Purple Insider - a Minnesota Vikings and NFL podcast - Vikings will host joint practices with the Patriots -- good idea? (Hour 2)

Episode Date: May 20, 2025

Matthew Coller talks about how the Vikings made it official that they will host the Patriots for joint practices during training camp. Do we like joint practices? Also let's start getting some hot 2025 takes going.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Steve says, uh, lukewarm take KOC will call for a trick play at the worst possible time and it will fail in epic fashion. Okay. So I do think that O'Connell backed off last year, that he backed off all the trick plays after the totally disastrous end around and Jacksonville I don't remember him calling too many trick plays after that So he may have gotten the hint that he's not gonna be Ben Johnson or Dan Campbell with those trick plays But yeah, that's a that is a pretty lukewarm take

Mama says Caleb Williams will be considered a bust in a couple years the thing is that i think. That would be a really hot take at the end of last year or the beginning of last year i probably would have said like i'll come on you know. Even though i wasn't the highest on him coming out like you know that's that's pretty hot. Things are not trending in a great direction, and usually it takes about three years to figure it out for sure. But we're going to get a really good sense this year if that's even a hot take or not. I think it's very possible that with better coaching and better

supporting cast, Williams will be good, but not great. That's where I would land him in the if I were to guess guess like on the spectrum of all things, Caleb Williams could become. Is he like a Jordan love where? Yeah, I mean he could get hot against you and then you are screwed. Like he could just win a game with his arm because he's so talented, but there's always going to be enough boneheadedness mistakes, sacks, be enough boneheadedness mistakes, sacks, dropping the eyes, not, not being a leader or whatever it is to not quite get over that threshold. And think about how high that threshold is to be Lamar to be Josh Allen, to be Patrick Mahomes.

And I think Jayden Daniels has that, but I think Caleb Williams right now, even if you just use one year sample size, probably his trajectory points to being a little bit more like a Jordan Love or a Trevor Lawrence than it does being like Lamar Jackson. Craig says, hot take Josh Oliver has more receiving yards than Hawkinson in 2025. I still question if Hawkinson is going to come back to full form. Oliver look good blocking was excellent catching last season. Yeah, that's one I can't get on board with even remotely, uh,

because you know, I mean, look, Hockinson was still good last year and he's basically a receiver out there. They're going to use them. And I actually think that JJ McCarthy's good. I would have the opposite take that Hockinson's going to be one of the league leaders in targets for tight ends because JJ McCarthy sees the middle of the field and underneath better. I like Josh Oliver and what he does, but that one's pretty spicy because I think Hawkinson is going to be back. I don't think he rushed it, but there were signs of some rust. I also think that tight end is always there

for the quarterback. It's really how much the quarterback wants to use it. And Sam Darnold did not want to use it. He wanted to push the ball down the field. Uh, Brett says the Panthers will win the NFC South in a week division and Bryce Young takes a step forward. I like that take Brett. I don't think it's crazy hot, but I like that take. I think, I mean, Bryce Bryce Young nobody was really looking last year

He he had them very close to winning a lot of games that they lost because they had the 32nd ranked defense He really showed that he could play now. He's got another receiver. I like that take Seldom seen says saw today the Lions have three players in the PFF best under 25 the Vikings have zilch Can't get ahead just being the highest bidder and free agency every year The Lions have three players in the PFF best under 25 the Vikings have zilch Can't get ahead just being the highest bidder in free agency every year So I think youth is overrated Uh in the nfl Like being the youngest team hasn't really gotten the packers all that far like they talked about it non-stop how young they were

A lot of times veteran teams are the ones that win. Like there were a couple of young players on Philadelphia, but there were a lot of guys who have been around the block or developed over a couple of years. And I do feel like I see this a lot from some Vikings fans who are kind of like, and I don't mean this in an offensive way, cause I love you people, but like front office, big brain people, you know, the guy who knows all the comp picks the guy who knows all the over the cap, every single players cap hit and stuff. And again, I love that.

I'm not making fun of that. That's what we do here. And I love those discussions. So don't take that the wrong way. But I think that there's a little bit too much emphasis sometimes on how the Vikings acquired their players and what their window actually is because you can actually keep doing that with the cap space you have and the coach you have and the organization you have and they've done it like the last two years shows you you can actually keep

doing it going into free agency and getting known commodities rather than just hoping for player development through your roster. Now, the other thing is to, you know, yeah, under 25. Okay. Well, you know, what's Justin Jefferson? 26. So I guess Jefferson is off those lists. Uh, Granada is maybe 27, possibly turning 28. He's going to be good for years. Christian Darasa is probably 26 instead of 25. I mean, when you make an arbitrary cutoff that eliminates the three best Vikings players, it's kind of tough, right? They what the Vikings have is they have two to three years of all these greatly talented players in their prime. And if the quarterback is good,

they're going to get there. Uh, doesn't, you know, who knows if they're going to get to the Superbowl, but I mean that they're going to be highly, highly competitive. Edwin says, do you think Jefferson will be the first wide receiver to win MVP? I do not think anyone will be. I just don't think it's possible that a quarterback is always going to be the guy who wins MVP, but I do like that offensive player of the year has shifted over to being kind of the non quarterback MVP, but it just seems like, and there's no argument.

I mean, it's just always, always going to be, uh, a quarterback who's the most valuable player and even Justin Jefferson said that himself. Um, Matt says a hot take Turner will get more sacks than Van Ginkle this season. Yeah, I mean Van Ginkle is kind of ripe for some regression there in his sack total, not his total impact, but the sack total was by far his career high. That's going to be hard to repeat. And I could see Van Ginkle shifting a little bit into more of a complete overall linebacker and Turner rushing the passer more, even though they were cross-training him last year.

