Rahimi, Harris & Grote Show - What does the future hold for veteran safety Kevin Byard and the Bears? (Hour 2)

Episode Date: February 4, 2026

In the second hour, Leila Rahimi and Marshall Harris examined the relationship between Bears general manager Ryan Poles and head coach Ben Johnson. After that, they wondered if the Bears will retain veteran safety Kevin Byard as he’s set to hit free agency in March. Later, they held the Halftime segment.

This hour is sponsored by almost free teeth.com. Affordable implants, life-changing smiles. I want to thank Ben for his dedication to this job. It didn't feel, he talks about being a first-time coach. It didn't feel that way at all. His ability to take, like he said, the words off the wall and push that to his players and see them respond was incredible. Even in some of the feedback we got,

these guys were just doubling down on his message. When they got to the locker room, there was no hesitation. There was no great area. They pushed forward because they believed in what he was saying and what he needed from them, which was incredible. That was Ryan Poles at his season-ending press conference. This is Rahimi Harrison Brody on 104-3, The Score. I almost did it.

I almost did it. Everybody suggested punishments that were hilarious, by the way. Dog collar on the lowest setting from 815. make a donation everywhere somewhere every time you stay 670 instead of 104 3 is from Texas. Isn't cattle prod the typical fashion?

I think a cattle prod is stronger than a taser. I don't want to be the one to find out, which is which. Well, one leaves a mark that's a little more permanent. That too. That's all I'm saying. But I did crack up at everybody who immediately had ideas. So that made me laugh.

The cattle prod would have to say 104 to score, though. Yes. Not 670. a brand, not the cattle brand. That's what I was thinking. That's what we're all thinking. There are various poking devices for cattle. I don't want to get poked with anything. The brand is one thing.

No, I am not getting a 104-3-the-score-tattoo. It would help you remind you. This is like people, you know, this is like, it's getting in the area of aspirational tattoos. Like, just because you put a tattoo on your body that said, oh, I don't know, the White Sox were going to win the division. Doesn't mean that that's actually going to happen. The White Sox might win the division, though.

You want to put that tattoo on? Nope. Nope. Like, oh, I did a tattoo of this. Or like people who, oh, God, 773, send a text to one of your exes. Okay, that's a horrifying punishment. So, all right. Say it with me now. 1043, the score.

1043, the score. I have yet to say the other. Every time you say it wrong, you have to write Super Bowl one word on the white board 100 times. Superb Owl. Superb owl. It's two words. Okay. Speaking of that, unfortunately, Kaling Kaler, because she is covering that Super Bowl, had to reschedule.

So we wanted to move up one of our topics because if you recall, last year this time, we had a lot of discussion around the interviews that happened amongst Ryan Poles in the media on Radio Row. And then just some of the stuff that was said, like, for example, oh, I don't know, steps were skipped when it came to training camp. Do you remember that? And I'm like, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Well, like, mistakes were made. Like, why are you just now saying this? You know, why at the Super Bowl, which your team is not playing in and they weren't in the playoffs to get to? Are you just now saying this? Glad he said it. But it was one of those moments where you're like, well, that's a bit of a red flag. obviously I was very keen on hearing what was said this time around.

Better late than never on the whole steps were skipped. Mistakes were made. Mistakes were made. There were oversights. Yeah. And frankly, there shouldn't be, especially with the chief executive of the football operation of your football team. So Ryan Poles spoke to Sirius XM NFL radio.

And I think, I feel like he kind of picked up where he left off with that type of of discussion. Listen to what he had to say. He set the tone early, communicated clearly what the expectations were. And Caleb was all in for, and that's what he was looking for. It's one thing to say it, but then we get on the practice field, you could see that come alive. If it wasn't done the right way, we were going to do it again. We'll do it again. And we were actually in the exit meetings at the end of the season. Caleb was kind of laughing about it, doing a long drive drill and starting it over five times.

