The Athletic Football Show: A show about the NFL - 2026 Free Agent Superlatives: Favorite Fits, Buyer Beware and more

Episode Date: March 6, 2026

We are officially on the doorstep of the legal tampering window and thus, the beginning of the 2026 free agency signing period. So, what are our favorite player/team fits? Who do we think can put a contender over the top? Who would we be wary of signing? Robert Mays, Derrik Klassen and Dave Helman dig deep on free agent superlatives on this episode of The Athletic Football Show.Connect with The Athletic Football ShowYT: https://www.youtube.com/@TAFootballShowPodcasts: https://podfollow.com/the-athletic-football-show/viewX: https://x.com/TA_FootballShowIG: https://www.instagram.com/tafootballshowTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@tafootballshowDiscord: http://discord.gg/theathleticfootballshowBuy our merch! http://theathletic.lnk.to/tafsmerchCall us: 847-448-0701Email us: [e-mail]: Robert MaysCo-Hosts: Derrik Klassen and Dave HelmanExecutive Producer: Michael BellerVideo Producer: Katy DuffyAudio Producer: Michael BellerSocial Producer: Scott KrinchFollow Robert on Bluesky: @robertmays.bsky.socialFollow Derrik on Bluesky: @qbklass.bsky.socialFollow Robert on X: @robertmaysFollow Derrik on X: @QBKlassTheme song: HauntedWritten by Dylan Slocum, Trevor Dietrich, Ruben Duarte, Kyle McAulay, and Meredith VanWoert / Performed by Spanish Love SongsCourtesy of Pure Noise / By arrangement with Bank Robber Music, LLC Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to the Athletic Football Show. I'm Robert Mays. Our last pre-free agency show today. Kick things off with the DJ Moore News. DJ Moore headed to the Buffalo Bills for a second round pick, a fifth, also going back to Buffalo in that deal. They did some tweaks to his contract, a ton to dig into with a DJ Moore to the Bills move. We talked about all of that with Dave and Derek.

And then spent some time today going through some free agent superlatives for the 2026 class. Favorite fits. Favorite potential value signings. Don't overthink it. That guy's a good player. Just sign him. Favorite flyers.

Guys who are going to get paid more than the people might think? Best finishing moves for contenders and the players that you would be a little bit afraid of if your team was shelling out the money for them. So probably talking about 50 guys over the course of this entire show. So this will be the last one we have before Free Agency. 11 a.m. on Monday, our Free Agency live stream right here on the FI. Athletic Football Show YouTube channel. Very much looking forward to that.

For now, let's get to our free agency superlatives with Dave and Derek. Our last show before free agency starts in earnest next Monday. As a quick reminder, 11 a.m. Central. We will be here for our free agency live stream. Very much looking forward to that. We've got our last kind of big picture free agency show that we're doing today. We're going to hand out some free agency superlatives, a few categories that we want to hit. But like there has been all week, David, a little bit of news.

a little bit of news before we started recording today. DJ Moore traded to the Buffalo Bills. This kind of came in stages, right? You see the fact that he was traded to Buffalo. And the first glance, I'm like, all right, yep, that makes a lot of sense. Then you see mid-round pick. I believe Ian Rappell reported that that was the initial trade terms. It was a mid-round pick going back to Chicago. And then we get the final terms of the deal. The Bears are sending DJ Moore and a fifth round pick to Buffalo in exchange for the 60th pick in this year's draft, which if you're a Bears fan, I think you have to be pretty happy with that haul.

Your initial thoughts on the DJ Moore trade to the Buffalo Bills. This is the joy of the internet, and it's why I'll never log off. Because if you're a geek like me and you don't put your phone down for more than five, six minutes at a time, you got to live on this roller coaster to the point where the trade comes down

and immediately, I think one of the first things I saw was that it was a mid-round pick. and for right or for wrong, I just assign that as like a fourth round pick. And so I'm on Twitter like, hey, this maybe isn't ideal. I think if you don't pay attention, close attention to the NFL, you're probably a little more excited about DJ more than you should be. Like at this point, DJ Moore is not like a blockbuster acquisition.

But at the same time, he is a quality receiver. He is an upgrade from what the Buffalo Bills have had. And if you're sending a fourth round pick, I was getting my talking points. ready to say, look at the free agent market. If you can't afford to go after Alec Pierce, who would you rather have over DJ Moore for a fourth round pick? And maybe if you want to say Romeo Dobbs,

I could get on board with that, but it is a very short list. And so I'm sitting there saying, fourth round pick for what's left of DJ Moore's contract. And by the way, in a year or two, you can get out from under it because a lot of the guarantees will be gone by then. I think this is perfectly acceptable for where the bills are.

It's a great way to address a need. without doing something completely heinous. And then like 15 minutes later, it was great because I was actually going back and forth on Twitter with our guy Ted Nguyen where he was like, you know, I don't know if I love this. I don't know if DJ Moore is worth that. And I'm like, it's a fourth round pick. Like for where the bills are with their cap, I think this is totally fine. And then eight minutes later, it comes out that it's pick 60.

And I was like, you know what? Scratch everything I just said. I don't like this nearly as much as I did. it reeks of Brandon Bean being very desperate to solve an issue that helped sink his team last year. It is a steep price to pay. And on top of that, from the sounds of it, they're going to restructure his deal in such a way to guarantee his money into 2028. So another appealing thing about the DJ Moore deal when I first saw it was maybe in one year or at worst in two years, you can get away from this. DJ Moore is now going to be involved with the bills for three years

or at the very least they'll be responsible for three years worth of money for a second round pick. That's so much. The fifth does matter in the calculus rate. So it probably settles if you actually look at the draft capital somewhere around a third round pick. No. But the top 100 picks are extremely valuable.

Right. And the way that I'm looking at it from the bear's perspective, and we can dig into the bill side of this in a second, my thought was they would get, so there are two different kind of competing traits. that I think you could potentially use as a sort of blueprint for this sort of return. So if you look at the Stefan Diggs trade, and I don't remember exactly how much money Diggs had left on his deal, but I assume it was generally in the same sort of range when it comes to a couple years

guarantees, $20 to $25 million a year. The bills get a second round pick in that deal. They give Diggs, a sixth round pick, and a fifth round pick in the following year back to the Texans. So that's one kind of outline of a trade like this. And then you have the Amari Cooper trade, which he had $20 million, I think, for two more years left on his deal, the Browns get him for a fifth round pick. I always assumed that this would be closer to the Amari Cooper trade than it would be to the Stefan Diggs trade. And so my thought was the idea of a fourth round pick and the Bears being able to shed that salary, all right, that makes sense. It's always kind of what I thought it would be. This was always about freeing up

that money you were going to have to pay DJ more if you were trading him away. But now, Derek, beyond that, you free up $16 million in cap space if you're the Bears and you now have the 60th pick in the draft. So DJ Moore is a good player, but being able to potentially now add like one and a half to two and a half starters with the resources that you freed up in this sort of deal for a guy who had become the third or fourth most important pass catching option on your team, this is a very good outcome if you were the bears in this sort of trade. So that's the thing. I think if Colston Loveland doesn't look like a superstar and if Luther Burden doesn't show you something, the bears can't do this. Like I know that DJ Moore has been like a front of

frustrating player over the handful of years that he's been there. But if those two guys don't hit the way that they do, they can't do this. The fact that those two guys, Burton, you know, we'll see. I think there's still more flashes than substance. Oh, come on now. Luther Burden is a superstar. He's still, we'll see about that.

Lovelland, I'm willing to give superstar. That guy is going to be like Rob Grunkowski. But I'm like, because of how good those guys are. You just jump straight to Gronk. I love it. I have no pushback. Okay. Listen.

That's where we are. The dude is amazing. He can count for like two or three. receivers out there. So I'm super excited for him. This makes the DJ Moore thing make sense. And I also think even though this is a steep price for Buffalo, and I would not have paid a second round pick for a guy like DJ Moore. I do think there is some argument for like DJ Moore's role and what he was within the offense and how he felt in Chicago was clearly just messed around the entire time that he was there. Obviously in 2023, he goes and is traded there. And with Justin Fields, he's like a

vertical guy. And they actually, he has like a kind of a decent connection with Justin. and fields and that starts to work. In 2024, they obviously bring in Caleb Williams. The offense is bad. The offensive line isn't good. He kind of becomes more of a short underneath, like kind of possession guy, kind of like he was at points in Carolina. And then Ben Johnson comes in and he goes back to a vertical guy, but his role and volume

in the offense drops a little bit. So I just, there's still a part of me that I actually can see how this works out for the bills. If he just immediately goes there and is like, I like playing with Josh Allen. I like Joe Brady's offense. I like the way that all this works. He'll clearly be the number one. And guy, like, even though it's a steep price,

I actually am kind of okay with this for Buffalo. I'm kind of optimistic. I think the fit and, like, what he can be within the offense, I have no issues with that whatsoever. It's a huge upgrade for them. I absolutely think the role will kind of crystallize in a way that it never did in Chicago. For on a football level,

I'm very excited to see what he can do in an offense with an offensive court with a play caller. He's not the head coach. I forgot about that. Joe Brady was the offensive coordinator in Carolina when DJ Moore was there. So there's a little bit of a connection there. Oh, that's right. For me, this is a lot of a lot of a connection.

is about the price this is about like this is more about the contract than it is about the trade value like guaranteeing 18 million of that third year so now we're in a place where he has 23 i think and a half million dollars a year in 26 and 27 so guaranteeing that 18 million dollars in 2028 we're now looking at essentially a three year 75 million dollar contract with 63 million guaranteed. That's a ton to give to a guy who's entering his age 29 season. If you look at other wide receiver contracts and kind of where that lands, the AAV, if you account for inflation of the cap, is less than the contracts handed out to guys like Nico Collins and Devante Smith, but the guarantees are more, again, for a guy entering his age 29 season.