So, okay, great stuff. Feel free to continue with the hot take. You guys turned it up. Hey, I always appreciate when I just throw something at you at random, it's not even in the headline. I just say, like, hey, fire me some hot takes. You guys did that. And if I didn't like your hot take,

don't take it personally, because that's why it's a hot take, Right. So good job on those. And thank you very much. Now is an interesting time in the history of Purple Insider, because we are going to introduce the newest Purple Insider intern. If she's ready, waiting backstage. Okay. Yes, she's ready to go. All right. So wait, what did I just push? Oh, sorry, that was Aaron's comment. They have good youth and key positions. You can fill their.

Yeah, no, I agree. I agree, Aaron, that it's not youth. It's just in their prime, which means your window is now. And there's no such thing as a 10 year window anyway. So. Off you go. But anyway, OK, we are going to introduce the next great intern in Purple Insider history. Look guys, I am just about at the age where I'm starting to notice that hairline fading a little bit, so if you're struggling with the same problem, allow me to make a suggestion. Give Hims a try. Try Hims Hair Loss Solutions and you'll

be joining the hundreds of thousands of subscribers who found their hair again. Hims provide you with a convenient quality access to a range of hair loss treatments that work all from the comfort of your couch. Just answer a few questions and a medical provider will determine if treatment is right for you. And if prescribed, your treatment is sent directly to you with no shipping costs. The process is simple, 100% online, and there are no uncomfortable doctor visits. No insurance is needed, and one low price covers everything from treatments to your

ongoing care. HIMS has hundreds of thousands of trusted subscribers, and they can help you get your confidence back with visibly thicker and fuller hair. Start your online visit today at hims.com slash purple insider. That's h i m s dot com slash purple insider for your personalized hair loss treatment options. Hims.com slash purple insider. Results vary based on studies of topical and oral, minoxidil and finasteride. Prescription products require an online consultation with healthcare provider, and will determine if a prescription is appropriate.

Restrictions apply, see website for details, and important safety information. Her name is Maggie Robinson, and here's the thing, she's a little bit of a hybrid intern, because I think she's got a little bit too much street cred in football to truly be an intern. She's worked the last two years with NFL broadcasting, television productions

and operations, live events, which is really cool. And we're going to hear about some of her experiences there also worked game day PR and communications with a team that I don't want to tell you. It's not green Bay, but it's a team you don't like. So we'll talk about that. The Philadelphia Eagles, but is now working her way in front of cameras more often going back to Syracuse in broadcasting. So we welcome in for the very first time, Maggie Robinson and wait,

Maggie, once there you go. Big. Now you're big. Hello, Maggie. How are you? I'm good. How are you doing? Well, I think we're having a fun night. I kind of love these times where there's nothing technically that we have to talk about.

And so we could just throw anything out there we want. So you are taking over for intern Clay, who did a great job, and he graduated and send me a picture of him, uh, graduating up. Congratulations to him. So now you are taking over his Monday night spot and, uh, with a similar assignment of coming up with five topics for us to talk about. And, uh, there wasn't again, a whole lot of obvious news items for you.

So I'm fascinated to see where you begin, but I would love you to tell the audience about your experience working for the NFL the last couple of years, even you were at this year's draft in Green Bay. Yeah, yeah, you're getting me fresh off the NFL. I am unemployed as of two weeks ago. So I'm in a little, we're calling it my sabbatical between finishing work and starting at Syracuse.

Also have to say shout out to Clay. He's another Penn guy. I graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 2023 and then went straight to the NFL. So Professor Balaji, he's one of our comms teachers at Penn, made this setup. So shout out to him. I know he's listening. But yeah, I was with the NFL for two years on the broadcasting team, focusing on TV production and operations. So working a lot with all the major networks. So your ESPN, your Fox, CBS, anywhere you're watching a game, we're doing all the super not cute, very behind the scenes, technical work of making sure that it looks like the extravaganza that it does on TV, that all the commercial breaks are timed up. And just all the camera breaks are timed up and just all the camera crews

are credentialed properly. And let's make sure that, I don't know, there's no issues on the field that are causing the stream to look bad. So it was a great behind the scenes look. And I think through that, I realized I really want to be on camera. Every time I would go to a game, I'd be looking at the desk watching them do their thing. I was like, that's where I got to go. So made the pivot.

We're going to Syracuse for a one year masters in sports broadcasting and then it's off to the races. So this is the first real on air experience in football. So thank you for the opportunity. Absolutely, I'm thrilled to have you and you also do a podcast about women in sports called Mixed Doubles, which is cool. So you're getting in your reps here

and as Clay found out in previous interns, my house is your house. When you intern with a purple insider, the fans, as you see in the comment section, the listeners to the show, always great, always very welcoming. So it is now Matt and Maggie here. And we're, I don't think we came up officially with what this is going to be called, maybe Mondays with Maggie. I think we'll do that. That works. I like that. I like that. So I want you to tell me and everyone else about, uh,

what the draft was like for you, because I know that Minnesota wants to host one since they already hosted a Superbowl. I think they're a little lower on the list. Uh, but green Bay, you have to give it to them. It looked like an incredible atmosphere that they were able to pull off on that first night. So what was your job on draft night? Yeah. So one I've say shout out to the city of green Bay. They showed out for being such a small community.

It was insane the crowd that we pulled. Um, but my job was, it's one of my favorite events. I's like a super hands-on role. So I am behind the scenes and I have proof of this right here. I'm the one handwriting and printing every single draft card. Oh, my camera's moving. So I am behind the scenes working right next to the commissioner's green room,

right next to the player walkway where you see them going up and there are all those wood cutouts. So we're back there. We hear that the pick is in live over a pick line before it's announced to TV. And then I'm furiously typing into my printer or we pre print all of our cards of like the top 300 guys, like a week before I'm trawling all of these different like draft picks and like what people where people think they'll go. And so I'm printing like the top 300 guys. God forbid I don't have that card. I'm typing it up. And then I'm writing in with the first pick in the

2025 draft, the Tennessee Titans select Cam Ward, and then I'm handing it to the commissioner. And we're making sure that he has the pronunciation right. And that like, there's no questions as to is the school the correct way or is the position written the right way? Like we don't want to mess up people's position and payment. So it's super, you're dialed. You are like in it from the moment that show starts. But it was so cool. Great experience.