Like, he was going to make sure it was done the right way, and you could see growth through that. that. Do you remember at the beginning of training camp when Ben Johnson was just lighting them up and making them not only repeat things time and time again, but sometimes just kicking the first team offense off the field? Oh, yeah. And I don't think it was, I don't think it was for show. You know, like, for example, Jalen Johnson practicing with the threes because he missed in voluntary practice because he was he was at his annual golf tournament for his friend from high school who died. died. That, that was for show. This is not that. Every time you bring up any relic, and I do call them relics, because it's ancient history to me, of the Matt Iberflus era, it is hilarious to me. I mean, okay, I'm going back to February, let's break out some receipts. Okay. I'm going back to February 28th, 2025 right now. And this is on, this is through our friends, the Bears Wire. They do a great job. Now, the headlines.

says, Ryan Poles admits bear skipped steps developing Caleb Williams. Speaking to PFT Live, pro football talk, at the NFL scouting combine, polls explained how he feels the organization failed in their first year with Williams. There were probably some steps skipped in the very beginning just in terms of building the foundation. Some of the things you have to operate at a high level in this league, even as a rookie. I think that he was accelerated and with that as the league studies and figures things out. It gets exposed as you go along. That quote is still very important to me, just because either you learn from it or you didn't. And I feel like when you hear Ryan Poles say that, what did they do? They answered by getting

a coach who made sure that the process in training camp was sound. The level of enthusiasm from Caleb Williams, and rightfully so, and understandably so, for Ben Johnson's hire, as opposed to what he was introduced to when he was drafted in Matt Iberfluse and Shane Waldron is breathtaking in contrast. And I get it. You just went through your version of hell as a rookie. And now you know Ben Johnson.

You don't know like maybe how Ben Johnson does it, but you know he does that thing that you so badly want to do when you're on the football field. And so therefore you're willing to almost, strip yourself internally of all of your pre-beliefs, if you will, of what you think you know about football to make sure that internally you are stripped down to the stud so that you could be rebuilt and whatever this man wants to make you because he knows what he's doing. Well, for example, how much did we end up talking about the stupid net drill video that

dominated an entire week of the internet? I was there that day. And all those people are like, oh, you hate Caleb Williams, Lila, you hate him. And if I really hated Caleb Williams, as much as you guys claimed, wouldn't I have cared about the net drill? Like some? I did not care about that. I was like, I saw him do it live. It wasn't a big deal.

He was just throwing at a net. And he actually explained it. You know what a net is not? A receiver. It just didn't bother me that. You know what else? When you throw it the net and you hit it where it's supposed to go, the net catches the ball. The net catches the ball.

Yeah, I hear that works in soccer and stuff. Can't say that's the same for all of the bears would be past catchers last season. That part too, you know, that part of it. But I just, yeah, the point of it, though, was that when he was doing these drills, and I think a lot of it was to frankly upset, and I think there was a little bit of break him down to build him back up, not just Caleb Williams, but the entire Bears team. I think it was to avoid. Ryan Poles fairly admitting something that I still think came under his purview

when it came to steps being skipped at training camp. We all make mistakes, correct your mistake as quickly as possible. And I do give Ryan Poles credit for correcting some of his mistakes. And I also give, again, Caleb Williams credit for willing to be broken down to be built back up again. And I give even more credit to Ben Johnson for figuring out how to do it. Because he figured it out. Like everybody doesn't figure it out with every quarter. Who's playing for the Seahawks in the Super Bowl this Sunday?

Well, Sam Dernold. He's been through several people who have tried to help him figure it out. Yeah, I need to do, speaking of receipts. Okay. I need to do the deep dive on what exactly changed for Sam Dernold. Because I know he's touched on it a little bit. There's been a lot written about that. Yeah.

Good citations, if you will. Yeah, I think I've got to do the deep dive either tonight or tomorrow night. And I know the Bulls play tomorrow on Amazon. prime, by the way. I know I've got to do like the deep dive on when he felt like the light came on for him in a way that made it all make sense. Because I don't

necessarily think it was just Kevin O'Connell. Like, I think he unlocked him. But I think it had a lot to do with the willingness of the player. And that's kind of what this is as well. I think it shouldn't take that kind of quote. It shouldn't take the colossal mistakes

the Bears made in Caleb Williams' first year, which to me was still very valuable. You know, it shouldn't have taken all of that to get to the point. And I'm not to the point yet where I say, well, everything is fine and fixed because the expectation for the one-one, who you believe can take your team to a Super Bowl, they did say the Super Bowl, the Bears, that that was their goal. You know, so now I feel like that becomes part of the discussion. But I am glad to see that in retrospect, Ryan Poles understands what the difference was between one and the other.

We are combing through Ryan Poles, who was recently on Sirius XM NFL radio here on Rahimi Harris and Grotie on 1043, The Score. And I love any time Ryan Poles, and I feel like on these specific types of interviews, he's a little more forthcoming and less guard up as when he's maybe at the lectern in front of the entire beat.