And so this is just, when you think about the draft capital needed to make this deal happen, plus the amount of money you're now on the hook for into a guy's age 31 season at receiver, even if I like the short-term football outcome of this for the bills, you are incurring a ton of risk with this sort of deal. And that's, at the end of the day, that's the thing. And on the bright side, if you're a bills fan, DJ Moore can still pay this off. Like, he could be good enough to make this worth it, right? For the ambitions that the bills have and where they're trying to go,

if he helps you get there, you're not going to care about any of that stuff. And I do think he's turning 29 this year. Even if he's not like a blockbuster sort of player, like he's not what Stefan Diggs was when they traded for Stefan Diggs so many years ago. But he can still be good and potentially even better with a quarterback like Josh Allen. But it's just that much harder to meet that threshold. And all of the things that you typically like about a trade. Like when you trade for a 29 year old receiver, you're like, okay, but we only gave up a mid-round pick.

Well, that's not true. Okay. but the deal is structured in a way that we can cut him next year, no harm, no foul. That's not true either. All right, well, at least it's only a two-year deal, also not true. So, like, none of- 30-year guarantees to me is just like, why? Why was this necessary?

None of the things that make you feel better about taking a risk like this are there for the bills. So it just makes it a little bit harder to meet that threshold. But fortunately, you have an MVP quarterback, and I, you know, I'm just hoping, if I'm a Bill's fan. I'm hoping like hell that Josh Allen can can bring the absolute best out of DJ more. And I guess I'm also hoping that the bills aren't done, right? Like, I don't think this can be. And that that's the draft. Yeah, they can ask somebody in the draft. I'm not saying they have to do anything crazy in free agency, but I would still be trying to add weapons in the draft even after this.

So here is the bit of information. We do not have a sound version of this information that Brandon Bean likely does have. And that's how much some of these wide receivers and free agency were going to cost next week. And so that has to be part of the calculus and part of the conversation here, right? And so let's just throw out a couple different names. The first one I'll throw out is not somebody that's a free agent, but just for some wide receiver contract contract, like context, Jameson Williams, 26.5 million dollars a year on a three-year deal, $67 million guaranteed. So that actually is kind of what we're talking about here with the DJ and Moore thing. And James and Williams again on a three-year deal, that's probably the most analogous contract.

So part of this is just that wide receiver contracts are becoming astronomical. And so the idea that DJ Moore is getting the James and Williams contract, he's five years older than Williams was when he got that deal. I think that's important to keep in mind. But I think Jameson Williams, a lot of people would be shocked that that is the price for him if you weren't paying attention to the details. To bring it to this wide receiver, the free agency group, though, let's just throw out some hypothetical numbers. I was talking to a GM yesterday who told me that Pierce is going to land maybe like $27.5 million a year. is kind of what he thought might be the range for that. So you're coming in $4 million a year or less for DJ Moore

than you might have to pay for Alec Pierce. If we're in a world where Rashid Shahid is getting $15 million a year, would you rather pay $23 million a year for DJ more even if he's a little bit older? This gets messy because the draft capital plus the contract sends you into a different place. But I can understand if you look just at the money of the guys who are going to be available and free agency, and then you compare it to what DJ Moore can potentially give you, Derek, landing in a place where you're just like, fuck it. Like, why would I pay $18 million a year for Romeo Dobbs if I can pay $23 million a year

for a better player, draft capital be damned? I don't love that thought process, but I can see how it happens. Well, and it's the certainty that you get them. Like, when you trade for a guy, like, that is yours, nobody else gets to compete for this. Like, you have him right there. Whereas if you go into free agency being like, oh, we'll sign a guy. then you're trying to fiddle for a couple million dollars for this guy. And then maybe this guy just doesn't want to play in Buffalo. And then you have all these things. It's like, well, now the top

five or six receivers are just off the market. And then you end up in the spot kind of where you were last year where you end up signing a guy of like Josh Palmer's caliber who like can do something for you. But at his best is not as good as a player as DJ Moore is at his best. Josh Palmer is a great example. And that Josh, Josh Palmer's going to come up a couple times on this show when we talk about wide receiver contracts. But even if you look at the last couple years and we'll go back to a who was actually just cut today. Darno Muni getting $13 million a year from the Falcons. Rashid, would you be surprised if Rashid got $15 million a year in frequency?

I don't think I would be either. That's what Cooper Cup got last year, right? I mean, Rashad Bateman got 12.3 on his extension from the Ravens. Special team stuff too, right? And Rashid is kind of the guy when we were going to do best fits. He was the guy I was going to throw on the bills. I was like, does this make sense in terms of skill set for the bills who need a little bit of giddy up and a little bit of juice? So if he's making 15 and you're paying 23 for DJ Moore,

I understand how you get there even if I think the downside is pretty real. The funny thing is I already said it. I would be applauding the bills if this was a lesser pick because I would, if it was a four, if it was a fourth round pick that you were sending, I would rather give up a four for DJ Moore on his contract than anybody that's available in free agency this year, including Pierce for the price. Like I might rather have Pierce in a vacuum, but for that amount of money, money, not really.

It's where it becomes a second round pick where I get a little dubious. And I was joking in our Discord chat a couple hours ago. I was like, I guess you just got to hope that it's the run of the mill type of second round pick. You know, I mean, like, it's not as if it's guaranteed to be James Cook every time you make this pick. So maybe it goes back to what we talked about earlier in the week about overvaluing draft picks.

If DJ Moore can elevate this offense, then it'll probably be worth it. but the cost of it makes me a little less confident than I would have been. We're not going to have to worry about that version of the hit on the second round pick for the bears specifically because the bears are dealing this pick and their first round pick next year for Max Cross. I'm glad you said it. So I didn't have to paint you into a corner, but like, I mean, with bears, we freed up a ton of space. We're adding tools to the war chest. It's not that much space.

It's enough to do it. It's enough to have some fun with. So our producer, Katie, we were sitting in the bullpen before we started recording. and she said, how much calf space do the bears have now after the DJ more trade? And off the top of my head, doing the Dalman math, the Edmonds math, and the more math, I know it. It's like $30 million. I don't even have to look anymore. $30 million is enough to sign whoever you want to.

Okay. You need two safeties, a linebacker, a left tackle, and a starting center if you're the bears. Still. I'm 100, but I don't want to get into what we're going to talk about on the show just yet. But I've been thinking about this all morning. I'd be happy to pay Tyler Linderbaum what he wants and then use my draft capital to do the rest of what you just described. I'm in.

I'd do it. All right. We'll address that. We'll just put that on the shelf at a moment. All right. We're going to take our first quick break and then we're going to come back and chat through a few of these superlative categories. All right.

We've got about eight of these, eight to ten of them that we're going to run through. Let's start with where my notes start, because that's really the only guidance I have here. And that's with favorite fits. Just your favorite fits player team in this free agency crop. Derek, start us off, buddy. Your favorite fit as you went through this year's group of free agents and you were trying to pair them with the team.

I mean, I do have like a handful here, but I'll start with one of the big ticket items. We can talk about this, yeah. I'll start with a big ticket item before we get some of the smaller ones. The Chargers, they have to come away with either Tyler Lindelbaum or Jalen Phillips. And Tyler Lindelbaum's seeing, I mean, we all saw. Interesting. We all saw the playoff game. That cannot happen again.

Like they need to have a center who I think can fix, you know, help Justin Herbert out, solidify the interior. Obviously there's, you know, Joe Hortiz having been in the Ravens building when Tyler Linderbaum was drafted, all that jazz. Jalen Phillips to me, Kalil Mack is probably going to walk because I think in terms of like long-term plan for them, he probably doesn't really fit. Mac might end up elsewhere. I can talk about one of my favorite fits for him in a moment.

