The Athletic Football Show: A show about the NFL - Free Agency Recap, Day 3: Aaron Rodgers wants to be a Jet, Cowboys and Eagles are busy, and more

Episode Date: March 15, 2023

Out of the darkness and into New York...book title or Aaron Rodgers' offseason progression? Rodgers stole the show on day three of free agency, announcing to the world that he wants to play for the Jets in 2023. Robert Mays and Nate Tice dive into the Rodgers/Jets/Packers discussion, and break down all the other moves from the previous 24 hours—David Montgomery to the Lions, Stephon Gilmore to the Cowboys, James Bradberry sticking with the Eagles—on this episode of The Athletic Football Show.Follow Robert on Twitter: @robertmaysFollow Nate on Twitter: @Nate_TiceSubscribe to The Athletic Football Show...AppleSpotifyYouTubeToday's show is brought to you by...BetterHelp: Visit betterhelp.com/Mays today to get 10% off your first monthAtlassian: For projects impossible alone, visit www.atlassian.comMorgan & Morgan: For more information on Morgan & Morgan services, go to forthepeople.com/Mays or dial 1(800) POUND-LAW from your cell phone2:20 Aaron Rodgers wants to be a Jet15:20 How good can the Jets be with Rodgers?19:20 Juju to the Patriots22:11 The Cowboys are busy33:22 Eagles keep James Bradberry, release Darius Slay38:42 Vikings sign Byron Murphy41:38 Lions sign David Montgomery44:22 Washington signs Jacoby Brissett49:46 Buccaneers sign Baker Mayfield51:55 Panthers sign Andy Dalton and Hayden Hurst60:05 Falcons retain Kaleb McGary64:53 Chiefs sign Charles Omenihu68:10 Colts sign Samson Ebukam71:04 Titans sign Arden Key76:55 Bills keep Jordan Poyer, sign Deonte Harty79:26 Broncos sign Samaje Perine Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is the athletic football show. To the athletic football show. I'm Robert Mays. Joining me today. It's my good friend Nate Tyson. How you doing, buddy? I'm doing well. I know the setup.

This is the traveling Robert Roadshow for the free agency stuff. Having to do my first podcast in this past calendar year of like setting up the office configuration, or I'm sorry, the hotel room configuration to get everything set up, I can empathize with you now. Now I understand what a pro you are that always getting this done. Did you bring lighting too? I have my lights. I'm going to tweet out the picture of my setup.

Brilliant. I brought the whole thing with me. It looks insane. What I had to do to get this thing ready to go, it looks absolutely insane. But guess what? We're dedicated to this. This is important. You did it.

Are you hardwired too? No, God. No, God. No, okay. But we did plenty of Ethernet checking. I don't know how you get hardwired at a hotel in 2020. I think that comes with like a special setup here.

You're not at that Marriott bonus level yet. That status I do not have. The titanium Ethernet level. All right. We got plenty to get to today, day three of free agency.

I mean, it started off with a bang, obviously with the Roger stuff happening on McAfee a little bit earlier today. Plenty of stuff to get into. But let's start with that. So what would you think of that? What did you think of that?

of this entire orchestration by him on that side of things. I love learning about the, the history lesson of the 2005 Packers front office. I think that was my favorite part, listening all the future GMs they had in that front office. Did you know that front office has changed in 15 years? It's, there's not going to be the same people there. I think that was, that was probably the part. Also, like, the darkness should be capitalized now. Like, no, like the Oh my God. I just absolutely love that everyone has been saying that. Like, you know, when he emerged from the darkness. The darkness. I know. He just listened to the rhythm of his heart. There's a chance he can make it now. I've been sitting on that. The fact that you can pull those lyrics from that song, which are unintelligible in the course of the normal song is pretty impressive. I'm be honest. Yeah. You got to hit the high note on that one too. But it was one of those where there's two sides of every story. And it's one of those that's not, it's always going to seem like it or it always seemed like it was going to be kind of a.

I would say messy but convoluted situation, you know, with this type of player, not just like, just because of Aaron Rogers, but just where he's at in his career. It could have been any player and that he wants to keep playing. They want to move on and all that. So it's just, it's just funny. That's really it. It's just a fun side note of this off season, I feel like, that we'll look back on. I go, remember that. Remember that kind of two months and that experience and the McAfee show and his announcement, I guess is a good way to put it. Even though he said it's been a week and it depended on what day. he went in and into the darkness. Friday. He knew on Friday that he intended to play for the Jets is the way that he phrased it. So what he said, you know, we'll see how much of this is true, who the heck knows. The way that he framed it is that when he went into the darkness, capital T, capital D, he was 90% sure that he was going to retire. And then when he emerged afterward, the tone had changed with the Packers is how he was framing it. They had pushed a little too hard, potentially, to get him out of town where he had previously seemed like they were intent on letting him have all the time that he needed to make his decision.

And because of that, now he feels motivated, I guess, to continue to play because the Packers don't want him. So reading into what he said today, it kind of feels like a revenge play. I don't know. That's kind of what it seems like. He set up his own revenge tour. I mean, that's really what it was. Oh my God, just 20 wicks the entire season. Right, every week.

We just, wait, that should just be the recurring one. That's always five weeks. Doesn't matter who he's playing against. It seemed like the Packers told him to take his time and then once it hit about two months and they hadn't heard word at all from Rogers. I think they're like, okay, we got to do something. We're all set. Yeah, we got figured this out. Like, no word is what they, I guess they needed.

Yeah, if we believe Rogers's a story, you know, there's always can be, you know, like I said, there's always two sides of every story. the Packers were going to get nothing for him because he was going to retire. And so they basically gave him the cold shoulder. And now they got draft compensation from the jet scene coming. So I guess a win-win with nobody saying a word to each other. But yeah, it's an interesting situation. So right now, Roger says that the Packers are holding up the negotiations, I guess is kind of how he was framing. Yeah.

They're trying to play a hardball a little bit. I think digging their heels in is the framing that he used. The finances of it are a little bit complicated. he has an option bonus that can be exercised any time between now and the start of the regular season. So there's really no urgency on the Packers end to get this done. If they want to get more for him, you know, whatever is holding it up on their end, whatever is motivating them, they don't really have a predefined sense of urgency based on that timeline. My understanding, based on some of the financial information available and also something that Jason Fitzgerald

running over the cap was very good at kind of sorting through these complicated trade fallout things with these guys is that if they trade him after June 1st, they would save about $25 million in dead money on their cap this year. It would go from $40 million if they traded him before June 1st to $15 if they traded him after June 1st. I don't know if that's a motivating factor in any way, but I believe that is the case. That makes sense. And I mean, God, it's just so crazy see an option bonus for $58.3 million. I mean, the Packers knew what they were doing. Oh, yeah.

No, this was their kind of, I don't say, I'm not getting out of jail free card. This was their, you know, a great glass of case of emergency. They had this out always kind of built in. That kind of seems a timeline. And like you said, there's now no urgencies because that kicks in. It's until, like you said, until week one, right? Yeah, started the regular season. Yep.

Started regular season. Yeah, so that's exactly it. There's not like that. Have to do this right now. Have to figure it out. They have plenty of time. or the compensation. When the Jets Twitter account is tweeting it, like tweeting about the Aaron Rogers thing,

it's kind of like the Packers are like, I love this leverage. Like, great. Because now they have no. Well, we have we framed it before. They really have no other choice. And they really haven't had a choice for a while here. They made this bed. Yeah.

They made this Aaron Rogers. But hey, they try to do this with Farr. Let's bring another Packers quarterback in, which is round two of this. So that's, I wanted to get into that side of it where at the end of the Favre saga, whatever how were you yeah whatever whatever you're gonna call it saga you know what how whatever word you want experience yes i mean just like the kerfuffle i mean the entire thing was just so weird i was young you know i don't it was 2007 2008 i was still in college i wasn't watching it with the same eye that i would now but i remember just kind of petering out in a way that felt a little bit sad you know by

the end even packers fans friends that i had and we were young and a little bit more irrational we're just like, I'm done. Like, I just want it to be over with. I don't want to be dealing with this anymore. And that's kind of how it feels this time around with Rogers. And that's kind of a bummer. You know, him trying to top into this, you know, I might be the greatest player in franchise history and they wanted me to retire a packer.

