NFL Daily with Gregg Rosenthal - Sounds from the NFL Combine w/Mike Garafolo

Episode Date: March 1, 2023

A room filled with some heroes - Dan Hanzus, Marc Sessler and Gregg Rosenthal catch up on the news and sounds coming from Indianapolis, the site of the 2023 NFL Scouting Combine. To start, the heroes discuss Aaron Rodgers' recent appearance on the Aubrey Marcus Podcast (7:25) and the troubling news about Jalen Carter (21:20). Then, we react to quotes and clips from the podiums at the Indiana Convention Center, starting with Duke Tobin (25:04), followed by Jonathan Gannon (31:47), John Lynch (35:40), Mike McDaniel (40:38), and some 8 o'clock delight (45:50). Then, Mike Garafolo provides boots-on-the-ground reporting from the Combine and talks which teams the various quarterbacks might land with (50:51), including Lamar Jackson, Derek Carr, Aaron Rodgers, and Jimmy Garoppolo, as well as the QB prospects in this year's draft class. Note: timecodes approximate.NFL Daily YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/nflpodcastsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. The Around the NFL podcast is in the best shape of their lives. From the Chris Wesleying podcast studio. No, it's around the NFL. Combine Week Edition. I'm Dan Hansis with Greg Rosenthal. Greg Rosenthal and Mark Sessler.

You would think how many times I've said it. Never stumble over a word, but that's life. I mean, or you're, you know, you have a 0.999 success rate. That's maybe the first time you flub that in, you know, 17,000 times. It was a bad flub. It was, or as I pointed out in the last show, I'm human. You're human too. It's been proven.

You're fallible. A lot of people killing Greg for that. In the UK, it's Rosenthal. You know, they're not into H's. Is that what I, is that my flub? Maybe I could have stuck with that and just pretend. I'm a human. Wait, a lot of people are talking about it.

Yeah, I mean, I just, you know, I check in. I check in on Twitter once in a while, which Greg apparently never reads his mentions. But it's like if you have to point out you're human, we've got a core issue with how you're perceived. Yeah. So that I do think that you're human. So I don't know why you needed to, I don't know what you were attempting to emphasize. Are you human or are you dancer, Greg? Tell us.

Just like sometimes the killers just barely miss the mark. They shoot for the sun and sometimes it veers to the left. What is? I'm a soldier. I got sold, but I'm not a soldier. That was another one. I kind of like that one. Wrote it a long time ago.

I saw Mark's eyes light up, though, when he said the best shape of, I think Mark, you were, was that look to sort of say, like, I am in the best shape of my life? I don't think I am, but my, my, but Greg, my body, my choices, it was one of these things where you said, no, we aren't. Well, I speak for where you have talked, you know, we have talked about that on the show, Greg, before. And you had, I felt like gotten better with it. You'll speak for us on these things. For the podcast to be in the best shape of his life, all three of us would have to be in good shape. All right.

And I am so far off the best shape of my life, it eliminates any possibility that the group could be there. I think you're correcting where you were coming from on that. No, that was exactly where I was coming from. But you could let us tell the audience how we feel about where we're at physical. Our own forms. Don't feel great personally. I'm not shining some light either.

I think you guys are assuming the physical. shape it could be like the shape of the podcast itself true is it the in the best shape it's fine i'd argue that there are there's a variable levels there as well in terms of where we are sitting right now at this moment's right now there's going to be some long like subreddit thread is the podcast in danger everything's fine we're happy to be here we love being here in los angeles during combine week and we're going to get into combine week because the uh head coaches the gms spoke at their podiums, their risers at the Indianapolis Convention Center, and speaking of which, a couple things out of the convention center,

which we have been to a dozen plus times at this point. One, Andrew Groover. Do we know Andrew Groover? Of course we do. Grover is somebody who's worked on the NFL network side in the newsroom and remotely for years. He went viral. Wait, really? He went viral because he is an Alabama guy, by the way.

I don't know if you knew that, Grover. He posted a video of Bryce Young has arrived at the Combine, which as of right now, you know, doing big numbers, over 700,000 views of the video. And a lot of comments about the slight nature of Bryce Young who measured in, I believe, at 510 and a half. And you're going to hear a lot. about Bryce Young.

A guy who's a lot of people think could be the number one pick in this draft and the record in the non-Drew Breeze category for guys that don't have the height in the league is not good. So that's going to be a major story. So Bryce Young is the first guy. It's literally non-existent.

I mean, just at that height. I would also, like, if you look at the video, it's not, the height's the one thing. I think a lot of, if you listen to like a lot of personnel, it's the weight. They're wondering if you'll even weigh in. The bulk, yeah. If you even cross 200 pounds,

you have to drink like four gallons of milk to do that public. Kyleor Murray looked to his build as well. He seems slight. That's a thing. Kyler's thick and strong. I think they're worried. Giant, giant head, too.

The helmet? The size of that helmet? Yeah, it feels like his profile is very different. And the other thing I wanted to say about the Combine and that convention center, I have now forgotten. So if I remember it, I'll let you know. But shout out to Groover. Coming up later today, Mike Garifolo, he's at the Combine. he's going to sit down with us and talk about some news that he's hearing.

We'll get into, you know, some of the quarterback news around the league. Obviously, remains a wide open situation, a fluid situation for various big-name quarterbacks. Coming up later this week, tomorrow, in fact, we're going to have Lance Eirline, who's for many years, one of the great analysts of the draft scene with NFL Network, and we're going to have him and have him get us up to speed. So that's good. good coverage. I like it. And then the on-field stuff starts Thursday.

They change around the schedule almost every year now to optimize ratings and whatnot. And we're going defensive linemen, linebackers Thursday. We got the quarterbacks on Saturday, but four days of on-field, Daniel Jeremiah's Super Bowls coming. Thank you. Now I remember what I wanted to say. Jeremiah said of Bryce Young with his skill set, if he's your classic 6-3-2-2, 20, dude, he's talking them up like Joe Burrow. He's talking them up like Trevor Lawrence.

So that is something that is, everything else is there, but the size. We'll get into that with Lance tomorrow. Someone's going to fall in love. Absolutely. Someone will tuck themselves into it. It's not going to be a problem. You know who it was a problem for? Baker and Kyler.

Right. It's tough. The linemen in the league keep getting bigger. The defensive linemen keep getting bigger. It's to have a clean, pocket and not get half your passes knocked down? What's more frustrating than your team driving or attempting to drive and one out of every four passes swatted down at the line of scratch?

I think as a longtime baker follower, that was a regular baked into a regular part of Sunday. Or not even using that part of the field. And I think that's why he's the heavy favorite in Vegas to be the number one overall pick, is that nothing about his game sort of spells that out. Like the game looks more like a burrow type prospect where he's used in the middle of the field, where he sees the field like a quarterback. He finds a way somehow, but you're right. It's like unforeseen.

Seneca Wallace was the last quarterback approximately that small that played at the NFL level. Although, like, what's an inch for Seneca Wallis? Right, but what's an inch for Seneca Wallace? On one hand, then, it's like, what's an inch between him and Drew Brees? Is that like that inch makes all the difference where you have no chance? I don't know. It wasn't about the height with Drew Brees.

It was between the ears and in the art. A guy from New York, the Bronx is saying. saying that about true freeze he's almost in a link let's uh get caught up on the news you know i spent parts of a couple of the days imagining what it would be like to retire and then imagining what it would be like to continue to play here's the thing that's aaron rogers on uh you did a podcast of his friend Aubrey Marcus Aubrey Marcus

Sinks Greg and Mark in unison that was unusual I like it and Aaron Rogers could end up

the quarterback of the Jets and I would be very excited from a player skill point of view but I am just so so exhausted by having

I feel like I'm being held hostage right now as a football fan like there is I know you guys listen to it and that's a good job by you guys

like an hour and a half conversation with his buddy and saying things like talking about his darkness retreat and imagining what it would be like retired and imagining it's like holy god boy you just just make a decision let the packers do what they need to do and let's get on with this already it's it's so self-serving and exhausting is the word that i keep thinking of and with if a week from now he's a member of the jets i'm going to be thrilled because i the idea of having him him pilot that team after the crap that I've watched, a quarterback forever is a beautiful thought.