Which is why I didn't take as seriously. the interview where he's seated next to Kevin Warren after they fired Iber flus. Like I think it's fine to wear a quarter of. I think it's fine to wear a suit. No, it was fine that, but you couldn't ignore the look on his face.

Just the body language was the body language. The body language was the body language. I think it got, everything got exacerbated a little bit when it came to the visuals, but he's still the general manager of this team. And as we saw, it was not just his job. like the bears had to pony up the money to be able to do so, and ultimately we knew that polls still answer to Kevin Warren.

So they made, they as a collective made the right decision. And sometimes that's what happens is in organizations. It's that one guy wants to do something the correct way, but that his boss or his boss's boss won't let him. And I'm not making an excuse for anybody. It's just, you know, as well as I do, you cover sports long enough. You know that maybe this guy wants to do something,

but his boss says no. Well, now we have Kevin Warren coming in and making everything seemingly good on the football operations standpoint by allowing Ryan Poles to stay, making sure Ben Johnson is the guy, and letting Ben Johnson and Dennis Allen have a large say in what happens next. And year one was a rousing success. And now we're all just kind of excited for year two and what even further this team can do as far as development of the players they have. and then adding whatever it takes to make the team better overall. This is Rahimi Harrison Grotie on 104.3, the score. If you're missing 104.3, we recommend you go over to B96 because you might be pleasantly surprised at the playlists and how they overlap.

And in the meantime, we're talking about Ryan Poles and Ben Johnson, thanks to a Ryan Poles interview he did on Sirius XM NFL Radio. So as we asked the question in our previous segment about what's next for the Bulls, Oh, yeah. What's next when it comes to the development for Caleb Williams? Coach is going to challenge it to be even more efficient, not only just with the operation, but just completions. And I think when you have special playmaking traits and then you lean onto that mobility and escapability, I think sometimes you don't take just the easy throw. So taking what's given to you and moving on to the next down to just staying ahead of the chains and just being more efficient overall.

And I think that's what he's going to challenge him on doing, as well as as as, becoming a leader and a little bit more vocal. You know, he was learning so much, he was in the fire. I think as he grows as a young quarterback, I think the leadership piece will continue to grow to. Two words, Leila, runners, ball. I want to see more of those. And then the leadership thing, I feel like that's been. The thing about the seven comebacks is that that team is following Caleb Williams,

wherever he could take them at this point, because they've seen it firsthand too many times, not to believe it. I think they've matched his energy the whole time. Yeah. Seth Weckersham was on with Spiegel and Holmes on Monday, and I strongly recommend you go back and listen to his interview because he talked about how Williams in his career is a bit of a slow starter and how the team took on that energy, you know,

and not in a bad way because we saw what happens at the end of these games, but that that is an indication of how much they do mirror his energy. And he even talked about it throughout the season. I'm kind of surprised that Ryan Poles even brought it up because I didn't even think that was an issue. Was that Caleb talked about being consistent and being remaining confident and steadfast, even in late game scenarios where he felt like they still had a chance. And everybody believed it. So that doesn't even come into question for me. I also am one of those people, and I think you know this.

I don't necessarily think you have to be a certain personality type to A, be a, be a question. quarterback and be successful in the NFL, and then B, be a leader. Like, like, we laughed about Montez-Swett saying Jervon Dexter was a leader on the team. But the fact of the matter is, Jirvan, you never questioned his effort, his hustle, his attempts to get up and disrupt a ball with a tip pass. Like, you could see why that was said. It's not always correlated like, oh, this typical leader is going to be the dude. I am a big believer that there are different leadership styles.

And each of them can be equally as effective, whether you are a super vocal leader, whether you lead by, you know, example and just setting that daily, this is, this dude looks like he knows what he's doing. You know, the whole speak softly, carry a big stick. That plays. And that plays in sports, out of sports, business, whether you're in a rec league playing sports. like that just plays. Anybody who's played organized sports knows that leaders don't have to necessarily be the most vocal on the team. Well, and even we were talking about this yesterday. You know, Jackson Smith and Jigba, his play is very loud and successful. He's not that way in personality. He's a subtle and more like understated guy. Gets his point across. But you know,

that's a good example. I like the people who don't necessarily fit the mold. I find them interesting. I love a little JSN. JSN. JSN had this wonderful conversation. I didn't bring it up to you guys where he was on with Marshawn Lynch. I saw the clip of it. We, if not today tomorrow. Well, we got halftime open. Do we want to do it at a halftime?