Jalen Phillips, though, is kind of like a younger version of a similar style player where he has a very similar build. he's a really strong edge defender, really more of like a pocket pusher kind of bull type than he is somebody who really gets around the edge. I just think if they want to go for somebody who is injuries aside entering his prime, I actually think that's a pretty good way for the Chargers to spend their money.

And they don't have very many edge players right now on the roster. They've won. I mean, because always hit for agency too. It's really just too. So they're going to have to do something there. All right. So here's where I'm at with the Chargers and Linderbaum. I can't see it happening.

I just can't because of just horrible. Ortiz's history and like the way that the Ravens have historically operated, but not just that. I think the way that he and that front office in general view free agency, and he's been open about this, if you're going to pay the sticker price for free agents, that you give yourself so few avenues to have value across your roster. And I think that will continue to be a driving mindset for them, even as they have money. So this to me is like a very good thought exercise, right? So the The Chargers specifically feel like a team to me that instead of giving Tyler Linderbaum $20 million a year, they give Connor McGovern $12 million a year, where they think, you know what, we would rather just have a guy at almost half the price that we think is a starter for us.

I'm not saying that's going to happen, but I think that's the mindset that they're going to take into free agency. I'd be surprised that they shop at the top of the market. Does Mike McDaniel being the offensive coordinator change that for you at all? Because I do think Tyler Linderbaum is like a perfect fit for what he wants to do offensively. I don't disagree with that schematically. I just think in terms of, again, the mindset that they took into free agency last year, and I think it's going to be hard for them to kick, I just don't see them like throwing a ton of money around on top of the market players.

I also don't think of the Ravens, and that's where Joe comes from, but like giving coaches an outsized voice and stuff like that. Like I think of the Ravens as having. They'll have a process. They have a process. They stick to it. And I think the Chargers will have a similar process. Yeah, that would be my guess. Connor McGovern was actually the one I was going to throw out for the Chargers.

And from the run game perspective, you're 100% right. I just think about what McDaniel has been. And he signed Aaron Brewer to be a center two years ago. And I think that's exactly what they've sought out when it comes to all that zone blocking. For me, the reason I liked McGovern is he's so smart. And having a guy that can handle some of that stuff, I just feel like the Chargers desperately need somebody like that in the middle of their offense.

And the other team that I would throw out, and I don't know if they're going to be willing to spend this much money on a guy like this, Houston desperately could use a guy like this that just helps them sort through stuff. So the Chargers and the Texans, both of them, I just felt like could benefit from a guy like Connor McGovern

in the middle of their offense. Will you meet us halfway and at least, like, do you feel any sense of optimism that the Chargers, however they want to spend it, I feel like they need to do more this year than they did last year. Yes, I think they will. Not getting out over your skis and heading into your second year is fine, but last year it was Mackay Beckton and Will Disley and nobody else of note.

I feel like the Chargers need to be using this money to bring in multiple real deal starters, even if they're not top of the market. I think that will happen. I think that they will use the money to find like three new starters along the interior of the offensive line. But because they have to find three, that's why I could see them moving the money around a little bit. Like just if we're doing the simple math on it, if McGovern's getting 12 to 13 a year and Linderbaum's getting 20 a year, that's $7 million is a starting guard potentially. And I think that's how they will conceive of it. Again, that's just tea leaves talking to people and just knowing the mindset that I think kind of hangs over that organization when it comes to stuff like this.

All right. So I had, Connor McGovern was one of mine. Well, let's just get it all out of the way right here because we talked about it at the top. But Tyler Linderbaum feels like a great fit for the Bears. And the only thing that was holding it back before was they didn't have the money for it. But now they do. They have a needed center. They kind of do. No, they do.

Like, you got to get funny with it, obviously. And I know the bears are not the most flush with cash NFL organization in terms of like liquidity. But they have the cap space to make a deal work if they were hell bent on doing it. And it would probably be your biggest, like maybe only expenditure of free agency. But you've got draft capital to deal with the rest of that. You just added a second round pick and the DJ more thing. I, for the, considering, and I know that these are not their only choices, but between giving up a ton for Max Crosby in addition to what he would cost you,

I would rather use that money on Tyler Linderbaum. I think, obviously, I mean, he's going to fit with what anybody wants to do, but I think he fits with Ben Johnson really well. Ben Johnson has just always had really, really good offensive linemen to work with. And I think you don't want to step away from that after. losing Drew Dalman. So souping that up, having him in the middle of that to keep your strength, the strength, and you can have all that draft capital to spend on your defense, I think it would be really

fun. And I would rather soup up the Bears' offense and worry about, you know, piecemealing it on the defense side. That's just me. I think I'd rather have Beaudish for half. That's where I sit with it. Because I just think they have too many needs. So here's what they're out there for you. Okay.

Let's do this as an exercise. I had one guy that I was sending to the Bears as the best fit if we're going to move on from Tremaine Edmonds. Why don't we just drop DeMario Davis into the middle of the Bears defense? Oh, yes. We're going to have so much overlap on all of these notes because I've got Demerio somewhere else in my notebook. Okay, so DeMario Davis for Dennis Allen.

Let's say DeMero Davis makes $8 million a year on a one-year deal. And let's say you're paying Biotish $8 million a year. And then you need a starting safety in somewhere. That's $6 to $7 million a year. year, that's three players for the Linderbell money. And I just think that's how I would do it. I'd rather do it that way. It sounds good. I think

it sounds good in March. Yeah, I think I get that, but isn't there a value in like making sure the offense is supercharged when that is your identity? I think there's a little bit of value to that. I think you guys are underrating how many holes they have. I don't want to spend the next hour talking about the bears. There are a ton of holes on this team. Okay. I hear you, I guess that depends on and I mean I know the goal is to win the Super Bowl but what's your timeline like I don't need the Bears to win the Super Bowl in 2026 if as long as we're working toward that over the next like

two or three years before Caleb Williams is a really expensive player so if if we don't feel a hundred percent good about the defense heading into 2026 I Dave don't personally care that much especially if Tyler Linderbaum's now going to be a part of this thing for four or five years I still think I'd rather have Biotis for half. All right, your next favorite fit. This is really basic because you just look at a guy's skill set and plug them into the thing that sounds the most fun. And I know they don't have any money.

They're working on fixing it. I'd just like to see Caden Ellis with Ryan Forres. I think that would be really fun. Oh. Just like the blitz-happiest best blitzer linebacker possible with the guy that likes to do it the most, or maybe a more realistic one. And again, also basic,

but the Buccaneers badly need linebacker play. They're very familiar with Caden Ellis if they wanted to throw him some money. Either one of those, I think could be a hell of a lot of fun. The Buccaneers actually, I think that does make some sense. Derek, did you have any linebackers in your favorite fits? I only had one, and I think money-wise, it's going to be tough to figure out,

but I'm also not sure what this player is going to make, given his injury history and, like, how specific of a player he is. I think putting Niko B.D. next to Rokwon Smith could be really, really fun. Like I think they, I understand they're a little bit excited about some of the young players that they have. But I just think how explosive he is as a player, I think is kind of like very similar to what they could have had with Patrick Queen. Obviously, if they'd been able to keep him around, obviously they couldn't.

So I think in terms of like money wise and like figuring out if they really want to step over young players at the tough one. But I do think that would be an incredibly fun linebacker duo. All right. I have two guys that I, through potentially on the Ravens. One, I think is actually like a realistic thing that they should consider, and I think it actually does make a lot of sense.

It's a guy you already mentioned, Derek. Jalen Phillips to Baltimore to me. Yeah, that's awesome. I just think that he makes so much sense. It's a position of need. The Ravens are an interesting spot, right? And so we obviously know that the Lamar contract is kind of looming over everything.

If they restructure Lamar's deal, just take it down to zero, they free up a ton of cap space. That makes his 2027 cap hit insane. but that gives you a year to potentially do that extension. They want to bring that number down. Exactly. And so if you wanted to kick the can,

this is a team that if they wanted to move on from Marlon Humphrey, if they wanted to restructure Lamar Jackson, they could be looking at like a ton of money in cap space. And again, they have $33 million a year in the 2027 cap in that situation. But if they want to extend Lamar, then that frees them up next year if they want to do that. So them as a team, we're like, yeah, we can get a little frisky if we want to because we have,

have more holes than we typically do coming into this part of the calendar. I think Jalen Phillips, them just like, you know what, let's stop fucking around with like this edge stuff. Like let's go out, let's solve this problem once and for all and let's get a real guy at this spot. They have signed guys in free agency at the top of the market at times when there have been players out there. Marcus Williams is the best example.