But all the other stuff that comes with it, it makes me think, God, if that actually happened, if he goes to New York, how is that going to play out when this is how he talks now all the time? I mean, first of all, if he gets to the Jets, a lot of this stuff goes away. Do you think so? I'm just saying this.

I don't know if it does. I'm not saying entirely, but just like the off season, willier won't, he stay in Green Bay part of it. and we're in a major different story and it's a new chapter. I think what stays is Aaron Rogers not the football player or even like the unique guy

out in the realm of professional sports it's this projection of him now it's like Aaron Rogers, Shamun. Like Stephen Seagall-esque almost. I think like you like the way your frustration and you expressed it to Greg and I before the show a little bit like totally get it.

I think I've been on the I'm frustrated with Aaron Rogers train which it veers off into nothing. nothingness like off season after off season. So it's like, I'm there with you. I think the thing here is, I think he could have done all this without telling anyone. You could have gone and I have no issue with what he did, which is gone. And like, he basically talks about like the retreat that he went on where he did contemplate deeply the fact that like he spent this time in a struggle wanting to be more than just a football player, but that during his time in it, if you listen to it,

I think you gain a little bit of appreciation for it. Like he came to a point where like, wait a minute, I actually am lucky to have done what I've done. I'm lucky to be a football player. It's given my life and me incredible things. He talked about, you know, we know he's had familial issues. He's had issues with his parents, with his siblings, that he went in and contemplated and healed all that. So I think the thing about it from a human angle,

and I'm not coming like, oh, this is so perfect to bed of roses, but maybe he comes out to this next final phase of his career. He's 39. A more whole person with some of that stuff solved. My thing is you could have done all that. Without us talking about it. The only reason we're tired of it is because he cannot prevent himself from speaking publicly about it, which is his right, by the way.

But I think it creates this alternate exhaustion where it's like we are not focused on the football player. We're focused on all this other stuff. And I don't think there's anything wrong with it. But he's creating that reality. The darkness retreat and all this other holistic type, like that actually did cure him of his ailers. I'm not saying it did, but I would say the one thing is, like the one thing that's annoying that it, for me, takes place in, like, the sports reporter environment. It's like it's just immediately dismissed.

And a lot of the stuff that he's talking about is basically just wouldn't be the worst thing for some human beings to do in general looking at their whole lives. No, the darkness retreat sounded a little intriguing to me to try out once. You said you listened to it, Mark, and you grew a greater, like, appreciation. You made you like Aaron Rogers and more. I just, I remove, like, if you listen to it, it, it kind of removed the, like, football part of it. Because I am annoyed that we have to track him show after show. That part is tedious.

It's ponderous. I think it must be tiring for the listeners for it's going on and on. It's up to us on some level, so that's on us. I mean, we don't do full shows on it, but I just think this was just sort of an, it was just him speaking about what he did versus some, like, scribe describing what he did with no concept of it. Right. If that makes sense.

There is some sort of disconnect of, like, him, you know, coming out of the darkness retreat and then immediately going on, like, a hugely. popular podcast but it but it is it is his friend um we've all got um mouth to feed and and it's the way to get out his view in an unfiltered way and these two men really love each other that was my biggest takeaway is they are extremely close and and i don't have to care about this relationship no you don't have to but i feel like it's being kind of put on us as football fans like we have to follow every aspect of this man's life. And it's like their players are more than just what they do on the field.

We are the media. So we could just have not included him on the rundown. And that's a choice. We can't really do that because he's one of the greatest players to ever live who might be changing teams after 18 years. Right. That's why I feel like sometimes we're being held hostage. Aaron Rogers, the reason you're going to deal with in New York is like he's still

going to do Pat McAfee, probably whatever he goes. He could have chosen to do all this on his own. That's all I would have changed. We wouldn't be here. Right. I wouldn't be dealing with this. And the reason why he does the podcast, and he said it, was he wants to inspire others to take a similar path. That he wants, look, the guy he's doing the podcast with literally went from selling, like, as a marketer, fleshlights to quickly turning it into a $100 million.

What did you say? Flashlights. Do you remember this? It's a product that people use. You can't just say that without. Sexual gratification. It's not, you know, it is a part of life. It's a certain marketplace.

And turned it as a business partner. That sounds kind of like a porn. Turned it with his business partner, Joe Rogan quickly into like a motivational, kind of what Tom Brady tried to do with his company too, kind of mixing holistic medicine and nutrition and turned it into a multi-hundred million dollar operation that he sold. And that's part of this whole thing, too, is you are feeling like he wants to. to sell a certain idea and in his mind help people out and kind of be a thought leader. And that's why he's doing it, I think, so publicly. Yeah, I think the one thing I would disagree with, although open to multiple views on it, is that he's doing a lot of this to try to help people.

I don't, I'm not saying he's a bad guy. I've never thought he's a bad guy. I just think that a lot of this is a lot of the searching, while I think it's authentic on one level, the fact that we need to be told of it every step of the way. and he has to share this. I think he likes things being projected back onto himself. He likes being the center of the news cycle, which also is not necessarily a bad thing.

There's a lot of guys that do that. But when it's dressed up in some type of altruistic way, I don't know if I totally buy it. Then again, if he's my quarterback, I will take a darkness to treat with you. You'll be buying it at Fortnite for now. He spent a day talking about what his life would be like retiring in the darkness. And this was day three and four, by the way,

The first two days were more personal stuff, family relationships, stuff like that. Day three and four was if he was retired. Day four was if I come back to play. Just reading between the lines. I mean, he sounds like a guy who is motivated to maybe go back to play. But we'll see. And the other side of this is like, yeah, you can come back to play. But based on what old Goody was talking about in Indianapolis, I think the Packers might be ready to move on.

And then I don't think, Roger said explicitly, He doesn't think they would trade him to a place he didn't want to go. But he does not have an actual trade, no trade clause. I think they would work it out, though, between the two sides. Yeah, spinning this toward more the football side of things. So Roger said in part of that podcast interview that he won't drag anyone around with his decision. And then Brian Gutakunst, the general manager of the Packers, had this to say about the other quarterback on the roster, Jordan Love. We're excited about him.

I think, you know, I've expressed to a lot of people that he needs to play. That's the next step in his progression. He needs to play. But Jordan's done a great job, worked really hard. So he's doing everything we're asking. I wish I could credit who tweeted it. But as soon as I saw the tweet, I was like, this is absolutely right. This Roger's story, part of the exhaustion is that's been going on for years.

This will, he, won't he, the Packers, the state of their relationship. Two years ago when this stuff was going on, the Packers publicly were like, we're not trading Aaron Rogers. Last year, when this stuff was going on, we're not trading Aaron Rogers. This year, the guy behind him has to play. We're open to different scenarios. It still feels to me like a very, very good chance that he has played his last down in Green Bay. I think it's a complete sea change in terms of the message coming from inside the Packers building.

It's such a shift in a way. I mean, and I don't dismiss the Bob McGinn report that essentially the Packers, there's an element where they're disgusted with them. I know I think that kind of got thrown aside a little bit because maybe it felt a little strong. Exhausted, disgusted, whatever. It's like it just feels like it's not a Jordan love thing necessarily. That's certainly a motivating factor because what we saw of them was positive.

