Rahimi, Harris & Grote Show - 5 On It: What do you think of the Bears' initial moves?

Episode Date: March 9, 2026

Leila Rahimi, Marshall Harris and Mark Grote discussed a variety of sports topics in the 5 On It segment.

This hour is brought to you by Menards. Save big money at Menards. I got five. It's time for five on it. Rahini Harrison Rooney. Bring you five topics on their minds today. On 104-3, the score. I got five on it.

Number one. The free agent negotiating window has been open for about an hour. What do you think of what the bears have done so far? Neville Gallimore. We got a nickname for him. This is pretty good work out of Tyler Buterbaugh. Do we have three options for nicknames for Neville? You do.

You want me to listen? Yes. You got the Canadian bulldozer. Hell yeah. Big Canada or Big Nev? Big Canada. Per the Oklahoman. I'm going with Big Nev.

Big Canada is big, so, you know, there's that. Like, what's little Canada? It's big. It's big. But it's not population dense. How about that for Canada? It's got wide, luxurious lanes. It's a great name, by the way.

I think Neville Gallo, I don't think he needs a nickname. That sounds regal. It's like a Grady Jarrett. These are some good names starting to stack up on the Bears' defensive line all of a sudden. Yeah. If he's out there making plays, he could have a one-name name name like Oprah. Because, like, just Neville. You'll know who we're talking about.

That's right. Neville. He's here. He does add an important depth for the Bears. So I like that they are working on the defense. line. I think you're right, Mark, there are some personnel on the D line, I think, that we still didn't know whether or not they fit in Dennis Allen's preference or his scheme or what he wanted. How many players were there by necessity and how many were there, especially last season because

of the injuries? How many were there because of actual desire? So that's something that I think this season and the offseason we're going to try to figure out. Good job, Bears, keeping Daniel Hardy. I think that we don't agree on much as a society, but I feel like Daniel Hardy's one of those people we do agree to. And DeMarco Jackson made a lot of sense too. He was appropriately honored by the NFL for the work he put in as backup on the linebacking corps and then on special teams. I don't know that slow and steady wins the race

when we're talking about the frenzy that is free agency, but I do like the moves that they have made so far without further examination into Neville Galloway, big Canada, big Neve. The Canadian bulldozer. I do like all those names. Gallomore. It's a little long.

What did I say? Galilee? My bad. Gallimore, yes. Listen, I like what they've done so far. And I want to believe that more stuff is coming. Malik Willis got paid, by the way.

What were we talking about? NFL announcing that it's three years in 67.5 million with 45 million fully guaranteed. Go get them. Malik Willis. Because of his games against the Bears. Is that, that what it is? That's what it was. He had a monster game against someone else, too.

Hey, he earned it, man. I'm trying to think of who that was. Was it, was it Minnesota? Who was left on the Packer's schedule last year? I don't be remembered. I'm about to tell you, it was a monster game where he went 40 for 54. What? Or no, that's, that's wrong.

Wow. That would have been crazy. That would have been crazy. That was crazy. That was crazy. Marshall Harris. Stop saying crazy. I said I'm sorry. It was against Baltimore.

Baltimore. And a loss. And then the other game. Other purple team. Yes. You saw where my brain was. It just didn't make the completion. He was 18 for 21 for 288 yards in the touchdown.

And he also ran it nine times for 60 yards in that game. It was a loss, but he was out here doing his thing. Get your money, Malik Willis. Yeah. Are you done, Marshall? Yes. Answering the, okay. It's my fault.

I interrupted with Malik Willis getting dollars. It's all good. I just didn't want to jump in if you hadn't finished. I'm excited about what DeMarco Jackson might do. If they really are going to just let him loose and be the starter, hopefully in theory for 17 games at the age of 27, a two-year $7.5 million deal. If you could get this guy to be good and be a starter,

that is a win for the Bears. He had that, you had some nice games, including the 15 tackle game against Pittsburgh last year. So I'm glad DeMarco Jackson is back. You need guys like Daniel Hardy on your team, two years, $6 million, perfect for him to keep on. being one of the Bears' best special teams player. No argument with that whatsoever.

And hey, I'm enjoying getting to know all about Neville Gallamore. I do wonder what it means for Andrew Billings, who might just now be off the roster for the Bears. But we'll see. Number two. I'm going to take the first question and flip it and reverse it. Okay? We are about an hour and five minutes into the free agent negotiating window in the NFL.