And so if they see Jalen Phillips kind of an exception to the guys usually available, is he a guy that they would spend money for? I mean, I know he was a trade too, but they turn around. and gave Roquan that deal as well. Like they are willing to splash money on guys. So that's one I would throw out. And the other one that I, this I think would be harder to do

because I didn't realize that the Bateman extension was fresh enough where he's going to be on the roster this year. But the one that I had in mind and Derek, this is, I'm hoping not to like send you into space by doing this. What if we just dropped Mike Evans onto the Ravens? Yes, yes. I want it to happen. I think I've just been so like,

The Ravens have no idea how to figure out how to find ball winners. So I've just kind of given up like they've spent a decade trying to find these guys in the draft in free agency. It's like smaller deals big. Like they cannot find the guy who is the ball winner. So if they went out and just said, you know what? No messing around. Mike Evans is clearly still a very good player. I would be over the mood about that.

I don't want to splash cold water on that. I love Mike Evans. I think he's a Hall of Famer. or at least has a great case for it. How many times are the Ravens going to do that like, this guy was at the top of his game five years ago thing? Like how many times is a 30? But Mike Evans was at the top of his game two years ago.

He was. I'm aware. He was. I am aware. But the Ravens always go after these all pro caliber receivers when they're entering the end of their time of usefulness. I mean, we can go through the list if we want to. So with Mike Evans specifically,

I think what he had aged into starting last year, he was never just like a big ball winning receiver. He was more than that. Now I kind of think he's transitioning into a big ball winning receiver, and that's what the Ravens need. And so the 2026 version of Mike Evans, I think is fine when you think about the exact skill set

the Baltimore needs. This is, by the way, this is like a pie in the sky bullshit thing. I was just thinking about it as I was considering, like, fun guys they could spend money on in skill sets they don't have. I think Mike Evans is probably going to be a, Tampa Bay Buccaneer next year. This is completely irrational. It's total bullshit.

I know that. And I'm not even superstitious. But like if Mike Evans resigns in Tampa, if Mike Evans goes to San Francisco, I guess he's not going to go to Buffalo now. If Mike Evans wound up in Kansas City, I'd be like, great. He's still got some juice. He's going to be awesome. If he signs in Baltimore, I'm just like, oh, shit, it's over.

He signed with the Ravens. This is Anquan Bolden erasure. Anquan Bolden had really nice stretches in Baltimore, even though he was deeper into his career. It was quite a while. ago. It wasn't that long ago to me. It feels like yesterday to me. All right.

So I have a few more. Derek, do you have any others? Favorite fits that you like? I've got, I've got two more that I want to bring up for sure. And they're both, they're both a little bit further down the list in terms of payment.

I talked about Khalil Mack and mentioned that a little bit. The Seahawks have enough money and enough edge players they need to replace. Why not bring in another mercenary like Clil Mac? Him and DeMarcus Lawrence and Derek Hall is the most, oh, I love that. That you can absolutely. Like, I just, I think it would be so good.

Obviously, you're just microwaving and hoping that they can just win a Super Bowl next year because he's not going to be in the future. But how sick would that combo be? We were talking the other day about edge rushers just like Khalil Mack signing on with teams with a chance to win a championship. I mean, is best finishing moves going to be one of our categories here? Absolutely. So we have best finishing moves coming up here later.

Like guys that just, this is the last thing you need to do to put yourself over the top. My first note is, is Khalil Mack this year's DeMarcus Lawrence? Why not do it on the same team? Just running back. DeMarcus is like, welcome. It's great. Do you have any other best fits? Yeah, I have one cautiously optimistic.

Again, I don't fully believe that the Cowboys will do anything next week, at least nothing of note. And I think this is a great middle ground because you don't have to do anything crazy. This doesn't have to be a big contract. I'd like to see Draymont Jones in Dallas. Just a sensible signing that fits a need. familiar with that scheme. He can play a variety of different roles on your front. I still think he looked pretty good for Tennessee and Baltimore. And I don't think you would have to break the bank to sign him. Useful player. Yeah. That would be a great signal to me like, okay, even if Dallas

isn't going after Big Fish, like this would be a departure from what they usually do. My one eddresher that I had, just because I think he's going to get paid. I think that they have money to throw around and just skill set wise, I think that he fits with somebody leaving that team potentially this year in Free Agency. What if we just sent Adafai O'O way to the Patriots? Oh, that would be good. And actually get some edge, you know, pass rush shoes. Because like, Chazon and Landry were nice players, but not like, oh my God, that guy is going to tear off the edge and get to the quarterback. So that's, I kind of think of it as like just an upgrade on what Chason was giving them last year. That's how I conceive of it. And that's kind of why I did that. So I think

that skill set does make sense. A couple more. more that I had. I've talked about this a little bit, a bunch of different places. Dobbs in San Francisco or Kansas City. Like either one of those places, I think, specifically needs a player with his skill set. And like the chiefs desperately need that sort of guy, whether it's Dobbs, Joanne Jennings, Mike Evans, whoever it happens to be. There are guys that provide exactly what their offense needs available in free agency this year. But him in San Francisco, I can just see it.

I can see him in the helmet. I can see him in the offense. It's easy. we talked about Alec Pearson, Tennessee. Like, that to me, they have way too much money. They're the team that has the biggest needed outside receiver. That one, I think, tracks. Do we like a back on the Chiefs?

Is there anybody that you had in mind that you wanted to put on the Chiefs at running back? I went with ETN. I think ETN probably makes the most sense for them. I also had another AFC West running back. This was the last one I wanted to shout. Tyler Al Jare needs to be a Denver Bronco. Like, badly.

See, I also had that. It was my don't, he's one of my don't overthinked guys. So we can get to that in a second. And Alger is like a finishing piece. I actually really do like that. I tried to drop him on a couple different teams, which we can talk about. And it's funny, that's actually not true.

My best finishing moves for Denver, Rigo Douddle. So the exact same, like very similar thought process. Yes. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yes. That kind of player. You think the chiefs want to spend ETIN money at running back? I mean, I know they need one.

It's a great question. They've needed one for a minute. It's a great question. I don't know the answer to that. I mean, if he's making, what do we think Travis Hatton's going to make in Freight? I think that's going to be the question. Oh, I don't know.

75% of whatever Kenneth Walker makes. Okay. Could I get him for 12? If I could get him for 12, I'd like that more. I assume that, again, all of these contracts that might be used as comparison points, none of them were free agents. But, like, Derek Henry,

on his most recent extension with the Ravens, signed a $15 million a year deal. The deal before that for Derek Henry and free agency was $8 million a year. And so I assume that the E.N. Walker market, maybe Walker would get a little bit more just because you're betting on, can he be the explosive player he was in the playoffs for us moving forward? Like, are we going to get his best football? But if ETS settled like at like $9 million, $10 million a year, I don't think I would find that shocking. Running backs, I don't really, like with receivers, it's like add $3 million more to what you think it is. Running backs, I'm just not sure I would apply the same level of thinking.

I'm admittedly bad at projecting these sorts of things. It gives me all sorts of anxiety. If I could get him for much cheaper than that. And I get that, that's what gave me pause is I'm like, do the chiefs really want to hand out a contract that big to a running back? I just wonder if they're not going to be as big as you think there. No. Other positions, yes.

And if they're not, then I'm way more interested. So that, I think that one makes sense. And I think that's the last one I had because the other one was Rashich to Hed to Buffalo, which now we don't need to talk about that anymore. All right, let's get to maybe some value signings that we like, not necessarily based on fit, but just guys that you think where their price may land, you're going to be happy that your team sign them. Who's your first guy, Dave?

Obvious, but I'll get it out of the way. It's Kyler Murray for me. Oh, that one's cheating. It's a cop-out. Fine, whatever. Vet minimum for a starting quarterback, occasionally good one. That was where my head went first. Yeah, the last time we did this was Russell Wilson.

in like the 2024 version of Russell Wilson. That's a little bit different, right? It's very different. That's what I'm saying. That's what I'm implying is that it's different. We don't have to say it's that over for Kyler yet. I don't think it is. That's kind of what I mean.

I don't think it's nearly as over as it was for Russell Wilson the last time that we did this. And even, well, we don't have to get into that. But I was going to say, even for the Steelers, like, he gave you more value than a million dollars. Like even if he wasn't, that could have a quarterback. Like, just objectively he did. And so the fact that it's not that over for Kyler, I think that's pretty clear. Derek, who's your first one here? Favorite value signings that you guys you just think are going to be available at the right price this week?

So I actually had a few, and a lot of mine are actually like really down low in the bargain bin in terms of guys that are going to sign for nothing and I think be solid. But two that I think we'll get like decent money and I think overperform or at least be really helpful for their team are two Browns players. I think Joel Betonio and David and Joku because of their age, some of the injury history stuff recently, the Brown's obviously just being terrible last year. I think there's a little bit of like they're being pushed off to the side. And I think some team is probably going to get them for a couple million dollars cheaper per year than they would probably deserve otherwise. I think those are both good names to throw out in that aging left guard conversation.

