PTI - Does McLaurin Deal Make Commanders Contenders?

Episode Date: August 25, 2025

Mina Kimes and Frank Isola discuss the new Terry McLaurin deal, the Cleveland Browns QB room, and Cal "Big Dumper" Raleigh! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, sports fans, the ESPN app has all of ESPN all in one place. The ESPN app is your home to thousands of live events, ESPN shows, and originals across every ESPN network and service. And now you can check if you already have ESPN Unlimited as part of your TV package for no additional calls. Visit activate.esPN.com to learn how to access your account or sign up, then start streaming in the ESPN app. It's all of ESPN all in one place. Sign up or activate now. On the interruption, but I'm Frank Isola, and I'm told they like to have the stronger substitute host right here in studio. I'm eating times. And really?

I heard it was the one who needs more help. Well, I mean, I technically need help, but the other still applies. I don't get to go to Cleveland on my weekends. I only get to be in New York. You know what? It mattered. And I wanted to. And I purposely watched that game because I knew you were there.

I didn't want you to top me. Not bad, not bad. We'll get into that in a minute. Welcome to PTI, everyone. Mike and Tony continue their tandem mic trip around the copse walls. So I'm joined by my great friend from NFL Live and the Mina Kimes show featuring Lennie. Of course, it's Mina Kimes, everyone. Wow.

See, you go to Cleveland one time and everybody falls in love with you. All right, we'll get the Shador in a minute. But let's start with the commanders signing Terry McLarence, who with three-year extension. The new deal is worth up to $96 million. total with 30 million do its signing. McLaureen has topped 1,000 yards, five seasons running, and last year posted 13 touchdowns while catching balls from the great Jaden Daniels. All right, Mina, does this signing make the commanders contenders in your eyes? It does, but only because they're in the NFC, just to be honest, if they were in the AFC, I would

not answer yes. I love what the McLaurin signing does to sustain the momentum they built on offense last year. I also like the additions of Laramie Tunsel, Debo Samuel. I don't think Jane Daniels is going to regress. But this commander's defense, Frank, was bottom 10 last year in both DVOA and success rate. And when I look at them, I don't see a lot of improvement on that side of the fall. Then you look at the AFC, the likes of the Chiefs, the Ravens, the Bills, they're just more balanced. And the NFC, though, outside of Philadelphia, it feels wide open to me. So while I don't think they're going to win the division, and I kind of doubt you disagree, I do think that they have a chance to make another postseason run.

So truth be told, we were trying to discuss what we're going to talk about. And Mina today told the producers, there's a chance. Maybe McLaurin will sign. Next thing you know, he has signed, but he signed a deal. But for me, it was official when Magic Johnson tweeted about it. Then I knew it was a done deal when Magic weighs in on the commanders. I think you're right. Let's remember one thing about the division.

You have the defending Super Bowl champs are there. The Cowboys, let's face it, at any moment, they could have a breakout season. And I do think the Giants will be a little bit better. But when you do have a quarterback like that, who won the Cowboys, two playoff games and prior to, you know, last season, the commanders hadn't gotten 19 years winning one playoff game. So that kind of quarterback, you're always going to be a contender and you're right about the NFC. I love what they did with this signing, though, it was a smart thing to do. That's a terrific tandem with quarterback and wide receiver. Don't mess with that.

Here would be the other thing, though, with the commanders. Remember, last year in the NFL, they had 19 scoring drives in the fourth quarter. That means a lot of their games were closed. Fourth most in the NFL, they surrendered 20. which was the sixth most in the NFL. And they had 12 games, Mena, decided within eight points. So they play a lot of close games. Remember the Hail Mary game they had against the Bears? So I love the quarterback, but I think the division is better.

Do I expect to see them playing the Super Bowl? I'm not so sure about that right now. They also converted like a historic rate of fourth downs, which, you know, to do the nerd thing here is likely to regress this season. And as far as the Eagles go, the run defense in particular concerns me. I said they had a bottom 10 defense, bottom five run defense. Philadelphia put over 200 yards on the ground on them. Granted, they did that to a lot of people.

