Nightcap - Best of WR Talk Part 1: Ja’Marr Chase gets PAID + George Pickens SHIPPED to Dallas!
Episode Date: July 7, 2025Shannon Sharpe and Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson react to Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins getting paid, Davante Adams joining the Rams, and George Pickens signing with the Cowboys. They als...o break down Pickens’ issues in Pittsburgh and what’s next in Dallas. 0:00 - Ja’Marr Chase & Tee Higgins signing extension with Bengals 10:13 - Davante Adams joins Rams 21:54 - Deebo Samuel traded to Commanders 24:31 - Unc and Ocho react to Troy Aikman blasting Cowboys WRs 33:28 - George Pickens headed to Cowboys (Timestamps may vary based on advertisements.) #Volume #ClubSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Breaking news, Bangalore, Jamar, Chase, and T Higgins exclusively tell me they've agreed
to contract extension with the team.
Jamar gets four years, 161 million with 112 being guaranteed, making him the highest paid
non-quadruback in NFL history.
T Higgins gets four years, 115 with the first two years guaranteed, making him the highest
paid wide receiver, too,
in NFL history.
Wow.
Congratulations, brother Jamar Chase,
brother T. Higgins.
They got that deal done.
Joe Burrow, I know Joe is happy,
very happy to keep that unit together.
Obviously, I didn't think it would be possible.
I didn't think it would be possible.
Obviously, I can't break down the numbers right. I didn't think it would be possible.
Obviously, I can't break down the numbers right now
in front of me, but the fact that Joe was able to keep
the two main targets.
Yeah, the two main guys together, man,
is a really good thing.
And that's a step in the right direction for us.
And finishing what we need to get back to the promised land at the end
of the season. So I'm happy for them. I'm excited and kudos to the Blackburn family,
to Mike Brown and getting that done. But let's get some work on that defense in now.
Yeah, I don't see how they pay Trey Hendrickson.
He wants north of 30 million.
Right.
Yeah, I don't see how I'm not saying it can't be done.
I just don't see how.
Do you think it's possible to still pay Trey?
What do you think?
I mean, that's tying all the money up
and just in four players.
He's going north of 30.
Right.
Man has 35 sacks in two years.
Nobody has that many sacks in the past two years.
Right.
He's been a pro bowler both years.
I just don't, like I said, it couldn't happen.
Yes. The question is that you have just don't, like I said, it couldn't happen. Yes.
The question is that you have to ask yourself, Ocho.
Is the opportunity to go to a Super Bowl,
potentially win it over the next two years,
is that worth potentially
being in salary cap hell in 27, 28?
Right.
Well, also-
This is about 25, 26, Ocho. This is what this is about. Right. Well, also- This is about 25, 26, Ocho.
This is what this is about.
Right.
Well, you know, listen, there's a way you can get out
of Salary Cap Hell is by continuing to restructure
those that have large contracts.
Yeah.
But all you're doing is kicking it down the road.
You're not doing it, you're kicking it down the road
because that balloon baby gonna come do now.
Oh, at some point. At some point. Well hey, congratulations. I know,
I know all our, listen, I know my Bango fans, I know y'all happy man, Zim Hude. I love you.
The deal has gotten done. I'm excited. I'm happy. I'm happy for both of them. I just want to make
sure we do what we need to do on the defense end of the ball
We had our problems our issues offensively and just start late
Just start late the beginning of the season. We need to fix that fix that well when I think I think we're gonna be alright
But we need to work on that deep inside the ball and get some get some
All season acquisitions in,
some help on defense.
And I think we're gonna be all right.
All right.
Yeah, who that?
OJ Brooks breaking news, Higgins and Chase are back.
I mean, let's see 41, that's 71 Joe Burrow.
So that's $126 million annually tied up in three players.
So that's $126 million annually tied up in three players.
That's life.
How much is that tied between two, Unc? 55 million for Joe, 41 for Chase, 30 for Higgins.
Okay, ooh, that's good too.
That's 126 million.
I like that.
That means if you sign Hendrickson,
that's over 150 million.
So you'll have half your cap,
over half your cap in four players.
I just don't see how to do it.
We'll see how they do it.
Hold on.
Just a few weeks.
Listen, I think it's gonna pay off.
This is some, have the Bengals ever rolled the dice
like this before?
No.
Has Mike Brown ever rolled the dice?
No.
If it won't change, sometimes you have to do things
different.
The definition of insanity and doing the same thing
over and over and over and over and getting the same
results and expecting something to change.
The fact that he's willing to change, the fact that the Blackburn family and the Mike
Brown family are willing to do something different, it lets you know, all right, you know what?
We are intent on winning.
We're intent on winning and doing what's necessary to make sure we do.
For one, to contend in the AFC North
and then further ourselves in the playoffs
when the time comes.
I like it. I like it. I'm excited.
I'm excited.
I saw T. Higgins just tweeted,
T. Higgins just tweeted the handshake,
handshake emoji.
That's dope. That's tight, that's tight.
I'm happy, I'm excited.
Yeah, so when we went to AFC North, you know why.
It happened.
Did the Ravens trade L jack?
Hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on.
That's not what we got, this is what we not gonna do.
This is not what we gonna do.
That AFC North, this year, I'm not talking about
what's happened in the past.
I'm talking about this year.
It's running through Cincinnati.
It's running through 513.
I'm just letting you know ahead of time.
No one has ever said the road to the Super Bowl
goes through Cincinnati.
You know what?
And you know what happened?
