Rahimi, Harris & Grote Show - Bears trade DJ Moore to Bills, cut Tremaine Edmunds | Take The North

Episode Date: March 7, 2026

From 'Take The North' (subscribe here): The Bears' busy week continues! They've agreed to trade receiver DJ Moore and a fifth-round pick to the Bills in exchange for a second-round pick. They've also ...cut linebacker Tremaine Edmunds. Dan Wiederer and Mark Grote react to a wild day! To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Starting point is 00:01:22 Dan Weiderer. The whole key to sustaining success in this league is to have a quarterback play that is top tier and can consistently push you down those roads. And Mark Grody, we're allowed to at this point. Bears fans are allowed to right now, dream big and predict what you want out of the season. We're going to take the North and never give it back. Hello, God, everybody, and welcome into the Take the North podcast along with Dan Wheater of the Athletic. I am Mark Grody of 104.3, the score.
Starting point is 00:01:53 We have tons to discuss on this podcast, including the Bears. trading DJ Moore and a fifth round pick to the Buffalo Bills for a second round pick. And news just breaking a short while before we are recording this podcast on a Thursday night that it has happened as anticipated. Tremaine Edvins released by the Chicago Bears after three years with the team. Dan, it's all happening. It is definitely all happening. and March Madness in the NFL, it's chaos. And it really, you know, there's a lot of people,
Starting point is 00:02:35 Grotty, that'll ask you over time, the longer you're in the league. It's like, man, that draft weekend must be exhausting. You're like, no, draft weekend is great because it's confined. It's between parameters that they, you know, the times of the draft are set. NFL March Maddenis, free agency cuts, trades, all that stuff. They can happen at any time of any day. And sometimes they happen at all hours of the same day as we're dealing with here today with the morning trade of DJ.
Starting point is 00:02:58 Moore, the evening release of Tremaine Edmonds. And now a lot of questions that you and I both have about all of this cleared money that the Bears have to use somehow, some way. And you would bet they've got some sort of a plan, wouldn't you? Yeah. And it's approximately now with the retirement of Drew Dalman, the trade of DJ Moore, the release of Tremaine Edmonds, we're looking at about $45 million in cap space. And we knew that this was a direction the Bears were going to have to go if they were going to make moves and rebuild the defense.
Starting point is 00:03:36 And now rebuild in some ways the offensive line. There are myriad of different opportunities for the Bears. They are in play for things that maybe they weren't necessarily in play for real, real, real. Anybody you want to throw out there at this point, Max Crosby, Tyler Lindervalb, the lesser of the centers. Tyler Biatish. It's all in play right now, this on the verge of free agency as well. So I will remind people that as of Monday,
Starting point is 00:04:08 I believe it was, the Bears only had 53 players on their roster as of the start of the new league year. Now you subtract three more from that, DJ, Drew, Tremaine. That's 50. That means you have 40 roster spots to fill before OTAs begin, right?
Starting point is 00:04:25 You're going to have a drag. class, you're going to add some undrafted free agencies there that may be like 15, 17 players there total. But they've got a lot of holes to fill. That said, the other day we were on here and I was trying to market a new T-shirt for Take the North listeners that said, with what money,
Starting point is 00:04:40 Karen? Ben Johnson came and said, Ryan Poles came and said, hey, fellas, here's the money. We've got a bunch of money now. Cancel the order. Cancel the order on the Karen T-shirts. It's still a good bit. Like, let's not let that bit go to rest. But man, like, they now have some
Starting point is 00:04:56 some resources to play with. Holes to fill, obviously, needs across both sides of the ball and at many levels of both sides of the ball. But now you've got some flexibility, and now you would imagine that they've spent a lot of time setting up their plans for what's next, and then we will sit back and wait to see what's next. And who knows? Maybe before we hit stop recording on this very episode, there will be more news because that's
Starting point is 00:05:22 how this day has been going. It would not be shocking at all. and the big news to start the day today on this day as we were recording was as we opened the show, the trade of DJ Moore and a fifth round pick for a second round pick. Dan, I think we both agree that the, and we'll get into DJ Moore and his career here with Chicago Bears and what he meant and what he didn't mean and all of that stuff. But I do believe that getting a second round pick this year, you did have to give up your fifth round pick, which you hadn't had this year as well. but to get a second round pick for DJ Moore, that's pretty good. That's about all I could have asked for in terms of the DJ Moore deal.