I think it's like it's time now. And Aaron Rogers and the Packers just feel like they've come to this natural breach. And it feels right for both sides. And I don't think you need to even be Green Bay and worried about if there are, like you say, I think there's going to be a number of trade partners if this becomes an availability. I don't care outside of your own division where you trade him. You live with it. He's done a great job by you and vice versa.

You move on. You get the best haul you can in return and you try to make Aaron Rogers happy. I don't think it needs to end in a Brett Farr of like cantankerous divorce. I think they should go in the opposite direction with this. And I think there's a chance that happens that Rogers might not be maybe his feelings will be heard if he truly wanted back in Green Bay. but I think if they just are up front with him, say, you know, we're going to trade you. He works with them and that this could all happen relatively quickly. So they do have a fifth-year option on Jordan Love.

I do buy the fact that they say explicitly, they think he took a third-year leap. In camp, in the preseason, we saw it a little bit in the regular season. It all seemed to be confirmed by our eyes, but there was reporting about that even before that. If they want to give them that fifth-year option, it's like this is the time. It makes sense to do it. Before we do move on, though, Aaron. and rogers did have something like so profound that i

asked uh justin to clip that i did just want to like go over it where's this kind of can't leave this could change my mind dumps were super smooth and in my mind now this is my own rationalization they were they were all two wipers

they were two wipers and done so it didn't need more than two guys honestly they were multiple we could check the underwear for the records well yeah we could they were multiple though that I didn't even think I needed a white. They are good friends.

We got to get Derek Carr in Flore and Park. Let's go. They spent like two minutes on what it was like to wipe in total darkness because Aubrey's done the darkness thing too. That it was a lot of... Are you serious? By the way, you said that you're investigating doing a darkness thing yourself?

No, no. I don't think I would... I thought you said like 10 minutes ago. You're joking? I said I was interested. What did I say? No, I think you didn't say you were going to get to. I was saying like if in a perfect world where I didn't have like children and

And these are just really, like, I think that sounds like an interesting thing to go try to do, maybe. I would try it once. I don't think it's crazy. I've done a five-day silent retreat. It wasn't in darkness. It was just somewhere where you weren't supposed to speak. Can I just? Would actually go make it happen?

No, but like, I wouldn't want to talk about it to people either. Yeah, you know, Dan, it might not be the worst thing on the planet for you if you tried it for a little bit. No, honestly, I don't want to judge. I'm not judging. I'm just saying, like, I think about things all the time about my life. I privately consider different things. that I'm on, what's going on with my family, my friends. I do that.

You know what I do it? When I'm walking the dog. When I'm listening to music, when I'm laying in bed. Maybe when you're taking those two wipers, you know? Maybe it's a two-wiper thing. But I'm just saying, like, the idea, the other thing that's like, maybe you could do, maybe it would help you to think. I think about stuff all the time, but I don't need to go lay in the darkness.

Right, but I think it's more like, but why does that offend you? Like, he doesn't have a family in his house that he has to worry about either. doesn't offend me it's more just like let him go do what he wants you go walk your dog and do what you want it's like everyone i'm not into their religion i'm just saying if you're not saying if you're not there are billions of people like me right do plenty of contemplation most people without make a whole thing of it the difference is you aren't telling thousands upon thousands of people that you that you think while you walk your dog i mean you are but you aren't doing that you weren't doing it the same way he was everyone everyone's different i totally get that i'm not saying that that there's no value to going different taking different paths this way it's ancient too

by the way it goes back to ancient times a lot of stuff has happened in ancient times too although they did have they're stupid they did have light in ancient times they you know during the they didn't have to stay at the time all right let's let's keep let's keep moving here jalen carter who is jalen carter mark sessler he is a highly prized defensive prospect who is run into some trouble maybe the top prospect in this draft i would say the consensus top prospect if you took positions away in this. That's why when we talked about like DJ and all these other people that are doing their mocks and like, how am I going to do?

I know the bears are trading this pick. I got to take somebody in the spot. Jalen Carter because he's a top prospect, defensive lineman. Well, he's got some issues because he was at the combine in Indy. And then he left suddenly because an arrest warrant was issued on Jalen Carter for racing and reckless driving. And it's a very serious tragic situation that he was allegedly involved with. There was a drag racing incident in January. According to the Athens-Clark County Police Department, Carter was racing with Georgia

recruiting staffer Chandler LaCroix and LaCroy and a offensive lineman on the team, Devin Willick, were killed in a single car accident that night. Carter was at the scene of the incident. He left before the police came, came back, misled investigators saying that he wasn't. According to the police, yeah. According to the police, said that he was not there when it happened. Well, the police think something else happened here, that he was directly involved with the accident.

And now he's going to have to turn himself into authorities. This is obviously not ideal. And on any level, especially in terms of football terms, during Combine Week. Yeah, the news broke shortly before he was going to have his press comments. He released a statement saying this morning he received a telephone call informing that two misdemeanor warrants. and it should be pointed out. These are misdemeanors that's being accused for reckless driving and racing. He said that numerous media reports circulated inaccurate information concerning the tragic events.

It's my intention to return to Athens and answer these misdemeanor charges. And he is no question when all the facts are known he'll be fully exonerated of any criminal wrongdoing. When this story popped up, I mean, it was so sad. I'm sure you guys saw a lot of. of it bubbly even us not as college football fans like as um it happened like what a tragic story a woman who's close you know worked and was involved with with the students and then another athlete and carter was broken up and even just from a human angle you can just think about like that this all happened and this is happening like right before he's going to have this scouting combine and

you you hurt for the families involved and you hurt for him you can be empathetic with him no matter what he did that night, it's like an incredibly traumatic and, like, life-changing. You almost, like, it almost seems like like a bad movie and kind of a nightmare for everyone. I mean, I guess the thing that we've learned doing the show so long is, like, it's got to play out. He will have a chance to tell his side of the story. He's going to have a lot of NFL teams. They're going to want to, like, hear what he has to say about it. I mean, there's stuff around him that goes a little bit before this incident as well.

Also, it's all happening very publicly. And I think when you're right, he's like 21 years old, suddenly this thing that could, again, if he were a different type of person, take place in private, is happening in front of the entire world. And it's probably a lot to bear on your shoulders. And the whole incident to start with. Yeah, not good at all.

Let's take a break and hit the rest of the news. All right, we're back. Let's get more into again. Everyone at the risers, at the Combine, And we're not at the combine. Other people are at the combine. So here is Bengals' GM Duke, Tobin. T. Higgins, a subject of interest.

They have a lot of money to hand out to Jemar Chase, to Joe Burrow. And does that leave enough to take care of T. Higgins, a star wide receiver in his own right. So thoughts, could he be traded? Well, here's what Tobin had to say. He said, go get your own stud. I'm not in the business of making other teams better. I'm in the business of making the Cincinnati Bengals better.

And so trading T. Higgins is not on my mind. That's their problem. They want a receiver, go find your own. In my opinion, T. Higgins is a good piece for the Cincinnati Bengals. So the trade stuff is a little ridiculous right now. See, I like to hear these because you could really parse like what's real and what's not. T. Higgins is on the Bengals next September. Anybody disagree?

No, I completely agree. I love this new energy from the Bengals because we talked to Duke, Tobin a year ago when we were present at the Combine in human form. And he basically told us, yeah, we're going to go out and get a bunch of linemen and find a way to protect you. But he just was straightforward and said, yeah, this is a need and we're going to go address it. And they did it. And they went and did it.

And I kind of think this is how the Bengals want to operate from here on out. They don't need to toy with us verbally. I don't think there's any reason that you move T. Higgins. Look at, if you're the Bengals right now, I would just say this real quick, you look at the chiefs over the last couple months. You went from a team that lost last year in the playoffs, came off a Super Bowl loss the year before, and now you're back on the mountaintop.