That does sound cool. And I have only been near the commissioner once. We just interviewed him for whatever when US Bank Stadium, I think it was like one of my first days on the job. US Bank Stadium was opening and he was there. And that's really the only time that I've talked to him or been in a scrum with him certainly has a presence to the man. And I do respect that Raj has welcomed the booing that he's like played into it now.

And he kind of loves it. And he does a good job with that. But I think people don't realize I didn't realize until you said it just how much goes in to making sure that happens right because the commissioner does not want to botch somebody's name and go up there because then the entire fan base will hate him for it everybody will you know awful announcing will put it on their commissioner screws up somebody's name and to have that I also remember the draft where Justin Jefferson was taken where Raj was in his basement and

To have these events now I think there's even more appreciation from fans the energy that it brings and it is crazy just about how Under Roger Goodell the NFL has taken so many steps forward I I mean I remember wasn't that long ago. And you'll get used to old man me. But it wasn't that long ago that games were blacked out on television and you had to like listen to the radio, to the game or some local business

had to buy up all the remaining tickets. And now we can watch any game anytime. The draft used to be held in like a ballroom or something and now it's in Green Bay with you know millions of people there whatever hundreds of thousands of people but when you're saying that Green Bay like they showed out they did but what you find out to do in Green Bay do you have a great time going to the seven local places there so so listen I have to preface this by saying we were super busy. We we didn't have that much time to just like see the place.

But I will say really cool is that the stadium is quite literally in the middle of a neighborhood. We're driving up and one we had like a team minivan, which I thought was hilarious. So we're driving up in the team minivan and you're just all of a sudden in a neighborhood and people have rented out their houses. They have their garages thrown open and they're all decorated with like Packers gear and it's like man cave to the extreme and they're like renting out their lawns for parking for tailgating and then bam there's the stadium.

So people are just like coming from their homes into the stadium to watch this event and I'm sure it's like that for games as well and it's such a historic place. That was super cool. Food wise, vibe wise, a little sleepy, you know, like definitely had some. I thank you, Erin. I did eat cheese curds. Am I lactose intolerant? Yes, but I had to do it because it's part of the experience. You did have to do it.

Yeah, you have to deal with whatever stomach ache came with that, which also kind of comes with all Wisconsin food, no matter what you do. I will say though, if you're into certain things, which I am, cheese, meats and so forth, several of the best meals of my life have come on trips to Green Bay. So I appreciate them. And what I usually do when I go there is I will park in a neighborhood and walk with the hordes of fans just because I think it's cool to walk up to Lambo.

And no matter how much Vikings fans hate the Packers they all drive four hours down there and go sit in those ice-cold seats because they know it's cool that it's Lambo and it's historic and there's something just like with Fenway Park old Yankee Stadium you walk up to it and you're just like, wow, if you love sports, it just blows your mind. You are in awe. So it's pretty cool. I'm glad you got to do that.

But you also have some topics that you have put together for your first Mondays with Maggie. So what is on your mind for this evening? I do. So we kind of hit off the first one, which is like an introduction and a who am I? Why should you care when I open my mouth? I feel like we kind of hit that and I'm, which is like an introduction and a who am I? Why should you care when I open my mouth? I feel like we kind of hit that and I'm sure we'll learn more as it goes on. The second one is my rookie fun fact. And let me give you some background on this one.

So the Vikings digital team did an Instagram video where they asked all the rookies coming in, what's one of your fun facts. I gave them a little mini mic and some of them were like, I can speak another language, I'm a singer, Ben Yurasek, under-rafted free agent from Georgia said his grandfather was the inventor of the baby carrot. And that really stuck out to me as quite a quirky fun fact. And also I have to say I'm anti baby carrot. So like respect to the man for doing that. Have you ever had a baby carrot that was as flavorful as a big carrot? They're always slimy. What are they putting in that bag? You know what I'm saying?

Okay. That's, that's, that's fair. But my problem in life is that I eat way too much Taco Bell, way too much pizza had pizza tonight. And one of the things that I can treat as like almost have its chips, when I'm watching TV is baby carrots. So I will just grab a bag at the store to say, yes, I ate some form of vegetable and rip open a bag and just munch on them like they're chips.

And if you tell yourself that they're chips, it works. But I, okay, I think that's fair. Also disrespectful to Ben Urasek, new Minnesota Vikings tight end. And if he wins the job, I don't know how we're gonna deal with that conflict now between you two. But also, here's now here's the real funny thing is that the guy who's related to the person who invented the baby carrot, which is also I don't know if people watch as religiously as I do curb your

enthusiasm, but there's a storyline with a guy who invented the Cobb salad that is absolutely hilarious So that just reminded me of that but the Vikings had a guy as their third tight end Johnny Munt whose family was one of the biggest peanut producers in the country like Modesto nuts, I think in Modesto, California. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So we go from the guy whose family made the nuts to the guy whose family made the baby carrots. I'm sure there was some sort of other point you had here, but this is extremely

bizarre. There was, but I just had to highlight that because I thought it was hilarious and like could not have predicted. So anyway, that prompted me to think about my rookie fun fact since I am a rookie on this show and my rookie fun fact is that I was as I was showing you previously the first overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft Maggie Robinson was drafted to the Chicago Bears as a quarterback and I was also the top three draft picks because we run through our camera angles and so they have to test what the walk looks like when you're sitting in the player green room all the way up the walkway. You come out on stage you hold up some random person's jacket and you high five someone who's standing as a commissioner.

Someone videoed it last year and it went completely viral like overtime picked it up. It was so funny, but I bring this up to say, I feel like I would have been a more willing participant on the Chicago Bears than Caleb Williams at this very moment. And I'm just going to like, let that sit. Hey, I don't blame him for wanting to be a Minnesota Viking instead. Justin Jefferson is here. Kevin O'Connell is here. But you're right. No one has ever seemed more unhappy to want to play for a team

since Eli Manning said trade me to the New York Giants. But that no, that's that is such a cool experience that you got to do. So do you have a video of you going down the tunnel? I do. I do. It's on Tiktok. It's on Instagram. Yeah, someone picked it up. And then over time, I also picked up like 2 million views. Oh, wow.