And it's hard to have your cake and eat it too. You know, you tried to play this game every single offseason. If you wanted to ride off into the sunset, a legend and not have any bad blood between the union organization, you have plenty of chances and plenty of opportunities to, do that. But by playing it out this way so many times over and over again, they got tired of it. They got fatigued of the entire charade and they wanted to move on. And now the marriage is uglier. It's messier. And there really isn't a clean way to when this is all said and done, look back on it and be like, man, what a marvelous career Aaron Rogers had for the Packers. And

part of me wants to do that because it was a marvelous career. He's one of the greatest players in NFL history. Yep. And so he should, his time there should be remembered as such. But with all of this like nonsense that surrounds it now, there isn't really an inclination to talk about it or think about it that way because it's underneath so many layers of gunk. Yeah.

Even, even, you know, he went to back to back MVP's recently and even just always just felt like something was hanging over it. Yeah. Like it just never felt like celebratory. Maybe because how the seasons ended in both of those years. Yeah, maybe. maybe that was it. And it just seems like there's been a funk over the team a little bit because this,

it's self made. You know, it's the situation when you have a great player that's stubborn and you got a franchise that when I say stuck in their ways, I don't mean in a negative sense. They will stick to what they believe in as a franchise. The Packers, I mean,

they draft the George Love in the first round. That's what they do. Like they beat to their own drum. And I mean that in a good way. Like the Packers just, well, they are stubborn in their sense. They're a unique franchise and how they can operate. it's worked for him. I mean, having back-to-back historical quarterbacks really helps, but it's worked for

them, really, the long term. Everyone could say what to say, oh, only one Super Bowl. Yeah, I'll take 10 wins every single year, guaranteed. It was an unbelievable stretch of time. That's a fun way to live. An unbelievable stretch of success. Some of the best historical seasons in quarterback history before, like, I mean, just incredible seasons.

The 2000, what was it? 2011 season is probably one of the best quarterback seasons. An unbelievable year. And then 2014, they were just on an absolute terror that entire season. I mean, those first two MVPs, just insane years. And obviously the run that he had on the way of the Super Bowl, for you guys that are a little bit younger, you know, maybe that are like in your 20s and you don't remember what early career Rogers

looked like, go back and watch the highlights of the Super Bowl that they won against the Steelers. Like his season to that point, you know, he wasn't that guy he actually was in 2011 or was in 2014 through the entire Super Bowl-winning season. season. But by the time they got to the playoffs, you got a glimpse of what Prime Aaron Rogers was going to look like. He makes four or five throws in that game against Pittsburgh that are the four or five of the best throws any other quarterback would make in their entire lifespan. You could see him come alive in that 2010 playoffs. Like the Falcons game, I believe it was. And the divisional round was the one that stuck out to me. And Falcons personnel people were still

burned from that game. That game is burned into their brain because they said a corner got hurt. I can't, I don't want to mix up the names, but one of their starting corners got hurt and one of their backups trotted in off the sideline. And they say, and this pro scout of the Falcons tell the story. It's one of the funniest stories. But he said, they were up in the press box and you can see Rogers poke his head out of the huddle and see the other guy walking into the game. And they say that he targeted that guy like the next five snaps just threw balls out of. But they said that's when they realized. I was like, this guy. because Aaron Rogers wasn't Eric Rogers in 2010. He wasn't yet.

He wasn't yet. And did that playoff run kind of put him up a tear. And then the next season it was like, holy shit, this guy's amazing. And they said when they watched him in that moment and what how would a killer he was, they said, oh, my God, this guy's incredible. We didn't realize that he had this in him. But that story is always burning my brain. Like him poking his head out, seeing the backup corner walk again and going, oh, yeah, I'm targeting that guy, the next couple snaps. But like you said, I just wish I think I'm a sucker for the.

clean narrative. I mean, I was a sports fan. I love the guys. They're the one, one club teams, as they call them in soccer and just for any sport. I like that. I'm a sucker for that, but it's too, it's a stubborn individual and a stubborn organization and the organization kind of like they kind of are going to end up getting their own way, but it seems like Rogers is now building the narrative of, yeah, I'm going to take this out on the league next year, which is, I think it's interesting and fun. I mean, I'm all for that. Again, as a neutral fan, I'm all for that kind of narrative stuff. I used to have such an appreciation.

I mean, I still have such an appreciation for him. And I still do, but I think a lot of it was born in getting the shit kicked out of him twice a year, out of us, twice a year every single year for my entire life. And I felt a similar way about Brett Farv because of that. Like when you watch those guys up close so often and your team plays little brother for decades at a time because of what they can do, it's impossible not to develop a real appreciation. Like you sit in all of what that kind of quarterback play looks like consistently when

you've lived the life on the furthest opposite end of the spectrum. And so I was always that guy that, you know, tweet dragon memes and talking about him that way. And just like I was always, again, just stood in all of how good he was. I wrote about him a ton, you know, over the course of my career. I spent a lot of time up there. And even somebody like me who really did have that level of appreciation, both because of how beaten down I was and getting some proximity to see it up close.

it's hard to look at the last few years, even with multiple MVPs, and look at him the scenario or the story in the same way. It'll just never be that way. And as a football player, what he did as a fuck you to those guys after the Jordan Love Pick is almost more impressive if you were going to put that in his resume. But the way that we talk about him, the way that Packers fans will probably remember him and the way that football fans in general consider him, I think gets changed forever based on a lot of things that have happened over the last year. two or three years. Yeah, and I don't want to say a bad taste in your mouth, but a different taste in your mouth.

That's kind of how I feel about this. And it's one of those where sometimes you don't, I don't want to talk about that. But sometimes you just like, you don't almost don't want to hear anything from you just want to watch the player and appreciate the player. Yeah, I'm good. And separate. It's like watching an actor in a role. It's like, I don't want to know anything about your personal life.

I love you in this role. Just you're amazing. It's a great comparison. And that's kind of how I felt today. It was just like, just let me know when it's over. Like, just let me know where he's going. And the fact that that's how we feel about it is a little bit of a bomb right now. Yeah, you want everyone to be great in both aspects, but it's very rarely that case.

So on the jet side of this, again, almost felt like it had to happen for them. On a football level, like, what do you think you can expect from Aaron Rogers in a Jess uniform with those guys? Oh, man. Well, which players are coming with them? Okay. Let's say the Garrett Wilson, Alan Lazard, Elijah Moore, Bryce. Hall, a Reese Hall kind of quad with him at this point.

I think, I mean, with the Hackett offense, if I'm taking what they ran with the Packers with Hackett, it was a greatest offense. So you're going to see a lot of the, you're going to see a lot more gun runs because Rogers kind of prefers to be in the gun. I see some play action, quick hitting play action. I bet you he hits a ton to Garrett Wilson. There are going to be so many inbreakers that he'll throw out to him. Heavy RPO usage as far as bubbles and flats and smoke screens.

know, they loves getting those into there. I think there's going to be a lot of carryover from that last year of Hackett being there with Brogers. So two years ago, Hackett only, Hackett was one and done. So it wasn't that long ago that I have to refer to. But I think that kind of last offense there, this past year, they really leaned into the run game, especially the gun run game, the pony personnel and everything. So I think there's a little difference from that. But I think you'll see Garrett Wilson with a lot of inbreakers, a lot of quick hitters,

Lazard being Lazard, especially on third down. That's where I picture as far as the passing game is they're going to really lean into that. A lot of quick hitting offensive stuff. He doesn't really push the ball over the middle anymore. He likes to throw a lot of inside fades and go balls and quick hitting stuff. He doesn't really attack over the middle, but that's fine. I think this offensive personnel is more conducive to kind of that vertical and outside yak stuff as opposed to the inside yak stuff. Another quick worthwhile Rogers note, Jeff Howe from the athletic reported that the Raiders, in fact, also called about Aaron Rogers.

and that the Raiders also called the Bears about the number one pick. So certainly feels like Jimmy G is a stepping stone for the Raiders right now on their way to whatever quarterback they feel like is the real solution, which we kind of thought was the answer. We saw that contract. I dropped one of my first quasi-scoops on this show was that the Raiders were sniffing around with that top pick. I thought it had been reported. So I would have maybe leaned into that a little bit, a little bit more if I knew that. But yeah, it makes sense.

said, the Raiders seem like they're straddling, like trying to, they're trying to figure out exactly the path they want to go on. They bring back Yaacob Johnson, which I think is hilarious. So I just have one little aside about that is that I want to tell Josh McDaniels that, you know, fullbacks can catch passes now too. Like you can get some athletic dudes like an Alick Ingold, you know, or maybe not use check, but you can find a guy that doesn't just have to be a plug or fullback from, you know, 2002 as your fullback. Just want to throw that aside there too. So also, Jeff how reported that the Patriots have been looking around into DeAndre Hopkins, Juju Smith-Schuster, O'Dell Beckham, and then about three minutes after I put that in my rundown

in Rappaport reports that Juju Smith-Schuster is heading to the Patriots three years, $33 million. I don't, I didn't see a guarantee number on there yet. I don't know if that's been reported, but that three-for-33 number is pretty much exactly what Jacoby Myers got. And Jacoby Myers's reaction to this is pretty much my reaction to this. It's like, ooh, that's pretty cold. Like, he essentially just told me you'd rather have Juju Smith-Schuster than me for pretty much the exact same money. I don't know if I would. I don't either.