We could do that. I have something for halftime, but we could do that too. We call it producing on the fly. My halftime can work anytime. But the Jackson, if you could turn it around, the JSN with Marshawn Lynch is hilarious. Yeah, I'm into that for sure. Because he wasn't sure about his name and hilarity ensue. You can already imagine, right?

Marshawn. Hated speaking to the media became the media. There's so much, to that point, Laila, there's so much Marshawn Lynch content out there at this current moment, especially with the Seahawks at the Super Bowl,

like, oh my goodness, it's great. You know what else is deep down? I'm like, did you know? You just didn't want to, people couldn't handle it? Is that the deal? You just knew like you were too funny enough for Vescent? Or were you just worried

you were going to swear or something on the mic? The man is a full-fledged actor with starring roles in movies. He's horribly entertaining. And when I say horribly, I mean, in the best way possible. Like, he's funny as hell. You all got two short whistle from blow to whistle?

I'm going to give Marciaun Lynch all the credit in the world, and I'm going to say that he probably said to himself, I know I'm entertaining, but they're going to have to pay me to get this. You know what? That's not a bet. It was, uh... I think the league couldn't. I think we as a society were not ready for Marshawn Lynch's entertainment

factor. You're probably right. What is the old, it's the dark night, Heath Ledger's Joker, never do something for free if you're good at it. That's Marshawn Lynch. That goes back to also Wall Street. Like anything worth doing is worth doing for money. Greed is good.

Greed clarifies. Yeah. If you're good at something, never do it for free. That was Heath Ledger's Joker in the Dark Night. And he was right. Yeah, there's a lot of archetypes that come from that movie. So yes, am I fine with ending this with credit to Marshawn Lynch for being himself? I certainly am.

We also want to say congratulations to our friends at White Eagle Auto Body with locations in Naperville and Oswego for being this year's winner of our Score Big for Your Business contest. They've had their commercials produced by the score and they will be heard during Super Bowl 60 right here this Sunday on 104-3 and 670. Score. Score big for your business is sponsored by People's Bank where better banking keeps moving forward. Member FDIC. Coming up next year on Rahimi Harrison Grotie, our friends at CHGO, talk to a guy whose fate I don't know yet. Kevin Byrd, you know his fate yet? I know what I want it to be, but no, I don't know his fate. I think we should examine and hear

from Kevin Byard, who's been a tremendously good interview this whole season. So we'll do it next. Could you imagine Lovie Smith doing the whole good better best thing and saying bleep the Packers? Come on, guys, good better best. Never let it rest. I'll see on Tuesday. Middays 10 to 2 on 1043, the score. To throw, pressure up the middle. Zips one deep in it.

Yeah, that's right. That's courtesy of, is that? Who is that? Fox or ESPN? Why did I think it was ESPN for a second? because sometimes they all sound the same. It's courtesy of Fox. This is Rahimi Harrison Grotie on 104-3, the score.

104-3, Leila. Get it right. I have to tell myself, guys. And Kevin Byard, yeah, seven interceptions that led the league for the regular season. Devin Lloyd, two less than him at five. A group of five was Lloyd, J.C. Horn, Ernest Jones, Antonio Johnson, Xavier Watts, and Nashon Wright, by the way, also a free agent now.

Isn't that comforting, Marshall, to know that the guy who got you seven picks and the guy who got you five picks are both free agents now? Yes. Like, if you're managing the Bears checkbook, you're like, well, isn't that nice? I just like, when I try to evaluate moves versus moves, it's so funny how one year you could think, oh, this was great or this was terrible. and then three or four years down the road, actually it's the other way around. Well, I mean, it's a wonderful problem to have, but it is still very much a problem.

The fate of Kevin Byrd, the fate of Nashan Wright, the fate of even Tremaine Edmins, when you're trying to figure out what's going to happen next for the Bears, who also was up there at interceptions with four. So it's a jigsaw puzzle that Brian Poles and the crew are desperately going to have to fit together. And number one, I think for all of us in our minds, and we even heard this when it came to Jaquine Bristker,

was who are you going to keep? And Brisker versus Byard was the discussion when we heard it talked about at the end of the season press conference. Who we didn't hear from after the end of the season press conference was Kevin Byard, who's out and about because of the pro bowl games. Why are you throwing up the air quotes?