Yeah, I can send it to you after we can get it sent around. But really funny, I'm trying not to laugh, so I have this really deadpan look on my face. And yeah, I just kind of picked up a lot of seeing the comments are hilarious. They're like, oh, I heard she got a good 40 time or Puerto Rico and girl was a little slow but like so funny. People were coming out of nowhere with comments. Well, if it was this year, Mel Kuyper wouldn't have talked about you. He would have just spent the entire time like, yeah, OK, Maggie's the number one pick.

But where is Chedur Sanders? That's how it would have gone. OK, well, if you want one from me for a fun fact for you, I may have mentioned to you off the air because I think you are from Tennessee, right? I am from Tennessee, born and raised. Okay, so the music city and I play the guitar, but a lot of people play the guitar.

I once played guitar on a rap album for an actual rap group that like toured and stuff because they had put it out on early Facebook or whatever social media like, Hey, we really need a guitar part from somebody. And I had followed them and listened to their music and I was just like, Hey, I'll try it. So I took a very small at the time, like laptop microphone and got my guitar, got the beat from them, made the part. They liked it. And so then they emailed me back them playing it live and them playing it on their album. And I was like, I did it. They didn't give me any money for it. But I like I'm on a real playing guitar on a real rap album somewhere. That's

so awesome. You got to dig up on the Internet. Yeah, there's my fun fact. Wow. OK, add that to the resume. That can be like in your special interest at the bottom, you know, really. That's a good one. I mean, it's not generally the genre that is thought of with football podcasters as being also rap album musicians. But here we are.

I like that. OK, well, to keep on theme with music, Music City, I was going through the Vikings roster and looking at all their rookies that they signed. And one guy stood out to me and for probably not the reason you're thinking, but I want to talk about him. So it's Alex Williams and he is kind of a Tennessee guy. So he started Ohio State.

And this man has been playing college football for seven years. He's, he's been in the circuit. He's been milking the COVID years and the red shirts and everything. He's older than me at this point. That's crazy. But he started at Ohio State and then he went to Vanderbilt from 2020, 2022 in the middle of that, somehow, I don't really know how, he fell off a little bit and gave up his roster spot.

So was not on the team, but was still going to Vandy, graduated with a sociology degree, and picked up becoming a personal trainer. As he's becoming a personal trainer, the MTSU, Middle Tennessee State University coach, reaches out to him and is like, hey, you still wanna play? We had some connection to you. Goes to MTSU for two final years is Jack Jack this man is huge like I

saw a video of him doing like a barbell push-up in skinny jeans he's a dog we can respect that but he got picked up by the Vikings after this like kind of really average super weird this like kind of really average super weird like college career. And I would love to know like what is. What's what's the vibe around him? Because he's currently injured. He's not even practicing in this camp. So like, is he a vibe personality culture ad or are they just really banking on his athleticism like he's six, seven to 90 awesome.

But what's what's the draw here? So when you sent me your things you want to talk about and you had Alex Williams written on, I was like. No idea who you're talking about. No, I was like. Who what? So then I had to look like Google, like Vikings, Alex Williams, and I had not researched this guy before because they picked up like Ben

Urisak was one of them. Trey Stewart, the running back, they had picked up some really notable undrafted free agents. And so I just overlooked Alex Williams. This man has only played actual football games in the years 2019 in which he played 65 snaps. 2021. Like, what were we doing?

Purple Insider didn't exist when this guy started college. 2021 where he played a hundred and seventy four snaps and middle Tennessee last year. He played a hundred and ninety three. He has thirteen career pressures and one sack is what's listed on PFF and somehow he is on the Vikings roster. I am absolutely captivated by this, but this Maggie is one of my favorite parts

of covering a single team. Because when you cover the entire NFL, as many podcasts do, you sort of skim over the top. Like, you know, they're starters and you know, they're coaches and probably they're general managers. And maybe if you Google it, you can look at some of their depth. And if you're really, really into it, you could be like, you know,

I like their third wide receiver because you're a fantasy freak. But when you do just one team, it's everybody's story all the time. So through the years, we've had tons of them. And just before, after you'd sent me, I was going over this, telling my wife about this player.

And we were talking about how crazy the COVID years have made it. So our guys are coming out and they can like rent cars and the mortgages and four kids or something like I'm a rookie in the NFL. And, uh, I was telling her the story of a guy named Nick Truesdale who had been, I think a Mac player, you know, one of those schools, bowling green or something like that. And then he had been done with football and went to three different arena leagues and the CFL and had, I think, I don't want to, I don't want to like say the wrong

thing. I think he had like a run in with the law or two. And then he just showed up at Vikings camp as an undrafted free agent. And people were tweeting out his highlights from indoor football. He's like, you know, I think the Vikings got a real one here. And it's like, what is going on? How is it? There are players from like Alabama who are sitting at home being like, Really?

Yeah. Other, the other edge rusher outside of this guy, I think more. He's more of a D line. The other edge rusher they picked up had like seven sacks for Georgia undrafted free agent. And then there's like this guy. And you know what, though, it would not be the craziest story of all time in football because there's a few of these instances like Antonio Gates,

who's a basketball player and shows up, becomes one of the great tight ends. And if you really want to go back. Another old man thing, but like Christian Okoye had never played football before. He was a I think a track runner and discus thrower and then became like one of the great running backs for maybe like three or four years after playing no college football. I think maybe one year of college football or something never in his life so Alex Williams let's find out I guess most most interesting stories of camp this athletic freak show who's yeah we ever

played football let's go I that's a great find by you thank you thank you I'm just so intrigued like he he blew out his Achilles at MTSU. So like. How are they making the decision to keep or cut him is my question. Like what what is this based as this based on like potential and like, oh, we think it could be really good and like, you can't teach athleticism and strength necessarily, but I don't know. So I'm intrigued. I'm going to keep an eye out for him.