I think also similar roles and similar a lot of things. Like Juju's a better blocker, I would say that. But I don't know. As far as past catchers and what they do, it's kind of the exact same player. It's kind of funny. I actually think Myers is a little better. the outside. Yeah, it's a very lateral move for the same money for, and you see all these signings that

have happened in this free agency is of good emphasis. Coaches like their players that they know. They don't like branching off into new territory of different players. So that's why I think it's interesting. Usually you see the other, like they prefer to bring back the guy that they have. And they won't get a comp pick out of Myers either. Yeah, it erases it. So there's not even that benefit as well.

So I just thought too is that the Patriots, would maybe add a little more speed to the receiving room. That's kind of where I'm at with it. Tyquant Thornton can be that guy, but I thought they'd add a little more, a little more juice to that receiving room. So if this is the move, right? If this is like the splash for them with their receiving options,

I'm not overly excited about the Patriots past catching options. If the group is juju, Devante Parker, Tyquan Thornton, and Kendrick Borg. No offense to Kendrick Borg and no offense to you. Sorry, buddy. No, I get it. I get it. I get it. I think they feel the same. way too based on his snap count the last year. But no, that's not, no. Juju,

fit perfectly with what the Chiefs had. And I, you know, he's not, that was his role and everything, but it just, that vertical element just seems that it's the outside go ball contested catch element, not the like juice yak guy. You know what I mean? That's what I kind of thought they would have. And again, everybody wants that type of player, but it just kind of a hat on a hat. That maybe that's, that's a good way to put it of how that kind of pairing is. they signed Riley Reef also in free agency. They brought a Calvin Anderson. So I don't know.

It feels like they're probably going to need to add right tackle somewhere along the way, potentially high in the draft, unless they think one of those guys is going to start based on the way that they played last year. And the money that they spent on all of them. I don't know if they see any of those guys as a starting caliber right tackle at this stage of things. It really seems like a draft candidate for them. I could see that being a priority, especially where they're picking. That's really where those guys, the value kind of makes sense for them in the first round, I think. I still just, I'm really hoping for their sake that the upgrade for Matt Patricia Cabill-O'Brien is enough to get a lot more out of their offense because personnel-wise, I don't know how much better their offense personnel is right now than it was at the end of last season when they were pretty forgettable on that side of the ball. Yeah, very, yeah, yes, very forgettable.

The stories coming out about that, about their offensive system and practicing has been pretty fascinating. as well. But yeah, it just didn't feel like a needle mover. It felt just like a lateral move. And I thought that they maybe find a interesting guy to add some juice to that room. So I'm not like mad or anything. Just kind of shrug the shoulder. That's kind of my thought. It's just like, yeah. It's a shrug. Yeah. It's a shrug. And it's an okay. And it's a I really don't know how much more we can expect from them outside of we got a major upgrade with our past with our play caller. And potentially with the mindset and buy in of our quarterback as a result of

that. Yeah, maybe that'll help. Maybe the relationship will, will blossom some flowers for the offense a little bit when the quarterback actually talks to the office coordinator. All right. So, one that happened immediately after we got done recording yesterday to the point that I was very pissed off about it. The Cowboys trade for Stefan Gilmore, according to Tom Pelliserro and many other people, I'm sure, in the last 24 hours. A fifth round pick heading back to Indy, only an $8 million dollar-based salary this year for Stefan Gilmore. We thought that Jalen Ramsey might be an option for the Cowboys. We saw at the end of last season.

They had a pretty huge hole at their other outside corner spot. It was really a monstrous question for them heading into the playoffs. And now, at least temporarily, they fill it. I don't think that there was a better answer out there after the Ramsey trade for them to find somebody that would be a major upgrade and not cost a ton than a move like this to go get Stefan Gilmore. It's obviously not a long-term thing, but I don't think that's really what they're looking for here. No, they're not.

At 32, he played well last year. He did. And like you said, I don't think there's many, they're better options as far as resources kind of like spent on this. Exactly. They're not splurgeon. They're not sending day one, day two picks. Okay, this is fine. I mean, especially for what they're, they did well with what they trotted out there.

Gilmore's going to be upgraded by any of those guys. And what the Cowboys leaned into in coverage last year, a lot of man coverage and cover two. A lot of cover two helps with old aging corners to kind of take a break a little bit. And he's a smart corner. That makes a lot of sense. That's what you want it as a cover two corner. And he can live in man coverage. Just a little, I mean, Gus Bradley was still running a lot of cover three last year.

He's done everything. He's done everything. He played a ton of man coverage when he was in New England. I mean, they played a lot of zone when he was in Carolina for that very short, very unfortunate time, based on what I've heard about, no more time there. But he's done a little bit of everything. And I think that's why it's a smart bet for,

a Cowboys team that really does a little bit of everything. Yep. And so the avenue. I like it. He's corner tuned for him. Like, you know, overall, that's, I like this. It makes a lot of sense. It makes a lot of sense.

If you're just looking for somebody to fill that spot and you're not trying to overextend yourself, I think this is a really smart way to do it. And yeah, there were a lot of guys on this team on defensively, specifically, that we're potentially going to move on this off season. And they're retaining a lot of them. Leighton Van derrash comes back on a two-year deal worth about eight, million dollars up to 11 almost none of it is guaranteed he is a two and a half million dollar cap hit this year four million dollar cap hit next year only only a million dollars of next

year's cap it is guaranteed i think this is from todd archer of vs p.m so it did not spend a lot to bring him back you get a familiar face in the military defense and then they also resigned donovan wilson three years 21 million dollars 13 million guaranteed so they retain that trio of safeties that they have and oftentimes the trio of safety is becoming another line backer in some of those packages that they use. And then with the way that Duran Bland played for them in the slot last year, and Jordan Lewis is also on this team, they've got a lot of bodies now in the back seven.

And I think it's easy to get excited about what this defense can be again with Dan Quinn coming back with them able to retain a lot of the major pieces that made this thing go last season. Yeah. And how they, I mean, no one uses their debes more, I think, than the Cowboys. I mean, I know the bill's staying nickel, but the Cowboys are like, let's go dime. Let's get six of these. guys out there on first and second down, but they have these unique body types.

Like you just alluded to, like J.R. Curse is the safety or the tight end eraser for them. So that when they go, man, they just plop him on whatever tight end or big body they needs to defend. Donovan Wilson's kind of the, I don't know, almost like a will linebacker for them. Like he does a ton of different stuff. He does everything for it. Yeah.

And it's, yeah, it makes sense. A lot of these pieces make sense. I'm like way more interested in this DB room by them keeping some guys. Like, it's kind of fun. Like as opposed to going like, man, how are they, if they lost Donovan Wilson, I'd be like, man, that's, he does, he does. Just lost flexibility. Yeah.

Maintaining the flexibility, I think, is important. It's almost the opposite of what's happening with the Bengals right now, where the Bengals could do so many of those things with all those bodies they had back there. And now those bodies are gone. So it's like, oh, I wonder what the Bengals are going to do. And I think that, you know, Winner Remo is plenty of respect coming from the benefit of the table on the show. But I think it's one of those things where the cowboys are on the other end of that,

where they brought all these guys back. And now they can build on. a lot of stuff that they've done. So the Cowboys spending some money on Gilmore, on those free agents on defense, they're going to have to save some money somewhere. And it sounds like part of that plan is to release Ezekiel Alia. There's designating him as a June 1st cut. Clarence Hill from the Four Worst Star Telegram was the first person to report this,

I believe, but others have since, writing was on the wall. You know, Jerry Jones said earlier in the offseason that they were going to try to bring him back, but I just don't know how you can justify him, even at a slightly reworked price tag along with Tony Pollard, who is playing on the tag right now. I've got to imagine they try to get him on an extension to get that number down. And also with Zeke not there anymore, you could probably commit to Tony Pollard in a multi-year way. So we'll see what the running back room ends up looking like.