The Bengals keep getting close. Their window is open forever with Joe Burrow, as they said. Why would you remove a guy in T. Higgins, who honestly, ultimately, we might look back and say he could match Jamar Chase's career. He could even have a better career. You never know all these things. I just think he played the number one role all year long

when Chase wasn't in the lineup and totally thrived. I thought that one of the only reasons they got to where they were It's because of guys like T. Higgins. I'd have to make a list, but I feel pretty safe. T. Higgins would be in my top 15 receivers in the NFL. And this story bubbled up, I think, and someone point out if I'm wrong, but I think it all came from like some aggregating gone wrong. This used to be on my radar as, you know, we tried to have rules about aggregating Rotow World.

And it was just like presented in an athletic article of like all the possible things that could be on the table just to, you know, Not reported, not even suggested. Even in the article, they kind of said this is unlikely. This isn't going to happen. But they're going to have to, you know, they're going to have to start thinking about the future. These are, and then someone kind of went a little too hard from it. And then it just took fire. And it makes no sense.

In fact, I think they're going to keep Tyler Boyd, too, which people have speculated. That would make more sense, but he's not really paid that much. I think they know this is a beautiful window. Joe Burroughs going to get his money this year. They've talked about that. This is a beautiful window where they're all together. Probably not all going to be together forever. I don't think T. Higgins is getting that long-term contract from the Bengals.

You might get franchise tech next year, but that's next year. Keep all together while you can. How about you send that aggregator into a four-day darkness retreat? I don't even know who it is, though. That could help. That could help. Make them a better. Send them all there.

Or send them out a walk with his dog. On that, you just walk around with the dog. Go take the, and you know who else wins there? What? The dog. Not just you. The dog. Yeah, W.

Gets 45 minutes. Right. Stuck in a basement all day long. It's hot out. Hell yeah. And I agree, and I love Joe Burrow, and he's got that swag and that confidence and that ability. So when he says our Super Bowl window is my whole career, I'm with you, bud. Right.

It's open as long as you don't lose your offensive linemen in almost voodoo-like cruel fashion, won a week for five straight weeks. So it's truly preposterous what happened to that. Injury luck is not great. But the point I was trying to make was that with your Super Bowl window, it's never going to be as open as it is when you, ironically, the quarterback are being paid below your market value

for what you bring to your team. So the window, sure, it's open for as long as he's a top quarterback, but during this rookie contract, however long, much longer it lasts. It's over. Yeah, it's like two months. It's coming July.

So it's like that kind of that was it. And that's why I think part of the frustration, if I'm a Bengals fan, is those last two years to get that close when you had that huge advantage. manage we shall see i hope they stick around i like watching the bangles um play big games in other news the eagles have repopulated their coordinator seats sean desai is their new defensive coordinator brian johnson the new oce after uh shane steichen uh got a head coaching job and so to jonathan

So the Eagles populate and get set there. I think this is a case where I trust the Eagles innately with what they've done over the last couple of years with their reboot post-Dug Peterson. And just listen to Jalen Hertz talk about Brian Johnson. He's basically said this guy is, he works with him one-on-one every day. This is the next big head coach. He has been coaching and working around Jalen Hertz since Jalen Hertz was four years old. Johnson's dad coach general So it's like that is

That transition I trust with Desai I mean he's been he's a good He's been a coordinator before he's Everyone who's been around him Pete Carroll gushed about him But think about this defense Like your free agents include Fletcher Cox

Javon Hargrave Brandon Graham James Bradbury Chaunty Gardner Johnson Linvall Joseph Robert Quinn Domican Sue and Kaiser White There are T.J. Edwards in there Yeah I mean that's a lot of transition

I think that coordinator got a bigger challenge than Brian Johnson does right now. Brian Johnson's going to be a head coaching candidate if the Eagles often stays effect, just the way they talk about them. And good on Siriani kind of talking, you know, talking that, walking that walk. He has three coordinators of color.

Like we don't see many black offensive coordinators. And so Johnson is one that's risen and people love what he did in college and love it at the pros. Desai was with the Bears in Nagu's last year. Came from the Fangio tree. Everyone, Fangio is really influential.

Yeah. Half the league is the Fangio tree. And they, infamously, at least for Eagles fans, had Fongio be a consultant for the Super Bowl. Well, they run a lot of Fongio stuff. Had a rough game, but brought it aside. Fongio.

Seahawks lost some big coaches. What's that great? That was like my darkness or tree. That was very, I don't need it. I don't need that. I don't need anything more than that. That was beautiful. I have reset.

Speaking of Jonathan Gannon, he is the head coach of the Arizona Cardinals. And it is going to be a transition year for the Arizona Cardinals. Because Kyler Murray had ACL reconstruction surgery, he is going to miss a chunk of the regular season. Gannon said on the podium in Indianapolis, they're not going to rush him back because, quote, part of what makes Kyler so elite, you know, are his legs. So when he's ready to play, he'll play. I don't know exactly the timetable right now. That all makes sense to me. What doesn't make as much sense to me,

and perhaps, gentlemen, you could shine a light in this regard, is why there's so much talk about D'Andre Hopkins leaving the Cardinals. I know there's some contract things in terms of guaranteed money left on his deal. There isn't any. So this would be a time. You could move him in a painless manner. But then what does that leave for Kyler Murray when he gets back? Or Colt McCoy, for instance, while he's there.

Anyway, these are questions. I have, here is what Gannon said about the uncertain future of his number one wide receiver. We are evaluating everyone. I know this. He's a premier receiver. You have to have a plan for he limits you with how you have to play defense. He's a valuable

athlete for us. He gone. Why though? Well, I mean, so... Like, why? Why are they trading in? A couple turns. Because they're not going to be competitive this year. And now is the time where his

value is still high enough, and I think it's just a restart, and he's slowed down. He's not as good a player. And so what's he going to be when he's 31 or 32, 20, 23, 20, 24? And he is 31. When he is competitive. He's 31 now, and he has a $30 million cap hit. You have a new general manager and a new coach. I just think it's probably trending towards, and it's another year where last year you didn't

have Hopkins for the big chunk of the season to start. Now you don't know what you're going to get out of Murray, and it's another mismatch. And then he's only under contract for one more year. So I think it's like trade high, move on. It's not ideal, but they probably run out of options with the guy. Right. When they say he's not sure, I mean, that usually just means it's over. I get it.

I get your point, Dan. Whoever the quarterback's going to be there, has heard some Teddy whispers. He's worked with their offensive coordinator, like, for while Kyler Murray's hurt. Like, it's not helping him, but he also isn't quite the same player. I think he could get a little rejuvenation machine, though. He's not like a separator. He'd be a nice number two, I feel like. He'd be a perfect number two.

There are coordinators Drew Petsing. Like he spent all last season with Jacoby Brissette as a free agent. That's a nice little guy to fill in there. I would love him as a Corey Davis replacement for the Jets playing across from a certain. Because I think you get a good pick, don't you? I think you might get a first-round pick for him. And maybe he's not the same guy and he is coming off a PED, but he's not ancient. And in just nine games last year, he had 64 catches over 700 yards.

I mean, he's still highly productive. I would want him on my team in a second. It'd be great for the Jets. I just get why the Cardinals, with all these new faces might just be... It's just going to be a really... If they trade Hopkins, unless they really...

I just met he was like a top five receiver at one time and maybe now he's a top 20 receiver. Okay. You know, 25. But you still need somebody to catch balls and be your number one guy. I get it, though. You're spinning forward.

But you're... I mean, are you tanking if you're the Cardinals this year? Is that where this is heading? They'll never say it. It seems like the kind of year where you've got to give everyone just a free pass, depending on when you get Kyler back and what the Ross looks like.