No one has ever seen Mike Brown
and Troy and Katie do what they've done today.
OK.
OK.
All right.
Ocho, there has reportedly been quite the vibe shift
for wide receiver Garrett Wilson after the New York Jets
moved on from Aaron Rodgers and added
Justin Fields this offseason.
Wilson has told friends he's thrilled
with the addition of Fields.
ESPN's Rich Cimini wrote Sunday,
it's no secret that he and Rodgers didn't see eye to eye last season.
But now he has a quarterback he knows and respects.
They've maintained a good relationship.
Another reason Wilson said to be excited about 2025.
In December, the NFL Networks in Rappaport
reported all is not well with Rodgers and Wilson
and added that privately there have been questions
regarding whether Rodgers and Wilson
can find common ground since they had a blowup
during training camp, which I tried to tell Ocho.
Yeah, you did.
And Ocho said, don't worry about that.
Yeah, I didn't think it would be anything bad
because I've had those same kind of talks with John Kidd
and I've had those same talks with Carson Palmer.
But not every day?
Oh, not every day.
I thought it was just that one clip.
I'm not sure.
No, you thought I'm talking every day.
Yeah.
Most of the time, I think they weren't able to get
on the same page.
Aaron Rodgers wanted things done a certain way.
And Garrett Wilson was kind of complaining.
Whatever it may have been, it didn't work out. I like the fact that he liked that he had Justin Fields. And I know one
thing goddamn fields gonna get that ball to to brother Wilson. He go he gonna feed it
to him. And they gonna find ways to get him back where he was his rookie season. Yeah,
we was very productive. Because after this season, hey, they got to come they got to
come see they got to come see five with that bag. season, hey, they got to come see, they got to come see five with that bag now.
Yeah.
They got to come see five with that bag.
He's the top 10 receiver in the NFL right now.
He didn't look like it from a productive standpoint
last year because the offense was in disarray,
but he gonna get back to that.
This is Justin Fields year two.
Justin Fields can make himself some good money.
You know, if he have a good season, no.
They will redo it, yeah, absolutely. If he have himself a good season and they'd be like, you know
what? This is the quarterback of the future for us. And he played, he played how I think he should
play. Now that you have nothing to worry about behind you, you ain't got to worry about nobody's
taking your spot. All you have to do is just play football freely and just focus.
This is your team.
This could be your team.
They can hand you the keys.
Oh Joe, I just found it odd that Garrett Wilson was offensive rookie of the year
and looked better with Zach Wilson and those guys than he did with Aaron Rodgers.
I just found it odd.
What, what, what, what, what quarterback?
Who we look, who we look?
Zach Wilson, I think he had Joe Flacco,
Mike White, I think, I think, yeah,
he had a couple of different quarterbacks.
Zach Wilson.
And the guy was Office of Rookie of the Year, Ocho.
Zach Wilson, that's the guy, yeah, okay.
So look, and sometimes, like you said,
Rodgers was used to doing things a certain way,
and that way, you know, at the end of the day,
we got to get a week.
Look, if we're trying to do the same thing,
they have to be a give and take.
Right. Okay, I understand that you,
but I can't do everything that you want.
I need you to meet me.
Can we meet in the middle?
Somewhere halfway.
Can we meet in the middle?
You gotta be on the same page, huh?
Yeah. You gotta be. I same page, huh? Yeah.
You gotta be.
I'm not saying, look, I'm not saying I can't,
I'm not saying that we can't go to brunch,
but can we not, do we have to go to brunch every Sunday?
Mm-hmm.
Of every month, of every week?
Mm-hmm.
Can we like just stay home and can I watch the games?
Yeah.
I mean, there has to be a happy medium somewhere, Ocho.
I understand who you are, but understand that, look,
am I as accomplished as you?
No.
No.
But don't think I'm not fed a chini around this much.
Come on, man.
Yeah, you're right.
You're right.
You got to be on the same page. Devontae Adams is headed to Southern California,
inking a two-year deal with $46 million.
$23 million. He got $26 million guaranteed.
Adams arrives in LA as the Rams prepare to part ways
from former Triple Crown winner Cooper Cupp.
Ocho, you like this move?
Absolutely.
The funny thing, I talked about it early in the show,
you lose a Cuba Cup,
one of the best route runners of all time,
a triple crown, not too far removed
from that triple crown, I might add.
Then you get Pugna Kua, comes out of nowhere.
They put him in the positions
in which they used to put Cuba Cup in.
And he's just that good.
He's good, you can play on the outside,
you can play on the outside, big, fast.
I mean, he's not blazing fast, but he's fast enough. And then, okay, now you're losing cup. And you're
able to go get Devontae Adams. Have we seen Devontae Adams before? I'm not the one with New York
Jets. Not that one. Not the one with Las Vegas Raiders, where they didn't use him the right way.
But we still get it done because I saw flashes of brilliance in what we're used to seeing from
Devontae Adams when he was at Green Bay. Man, he might have a little resurgence. That's what I like to call it.
You got your money. So there's no reason for them not to use you offensively. Putting you in the
same position that they put Cooper Cup. You can run the same exact routes. You can get open. You
don't need help. One of the few receivers in NFL, I don't need McVay to scheme me open. Tell me what you want me to do and let me show you. Watch me go
do it. He's surgical with them feet and that. Oh yeah, for sure. Yeah, I like this matchup and he
has a guy that can get into football. He can put the football in places that's going to give you
a chance to run because that's the difference is that a lot of guys can hit you, but can you hit me with
the ability to run?
