career ended was so sad. First, you had the punch in the locker room, IK. and Impali, and he misses that season. It becomes a magical season for Ryan Fitzpatrick.

And then what I think people don't forget was he was still on the team the next year. He's the backup. He then gets to start because I think Fitzpatrick got hurt or bench. I should have checked that. But he tears his ACL immediately. It's a big setback for his season. And now here he is 11 seasons later. and I wanted better for him because this is either going to be incredible or it's going to be terrible because it's either going to have a moment where Gino who's been great at the fourth quarter comebacks has the MetLife Stadium chants in like, Gino, Gino.

And for men of a certain age, Gino Smith fans of a certain age, I mean, that is a magical thought for the Jets fan, you know, for full circle. He's used the word full circle. It was so painful. It's conquering like really tough demons back then. There is another, you know, route that this could go because this team, it's a big uphill battle where it'd be a depressing coda to his career and a reminder that like, yeah, things

aren't fair always in the NFL. You don't get the storybook. So there'll probably be a little bit of both. I think there'll be some moments, but you're probably not making the playoffs or anything like that. But I have hope. I have hope. And they could have done a lot worse for a guy who probably will be a bridge to the next guy for them.

And probably that guy coming via the draft at some point in the next couple of years. They could have done a lot worse. And you know what? He is, you know, I covered some of those Raiders games for the athletic this year, Greg. And it was a disaster immediately. That entire offense and it was not a fit with Chip Kelly. All of our hopes and expectations were awful. The offensive line was worse than we ever thought possible.

And then there was all the infighting that happened there. clearly after, you know, that led to Pete Carroll's and sons dismissal. But Gino kind of sat and took it all and was a great spokesman and leader for the team regardless. And so whatever happens, the outlier good, the outlier bad, or probably what we're talking about, which is a little chaotic neutral happening in New Jersey. Right now, he will wear it well and he'll be a really good figurehead for that team right now as they're in transition. And you mentioned the other, you know, shoot a drop at the position. could be adding a rookie certainly in the middle round, something like that.

The reporting in New York is that Carson Wentz is expected to be the backup, which is just a wild. Chaotic neutral. What is it? The wild quarterback room, but, you know, Carson Wentz has the history with Frank Reich. And yes, I did appreciate the members of Gino Nation coming together on Tuesday and saying a lot of what you said about the Raiders. We actually had some fun stats here.

21st in completion percentage over expected out of 41 qualifiers right in the middle ahead of a guy that you might have heard of Patrick Mahomes. Seventh in on target rate. Here he goes. According to I don't even remember where, but seventh in on target rate. And then this was the one I really liked. FDN Fantasy said that Gino had seven more interceptions than expected. They have a stack called interception surplus over expected. We're making up new stats for Gino Smith.

He was by far the most interceptions that you wouldn't have expected. Like they said, he should have had about 10, and he had 17. So we're doing it. Depending on how you frame that. We're back on board. I feel so strange because I'm rooting for Malik Willis to be good. That's the Dolphins. And now I'm Jets fan.

It's going to be a short marriage of inconvenience. But the AFC East is where my heart. I'm sure they're so happy to have you, Greg, long-time Patriots fan, Greg Rosenthal. Yes. Devin Lloyd is going to. The Carolina Panthers. Yes. Big news.

By the way, I should have mentioned, Nashon Wright, going to the Jets as well. Very cheap, one year, up to $5 million contract for the cornerback who had all those interceptions, what he had, five last year, for the Jets.

And yeah, that's, I mean, for the Bears, that's five more than the Jets had last year. I have a feeling that the actual contract is much less than up to. Let's go to Devin Lloyd with the Panthers. This happened on Monday night. We're going to do a mix of Monday night and in Tuesday news.

Three years, $45 million, $25 million guaranteed, was a top 10 player on my overall, top 101 board, my top linebacker. The NFL kind of disagreed with my evaluation in terms of finances. In terms of Devin Lloyd, he gets a very similar contract to what Nicopi Dean and Quay Walker got in Vegas, and not much more than a couple of the other guys in the middle tier of the market that we'll get to. I actually think they kind of set the floor for him to get this money financially, but I think it's a great fit with the Panthers, a fit that you saw coming. Yes, and one that I really hoped would work out,

not just because I predicted it in our free agency matchmaking. You're on the board. I'm on the board. It's a defensive battle. We each have one pick right. And I'm so far winning what we deemed to be the tiebreaker, which is the height. I did not agree to that.