And again, if they were to face them again in the NFC championship, it's hard for me not to pick Philadelphia. When you look at Daniels, now listen, he could have a sophomore slump that obviously could happen. But he does seem to have that it factor. Like he carries himself like a franchise quarterback. He looks like he's committed, you know, he has a presence. on the field, right? The second I pulled up the nerd stats and talked about regression, you had to go to the id factor.

I knew you were going to do it. That's right. I don't just agree. And one other thing, too, I love the way McLaren handled this. It was the holdout, hold in, request to trade, and then he gets the big deal and they'll be ready to play by week one against the Giants. Good job by him, his agent, and the commanders as well. All right, let's move to Chodor Sanders' future with the Brown. Sanders struggled in Saturday's preseason game, but believes he's an obvious pick. to make the team's 53-man roster.

Do you agree, Mina? I think so because the Browns GM, Andrew Barry, basically said as much. It is unusual, Frank, for a team to carry four quarterbacks. Last year, over half of the league only carried two quarterbacks. There was only one team that carried four the Cleveland Browns. And that's why this is defensible in my mind. The Browns aren't a good team. So it's more likely than not they're going to start multiple quarterbacks over the course of the season.

And I think it is reasonable for them to take several shots. on goal and see if anything works out. All of that said, as you alluded to, Shador Sanders did not play well on Saturday. This was the game that I called. And watching him, you just saw some of the worst tendencies he had in college, almost amplified, making bad situations worse by drifting backwards, inviting pressure, taking a long time to throw the ball or not throw the ball. If he wants to leapfrog Dylan Gabriel, who was excellent, I thought, this weekend, he has

to improve in that regard. I do think Cleveland is going to give him that opportunity, though. Maybe he was a little nervous that you were in the building, but we talked to It Factor. He certainly had the It Factor on Saturday. Three per six, of the 11 drops, he got sacked five times. And it was a disaster for him. And that's allowed to happen. Where he was drafted, he's young, he's learning the league, he holds on to the ball for too long.

He takes way too many sacks. But it's amazing the coverage of this young guy, and I understand it, too. It's the preseason. Everyone except for Meena Kimes really isn't paying attention to it. So he's a big name, and everyone wants to see him play, He's got the famous father. But it starts out with they're setting them up to fail. Now they're not giving enough opportunities.

And they don't put him in on the final drive of the game. And by the way, Huntley leaves them right, takes him down the field. And they went on a field goal because I know you didn't want overtime in that game, by the way. So. I don't think anyone did. But the Browns have never really been good at this whole quarterback thing. Forget, you know, the autograph statue and Brian Seip and Bernie Corso. I've had a million quarterbacks since 1999.

So they'd only always get it right. But they also, let's be fair. They want Dylan Gabriel to succeed because he was drafted ahead of Shador Sanders. So the idea of getting opportunities, of course, they're going to give it to the guy that was drafted before Shador, right? Yeah, Gabriel's kind of the forgotten man in all of this. You're right. The Browns clearly signaled that they valued him more by drafting him in the third round, which was higher than a lot of folks, myself included, expected. But again, he played great on Saturday.

He had a 2.72 second time to throw. That's very quick. Sanders was 4.48, which is not sustainable in the end. NFL. I thought he looked accurate, decisive, really everything you wanted to see from the young quarterback. And I do think he's going to get a chance, even if they are starting with Joe Flacco. Yeah, and I have, they say that Pickett, Kenny Pickett, will be available for week one. So it looks like he's going to be the backup and it looks like Dylan Gabriel will be the third quarterback. Do you think Gabriel and Shador Sanders get some snaps this year? And remember,

it's the Cleveland Browns we're talking about. Fair. It's possible, but I do think we're we're more likely to see a lot of Gabriel this year. And I think it's even more likely than not that the 2026 quarterback is not currently on the Cleveland Browns roster. Interesting, interesting. All right. Now to my guy, Cal Raleigh, the Mariner Slugger homered twice yesterday to break the record for most home runs in a season by a catcher. He now has 49 on pace for 62. Frank, big deal, little deal, or no deal?

It's a big deal for the big dumper. There's no question about it. I mean, in a sport where you have Shoay Otani and you have Aaron Judge. Kyle Raleigh has been the best story for me in baseball this year. And what he did yesterday, think about this. Four catchers in the history of the sport prior to Cal Raleigh have hit 40 or more home runs while primarily being the catcher. And think about the names.