He's a sneaky one. Yeah, I didn't even I didn't realize that he had blown out his Achilles, too. So when is he supposed to? If he did it last year, when is he going to play? This is this is an this needs to be asked about like this. What is this person? Yeah. But maybe they see him as somebody that over a year they can develop some skills and freakish.

They had a guy, an international player, Sammy's Reyes, who had played basketball at Hawaii, I think. And again, this is what makes this so great. There's just so many random people. They had a, and his athletic profile, I'm sure you've seen those, the NFL created, it's what is it, IQ, and it's got numbers on. If this guy, there's one called relative athletic score

That's the same story It was like a 99th percentile across the board for his athletic gifts and he would jump so high to drop the football It was crazy Moritz Boehringer was the same way. He was they drafted him off of like German YouTube I'm not even joking. I'm not even joking and And he was like a sixth round pick off of YouTube. And he couldn't catch the ball at all. But you never know the guy from the Eagles, their left tackle. I mean, he was a rugby player and then came over. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Right.

He had never played NFL football before. Right. Australia, I think. Yeah. New Zealand, Australia, I believe. Yeah. And look, look how he turned out. So I don't know. I don't know. Keep an eye out. That's all I'm saying. Love that. That's a great find. Thank you. Real quick. I got an ad read that I have to do. I cannot forget to do the ad reads. That is actually, I didn't even tell you that's part of your job. Is to tell me to not forget about the ad reads.

Usually that's the chat's job, but they failed today. So let me tell you about our sponsor. And if you's the chat's job, but they failed today. So let me tell you about our sponsor. And if you notice I got the hat on all the time, well maybe you're a hat guy too, because maybe you're trying to cover up some of that hair loss. And if that is the case, I got something for you. It is called HIMS. If you have lost your hair, it doesn't mean you can't find it again. Try HIMS Hair Loss Solutions and you'll be joining hundreds of thousands of subscribers who have found their hair. Again, Hims makes treating hair loss very simple

and clinically proven, and you can regrow hair by choosing a personalized, whether it's chewable or spray or serum, treatments that can help you get your hair back in the best way that works for you. The process is simple and 100% online. So start your free online visit today at hims.com slash purple insider. That's h I M S dot com slash purple insider for your personalized hair loss

treatment options. Again, hims.com slash purple insider. Okay. Back to the show. All right. So to kick off my next point, we were kind of, kind of dabbling in international waters We're gonna go back internationally and look at the schedule Specifically weeks four through six to look at this two-week euro tour that the Vikings will be on. This is crazy. I Was until like now I was like, oh this feels like a long time to be there I didn't know this is the first time ever that a team will be there for two weeks straight. I

Think this is personally a good thing because I think if you go for one game, you kind of get adjusted, but you're sleep deprived and jet lagged, weird food, different atmosphere, two weeks. You can settle in. You have a two week trip to Europe. You're, you're immersed. You are there. You know what I'm saying? I think they could use this to their benefit. And I know you've talked about it before. This is nothing new, but the fact that they're both neutral site games, like, all right, it's anyone's at that point.

Like who knows? There's no advantage, disadvantage either way. You're both on even footing. So I'm excited to see how this goes. And I did a little bit of research and Minnesota has great history in London. They've won all their games. So I mean, let the tips fall where they may, but it's looking pretty promising if we could look back at

their history. And the first team to ever play in Dublin was actually Pittsburgh as well. So this Pittsburgh rematch is kind of interesting. I don't know if that was intentional by our schedule makers, but this tie into Pittsburgh playing there and then Minnesota staying over for a second week. I'm excited to watch this. Well, from the interview that I heard with Mike North is the guy's name, right? Yeah, he's one of my bosses. Yeah. So scheduling. Yep. Right. So he was on Ross Tucker's podcast and he was saying that the Vikings were not only willing that Roger Goodell had asked him like, you think the Vikings would do two games? And he thought, no way.

They're not going to want to pack up the whole organization for two weeks, but he said they were eager to do it. And I think there's a few things there. Number one, they understand that their international audience is growing. And I'm hoping on this podcast that our international audience grows with it. But I think the Wilfs know that their brand overseas is doing very well. They've had success over there. But also Kevin O'Connell knows that there's two different advantages. One is that you get to take Pittsburgh out of Pittsburgh.

And I think that would have been terrible for JJ McCarthy, or at least really hard. We've seen a lot of young quarterbacks go in there and melt. Well, it's a lot easier if you can, as you said, sleep deprived Pittsburgh and also not give TJ Watt the advantage of the jump off the line of scrimmage. I found this stat that TJ Watt has 27 and a half more sacks at home than away in his career. Yep, yep.

He's, it's something like 107 total sacks and, uh, the two thirds of them come at home and you could see why, because you get that jump off the line of scrimmage with the crowd. And I think that helps him. So that's one thing that's just of an advantage on its own. And then I agree with you, Steve, that they should not need a neutral site to beat Cleveland, but I'll throw, I'll throw you another stat. Uh, if I remember this correctly, Cleveland, maybe last year was seventh in defense at home and 32nd on the road. I mean, so there is a difference when miles Garrett and TJ watt play for these teams

and things can be a little bit random, but normally, uh, the better team has won in London most of the time. So that's not always the case. Like last year Cleveland beat Baltimore. Like I think it's even less random. If you're talking about a team with a big gap because they've got the circumstance everything else. The preparation can't be the same. So it's kind of like a Thursday night game where normally the better team just wins talent-wise because it's not like there's a whole lot of scheming extra that can really do with the

circus that is here's a question for you though. Maggie. Do you think that this is this is old Raj your former boss Raj. I call him Raj. Commissioner. I don't you go here. But do you think that he's sneaky trying to figure out, could they get multiple teams over for a couple of weeks and create a team or two overseas where everybody makes a two week trek to the, well, there used to be a team.

