OverDrive - Tucker on the Bills' elevated expectations, Parsons' future in Dallas and Flacco taking the QB reigns

Episode Date: August 18, 2025

Host of the Ross Tucker Football Podcast Ross Tucker joined OverDrive to discuss the headlines around the NFL, Caleb Williams' potential with the Bears, the Bills' sky-high expectations for the season, the Cowboys' team perspective and Micah Parsons' future, Matthew Stafford's injury concerns, Joe Flacco starting with the Browns and more.

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I made it to my tournament and lost in the first round. But you got there on time. Intact Insurance. Your auto service ace. Certain conditions apply. from tariffs to trade deals the markets are changing is your portfolio ready for what comes next for all your questions you need a money guy calvin the money guy will help you develop a financial plan that includes the right levels of diversity the best way to navigate uncertain times with strategic advice from kelvin you can not only protect your investments you can grow them don't wait call 416457 plan or visit ask kelvin dot ca a Now on the line is Ross Tucker, former NFL or NFL analyst, and host of the Ross Tucker Football Podcast at Ross Tucker NFL on socials.

How's it going, Ross? It's going fantastic. How are you guys doing? We're doing well. We're doing great. And we're just talking about Sean McDermott's comments yesterday after they got beat 38 to nothing by the Chicago Bears. And I'm not sure if you had a chance to listen to them, but he essentially said that they didn't play up to their standard.

He was, you know, upset regardless if it was second. third, four stringers that were in the game, what did you make of those comments? Yeah, I think, I mean, some of that's coaching, right? I mean, that's how these guys look at it in the sense that, yeah, they realized that the Bears, you know, had different priorities for that game than they did, and that the Bears certainly had their starters out there, and let's be honest, right? you know, it was a nationally televised game and Bears have a new coach,

they got a young quarterback. The Bears put a priority on that game last night of really looking good, really trying to build some buzz for the team, some confidence for Caleb Williams. That's what they prioritize.

The Buffalo Bill did not prioritize that. They did not care about that. And that's totally their progress. but, you know, you'd still want the guys that are out there to perform better because a lot of those guys are going to contribute this year, right? Like, it'd be one thing if it was the last 20 guys on the roster, but the guys that are out there, you know, some of those guys are going to get playing time this year. A lot of those guys we practice squad, they might get called up. So it's still disappointing when, you know, you get beat that. badly or you look that badly and that guys don't perform at a higher level.

You know, you're hoping that your position coaches, that your coordinators, that they can get those guys to perform better than they did last night. So Caleb Williams, you know, he's a very polarizing player in the NFL right now. Last year's number one overall pick did not have a particularly good rookie season, got his first start in the preseason last night, did go 6 of 10 for 107 yards with a touchdown in that game against the Buffalo Bills, his first showing with Ben Johnson, his new head coach. What's your confidence level that Caleb Williams

can still be a franchise quarterback in the NFL? That's a really good question. I would say not particularly high. if scale 1 to 10 and 1, I don't think he has any chance to be a long-term franchise quarterback and 10 means I really think he's going to be, I think he's a lot to be a franchise quarterback, I'd probably put him at 4 or 5. You know, I just think that there are some concerns there that I've seen, especially in terms of, you know, you think about some of the decisions he made last year.

It just seems like a lot of times he does the wrong thing. And he takes so many sacks, and that goes back to college. And that's a really, really hard thing for guys to be able to overcome. So I would say if five's right in the middle, put me at four, right? I mean, if he doesn't do it this year or does it look like he's on his way this year, with Ben Johnson, I would think that that's really concerning because the amount of resources they put in. I mean, they're drafting skill guys, right, with the first two picks. They sign a whole new interior three on the offensive lines. They bring in Ben Johnson as the head coach.

I mean, everything they're doing is to try to make the Caleb Williams thing work. No doubt about it, Ross. So we're big fans of the Ross Tucker podcast. over here, and I saw on social media, I haven't had a chance to listen, that you've taken the opportunity to break down the entire AFC and give your predictions. Obviously, in this neck of the woods, there's a lot of attention on the Buffalo Bills and their prospects to take the step that they have yet to take in franchise history, Ross, not to ruin the suspense, and I promise I'll listen, but where do you have the bills factoring in this season, and what do you foresee out of Orchard Park, New York?

well i don't know if we talked about this before but that was you know my favorite of the five teams i played for i have a real affinity for the people up there in western new york and in canada um you know went up to toronto probably three times and was amazed was just how clean it was and how awesome toronto was big fan of toronto as well um you know the best thing that i feel like the bills have going for them right now is that I think their division is significantly worse than their two major competitors in the AFC, the Baltimore Ravens and the Kansas City Chiefs, right? I mean, the Chiefs are in a division where three teams made the playoffs last year.