All right, Todd Huntley, Mike Piazza, two former Mets, by the way. But you have the great Roy Campanella and Johnny Bench. And now he joins this list. And by the way, the last time I checked, we're still in August. And he has a chance, you know, to break the record for most home runs by a switch hitter. Mickey Mantle has that. What's that at 54? And then Junior Griffey's team record of 56 home runs.

He's in line to do that. In fact, he's on pace to probably match Aaron Judge. When you're a catcher and you're performing like this, I would think that the voters, I know we're not going to go too crazy about MVP just yet, but I would have to think that has to account for something. The fact that he's hitting like this and he plays that position. Oh, I think it adds another layer to what is already an incredible story. The fact that he is in this MVP race with Aaron Judge, I know we're going to talk about the Yankees later. Look, Judge has better statistics in most regards.

However, Cal playing catcher, you have to consider that, and the fact that what he's doing is historic. And I mentioned this at the beginning, the fact that he's on pace for 62. Now, I don't know if that's going to happen. It seems a little bit lofty, but the fact that he's even in the race is unbelievable. And of course, beyond his individual accolades, this means everything for the Seattle Mariners. I mean, Judge and Raleigh are locked in a battle, but so are these two teams. They're so close to each other in the wildcard race. So this just adds so much suspense on both the individual and team level through the end of the year.

And you think about all the great players they've had in Seattle over the years. Obviously, Junior Griffey, Ichero, Edgar Martinez, you know, Tina Martinez was there for some time before he went to the Mets. Jay Buneer, guys that get home runs. And for him to be in a position where he could break the team record, you know, you may. mention these things. Johnny Bench, Roy Campanella. He's right now the first AL catcher to have consecutive seasons of 100 or more RBIs since Thurman Munson did it in the 70s. It's just at a different level. My big thing would be, and this is what, the one thing about baseball, it's a regular season sport. And everyone goes crazy. Well, you know,

are they going to make the playoffs? If you do, can you really be the MVP? It's 162 game season. And this guy plays a demanding position, Mina. And most of his home runs, he's actually hitting better for a higher average. He hits home runs more frequently when he catches. So think about that responsibility. Plus, he's putting up these kind of numbers, right? I really thought you were going to come here and make the case for Aaron Judge coming from New York. You're making the argument for me.

I came to arm with a lot of these same stats to support my guy Cal. But no, you're absolutely right. What he is doing at his position has to be factored in. And I do think, though, the team aspect of this matters. The Anguies and the Mariners are so close to each other. That, to me, evens the playing field for these two guys. because if they were far apart and the Mariners weren't a contender, it would be harder to make the case.

The nickname is great. It's almost like a cartoonish nickname. I wonder in a way that if it hurts them, because this is like an unprecedented season that the guy is putting together. It's really, really, really remarkable. All right, let's take a break. But coming up, how important, speaking of the Yankees,

was it for them to salvage game four against the Red Sox last night? And what's the word for Shohay's high five with a fan who had been heckling him? Look at that. I like Calra. I've always liked the Mariners. It'd be nice to get them in the World Series for once, right? All right, there it is.

There we go. Little trash talk. It's time to read the mail. An important task they're reserved for the hosts in studio. Let's see what's first. Maybe Mina sent me an invitation to be on her podcast. You never know. Doubt it that you never know.

All right. How important was it for the Yankees to avoid a four-game sweep by the Red Sox? Incredibly important. They had dropped three, got shellacked on Saturday. and as you know, these two teams are locked in an extremely tight race for that wildcard spot. They're both far behind Toronto. Frank, it's also important because while the Yankees have a couple of easy opponents coming up, the nationals, the White Sox, after that, the schedule looks brutal for them.

They're facing Houston. They're facing Toronto. They're facing Boston again. That's going to be a series that has a lot of eyes on it. And I think you saw in this game why they could be such a dangerous out in October. They are a flawed team. They have holes, pitching issues, but boy, can they hit for power. And when those bats turn on, they can beat anyone.

That is what happened. They hit home runs. They score a lot of runs. Going into the series finale, they actually had more errors than they had runs in the first three games. Now, Friday night, Max Fried pitch well. They only lost one nothing. But the Saturday game really was a low point for the Yankees. They lose 12 to 1.