Here we go again. There used to be a team called the Rhine fire that was in NFL Europe. And I think that was in Germany. Is that right? If somebody can correct me, that's wrong. Uh, but, uh, you know, maybe it's the, they bring back the Rhine fire and they're an NFL team and London gets an NFL team and Oh look, the Vikings were able to come over and play there.

Do you think that Raj is open in the door for two franchises overseas and that the Vikings are going to be his proof that it's not that big of a deal for teams to fly over, play those two teams, come back and get their bye week. Okay, I have multiple thoughts here. One, I know that, I mean this is obvious to everyone, but international is a massive push internally. It's one of our biggest pillars that we are, like all departments focusing on, how do we grow international, how do we grow flag football. Like those were the two things that if we can integrate this

in some way, that's what the push is for. So I think this for sure is a test to see, can we next year and kind of every year going on, put a team there for two weeks? I think that will definitely be something we'll see more. I mean, I'm not on the scheduling team, but they are part of my department. So I like would hear bits and pieces.

And I know this is something that they've been throwing around and the idea of a Europe team is awesome. I don't think we're anywhere near that truthfully. I think the international player pathway, the IPP, that's a big push right now. And you're seeing guys like Jordan, my lot of her just like proof of it. And you're seeing who was, I think we got a punter from Auburn. Um, yes. So like people are coming over from there. just like proof of it and you're seeing who was I think we got a punter from Auburn. Oscar Chapman. Yep. Yes. So like people are coming over from there. I don't know yet if we're bringing back NFL Europe. I think that's like, like 10 plus years down the road. But I do think this will open

the door for like, okay, maybe we get more than one team playing two weeks in Europe. I think you could definitely see that. So did that fully answer your question? Not sure. But I don't think we're quite at a team, but I do think we are at more games internationally, especially diversifying the places we're playing. I was trying to get like a sources inside the NFL. Tell you. You know, very PR answer, Matthew. Yeah, you're on the outside now.

Well, barely 10 years doesn't feel that far away to me. But I think I think that they're going to workshop this for teams to do it in the future, to eventually use it for a study to say we can have two teams. And my understanding from talking to some people over If I just say over there, it's like means like where like Somewhere some I've talked to I've talked to sources somewhere that weren't in America. No I was I was on I was on a UK podcast the other day and the host was telling me that Germany is Blowing up with fandom for the NFL.

Yes. And that the Germany game was even more like fans understanding the game and locked in, whereas England right now is kind of like just starting to get it. But you, the man on the street and you ask everybody like what a touchback is, maybe not going to get the most clear answers. So I think that there is a very real possibility that they are test casing this for teams to take turns flying over, play the team in Germany, play the team in London, then fly back and get your bi-week.

And if this works for the Vikings, well, they go to an old, they have a great time. Their operation works out well. Then I think your boy Raj and boy, Mike North making the schedule could come up with two more teams for the NFL. And I don't love expansion and really any league, but I mean, I think this is where it's been headed for a really long time. Yeah. I mean, I know when they build this schedule, they always look at like rest discrepancy.

And I'm sure there is a massive rest discrepancy when you have a team abroad for two weeks, which is like why they have that buy. But then they're coming out of the by going straight to Philly. So it's not like they have that much time to recover. But something Mike would always talk about was how some teams would complain about having like what they thought was a really hard schedule. They'd be flying across the country, limited rest, and then they would go and win all their games.

And so the data would always point to like, well, you're still winning your games. Your guys might be tired, but like they're making it happen. So I think, I mean, the Vikings are honestly the guinea pig for this. Like if they can make it happen, they might be cooked for the rest of the season and like a little tired, but this is like a seat,

like throw it at the wall, see if it sticks, like see what happens, see how it goes. And I don't know. I think this is opening the door for a lot more. I think so, too. And, you know, the Vikings, as you mentioned, have had success with this. And the two years that they've done it, they went 13 and four and 14 and three. So they didn't come back and fall apart.

In fact, in 2022, they actually had to play a game the next week after they played in London and they beat the Bears and then they went to Florida and beat the Dolphins and went into their bi-week. So maybe it's at this point, we are so scientific about dealing with the clock issue that it's just not what it was when it first started in 2007. Just the overall technology and information we have. So, yeah, yeah, I think you can be done. Yeah, I know just from what I've seen, the way they operate, like it is, it is everything is down to a T the way that they're picking up and literally

just moving the entire operation. It's incredible. It's like ships. It's on planes. It's on like every little thing. The equipment guys have this all down, even seeing them set up for the Super Bowl, seeing like they have everyone's specific snacks they want. They have every guy's like four pairs of training shorts. Spandex is three short. Like it's so they're just mimicking a home game every single time.

And they've done it across the country. So who's to say they can't make the same flight and just go to Europe. So we will see. I would love if someone brought to every road game my favorite snacks, but it doesn't always happen. What? OK, wait. Question for you. What's your favorite? Two questions here.

One, you're in a game. Put yourself here like you're there on the bench. What's your in-game snacks? Like an orange slice or going for gummies? Like what's. Oh, I was thinking that you'd be saying in the press box covering games. That's the second. OK. OK. I when I did play sports and even when I have played

rec league sports since I can't eat anything during a game, it just makes me feel tired or it makes me feel heavy. Like, I just can't really. I can only drink water during a game. And one time before a rec league game, I went to Taco Bell and that was a very big mistake. Oh, that's horrible. Yeah, it was horrible. As far as the in-game type of stuff, the pregame meals around the league really vary.

Some are amazing. Some are a struggle. But for home games, the Vikings have a decent amount of options. At halftime, they usually have some sort of cheese curd or some sort of chicken. And they also have nonstop popcorn that's always going. You can always go get popcorn. I always tend to have a bag of popcorn there with. Yeah. That's a good one. That's a good one.