That I don't have to break my stride pattern.
Yeah.
You look at the way Joe throws Chase, Chase catches the ball, he just takes off.
He can do so much when he got the ball in his hands.
Yeah. Anytime you can throw a receiver, a five yard out, a
slam, a hit, and there's a chance that they might go hit
the head off the goalpost.
Yep.
Man, stop playing.
Yeah. And you look at like I said, we've talked about
deceivers, you know, you got McDuffie in Kansas City, he
coming up in a couple of years, Ocho.
Yeah.
Got Stingley, they gonna have to see Stingley.
Yeah.
So I don't know if Sauce has done anything.
I maybe, they probably have to do something
with Sauce here shortly.
Yeah.
But I like the move.
I like Tay going to the Rams.
Yeah, I do.
I like it a lot.
Especially for the offense.
The offense is not gonna miss a beat.
They not gonna miss a beat.
Joy Bosa and the 49ers are having good conversation
and this feels like it's heading towards a deal.
Nothing is done,
but Bosa Brothers wants to be together
and probably will get that this year,
which likely means it will be a moderate deal
with heavy incentives.
The 49ers can offer Joey playing time, but also a role where he doesn't have to put wear
and tear on his body, which could keep him healthy for the duration of a season.
Oh Joe, he, uh, has that ever happened?
He can, he'll, he'll record.
He's, you know, But he's missed 40 games
and he still has 72 sacks over his career.
So it just goes to show you when he's on the field,
he can make a difference.
We just gotta keep his ass on the field.
Yeah, has this ever happened before?
I know there've been-
Two brothers play together?
Play together.
I know.
I can't even off the top of my head. Oh, that's that's amazing. I mean, I I think that's
dope. Just the the fact that you have the opportunity. No, I
don't think Preston and Drew Pearson was brothers.
I don't I don't think they were brothers or Joe. I think they
just had the same last day. Have two brothers ever played
together?
Oh yeah, the Griffin brothers in Seattle.
Oh, yeah, dog, and how could I forget that? That wasn't even that long ago.
Yeah, that wasn't even that long ago.
Yeah, that's right, that's right.
Hold on.
What about Derrick and TJ Watt?
One with a fullback in Pittsburgh, right?
Yeah.
Okay. Not in the NFL. Ronday was in Tampa and Tiki was in New York.
Oh yeah, the McCarty brothers. Remember that he left Tennessee and went up going to New England?
That's right. Yep. B.O.D. would bring him went up going to New England. That's right. He did. Yep.
Be a deer, bring them over there.
That's right.
That's right.
Yeah.
But I like it.
Uh, hopefully they didn't get it done.
I mean, they seem to want to play with each other.
I don't think they played it.
Was he there when it's, I don't think he, uh, Nick wasn't there when
Joy was at Ohio state, he came to your joy left and Nick came.
Or was Nick a freshman when Joy left?
a freshman when Joey left.
I mean, that's exciting. That has to be exciting.
Oh yeah.
The Jets, in Quinny Williams and the linebacker Williams,
they're brothers, right?
56 and 93 and 95.
They are?
I thought so, yeah.
Quinny and Quincy.
But I like this.
Ocho.
Yeah.
Eagles standout rookie Quinon Mitchell got a wild tattoo after winning the Super Bowl.
Hell of a year.
Wow. Round one, pick 20, what 22?
Is that 22?
Super Bowl champs.
Got a lot done in one day.
Till next time, bro.
Woo.
Hey, that's live.
Look here.
He earned the right.
I don't care if I won 15 Super Bowls.
I ain't even lying. You ain't tapping that?
What?
Hell no.
That thing hurt.
Oh, you ain't got no tattoos?
Mm-mm.
See, now we can add that to the list of things to do in 2025.
Get you a tattoo.
What'd that mean?
Help you buddy.
Nah, that ain't fit to happen.
Hey, it's so funny.
I mean, when I think about it,
I would think someone like you would have tattoos.
Then my crazy tale, I got 44.
And you talk about you ain't got none.
I thought the only time I ever thought
about getting a tattoo.
What's her name? What's her name?
I found, no, name I, Mary Porter, Mary V. Porter.
That's her name.
And my sister, cause I was telling my sister about it
and my sister's like,, that'd be so nice.
My sister found something where my grandmother
wrote her name, Mary V. Porter.
And I thought about it.
I said, Libby, I would love to.
I said, but you know, Granny would be so mad.
She hated tattoos.
Okay, okay, okay.
She's like, son, don't mark your body up.
Okay, I got it.
You know, you got them old people talking about me.
She's like, like I'm actually drawing on my body.
Like I'm scribbling something.
And I thought about it and I had the piece of the thing that she,
that she had wrote her name on and I was going to take it to a tattoo
and have it put it right over my heart.
That's what I'm going to put it right here.
And I just thought about it.
I said, man, granny, man, granny probably be, boy, granny roll over take it to a tattoo and have it put it right over my heart. That's what I'm gonna put it right here. And I just thought about it.
I said, man, granny, man, granny probably be,
boy granny roll over in her grave.
I can just hear her now son,
why you mark your body like that?
Even her name, she still would be satisfied.
My grandma, I don't know if I was 15 or 16, but I got Philippians 413.
I could do all things through Christ with strength in me.
And I got a tattoo when I came home.
She was pissed.
Why?
Or she was pissed.