What do you think about what the Bears? haven't done yet. Safety. Anybody? Anybody going to play in the middle of the backfield? Anybody? I need something to happen there. I need somebody to be there.

And yes, I think a lot of us are, I hope, rightfully assuming, Kevin Byard comes back to this team. But if there was ever a time to get paid, if Malik Willis showed you anything, get your money while you can. And with the opportunities, you've been given. What if the Titans want him to come back? That's been a big speculation as well

that they want to write the wrong of letting him go to begin with. And after seeing what he did in leading the league and interceptions, at some point you have to, I think, settle that discussion somehow. Who's your priority? Who's your first priority? Is it Kevin Byard in the secondary? Is it signing him on the safety unit? So that's probably what I would have expected to see happen by now. if it was a done deal or if it was a set as we all thought it was even going into today. Like, don't you guys think that that was something that we would have expected to see by now if it was that simple or that much of a priority? Well, the way you stated it, Layla, with the something needs to happen at safety,

I'm going to be more specific. They need to bring back Kevin Byard. And it's not just me saying it. I think Ryan Poles let the cat of the bag as soon as the season was over. And the way he spoke about him as compared to other positions. Kevin Byard has been a leader. Kevin Byard has been the guy. What you got?

What you got? We have one bear going to the Titans. He wasn't a bear this year, though. Oh. Mitch Trubisky. Two-year deal to the Titans. Let's go, Mitch. Mitch Trubisky is more likable than he's ever been.

Accepting his lot in life as a backup quarterback. Swung through Chicago. Was it this training camp that they had the... Yes. Yeah. Yeah, that was when the bears had 500 yards of offense in a game. And I didn't care because it was the preseason. Slowly but truly working his way to Hall of Famer at the bank status as a clipboard warrior.

And I ain't mad at it. And these times, I am not mad at it at all. But to finish my thought on Kevin Byer, let me tell you something. They need that dude three-time first team all pro, including last year. If it costs more than the $10 million, I'd lean into it, perhaps, depending on how far north of a $10 million a. it's required. Okay, this also per Jonathan Jones, the CBS NFL reporter. The Chicago Bears are eyeing Seahawks safety Kobe Bryant, sources tell NFL on CBS. Kobe. Okay. One Kobe leaves town, perhaps another one returns. Has anything happened with that I've missed with another Colts guy?

As long as we're doing all those Colts talk, Nick Cross, the, the free agent safety of the Colts, 24 years old 67 games over four years, four picks over the last two years as a starter. So that's another name to keep an eye on for the bears. Apparently, like the Bengals might be in the mix on him. Okay.

Since they've got some money to work with now. They also supposedly they were eyeing Rashon Gary. So they might have eyed him go right on over to Dallas. I don't know. But those were the two names that I saw with the Bengals potentially. And I'm with you guys on. on Byrd, I am surprised because I've been predicting it every turn. The first thing that we

would hear is a deal in place for Kevin Byrd. I just don't know exactly what I think I know what he values right now at this point in his career, but is there a Bears discount because of the comfort that it has there, because they are on the up swing,

because he's the loudest biggest voice in that locker room. I mean, there's a lot to like if you're Kevin Byard about being back with the Bears. But if somebody else like the Titans, as you mentioned, or another team, wants to offer him, you know, $12, $13 million a year, you'd probably have to talk to your family and be like,

hmm, we could do this for that and be really happy for a long time. But the Kobe Bryant News makes me wonder. That makes me wonder if that has become a priority for the Bears over Bired. Maybe. Well, I think it fits more in terms of timeline if they want to get younger at the position. This is a guy who is 26 years old, six foot one. You know, Dennis Allen likes him lengthy. Good ball skills.

He had four interceptions, which was tied for eighth last year. 39 solo tackles, seven pass breakups, and one force fumble last year. And that's a guy you would pay more than the $10 million per. Well, and Cam Curl got his deal, right? Yeah, he did. So that was over the weekend. Cam Curl, three years, $36 million. So there's that part of it, too.