Starting point is 00:06:01 Well, it's really interesting because when DJ came here three years ago in the deal with Carolina, he came as part of a gift basket that also included the 61st pick of the 2023 draft. The bills are sending the 60th pick of this upcoming draft. And so you see these weird parallels to this. the Bears ended up trading up from that 61st slot. They ended up giving up a fifth to go up five slots to get Tyreek Stevenson. And so that gives you just a little bit of a thumbnail of kind of where you're picking and the type of player that will be available to you with the pick that the bills are sending.
Starting point is 00:06:35 You're going to be picking at 57 and 60. You've got your own pick at 25 in the first round. You've got the third rounder at 89. So that's four picks in the top 90. We spent a lot of time leading into last year's draft talking about four picks in the top 75. Well, you've got four in the top 90 here. it's another opportunity in the draft to build your roster with players that you can develop, that you can have on very cost-effective contracts for a little while.
Starting point is 00:06:58 And look like, that was good. Like, you know, I left the combine after conversations I had in Indianapolis feeling like the Bears were in line to get a four, possibly a three for DJ, being able to flip that five and get a two, I think it's a big deal for them. And it gives them a premium draft resource to use a month from now. And then as you mentioned, as we've kind of put the financial parameters together with what DJ's exit does for them, they are getting north of $16 million of cap savings from DJ's exit, given some of the dead money that's attached to the bonus he signed with extension. So look, like, there's a lot going on business-wise.
Starting point is 00:07:34 And I think it's important to note with both DJ and Tremaine that a lot of this is a business-related decision more than a performance-related decision. Like both of those guys were very productive here. both of those guys were really good locker room guys. They were low maintenance, you know, teammates, you know, both in 2025, I'm sorry, 2004 were team captains. So it's not like, hey, man, we had to be rid of these guys because we couldn't wait to get rid of them. It's just a matter of kind of the way the business pushes you sometimes.
Starting point is 00:08:04 And now, again, you have to start making sure you look forward. We talked about move the drill with the Drew Dalman retirement news. Well, now you've got to move your free agency plan forward. really soon with whatever you plan to do there. Yeah, I'd say, you know, Tremaine Edmins is three years with the Bears steady, if not spectacular, for the Bears.
Starting point is 00:08:25 I thought he had his best year this year from start to finish. I mean, even going back to training camp, where he was picking off balls left and right, he was good in coverage, great in the locker room. He had its fewest games this year, ironically, since I thought it was his best season with his Bears, played 13 games this year with the Bears. But still, and it seemed like always,
Starting point is 00:08:45 Tremaine Edmonds is 27 years old. He's still a young man. So it'll be interesting to see where he lands. We know where DJ Moore is going. As we said, he goes to Buffalo where he will, interestingly enough, reunite with a familiar face. With the Bill's new head coach is Joe Brady, who was DJ Moore's offensive coordinator in Carolina for his first two years, where he had two really, really good years with Buffalo. How many discounts does USAA auto insurance offer?
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Starting point is 00:09:33 If you're interested in what's happening with all the places where you consume sports, the sports media podcast has you covered. I've been turning down interviews all week. Cota Cope reached out, Oprah, George Stephanopoulos. So I said no, I was booked on the Deich podcast before the Taylor Swift phenomenon. I must live up to my responsibility. Listen, wherever you get your podcasts. It's interesting when we start to try to figure out like the legacy that DJ Moore will have left in his three years with the Bears.
Starting point is 00:10:08 We know that 2023 was his best year statistically for the Bears. over 1,364 yards, 96 catches. That was the year he had the 230-yard game at Washington, which was fantastic with the three T-Ds, 2024, 966 catches, or excuse me, 966 yards, 98 catches. And then his least productive year was the year that we just watched, the 2025 season, 682 yards, 50 catches, but he had some of the most important and biggest catches really in in bears history.
Starting point is 00:10:46 And I don't necessarily think that is hyperbole relative to a lot of the wide receivers the bears have had. So while the quantity wasn't there for DJ Moore, and we could talk about all of that, all that is DJ more. There was some big time quality. And the guy never, I don't know, Dan, if you saw, I don't think he missed a game. I think he played 17 games every year that he was in a Chicago Bears unit. and both playoff games this year. So that was durability and toughness.