It's not a great job. Jonathan Ganna took over a very tough gig here, and we've talked about that, but if they start trading the assets they have in addition to all the uncertainty of quarterback, it's what's called an unintentional tank. Their offensive line, they have eight offensive line free agents

off an offensive line that wasn't very good, and about six or seven defensive contributors off a defense that wasn't good. It's like, thank you, Steve Kime. It's a true rebuild, yes. Yes, yes. Let's see. John Lynch.

John Lynch Mark who's John Lynch He is the general manager I like this new thing I'm just going to start doing this all the time I don't like the open questions in general I don't mind this one The general manager of the Niners

who a couple years ago when we were at the combine When I took a dare from West To wear my bathrobe Over to the convention center Looked over and wondering if it was an NFL prospect I don't know what maybe a punter or a kicker But he was like Why is someone allowed over here in a bathrobe

And that's the only time I've ever made Was I with you then? Yeah we all were to get the show that way That's right yeah I mean, with the bathroom. An established premier general manager in the United States. A Hall of Famer, too. Yeah.

When I do that, I'm never going to put you in a tough spot, like where I'll be like. You have before. No, I would never do that. I want, I'm like, Mark, who's before today, for instance? Mark, who's Aubrey Marcus? Like, I'm not going to do that to you. Okay. I'll measure whether or not you're doing that.

That will be my input, not yours. John Lynch, GM of the Niners. I don't know if you have that right, but that is who he is. He had this to say about the quarterback situation for San Francisco, which is, you know, a little bit dodgy still with Brock Purdy still hasn't even had surgery yet on the elbow. Trey Lance coming off a season-ending injury, Jimmy G. out the door. Here's where Lynch came down at the combine. I felt like it felt really good going into training camp that we were kind of insulated in the event that anything happened.

and you know unfortunately it wasn't it wasn't quite enough it got us right at the end and so I think we're all product of our experiences we've learned you know was in some meetings today where the leagues discussing potential solutions for you know third quarterbacks such that we never have that kind of but the reality is it's it's very few and far between where those instances happen so you know we'll see and yeah we may have to look into the quarterback market in addition to Brock and Trey to insulate ourselves from whatever may happen. You can hear it in Lynch's voice. He's just kind of annoyed.

He's like, I thought I had this covered, and impossibly, I do not. Right. It's like his house was broken into, and so you get, like, a great security system, and then it was, like, broken into again, and then you, like, build a fort. Or a tree dropped on it. You're, like, build a fortress around it. It was broken in again, and you're just like, what can I possibly do? It is a good off-season, though, to just, like, bring in a guy.

I assume that's all it's going to be. Although they feel so desperate and hungry for to capitalize on the Super Bowl window that you never know. I feel like they'd be a wild card in some bigger names. But if not, they can get in like the Heineckee, Keenum, sort of market, Mario, I don't know, maybe just as like an extra third.

Mike White. How about Mike White? Mike White is a free agent. You know, it's interesting with the Cardinals, going back to the Cardinals for a second. Like, if they are tanking or if they are not tanking, we will, I guess, see or perhaps it will be hinted strongly to us. Like Colt McCoy, all due respect, Mark, if they just roll with Colt for six to eight to

10 to 12 to 17 games, that's pretty good indication that they are perfectly fine with this thing rolling out a certain way. Because there are plenty of options to go find somebody to cover you this season if you wanted to go that route. That would be probably an upgrade over where McCoy is in 2020. I would really push for someone like Peret because I think you can, you can say we're not aiming for the Super Bowl, but he can get you adequate starter. I think Cole McCoy, with Cliff Kingsbury gone and Colt McCoy's concussion issues and the way that

season ended, I'm not sure we're Colt McCoy's next season at all. He had a minor procedure. It was revealed. But we did see him at the Super Bowl Hotel. It's also 37. He looked. He looked fantastic. He's in great shape. I think he'll probably be released unfortunately, but we do not wish that upon

him. Or they just roll with them and they're like, let's do this. They're not going to go Col McCoy. There's no connected tissue to the current coaching staff. I see what Dan's saying, though. But they might not want to win. It would be a way to like. They already had that draft pick right now.

I mean, you have a good soldier there. Colt McCoy is a good soldier, but he's not going to lift the team. I don't need to see Colt McCoy playing any more football. I'm surprised the people around him that love him, I'm sure have some mixed feelings. I'm sure he has some mixed feelings. Based on watching Hard Knocks and stuff like, I know he loves football, but man, it's a little dangerous. do what either put him in a dark room or send him on a walk with the captain my dog i mean with

your dog well or his dog whatever but he could borrow my dog very busy uh that's what i'm going to do i'm going to undercut the market for aubrey becker well he's obviously you're going to be charging people to he doesn't own the he doesn't own the retreats he's not he doesn't own the retreats it's not his business he just goes there Oh, he was in the fleshlight business. At one point, according to Google. All right. Anyway, in other news, let's get Mike G in in a few minutes.

Da-da-da-da-da. Let's see. Oh, you want to hear from our buddy, Mike McDaniel, Dolphins Head Coach? Yeah. Love that guy. Here's a fun little exchange reporter asking McDaniel about what he looks for in a running back. What qualities are you looking for as you built this running back room back up?

Um, the best qualities. Funny. And then he talked about the quarterback position. You know, I think it's a little bit, uh, and I'm sure, did he go on on a long answer? Yeah. I'm sure it was great and interesting. But I just love that about it. He knows what he's doing with.

Yeah. Um, but the quarterback position is, I feel like not being talked about a lot around Miami. And it's very wide open, you would think, right, given. the concussion issues for Tua. Here's what McDaniels said about Tua in the future at that position. Well, I think, you know, like any other player, you factor in every variable. You know, I think, you know, one thing that, you know, when you're talking about those types of decisions, I think it's important to recognize that we have a congruence of,

by the Dolphins and the player, Tua, that we both want, both parties really want him to play at a very high level for a long time for the Miami Dolphins. So what's the best way to really engineer that or to help manifest that? Well, those are the things that were kind of weighing in terms of the various options. with, you know, the same desired end is, as two would like. So you factor in everything as best you can, but, you know, that's part of this game that we're all involved in. Is there like Aaron Rogers on the Dolphins? So you weigh those and you press forward. Well, I assume this will end at some point. It's possible for the organization.

But like. And what a great landing spot for Aaron, Rodgers, anyway. Lying in the weeds a little bit here to make some type of big move of quarterback. Or what about Lamar Jackson? Although, I mean... I know there's money issues

and salary cap issues for all these big time quarterbacks, but I just wonder. And that answer was a little like... Right. I would say Mike McDaniel does not exist in the realm of most powerful coaches in terms of having autonomy.

Like, it's an owner that chased Tom Brady, yanked him onto a yacht. It's an owner that chased Deshawn Watson. You just never know. I mean, you could certainly have wandering eyes. Tua has, it was noted that Tua is taking Jiu-Jitsu this off season to learn how to fall better, to fall more gracefully, to not create some of these issues potentially. Right.

They said that should work. They were trying to have it both ways. They said like, now I feel much better about the situation. They were like, they have no question that they want them as their quarterback, but also that they would take time before making the decision on the fifth year option. But they would also like to give them, you know, a long-term contract if it's possible. I don't know. All I know is that the suit Mike McDaniel is wearing

I liked it. It was chic. Jeff Darlington pointed out A close horse himself. It was a hoodie suit which I was like, you got to be Mike McDaniel to pull that off potentially.

Jeff Darlington also a well-dressed man pointed out the company that made it and it retails for anywhere between 700 and 1700 a drawstring hoodie suit, cashmere. I liked it. Well, Mike McDaniel was dinged for like, oh, now you're dressing rich.