The Ravens are in a division where only a couple did, but certainly you think the Bengals will be in the mix. I would be very surprised if any other team in the AFC. the East made the playoff. So why that matters is the bills need to get the number one seat. They need to get the number one seed and they need to get home to advantage throughout.

I don't know. Maybe you guys can tell me, I don't think they've done that under Josh Allen. You know, even two years ago when they got to play the Chiefs at home, I believe the Ravens were the number one seed. Correct me if I'm wrong. So they haven't done that yet. And I just think there's a significant advantage

to only having to play two games and they're both at home. And there's really no excuse for the bills to not get that home field advantage this year. I think that's critically, critically important. They need to get it. Every year, it seems like they lose at least one game, sometimes too, that they just have no business losing. That can't happen this year. With Ross Tucker, the Buffalo Bills, they got their holding situation,

dealt with James Cook. signed his deal last year, but still a few more around the NFL, and one that is above the rest is the Micah Parsons situation. Now, you had an opportunity to play at Dallas in your career. Are you surprised that it's kind of gotten to this point, given your experience with Jerry Jones? Nope, not anymore. I mean, this is kind of standard operating procedure, it feels like, at this point for Jerry Jones. I mean, I don't know when he decided this guy's, but it certainly feels like he decided at some point

that trying to win a Super Bowl is really, really expensive, really hard to do, and that your odds of doing so are very small and very hard to control. but then he realized, you know, being able to be the team that makes the most money and is worth the most, that's a lot easier to control. And so I believe he feels like he's winning in the business of football. And I think he realized at some point along the way that nothing gets attention

like a star player hold out during training camp. and the suspense and intrigue around whether or not he'll play in that first game. And so I think that's one of the reasons why he does this. I really do. I think he's figured out that he's getting millions and millions of dollars worth of free value every day with the Micah Parsons, will he, won't he situation. I think if you're a Cowboys fan, that should be really, really troubling, really sad because there's no way to argue that it's what's best for the football team, especially

when Micah ends up getting a deal that's going to be a ton of money and at the very top of the market, a ton of cap space, but it just doesn't feel like the Cowboys care about that that much. It feels like they think that it's worth it. Hey, Ross, what does it do in your experience? What does it do to the unit, the team, when you've got a circus side show of this nature going on around it orchestrated by the owner of the whole operation?

Well, it depends on who you are. If you're a guy like I was, it doesn't really affect you that much at all because you're just so concerned about your job and your role and the things with star players or whatever

don't really affect you or concern you that much. I think the higher you are on the totem pole, the more frustrating it is. You know, I think about a guy like Joe Burrow, who after the season was asked, I think about Jamar Chase and T. Higgins and salary cap and how hard it is. And he said, well, I don't know. I mean, the Eagles have paid everybody. Seems like that's the way to go.

Seems like that's the way to do it. And I love that Burrough said that and called the Bengals out. So I think if you're Dak Prescott or some of these guys, you get frustrated because you're probably smart enough to realize that the organization really isn't doing everything it can or should do to try to put you in the best chance to succeed. And this is your legacy. I mean, this is your life. C.D. Lamb knows it. Certainly, Dak Prescott knows it. But at this point, what are they going to do? with ross tucker host of the ross tucker football podcast uh matthew stafford finally got onto the field for practice today i think rams fans got a you know sigh relief when they saw him finally hit the field but a lingering back injury at 37 years old how concerning is this whole situation uh for the rams

right now when it comes to matt stafford yeah i would say it's pretty concerning you know you're talking know a guy, my last year in Buffalo, 04, you know, I had major back issues, and I got the epidural, and it didn't really do much for me, and I played the last however many games with a herniated disc in my back, and it was bad. I mean, it was really, really bad. I had a significant playing time bonus, so I was heavily motivated to play on multiple levels, but I can remember taken like, oh, I think it was like two flexeroles, two laura tabs. I would get a shot of tort all on my butt before every game. My wife, I remember that last game against the Steelers.

My wife had to tie my shoes when I was leaving the house to go to the stadium. I mean, it was bad. I do think as a quarterback, he's in a better spot because he doesn't have to be in a three-point stance. So it doesn't have to have that sort of fulcrum of being in that three-point stance and having to, you know, get out of it up into an upright stance. So that should help. I know he's tough his nails, but he's also, I think I was like 25. I mean, he's also 37.

And if he's already getting the epidural, he's having a disc issue. He's got a long road ahead of him. You know, I think anybody that's ever been there, and I'm sure a lot of people listening in their cars right now, If you've been there with back pain and you've had the epidural, you know that that's a long road to hoe. I'm 46 now, guys. I don't think I've ever talked to anybody that said they used to have a bad back.