OK, I'm trying to think. You're the one that's more of an athlete than me. So what did you eat stuff during games? Yeah. So for I don't know if we mentioned this top, but I played soccer at Penn for three years and then got injured and had to step away. But when I was there, I would, we would have a box of snacks and you would always like pocket like one or two. And so I would always grab the gummy worms, like a sour gummy worm, really just like one. It's a lot to chew on. I'm going to be honest with you. I was a bench warmer. So I'm sitting there warming left bench and I'm munching on a gummy worm. Cause what else

am I going to do other than cheer on the girls? That was definitely the go-to in-game snack. And then Pressbox, when I was working for the Eagles, the Eagles, I have limited experience here, I've only been to really two Pressboxes, but they have a great soft pretzel. And they also had a great honey mustard. So that combo was elite. You would sit there pregame before you had much to do and you eat a really warm hot pretzel and this like

fantastic honey mustard. And I just remember that so distinctly. Anytime the Vikings go to Philly. And of course, the Vikings fans are like, OK, that's a road game we can't go to because we'd be harmed. And yeah, that's the the NFC Championship parking lot was Mad Max, basically. That was a great game. I was there.

That was crazy. So there's that. And, you know, the Vikings usually lose in Philly. It's a really tough atmosphere. But as far as the pregame meal and the pretzels and everything set up, they're in my top three. I think Philadelphia for food. So you really lucked out when you had a chance to be there.

The pretzel is absolutely fantastic. I would put it right up against Green Bay with you can always get some sort of sausage before the game. If you're you know, when in Rome. Yeah, they didn't hit us with that pre draft sausage, but maybe if I go for a game a Lambo, then I can try. That will be the funniest sentence of your first appearance on the show. That's for sure.

Don't clip that. All right. Let's go on to the last and final point that I have to talk about and quickly move past that. So the topic of today that we are finishing this out with is not Vikings related, but something that I've been thinking about. And it's Aaron Rodgers. Let's speculate. Let's play the game. We've been playing the game for months now,

but everyone thinks he's going to the Steelers, but he's been pretty quiet about it. And something came out from his biographer, like the guy writing his autobiography. And he was like, kind of said, I think he's going to the Steelers. I can't guarantee it. And I think he's probably going to miss part of many, like mandatory he's going to the Steelers. I can't guarantee it. And I think he's probably gonna miss part of many, like mandatory mini camp due to personal reasons.

Last year, his personal reasons were traveling to Egypt and just like vibing out, which is on, it's on brand for him, you know, like that's what he's gonna do. I'm just wondering like the Steelers don't seem to be too pressed, like whether they get him or not, which is kind of shocking

because they have a hilarious quarterback room with Mason Rudolph as what their first guy. That I'm sorry, we didn't see much of Tennessee. He doesn't he he's got a lot to prove. And then Skyler Thompson, who genuinely I had to look up did not know who he was. Backup at the Dolphins played a little bit behind Tua and then got injured. And then Will Howard. I'm a Will Howard fan. I met him at the combine because we do a lot of work with ESPN there to get like their played a little bit behind Tua and then got injured. And then Will Howard. I'm a Will Howard fan.

I met him at the Combine because we do a lot of work with ESPN there to get like their shots and make sure they have everything for draft night. He's gonna be number one in vibes. Great guy, sense of humor. He's goofy. Like he's a vibe guy in that room,

but he's a rookie and he was a pretty low draft pick. So like, why are the Steelers so nonchalant about this? Like, is Aaron Rodgers continuing to play? I have so many questions and I would love to get your perspective. Well, the best part of that was when you said that it's not Vikings related at all. And then said Aaron Rodgers, because thank God. Well, I mean, that was a two week nightmare for us to talk about because nobody wanted it at all.

No, I mean, that was, you know, fan bases can be split on things, you know, even like Sam Darnold, you bring him back. And there was probably 80 20 that 80 percent wanted to go J.J. McCarthy, but there were still people who were making that argument. Nobody was making the Aaron Rodgers are you absolutely nobody wanted him to be the Minnesota Vikings quarterback. Uh, not just because of the rivalry and so forth. Vikings fans can put that aside if it was going to look like Brett Favre of 2009,

but Aaron Rodgers has looked like he has not enjoyed playing football in about four years and also just like Google a picture of Aaron Rogers. He looks ancient. He looks old. He looks skinny compared to what he used to look like. I don't know what kind of cleanse he's using these days, but it's not working. And when he played against the Vikings, every time they showed him over in London, it was just like, oh, you know, like interval, man, like right out of here.

That's what I'm saying. So I feel like the only reason that the guy would still want to play football is only for his own desire for attention. Like the like the Michael Scott when he says, like, do I need to be liked? I don't need to be liked, but I want to be liked, but I definitely need to be liked. And that's him with attention. Like I don't need it, but I need to be liked? I don't need to be liked, but I want to be liked, but I definitely need to be liked. And that's him with attention.

Like I don't need it, but I need to go on McAfee show again. Right. But I need to. And he went on McAfee show one time this off season and then just flamed the Jets and stuff where, I mean, okay, like that's your choice, I guess. But I think the thing to do, if you were trying to prove that you don't need to be in the

media all the time and need attention would have just to have not gone on the show or not tried to like tell all about what the Jets, how they wronged you. Plus Aaron Rodgers, everybody's wrong. And Aaron Rodgers all the time. I think like KOC made the right decision to go with McCarthy, but I don't even think he fully understands how right it was because people like KOC think I can fix him like he did with Sam Darnold and he can, but he can't fix that because that's already too far gone.

But to your point about Pittsburgh, the Vikings a couple of years ago were in a world where they were never going to be bad, but they were never going to be good. And we just sat here and I've been doing a lot of the five year stuff and thinking about a lot just how we sat here, sat here with, well, what should they do with Kirk? And are they going to win nine games or 10 games? And what's it was just just you can't escape the middle That is circle of hell that is the worst place to be in the NFL

And that's where the Pittsburgh Steelers are even as horrible as Mason Rudolph is he'll win eight or he'll win nine with Pittsburgh They won't draft high again, and then they'll just do it all again. They are the team I might pick Last out of all teams to be right now, because at least the horrible teams like the Saints, the Saints might draft Archmanning like they're going to be terrible. But that's great for them with Pittsburgh. Don't bother. Don't bother with that place. Skyler, whatever his name is, who's every game you can.