I was like, well, listen,
I just I just thought about, you know, something I would like
something that would resonate with me and resonate with you as
well. Because you're the one who had me in Bible study, you
want to add me in church every Sunday. Boy, she were hot. Not
only was she hot. Years later, I got about my senior year in high
school, I was probably up to 22 tattoos by that point. What?
Yeah, I'm covered up everywhere. I just you never see it because I'm normally covered up. So if you see
Yeah, it's hard to see in the dark
That was you covered up with. And I'm covered up everywhere man from from my ankle all the way up man to my
Yeah, I almost did my face by accident too. I'm covered up everywhere, man. From my ankle all the way up, man, to my, yeah. I almost did my face by accident too.
I'm glad I didn't.
Sheesh, boy, please.
No, nothing big, nothing big.
You know, small, small, small, small stuff.
But I didn't do it.
Nah, you did the right thing.
Don't do that, Ocho.
Why would you do that, Ocho?
I'm just, I don't know.
You thought about it.
You ain't had nothing better to do with your time.
All jokes aside, I really did.
I really did think about it.
I did, I did.
I was going through a phase.
I was going through a phase.
What was her name?
I was gonna put on my phase?
Yeah.
I was gonna put a little cross.
It wasn't no woman.
A little tiny cross, right here, right here on the side.
No, by the earlobe right here.
Just a little tiny cross.
Yeah. I ain't, I ain't do it though.
I ain't do it.
Wouldn't look too good on TV, you know?
Yeah. No, no.
It was, I couldn't do that.
Me. I mean, congratulations to Quinian.
I mean, hey bro, congrats.
I mean, first round pick, first rookie season,
go to the bowl.
You know, a lot of times, don't you,
when you have that level of success, you like,
man, this is easy.
It ain't.
Trust me, bro.
It ain't.
There are a lot of guys that played 13, 14, 15 years
and never go, let alone win.
I mean, just think about you, you're a chief player
and you came in three years ago.
You don't know nothing about Super Bowls.
Yeah.
And winning.
Yeah.
Oh, you played with Tom Brady all those years.
That's a lie.
Somebody's talking about Amber Rose.
Yeah, Amber Rose got her sons tattooed on her forehead.
Hey, and she can get rid of that though, right?
Because technology is so advanced now.
Yeah, you can get rid of that, but man, that thing hurt.
She ain't getting rid of them.
I mean, I don't know if you saw the interview, Ocho.
She keeping that.
Yeah, I saw it.
It was good.
It was good.
I mean, Ocho, for me, I like talking to people like,
a lot of these people, I had no idea I would ever meet.
Right, right.
Talk to a Tabitha Brown or a Miss Pat or
Amber Rose, people like, some of these athletes,
man, I'm sitting down, I'm talking to Magic Johnson.
Crazy.
Talking to a cat and Donnell Rollins and all these,
all these, the comedians and Gary Owens and Bruce Bruce
and LaVelle Crawford.
I've seen Bruce Bruce many times before I'm in Atlanta.
Quait and to sit down and talk to him.
And you're right, you have a perception.
And then when you get down and talk to the person, and I'm not talking about so much
on camera, I'm talking about you get an opportunity to talk to him before and after.
Then you have, I like, okay, okay.
The big news of the weekend, Ocho.
The 49ers have dealt Debo Samuels to the commanders
in exchange for a fifth round pick.
As a part of the trade,
Washington is taking on the remainder of Samuels' contract
paying his full 17.55 million salary in 2025.
Due to, due the commanders not have
the most dangerous offensive core.
They have Jay Daines at quarterback
who was offensive rookie of the year,
Bryan Robinson Jr. running back, Terry,
scary Terry McLaurin.
They have Devo Samuels and Zach Ertt.
They also have a, a, Dynomi-
Dynomi Brown.
Dynomi Brown. Yeah, a, a dyno me. That you'll meet. I know me Brown. I get, I get, I owe me Brown.
Yeah.
I listen.
They've, they've, they've improved.
They've improved tremendously.
I mean, hell, they were, they were an NFC championship.
Huh?
Yeah.
They were an NFC championship last year.
And then you bring a dynamic playmaker
like Debo Samuels over to your offense again.
And what does it do for your quarterback?
It takes pressure off your quarterback again,
even more pressure.
I don't have to do more.
What do you mean we got Debo Samuels?
You know how many things he can do.
He's a little Swiss Army.
If he can play in his life, he can go outside.
You can put him in motion.
You can put him in the backfield.
You can do so much with him.
So as long as the creativity is there.
I'm not sure who the offensive coordinator is.
But the man-
Cliff Kingsborough.
Oh, it's Cliff?
Oh man, oh man, they straight.
They ain't got none to work.
And they about to, they say the reports are,
they about to franchise a Diggy Zua.
So that's going to be 25 million, hard cap,
you can't spread it.
DAC is about to be what, 90 million against the cap, CD.
You haven't even signed, you haven't even signed Micah.
Right.
I think, but to give them a little breathing room,
you know, they'll restructure DAC.
They give them a lump sum on the front end
and the sign of bonus.
They'll free them up, you know, some of that cap.
And that's their fault.
They want to wait till the last minute to do that.
They do?
They did that.
That's what they always do.
That's why you wait till the last minute,
now you got a franchise with Diggy Zua.
Now, if you don't sign him, guess what?
He gone.
Yeah.
But you mess your cap up.
You gotta have some foresight in order to see like,
you know what, this guy's a player for.
I know, hey, go to him, sign him a little early.
And then a year from now, you're like, damn,
they got in for that?
Yeah.