The crowd is booing. Aaron Boone is getting destroyed. the sky was falling. They needed yesterday's game. They make the chains at shortstop, Volpe's out, you know, they weren't committing errors. I mean, routine throws from short to first for outs.

They were getting a mock cheer in the Bronx. So they needed that. But after all the dust settles, you know, the Red Sox are ahead of the Yankees, but it's only by a half game. And you did mention this schedule. So the Yankees, next seven games, three against the Nationals,

and they go to Chicago to play the White Sox. So the schedule isn't that difficult. But I thought the, give the Red Sox, a lot of credit. A lot of people thought this would be a throwaway year for them. It hasn't been that, but the Yankees desperately needed that. And I see to remember, another Boston team dominated New York during the regular season. Then in the NBA playoffs, they lost to the New York team. Always remember that. All right, let's see where we got next. How about that noise? All right, what's the word for Show Hay's high five with a Padres heckling

fan after hitting his 45th home run? Delightful. I absolutely love this. I know you did too. It's great. For context, Shohay in this series had been 0 for 10, so he had a lot of pent-up frustration, I feel like, hits the home run. This fan had been heckling him all night long,

rounds of bases, comes back, seeks out the high-five. You can tell the fan wasn't expecting it. Frank, this was delightful to me for a couple of reasons. One, we never see this type of behavior from Shohay Otani. He's so reserved normally. He doesn't show off his personality and emotion that much. So I thought it was really great. cool to see him push back a little bit. And then the series, this is going to be one of the best

stories in all of sports, the division race between San Diego and Los Angeles going down the stretch. So I like to see the chippiness between the fan bases. And let me tell you out here, there is chippiness, translate on the field. The player is embracing it as a good thing for baseball. Yeah, Dodgers 11 of the last 12 division titles. And then you have the Poges. I haven't won the division since 06. I think you're right with Delightful. It was a really cool moment. I don't think Russell Westbrook is going to do that to a heckling fan. I don't think he's going to dab him up and give him a big smile. But the look on Dave Roberts' face, the manager, he loved it because remember, Dave Roberts is positioned there the entire game.

So this guy is destroying everyone. He kept reminding Shohei that, like you mentioned, he was 0 for 10. He only had two. He was over 10 with two walks before hitting that home run. It's just another reason why he's such a likable guy because that rivalry is intense. It's become, it's more interesting right now than Dodgers' giants. And I have a fan doing that and Shohei just had a way of, you know, it's just the, just the way he is really terrific. All right. Let's see what we got next year.

Last one. All right. Now, this one's interesting. What was your highlight of the early going of the U.S. Open? I mean, it had to be Medvedev losing his mind at the month, which was a really surreal scene, by the way, at the U.S. Open. So he was losing, right, to Bonzi. And then this photographer kind of walks on and walks off. After his opponent had missed a serve, the ump stops, lets him hit again.

Yep. And like, Medvedev was a little bit justified in being upset about that. So he stops. He freaks out at the, he gets the crowd kind of riled up and on his side and booing. And then he almost comes back, ultimately loses. It's been a frustrating scene. for him, right? He's not that far removed from being the best player in the world. And I feel like maybe some of those sentiments spilled onto the court in this regard, but it was one of the stranger

scenes I've seen. Yeah, he's been knocked out of the first round three times at the majors. Bonsie has done it twice. So Medvedev's only won one first round match at majors this year. I think you and I just, we seem to disagree on everything. Medvedev's behavior is so out of line. And let me start here with the photographer. And I worked in newspaper. And I love the photographers, but they drive you nuts. And it's a classic photographer move. What do you walk on the court for? The umpire applied the rule correctly. So Medvedev knows that.

He's just trying to get the crowd riled up. What did he say to the umpire in the microphone? He doesn't get paid by the hour. He gets paid by the match. That's why he wants to be out of here. But it's also the New York crowd. And this happens all the time around the U.S. Open. Everyone talks about the New York crowd.