That were on a Tuesday. That man had an interception. For some reason. That man had an interception. that he took off and ran back and I think it didn't count because there was a penalty on the play. Like I think there was like an illegal screen because you can't screen in flag football. I know a lot about flag football because I called the IHSA flag football championships this year and it was a delight. Screening in flag football does seem like a real illegal defense type of move.

You can't block the entire game becomes rendered irrelevant if you're screening. Yeah, because that's just that's not. not allowed. Because that would be it. That would be the end of the game. I watched some of the Pro Bowl last night, but that's another story for another segment. My favorite's always Tug of War and then the Big Men commentating on the Tug of War. That's all I like.

I miss Tug of War. I think we should be out here doing Tug of War. Pro Bowl games for adults? Well, we got invited actually by Herb Howard, I was going to say us two years ago. They were having the outdoor games and, like, I couldn't go that day, but I was like, that looks like so much fun. And Tuggle War was one of the things. Like you bring your team of adults and you see if you got what it takes against other adults.

Adult field day. Yes. I think that's what it was called. I'm not running the 100. No, I'm not doing any of that. Potato Sack race. Get me out of there for that. The games of coordination, yes.

But the games of like speed and physical. Violence? No. Maybe hitting somebody. I mean, that's speed and power and violence. Yeah, but like just not the fast. and coordinated part. Maybe like the willing to sacrifice your body for the cause part.

You really want to be a linebacker. That's all I'm hearing right now. Yeah. And after the linebacker survey where they were asked about a lot of questions, it wasn't just linebackers, the player survey and hearing from all the NFC defensive players, I was like, yeah, you guys are my people. Okay. So he's more of a safety type, but if you want to be a linebacker, we'll let you do it with

the full backs. I'm a linebacker, linebacker is me. That's a low center of gravity battle. That's why I feel like I would do okay. I feel you. All of that said, I can't play for the Bears. Kevin Byard might not play for the Bears. So our friends, Adam Hogan, Adam Johns for C.H. Joe, were at the Super Bowl.

They're at Radio Row. And they talked to Kevin Byard about the possibility of what, basically, we all want to know. So are you staying here or what? I think I was one of the only guys that he actually brought up by name. So now it's always good. I obviously hear your GM say that they want you back. And obviously, I have meetings with him and Ben. and they basically all echoed the same thing.

And I said the same thing as well. Like if all else is fair and all else is equal, everything is equal, and I would love to come back to the Bears. I think just the city, the organization, has embraced myself, my family. We had such a great year this year. And obviously, and I kind of said this in my interviews after the exhumans, it's like,

the hardest thing to do, I think in this league is to get the quarterback and the head coach right. And I think that's something that Chicago has. So I think that window is going to be open for as long as it needs to be. So obviously, I would love to come back and play for the Bears. You know, we know this is a business, and I know Pose and Ben, they have a lot of decisions to make on the roster. They're probably still trying to figure out how all that stuff works out. So, like I said, haven't really had too much conversations about it because, like, it's still January.

You know, I'm pretty sure when the combine comes around where all the decision makers and agents are all in the same room, those conversations will probably pick up a little bit more. Okay. What do we always talk about with Kyler Gordon? We're like, oh, Dennis Allen mentioned him by name. Yeah. And you remember when we played that clip when he went through the safeties, I was like, I noticed he didn't say Jaquam Bristker out loud,

but he sure made sure to say Kevin Byard out loud. I said he name-checked him, and I'm glad Kevin Byer was paying attention to the name check as well. Why am I not surprised that Kevin Byard, respected veteran, leader in the locker room, NFL regular season interception leader, had the elevator pitch on lock. He nailed it.

If you're going to go do Radio Row and hang out, out with a bunch of media guys, you got to have a plan. But consider what else he said. All things being equal. Here's the problem. What's the problem? I don't know that if all things are being equal, then I assume he's implying salary. And you and I were just going through a list of some of the highest paid salaries in the NFL.

Let's give a frame of reference. Number one is Kyle Hamilton at 25.1 notes. That's why I said, let's give a frame of revenue. Here's the frame of reference. that money is what Kyle Hamilton made the safety from the Baltimore Ravens last season. Additionally, you got to go. We're not doing franchise tag here because it implies the average of the top paid at your position. You got to go all the way down to number 24 because Kevin Byer was the 24th highest paid safety last year at 7.5 million.