Because it's like, it gave me shades of like a classier version of like what we saw Mark Davis wearing at the Super Bowl week a couple years ago. And you said, Mike McDaniel said he's grew up, he's grown up porn his whole life. And he's like he's going to be spending that money now. Hey, no apologies. No apologies necessary. He's like, I'm casual, but I'm rich. I love that.

Rich cash. And just to put a bow on this, you have to be outside. your mind to give to a long-term contract. They're not going to do that. I don't think they'll do that right now. The only thing with two of them, doesn't he seem like the quarterback that if you don't give him the fifth-year option, it's in his head.

They'll give it to him, I think. Well, it's his head that I'm concerned about. Well, okay, but I mean the confidence, yes, sure. I mean, this is the second thing inside of his head. I'm with you. It would be a weird move to not give it to him after. Why? How would it be?

I think it would be a responsible organizationally. Oh, do you mean the option? I just need the option, which is a little bit of a risk. You're a guy that a year ago before pre-Mike D. He was saying, he was memory. He said he asked himself like, do I suck at this? Like I think he needs to be lifted up versus some quarterback that's like going to take it as motivation. Don't love that either.

I don't love it at all. But it just seems like it's just a, we're guessing. Definitely pick up the option. I'm with you guys. A long-term deal? Outside your mind. Let's hit 8 o'clock to light. Derek Carr, meeting with the Panthers as he continues his.

free agent tour i think he has another meeting with the jets as well uh he's also met as we know with the saints uh the falcons released marius mariotta the quarterback who uh left the team at the end of the season under mysterious circumstances that will all be revealed uh on a netflix program but they will not anoint desmond ritter is their qb one no i think they're going cubie hunting and mariotta's pretty low on on my list of of quarterback options yeah especially last year yeah the way it ended we don't need to see that Leonard Fournett's time with the Bucks has come to an end. He requested his release from the team,

and they will grant him that release. So he is out there. Johnny Johnson, also on his own now, released by the Browns. And Kenny Goliday, one of the biggest bus and free agent signing history of the New York Giants. He is cut. Mark, how about this number? He made $36 million from the hit end for a total of 43 catches and one score. It's crazy to look at, like, his lion's career, and then what happened with the Giants,

like there was a body switch. Multiple teams are interested in Brandon Cooks, according to a report. Leslie Frazier is stepping away from here, the DC, the Bills, but he plans to return. Commanders have placed a tag on Duran Payne. And speaking of the commanders,

finally, ESPN reports that federal prosecutors are investigating a $55 million loan taken out by commander's owner Dan Snyder in 2020. It's the primary focus of a criminal investigation into Snyder. after the franchise's minority owners which control 40% of the team accused Snyder of taking out the loan

without their required approval. This was like the messiest ownership of our lifetime, I think, or at least like the last 20 years. And I guess it's not shocking that it's ending in such a ugly, dirty way. The last few years have been ugly for this franchise.

This is all happening amidst, amid various reports conflicting from the Washington Post and different sources of Snyder selling the team but maybe doesn't really want to sell the team and doesn't want to sell it to Bezos who wants the team but now he will say maybe he's just trying to drive up the price. Who knows but I think the NFL is just trying to end this thing and land the plane before it gets any worse

and this seems like getting worse. Yeah and relatedly it was reported on Monday that Snyder is demanding protection from future legal actions. should he sell the Washington franchise, which could happen this offseason or maybe could not. The old Dick Nixon. For commanders fans out there. Who is Dick Nixon, Mark?

Let's let him out. I believe you're referring to the former president. Right. Yeah. It's a great film Frost Nixon. Or all the president's men. Or a greater film. Starring Kirsten Dunst and the girl from Dawson's Creek.

Michelle Williams. She's, her career has actually transcended Dawson's Creek, I should say. Yeah. At the time. I believe she's got some hardware. Oh yeah. She's one of the great actresses of our time. At the time.

Unbelievable. Would have you have guessed that would have happened? What are you talking about? About Michelle Williams? Yeah. Not that could have been a little out there to say she would have achieved these heights. She was great on that show and recognized for it, but I still think she wasn't the big star of the group. Little over-celebrated for the fablemen's, which to me was about as hot as cold as it gets, minus the hot.

Whoa, you didn't like the fablement. No. I felt like it got shotgun here from 1993. Okay, I haven't seen it. Manchester by the sea. Oh, that was a tough watch. That scene. Walking back to the house?

after walking the dog no he went to the liquor store actually that would have been a bad beat for me if it was walking the dog it would have been like huge win for Aaron Rogers big beat for the Zuzzer

let's see including what is this let's see Michelle Ingrid Williams 1980 baby nice she's various accolades including two Golden Globe Awards a primetime Emmy

in addition to nominations for five Oscars. And at Tony, she doesn't have the hardware yet. It's very well to serve. That's like Hoisted and Lombardi. He's a fuck. Dang. Five best performers. And that's lead actress.

Yeah, you got to give her the hardware, you know. At some point here. All right. Let's take a break and let's bring Mike G on the show to get caught up on everything else going on in Indy. Welcome back, unbelievable development here. We need an insider. We need someone boots on the ground who gets it, who's trusted in the realm of news gathering,

and we have that man. Mike Garifolo joins us. That's my jam right there. I love that intro music. We gave you the silk stockings jam just to get you in the mood. In the mood. I don't know what you're talking about. Never heard of it.

Mike, how are you, buddy? What's going on in Indy? We're not there this year. So we need a real perspective on the vibe. Let me guess exactly the same as every other year. Yeah, you're surprised to hear that Prime 47, the steakhouse here in Indianapolis, is quite crowded. And it's, here's the frustrating part is that you try to be smart and you say, I'm going to get out of here, it's 1230, right? Plenty of time put in, clocked in, clocked out.

And then you realize it's 2.30 all of a sudden. And it's like, wait a minute, I was on my way to the door. Why haven't I gotten there yet? And we were just ran, you know, a bunch of coaches walking through the hallways to kind of start the show NFL now today. and you're going, okay, I saw that guy out. Yep, he was out, he was out. So I know he's feeling the way that I'm feeling today because I know what time I came home

and it was before he went home because he was still there when I left. You should know that Prime 47 is famously the place where a former Panthers coach, Matt Ruhl, was nice to mark, which changed and shaded a lot of the analysis from Mr. Sessler. Well, I'm easily crafted and molded.

Yeah, that's how it works for insiders too. Not all of them. Just some of them that are a little shorter than me and bleary-eyed this morning. I said something on the air. We just did NFL now. I said something on the air, and Ian kind of looked at me. It was something about Lamar Jackson. I was trying to make the point that if the Ravens use the non-exclusive tag, it could be good for them

because then he can go out and have conversations with other teams, and they could be like, look, you know, we told you we're trying to offer you a fair deal. And if the other teams offer similar, we said, okay, see, we tried to tell you. this is kind of how it works. And if he gets the fully guaranteed deal, it's like, okay, great. Now we can either match it or we can work out a trade or whatever. So I made this whole point that the non-exclusive tag is the way that I would go because it allows him to have conversations and see what's out there. And he didn't kind of stared at me.

And then we came back and I said it again. And he goes, oh, I'm on the air. Oh, now I get what you're saying. I'm like, welcome. Hi, Rhett. Ret Lewis is here. What's up, bud? He's enjoying my camera stand, which is a trash can.

The phone is on a trash can. That's fitting for our show. We have no issue with that. And, you know, Rappaport, he's trying to hang with a McAfee crew to show that he's one of them. And that's just going to lead to issues for him as well. That's, you know, that's not his style. Well, what about the Lamar thing? Let's talk about some of the – obviously, in terms of the big quarterbacks, it's Rogers and Lamar.