Starting point is 00:11:13 It was very much appreciated by everyone inside that building. I can tell you that that was very sincere what they thought of DJ in that regard. And we know that he was hospitalized in Cincinnati this year. And then was somehow back on the practice field just a few days later and playing in the next week's game. Very hurt. That's a snapshot into a guy that's going to give you everything he has. I think it's interesting, as you mentioned, that the reunion with Joe Brady in Buffalo, I think it provides DJ with a window of opportunity.
Starting point is 00:11:42 It provides him with some built-in knowledge of a guy that for two years in Carolina called plays for an offense he was in. So I think that there is like a winning situation for all parties in this where that makes sense for Buffalo to add a weapon for Josh Allen to try to help them get through that electric fence that has been the AFC playoffs for them and perhaps play a February football game before Josh Allen's career is up. they're basically, you know, rolling dice, that DJ can be a big time difference maker for them going forward and provide some of the things that he's provided for a lot of quarterbacks during this time. It was really funny because I was this afternoon going back through some of what I wrote when DJ arrived from Carolina when we were trying to get to know what his career in Carolina was like. And this is a guy that with the Panthers caught passes from Cam Newton, Kyle Allen, Will Greer, Teddy Bridgewater, PJ Walker, San Diego. Donald, Baker Mayfield, then he comes to Chicago. He gets Justin and Tyson and Caleb. And so you've seen a guy who's been very consistently productive.
Starting point is 00:12:45 And one person that I talked to at the Combine referenced Mike Evans and said, look, like he's not as explosive as Mike Evans. They have different skill sets. But in terms of a guy who has been very consistently productive within whatever system he's been asked to play in, DJ is that. And that's why there was a market for him. It's why Buffalo was interested in pulling the trigger for him. And look, like, I do think the bears get a good return back here where, you know, I think it, you know, Ryan Poles talked about it last week.
Starting point is 00:13:14 There's a human element to this where there's emotion involved in the departure and the farewell and the, you know, thank you for your services. That emotion goes away pretty quickly for both sides because this league doesn't stop and wait around. And I think both sides can feel really good about their futures, even while feeling a little bit wistful about the past. Well, then that would lead me into, I think this would be a good time to read, DJ Moore's statement from Instagram and what he said going out from Chicago. Here, here it is. DJ
Starting point is 00:13:45 Moore on Insta. He says, quote, I want to say, appreciate all the love and support the last three years. My family and I were proud to call this place home and this community has been unbelievable to us. We will miss you all.
Starting point is 00:14:01 DJ Moore goes on to say to the fans, you all embraced me with open arms from my first day here. I gave my all every time I stepped on the field and hopefully I made all of you proud with the way I performed. We have some unbelievable memories at Soldier Field
Starting point is 00:14:17 and you all are a huge part of them. And then the last graph here from DJ Moore on Instagram, he says, to my Bears teammates, coaches and staff, I enjoyed going to work with you every day. I'll miss seeing you all at Hallis Hall. You all made me grateful every day to be a Chicago Bear. I appreciate you all.
Starting point is 00:14:39 Close quote from DJ Moore. Not surprising anything that he said in that. That sounds like DJ more to me, Dan. Yeah, and I don't know if you agree with this. It's like we, you know, certainly we anticipated the Tremaine Edmins release and we were gearing up for it and it was the most telegraphed move that the Bears could make this entire off season. We started to be very, very much on high alert for a DJ Moore trade here within the last
Starting point is 00:15:01 10 to 12 days and understanding that that could become a reality very soon. still when you see it with your own eyes become reality, there's like a jarring nature to that. You're like, whoa, that's it. Like that's it and that's all. It's over. You know, and so I felt that way when I saw the Edmonds news come across tonight.
Starting point is 00:15:18 I felt that way when DJ Moore's statement came across tonight. And you just, you know, like you and I get a chance to go in that locker room. We get a chance to talk to these guys. And so you do get to feel out the human side of this entire business. And it's a really, really uncomfortable business at time.