And if the Bears could resign him at a rate of 7.5 million for two or three years, they would absolutely do it. But the NFL interceptions leader is not going to get. paid $7.5 million, even regardless of the fact that he's over the age of 30. So Kirby Joseph at 21 and a half is number two. Antoine Winfield, 21, Derwin James, 19.1. Mika Fitzpatrick up there at 18.4. Point is you have to go a long way. Before you even get to a number that Marshall and I talked about being 13 million,

and that's Talanoa, Tala, Tala, Noah Hufanga of Denver. Amani Hooker's at 13 and a half. Kyle Duggers at 14 and a half from Pittsburgh. Cameron Bynum of Indiana or of Indianapolis is at 15. So when I consider those numbers, even though he's older, don't you think for even like a year he's going to get paid somewhere in that range? Is that crazy? Josh Mattelis is getting 12.

I threw out to you because this is a guy who's, what, 33 years old, going into his age 34 season. if the Bears could get him on, let's say, a two-year deal where he's getting paid $13 million per year, would you be okay with that? And what was your answer, Lela Rahimi? I forget. You were kind of like, that seems like a lot. But then I made you look at all the other salaries. And you're like, I mean, that's, yeah, we did that together.

So I would say this. That would be what I think in a salary cap world, if you can get him to come back on $13 million per. And maybe it's a three-year deal with guarantee of, you know, let's say 30 million or something like that. It's a lot relative to what he got paid, but the problem is it's not a lot relative to who he is now among in his position group. First team all pro. It was a steal.

It was an absolute steel. First team all pro. You know, when you have our first team all pro and you are making plays in a secondary that was very questionable at times. Oh yeah. I mean the first two games. So you got to give credit where credit is due. He was an anchor on that team.

And I think any other team that is interested in him right now understands that you're not just getting the first team all pro guy. You're getting a rock of a leader in a locker room kind of guy. But that's why I said, you know, he nailed that elevator pitch because he said all things being equal. Does that sound like a guy who's going to give a hometown discount to you? No, but it does sound like a guy who understands this is his last chance to get paid and understand that the Bears as an organization have other people to pay and understand also this.

You're getting paid not for your past performance, but what they think you will do going forward. Yeah, but I think somewhere in the middle is the fact that his production was so wildly high based on the previous contract. That's why I came up and almost doubled his salary at $13 million compared to the 7.5 year and less. Yeah, and you're right. I said that was a lot compared to what he was making, but not compared to the rest of these dudes who frankly have some questionable money on the books, some of them. Yes. And like Mika Fitzpatrick was paid for his past performance. And I think he's a fabulous player.

But you know what I'm saying. And now that looks like a deal. You know, Buda Baker, 18, okay, for Buddha? Don't you think that that's probably still relatively speaking, knowing Kyle Hamilton is getting 25.1? That's a deal. Here's what I'll say. If you take the top, let's say the top 12 guys,

how many of those guys, safeties, that's not a premium position, how many those guys ended up playing on a playoff team? That's the point. That's like Cameron Bynum is somebody who I kind of zeroed in on. I'm like, is that the kind of neighborhood money you're talking about here? And as we know, the Colts did not play in the playoffs. Javon Holland, not in the playoffs. JCPyates the third, not in the playoffs.

Zavian McKinney was in the playoffs. Lost to the Bears in the playoffs. Sure did. Trvon Moring was, Mowry, excuse me, was in the playoffs. A lot of guys, more than half the guys did not make the playoffs last year in that top group. And Cameron Bynum is in, this will be the second year of a contract and he's only going to be 28.

Like that's... 33. Going to be 34. Yeah, that's the age. The age piece of this. The question becomes, how much is age going to knock off the price of the contract for Kevin Byer? I thought 13 was a fair number, A.A.V.

I thought it was a fair number. Also, some of these salaries are going to go up. Somebody's going to become the top paid guy, I would think. Are you a timing? Timing helps with that. Like, for example, Mika Fitzpatrick is only going to be 3. in 2026. So yeah.

Either pay Kevin his money or keep your name out of his mouth. I think that's what Kevin's going to end up saying at the end of this. He just said it so well. He nailed the elevator pitch, man. Especially saying all years, you know, all things being equal. Like, he just, he nailed it. I would just walk around saying first team all pro. That's what I would do if I was him.

And then the fact that he's like, yeah, the GM mentioned be my name. Name Chet. He said, I think I was the only guy that got mentioned by name. It wasn't just that he mentioned his name. He was like, I was special in him mentioning my name. Flawless execution, Kevin Byard. Flawless in the business. Flawless.