Troy Eggman did not hold back
when addressing the disappointment
at the start of the Cowboys season.
He took dead aim at CD Lambe and the other Dallas wide receivers
through the first six games.
I think the routes are terrible.
I think they run terrible routes and I've always thought that beyond this year,
I think CD's got to improve in his route running.
And as a quarterback, if you're not certain where the guys are going to be consistently, it's hard to play that position.
I see guys lazy coming off the line of scrimmage.
Sometimes they run.
You live, they do.
It's because they're anticipating
they're going to get the football on that plate.
But if they're not, they don't.
And it all ties together.
So I'm not impressed with that part of the game.
Troy also talked about CD missing many camp.
I'm an old school guy.
I just believe practice matters.
So do I.
I believe that having the team together matters.
So do I.
So if I knew I was going to be signing him anyway,
I would have had to sign.
So he'd be working out with my quarterback
and doing things that they should be doing.
Ocho, you see, this is what I like Ocho.
I like when Troy, see, I like when Troy see I like when
White quarterbacks say that right if they don't get labored as haters or jealous, right?
See when you and I see that we were about to say the exact same thing which I think oh you're a hater
You jealous you bringing the black man that now what you're gonna say by Troy
I'm listening jump in the comments. What does it matter? Don't you ever say about what I'm gonna say about Troy? I'm listening.
Jump in the comments.
What y'all gonna say about Troy?
What y'all gonna say about Troy?
He jealous?
He a hater?
He envious?
Cause that's what y'all do to,
when we try to offer critique
for what we see having played the game,
y'all kill us, y'all beat us up.
Now what y'all gonna say about Troy?
Troy don't you?
Yeah, I'm, I'm,
But CD was never,
Ocho, I never looked at CD as a route runner.
CD is a guy that's tremendous run after the catch.
Right.
He's not a route runner.
He's not technically sound like Jeddah.
He's not technically sound like Devontae.
He's not a route runner.
He's not like Tory Holt.
He's not like Makena McCarter.
He's not like Jimmy Smith.
He's not like you, Ocho.
That's not what he is.
And that's okay. But what I is. Yeah, and that's okay
But what I do agree with Troy is that road?
Even when you not get the ball, you got to bust your butt off the ball
You got to come off. Yeah
But yeah, I don't I don't like the fact him singling out CD him singling out that I mean I hear a lot of CDs, there's CD that, CD, CD, but hell, the goddamn defense is atrocious.
The defense ain't much better.
The defense is atrocious.
And then everything is magnified now.
Everything is magnified now because you're losing.
So now when you're losing, everything is magnified.
So now they're nitpicking every little goddamn thing.
But you know that going in Oh Joe
What's gonna happen you start to lose they say you lose cuz you sat on your helmet
You start to lose guys locker room dirty all type of stuff. I told him Jerry talk about when we don't need him at practice
I see you do
Yes, you do. You see I think you see I dumb that sound now, you know, you're gonna sign it
Oh, we're gonna get it. We knew we'd go Saturday
Why would you what? What do you mean mean he doesn't get anything at practice? Do
you see the connection or the non connection that he and Dak has had for
the first six games? The Wi-Fi is off a little bit. The Wi-Fi is off a little bit.
You get that you I didn't no matter what y'all did the previous year you have to
get in the lab. You have to get in the lab.
You got to get in the lab and rebuild that chemistry all up again. You got to unplug your router, plug it back in and restart. Yes. Every season you got to do it and you can't do it in
the off season when you're just by yourself. No, you need to work with your core. Structured
environment. That's what can happen. When people put in and tugging and pushing on you,
that's when you get it done.
That's why, Ocho.
And if you knew you was gonna sign him,
why wait, why play the game?
You did the same thing with God damn Zeke.
You did the same thing with Zeke.
Are you serious about winning
that you need all your players together?
You need them all together. it counts and when it matters.
Many camp training camp, all season workouts.
Come on, man.
But but here's the thing, though, Ocho is that.
We know Troy Troy got Mike's ass.
He expected he demanded excellence for Mike.
So this is not.
But I just believe you got the whole guys accountable.
It is an absolute must.
Yes, sir.
Now I'm not telling you what somebody told you, told me to say, I'm telling you, having
been in situation, the standard is the standard and we don't change that standard because
of who you are. We play to the standard.
And whatever happens after that, we live with it.
But we're not going to come in, oh, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no,
no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no,
no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no,
no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no,
no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no,
no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no,
no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no We had an expectation. Yes sir. I don't know how everybody else did it, but when we hit that field in Denver.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Listen, y'all was a well oil machine, right?
Y'all was a well oil machine.
Well oil machine.
There was an expectation that we had. Right. We played to a standard. We know what was
expect. We knew what was expected of us from each and individual each and every one of us.
John had to play to we had a standard here, but John needed to play to his standard. Right. 84
need to play to his standard. So did 30. So did 87 and 80.
Everybody played to the standard. And then whatever happens after that, we live with it.
But it was, people think you get good in the games. You win the games Monday through Friday.
Everything is tied together.
Anybody that tells you that is not don't play the game and they've never played the game.
That's when you win the game is what you do in the meetings.
How attentive are you in practice?
Yeah, I know. Practice. Yeah.
You need I just I just don't get these guys.
I just I just don't I just don't get I just don't get them.
And listen, we talk we talk about Troy talk about CD talk about that.
And have you seen the goddamn schedule for the Cowboys?
The next three games?
Hell, the next five in a row? Yeah, absolutely.