So we'll start with Lamar. Is there anything that you've kind of heard recently or through the grapevine? Where is this with you? Do you think this happens? Do you think he ends up on a new team? I think there's a definite shot. And I feel like it's more than just financials right now. I feel like it's feelings, right?

And he's made it clear. There was that one Instagram post or was it a tweet that said something about if you don't appreciate what you have. I'm paraphrasing, but he was making it clear that he doesn't feel appreciated. And he wants the kind of a deal that, you know, listen, for better or for worse, and right now it looks like for worse, unless he turns it around. Deshaun Watson last year, he had teams at the table. Now, we can have a long discussion about whether he should have and not just from a on-field standpoint, but from an off-field standpoint as well. But that's the situation that was created. And Lamar Jackson has not had that to this point, which is why I say the non-exclusive tag for the Ravens,

be like, well, let's just get on with it. Let's just get to the point where he has the chance to go out and talk to other teams. Now, it's not full-blown free agency, but it's a chance for him to have conversations with other teams and say, hey, okay, let me see what's out there. Let me see if Apple have been alluding to on Twitter and elsewhere, if the Ravens won't pay me a fully guaranteed deal. Well, there must be four or five other teams that are willing to do so let them find out and let the Ravens find out. And maybe just, you know, instead of going through this next two years of playing out the tag

if he wants to get to the point where he's truly got the kind of leverage that Kirk Cousins let's just get on with the show. I'd almost kind of, that's the way that I would do it if I was the Ravens. Let's just figure out where we are and get some clarity here. So either we're going to have them or we're going to move forward. But we did report Super Bowl Sunday, Ian Rappaport, Tom Pellasero

and I, that we know that the Ravens could get to a point where they are tempted to entertain trade offers. I mean, that would be satisfying from my perspective, because then he would be in a closer situation to the Deshaun Watson situation. The reason why Watson had so much interest is because he, first of all, allowed his agent to tamper essentially when he wasn't allowed to trade. And then when he was allowed to make a trade, it was open.

And we know Lamar doesn't have that infrastructure. We can't assume that they're going around to other teams and acting illegally because he's on the Ravens and he doesn't have a formal agent. I do think, though, Mike, I'm with you. That would be a compelling way for the Ravens to go. But I think you would only do that as a Ravens franchise if you're ready to say he's probably gone. Because to me, putting that out there means he's probably gone.

He's a free agent and he'll get a great contract elsewhere. There will be teams bidding and there'll be more than they're willing to pay because there's 31 teams out there and they're more desperate and then you work out the trade terms and it might only take a few days. I just don't know how many, like, when you talk about the teams that are desperate, I just don't know how many there are. I mean, this quarterbacks, Jack, this is, yeah, but they have options. They have other options, too, right?

But they're not as good as Lamar Jackson. None of them are even close to as good. I don't think it's going to be hard. Rodgers isn't even as close to as good as Lamar Jackson. We've got to calm it down a little bit with the Lamar stuff. At least, like, just because Aaron Rogers is making $60 million. I'm not throwing Aaron Rogers in there. That's fair because we don't know that whether he's,

he's available or not. Well, and I would also say this on the 60 million thing, there are a number of folks with teams with quarterback needs that would be interested in Aaron Rogers that I've spoke to, spoken to here in Indianapolis who say the 60 million dollar number is not going to work. Like he's going to have to, whether it's us or somebody else, he's going to have to come down off that number. Now, Rogers did allude to the fact that if I come back in Green Bay, it's not going to be at that number, but it may have to be that way for the other teams as well. I know I'm digging and zagging here, but this is kind of the way the quarterback market. it is right now so much is dependent on everything else that I find myself starting to talk about

Lamar Jackson. Next thing I know I'm talking about Aaron Rogers and that's kind of where teams are figuring it out. I just the whole Derek Carr thing here I go bring in another quarterback. The whole Derek Carr thing is interesting to me, particularly from a Jets standpoint, because I don't see the Jets diving in with Derek Carr until they know for sure what Aaron Rogers is going to do because you don't want to now come to terms with Derek Carr and then be like, Oh, Aaron Rogers wanted to come here? Ah, how would you ever live that down? But Derrickard knows that, right?

And he's okay. Is he okay with that, knowing that he's essentially the silver medalist for the Jets and the sweepstakes? Yeah, but I think he's got other irons. I know, well, we know he's got other irons in the fire, right? The Saints and the Panthers. But I also think that there's more dominoes that could potentially fall beyond that as well that could open up some things for him and give him even more options. So he's got the luxury of getting out there and talking to teams right now

before other guys who are free agents are allowed to talk to teams. But he's also got time. And he can stretch this thing out to the point where he gets, I mean, I'm being laughed at right now for my trash can. It's amazing. You're helping our YouTube listeners. Everyone check us out on YouTube. You should have paid somebody.

Scott Fitterer thinks it's funny. Sam Monson tweeted something earlier. He thinks it's funny. Somebody out of the corner of my eye, I didn't see who it was, thought it was funny. Another person's taking a picture. You know what? This is fine. Mike, tell the most hotly viewed episode because all this promotion.

Mike, tell them you're on the most popular NFL podcast in the world. That will shut them up. Oh, yeah. In your face, Greer. Hi, Fit. I mean, Mike G. Let's say it's a month and a half from now, okay? I just not saying that you have to tell us, you know what you know.

You've got secrets. You're always sitting on explosive rumors and developments that must come out at a certain time. I get that. But just play. team to quarterback match Rogers Lamar Derek Carr where are each of these

quarterbacks when all these psychotic dominoes fall You're gonna make Mike's head explode Well that's what we're here for Yeah yeah Yeah No I'm still shaking from when

Rosenthal asked me here At the Combine a couple of years ago Do you think Philip Rivers is going to land in Indianapolis And I said no and he did And I just couldn't get over that one So let's let's match him up Let's match him up

Greg with a stray W there, I like that. Yeah, oh, yeah, big time, W. Big W. That's matching up. I think Lamar stays in Baltimore. It's just they've done everything that they possibly can to keep this thing positive all along the way. You got the tag at their disposal. I'm going to say, and it's a coin flip in my mind in a lot of ways, but I'm going to say he stays in Baltimore.

So let's keep him there. Rogers and Green Bay just feels like it's over in a lot of ways. So where do I put him? I don't know. I just feel like this Jets thing is just not going to happen. It just feels too good for the Zusser, man. I just, I just, I just, I just, I just, I just, I just, I just, I just feel like he's not, I feel that, it's not going to happen for him.

So, um, let's put Derek Carr, let's put Derek Carr with the Saints. Um, and I think that there's a lot of things that, uh, Derek Carr likes about the Saints. You get to play in a dome, uh, versus playing in the weather. So I'll put Carr with the Saints. Hey, what the hell? I'll put Rogers with the Jets. There you go. Well, that kind of goes nicely into the next talk.

There's one other QB I wanted to hit because he's not getting talked about a lot right now in relation to these other guys. This feels like it might be setting up well for Jimmy G who's going to hit the market and, you know, these teams will have some of them swung and missed for their first choice. And is this set up well for Garoppolo getting another big contract despite, you know, all the red flags about what he is as a quarterback and what he isn't? Yeah, another decent contract. I'll tell you what else is setting up nicely for Jimmy Garoppolo. is the San Francisco tree, and you've got Tennessee, you've got Houston, you've got the Jets, who am I missing, whether it's a general manager or a coach. You got the Belichick tree in Las Vegas.

You got the Belichick tree in Las Vegas? That is correct. They're going to need somebody as well. So he's got option. He does. And, you know, if he winds up in, let's say Houston, because I know that D'Amico Ryan's likes him. Look, the thing about Jimmy G is he's one of the guys in a lot of ways. And he's a competitive guy.