But the first stage of things here is that Zecchio Elliott's days are done in Dallas. I'm just glad they bit the bullet like on it. Finally, it's like, okay, I know that was probably hard for Jerry. He likes his running backs. He likes his guys. Yeah, but like you said, it felt inevitable. And with Pollard coming off the injury, you know, I think it actually makes more sense in a weirdest way to have him long term

because you're not going to get the benefit of him this year, the full totally Pollard experience this year on the tag. So it would make sense for kind of a midterm extension. I don't know how to describe it, but that would make a lot of sense. Real quick before, too, on the late in Vander Esch was we talked about him late in the season, especially in December, and also just I wrote about him. And he's short of a lot with that. Cowboys defense against the run.

And his role now is kind of maybe a little different than what I expected him when he entered the league. But he's just a solid kind of, I call him the Macha Lele, the soccer player role, which is the cleanup role for the Real Madrid star teams where he just didn't know of those guys played defense. And he was just like, okay, I got to clean everything up for everybody else. The Cowboys defense is very aggressive. Guys can go rogue.

That was, Banderasher, it was very important for them being sustainable. So they didn't get gashed as much as they used to in the past. So I just want to kind of compliment him and resigning him, actually, I think is a nice, I think that was a nice kind of fair deal for both sides, especially like you said, there's no guaranteed money. It's a stabilizing force. Yes. The fact that you just kind of keep that group together. And again, you don't have to worry about it. I can totally understand that plan if you're Dallas.

I can understand that plan if you're those guys. Yeah. You got a good thing going down there. If you're not getting all this guaranteed money elsewhere to go play for a different team, a different city, a different coach, people seem to love playing for Dan Quinn. Yes, they do. I can totally understand how those guys kind of took a look around, saw the landscape and said, you know what? I think we're better off to stay in home.

They're going to use me right. They know what I am. Like there's a huge benefit for that. Like you can maybe chase an extra 500 grand or an extra million, but sometimes getting used right and where you look good really matters. I don't know if it's really worth relitigating all the Ezekiel Elliott stuff. I mean, this guy was a top five pick. He was one of the biggest stars in the league at one point, you know, came in with Dak,

kind of defined that era of Cowboys football. but we've talked so many times about how misguided that extension was, how unnecessary it was to do it as early as they did. They hung on too long. I don't know if it's worth revisiting all of that because I think we've talked about it plenty over the last couple years. Zeke is probably my favorite running back prospect I've watched since I kind of officially have done it. So probably the past decade. Where were you at 2016? Where were you?

I was going to Oakland. I was with the Falcons that spring and then left. to Oakland right after the draft. And I mean, his tape was just unbelievable. And just like as opposed to a guy like Sequin, who you could see just the sheer talent, Seekwan has a running style that I'll never grade as high because he's so chaotic. He has kind of more of the creativity and stuff. He was just a force of nature.

A force of nature. Yeah, Zique was a running back, like a true running back and fast and big and tough and smart. His past protection, he was showing that in college. and you don't see that. He was willing to do the dirty work as a blocker. And Zeke just, you know, when he entered the league, he was a force with that offense line especially. But yeah, like you said, the contract was misguided, but it doesn't take away, just

because he was overpaid, doesn't take away what a good player he was for a long stretch of that career before as runoffks kind of fall off. But I, I, I, like, Zeke, the prospect and Zeke, the player, really appreciate him, really respect him. So I hope, like, this isn't the end. You know, I hope that there's going to be a second chapter of this. I hope he went somewhere. I hope so.

For a fairly short-term deal on a team that just needs running back snaps. Sticking in the NFC East tier, the Eagles secondary, getting some shakeups over the last 24 hours. Bit of a surprise. They bring back James Bradbury. Three years, $38 million, $20 million guaranteed, according to Adam Schaefter. Feels like an extension of the conversation we had yesterday about the state of the cornerback market. Not a monstrous deal. Bradbury came out yesterday publicly and said that he had better offers elsewhere, wanted to stay in Philadelphia.

I felt like they were on the brink of a championship could really do something, which understandable, considering the way the last season went. The deal he got about $13 million a year, $20 million guaranteed, pretty much the same deal that Jamel Dean got yesterday. So this is where that market has settled. Dean obviously much younger than James Bradbury, but James Bradbury was a borderline, all pro pro pro bowl of player last year. So this price tag for that kind of guy over the next two years, if you're Philadelphia, I think you can easily get on board with it.

Yeah, especially he's probably going to be more like a two-year deal. So right when he hits that 30-year cliff, which he's going to hit this year, but Bradbury's game isn't that too. And that's why he's a corner I would be willing to bet on. We've talked about how smart he was. He's now succeeded in several different schemes. I mean, I've mentioned this multiple times. That interception he had against Trevor Lawrence when they played the Jaguar,

as in week three or whatever it was. It was one of the coolest corner plays of this entire year, him reading out this play. And anybody doesn't know what I'm talking about. Look it up. Just Twitter search it. But this makes sense. I mean, it makes sense. The Eagles are kind of losing a couple other defensive pieces.

Bradbury is one, I'd be willing to extend even if he is turning 30. I am surprised, though. I did think that he would be going somewhere else. But like you said, he had the quote that he thinks they're close. So that makes sense as well. Well, we have some other moving pieces here because it sounds like they're going to release Darius or did release Darius Slay. They're going to designate him as a post-June first cut,

which would save 17 and a half. His market is booming right now for what I've gathered. A lot of teams are sniffing around at Slay right now. Which team do you think makes the most sense? Which team do you think should be most motivated to make that happen? Man. Quit you on the spot. I know.

I know the Jaguars are sniffing, and I actually wouldn't mind that, even though I think they need pass rush help more than anything. But he's 32. That's the other thing that you have to remember. He's 32. Yes. And so it's like Jaguars are not kind of, I don't know, Jaguars aren't

kind of like in that by the vet world. I don't know actually. Now that I'm really thinking about, who would I want them to see with? Man, I don't know. I really don't know. The Jags are interesting. That's the one that I would think is the most interesting because I think the Jags think they can make a little mini push this year. So that would be one that, not a bad mercenary to go after.

Especially because their resources, they're kind of tied down. And, you know, it's not like they have a boatload of picks like they had the last couple years. So it's kind of that's one where it's like that would make sense for finding that type. They need another corner. So that would make sense to just get through. I would love that as a mercenary as long as it's just a one year kind of flyer on them. Giants still probably have a needed corner.

They don't, they still have a little bit of money to throw around. The lion started with a needed corner don't really have as much of that anymore. But also, yeah, the prior history. Oh, yeah, I didn't think about that, God. Yeah, I know he's got. You throw teams down. It's like what I was talking. about DeAndre Hopkins getting traded into England and I just wasn't even

wasn't even thinking about the uh bill O'Brien's yeah ramifications yeah so here this is the one that would be the most fun and I who knows if they would do it but him going to Seattle that was one and yeah I know they they like the other corner that they drafted last year um give from society and blanking on his name right now Kobe Kobe but he was playing the slot for the slot though that's that's what's going to say is a slot hit the slot, Tarik Woll and Darius Slay, who I think is very good friends with Quondre Diggs, I believe, from their time in Detroit together. So that would be an interesting one.

I think of all the potential outcomes, that would be the one I'd be most interested. But there's a chance that Seattle wants to use one of those premium picks that they have, or first-shot picks they have on a corner, to be younger at the position. It's a nice corner class in this year's draft. So as far as like top 50 players, there's about five, six guys there that teams are interested in. It sounded like Slay wanted a new deal and just wasn't going to get it from the Eagles. And so they just felt it was easiest to move on. He had a pretty big cap number this year.

So I assume that dealing his contract was a little bit tougher than it is for somebody like Stefan Gilmore, who's 8 million against the cap this season. And this is the interesting thing, too, is like I believe Bradbury was your second team all pro and SLA was my second team all pro. That's how good these guys were last year. But that also why we bring up the age stuff is I'd be more willing to give the 29 year old about to turn 30 than the 32 year old just for that position. if all things are considered equal. And that's kind of just want to kind of map it out, like, why you would pick one or the other. Well, I pick the one that's slightly younger just because of data, just because of life experience in the NFL of how corners age.