I am very much taller than yourself and Colleen Wolfe. So I'm so far in the lead in that. And also in terms of like the closeness to the atmosphere and all of that. So I love this because what I mentioned even a couple weeks, when we came out of the combine, I just got this sense from Panthers Brass, from Dan Morgan, especially a famous story, former linebacker himself, that it's just, he's just been holding himself back while they've attended to other areas of their team build from really going out and getting a core inside linebacker, someone who he, you know, really takes pride in evaluating someone who can bring that he can bring in. and really set the tone right up the middle of that defense, where they've had a lot of success with the perimeter corners, especially. They're adding to their perimeter pass rush.

They already have Derek Brown in the middle up front. But the back end of that front seven, and then the back end of that secondary needs a field marshal essentially. Devin Lloyd is that person, is that player. And I just think that he's such a fit here. And a fit in that defense because they don't ask their inside linebackers to do everything. They ask more of their safeties often

and then their slot players than their inside linebacker, but they will ask him to be really active in the past in terms of disrupting past plays and obviously stout against the run, but because they play the front structure that they do, I think you're going to see a lot more activity from him in the past game.

And I couldn't help, and I know this isn't how these things work, but think of former, you know, PFF employee, Devin Lloyd now working in the, you know, part of the Panthers front office. And I'm thinking like they had him as the number four. Eric Eager. Eric Eager.

You just could be Derek, Devin Lloyd and Eric Eager. I was like, PFF employee. Devin Lloyd, Devin Lloyd, where is he going with this? Devin Lloyd, of course, a favorite of PFF. Yes. Maybe it of Eric Eager's a top five linebacker according to PFF. And I really thought he was dynamic. I thought he improved the year before.

And the money, like I said, I think it ends up being a bargain. Yeah. Maybe he's a little more. I don't think he's more boomer bust than the. those other linebackers. So I think it's a really good value. Even if you don't get the production he had last year, I mean, I think it's so cool for him in general.

He bet on himself. They weren't initially going to pick up the option on him. And then he went out and he proved to everybody what he was capable of. I think even if you get somewhere in the middle of this or you get slightly less production, if we can look at that season possibly as an outlier, which realists will do, especially with defense, with fluctuates so much year over year, like you still are very, very happy with the traits,

with how he fits in this defense, with the leadership, and also with, you know, you have to feel some of that success as a player. You have to taste what that feels like. And he definitely did last season. They also cut A. Sean Robinson there.

And I think it'll be positioned as like the Panthers are going all in. Huge money on Jalen Phillips. Big money on Devin Lloyd. To me, Jalen Phillips is the risk. Jalen Phillips is just a massive injury risk. and a high ceiling player, but also, you know, for $30 million a year, that's up there with the very best of the best. To me, that is taking a big swing.

Devin Lloyd is just good business. Let's go to the Patriots. We'll see if you think they did good business. Romeo Dobbs is in the building. Hilariously, his contract was reported by four different outlets as four totally different contracts. But we believe, no matter what mergers are happening in Ian Rappaport, and he's got it at four years.

70 million. We'll see kind of what the guarantees are, and it's probably more about the first two years. But good money for Romeo Dobbs, but not crazy. Definitely not more than you would expect. I mean, less than Wondale Robinson got, for instance. And they also gave Elijah Vera Tucker $21 million guaranteed on a three-year, $42 million contract. Interesting wide receiver group they got going there. You got rid of Diggs, but you still have Kishan Bouty, who's a real guy. Matt Collins, who's kind of that perfect, as you would say, dig you out phrasing, wide receiver. Kyle Williams, who's another fun little deep threat, just a lot of guys there. And yet, Cameron Wolf from the NFL network says, don't rule out AJ Brown still, that they still

might be in that mix. What did you think about how Dobbs fits in with this group? I love this fit. It kind of goes back to a conversation. You and I had a couple of days ago, was it days or weeks? at some time ago in this spring where a team that really is looking for a younger version of a player they already had will depend on some of the traits that that older player showcased for them within their system in order to understand maybe how to correctly identify that younger player and romeo dobs is absolutely uh they the going to slot in right where stephan digs left off he can really work the intermediate areas of the field he is really really strong through traffic. He has a great catch radius and he could be a red zone threat as well. And he's just

really precise and very sharp in his route running and in his movements. And so I just think that he immediately fits this offense exactly in the same way that Stefan Diggs did, just a younger version. Yeah, much younger. And I love that point about he can work inside and out and he's like great great hands. It's one thing I think they look for in receivers. I said it all last year. Like this is a great pass catching receiving group. It's, not a great separation receiving group, but at the catch point, it's a group of guys with really good hands. F.