Starting point is 00:15:33 And particularly in my, moments where guys are are leaving you know and and leaving on you know good terms right like these are two guys that will leave with very little animosity on either side of the equation about what their time in chicago was like it's just this is this is the league you know and it just marches in a lot of different directions at a really rapid pace well and you read that bevy of quarterbacks that he has played with and we we know that i remember him kind of out loud lamenting maybe that's not the right word, but when Justin Fields was still here, with whom he had a good rapport. Friends obviously had the 1,300-yard season with Justin Fields, but when it became apparent
Starting point is 00:16:15 that the pairs were going to have a crack at Caleb Williams, microphones were in his face, asking him, well, now you go from this quarterback that you helped to develop to, hey, what about Caleb coming in? And I remember him, Dan, and I'm just paraphrasing here, kind of lamenting and saying, well, that's great and all. And this was no shot at Caleb. it was just, well, now we have another quarterback that it has to learn from the ground floor. And that's when you started to feel, at least I did, started to feel sort of like,
Starting point is 00:16:44 not DJ being unhappy as a bear because I don't think that was ever the case, but just like, oh, man, here we go again. Right, right. So I got to deal with another new quarterback who I don't know is going to be good. So all of this for me to say, I'm happy that he gets to play with Josh Allen. To me, that was the only type of team that he could have really been valuable to that would have made him happy to fit in was a winning team. It didn't necessarily have to be Buffalo. But DJ Moore, a veteran who we know can roll his eyes at stuff sometimes.
Starting point is 00:17:18 This is a perfect landing place, I think, for DJ Moore, if that matters to our viewers and listeners. I mean, established quarterback, Grotie, for sure. And so, like, you're not going to have to be worried about resetting at that position every year. that you're in Buffalo, and it looks like for at least three more years, DJ will likely be in that Bill's jersey. It's funny because, you know, I was reading off those names of the quarterbacks he played with in Carolina. And when he came here in 2023, it was kind of like Sam Darnold and Baker Mayfield at that
Starting point is 00:17:47 time were like, oh, he played with those bums. And now you look at those guys resurrect their careers. They're like, oh, you're playing with those guys, you know. Right. Well, you mentioned Sam Darnold, right? Yeah, right. And Baker, Baker obviously resurrected his career in Tampa Bay. So it's just a reminder of how crazy this league can be and how many different swirls of the tornado can take things in a different direction.
Starting point is 00:18:07 I don't know. Like you mentioned a little bit about DJ's legacy. I think it's like to me it's layered. I think there's a lot of nuance here. I feel like with some of the reaction that initially bubbles up in moments like this, it can be exaggerated on the extremes a little bit. And so I feel like there, you know, I think there's probably one crowd that's overly intoxicated. by what that overtime touchdown catch to beat Green Bay was in December. And then there's another crowd that's way too overly critical of DJ's role in the final
Starting point is 00:18:40 offensive play of the 2025 season, which of course was that divisional round interception thrown by Caleb Williams on a crossed wires play there in overtime of the Rams game. And so, like, I think if we could get either of those sides to kind of come back toward the middle five or six steps, you'd be in a more healthy, with how to discuss DJ because I do think that look like he played harder than it looks to outsiders at times and I think you would agree with that being around him. He's just got a different sort of deportment about him that sometimes gets misconstrued. And then, you know, like the production this year, as you mentioned, it was career lows in catches. It was career lows in receiving yards.
Starting point is 00:19:21 And that doesn't mean that one catch and overtime of, you know, a regular season game against the Packers just totally trumps all that. fact that he couldn't get consistent chemistry with Caleb for whatever reason. And that's still a mystery to me and it's still a mystery to a lot of people around the league. But even the touchdown that was the go-head touchdown in the final two minutes to beat the Packers in the playoff game, like you and I could have could have made that catch. That was a scheme touchdown where they obviously baited the Packers defense up. DJ got free. Caleb hit him and it's a score there. So I don't know. I guess that's a long-winded way of saying it's complicated. with how we judge DJ,
Starting point is 00:20:01 and I would just be careful about trying to pull yourself to one extreme or another. That's a really good point. And I think part of it, the so-called chemistry issues with Caleb Williams, some of it. And I don't know for sure. And we can go back and analyze every single game and where DJ Moore was on the field.