And the coaches who have seen him operate know, you know, yeah, he's not the most special guy from a talent standpoint, right? He doesn't have all those intangibles, or not intangibles, those tangibles, but he's got the intent. And he's been a winner. And when he's healthy, he's won football games. So I feel like if he winds up in Houston, it's not a long-term thing, but I feel like it's a chance for him to go somewhere and play right away better than some other situations, if that makes sense. I got to tell you, Mike, like we just took a look at Sam Monson's tweet. The photo we took of you was from PFF, and it is just a human adult male talking to a garbage can.

That's really what it looks like from a profile angle. Let's take a look at this. I haven't seen it yet. It's fantastic. I mean, it might be the height of what you've achieved here at the combo. It looks like a crazy person who's had some type of psychotic break talking to a plastic trash can. Yes. Mark said exactly described how this looks. I can't tell if this is going to be good for our podcast and the NFL in general because the shot looks great.

Again, people should check it out on YouTube. Maybe they look at it and they think like, why are we sending all these producers and everything to places when a trash can can do their job and we don't even need to send. our podcast there, or is it a bad look that their podcast isn't here and we have to use the trash game? Is that somehow embarrassing? I'm not sure how I stand there. All right, Greggy. It's a double-edged short. It's going to result in more eyeballs, which is going to be a good thing. But it just doesn't feel like something you want to go to the well too often, right? It's like a, this is a one type thing. Defense is now are ready for the Philly special, right? It's just a

At some point, you just use it and you get out and you move on to something else. All right. One last thing. I do want to just say like at this time a year ago, the whole conventional wisdom because people hold things close to the vest and the combine is that there wasn't going to be a lot of big time quarterback move it. And then right after the combine ended, there was a ton of big time quarterback movement. So the one thing I would push back on, this might be your Philip Rivers of this year, Mike. And maybe not, maybe not. Is that I think if Lamar, if they didn't put the not exclusive tag, I think like seven team.

will be in on it. I would start with the Deshawn Watson teams from a year ago. They were all desperate for quarterbacks. If they were in on Deshawn Watson, I would expect them to be in on Lamar Jackson. Then you could throw the commanders, Titans, Raiders, who knows, Sprite. I just think there would be enough teams to really bid him up and he would be gone. But I am curious, at Prime 47, you're staying there late. Like, what are the decision makers all talking about this week? Like, what is the hot topic? Because there are those league topics that that eventually, if you're having these conversations with GMs and coaches, it comes back around. Please don't say the tush push.

No, the tush push has not been a big, it's been a topic of conversation. It has not been a big topic of conversation. But the Eagles are very upset that they have something that's been very effective for them. See, I thought it was, it was just a simple play. It's not that simple. But, Seriani, the way he talked about it was that there's, they run it better than anybody else. You're taking away something that, but it's, it seems like you just get two guys behind a guy and you push and that's what makes it so hard. But he talked about the technique

involved in that play and they feel like they have so much, so much of an advantage there because of how they run it and the personnel that they deploy. So anyway, the touch push. What was the question again? Oh, what's the topic of conversation? I think this rookie quarterback class has been a fascinating topic of conversation because I think that there is no consensus. I think the third guy on somebody's board and the quarterback is the first guy on somebody else's board. I believe that a lot of people think that Anthony Richardson is going to have a terrific performance here. Because listen, these things set up well for guys who have the top and ability, right? Because you get to put that ability on display.

This is why Zach Wilson pre-draft all of his workouts, right? It lent itself to the guy who puts his skill set on display. it's not football though it's not playing the position it's not running uh things the way you're supposed to run in an offense but this is a guy who's going to come out richison's going to perform extremely well and uh put that talent on display and it's going to create some conversation among some teams uh as far as where he or inside the teams as far as where he he ranks on the board so there's been a wide variety of teams and i've had a lot of teams say that there is no sure thing here much as we love bryce young there are questions about him and his size

and whether that's going to translate to the NFL. So it's going to be a fascinating draft from a quarterback standpoint. I know that. And that's why, Mike, the bears are trading the number one pick, right? Because there isn't a slam dunk QB that would be an upgrade in their mind over Justin Fields that would compel them to trade the in-house guy. As I mentioned the other day before the Bears even talked here, and frankly, I'm surprised that polls left as much wiggle room as he did, to be honest with you.

Because my understanding was, and I was having conversations with Bears sources, around the senior ball, hey, we can't wait to Indianapolis because we want to field those offers for the first pick. That was going to be the order of business here. I think, you know, as far as evaluating those quarterbacks, I think Poles wants that out there

to kind of get teams to think, like they're not just selling that pick and you've got to convince us. But there's no doubt in my mind that Justin Fields is going to be the quarterback for the Bears with a lot more weapons around them because they've got a lot of cap room and a lot of capital. They are going to be a very busy,

team in the coming weeks. And that's going to be fun. It's good when the bears are fun and enjoyable. I think they're going to be. Bears have nearly a $100 million in cap space more than any team in the league. Mike, worry that maybe we damaged your reputation and perhaps your long-term career prospects with garbage can interview hashtag. But hopefully that's not the case. And if it is, we owe you a beer. That'll do it. Listen, I'll take the beer. I'll take the whiskey if you're offering that as well. Sure. But I got to say that. In this business, if you're not willing to talk to a trash can in front of all of your friends in the Indianapolis Convention Center, you know, your head's too big. You haven't lived.

Be humble. Be humble. Be hungry. Speaking of hungry, I just got a text that my lunch is ready from Carly Lindsay. Thank you, Carlson. I'll be right over there. All right. Thank you, Mike.

Thank you. Thank you, boys. There he goes. And what a warrior to do that for us. Before we started, the interview with Mike. went through a period where he was thinking, should I just hold it? How long is this going to take?

I said about 15 to 18 minutes and it had taken about 18 minutes and in retrospect he probably should have held the camera. I don't know. He's going to eat a lot of poop there. This was good. You know how those guys are?

Your arms get really tired though. I think 18 minutes. Sneaky. But you know how sports writers are? I mean Mike Gizzo, if you see in the forearm he does a little bit of working out but he was the one that raised that concern. So I thought the framing aspect ratio

looked great on the, the garbage can good move yes and it does even though we're not there this year it puts us in the conversation perhaps a little bit yeah you know puts us back on people's lips and in their minds they're like oh yeah those are the trash guys those trash guys that's what we've been aiming for especially considering where we were a year ago if we knew that was our destiny um you know arrow up um all right that is the wednesday edition of the around the NFL podcast we will be back tomorrow, in fact. That's how we grind, especially on

Combine Week, whether we're there or not. And we're going to have Lance Zero Line, as I mentioned at the top of the show, who's going to dig in on the draft situation and Combine and the prospects. And as Mike alluded to there, you know, what's going on with these quarterbacks and how these things, how quickly

they shift, right? From, oh, yeah, you know, last year's quarterback class, that sucks. And everybody's like, oh, but wait until next year's quarterback class. And now here we are. And all of a sudden, Like, no slam thugs. But it's, yeah. No slam thugs here. And we're going to have two months to talk about it.

And maybe Lance will give us some. There's so much more juice out. There probably is a slam dunk, by the way. Here's the thing, though. The consensus is that picket or anyone in last year's class would have been a distant fifth behind these four. I think like these four are going in the top 10 or 15. So it's juice. At least there's juice, even if there's no slam dunk.

The juice is loose. Thank you to everybody for listening. And yes, we'll be back again tomorrow. Thank you to Mike G. Thank you to Justin Graver and everybody behind the glass. Until Thursday You know what you gotta do Heat the car

Oh This is an eye heart podcast.