Number three. It's five on it on 104.3, the score with Layla Rahimi, Marshall Harris, and Mark Grody, and keep it locked here because we bring you all of the free agent news as it comes in fast-in-furious. Here's question number three. According to ESPN's Jeremy Fowler, the Raiders weren't even going to entertain the idea of trading past Russia, Max Crosby to the Patriots, because as an unnamed source, put it, quote, no way Tom was sending Max to Vrable, unquote. So that being Tom, being Tom Brady, Vrable, of course, the coach, Mike Vrable for the Patriots.

On a scale of 1 to 10 on the Petty Meter, trademark, how would you rate the idea that Brady would refuse to trade an elite player to his former team? Okay, here's the thing. With other minority owners of NFL teams, do you even hear their damn names? Think about that. My question is not even about the fact that we think that Tom Brady is involved to this level. but that so now not only is he running the team he's also john spy tech is that the idea somehow he's also affecting how much of the team is he running at a given time

while also doing the NFL on fox while also doing whatever else that that became the more significant question for me and all of this and i guess the petty meter was high but if so how much of a hand is tom brady having the day-to-day operations of the Raiders, that's still something that I'm very much trying to figure out. And if that were, because the Raiders went to the Super Bowl, and if I could think of a team in the NFL is probably the farthest away from it, it might be the Raiders. If that truly mattered, it shouldn't in the case of one team trying to rebuild, well, another already went to the Super Bowl.

Like, that battle was lost a long time ago. Shouldn't matter. You get the best deal possible for your team. What's your number then? I want to see if mine's higher than yours. I think it's probably like an eight or a nine because apparently Tom Brady's doing a lot more than anybody understands

even though his stake in the team financially is lower than others. If this is a true story, this unnamed source and Tom Brady is just like, nope, no matter what they offer, we're not giving them up to the Patriots. I put the petty meter at a 10. It's at a 10. It's a 10 out of 10.

Like you're just saying even if someone offers you the best deal, you're going to keep them away because it's your former team that you went out early. By the way, you left, them and still won another Super Bowl in Tampa Bay. So it's not like this grievance where the Patriots were winning without you. It's the other way around. So wasn't that victory enough?

And to your point, Laila, about how much is Tom Brady doing all these jobs? I think he is of the mindset. If you've heard him talk enough about the way he is in Max Crosby levels of obsession with the game that he wants to have influence over anything and everything. And I think that plays a part in why he's looking at this is something that he can control. Whether it's to the detriment of his team or not that he's a minority owner of, we'll find out. I have this down as a, as you said, I like the caveat. If this is the case, like I have it as a 10 on the petty scale.

Okay. I also took the time to set a few other meters here. Go ahead. I also have it as a 10 on the dumb meter. Thank you. I also have it as a 10 on a bad personnel guy meter, and I also have a 10 as being on the dangerous meter. If you're going to live like that and whatever would that move, I mean, the Raiders got what they got for Max Crosby, they're doing real well. They've got $88 million in cap space.

They're rolling around in it right now. If this is the way this guy is going to operate going forward, then this is bad news. for Las Vegas. Well, that's the point. Your job is to get the best deal for your team. It's not to issue vendettis. What other vendettas has he got? What other players around the league does he not like?

What other teams and GMs does he not like? Hey, news flash, Tom. The Patriots are good without you. And you were also good without them. Hence, you winning a Super Bowl with Tampa. Why is this still a thing? Let it go. They can't.

You know what that's going to do? It's basically hurting your team as well. we mentioned. Who would want to go there as a free agent when you have no idea who's running what and how? Dangerous, bad, dumb, petty. I talk about it every day. DDBP program.

It's my DBDP program. Dangerous, bad, dumb, petty, DBDP. You know what else it is? We needed something else after Olatap, if you'll recall, that was obvious lack of talent at the skill positions. Oh, yeah, with you and Bernsey, right? Yeah, and so that's past. You know, Olatap is not a thing.

Also, Liam Cohen had the last laugh with Fazzat. So at least we've got another one now. D-D-D-D-D-D-D-D-D. D-D-D-D. No, it's D-B-D-P. Unless you want to go from B-D. D. D-D. P-D-B-D. P-D?

Oh, we need a question here badly. Here's a question for you. Which team do you consider to be the messiest in the NFL? I'm not just saying this. because it's in the division. But show me a team, show me a team messier than the Minnesota Vikings. Who's their GM?