Starting point is 00:20:22 I think some of it was Caleb Williams coming up with these new receivers, with Roma Dunesay having been drafted the same year he was. You have Luther Burden added in the second round last year. You had Colston Loveland, obviously, added in the first round. So it's sort of like that's his class of guys. Not that they were like pushing DJ Moore out, but it almost just seemed like everybody was more interested, especially this year, until it got better for DJ Moore,
Starting point is 00:20:54 creating or forcing that chemistry with some of, the new guys that that Caleb Williams would grow with him. And you think about like when Rome and Caleb were drafted the same year, they, they kind of decided to become besties and like put it out like we are we are the hope of the Chicago Bears offense. They're the new guys and DJ Moore is kind of the old guy. So I wonder if that's some of it from from Caleb's side. Nothing, um, nothing harsh from his side, nothing that he's doing on purpose. But it just is what it is when you come in with your class of guys and developing these young receivers. who are willing to hear and learn anything that Ben Johnson is saying.
Starting point is 00:21:32 The other part of this is there are some limitations in DJ's game. And, you know, one of them that's kind of been well documented is, you know, because of his size, he doesn't have this huge catch radius. Like he can obviously make contested catches when asked to, but it's not like one of these guys that just can go get a ball within 25 feet of him, right? Like, and so there's that. And then like, off the top of my head, I can't name you. like a half dozen extended play,
Starting point is 00:22:01 unforgettable DJ more catches. Right. And so like I think Caleb, a guy who likes to live off script a little bit, never quite found that that scramble drill click. Yeah. With DJ. Like Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelsey have type of thing, right?
Starting point is 00:22:17 And so, so you just wonder about that. Like, you know, like is it just not a fit because of that? And I think Caleb will get better in that department of being a little bit more efficient and, you know,
Starting point is 00:22:27 coloring within the lines even as he retains his artist creativity. But it's just that that part of things never really worked with DJ. I think like, you know, I think back to his huge game with Justin Fields in Washington, his first season here on that primetime game. And a lot of that was just short passes, balls out, bubble screen here, you know, short route here. And then DJ does his thing with the ball in his hands.
Starting point is 00:22:53 And it just, for whatever reason, it just didn't seem like that clicked in Caleb and maybe to some extent it didn't fit in with what Ben was trying to do offensively. And so it is what it is. Like I say, I feel like this is one of those things where it's not necessarily addition by subtraction, but I think all parties will end up benefiting from the decisions that were made today. Yeah. Yeah. And using him correctly, and it seemed like at times even, you know, prior to Ben Johnson and, you know, the, with Matt Eberfluse and Shane Waldron, it took him a while to figure out, just get the ball to this man in space. You're right. He's not going to be the
Starting point is 00:23:27 up and get a guy. He's not going to be the constant deep threat. But if you get the ball to him in the shallow, he's going to be able to make plays. It's why they were trying to let him run the ball out of the backfield and be a running back and be Debo Samuel, of course, is the comp. So there are ways to maximize DJ Moore's skill set. But you're right. He's not the classic big body, big tall receiver, but he is effective as hell. And hopefully for his sake, he will be that way with Buffalo. The Bears aren't playing Buffalo this year. Buffalo is not on their schedule.
Starting point is 00:24:02 They're not. No, no, no bills on the schedule. And then I like to just. Oh, actually, they are actually. Are they on the schedule? It would be a soldier field game. Oh. I believe. Let me triple check this because now you got me.
Starting point is 00:24:16 Now you got me. Keep talking while I didn't. Yeah, sure. No problem. I didn't. Off the top of my head, I didn't think that we were going to be. I think this is the AFC East year. Okay.
Starting point is 00:24:25 The Patriots and bills, I think, are coming here, correct? And we're going to that might be right. That could possibly be right. This is what happens with Take the North After Dark. Yeah, I think it would be great if DJ Moore was to come back to, what I would love is
Starting point is 00:24:43 if DJ Moore did come back to Soldier Field and you and I at Buffalo. Oh, I'll at Buffalo. Okay. Maybe I'll at Miami. You and I need to hop up and just hey, we're back here. We're back. We're back, buddy.
Starting point is 00:24:58 Are you gratified? Hey, who knows? Maybe we get like a, you know, they won't do this because it's a regular season. But we've had crossover practices with the bills in the past, including this last summer. So you never know. That's a good one. Good point. You know, one thing that you brought up with the other guys that Caleb has to throw to here.