F. Chisholm, let's throw him into the mix, too. So I really like Dobbs being an addition here, and they're paying them at a level that, to me, does not smack of, like, super free agent, you know, inflation. If the Packers had given him this contract, you would just thought, like, okay, that makes sense. Vera Tucker is a much bigger risk because he's missed, you know, more than half the games of his NFL career. but two of those were to biceps and triceps injuries,

which just seemed fluky in a way. I don't know. They both happened, but they're not injuries that you think, like, are going to happen again. And there are also injuries that unlike like a knee or a hamstring and stuff, they don't necessarily cause any long-term damage.

Overall, like, this is a boom or bust contract, if there ever was one. He was Brandon Thorne's number one. offensive linemen available in free agency. He was in my top 15 overall. I think if you just look at his average game played in the NFL, and he's played at right tackle, and he's played at guard,

which is where I think the Patriots will start him, but he'll be an option if Morgan Moses, he'll be an option at tackle too. If you looked at his average game, he's the best offensive lineman, I think, available in free agency. But a huge risk because of the injuries, and it sounded like the Jets were in on him, maybe giving him as much or more money,

and he just wanted out of there because he just wanted it out of there because he just wanted a fresh start where the vibes would be. Vives refresh. Yeah. You know, the Patriots had to do something. Even if it was a risky swing, it's a big swing if it works out for them. And they had to do something with their offensive line. That is the most recent memory that every fan, every coach, every player on that team has is what happened to that offensive line in the Super Bowl.

They had to do something to address this. And he, because he plays multiple positions, like he could fill different spots, depending on what you need. Right now, I think he's probably at left guard where Jared Wilson was, and he's moving to center. You have Mike Owenu at right guard. You know, Barrett Tucker's best position probably was right guard, so that's, you know, you're moving him into different positions,

but who knows, maybe he'll take over for Will Campbell at some point. Either way, I love it. I love it for them, and I love it for him. It made me really happy when I saw the contract terms. I thought he might have to take a below market, prove it deal, coming off the injury, but he didn't. He really got great guard money, And I think the Patriots decided to, like, give him all that money thinking if he actually hits, it's going to be a great value.

Fun day, really a solid, I think, free agency period so far for the Patriots. Rick Willan. Back in the mix with a big time team. The Philadelphia Eagle, those dirty dogs are on the board. They were one of the few teams that had yet to sign an outside free agent yet. have the Broncos? I don't think they have. The Rieck-Wollen signing to the Eagles is for $15 million max contract.

Not seeing a lot of details on the other reporting. I'm guessing it's significantly less than $15 million. Interesting that the market wasn't there for Rikwollen like it was for a lot of lesser-known cornerbacks, like let's say a Cordell Flatt. Alante Taylor. I mean, we know him, but it. I mean, hell, he got more money than any free agent cornerback in history. I'm even thinking of who was it.

Eric Stokes got 3.4.30. Benjamin St. Juice had a similar type of contract to Rique Wullen, but what a potential fit as the outside cornerback kind of filling that Adori Jackson role opposite Quinnian Mitchell. Yes, this is something that we want a fan cam. I like extrapolate just him and also maybe one on. Vic Fangio up in the booth and I want to watch this all season. I just want that streaming live all season because this is so fascinating to me. When I see reports come out of a signing of a really talented player with huge upside

and obviously he's been a little streaky and all of that, but huge upside here. And it's set, it's framed as worth up to 15 million. I'm thinking what red flags? You know, that's a that's a red flag wrapped in a contract. right there. I think that his up and down career, like, look, it was sometimes great for Seattle. It was sometimes not as great. But this season was really good.

Like his numbers in terms of yards per target, yards per, you know, snap on the field are awesome. And his awesome plays are really good. I think maybe people were a little worried about the fact that Josh Job got ahead of him, that, you know, he was a Mike McDonald product. But he was at his best with Pete Carroll. I think this is a great bet on to himself. So I think this is a great move by the Eagles who believe that they can coach him up

and they are all about like size, weight, speed at that. Like they feel like. Oh, he's a perfect fit traits wise for that. Right. They can get the most out of them. And I think they probably, without knowing anything, maybe, like there's a very real chance they had a two or three year offer for him. And he was like, hey, I want to do that like, I'm ready to do this.

Let's do it for one year. I'm going to bet on myself, get to free agency, because I'm going to show. that I'm a great cornerback. And it's a great situation where he is going to get targeted. He's going to see the ball a lot. Yeah, a lot. And man, the Eagles have been so quiet. They struck out on Jalen Phillips.