Boy, it can it can get it can get ugly.
It can get real ugly. I'm not sure what them what I'm not sure when the Marcus Lawrence comes back. I'm
not sure how long he's out. I'm not sure how long Michael Parsons is out, but it can get ugly real
fast. Yes. For a team that's been 12 and five the past three seasons. Well, Michael's missed what
Michael's missed the game. He's missed the game.
So they own a bye week.
So three weeks at all depends on how bad
that high ankle sprain is.
Right.
For him to come back.
I don't know D-Law's injury.
I don't know his injury.
So I don't want to speak to like,
he's going to be out another week or he's going to come back.
So I really don't know,
but I know Michael has a high ankle sprain.
And I think by the time he, by the time the bids over,
it'll be three weeks. So is it a four to six
weeks? Is it you know, do they if I'm him? Are you going to try
to now look, you're they're struggling. You try to get your
best players back as soon as possible. Yeah. But just know,
my numbers dip, you know, I came back and I wasn't really healthy, right?
Well, they can't, they won't be able to use that against him though.
I mean they can, but I doubt they would.
He's the type of, he's the one.
I'm just saying, I'm just letting y'all know.
Yeah, he's one of them players you really can't play with like that.
You can't play with him like that.
Shit, I could have had him back.
I could have had Michael Parsons back right after about two days after he
sprained his ankle, the high ankle sprain.
Well, with my remedy.
But don't nobody listen to me.
Hell, I could have healed Kawhi Leonard.
You know, he wouldn't miss no damn time.
I got some for his knee.
No, no, Ocho. I got some for his knee. No, no, Ocho.
I got some for him.
No, Ocho, you ain't got nothing for Kawhi.
Now trust me, I'm telling you.
He bone on bone, Ocho.
Huh?
He bone on bone.
I know how to, listen, I know how to put a little tinting up in there.
If you could.
I can oil it up a little bit.
If you could, there'd be a lot of career.
Brandon Roy would want to see you like 10 years ago.
I tell you no lie.
When that thing like this in Ocho?
He might have a knee replacement before the time he 40.
Ocho, teams reportedly laughed at the idea
of adding George Pickens to their roster
according to Jeff Howard of the Athletic.
These were Jeff's words exactly.
Word leaked during the draft that Pickens was available if anyone wanted him.
Some teams polled by the Athletic at the time laughed at the idea of inviting Pickens into
their locker room for any price, let alone a second day draft pick.
There wasn't a lot of interest in talking
with the Steelers about a trade.
Hence, this is why the trade happened after the draft.
Nobody was interested.
I also would love to hear the teams that weren't interested
in the team that did laugh or had something
to say slick about it.
Now I know the issues that he had on field,
but let's talk about what he does on the field. I know we've had small instances, small, small instances of him where
he's loafed, where he hasn't blocked, being late y'all. Hadn't run hard. Not running hard. Now let's talk
about the times and when he does play hard and what he can do for you when he gets the ball in his
hands. There's a bunch of teams that could actually use that.
A bunch of teams that could actually use that,
you know, who don't have anybody.
Ocho.
Ocho, you do realize his job is to play hard all the time.
I understand that, but can I tell you something too?
Every receiver doesn't play hard all the time.
Ocho, it can't be that obvious.
You can't see the ball fumble.
I know, I know, I'm with you.
I'm with you when you're right. Listen, I'm with you when you're right. I'm just saying, it can't be that obvious. You can't see the ball fumble. I'm with you when you're right.
Listen, I'm with you when you're right.
I'm just saying, it's magnified.
You know what I'm trying to say.
We don't do that again.
That's what I'm trying to say.
But you're right.
You're right.
But see, the problem that he has is that
if that's Randy Moss, he ain't Moss.
He ain't Jerry Rice.
So you don't get to have that luxury of taking a playoff.
Hey, Randy was funny with it, boy.
Hey, Randy was funny with it.
So when George Pickens can give you 23 touchdowns,
when he can give you 16, 1700 yards,
now, okay, take a playoff.
Now he's that type of player though.
But you know what it takes to get that?
It takes opportunities.
It takes the ball. It does. And we understand the quarterback carousel and the issues they
had offensively over there where that wasn't the case. He's that type of talent. Now what
I want with it. You can't start off like that, Ocho. You can't start off like that. You can't
be like that your first couple of years. You got to get some, you got to get some seniority.
Right, right, right. That's your five, your six after you've been to the pro bowl three or four times
You've been a first team all pro a couple of times. You can't do that coming out the box
I know I know I know we were frustrated. I know it was frustrated like you know what, you know, I know I know
We work because you look at people you look at some of the players even you
Doing it doing it. I think it was you that did the comparison as far from a talent standpoint
when it was coming out the draft.
You know what I mean? Dude, he immensely talented.
There's just another side that once we fix that up, he matures a little bit.
He's going to be all right. Listen, after that conversation I had with him,
he's going to be all right. He's not going to have no issues in Dallas.
Cause listen, my back against the wall now, you're seeing all the young bulls get paid.
They making big money. You, you need to be a 30, $35 million receiver. You can be that
if you show this year in Dallas. The world is watching now. You're on the biggest stage, baby.
You're on the biggest stage. Just go out there, do what you need to do,
hand you a Venice and get your bag in the off season.
Most receiving yards in the Steelers
drafted in the last 20 years.
Antonio Brown was a sixth round draft pick in 2010.
He averaged 86.2 yards with the Steelers.
He averaged 67.8 with two teams after that.