$17 million base salary for Darius lay this year. Okay. So that's a little bit harder to move than something like to Gilmore deal. Man. Yes. Yeah, she could eat that. That's not terrible. Some more cornerback news.

The Vikings signed Byron Murphy. original numbers on that were a little inflated. It sounds like the actual numbers are coming in at about two years and $17 million with about $12.5 million guaranteed. So what that amounts to, really, is a one-year flyer on Byron Murphy for the Vikings that's going to cost them upwards of like $12 million. So this is the second time they've done this. They did the exact same thing essentially with Marcus Davenport,

earlier this week. So they're kind of taking these swings that they feel like are high upside swings with very little long-term risk associated with them, which I don't think is the worst idea in the world. I don't either. This is how you get kind of better players than you're paying for. If it goes right, yes, of course, injuries, injury guys, like Byron Murphy has some stuff. I think he has a backs thing.

But it's an undermarket deal for a good player. And you're not finding this. A young player. Marcus Davenport's the same. And say if he hits, say like Murphy hits, and I know there's cap stuff you don't have to figure out. But like next year, now their training staff and their team kind of knows what he is. And that's what you're paying for a little bit. It's kind of like a little, you're paying for a sneak preview of maybe someone you might be interested in a year.

So that. And they have a moderate next year. They can keep him next year. Oh, yeah, that's true. Yeah, yeah. It's a two year. No, no. It's truly a one year deal.

Yeah, yeah. It is a two year deal. But it's still a, it's a one year deal in practice because they can move on if they move on to. So it's even better than the Davenport deal in the sense that you get the upside of a low risk move, but you can keep him a little bit under market next year if he does end up working out. And that's the thing is we're talking about resources. We're just talking about Gilmore to the Cowboys. You're not spending premium money and you're not spending a premium draft pick on a guy that's going to be a legit starter for you at a good position or a position that's hard to find legit good starter.

So I like it. For a team that's trying to straddle the line and trying to figure out exactly their path, I like this. This is the kind of bets you make that can hit and really go, oh, wow, we figured that one out. Wow, we got them under market price too. Yeah, the only thing that really went against that a tiny bit is them committing to Garrett Bradbury for multiple years in the way that they did based on how up and down his play has been. But I think at that position, they're just prioritizing familiarity.

That's what it is. And he was better last year, but still just a little average issue. I think the problem is that they saw what life was like without him at the end of the season. And when they saw what life was like, like with a downgrade and then another downgrade when they're on center number three. They're like, you know what? Let's go with the first guy. Life wasn't that bad when he was in there.

Remember when I've said this line when you have crap to average? Like it can feel a lot better life. Yeah, they went the opposite. They went from average to crap and they're like, I don't really like this life. Let's get right back to it. And honestly, I think it was a pretty fair deal. It was like three for 15 or something like that. It wasn't like too bad.

It wasn't backbreaking. So I'm fine with that. All right. some more NFC North news. The Lions signing David Montgomery, according to Ian Rappaport, three years, $18 million, $11 million guaranteed. It just feels like this is them getting a little bit younger

at that role within their offense. David Montgomery is 25. Jamal Williams is 28. He was going to be on contract number three. They saw a way to kind of shave three years off of that thumper running back role within this offensive system. That's kind of what it feels like to me. That's exactly what it feels like.

And I love this. fit. As everyone knows Jamal Williams, and he's a great personality. I am sad that the Jamal Williams era in Detroit is over because he was such a good fit for who they've been personality-wise over the last couple years. He was, but it's like this is the thing. This

is hard about sometimes life in the NFL. It's like Montgomery is a load of a better player than Jamal Williams as much as I like Jamal Williams. I think he's going to be a lot of fun beyond that Lions Offensal Line. Love this fit, being at 25, like you mentioned. I really like this one. I think

going to be really exciting to watch. But yeah, I am kind of sad about the Jamal Williams. He'll find plenty of teams. He is a very useful player as a past protector and a short yard guy. Those guys can find a home pretty quickly. I guess David Montgomery is a better player than Jamal Wives. Oh, yeah. The degree to which he is, I think we can talk about.

But I think you're probably right. I'm not saying it's more popular. No, no, no, you're right. You're right, though. He gives him more wiggle. I mean, I think there are a lot of different elements to his game. they're a little bit different than what Jamal Williams. Jamal Williams is going to get what he bought.

That's why he's so good in short yard is if you block for him to get that one yard, he's the hammer. He's getting that one yard. Like he's guaranteed to get it. It's that he doesn't have that kind of, you know, if it's blocked for four, he'll get you five. You know, he can get you a little bit. But I think Montgomery has that kind of a little bit more to him, a little bit more juice, a little bit more all around this to his game than Jamal Williams, like I said,

more of a short yardage, pass protecting guy. That got kind of pushed into more of a prominent role. I mean, he took and ran with it, but pun intended. But it's that David Montgomery, I think just overall can do more with less. I'd like Jamal Williams to land somewhere fun. I think we threw out the Chargers when we were talking about some potential spots for him, potential ways that they could go. I think that would be a really good one.

Yeah. So, Williams with the Chargers, I still think would be a fun one, even though everyone got mad at me for throwing that one out there. I mean, I think they got mad at you because the Austin Echo stuff hadn't happened yet. And he was leaving in Detroit. But now he's leaving Detroit. leaving Detroit and Austin Eccler just asked for a trade. So, all right.

Not bad. Not the worst one. Some quarterback news to dig into here. This happened right before we started recording. Jacoby Preset signs with the Washington football team, one year, $8 million, according to Jeremy Fowler, up to $10 million. This is the kind of deal we thought Jacoby percent would get. I wasn't sure what Washington's quarterback plan was going to be outside of Sam Hall. I think that they had said, you know, through back channels that they were trying to bring in some sort of veteran presence to push Sam Howe.

And this is arguably the best veteran presence on a stopgap option that they could have had among all the guys. And the way they played last year, I think Jacobi Perci was probably the best option available in this market. I totally agree. I would much rather have him than Baker. Like, I really would. This makes a lot of sense. We were wondering what Washington was done at doing a quarterback. When Andy Dalton, spoilers, signed with the Panthers, this kind of felt like a dom.

I was like, oh, okay, that's, okay, you're not going there. Okay, this opens up the other spots because I just thought with the Frank Wright background and all that, Jimmy G. going to the Raiders kind of felt like, okay, what seats are open? Because he's worthy of being a stopgap starter for somebody and a high end backup for somebody. And this one makes a ton of sense as far as fit and what he could bring. I thought that Carolina made the most sense just with his connection to Frank Reich and what they would potentially need at that position. But if you're Jacoby percent, I can understand not wanting to go to Carolina where you know that they're going to take a guy with the number one pick.

You don't want to be sitting there and have your seat warm from the moment you take over on the first day of training camp. It's not a fun way to live. Now he's now he's battling against Sam Howe, who is not the number one pick. For as much as it was Washington has tried to pump up how much they like Sam Howe. It's a slightly different dynamic when the guy was a fifth rounder a year ago compared to C.J. Stroud coming in as the number one overall pick. Correct.

And yeah, more or less he can look and go, yeah, I think I'm going to start. I think this. I think I don't know. I just think I think we all know this and I think that's what he thinks too. No, I totally get that. It's a hard way to live when and when Andy Dalton signed with, where it was with the Bears and they drafted Justin Fields. I get it as known like, am I number one? Like you sign me to be this guy. I, I, I, some guys don't want to be the mentor. And I get that. Like there's not it. It's not every guy's Alex Smith. You know, that's just like so great with it and so gracious with that. If a team did it, right? I think Jacoby Percette would be fine living. that way. Yeah. I mean, he has my understanding of very affable personality. Like, Mr. Yeah, everyone loves him. Everybody, including me.

I've met him twice. Love him. But when you are, when you have the opportunity to really be a starter like he seems to in Washington, where the quarterback would be a surprise rather than something you can see coming from a million miles away. Yeah. I understand it. Also, Washington has some real guys to throw the football too.