I think this is going to be a sneaking, really good move. Well, I think they've been so quiet because they're furiously working behind the scenes to try to get an A.J. Brown trade happening. I think that's happening. I think they're going to have, and they've watched a lot of people go out the door, right? Jalen Phillips and Nicopi D. and read Blankenship, and a lot of people are leaving. I still think they're going to be very active with a lot of changes coming up.

Will they get into the linebacker mark? Probably not because of who they drafted last year. The offball linebacker market did take off right before we started taping. Caden Ellis, to the Saints, three years, $33 million, $23 million guaranteed. And then Leo Chanel, soon after that, to the commanders. And I am guessing, without any knowledge, that these things are connected. Because to me, they're filling very similar roles in a defense. And then once one guy was off the board, they were both top 50 players on my list. They're linebackers who really rushed the passerwell.

And once Ellis was off the board, I think Chanel then had his home with the commanders. what do you think about Caden Ellis returning to where it all started? Now, this is just another just warm bath of a Saints move. I'm loving what they're putting out. I know. I am very, very cautiously optimistic about what the Saints are doing this free agency. Did you see today there were reports out of New Orleans that actually one of their contract acquisitions has no void years attached to it? I have a feeling this doesn't either.

That's a new day for the Saints. That's incredible. It's awesome. And Caden Ellis, for people who forgot, like he was. was awesome for the Saints. It was a different defense, but obviously I think Kellan Moore and the Saints, there's a lot of crossover between them and the Falcons in terms of staff and what the Falcons were doing defensively. And I think Caden Ellis steps in there and really helps out. This defensive scheme, particularly the way that Brandon Staley likes to run it, they use this type of player as sort of this hybrid pass rusher, but also as a hook player

who can drop into coverage and who will play in a lot of different positions. And I can definitely see Kate and Ellis being one of those players and just kind of beefing up and adding not just to their offball linebacker room, but also like their pass rush as well. And getting just a little bit more dynamism, versatility, different looks, different ways you can overload your fronts, even if you're playing with a light front the way that Brandon Staley likes to do. I just think this is going to be really interesting. You mentioned how they liked a fourth round pick from a year ago, Danny. Yeah. They love that guy. Pete Warner has been a little discom.

appointing since he signed a big contract, but ultimately, I think he need three linebackers, and so I expect Pete Warner to stay. Leo Chanel was a fascinating free agent to me in general, just an explosive, awesome pass rusher and just unique skill set guy who sometimes would be the spy on Lamar Jackson for the Chiefs, but never got over 500 snaps. And he goes to a Durante Jones, Dan Quinn defense for the commanders. They've been very active. I think that'll be a fun pairing. Let's go to the Texans who signed Braden Smith two years, $20 million for the ex-Indianapolis cult. And we're just keep ticking these players off. We might get to breaking this down later, Jordan, but only three of my top 30 players originally are still available. And here's three more

we just mentioned from my top 50. There's not many players. It happened faster than ever. and Braden Smith I had right around 50 thinking he'd be a right tackle. I think he might be a guard with the Texans. That's what he played in college. I think it's similar where maybe they'll just figure it out as they go. But Texans, we wanted them to fix their offensive line. They said goodbye to Titus Howard. They bring in Braden Smith.

Not to be that guy, but like shorter arms. So play him at guard. Okay. That's what people thought in terms of. You mentioned another player that's been in the news about that earlier. so not to assault in the wound on that one there. Well, Campbell, you're referring to. And Brayton Smith is an interesting case because they drafted him in Indianapolis like a guard

and then they had to use him at right tackle. And then it just kept working out so well he was there for most of a decade. Well, he's a zone. He's like better with his zone blocking. And so I think, and that's obviously, you know, Nick Cayley is going to run a lot of these zone concepts and everything. So I do think his movement skills, even without like recent experience at the guard position because of necessity.

Like, yeah, I think it's absolutely a fit because you're going to be asked to move like a tackle in some of your run sets anyway. They're making progress. The Browns are back on the offensive line board. We've just been tracking this as each signing comes in. They came into the offseason with no starters on the offensive line. And then each day they just tick off another one. And this time it's Elton Jenkins, the former Packer who was just officially released and then signed right away. $20 million guaranteed two years, $24 million.

He's been a Pro Bowl. He's been an alternate all pro. He's played at center. He's played at guard. He's played at tackle. I just talked to Brian Baldinger over in the newsroom about him. He thought it's a really good signing. I do as well.