It's like once you have a bad back, you're signed up for that for life, and then you're just kind of managing it for the rest of your life. So I would definitely, definitely be concerned if I were a Ramsfin. Hey, one of the other big hold-in stories, and there have been a handful of them, Ross, as you know, in the NFL, Terry McLaurin down in Washington. What do you think of this strategy that he's employing now? Not only is he, you know, he's not, he hasn't caved in on the contract talks, but he is, you know, joining the team in practice, taking himself off the, the pup list, as they call it, and making himself available to get out there. doesn't feel like much of a hold in anymore but the contract impasse remains if you're a player or you're his agent how do you feel about this move well i i guess i have some skepticism that

it's not contract related at all i know that's what they're saying but i would imagine that there's been some type of progress some type of you know conversation if you remember james cook practiced for a day or two before he got the new james deal. I think these teams don't want to set the precedent of giving a guy a deal to get him to come back to practice. They want to set the other

precedent of after you come back to practice, then you have a better chance of getting the new deal. So my guess is that is what's going on there, and that I would think he'd have a new deal within the next week or so.

Ross, I want to ask you about Joe Flacko who is named the starting quarterback for the Cleveland Browns this year, 40 years old. Like, what are your expectations for Flacco at this point? And can they even be a competitive team in the AFC North here? Well, so I just did their game against the Eagles on Saturday. I do the Eagles' preseason games,

and I went to their joint practices. And I don't know. I mean, I think even the Browns know that best cases, scenario. If everything went well, they're like, what, seven and ten? You know? I think the real issue is with all those veterans on the team, you think about Joel Betonio and Miles Garrett. Tough to just put Dylan Gabriel out there, Shador Sanders, right? You want to give those guys a chance when the season's a clean slate to win games and see if maybe they can go on a run and surprise people.

Plus, their schedule is really difficult. At the start, my guess is that they want to, you know, play Joe at the start. And then when it's pretty clear that they're out of the playoff mix, then probably get these other guys in. I guess I understand that. I'm not sure that the way I would go, but I do understand the logic there. And I'll say this, too, I'm, like, impressed by Flacko. I mean, he's made $180 million, okay?

That's just in on-field earnings. He's making $4 million this year from the Browns. So I guess I always look at it, like, after taxes, you know, that's $2 million, and that's a lot of money, right? For me and you and whoever. But for him, like, that $2 million is not going to make. a difference in his life. Yeah.

A significant injury could, you know, Torr-Petel attendant, a really bad concussion. So I'm impressed, surprised, whatever, that Joe keeps going. He keeps wanting to play. He clearly loves, loves football. Yeah, I'm looking at this schedule. You mentioned it. Bengals, Ravens, Packers, Lions, Vikings, Steelers to start the season.

So maybe by the time to get to the Dolphins in week seven, and we'll see them make that quarterback swap unless, you know, they go on a run and win some of those games and shock the world. The fancy's a good coach. They had, you know, some success yardage-wise a couple years ago. Maybe there could be some sort of Cinderella story, although usually the Browns brown themselves. So I'm not holding my breath on that.

Not betting on Cleveland, that's definitely for sure. Ross, before we get you out of here, what's the deal with this MyfrontpageStory.com? Well, let me ask you guys. this, is September and October, or maybe even August, big for anniversaries up there, or no? Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Okay, because evidently, I found out recently, September and October are the two biggest months for weddings in the United States, which, like, blows my mind away that people do that

during football season. That should be illegal. Agreed. It's selfish. I mean, the amount of weddings I've missed because I'm a player or a broadcaster, extremely frustrating. But the only reason I referenced that is because these guys at MyfrontpageStory.com, it is by far the best anniversary gift I've ever seen. So if you're one of those people that got married in September, October, or late August, or maybe your parents did, check out MyfrontpageStory.com.

You literally talk to a professional writer for 10 minutes, tell them how great your significant other is, or maybe your parents, whoever you get it for. They write this incredible story. It's framed. Looks like it's on the cover of the newspaper. And I've seen so many videos at this point now where they're just crying when they receive it

because it's a really emotional gift. See in print in words how much you mean to the other people in your life. So anybody got an anniversary coming up. Do yourself a favor. At least go check out my front page story.com. and see what it looks like. Throw your email address in, and you'll get that 20% discount code

if you want to wait until Valentine's or Mother's Day or something. It's called Myfrontpagestory.com. Love it. Absolutely. I know I've got, I catch you. I think my parents' anniversary is coming up pretty soon. So I'll definitely have to take a look at that. Ross, really appreciate the time, as always.

Hopefully can do it again soon. My pleasure. Thank you guys so much for having me. Really appreciate it. Absolutely. There he goes. Ross Tucker, from the Ross Tucker football podcast at Ross Tucker NFL on socials. And yeah, my front page story.com.

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