We talked about it a lot this week. But if David Edwards, who we'll talk about in a minute, is going to make $15 to $16 million a year, I'll take Salaala for half. I just think that's the type of guy I'd be thinking about. Jalen Thompson is somebody we mentioned yesterday. Is he somebody that you can get for $8, $9 million a year as a starting safety? I think that's one that I will like. Where are you at with Quincy Williams, Derek? I, okay, so I actually think Quincy Williams is, I kind of almost had him in a different category.

But I do think that he is going to be, he is also in a similar category where I think because of the weird coaching like turnover last year and I think him just like not, you know, being on and off the field a little bit. It just seems like, ah, wasn't the right fit. but you could totally, I actually in the show that we did yesterday, almost compared him to like when the Texans signed Aziz Al Shire where he is just immediately this like DNA changer like speed go go, go violent hit type of guy that you can put into the middle of the defense. Almost the way we talked about like Drey Greenlaw as well when he got signed with Denver. Like that kind of signing, I think he could totally be that. And it's going to be cheaper than it was when the Texans signed Al Shire or when the Broncos signed Drey Greenlaw.

So I'm pretty still, I'm still pretty into Quincy Williams. That's one of the best linebackers in this class. My thought process is very similar when it just comes to, you know what? What a disaster last year was. Like if we can get him into a better spot, can we get him at the right price? He's just something that I'd be interested in if I had a need at linebacker. So those were my three. Did you have any other guys?

We talked about him. Kenny Gainwell is just a guy. I would be really excited to add to my running back room. And then, I mean, with a few exceptions, because I do think, there will be some guys that get bigger deals, but those veteran safeties that I assume you can have for a lower price. I think, again, going back to the Bears, if you, not to keep harping on Tyler Linderbaum,

but like if they were to spend a bunch of money on one position, I think you could address safety without breaking the bank in this year's class. That would be my guess. Yeah, that's probably right. But even like, let's say it's Cam Curl. Cam Curl is still probably going to get like $8 million a year in free agency. It's not nothing. But what a, no, but like, you could even, you could go further down the line.

I mean, Kevin Byard had a great season. But like, you mentioned Alohe Gilman a couple days ago. Xavier Woods, for a very low price, could probably play a useful role in a good defense. I know it didn't really go well in Cincinnati, but for the price, Gino Stone. Like, I, like, you could get. That would scare me. The other names are fine. You've taken this to a place I'm not willing to go.

Maybe not in Chicago. You can't name a Bengals defender. There are some places where I think it could work. Speaking of the Bengals, I have a weird one for you that I, we didn't talk about this for best fits, but it came across my mind today when I was just thinking about what he could be in the larger group and like where he would make sense right now. Who knows if he didn't even want to play there?

He might decide that he'd rather hang it up than do this. But what about Bobby Wagner in Cincinnati? I mean, they need an adult in the room. That's kind of my thought process where it's like you sign a, He's very limited at this point in his career, but you ask him to do what he's good at. You were just a disaster when it comes to your guys playing downhill last year. And he doesn't help the side-to-side kind of concerns you had on perimeter runs.

Like that's not where he is right now. But I just think that adding some stability to that room when you were so, so young last year, is that something worth thinking about? I'm just imagining how sad it would make me if it didn't go well. Like if the Bengals defense doesn't get any better and Bobby Wagner is the only famous member of that unit and he's just taking all the blame for the Bengals being terrible.

I mean, that may happen. That's a shitty way to like be the last image of a Hall of Fame worthy career. That would bum me out. I mean, if it worked, that would be great. But I'm just drifting toward like late October and the Bengals can't stop a nosebleed. And it's Bobby Wagner's fault, even though he's 45 years old or however old he is.

Speaking of the commanders, we talked about this earlier in the week, but them as the Jonathan Grenard team, just that one makes sense to me. They don't have the draft capital. Maybe it's a 2027 pick. Like maybe you throw a 2027 third at Minnesota for them to get that contract off their books. Like that's one that I just, I don't know. The Durante Jones part of it. They have such a need there.

Like that one I can just see happening. Oh, I had one more. And this is another guy we've mentioned because we've been doing shows all week. but how big would the contract be for Rousseau Douglas? Oh, nothing. At this age, he's, what, 31 and a half right now? Yeah, I think he's 30, 32, maybe. Almost 32.

I just, the problem with those, and I love, no one loves a let's sign him on June 1st, veteran corner edition more than me. The issue with that is that the cliff just happens immediately. Sure. Like, you can, if you're going to be relying on that guy, there's a chance that he's just a zero for you the entire season. And so I wonder when that's coming for Rassul Douglas,

maybe it never comes. That's the joy of this. And yeah, maybe you wait until you've drafted a couple guys and you're like, oh, he can play in front of the third round pick. And maybe by week four, it's like, no, the third round pick needs to play. That's okay. If you're approaching it from two different angles, that's where you protect yourself a little bit. All right, next category here, I like this one a lot.

I think this was Bellar's suggestion. Don't overthink it. These guys are good players. Just go out and get the good players and you'll be happy about it. I have three guys that I wanted to talk about here. Who's your first one? Don't overthink it in the 2026 free agent class. I have two guys that play the same position at the top of my list,

Jermaine Illuminaur and Joanne Taylor. Like if that's something that you need, you're probably going to balk at the price because they play offensive tackle. And I'm not saying that they're perfect players, but if that's what you need, if you need a starting right tackle, these are the waters that you're in,

just pay them and they can do the job. and they'll probably never be all pro, but that's a different problem to fix. You find those guys in the draft. I would happily pay either one of those guys, and I think you probably get a little bit of sticker shock, but that is the cost of finding offensive tackle play in free agency. And the fact that those guys are available,

if you need a right tackle that badly, I think it's a blessing for you that they're there. So just pay them. The way I've been thinking about Jermen Illuminauador is like, it's if we reround the clock two or three years for Morgan Moses. Yes. That's perfect. We're going to give him like 10 million bucks.

He's going to be our starting right tackle and we'll never have to think about it again. If you can find a guy in free agency that you don't have to think about, that is a blessing. I like Illumina. I actually like that a lot. Because again,

I think that he's 31, I want to say. I think he'll be available for a decent price. And I just think that he gives you short-term stability. And he's been getting, he's been better over the course of his career. Yeah, I like that a lot. Again, he's been open about that. like him, the white kind of turning off from him when he got to New York. And so I think I like that one.

That's when when the deals start flying and people see the numbers attached to Germain Illuminaur, I can imagine people being scared off by it. And it's like that is, that's the price of not having to be stressed out about your right tackle. All right. I've got a couple here. First one for me. And I don't know exactly where he fits just because he is sort of a specific player. But I do think there are a couple teams that make sense.

And I just think he's a good player. Chanel. Yeah. See, I love that you. frame it that way because I'm trying to figure out who really wants a player like that where more of a run defender than a past defender but you can put them on the edge

and obviously be this movable piece. There's times where they've put him at like three tech to defend the run obviously in like very weird scenarios but there's got to be somebody who can make a useful player out of that again. I had two teams that came to mind for me and I'm thinking about blitz heavy teams and just him being able to play forward. The Jets and the commanders

are two teams that I kind of had in mind there. Like what he makes sense in Washington is they move on from Bobby Wagner. I just, that's, again, you, Dorothy Jones is coming in. You're going to be a blitz heavy team most likely. So I wasn't exactly sure where the best teams and where the best

landing spots might be, but he's just one of those guys that I think he's going to sign for less money than he probably should because he is a specific guy and he's going to be a winning player for you. The other guy that I think is going to sign for a lot of money. We talked about this just in terms of the lack of guys available to position. I just think

he's good, John Franklin Myers. Yes. First name I had on my list. He is just a good player. And, like, again, I think there's probably going to be some sort of sticker shock. But let's say he's getting $15 or so million a year. Grated Jarrett and Jonathan Allen were getting $18 million last year. And so if you can get him for that sort of range, he's never going to be like the most productive pass rusher or anything like that. But I just think he's a winning player as part of a defensive line rotation.

You need a guy on your defensive line who is just making space for everybody else and being a wrecking ball. AFM is that. He's been that for like three different teams now. Like I just, I would absolutely be over the moon to pay him. He is, he was literally the first guy I had on my list was John Franklin Myers. And then the other two I had are our guys that we've already talked about in some capacity. Joel Botonio, I think is a very just like, if you need a left guard, just sign him, don't even think about it. And then Cam Curl. Like, I mean, I kind of made this case for Cam Curl two years ago before the Rams signed him that like this is a guy just signed like he's a good player, not a pro bowler, not like an all pro player. But if you need

B minus level safety play, sign that guy. You don't have to think about it again for the next year. That was the one in real time. It was two years ago when that contract got signed. It was $4.5 million a year. There's some guys, like, I just remember in the moment when it happens. Like, Cam Crow was one of those. I've talked about this one before, but like when the Seahawks signed Michael Bennett,

and I saw that contract come across, I was like, that's bullshit. He's too good for to be paid that amount of money. And then he ended up being great for Seattle. And so Cam Curl was a bargain the moment he said, that deal with the Rams. I assume he'll get a little bit more this year, but I tend to agree even two years later. I'll stump for my guy, Nick Cross, one more time.