The Browns have now ticked off four starting spots because they also re-signed Tevin Jenkins, who played pretty well for them as a fill in guard last year. And so we'll see how it works. But on paper, actually, I like what they've done on the offensive line. Let's go to the Lions who, decided to replace David Montgomery with an interesting, like, stylistic match. Isaiah Pacheco, the former chief, is a member of the Lions.

What do you think? I can't quite see how this is going to all shake out other than the fact that I think he's talented. But it kind of hints to maybe they're changing a little bit about how they want to run the ball. Isn't he kind of like a Montgomery, basically? He's like that short yardage? Yeah, he is. But I also think that like if they were going to, you know, still move. on from David Montgomery.

I mean, Pacheco is obviously, you know, built similarly and has that physicality. But I always saw him as like, you know, he's going to get move a lot and get basically either at or less than the yards that you would need him to get. But there's going to be a lot of energy and effort put into it. And then he's great in the screen game. Well, there was pre-injury Pacheco, who was an intriguing young player. And then they were post-injury Pacheco, who to me has been a replacement level player who I wasn't sure was going to have a future.

in the league. So to me, like, it's not a lock that he makes the Lions. I haven't even seen the contract, but he's an interesting name. You never know. Sometimes you just got to be a year or two away from that injury to play your best. The Giants have signed Greg Newsom at cornerback for $10 million. Like I said, like Greg Newsom is getting the same amount of money as, as Reekwell and that we talked about before. They also brought back Micah McFadden. And while we're talking chiefs, we didn't hit that Aloie Gilman, three years, $24 million for the safety, $15 million guaranteed last night. They also give Taekwon Thornton two years, $11 million.

How about Taekwan Thornton turning his career round as kind of like a third, fourth receiver for the Chiefs? My big takeaway here is that that Aloi Gilman for Adafayoa trade, where both players were kind of on the outs. O'I Gilman wasn't even playing that much for the Chargers made both of those players so much money. I can't remember a trade like that where two guys whose stock was singing. get traded for each other one for one.

And then three months later, they're making huge money. So bully to them. Yeah. Well, it's a confluence of factors. One, it's great when it is very clear that you're wanted by a good football team. And then, which is what happened with both of these players. And then also, the chiefs have a lot of work to do in their secondary. So I like this signing because, again, he's kind of one of those reset guys.

I expect them to hammer the draft. all throughout their secondary. But also he is one of those like reset players where you're just like, okay, what's our baseline here? We need to invest in a baseline and then build around from there with young players. I like them too. And I always defer to Steve Spagnolo.

I'm sure Gilman would not be going there if Spagnolo didn't approve it. But the whole buy low, sell high thing. Like they're buying really high on a guy if he had hit free agency a little while ago might be like one year, $3 million. I don't know what the chiefs are doing outside of that Kenneth Walker move.

Let's take a quick break. We have a little bit more news to get to. And then we're going to talk about some questions we are asking, going into day three of free agency, including Brian Thomas Jr., A.J. Brown, Kyler Murray, who's going to get Trey Hendrickson? There's still some big names out here. We're going to take a break here. If you're on YouTube, we'll be back in just a second.

I'm Daniel Jeremiah. And I'm Greg Rosenthal. And this is 40s and free agents. The games may be over, but the NFL never stopped. This is my favorite part of the calendar. Yeah, mine too, Greg, free agency, the combine, the NFL draft, pro days, trades. This is where teams reshape their future. This is where Daniel Jeremiah makes his money.

On 40s and free agents, we break down every move that actually matters. From my draft evaluations, mock drafts, and team fits to my top 101 free agents and how real rosters are built, cap space, contracts, and all the tough decisions included. You got quarterbacks on the move? We got teams. building. It's hope season. Yeah, absolutely. It's hope season. We'll tell you what's real, what's noise, and what it means for your favorite team. Smart analysis, real conversations every week. I don't know about the smart,

but definitely analysis. Listen to 40s and free agents on the IHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Back on NFL Daily, Audible. During the break, let's just get to the questions we're still asking about free agency. And we'll hit a bit of the lighter news at the end of the show. What's up with Kyler? Here we are in a world where, like I said, there's only three of my top 30 players overall available now. And that was true basically after 12 hours, which is just crazy. Congrats, Craig.

The highest rank. Yeah, they're going off the list. There's still about like 45 total from the 101. And there's like 20 from the top 50. A lot of guys 30 to 50. But why isn't the Kyler-Murie move happened? and do we just assume it's Minnesota? To the latter, I do think that's the strongest candidate right now.