Starting point is 00:25:16 Yeah. There's a sentiment for me today where it's like you use the top 10 pick on Roma Dunzae. You use the top 10 pick on Colston Lovell and you use the top 40 pick on Luther Burden. Right? And so like when DJ came here, there wasn't those guys. You can go back through the receivers that shared the room with him in 2023 and see that that pedigree wasn't there. So it makes a move like this easier, obviously. And you're expecting a lot of those guys that you invested. It goes back to our old ROI acronym, return on investment, right? Like you expect Rome and Colston and burdened it to produce in that regard. And that's why I would make the argument that DJ Moore's exit is less significant than Drew Dawn. Salman's exit because he was just ready-made ways to make up for his production already here. Whereas now, and obviously the Bears have money to go address their center position if they so desire, I just think it's a more challenging hole to fill, and we'll see how they go about doing that. Yeah, I think that's fair.
Starting point is 00:26:15 I mean, even if you just look at the position and offensive line, more difficult to fill and thrive at than a wide receiver in the NFL. That's for sure. My day kicks off with a refreshing Celsius energy drink, then straight to the gym. Pre-K pickup, back home to meal prep. Time for my fire station shift. One more Celsius, got to keep the lights on. When the three alarm hits, I'm ready. Celsius, live, fit, go.
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Starting point is 00:27:46 But I'm glad you brought those guys up, because that is, they're going to add more guys. They might draft a wide receiver with what they have left, and I know we went through it, but a first rounder, two, three, four, you cross out that five. They've got a couple seventh rounders as well and cash to spend at this point as well. But they will be depending heavily on, like, it was fun to watch Luther Burden develop. It was fun to watch Colston Lovell and get to the point where you're like, oh, wow, this guy might be a star. But now you no longer get the benefit of the rookie scale in terms of evaluation. Good for a rookie, as I always say.
Starting point is 00:28:24 Now you're going to be expected to do something. Same thing with Roma Dunezay. It's a massive view. This is a make a break year for Roma Dunesay, quite frankly, in terms of living up to being that first round pick where he was drafted in the Caleb Williams year. Yeah. And when locker cleanout day occurred in January, like you could feel the disappointment in Roman Dunezay for how his season had gone.
Starting point is 00:28:50 He obviously had issues catching the football consistently on balls that he should have hauled in, including one in the playoff game, which gets a lot less attention than the last play of the season got offensively, right? Like Rome had a ball in his hands near the goal line that he didn't catch in the Bears, didn't score a touchdown on that drive, and then obviously DJ and Caleb have the crosswires on the last drive. All that is to say that like the injury that interrupted Rome's season late in the year was a big deal. I think he understands kind of the weight and the expectation that's on him going into his third season. And now that just gets larger because you have to be the guy to carry the receiving core, you know, and you have to be the leader that the bears believe you can be and the guy that you were in college. And so there's a challenge here.
Starting point is 00:29:37 That's the league, right? Like, can you meet that challenge? Can you meet that moment and rise up and be the player that you have the potential to be? Yeah, man, there's a lot here. And like, the first time that we get back out in the spring, it's talk to everybody, players, assistant coaches, headcount. coach coordinators. Our question list is going to be like five pages long because there's going to be a lot that has happened here in the off season that's going to just change the direction of everything that we thought the direction was going to be when the season ended. And we were talking so much about the cohesion and
Starting point is 00:30:11 continuity on offense. And now you've just subtracted the Pro Bowl Center and one of the best receivers that's played in your building in, you know, in 20 years. I am no longer pushing back at Ben Johnson when he does the whole, hey guys, this is not going to be the same team coming back. Because you know me. I was like, actually, you've got the offensive line and the quarterback and the receivers and all that. And now it's like, no, you don't have the offensive line right now. You might, like, within a couple of weeks, you might have a great offensive line again. I don't know, but you don't have that right now. Yes, you've got the quarterback, but your receiver's room is, is suspects probably too strong. But you know what I mean.
Starting point is 00:30:48 There are all of a sudden, this is a vastly different team that can still be really, really, really good, maybe as good as last year, maybe even better. But there's some tenuous moments right now. It feels until we start to see these positions filled, it does feel fragile right now for the Bears with these missing players until they start to spend the money and the assets. Start on the most basic level. You walk back into the off-season program in April,
Starting point is 00:31:17 if you're Caleb Williams. And under what you thought was going to be, you would walk into the meeting room or the wait room or whatever, And you go, hey, what's up, Drew? How's the Hulk doing? Hey, yeah, let's go. You know, now you walk in and you say, hi, I'm Caleb. You know, like, you're my new center. Great to meet you.