So they feel, oh, we're New York. So we have to match this horrible behavior by Medvedev on the court and keep booing. Even though we don't know the rule because the rule is correct. And then what does Medvedev do when he loses the match? smashing his racket like a child. There's a lot of things to like about him. He's a former champion there, but that behavior, come on. Low-light.

You and the rules. You and the ups. You and the officials. Always siding with them. I'm going to stick with the rules. It looks like they're telling me we've got to go to a break. So thanks for the emails, everyone. Let's take one last break.

But still to come, get ready for more Bill Belichick content. And could Aaron Rogers be open to a second season with Steelers? And you like talking about Aaron Rogers all the time. That sounded like a threat. The it factor with the quote marks. Happy time, everyone. Happy 79th birthday, Raleigh Fingers. One of the most recognizable relief pitchers in baseball history.

The Hall of Famer's wax handlebar mustache matched his memorable stature of his career, which included seven All-Star Games, three World Series titles, and a joint AL-Sye Young and MVP in 1981. Both the A's and Brewers have retired Fingers, Jersey. He made the hall in now. 1992 and at the time joined Hoyt Wilhelm as the only in Shrive Relievers. How about that? One of the all-time sports names, one of the all-time mustaches, and one of the all-time

relievers at a time. And Frank, you remember this because of your advanced age, when relievers weren't valued the way they were. So his impact on the position is undeniable, as well as his impact on both the cities of Oakland and Milwaukee, rare to have a player impact two cities that way. When you're talking relievers, there's one, though. Mariano, remember that. A not so happy anniversary, Tony Romo.

On this day, nine years ago, Romo went down with an injured back on the third play of a preseason game. In step deck, press Scott, and that was that. Television was never the same. Romo retired the following April and was soon hired by CBS to be their top analyst, and he's still just 45.

By the way, during Friday night's preseason finale, Cowboys Holden, Michael Parsons, was spotted reclining on a trainer's, table and head coach Brian Schadenheimer said he talked to Parsons about it. All right. I'm going to leave that one and focus on the anniversary. There's been so much discourse, as you alluded to, about Doc Prescott over the last few years that people forget how wild it was, Frank, for a fourth round graphic to come in and

surpass expectations the way he did because people also forget Tony Romo was good. He was a really underrated quarterback despite the lack of postseason success. Yeah, from a small school too. Happy trails to Tommy Fleetwood's PGA Tour Drought. The English golfer won the tour championship for his first PGA tour title in 164 career starts. The often bearded man known as Fairway Jesus, that's a great nickname, collected 10 million for winning. He told reporters afterward, I never really felt like it wouldn't happen,

but there's always a doubt there. A man who wins all the time, Scotty Shephler, well, he finished fourth, four shots back. 30 top five finishes in the last eight years. Zero wins until now. This was incredibly suspenseful, Frank. Like I was watching getting worried that he was going to blow a lead again. He bogeed on the 10th, but then Cantlay slipped up and he finished strong. One of the best sports stories of the summer. And he's a huge fan of Everton, the English soccer club. They opened up their new stadium and they won. So Tommy Fleet, whatever think of there. All right. No errors today. Let's go to the big finish. Chinese Taipei beat Nevada to win the Little League World Series. your thoughts. Well, I predicted Nevada would make you remember that from last week, but no, this was not too surprising given that the winners finished second last year. It was long time coming for Chinese Taipei. All right. On Cam Hayward's pod, Aaron Rogers opened the door towards possibly playing a second season in Pittsburgh. Makes sense? I only listen to your

podcast, and Aaron Rogers loves to do this. He loves to talk about this year, last year, what could happen. I have no idea. You know what? Usually the mind goes before the athleticism. Front office sports reports that Bill Belichick told his team that Hulu We'll be following them this season. You're intrigued by that? Slightly. I think they're going to leave a lot of juicy stuff out, but it'll be interesting to see him interact with college players.

All right, Brianna Stewart is set to return to Your Liberty tonight after a bone bruise on her right knee, kept her out for nearly a month. Big deal? Oh, they need her. Collier came back last night, had 32 points. Last one, Vikings traded quarterback Sam out to the Eagles. Is that significant? Probably not.

They got Tanner McKee. He's awesome. We're out of time. Thanks for watching. I'm Frank Isola. And I'm Minikimes. PTI is back tomorrow at the same time on ESP. 2.