I mean, sometimes there's just no point in smoke screening any of this. Sometimes the most obvious answer to the question is the correct one. Minnesota needs a veteran quarterback. They kick the tires on a couple of other veteran quarterback options as free agency began. They are probably going to go with one of the cheapest ones with such a high ceiling in Kyler Murray. It just feels too obvious to not happen. And there was a report, or a couple of them, different people said this, that, you know,

Kyler and his age, they're like doing things the right way because technically the Cardinals haven't released it. They haven't even announced their release. And someone pointed out to me, Montaason Fortin, the Cardinals actually did get in trouble previously for tampering. And so they haven't sent anything out. And so maybe they all are waiting. It's just so quiet.

there's also no other spots. Like that is the one place where there's a starting job just open. And no matter what they think about J.J. McCarthy, they've, you know, made it clear publicly that that job is open, that J.J. McCarthy will be competing for it. But, you know, it's like a marriage. You know, or like a girlfriend, once you're considering other options, it's kind of like it's probably not going to end that well for you. You know what I mean? You know what? Maybe not a marriage.

Maybe like a, you know, relationship. Sadly, I do know what you mean, Greg. If we want to, we want to. I'm just saying you're talking about other potential quarterbacks at a podium saying like, listen, here's a great sign. Here's the thing. I do think that there are a lot of people in that Minnesota Vikings building. I don't just think this.

I know this. There are a lot of people in the Vikings building that are not ready to give up on the J.J. McCarthy experience. They think that he's just so young that the injuries, you know, can mess with young players head at times and just really want to see who he becomes after all of this, right? And I think that that's important. You're led by the head coach who has basically preached patience and developing quarterbacks has become the face of those comments that he made a couple of years ago in that regard.

And the other thing is, is on the Kyler situation, I really think that some of this might actually be Kyler wants to go see what the best fit for him will be. That's what I'm saying. I really think that there are going to be multiple teams who will. also say, hey, would you like to come be a backup for us for a year, maybe sign a two-year deal or even a one-year deal, rehab your sort of like mental here, just get clear of the mess that that ended up becoming in Arizona.

Make sure that your body's healthy. He dealt with some injuries last year, quote, unquote, as well. The team was cagey about is why I say that. And really understand, like, what's the best launch point for me moving forward? Is it starting somewhere right now? Or is it taking my time, being wooed? a little bit, seeing what the best like overall holistic fit for me in my next chapter of my career as he continues, like we all do, God willing, to get older and to really understand what

that will look like and not just what it looks like this year, but what it looks like after this year. Well, the two teams that stand out there are the Rams and the Chiefs. You know, the Chiefs would be a spicy place for him to go to quarterback school with Andy Reed. Don't know if there's interest there from either side. And then the Rams, you kind of laid it out as a potential, you know, option if, you know, just to go through the McBase, you know, quarterback school. We got to move on, though. The interesting thing here is there, there are other quarterbacks out there. Like, Kirk Cousins is still sitting out there. We are waiting to find out about Aaron Rogers. I do think everyone assumes he's just going

back to the Steelers. So Cousins might be the guy who's kind of left without a spot if Kyler ends up going to the Vikings. Maybe Cousins is the backup option for the last. the Vikings. Let's talk about the wide receiver market. A.J. Brown, I mentioned earlier, could have a Patriots market still. There was some reporting that basically the Patriots were the only team maybe showing significant interests and it sounded like they're not offering a first. I just don't think it makes sense for the Eagles to trade them at 70 cents on the dollar. On the other hand, the fact that we're hearing so much about it indicates to me like they're certainly willing to make it happen for the right price. And when that happens, usually,

like it goes down. They could also wait it out until after July 1st, June 1st, and then it helps their cap a little more if they trade them in camp. And so they're in no big hurry. What do you think about A.J. Brown? And then I'll even throw in Brian Thomas Jr. here as like the trade market, even though today was quiet in terms of free agency, the trade market often picks up when the new league year starts, which is on Wednesday. So I wouldn't be surprised if we get three or four woozy bangers between Wednesday to Friday, just some fun, surprising trades. And these are two possibilities, Brian Thomas Jr.

And A.J. Brown. I'll start with A.J. Brown because this one is fascinating to me. It's the worst kept secret in the world. It's not really a secret at this point that the Eagles are trying very, very hard to trade him. They feel it seems clear to me that they feel they must move on from him. or must move him at some point before, I say now they're probably given themselves along a runway, the trade deadline, let's say, next year, which feels like a long time, but really isn't if you think about, you know, how quickly that comes up in the context of a season.