Correct. Like, I think it's important to remember in watching Washington's offense over. the last few years, what Taylor Heineke and Carson Wentz are, especially Wentz at this stage of his career, versus even the play that Chigobi Percette showed last year in Washington. Like, that is a step up from what Washington, or showed last year in Cleveland. That is a step up from what Washington has experienced at the quarterback position over their last, like, four to five seasons. So I think we can see, like, the best version of Terry McClure and we've ever seen with

Jacoby Percette. And I'm excited to see that. I think people have never watched Jacoby Broussat or anything, there's a classic line about a good jockey in horse racing that a good jockey might not win you a race, but he won't lose it for you. And that's what Jacoby Broussat feels like. He's going to do everything right.

And so if you and with Eric B. Enemy and what their offense might be, I completely agree with the sentiment you just threw out there that throwing into those weapons with Jahan Dotson as well and scary Terry. That's interesting because he's going to find out ways to get those guys the ball. I mean, look at what Mario Cooper was doing with Jacoby. Yes, the offensive line was fantastic in Cleveland, but he's going to know how to get the guys the ball of the play's designed for those guys. Like, he's not going to screw it up for you.

Yeah, and I'm excited to see that. Obviously, Eric B. Enemy is a question mark in terms of what he's going to be as an offensive coordinator. But the weapons are certainly in place. And, you know, they've done, they've made moves to shore up spots along the offensive line, right? Yep. They bring it, Andrew Wiley. So not a group full of stars, but I think their hopes, a group full of five functional pieces that which Goby Percept. and those past catchers, you can be a mid-tier offense.

Yeah. And for them, that would be an improvement from what they've been over the last few years. I mean, they were scraping by to like 22nd in DVOA a couple of years ago with Scott Turner squeezing everything he could out of that thing. As Taylor Hidichie was just like stuntman playing quarterback the way that you like to describe it. So hopefully things are a little bit calmer now with Jacoby in town than they've been over the last couple years. Yeah, a little different than Johnny Knoxville runner. round back there. This is more like, I don't know, uh, Philip Seymour Hoffman playing quarterback for you. Like he's going to get the role done and be really, really good at it. Like he's,

whatever you ask him to do, he's going to get a function. That Philist Street Hoffman's probably way too good. That's way too good. Way too good. I'm trying to think of somebody who's just like who's, who's, who's, who's the dad and, uh, not the dad, uh, the main actor in Friday Night Lights, that guy that's in Kyle Chandler. Yeah, Kyle Chandler. That's what I'm going with. Oh, man. I think even that's like dista Kyle Chandler. I feel like this is shooting a little bit too low with that even still. We'll find a good one. Yeah, we'll find a good one.

We got another half hour. We cook one up. Sticking with the quarterback news here, Baker Mayfield, one year, eight and a half million to go to Tampa. This had been rumored. Yeah. I don't know what,

I don't know what to make it. Less than Sam Darnold, I think. That's Sam, Sam God. I think. I got to look at it. It's one year, eight and a half million. What's Sammy yet?

I think this is more than what's a lot. No, I think you might be right, but I might have just been. I mean, this is like, this is stopgap starter money. I mean, it's essentially the same deal that Percette got. Eight to ten. That is what the, the Bucks view. Oh, yeah. Baker Mayfield has this year to compete with Calatrask.

Forget about that line. They, more than Sam got. Forget that line. That was, that was me just mixing out my numbers. I was like I don't think Sam Donald's getting paid to be like a stopgap starter, like Baker is in Tampa. Just, just a strange team. So they bring back Levante David.

Yeah. So now they have essentially, their defense back in place and the offense minus Donovan Smith. So most of that roster which is Shaq Mason. They traded him. And then they traded Shaq Mason. So I just kind of feels like they're trying to keep as much of this together as possible, be mildly competitive in the short term. Yeah. And then see what happens next year. So I think that if they could click Sim to end here with this season and just kind of get to 2024, they might be into that idea. That's kind of what this feels like. Baker is they like get me to the end of the line quarterback for the bucks.

That's what he was for the Rams in December too. Yeah. That's exactly what it felt like. Um, yeah, it felt like this was in the cards. Like you said, there's so much smoke about it. So I'm not like surprised. Uh, but the, like, we're just to figure out the bucks. The bucks have a lot of talent. So I get kind of this thinking that they're like, well, let's see what, see how this year goes and see what we can get out of it. I mean, there, I think this was the one team that I saw Zeke might get rumor too, which was kind of like as, as the guy that holds 99% of Rashad White stock. I'm like, no, please stop. Please.

So we don't need another plotting aging back with with Rashad White. But no, I think that's what they're trying to do with Baker. Baker is just the stop getting the stop gap and see what's going on in 2020. And see what we got with everybody else. One more bit of quarterback news in the NFC South specifically, Andy Dalton going to Carolina, two years, 10 million, eight million guaranteed. This is the veteran, widely. veteran to help raise the young guy role and contract for Andy Dalton and Carolina.

Yes, it is. Having this type of vet makes me because of what these kind of prospects are in this quarterback draft. You know, Stroud is kind of considered pretty polished and all that. And Anthony Richardson is kind of more of a wild card and more of a project, quote unquote, even though spoilers for whenever I talk about these guys don't think he's much of his projects people think he is. But I don't know.

That made it interesting to me. It was like, oh, so you do want that kind of vet in there. I think it's always helpful. I know. Yeah. Well, that's like, and even in Houston signing. What's his face? The car.

La la la la la. Sorry. Case Keenum, which was like, that's like, oh, yeah. We've seen this all over the place, right? I mean, the Bengals didn't really do it, but the Chargers did it with Chase Daniel. Chase Daniel. Obviously, Alex Smith was in place and Patrick Mahomes got there. We're seeing with Andy Dalton now.

I think this is a pretty normal thing. You know, Case Keenum just went to Buffalo with Josh Allen when he was early in his career. Derek Anderson was there with Josh Allen fairly early in his career. So I think a lot of teams are smart in the way that they handle this. I remember Barnwell when I used to talk about this back in the day. I think Josh McCown got signed somewhere to be their backup. And it was for more expensive in those days' dollars than a deal like this would be. We were kind of talking about how much value that has, isn't like a coach supposed to be that factor.

But when you have a veteran in the room that is one of the players and can really show a guy how to go about his work and like, this is how you operate in the building. This is what you should be like in meetings. I think there is real value in that and talking to players about it. So even if you have a guy in Stroudo, you think it's a little bit more polished, I do think that there is something to having this sort of presence there for a young quarterback and a young offensive roster. I wholeheartedly agree. Having that kind of almost like a player coach. because sometimes they translate things better than the coaches again. The coaches, especially during the seasoner and they're a bubble and going like,

hey, we're in meetings and finally we get to the players. We're coming out with a million ideas. And sometimes the quarterback has to talk to somebody else. Like, how do you read that too? Okay, okay, I get that. That makes a lot of sense to me. I think the best things outside of coaching, of course, the best things you can give to a young quarterback is a vet like that, hopefully a younger vet that started before and on top of

it, a center. Those are the two things for a young quarterback. quarterback that I think are conducive to success down the road or at least make the transition easier. A center that knows what the frick they're doing and a backup quarterback that kind of can really help guide them. But like you said, there's a lot to it. You're hearing all these whispers with Kyler and everything.

And it's not really whispers anymore. Everybody talks about it. But as far as like as a quarterback, you might have the meetings. Meetings start at 830 and they go to, you know, whatever, 11 and then you're on to practice to all the yada. Everyone's schedule is different. You have other meetings to do like with your quarter. quarterback coach. And even before you meet with your quarterback coach, you might have to study before that. So you're in that

building at 6, 6.6.30. And people think, oh, well, that's just the brouhaha being in the NFL life. It's like, no, because there's that that much shit to learn. It's so much that's put on your plate. And some of these guys against the NFL, it's like, oh, oh, man, my private quarterback coach that put me through three hours of drills didn't tell me about this stuff. Like, that's the transition. They have to get used to. So having a vet that goes like, hey, this isn't that crazy. Like, you actually have to be in there at 630 to, like, get those stuff. That really does matter. It really does help to succeed in the NFL.

I remember talking to guys with the Chargers last year, been a two years ago and they brought Chase Daniel in just about the value of a guy like that. And the way that they communicated to me is that it also kind of help a quarterback find his own voice, like a young quarterback. When you have a guy who's supportive of that young guy in terms of, okay, you should let them know what you like. Like, don't be afraid to let them know what you like.

somebody that can literally just kind of figuratively or literally put his arm around your shoulder. Just be like, hey man, like this, you can do this. Yep. Like this is a, you can communicate this if you want. You can tell them what you don't like, what you do like, help them find their voice in that way. That's kind of what they felt like it might be for Justin Herbert, who is not that way, personality wise, where Chase Daniel is a little bit more gregarious, like has a little bit more of that to him.