Mike Wallace was a round three pick in 2009.
64 yards with the Steelers, less than 50 with four teams after that.
San Antonio Homes, 64 yards with the Steelers,
round one selection in 2006,
42 yards with two teams after he left.
Juju, 61 yards with the Steelers,
35 yards, two teams after he left the Steelers.
George Pickens, round two, 2022.
59 yards, we'll see what he averaged.
Deontay Johnson, 2019, a round three from selection.
57 yards, 31.3, three teams after him.
Sometimes the grass ain't always greener.
Now look, the Steelers don't have,
the one thing we know about the Steelers though, Ocho,
they ain't got no problem moving on from a receiver.
They don't, after they get what they want to out of them.
They get a whole lot of production out of the one
they move on from first now.
You know, so that-
I mean, you think about it.
Think about who, I mean, Swan, Starworth,
and Hines Ward.
All the other receivers been,
Louis Lips left, Yancey Pinkpin left.
Yancey.
Yeah, I mean, think about it, Ocho.
All the other ones left.
Yeah.
Plex.
Mike Wallace, Emmanuel Sanders, everybody.
Obviously, it's the nature of the business.
Oh, Martavius Bryant, 53 yards.
33 yards a game with the Raiders.
Chase Claypool, 52 yards.
Now, now, now.
Less than 12 yards a game with two teams.
Also, you have to understand the situation
these individuals went to.
They're going into a different,
they went into a different situation.
George Pickens is going into a situation
where he is a bona fide number one,
alongside another number one, where
offensively they're going to use him a lot more than these other players were
used when they went to the places they went to again.
And he's also a much, and I mean, no disrespect.
I got to say that he's a much better talent and receiver than everybody else.
You just named two outside of of Antonio Brown. Antonio Brown.
Yeah, I was going to say, he better than Antonio?
Shit, man.
Brother Brown might be top five all time,
depending on who you ask.
I just look, the thing is for whatever,
but it's gotta be something in Pittsburgh.
Look at all the receivers we've named,
and for some reason,
hey, you either coach it or you tolerate it, Ocho. Now what is it? What's going on?
You coach it or you tolerate it? Which is it, Ocho? I'm asking.
Well you got my hand. What other team have a position? What other
team has a running back position?
A D line position, a cornerback position,
a quarterback position with this many,
hold on, this is the last 20 years.
So one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight.
We didn't mention Plex.
We didn't mention Emmanuel Sanders.
So that's 10 receivers in the last two decades.
What's going on with you?
I don't know, listen, if we go down the other 31 teams,
it'd probably be the same goddamn thing.
So we got 10 players at one position
that the team has gotten rid of.
Well, it's the nature of the business.
It's the nature of the business too now, come on now.
No, it's not, don't do that.
Name the team.
Oh, I don't have it in front of me.
I'm just saying.
No, you ain't gotta have it in front of you.
Off the top of your head, name 10 players
that play a position for any team
that's had these kinds of issues,
what the Steelers had with Y receiver.
Oh, shoot.
None.
Do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do
do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do
do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do
do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do
do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do
do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do
do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do
do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do
do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do I think it's none of them, right? Cause there ain't none. You ain't naming, you're not naming 10 players
for one team at one position.
I ain't talking about getting rid of somebody from,
okay, we got rid of a wide receiver,
we got rid of a tight end, we got rid of a DB, we got,
this is all one position though, chow.
Yeah, you right.
Well, maybe they just have, they got bad luck over there.
You coach it or you condone it?
A little bit of both, depending on how good he is.
Okay.
Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha He says like the mojo and the swag is here. George Pickens was asked how he sees himself in this offense with CD Lamb.
He says he definitely sees himself on the outside.
He doesn't really understand the notion
of a 1A and 1B receiver.
When I used to watch football,
there was always a good receiver.
There's always a good receiver on the other side of him.
So I just feel like we're gonna work off of each other
really well.
Pickens was asked what he brings to the team.
As a teammate, he said he's bringing people along.
He knows how to win,
having won a championship at Georgia.
He says he doesn't know what number he plans on wearing yet.
Next order of business is getting here as quickly as he can,
but he needs to find a place and a vehicle.
Haven't talked to Jerry yet,
but spoken with Dak and the coaches
and met some of the players.
Speaking of swag, the Dallas Cowboy Pro Shop
is already sold out of shy-sties.
I'm getting this.
I got a few jerseys.
I got to get me this all season too, man.
I got to get me a George Pigg and Dallas jersey.
I got to get me a Zach Wilson dolphin jersey.
Listen, is it okay?
Hey, chat, y'all let me know.
Listen, can I get a Shador Sanders jersey
even though I'm bangles by heart or is that?
No.
No?
Yeah, I guess you could.
Yeah, sure you could.
Understanding the circumstances.
Yeah.
Yeah, absolutely.
I'm curious, I'm curious.
I'm gonna ask Bangles fans that,
see how they feel about it.
If they say no, I won't get one.
Yeah, but Cleveland is probably y'all biggest, with fans that see how they feel about it. They say, no, I won't get one. Yeah.
But Cleveland is probably y'all biggest,
it's like the Ravens and the Steelers,
that's the biggest rivalry.
Y'all biggest rivalry is Cleveland.
Yeah.
Y'all in the same state, colors are close.
I mean, cause you think about it.
That's Ohio.
Paul Brown started the Cleveland Browns
and then he went and started the Cincinnati Bengals.
So there ain't no love lost between you two guys,
but absolutely.