This is interesting because it feels to me the amount of chatter we heard about this and the amount of teams that were being connected via sources to this possibly happening all felt like the Eagles trying to manufacture a bidding war or trying to try to. to find a way as Howie Roseman is so good at doing to basically increase what the perception of the prices for a player. And maybe they're asking, it's possible they're asking for too much in this initial wave. And they might have to back down off of some of what they might be asking for with A.J. Brown, if the Patriots.

I think it's just like, I don't think, I think if they could get a first firm, I think it already have been gone. So my guess is no one's given up the first one. I mean, even if it's a first and another pick, I feel like that is, they're going to have to back off of whatever they were asking these teams for. And in terms of Brian Thomas Jr., it is interesting, the dueling reports, I guess, that we're getting out of this, where we see that they're trying to find the best possible fit for him in this new scheme.

They're moving him around, bringing other players in to take on a role that he previously had played all of this during the regular season, the Jaguar's sort of like fairy tale season and postseason that they had. well now we're hearing reporting today and ESPN's Adam Schaefter kind of came out and said, hey, I don't know where this is coming from. Like this isn't something that they're interested in doing. And I know each, we both have like our thoughts on how real any of this could be.

But I always do laugh because insiders, they know so much that they just, they still don't report. And I feel like he knows exactly where this is coming. Who? Adam's. And so he's him saying that it immediately puts my flag up. and I just get, I'm tickled by it because I'm like, wait, if you're saying, I don't know where this is coming from, I feel like you know exactly where this is coming from. And that's why you're saying, I don't know where this is coming from. It's kind of one of those things.

Well, local reporters in New York specifically, like the Jets, we're saying, and the Giants, actually, we're saying that they heard Brian Thomas Jr. is very much available. And hearing local reports say one thing. And local reporters in Jacksonville say he's very much not available. Right. And the national reporters are saying, we don't think he's available. So everyone has different self-interest. My theory without knowing anything would be, look, maybe the player is interested in going.

Maybe the team would let him go for the right price. But since the price is so far off at this point, they're trying to shut it down and keep that relationship and trying to leverage it. But I don't think those reports come out of nowhere. So if there's reporters in certain markets that believe that he's available, my sense is that that someone's trying to drum up that market, whether it's the Jaguars or it's Brian Thomas Jr's agent. And I would love to see that. Before we take a break, I just want to say, like, I'm taking Brian Thomas Jr. every day of the week over A.J. Brown right now. I mean, not just because of the contract, although that's part of it. You're going to have to pay Brian Thomas Jr.

Because you cannot find that speed elsewhere. All the teams, including the Patriots, that were in on Alec Pierce. I'd rather have Brian Thomas Jr. than Alec Pierce, too. As much as I love Alec Pierce, they're in the same ballpark, but that is a young guy who moves unlike many people in the NFL. And the fact that it's all is being sprinkled out there at all tells me it could be happening.

I think it will happen, actually. I think it's more likely to happen than AJ Brown. That's just a wild guess. Let's take a break. And we'll come back. We'll talk a little bit about Trey Hendrickson on the other side. I'm Daniel Jeremiah.

And I'm Greg Rosenthal. And this is 40s and free agents. The games may be over, but the NFL never stopped. This is my favorite part of the calendar. Yeah, mine too, Greg, free agency, the combine, the NFL draft, Pro Days, trades. This is where teams reshape their future. This is where Daniel Jeremiah makes his money. On 40s and free agents, we break down every move that actually matters. From my draft evaluations, mock drafts, and team fits to my top 101 free agents and how real rosters are built, cap space, contracts, and all the

tough decisions included. quarterback's on the move. We got teams rebuilding. It's hope season. Absolutely, it's hope season. We'll tell you what's real, what's noise, and what it means for your favorite team. Smart analysis, real conversations every week. I don't know about the smart, but definitely analysis.

Listen to 40s and free agents on the IHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Jay Hendrickson's wanted to be a free agent for a long time, and I hate for him that it's not going how he wanted to, Jonathan Jones of CBS reported that Trey Hendrickson wants

about $10 million more per year than the offers that he's getting, which is wild. If I had to guess, I think that DeNeal Hunter, one year $40 million extension plus the Jalen Phillips $30 million contract combined to create this situation, and if there really was a $10 million gap

between what he wants and what he's being offered, I would guess, and I don't know if this is all true, that like he wants about 35 and he's getting offered about 25 or he wants about 30 and he's getting offered about 20 or somewhere in there like 32 22. That doesn't surprise me. Like I think he is about a 20 to 25 million dollar player because he's turning 32 and he's coming off of a serious injury.