Ah, I love it. Almost as much as I enjoyed his play this year. Make that money, Kevin Byard. I just don't know if it's going to be here. We have to do this next, right? The clip you guys were talking about with Marshawn and Jackson Smith and Jigba. Do we have it? Oh, yeah.

Are you good with hold? Oh, it's that good? It's that good. It's Marshon Lynch. Anything with Marshot Lynch is amazing. And it makes sense because Seahawks back in the title game. All right. We'll do it next.

What time is it? It is halftime. We are careening toward the NBA trade deadline. Correaning. And you know who careened before we did? The Bulls. They did a lot of stuff. They traded away Nikola Vutchevich.

They traded away. Well, we don't know that they're getting rid of Mike calmly yet. We just assume. Dario Sarge was a bull for about four minutes. What was your favorite moment of the Dario Sarge era? I think it's when they turned that into Jaden Ivy. They traded for Jaden Ivy. The point is the Bulls are making moves.

So we wanted to know what's next. Patrick Williams. Do we finally have more of a defined direction for this team? You can't trade with the Kings all the time. They're not going to take all your players. You can't trade Patrick Williams to the Kings? They like former Bulls from what I hear. No?

Okay. I tried. I sent my water down disapprovingly. We also listened to what Ryan Poles had to say remembering what he said last year at this time about training camp

and how that was a very different progress report when it came to Ben Johnson's season. And then we also heard the Hogan John's podcast an excerpt where they talked to Kevin Byard. If you want to hear more of the Kevin Byard interview, that is available on the Hogan John's podcast wherever you get your podcasts.

It's laptop. We also talked about Marshawn Lynch. because, well, this Super Bowl is a rematch of one that Marciaun played in Super Bowl 49. How'd that go for him at the end of that game? It's the Patriots. I'm just saying. What do you expect at that time in that era? I expect them to run the football.

They absolutely should run the football. Yes. Seattle. But all of that said, I said that I think Marciaun was ahead of his time. And maybe the reason he didn't speak to the media was because, A, he might have been afraid that he was going to swear on a microphone. Or, B, that the league in all. Us. We as a society just weren't ready.

So this is the clip you were talking about, the Get Got Pod with Mark, even the name's funny, with Marrishon Lynch and Mike Robinson talking to Jackson Smith and Jigba. You got to tell me how to say your name, bro. In Jigba. You know what I'm saying? It's very phonetic. If you just look at the word, every letter. No, school education. My, okay. And Jigba.

I said it right. Oh, Jay is in. Nah, because I was, I ain't in my nigma. Yeah. I ain't in my nigma. You hear me?

He was an enigma to a degree. So you get the drift of it, right? What he was worried about calling him? He's like, is it, it can't be that, though, right? I can't be saying it right when it's wrong. Wait, wait, say it again. And jigba? Because you know I was going to call you.

Yeah. Yeah. And then Jackson Smith and Jake Bull was just like, you could just call me JSN. He's like, no, no, no, I want to get your name right. Seahawks. I'm a Seahawk. Oh, my goodness.

Why is he so funny? Like, what? I get it. Like, he really was worried about it. Oh, yes. And he had every right to be. Oh, Marshaun. And credit to everybody who brought up the mortal,

was it Mortal Kombat with Conan? Oh, I was just, yeah. 224. I forgot about Marshawn versus Gronk in Mortal Kombat on Conan from the last Pat's Hawks Super Bowl movement. I loved the I loved it super. I think you met memories. But yeah, the Mortal Kombat, the video game was so good.

Finish him. Oh, that cracks me up. Like what? Marshawn is just on another level of life. We have time for this two on halftime. Yeah, speaking of finish him. Yeah, how would you describe this? clip that we want to hear from Draymond. I'm sorry, what'd you say is tomorrow to a PM?

What's, what's happening? The trade deadline. And there's word out there. And Draymond has actually said he might get traded and then just see what the Warriors can get and then just resign with the Warriors next season to help their cause. This is getting dangerously close to old school NBA trade deadline. You remember where like, where like Jerry Stackhouse is like, yeah, I'm going to Minnesota for five minutes, but then they're going to cut me and the boughs are going to

sign me again. the league was like, you can't say that. You can't do that anymore. Did you remember when players used to be very cavalier about it? They would tell you exactly what's going on. They're like, yeah, this is an asset balance. I'm just going over there for them to cut me. But yeah, so Draymond actually gets to the podium and he's like, you know what, this might be it.