A lot of different effects you can have on that young guy who is often very moldable at that stage of his career. So I get it. All right. I do too. Enough treatises on the importance of veteran backup quarterbacks. One more move for the Panthers.

Also brought in Haydenhurst. Three years, 20, three years, 21.7, 5 million, 13 million guaranteed. Nice deal for Haydenhurst.

Turn that one year run with the Bengals into a nice little long-term deal there. I know. Just get with a good quarterback in a passing game that really will pop up your numbers. I mean, uh, Yuzama had a nice year too,

go. You got paid off of that as well. I always talk about the Chris Kassurik career abilitation plan. Yeah. With defensive lineman. Yeah. We're going to have the Joe Burrow tight end career habilitation plan just on one year deal cycling through in Cincinnati. That's exactly what it is. Or yeah, it's like tight ends playing with Peyton Manning. We're off of the lineman too. But this makes sense. He's like kind of

Mr. Above Average at tight end. He does everything kind of well. He's not, you know, like he, if the ball goes to him, you're more than happy. They needed a guy like this. as like as far as their tight end wise they're uh what's his face not Tommy Trembled but the other tight end I'm blinking at all of the roster but that he's more of a blocking type Tommy Tramble they're still trying to guide along and figure out what his best role is so this guy can play a lot of staff for you and kind of does a lot in the auxiliary role and he's going to be a young quarterback's best friend like just be underneath he has sure hands kind of makes a lot it makes a lot

sense like that I like this Perry one quick bit of news just saw that the Ian Thomas sorry sorry Ian Thomas, that's the other tie down. I was trying to think. They've got a few over there. The Cowboys restructured to Marcus Lawrence's deal, which opens up $8.9 million in cap room. The Zeke release being June 1st, it's not going to give them a ton of immediate relief. So I was wondering which other levers they were going to potentially pull if they were going to try to go get a receiver of some kind.

So now having that $9 million more in cap space after restructuring Gallup earlier in the week, hopefully gives them a little bit more breathing room if they do want to make a somewhat splash. move because it does feel like they needed one more past catching option as part of this overall offseason plan. Yeah. And OBJ had his workout a few days ago that a lot of teams attended. But yeah, that's what it seems like. All these moves, like the Zach Martin restructure is like that's, of course, they're going to do that because they have to get under the cap anyways.

But like all these kind of next moves, like you said to Marcus Lawrence, Gallup. Okay. I was looking at it today after the Zeke news because it's like, okay, well, that's opposed to you in first. You know, there's only so much money you can use in the short term after you make that sort have moved. So what can they do to actually free up usable space right now? And DeMarcus Lawrence had a fairly big base salary. That was the one that made the most sense. I didn't know if they wanted to keep pushing more money into future years with him. I guess actually

might be the first time they've done that on his new, when his new deal. Because remember he signed that huge extension. And then I think, I believe he signed a new contract that essentially ripped up the old one. It was a three year, $40 million deal. So yeah. So I believe this is the first time that they've restructured. actually that might be lie. It's so hard to know. All these deals in SpotTracker hilarious because at every, there's a base salary column, a son of those column, the Cowboys, like all of them are all filled up all the time.

Yeah. It's like it's hard to. There's no hyphen, like a little dash there. It's like a show game with the restructures when you look at the Cowboys contracts. So either way. Yeah. They made it work. I just believe this is the second time they have borrowed from DeMarcus Lawrence's

contract. However you want to put it, next year he has a $21 million cap it as a result of all this moving around. He has a void year on the end of it. So they're borrowing from the Bank of DeMarcus Sorens again to hopefully continue to add talent to this team this off season. One more NFC South note off of the Hayden Hurst thing, Falcons bringing back Caleb McGarry. Yeah. In Rapport says three years, 34 and a half million. I think it makes sense for both sides. A lot of those, you know, we mentioned this. They were more experienced. more attractive options at right tackle and free agency for some of the teams that needed them. If those guys were going to get paid, what sort of market was going to leave for Caleb and Gary?

If it was a little bit cooler because of the other options, could the Falcons get him back at a reasonable price where they understand what he is? They understand what he does well. They understand what their offense can be with him in the mix. And it seems like that's the agreement and the idea that both sides landed on. Both sides win here. I love a deal like this. It's a very fair deal for what he got.

he improved to this level, essentially. Yeah, didn't want to see him outside that Falcon's offense because, like you said, they could mitigate his weaknesses, but they know what they got, and he looks so comfortable with what they asked him to do, which matters so much that just the same discussion we had about the Cowboys Defenders resigning. But funnily enough, the exact same contract that Rob Havenstein signed a few years ago with the Rams, and they're like the similar type of players, that kind of mauling, right tackle, it's a little limited as a pass protector, kind of gets hidden a little bit as with all

the play action and boot stuff. So Haven signs a bit better, but with cap inflation, it makes sense that they got the same. Like, it's kind of kind of seemed like a continuation of that contract. So, no, I really like this. I think this is perfectly fair, kind of exactly what I would have paid him. I was scared that he might get 18 million and whatever new team that signed him goes, what the fuck is this? We're passing 35 times. What the hell? This guy's giving up three sacks. But, no, I think the Falcons are going to use him perfectly. I like this a lot. few former Niners pass rushers on the move over the last day or so. Charles Omenahue gets a two-year up to $20 million deal with the Chiefs.

It pains me to see him in time that sort of deal with the Chiefs when the Bears need pass-rushing. That is, I think, really reasonable. He's 25. I know. He was so useful. Such a good player for him last year. Great call by you. That was your break-out candidate.

that was a great tab by you. I just think he's a really talented player. You know, you watched him in that playoff run after he got traded to San Francisco. He's got a lot of just the frame. And then the underlying past rush metrics are very kind to him. And what's nice with the situation he's going to walk into in Kansas City, I think that you could, if you're trying to see his production in the most pessimistic way possible, you could look at it and say, they got a lot of guys on that San Francisco defensive line.

And there's going to be really good opportunities for somebody like him. they've got some pieces along the Chief's defensive line. Now we get to play with Chris Jones. George Carl Wafdis is there. I think they could go draft another pass rusher. So I think that group overall has a chance to be really strong by the time this even starts, maybe even better than they were a year ago. It's probably better than they were a year ago with Frank Clark as that other guy on the edge.

Yeah. And Carl Lovt has come along, especially in the second half of the year. And Chris Jones is Chris Jones. We know what he is. But I agree with you. They add one more player to that front four. he's young so you still have some upside to tap into he's he can move across the defensive line now you got chris jones and him they can both be on the interior on third down which i think is like

holy shit that's terrifying um and they can still add another player like that's not this isn't it like you just said like that i agree this was a i think this was a fantastic signing for an ascending player that i think he's going to really really be he's going to like earn this money uh for them like I think this is a perfect fit. I really like the signing. I really like the player too. It's the first one that I saw this week where I was, my heart kind of just sank a little bit.

I was like, oh, man. That's one that would have just been so easy. Like I just easily could have fit that in. He's a player that you can fit into the mix. And I understand, you know, somebody in the chat the other day,

I was arguing about how it's, you don't want to use these mid-tier contracts on premium positions, where you could take swings on those premium positions. in the draft. And I understand that. You know, you don't want to spend, you don't want all of your defensive linemen to be $7 million a year free agents when you can try to draft the guy in the top 10. And you can allow him, you don't want to block off that guy's path to development. Yeah. Defense lines are rotation. Exactly. Like, it's, you just want to drop these guys in as a there's different packages. There's different plan. Yeah. Hassan Redick was a free agent for the Eagles

last year. It went okay. They went, it went perfectly fine. It went okay. It's. It went okay. It's actually better, I think, when a young guy doesn't have to play 50 snaps and they could just play 25 until they're ready to add on. That's what you just need dudes. Like you said, even continuing off of Redick, what the Eagles did in general. Just find all these mercenaries and different types and what's rotate these guys in and everyone's better for it. The Colts, speaking of San Francisco 49ers past rushers, signed Samson Ebukam to a three-year

$27 million deal with $11 million in the first year, according to Adam Shefter. I mean, they had a huge hole at that spot after using Maddick and Gacquay. I don't totally know what to make of the Colts offseason so far. They released Matt Ryan. Shouldn't be surprised to anybody. They saved, I think, $18 million against the cap by doing that. Good job by Matt Ryan's agent negotiating $12 million extra guarantees, by the way. Matt deserves all the good things that happened.