I understand when he looks at the other players like Adafioa and Jalen Phillips and thinks like I should be making more money than them but that's just not how it works sometimes. Six years older than Jalen Phillips. Right. You know, without the devastating, you know, injury history that Phillips has. But he does have an injury that he's coming off of, which is a concern. There was a report that the bills could be getting in on the Trey Hendrickson market that they've reached out. Where would you like him to go?

Where do you think he could land? I want him to go to the Chicago Bears. But they will not do it at that price. And I wonder, too, if they would even have like a big circle with an X drawn through any player. acquisition that is a player over 30 at a premier position. Because some teams just do. Some teams just will not spend risky contracts or big money or even media money on players at premier positions, which pass rusher is, at a certain time in their career.

And sometimes we get really cool outliers. Like, DeNeil Hunter is still going. And, you know, I just think that even with the cool outliers that we get, teams do stick to a lot of these processes. And I think that's part, like a huge reason why he's not seeing really what he wants is not the ability or the potential. I think a lot of teams would be happy to have him, but it's the age thing. Also, this sounds horrible, but like, it's Trey Hendrickson.

It's not Max Crosby or Miles Garrett. Trey Hendrickson is not that player. I know he had a great season two years ago. But if you just look at him on a play-to-play season-to-season basis, he's absolutely like a top 10, top eight, like, edge rusher at his best. But he's not those guys. And now he's older. I think the Cowboys would be really interested.

We always hear, oh, the Cowboys are in the mix. The Bears obviously would be fun. The commanders have kind of filled that hole, the bills. I think the Bucks, who I had him in our matchmaker game, still make the most sense for him. And so he's going to get paid. I think he'll end up on a good team if he wants to be on a good team if he wants to prioritize that. He's not going to get everything that he wants. But he's kind of the biggest free agency, you know, domino to fall in the next couple of days.

But just some odds and ends. I always like the day after the crazy day because then you find out these little nuggets. I thought it was funny. I don't know what funnies may be mean to hear that Nikobe Dean got as much or more money offered to him by the Cowboys. And he turned that down. Oh, just because to ruin your game. For the Raiders. That's true.

I had Nicoby Dean to the Cowboys. He just said he just kind of went with his gut. I think he played with Quay Walker before. He just thought the locker room. But how about the Cowboys getting spurned for the Raiders in a big spot? Man, that's a real blow to the brand, you know? That's a real blow to the- It kind of is.

And why not just throw in, if you're that far along, make it so that the money isn't the same. Like it was like, oh, they're paying a little more. How about just throwing an extra $3 million? Speaking of money, Mike Evans only. got $16 million guaranteed on his contract from the 49ers. That was one of those where the real money was not as good as we thought. Two years, $28 million.

Pretty fascinating. And supports a theory I had that he just got on the phone with Kyle Shanahan, who's a wide receiver guy. And Kyle Shanahan's vision for him, as you said, as the ex in that beautiful offense, was just like, I got to try something new instead of trying my six different offensive coordinator under Todd Bowles in the last seven years. years or whatever because the money's not that good. Yeah.

And it's already, he's already a future Hall of Famer in my opinion. But also, if you go to San Francisco, big if, there's a lot that has to happen between here and now. You go to San Francisco and you win a championship as a receiver. As a number one receiver, you are now etched in a very specific particular piece of lore in football history. You just got to stay healthy, you know, away from that substation. I thought it was interesting that Cam Wolf, um, um,

of NFL network said, look, even when Michael Pennix is back, it's an open competition for the Falcons starting quarterback job. That Tuotunga Vaila is going to have a head start. Everything you hear is that the staff there in Atlanta is not necessarily in on Michael Penix, which is, I feel bad for him, but that's what happens when regimes change. And then finally, I thought it was cool.

Stephen Holder of ESPN said, The new vision is Alec Pierce, 8 to 10 targets a game. So not just more money, more action for Alec Pierce. That was fun. Day 2 of Free Agency. We will be back again live on YouTube on the NFL channel tomorrow 4 p.m. Pacific. See you then. I'm Daniel Jeremiah.

And I am Greg Rosenthal. I know that, Greg. We're teaming up on 40s and Free Agents, the podcast that owns the NFL off season. This is where teams are built. Free agency, Combine, Pro Days, Trades. Every move matters. from my draft boards and mock drafts to my vaunted top 101

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