We already said he hasn't turned 25 yet. He's missed one game in his career. He's played 98% of Indies snaps since he was named a full-time starter two years ago. And he flirted with 300 tackles over a two-year span. Like, he's just a good, young, available football player. And I wouldn't guess that the deal would be huge. Like, he's not going to, like, break.

the bank. And then one more that I had. So I took all of these notes on Wednesday night, so I didn't know what was going to happen today. So just indulge me. Not related to the Chicago Bears at all. I'm annoyed and tired of the Linderbaum discourse because I feel like he's being punished for how good at football he is. And I know this year wasn't like amazing. I know that. But like the whole reason Tyler Linderbom is not even like the reason he's not under contract is because he's that good and because the franchise tag, or excuse me, the fifth year option tags are weird, right? Like you're not paying a center number. It's all the offensive line. So I get how the Ravens wound up in that situation. But like, I just, I don't think you're going to regret paying Tyler Linderbaum

$21 million a year, even if he's not as good as Creed Humphrey. That's, I get that and I just, I don't think it's going to be an issue. And if the fifth year option tags weren't so weird, the Ravens would have gotten this done 18 months ago and we wouldn't even be talking about it and nobody would care that he was that well paid. I don't think it's a thing where you're going to look at it and there's going to be a ton of buyer's remorse because he bottoms out in any sort of way.

Like there's a couple different considerations there. One, he's a good player. Two, the history of signing interior offensive linemen and especially centers in free agency, it's one of the best things you can chase. Like the hit rate on it is just higher than almost any other position. I'll say this though.

He is a specific type of player. And I just don't know if I want to be paying $20 million a year to a specific type of center that is best in one kind of run scheme. And he's not, because he's a little bit undersized, he's not like an elite, elite pass protector be paying $20 million. And so when I think about that, to me, it's about opportunity cost, right? It's just like if I think about giving him $20 million

and I just want stability for $10 million, that's what I keep coming back to. I don't think that you're going to have fan bases beating down the doors of facilities with pitchforks and, you know, torches because their team signed Tyler Wenderbaum and it's going to be one of those albatross deals you see in two years. I just am not sure him for $20 million a year

is a good, smart football decision. I think it just depends on where you are and what you want to do. And I mean, I'd say the way the league is trending, it's a great time to want or need a center that can turn your run game into something really explosive and amazing. I mean, look at some of the best, most innovative, lethal offenses lean on that stuff. Ben Johnson leans on that shit for all the cool razzle dazzle that Kayla Williams does, that's an incredibly important part of it.

And I get your point. I mean, this goes back to the mailback thing we did two weeks ago about why center's not valued. I just think, I feel like it's turned into a discourse about whether Tyler Linderbaum is a good football player. and I think that it strays away from the mark. Like, I just, I don't think whoever pays him is going to regret it. The answer to that can be yes, but he can also not be worth $20 million a year. Those two things can be true at the same time. I think that's where I land with it.

I guess we'll see. My last good player, Tyler Ljir. Tyler Ljur, a good football player. Yes, very good football player. Don't overthink it. I just sign, like, if you're a team that needs, like an early down banger, the only reason that Denver to me wasn't as quick of an answer, Derek, It's just because Denver last year, I mean, they were more slanted toward gap runs than almost any other team in the league.

And obviously coming from Atlanta, it's been almost as much, if you look at percentages, zone runs for Alger over his first couple years. That's the only reason that I didn't think he made the most sense there. I think you absolutely could drop him there. The other team that I was just like, yeah, I can cook with this is Washington. Oh, that would be great. They tried to do that with like, you know, when Brian Robinson was there and all that stuff. and like, yeah, that, okay, that one could be really good. Early down grinder, if they're going to be more under center.

And like, I just, him in Washington, I think makes sense. But there are a bunch of different teams I think you could throw out for Tyler Al Jir. As a replacement for Kenneth Walker, if Seattle moves on from Kenneth Walker, that's going to be, that's a very zone heavy scheme. Like, you can list me like eight teams, I think that could sign Tyler, Tyler, Tyler Lger, and I think I'd be happy about it. Because to me, I don't think it has to just be like he's just our early down grinder. Like, if he is just straight up your starting running back.

75% of the snaps. Like he can 100% do that. He did it as a rookie and he was pretty good. There's aren't that many guys who were doing that anymore. You know, I don't think he's limited to that. Unless you're the explosive type. Yeah, that's true. I think he's absolutely, he is due for a bigger sort of role at his next stop than he had

in Atlanta. Again, it's kind of just Josh Jacobs who is like that, right? Like, who is like a not super explosive, just like grinds a bunch of carries. Like, it's kind of just Josh Jacobs in that role. Which like, I'll share might be able to do that, but there's just not that many guys like that. All right. let's take our next quick break and then come back and hit a couple more of these categories.

We can run through this next one pretty quickly. We wanted to just like favorite flyers, guys that are going to be available for next to nothing that I would want on my team. You mentioned already one of them that I thought about, which was Kenny Gainwell. I had a couple more that I wanted to throw out there. Derek, did you have any of these? I've got a couple and I dug a little deep for some of these. So the one that is not so deep as I think Joseph Assai is actually pretty interesting from

the Bengals. Again, picking from sort of like the Browns offensive players I mentioned, like picking from a unit that was terrible, but finding a guy, it's like, okay, he's 25, 26, probably had his best season last year. He can defend the run a little bit. I think that one is interesting. And then I had two linebackers that might cost you like zero dollars who could be interesting. Mohamed Diabate from the Browns is a restricted free agent, but if they let him go, I would be very interested in letting him come and compete in your room with potentially being a starter. And then EJ. Speed, who had signed last year on a one-year deal for the Texans, was a really good

backup linebacker for them whenever he had to come in and play. and I think he was good with the Colts beforehand. Now I think coming off that little year where he got to sit, I think that he could be like a legitimate starting caliber linebacker for somebody for pennies. Yeah, I think the Texans depth pieces are also a theme for me. I had Derek Barnett as one of my guys. I'm surprised he hasn't come up this week. I just, he's one of those guys where like it's not,

he flashes more than he's consistently disruptive. But again, if we're just trying to like build out those rooms and you're trying to go five or six deep on your defensive line room, I just think that he's somebody that can give you a little bit of pop. Sheldon Rankins is probably more expensive than that, but I'd be excited to sign Sheldon Rankins is a free agency after what he did last year. And the thing I would say about Barnett is like it's one of those cases where when you have a first round pick who kind of fizzles out and just isn't what you thought he would be,

you kind of, when he becomes like a C level player, we just like completely forget about him. Like he just was completely out of our mind. But it's like a C level player is still a C level player, even if he's not what he was supposed to be as a first round pick. Do you have any favorite flyers? If you have a good quarterback, why not throw a small amount of money at Tyquan Thornton? I like that. I was thinking about him yesterday, too.

It wasn't amazing for Kansas City, but they undeniably successful. It was okay. It was fine. It was fine. I wouldn't do it unless I had one of the better quarterbacks, but why the hell not? 2-2-at-well made $10 million last year. Like, if you get crazy, I wouldn't want to pay Tyquan 10, but yeah. That's what I'm saying.

But if you could get him for half that or third-year-old, you'd get him for half that or third of that on a one-year deal. It's like, I'd be interested in him and just providing a very specific skill set to your receiver, right? And then another one on offense, Lord help me, don't make fun of me. I assume... I can't promise you anything about that. I assume the price is going to be really low for a very good reason, but if the price is really low, I'd give J.K. Dobbins a shot to be part of my back room. Yeah. He was good last year. He was good last year before he got hurt. I mean, the problem is he's hurt a lot. But if he's healthy and available, and I just, I can't imagine that number is very big.

I'd be happy to have them. I had three more guys. We've talked about one of them at least this week. Charlie Kohler. I just, Charlie Kohler is somebody that. I'm telling you, he's like, I'm not trying to break the bank for him, but he would be so high on my wish list.

Charlie Kohler, just makes sense as to why he didn't play that much. He was banged up a little bit. I think he can be to say, like, a very solid, two-way tight end for you. Speaking of Ravens, Ardarius Washington, coming off the Achilles last year, The year before that, I actually thought he was playing really good football.

If you could get him for next to nothing, is he somebody that you'd be happy about as a depth piece? And then this one, there are a couple guys that, like, fill this role within the defense and are probably going to be available for next to nothing and you're going to be happy that you have them. Kairstanga, just based on the way he played for the Patriots last year. So he's a free agent. Can you get that sort of skill set for a very cheap price? Would you be willing to throw a forgettable amount of money at Trayvon Diggs and see if it's a scratch-off lottery tickets? I think that question is better served for you. Would you be willing to throw a negligible amount of money at Trayvon Dix?