And he's kind of come to terms with this might actually be his last run with the Warriors period. You know, this is something I've never dealt with before. So I'm not, I don't really have like some guidebook or manual to how it should be. So yeah, if there's a point where I need to say goodbye, I'll say goodbye. Yeah, it is business as usual. You know, come out, play, go home, come back tomorrow, fly, maybe. Play Thursday, maybe not. You know, so it's business as usual for me, though.

But, you know, I think a lot of people want to know, like, how I feel about it. Like, am I upset about it? Like, I'm not at all. Like, you know, I don't, if that's what's best for this organization, that's what's best for the organization. No, I'm not. Like, oh, man, they f*** me over or something like that. Like, I don't really feel that way. You know, if, if you would have told me 13 and a half years ago, like,

yo, I'm going to hand you this sheet of paper and you can sign it to be in a place for 30. 13 and a half years, would you sign it? And I would have signed it faster than you can blink. So what do I have to sit and worry about? What do I have to, like, be upset about? Like, I've been here for 13 and a half years. That's longer than probably 98% of NBA players than been in one place. And this guy from sag and from sagging.

has been in a place for 13 and a half years. I don't know that it ends at 13 and a half, but if it does, what a fucking run has been. I'll take the fine for it, what a fucking run has been. So that's just how I feel, you know, and I'm not, I don't sleep well after game, so if I lose sleep tonight, I promise y'all it's not because I think I'm getting traded.

I just don't really sleep well after game. But I'm blessed. you know I'm grateful like I said it's my my family has not had to move anywhere since I started my family you know that's like that's incredible I don't take that for granted it's guys that that been on the move every year moving their family two three times in the year I have so much gratitude for where I am in my career the run that I've been on here and like I said I don't I don't know that it is or whatnot. I don't.

We'll all see. I feel like he was thinking out loud real time with that. Yeah. And even though he understands all things come to an end, a lot of people in his same position wouldn't have held handled it quite as graciously as he just did. Well, and he's right. If you had gotten an edict or a contract or something,

but you had to agree to saying you're going to spend 13 and a half years the same team arguably the best in the league over that span. He has the right attitude about it. Of course you don't. I mean, we know things come to an end all the time, but it doesn't make it any easier when they do. This qualifies as one of those.

I love it for him. He's a four-time champion. He's a future basketball hall of fame. He's in the Hall of Fame. Yeah. So like he's good. What he's saying is, I'm good regardless.

But you need to take some time with understanding. And he's right. Like not having the playbook on what it's like to have things end. Like the entire way he put that together, surprisingly was the correct process. Why he's saying surprisingly? Because of what he's known for, his antics. His reactions at times are not always.

We just heard examples of two men just nailing the plot, right? Like Kevin Byard and now Draymond, right? That doesn't always happen. especially when you're just thinking out loud or saying something out loud like that. Only two years in difference in age and you're seeing some maturity, some wisdom from a couple of wily vets. Growth. But yeah, Draymond with a little gratitude on the run there is what that was. Also, we got food dropped off today.

Speaking of gratitude on the run, I love it when I can give McDonald's sauce news. I know how you guys feel about these Donald sauce packets. You like me and saucy. But McDonald's sauce news is a big deal. For those of us who are into it. Hot honey sauce is available in Chicagoland starting the 27th. So it just dropped last week. Get it while it lasts.

Hot honey brings the heat for the cold winter days here in Chicagoland. And it actually did. It's more hot than it is honey, and I like it that way. So it's available on all of your favorite chicken menu items, including the hot honey snack wrap, hot honey McChrispy sandwich, and McChrispy strips and nuggets. As a dipping sauce. The way you just threw that.

Because it's sauce news. You know what? You say it's hot. I didn't find it to be that hot. I found it to be kind of tangy. I'm good with it. It wasn't too hot for me. You tasted more honey than hot.

And I taste more hot than honey. You know what? I don't know. And I would say as personality types, that tracks. You know what? You might be right on that. You see the sweetness in people and I see the heat. That's not an unfair statement.

No, it is not. See, this is why we discuss McDonald's sauces. Download the McDonald's app today to order hot honey via McDelivery or to pick up at your local McDonald's. So thanks to the crew. Five on it is next. We have a lot of NFL questions that I think became more in-depth than we realized. So we'll do that next.