How much money are they over the cap? We had to look it up, didn't we? Who's their backup quarterback? Is the GM for real or is he just hanging out for the draft? Who hasn't made any moves today? What the hell's going on up there? Wait, are they the weird-ass Minnesota Vikings? Oh, yes.

The twins are no longer weird-ass. It's now extended. No, the twins have very much told you that they are rebuilding or whatever. you want to call that. They've infected the football team. They have made themselves a good sale candidate is what the twins did. Fair. So the twins told you who they are. The Vikings are now four million dollars over the cap. But at one point last week, they were at 46 million dollars over the cap. And they're having to get rid of some major assets in order to be able to do so. So the Vikings might be it. They got rid of Coyceidofa menza, timing-wise, way too late in the cycle, seemingly because

Sam Darnold made the Super Bowl. So you should always have main character energy. Don't make somebody else tell you what to do with your personnel. It just seems all very haphazard to me. At a place that looked like it had it sewed together, keep in mind, this is a 15-win team last year. I'll say this. This question, there are a lot of combinations. you could go with, a lot of contestants for this award.

I'm sorry, but as long as Jerry Jones is out here, Jerry Johnson, I'm going with him. I'm going with the Dallas Cowboys. You mentioned it earlier, Leila, and I think we've been talking about it for weeks now. You are trying to solve a problem that you created, that didn't need to be created when you traded Micah Parsons instead of just paying Michael Parsons. And now you just look foolish. And it's been disarray since. you last appeared in the NFC championship game.

30 years ago. And I don't see it changing anytime soon. And that's just the bottom line. Like, Jerry Jones, they're the messiest. They're the, he's the GM and the owner, and it's bad. And it's every year he shows you why it's so awful. They franchise tag George Pickens when they could have just signed him and extended him, which would have governed them more money to work with under the cap.

They're still 18 million over. I hate to pile on and make it two out of three, but you and I were talking about it as we walked in the building today. Why didn't you just keep Micah Parsons in the first place? This is what I believe I said. And you're like, yes, crotie, that's what I'm saying. Because he couldn't quantify his emotions. I guess ego.

Micah bothered Jerry on some level that he was mobile and had leverage. Well, you said it as we were walking in. Like he wanted to, it's the ego, the win the negotiations. Oh, we don't need you. We can survive without you, Micah Parsons. And now they're trying to get another guy in there. Well, they did. They had to get Rishon Gary, who is not nearly as good as Michael Parsons.

Don't forget trading for Quinn and Williams. Yeah, that is also there too. There's so many different ways you can look at that. Number five. Five on it on 104. Here's our final question. On Friday, Packers, Eddrush, Rishon Gary took to Instagram to post a farewell message to Green Bay and then deleted it. Packers beat reporter Rob Domoski took.

to X to report that Gary's IG account was hacked. And then this morning, we got the news that Gary was traded to the Cowboys for a 2027 fourth round draft pick. You follow all that? So, did Rishon Gary get hacked? No, Rishon Gary didn't get hacked. He hacked himself. And I don't know why Rob Demoski wanted to.

I guess, you know, that's doing the right thing as a reporter. If somebody tells you they were hacked, then you say, hey, he says he was hacked. but at the same time Rob he's on the Cowboys now you're not going to see him like that anymore you don't owe him anything that was a whole graphic that he posted that was very intentional that looked purposeful

he wasn't hacked he just jumped the gun if he was smarter you had a brand new graphic that didn't look anything like the first graphic and then maybe he maybe maybe it would be believable but probably not what if it was like clip art and it was like you and I scrolling on a tablet and it said like Rashon Gary Cowboys

just drew like a cursive star colored it. I would love that. I'm here. There's no way he was hacked and he knows that we know he wasn't hacked. It's just what people do now in the world when something... We all know and he knows and Rob Demoski probably knew and everybody knew. Like, it's just, it's silly. You're dancing the dance? Yeah.

Yeah. They did a little dance on the dance floor. Like the Pat Benatar dance from Love is a battlefield. Love is... I don't remember the dance. Love the song. It was very choreographed. It did not.

look like they were in a battle, but they were in a battle. Same idea. They were pretending. Love is a battlefield. Yes, it is. This question that we had at the beginning of our show meeting today looks a lot more valid about an hour and a half into this negotiating window in the NFL than it did even when we asked it. Are the bears more focused on capitalizing free agency or the draft? It becomes more compelling by the minute today, so let's examine next.