But they'll never do that with Mike Tomlin. So I don't know what they're supposed to do. Yeah, I have so many thoughts about this one. I feel like you got to go out when you're like on top a little bit. When you're a professional athlete, there's a way where you really got to be able to read the room. Be like I could keep playing but I should not because one my body will fail me. We already saw that this means Achilles pops so fast.

We got one good shot of him running out of the tunnel and then no memorable plays other than him busting up his Achilles. That should be a sign that like you've done enough. Your body is telling you to stop. You're a big enough face in the media. You can find another career. Like you have enough money,

you can go and like have your silent retreat for the rest of your life and live your life. And that's awesome but it doesn't feel like he's doing that so I'm just confused on his thought process and also the arrogance that comes with oh but I can show up whenever I want and like but I'm gonna play and to Steve's comment in the chat saying like I don't think Tomlin will get along with Rogers I don't see that vibing well like you I don't think Tomlin will get along with Rogers. I don't see that vibing well. Like you, I don't think Tomlin's like good with arrogance and entitlement, which is what I get from Aaron Rogers. I think he brings a lot of baggage

that like people just don't want. I mean, we saw from the Shador Sanders thing, people don't wanna deal with baggage and quarterbacks. We're just looking at two different ends of it. One being at the end of his time, past his prime prime and old and one being in the complete opposite end. But it goes both ways. Like, I don't want to deal with your stuff. Figure it out.

You could just be a good player. Be a good player. I think that desperation is a pretty dangerous drug though in the NFL. And I think about the Atlanta Falcons giving a hundred mil to a 35 year old Kirk who ripped his Achilles and that was desperation. Like their owner was old and he was saying like, we've got to get back in the playoffs. I got to take another shot. I think Arthur blanks like 83 and it was very clearly a forced from the top contract because that just made no sense to give somebody with that injury so much money.

So I wouldn't be shocked if Pittsburgh talks themselves into it because Tomlin, I know he's got contract extensions. I know he's like coach for life there, but at some point, another one of these seasons or really bad season, and all of a sudden the pressure is going to be on. He's got this reputation is that he can always get a team there. And there's, here's the thing about Rogers. There's enough throws on tape last year where you're like, well, maybe. And I think that they're going to do the, oh, maybe it's a it's a I don't know. This this meme you've probably run across it. Arrested development.

Like maybe it'll work for us. Like it's just like, well, the Jets got everybody fired last year and he brought in all his friends. They were all bad, but like maybe it'll work for us. Right. And we can, is he going to get along with DK Metcalfe who was pretty unhappy? It's like, I don't know. I in a way, in a way it's almost like, you know, they kind of for,

for doing this thing where they've just remained in the middle and mediocre. They, they might as well, like you might as well try it because nothing else. And if it blows up, I guess it blows up, but they are as stuck as anybody that I can think of in the entire league. Yeah. They're right in the middle of average for sure. Terrible place to be. You're going to sit there for a minute for sure. So I'm intrigued. I don't want to give him the attention, but I'll give him the attention at least until he makes a decision decision and my hot take since you started off the show asking what people's hot Takes were my hot take is that he actually is just not gonna sign with the team and that he's gonna fade I think

It might just kind of sneak up on him all the deadlines of like having to figure out or like maybe the Steelers put a time Limit on this or like hey if you don't let us know by now We're sorry. we're good. We got it. We got to go with the guys are going with and build the team chemistry in the locker room. He could just fall off. I don't know. Does that mean he comes back next year? Maybe. But this year, like, I don't know.

It could be. I'll try one. I'll try one. If he doesn't sign with the Steelers, like two weeks from now after many camps, so he doesn't have to show up. Then someone will have their quarterback get hurt. And what Rogers wants is to be wanted. Right. That that's. No, you're all. Well, that's true. Yeah.

Kirk told us. Kirk told us that his his line that I've used a hundred times on the show was it's not about the money. It's what the money represents. And what he meant was I want to be wanted. And I think Rogers probably feels maybe a lot not quite courted by the Steelers enough, not quite please Aaron be our savior. But some team is going to have a quarterback, Terran ACL in mini camp or in training camp and they're going to need Aaron Rogers. So I think, I think we do not yet know the location of Aaron. Yeah. Yeah.

You could be shortlisted. That's a good point. That's a good point. Uh, Maggie Robinson, a heck of a debut really well done as expected. And uh, so every Monday night you are going to be a part of this show. Very similar to where the first hour will be a chat with you guys. And then second hour, Maggie will be very prepared as she was tonight to have a lot of fun conversations. So great stuff. If people want to follow your social medias, is there a good place to direct them in that way?

Let me put it in the chat. So my real name is Maggie Robinson with just one end but that was taken so On Instagram I am at Maggie Robinson with two ends and on Twitter. I am at Robinson Maggie same thing just flipped Some form of your form of my name. I played soccer at Penn and that could be in the bio I'm trying to think of like identifiers. You see a blonde girl in the profile picture. Probably me. There's probably a lot of blonde Maggie's. A lot of blonde Maggie's.

That's not very identifiable. OK, well, everybody do their best to find her in several different spellings and many locations. But thank you for your time. I'm already looking forward to next week when we can do this again. Thank you so much. And what I got to say it. I'm already ready to say it. I'm already ready to say it football, baby.

Why is it? Thank you, Maggie. Why is it that Maggie is already better at saying football than clay? Really going to have to look into that with clay. That was the one failure on my part. He was a great intern, did a great job, but you never got that down fully. Okay. Well, she's going to be on every Monday.

I will be back on Thursday night unless there's any sort of breaking news and so forth. but you never got that down fully. Okay, well, she's gonna be on every Monday. I will be back on Thursday night unless there's any sort of breaking news and so forth, but plenty of shows going on this week as well. So thanks everybody for your time as always, and we'll catch you again. Football.