See? I would like to put it back on him. You know what, though? Like for a truly negligible amount of money, I would do it. I mean, the ball skills and the athleticism, he's only, he turns 28 at the start of the year. And remember, it was back-to-back knee injuries, not just one. He had one in 2023 and then at the tail end of 2024, the Cowboys' rushed him back because that's what they do because they'd rather just get him back on the field

than spend money on another corner. So I could talk myself into him having a redemption arc, but it would have to be for a very small amount of money. Yeah, I just, I just worry, he's just done. That's my, I mean, it's always a concern with cornerbacks, but if it's for, like I said, if it, if it's for like less than, if it's for like less than $5 million, like if it's like a $3 million contract or something, it might be less than that. Yeah. Exactly. So like who cares? Next category here, guy who's going to get paid more than you think or more than like the general public may think. Obviously, I don't know the answer to this off top of my head.

I did some canvassing over the last couple days to come up with a couple names. We've talked about a couple of them. Mentioned him yesterday, Wondell Robinson. Apparently the price tag on Wondell Robinson is just way higher than you think it might be, which we could also throw him into the players you're scared of, which we're going to do here. little bit. I'd throw that in there as well. The other guy that this is not surprising, and I think this is just based on more about where the receiver market has gone over the last couple years. We mentioned the Tutsu-2-2-A-well made $10 million a year last year.

The two other wide receiver contracts that I think are important to keep in mind when you think about this guy and being shocked by the number, DeAmi Brown made $10 million a year last year. Josh Palmer made 11. So the guy, I think, that falls into that category where it's eight figures for that guy this year, Jalen Naylor. So I actually think he's a better to me he's definitely a better player than Diami Brown.

Josh Palmer, I think because they're so different, that can get a little bit sticky. But I actually do think Naylor had some flashes. And if they were, if the Vikings were not totally grieved by their quarterback play this year, I actually do think he probably could have more seriously commanded that amount of money. So that one I actually think makes a lot of sense.

Yeah. So he's one that was mentioned. And then the other one we talked, we hinted at it a little bit, David Edwards making like $15, $16 million. a year is just, I mean, that's one where he was a backup for the Rams. Like, he signed as a backup for the bills like three years ago when he initially got there before kind of moving into that starting role because they moved McGovern to center.

And so the fact that he's going to get 15 or 16 million is, I think David Edwards is 29. Yes. So, yes, he turns 29 in two weeks. Okay. I mean, that's solid player. But the idea that, like, if you are a slightly above average guard, you are not. worth $15 million a year is, who boy, I know that's where we are,

but every time I think about it, still is a little bit surprising. I said, and for the record, I would be happy to pay them, like I said, but Illuminaur and Joanne Taylor, I just imagine for what they can do for you and where they're at, I think the price tag would be bigger than the average person would suspect would be my guess. Yeah, I think that makes sense.

And I've said Romeo Dobbs a few times this week. I mean, that's going to be now if you're the team that misses out on Pierce. Like unless it's like Evans goes back. Yeah. I think I think if you can't hang in the Pierce bidding, then I mean, that only benefits Romeo Dobbs, the number of teams that'll be calling him. Derek, anybody on your end.

Oh, yes. So I, my, I think this is not based on like the quality of player necessarily, but we've talked about this a little bit. Some of these markets are going to get really weird. Logan Hall, if you are looking at. for a young three tech starter, he is literally the only guy on on the market. Like there are some older guys, some like 30 year old, you know, Sheldon Rankin's 32. You can get him for a year or two. There's some of those. If you are trying to find the second contract guy I can bet on at

three tech, it is just Logan Hall. And I think for the first three years of his career, he was not great in Tampa Bay. I think the light started to come on a little bit last year. And so I think there's a shot that somebody pays him a lot more money than anybody is really considering right now, especially with how weird the buck's defense had been overall the past couple of years. I like that one a lot. I think that's a really good one to point out. I'm not willing to say he gets more than people expect. I'm genuinely curious what you think Caleb on Chase on might get. Like, I mean, he had this breakout year. He was a big part of the Super Bowl team, but he's such

a specific type of player. Like, is that enough for him to just enter this new tax bracket? Like, I kind of, I don't think I think so. Like, I think he would still be more affordable. then you might guess based on how big the spotlight was on him in the last like six weeks of the year. So it's interesting. There's, at edge rusher specifically, there aren't really that many guys

making between like $8 and $11 million a year. There's almost none. So I think that in your first glance, it's like maybe $10 million a year. Those edge rushers don't exist anymore. Like essentially you were a depth or rotational piece or you're getting like $11 million a year. Like $11 million is kind of the floor for starting level players.

Here are the edge rushers making $11 million or right around it. Doran's Armstrong making $11 million a year. Alex Wright's extension was exactly what Doris Armstrong was from the Browns. Malcolm Coons got $11 million a year on his one-year deal. And then if you go one step down from that, Samson, Ebucam, Patrick Jones, got $7 million a year on their, or $7 or $8 million a year on their extensions. Patrick Jones was last year with the Panthers.

So Patrick Jones getting $7 million a year. Like Chase on getting 12, is that, would that surprise you? No, probably not. Probably not, right? I would be a little bit scared to do it because I'm kind of with Dave in the sense of like, I almost wonder if some teams look at the way that Chaseon played. And he played well. But it's also like he was playing next to one of maybe the best defensive tackle pairing

duos in the league. And I think that they kind of allowed to create a lot of space for him. It was also a team that blitzed a lot and really was able to get him some one-on-one. So I just wonder if there's a little bit of like we're six years into Cheson's career. We kind of know what he is. And I think lucky is the wrong word, but it was very good

conditions for him to have produced last year in a way that maybe not every team looking to sign him is going to have. PFF, just looking at their free agent tracker, their projected contract for Claibon's $15 million a year. Yeah. That's, I mean, Oh my gosh.

That's why I asked because I wouldn't be surprised if it's significantly lower than you would guess just because he was successful on a good team. Would you rather have Claibon Chase-on for 15 or Arnold Ebiketti for eight? Oh, man. Eight, like, how many years, eight? Two years, eight million a year. Two years, eight millionaires. I'll take chase on.

Honestly, you could kind of convince me, if you put Ebiketti next to Christian Barmore and Milton Williams, you could kind of convince me he could do it, Chase-on. Are you saying that's not the quality of defensive tackle that he was playing with in Atlanta over the last couple years? Unfortunately for him, it very much was not. We gestured at this one earlier. Wanted to do just best finishing moves. Best like last little tweaks that you could make

to an otherwise contending roster that might be the things that put you over the top. I had a couple old guys. I mentioned Cleo Mac as this year's Marcus Lawrence potentially. At a couple more Rico Dada of Denver is one that we talked about earlier. Like I think he could be that sort of back for a team like the Broncos. And the last one I had, again, I think he's going to be this every single year, Zaitler. If you used to get a right-clic card.

One year, $9 million, Kevin Ziler plays at like a borderline pro bowl level. He solves right guard. We never have to think about it again. I'm not trying to hate. So you brought up DeMario Davis for the Bears. I want one step up of team to go after DeMario Davis. How dare you? I want to Mario Davis on the Rams, Bill's, Eagles. or Packers, which I, oh man, Bears fans are going to let me have it

for saying like the Packers are another step up from the team that won the game. Yeah, it's the team that went to the NFC championship game this year. You know what? If the Bears want DeMario, that's fine.

I just would like, I just would encourage you to go look at the Packers record against the Bears last year. It was, it was one and two. One and two, I believe, yeah, including in the playoffs.

You know, that's, okay, the Bears can have them too. I want DeMario Davis to sign with a contender, a team that's going to matter. And the bears should be that. That's fine.

Whatever. I just want DeMario Davis to be on a good team. John Franklin Myers is a finisher. Like, I mean, more expensive, but I just think a team that doesn't have a whole lot of holes should be looking to add a guy like that. I think he in the same kind of vein, like, he reminds me of what DeMarcus Lawrence was last year. He's a little younger than DeMarcus Lawrence. But when it comes to like, you drop him into the right situation and what he does is an accelerant for the rest of your defensive line group. I think we could have a similar sort of conversation.

I mean, if he's on like the Chargers defense and is a significantly better version of like what Deshawn Hand is for them who like actually by the way I meant to mention Deshaun Hand in the bargain thing. I think that he could be like a nice low level starter for somebody. But if the if the Chargers wanted to like get a much better version of that player, I think that that can make a lot of sense. One of mine is I know there's a good chance that Mike Evans is probably just going to stay home in Tampa Bay and that's totally fine. But one of my finishing moves potentially for Denver is Mike Evans. I think getting a version of like kind of like an older version of what the Bengals have in Jamar Chase and T. Higgins and like, all right, let's just have Cortland Sutton, Mike Evans, these big kind of veteran just both going to throw it outside the numbers and we're just going to chuck it. This is grotesque sizesism. Kroger brand Jemar and T in Denver.