Starting point is 00:31:32 Can we go out on the grass and try to work on our exchanges and then talk about, you know, all the things that we need to talk about with the playbook and the things I need from you to help, you know, the line of scrimmanship operation, all those types of things. And so, like, there's going to be new guys that need to blend into what's already established. And that takes time. It happens in every building. It happens in every season. But it is still a real thing that, you know, a few weeks ago you didn't know that they were going to have to do that now that they certainly have to do it on some level.
Starting point is 00:32:02 Dan, my instinct right now is to say goodbye, to say goodbye here on the podcast. I'm just checking my phone right now to make sure there's no funny stuff. It's always funny stuff. There's always something going on. I mean, the fact that we're able to cram this podcast in is a miracle in itself. but yeah, I think it's probably safe for us to pause and return. Oh, God, I just dropped my phone. You okay over there?
Starting point is 00:32:30 You can't be dropping your phone right now. This is no time to be dropping phones. My Chipotle order is going to be here in moments from Uber Eats. So I'll be up for a while, Dan, just in case there's more that we need to accomplish here. I think we've lost Dan. We don't hear Dan anymore. Dan, you have muted yourself, sir. There you go, buddy.
Starting point is 00:32:53 There you go. I mean, if these aren't signs, I don't know what are signs, but I have the top. With me on the mic, all the things that are going astray. I will just say one little thing. Yes. I think that with this surplus of cap space that they've cleared here in the last 48 hours, this is just a personal premonition that it will be a lot easier to get something done
Starting point is 00:33:12 with all pro safety and Captain Kevin Bayard. Uh-huh. Thing where I feel like that box becomes a lot easier to check at this point, as long as that market doesn't go haywire for KB. I don't think it will. And so hopefully the next time that we're doing one of these, holy cow news, take the North podcast, it's for an addition or a retention rather than a farewell podcast
Starting point is 00:33:35 for one of these guys that have left because Drew Dahlum and DJ Moore and J. Maidman are no longer bears. And that wasn't the case just 50 hours ago. All three guys that were, as you mentioned, getting to know these guys, all three very enjoyable in their own ways, all very distinct and different personalities who provided us with insight. You know that you and I had the fun times. DJ is one of those guys.
Starting point is 00:34:00 Not exactly in the spirit that you always say like guys that when you go up to, you got a little bit of fear. With DJ, it wasn't necessarily fear. It was, what am I going to get? What's he going to throw back at me? What do I need to be ready for with the follow-up? Is he going to laugh? Is he going to smile?
Starting point is 00:34:16 Is he going to get mad? Is he going to like give that little DJ eye roll? You never knew what you were going to get out of him. Tremaine, I know you had a really good relationship with him. He was good to everybody. And Drew Dalman was super intelligent, and that's the way he spoke. He was very smart. You always gave insightful answers as well.
Starting point is 00:34:34 So I appreciate all three of those guys. So now we've got to get to know in the same way. We've got to get to know Tyler Linderbaum and Max Crosby. Oh, I like the way you talk. You're ready to give up those two draft picks at a player for old Max Crosby. I was trying to avoid saying his name. by the way. I'll do anything to get this flurry of chaotic news done as fast as possible.
Starting point is 00:34:56 Give it all the money and get all the guys right now. And let's just, that's cancel next week. Oh, man. That's hilarious. Well, this is as much chaos and work this is. And I know fans for fans,
Starting point is 00:35:08 it's stressful too to digest all of this and take it all in. We will stay on it and take the north. We'll be your place. Listen to Rahimi Harris and Grotie on the score. We talk bears there every year. day from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. as well. Dan Weeder, you should always read him in The Athletic. I know do. It is a great source of information. So make sure you check that out and subscribe to the athletic. Dan and Kevin Fishbane and the rest of the crew, John Greenberg, do a great job over there.
Starting point is 00:35:37 So with that said, for my guy, Dan Wheater of the Athletic, for our executive producer, Adam Stitzinski. I am Mark Grody of the score saying thank you so much for watching. And listening to the Take the North podcast. Great talk. See out there. Thank you, everybody.

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