Yeah.
Absolutely, if you want to get one.
Good luck trying to find one.
Oh, I can literally, I just called Prime.
I just called Shador.
You know, hey man, listen, I need a jersey, you know?
Yeah.
But I really hope George Pickens figures it out.
I mean, he's too talented to be bouncing around.
You know, sometimes people will give you grace.
One of you, okay, wasn't the right situation,
the quarterback, you go to the Cowboys, like, okay.
But don't go anywhere else but the Cowboys.
Now, if the money, you know, you want more money,
I totally understand that.
But don't have the issues that you had
in Pittsburgh here in Dallas.
That's all I'm saying.
Deontay Johnson, like, bro, you were on three teams,
last year, something ain't right.
So hopefully, because I agree with you, Ocho.
I think he's too talented.
He can run, he can catch, he's strong, he's physical,
got great catch radius, great run after the catch,
can high point the football.
He can block when he wants to block.
Yeah.
But the problem is a lot of these young receivers, Ocho,
they only see value in catching touchdowns or passes.
They don't see value in clearing it out
and let CD Lamb come in behind him and catch it.
They don't see value in blocking
and the running back instead of getting a 10 yard,
he got a 50 yard touchdown.
So you gotta find value in other things
when you're not doing what the thing you see is valuable.
He sees valuable is catching a bunch of passes,
scoring touchdowns, but there's also value in opening it up.
So CD Lab and Jake Ferguson
and maybe the third receiver gets a catch
or a block that, you know, a guy could have got 10 yards,
if you got 10 yards, maybe you sprang in for 40 or 50.
You have to find other ways to bring value
and to have value other than the thing
that you think is valuable,
which is catching passes and catching touchdowns.
But I hope he gets it figured out
because I do think he's in men's lethality.
I think he has a bright future,
but don't squander this opportunity young man.
Don't squander it.
I told you, I got him.
He good. We didn't have the conversation. That's why afterander it. I told you, I got him. He good.
We're gonna have the conversation.
That's why after that conversation,
I told you I had with him,
we ain't had no issues since.
Now, whatever the feeling.
They ain't play no football since.
My point exactly.
My point exactly.
So what you think we.
He ain't have no problems off the field.
He's all probably problems on the field.
Listen to me, stay with me real quick now.
I want you to see,
now watch the George Pickens we get in Dallas.
I'm saying we, cause if he went to God damn Dallas,
I'm part of Dallas too.
Now watch what we get.
So anytime you make a mistake,
everybody that makes you come back and you blame me,
it's my fault.
I let y'all down.
No, I mean, I don't care about,
look, you're gonna make mistakes,
but I'm just saying that effort.
Hey, I'm even talking about that. I you're going to make mistakes, but I'm just saying that effort.
Oh, I'm not listening to me.
I'm even talking about that.
I'm talking about that too.
All of it.
Yeah.
It's hard to tell if, you know, obviously, you know, sometimes the guy running the wrong
route, the quarterback would like put his hands up and he's like, you know, he'll point
to himself.
That's really the only way you know, unless, you know, you played in the offense and you
know the route combination
and what goes with what.
A lot of times I see West Coast offenses,
I'm pretty familiar.
They might call the terminology something different now
because this evolved since Bill Walsh,
well, Paul Brown, that was Paul Brown's offense.
And then Bill Walsh expanded upon it
and gave it the West Coast offense.
It's expanded, but I have a pretty good general knowledge
of teams that run that system, what the route combination,
what it should look.
And so I feel very comfortable when I say something
that I'm correct to a fairly degree of certainty.
But he can definitely help the Cowboys.
Cowboys have been looking for a number two
since CD got there.
They had Gallup, you Gallup had a good year,
got the big contract, it just couldn't stay healthy, Ocho.
And he wasn't the same player
after he came off that knee injury.
He tore it, I think he tore his ACL.
He wasn't the same.
He wasn't the same, he wasn't the same player.
It's hard, the ACL, the ACL, the ACL,
they got them Achilles, it's very, very difficult
to come back, especially for skilled position players.
I think quarterbacks, you know,
if you're not much of a dual threat,
which most quarterbacks are now,
it's hard to come back, man.
It's very, very, very difficult.
Yeah, it normally takes you a year
unless you're Adrian Peterson.
Adrian Peterson got people thinking that
he just had an ankle sprain.
He came back and had a better season the next year.
And what did it, yeah, he went for 2000
with the MVP and offensive player of the year.
Yeah, he almost broke Eaddy's record.
He was what?
He had 2097, so he was nine yards short
of breaking Eaddy's record, the closest anyone has been.
He single-handedly got that team to the playoffs
because his quarterback was Christian Ponder.
And you know.
And Sidney Rice, remember Sidney Rice?
Yeah, I remember Sidney Rice.
But, you said you wanted to see Pick go somewhere else
and see, well, you get your wishes. I think he got his wishes.
Not only did he get his wishes, now we have consistent quarterback play. I don't care what
the chat or what the people of the world may think of Dak Prescott. He's still an adequate
quarterback in this NFL. He's better than what he had in Pittsburgh, for sure. Who you telling?
So obviously in that NFC East, it's a good thing for the Cowboys offensively.
So Dak has someone else outside of CD Lamb.
And I can't remember the Titan's name who's actually good.
Jake Ferguson is a reliable target, but to add George Pickens to the helm and to
that weaponry for Dak to have offensively, I think they're going to do
numbers. They're going to do wonders. It just boasts that offense and listen, as long as they
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