Just grotesque sizes. It's just like all I want is another six five receiver than I can drop on the outside. Listen, we know we know Sean Payton likes him. I would, I mean, I'd be into it. It's just, yeah, the discount's funny. His, his 2025 stat line is misleading probably. It's funny, I'm just going to bring up Saints players who I want to see have one final act. But like, if you are close enough to contending where you're just filling in gaps, like, get Cam Jordan on your team to be like the vibes guy who can chip in like three and a half sacks.

Like, if Brandon Graham can do it. Cam Jordan can do something for you, even if he's not that Cam Jordan anymore, which I know he's not, but like, again, we're talking about teams that are just right on the cusp. Like, you don't need him to be a real difference maker. But he, that's what's going to happen to the Bears. They're going to sign Cam Jordan instead of to Mary Davis. That's what's going to happen to me. That's not good.

Like, I want Cam Jordan to be like the fifth edge for the Rams and just be fun. And he can go across the street to NFL network during the by week and do, TV stuff for them. That's what I want. The bears, no, they ain't have a bigger needed edge than Cam Jordan. All right. Player, you're scared of guys that you, a little buyer beware when you're thinking about what they might make.

This will be the last one we do. It's nothing personal. It's a huge price tag for Alec Pierce to meet. It's huge. I'd be scared of that deal. And if Drake May is just throwing howitzers to him all through next season, then I'll eat my words. but I would be scared of the size of that contract.

Does it have anything to do with Alec Pierce or is just throwing that amount of money at a free agent receiver in general? It's not Alec Pierce specific. I mean, we went over the history of free agent wide receivers yesterday. 47 catches last year. It's going to make $27 million a year, at least. They were pretty valuable catches. I love Alec Pierce. I was on this like week two.

I was like that guy's a star. You really were. I like it's you he clearly had gotten so much better this like the layers he had added to his game I love him as a player I understand where you're coming from it is not about alec pierce specifically it is that you just you have to be excellent to live up to a price tag like that and and that's it's a little bit of projection so that's all I'm saying similar sort of conversation you have to be excellent to live up to that sort of price tag if you look at the history of that position when you're shopping at the top, top, top of the market, Devin Lloyd would just

scare me if I was paying $20 million a year for Devin Lloyd. And again, Devin Lloyd had a really good year. I think Devin Lloyd is a good player. I just think if we're creeping up and up and up to like the top, top of the market, that would be one that would frighten me a little bit. And that's too is maybe me just being more of like a linebacker elitist than a wide receiver elitist. Alec Pierce does it for one year. And I'm like, he's good. It's all fine. He can go do it again for $25 million or whatever it is. Devin Lloyd does it one year linebacker. And I'm like, I don't know. I kind of want to see it again before I would be comfortable paying that amount of money. The other one I had, and I kind of had a couple more, but this one is just like that production just did not match up with what he was down to down.

I had a great time watching him last year. And Sean Wright would frighten me if I were going to like throw a bunch of money at somebody. Like that's one where the interceptions were very cool. That's about as far as I'm willing to go with it. I wouldn't want to do that. And I'll throw in Quay Walker's another guy where I think like it's easy to imagine. the light coming on and all the talent just being consistent all the time. And it's so easy to imagine him being like an all pro caliber player.

But it's a, it becomes a hefty price tag. And I don't think there's enough evidence that you can count on that to where I would want to hand out that contract. I'm actually in the opposite boat, Quay Walker. I kind of think he would, because the Green Bay defensive interior was so bad and so banged up for most of the year, I think you started to, like, we started to see the light. come on for Quay Walker at the end of 2024, a little bit early in 2025 before it really started to fall apart for him. And then obviously a lot of the defense started to fall apart for a number of reasons. But like I, it is going to be kind of expensive and there's a little bit of a gamble. But I do think there's, I would rather sign Quay Walker for whatever he's going to sign for

then signed Devin Lloyd. And maybe that's not like, you know, all we have to consider. But I would be okay, I think, with what Quay Walker is going to get. I have both of them on my list for the record. I'd be nervous signing either. but I think I'd rather roll with Devin Lloyd. And I hear what you're saying. Like I can go find a dozen really kick-ass way more than that. I can find so much kick-ass stuff from Quay Walker if I go back and look. But is it consistent enough for what it's going to cost to sign him on the open market?

He's only 25 turns 26 this year. Like that position specifically. And again, it'll be depending on the price. But I could imagine Quay Walker's best football being in front of him. That's kind of where I'm at. especially if it's the right defense like I just I could kind of get excited about it it's again it's the same thing as Alec Pierce I can imagine the highest highs in the world for both of those guys but when the when the price tags get involved it's just it gives me pause that's I'm a huge coward when it comes to free agency I don't want to it's the right mindset yeah like I don't want to I don't want to pay damn near anybody unless they've already proven themselves on my team like all most of the guys that I'm attracted to to in any given year are deals that are not going to wreck

me if they don't work out because you just, you never know for sure. Last one for me, we talked about this a little bit over the course of the week, but just Tariq Wollin. Like Tariq Wollin at a very expensive price tag. I just yes. Derek, you're not afraid of anyone.

You're just like, give me all of the freaks. Give me all the badass players. It doesn't matter how much they cost. I just think there's some level of like a free agency just is expensive and is what it is, but I just don't think RIC is going to command like an obscene amount of money for the player to

use. What if it's like $15 million a year? Yeah, what's your definition of obscene? Who else was making like 15 last year? Was that like Charvarius Ward and like... So DJ Reed was it 16? If he's making a million less than DJ Reed, yeah, I think that's totally acceptable. I just wonder what he looks like that. Maybe this is me to see

in Sizes because he's like 6'2, but... I don't think it's a coincidence that almost everyone we're talking about is like a... Yeah, a huge, long, crazy athletic player. Yeah, I think you love all those guys. I just, I think that Tariq Wollen was really good this year. I think that what he looks like outside of Seattle.

And again, the fact that like Josh Job was started over him this year. Like that was, that was the choice that they made. And so there's just, I don't know, there's a couple things that would give me pause about giving him like a ton of money and dropping him into a different situation. But like he had looked decent at points before Mike McDonald was there. Sure. Yeah, he absolutely did. Again, I'm also not on the side of like you signed Tariq Wlin and your secondary is fixed. But I think he, at least for one is me that I'm not like going into it assuming it's going to go poorly.

Whereas there are a couple that there are a couple other guys that I'm scared of. Like my DB that I'm scared of, I've talked about this a little bit. Brian Cook from the Chiefs, just that feels very almost like what you're saying with like specific defense. Like I think him stepping out of the Spag's defense scares me a little bit. And then my one other guy that feels like, I think every now and then there's a like fantasy football brained style of player that people love. I think Isaiah likely is a little bit that at tight end. Like it just feels like people are really chasing the, you want the tall, long athletic tight end. And it's like in reality, he's not really good enough to be a wide receiver and he's not really a blocker for you.

It's hard to figure out where you want to put him. Had a couple of injuries and stuff. Like he's the one who it feels like people are going to chase something that's not. quite there. And we talked about this with Chico Conquo this week. Just like that, like that undersized, like receiving tight end, like what is he right now? And like what is the price tag and what should you be paying for guys like that? I think is a worthwhile conversation. To go back to the Seattle thing real quick, I was looking at them while I was prepping. And for a team that just won the Super Bowl and doesn't have a quarterback on a cheap contract, they just, they have way more money than you

would expect the reigning champs to have. And they're, and we'll see what they do when the market. it actually opens, but their willingness to let Walker and Rieke and Maffa all, like, potentially leave, that's interesting to me. Like, especially in the case of like a Rieke Wulin where defense Moses, Mike McDonald, who everybody and myself included respect the shit out of, like they're not making it a huge priority to retain him. It just makes me go, you know what? That's kind of where I'm at.

That's just, just something to pay attention to. Yeah. All right. That is all we've got for today. as a reminder, 11 a.m. on Monday, right here, we would be starting our day one of free agency live stream. We're not going to have a show that's coming out on Monday because we're going to be live at 11 a.m. Central. And so we're going to break that live stream probably up into a couple different podcasts. And so you will be getting the same amount of them over the course of the week.

But no Monday show coming your guys as way, unless something crazy happens on Sunday. I don't know, I'll be around. We'll figure that out later. But as of right now, no Monday show planned. But we will be here 11 a.m. 11 to 4 central time on Monday. Very excited about it. A bunch of different guests rolling through one of my favorite days of the entire year. Encourage you guys to come. Join us for that. For now, that is all we got.

Appreciate you guys listening. We'll talk to you very soon.