Matt Ryan has made a shitload of money playing football. Yes, he is. an astronomical amount of money playing football. Good for Matt Ryan. You did it right. So the Colts now have Samsonabu Camas on the other end with Quitty Pay, okay? Still have Forrest Bruckner and Grover Stewart. I guess the defense is more intact than I would have thought a couple days ago based on where it was a year ago.

They really haven't lost anybody other than trading Stefan Gilmore. And I can get, I can understand. Yeah, exactly. Like that's that is a Stefan Gilmore. feels like a remnant of a different version of who you wanted to be as the Colts. You thought, okay, if we can get better with a quarterback with Matt Ryan, based on where we were with Carson Woods, can we fight to be a playoff team? Like, that probably isn't happening.

So I understand that he's no longer part of your timeline. I just don't really know what to expect from them. And I think part of that is just not understanding what they're going to do a quarterback or what they want to do a quarterback. It's just a hard team to figure out right now. I'm still curious about the Lamar situation there. But the Zaire Franklin came along for them last year. Like he had a great.

Yeah. They re-scied J. Speed. Yeah. It's, they managed to find linebackers coming out of the woodwork for the last couple years. I know, right? They,

they were so, so good against the run last year. And like, you couldn't move the ball on them inside the box. They were so fantastic. And they just always felt like they were missing that one, like Yana County really didn't do it for him, where they just needed another dude to rush the passer.

Like, DeForest Buckner is such a muller type. He's not like really the gap. He's just, he creates chaos, like with his long arms going every which way. And I mean, seriously, that's how he plays.

It's so funny. It's like wax on, wax off just like with the long sleeves too. And, you know, Quitty pay has come along. Like, he's,

I think he's still going to be a fine player. And so they just need another dude. And this is kind of just feels like another dude. I don't think it's a home run hit. But it's another guy that's useful. And I know you use that term a lot. I'm going to look up synonyms for useful. So functional.

Functional. Functional. Functional. Functional. I'm going to have that up now from now on. Someone says no one uses useful more into you, Nate Tyson. I was like, I know. Convenient. Utility, helpful, applicable, serviceable, serviceable, serviceable. That's what I'm going with. He's a serviceable pass rush for you. That's going to play some good snaps. And then if you do pop in another guy in there, again, like that the whole discussion, I have a young guy with another guy that can both eat snaps and rotate in there. Two years removed from Mistin with the Niners, but Arden Key signs with the Titans, according to Mike Yarfellow, three years, 21 million. and $13 million guaranteed.

He was a nice piece for the Jags last year and what they asked him to do. And you mixed him in. We were talking about, I can't remember who we were referencing when we were talking about who the Titans might add to their pass rush this off season. And I was like,

do they want another, like, more bendy, movable piece to go along with some of those bigger bodies that they have on the interior? I guess the answer is yes. Yeah. So now you're dropping Harold Landry and Key, along with those mallers that they have. I, even with the questions about their offense,

I think their offense is just, we're going to be really bad this year. I mean, no matter who's playing quarterback. I just feel like it's going to be a rough go for them on offense this year with their offensive line and just the state of things. I think the defense still has a chance to be pretty interesting. Because along with Arden Key,

they signed a Zs al-Shayr to kind of drop into that David Long role, like that wreck shit fly-around role at linebacker in the middle of their defense. And I still think they have a lot of interesting, players on that side. They do. They really do. And like you said, the mall or type,

that's what the defense does in the end. This Titans defense. There's wreck shit. It's just a whole bunch of guys at wreck shit. And Arden Key's perfect for that. And it seems like Rand really likes to sign players he's familiar with. Just a little bit. Just a little bit without,

you know, Aziz al-Share. I love that signing. I think that's a, that's a nice kind of somewhat by low candidate. Someone that like branching out to like a more featured role. if he can stay healthy, that's always the if. I haven't seen the numbers on that.

I haven't either. I liked it. I really did. I mean, I thought maybe another team would really sniff at them. But again, familiarity coming from the 49ers. Then Arden Key a couple years ago, same thing. I like it. And it opens up a little more creativity on their third down pass rush

rather than just have four guys pin their ears back and pushing like they like to do. So maybe they can kind of shift some defensive fronts as well. That's what Arden Key unlocks. He deserved to get paid. Pages, Quitty Pages was in my head. Arden Key deserved to get paid. I actually thought last year he would get a deal like this because of what he showed with the 49ers and how much he had locked. I was shocked that his market wasn't that great last year.

Good on the Jax for signing him. But he deserved to get paid. I like it. He matches their personality in Tennessee. One more Titans signing when we didn't get to over the last couple days. Andre Dillard, formerly of the Eagles, offensive tackle, signed a three-year $29 million. dollar deal. I've seen no information anywhere, even the last 48 hours about the guaranteed money, which I assume means that it is not favorable for Andre Diller, the fact that we haven't

seen anything about it. I understand this as a swing if you're the Titans. You had no answers to tackle at all on your roster. This is the guy who's still 27 years old. He was a first round pick. Obviously, it did not go very well in Philadelphia. He was supplanted by Jordan Milata's development on that side when he was supposed to take over for Jason Peters after Peters left. But if it's three years, 29 million and it's not a lot guaranteed, it's just a, you're rolling the dice. Like it's a 27-year-old guy. Can we find a starter with this sort of reasonable contract for a year, for a couple

years? And if it doesn't work, you move on. So I think betting on a guy with his draft pedigree, and he played better in recent years when he got time that he did early in his career. It's not super exciting. It's certainly not like a rock solid move by Tennessee, but I understand it as a bet if you're the Titans. Yeah, bet and just also need bodies.

That's what I mean. You have that offensive depth chart, it's like, holy crap, like what happened here? It's not a lot that you can even go, oh, we like this young guy. There's fourth round pick. This is better than anything they could have to answer. and I'm sure the market, this is fine. It's just that, you know, if you're not really peeking with Jeff Statlin, you know, kind of kind of not really with a guy.

Wow, it didn't work for him. Very good point. Yeah, that's the good point. But this is what you have. Like, this is kind of, this is the situation you are. I don't think anybody is expecting the Titans offense to really set the world on fire. So I think that's what it is. It's just a warm body to plop in there at the offensive line where you just need five

warm bodies. We talk about best five starters. They just need five warm body. these period. Few, one more, this one's fun. Speaking of the Chris Kassaric career habilitation plan, Cleland Farrell, one year deal with the Niners. Check.

It's perfect. Do it. Do it. Do it. If I, hey, every agent should just be like, call it four and hours. Hey, I got past rush. Hey, come on, come on, one year four year. One year four million.

Come on, come on. We'll refurbish that reputation you got. It's funny because they've done it with multiple guys. from the Raiders. Yeah. Because Arden Key was a, I think a third round pick from the Raiders at one point, right?

Yes, he was. So Arden Key was the third round pick in the same draft as Farrell. And he out played him. Is that true? No, it was a year before. Was it? He was a third round pick

in the 2018 draft. But Maurice Hurst was also in that draft with Arden Key. Like they've multiple times, they've gone across the bay to grab a pass-ratcher from the Raiders see if they could kind of juice him up with Chris Kisarik over there.

That's very funny. And I think the Raiders did at one time. It was like, yeah, you can do that. We're going to take Solomon Thomas. Yeah. How do you like that? It did not happen the same way. How do you like that?

Yeah, it didn't work the same way. One more quick bit here, the Buffalo Bills, bring back Jordan Poyer. Makes sense. Yeah, I just, again, one of those things where I think he's worth more to them than he is to anybody else. They got a good thing going there with Mike. high being back. We get to see those guys play together again. One of my favorite safety pairings in the league.

I just, I'm happy that that's where he's going to end up. And that's where he's probably going to finish his career because he's been fantastic there and, you know, good for them figuring something out. Another one pretty interesting here. Deante Hardy, the punt return, kick returner and part time receiver for the Saints, signs a two year up to $13.5 million deal with $5 million guaranteed with Buffalo, assuming to return for them.

but I think that also probably to play a little bit of offense, he's shown something as a receiver. Oh, yeah. I'm a big fan of Hardy. So I think this is fun. I love this. I thought this was awesome as far as fitting with the quarterback and what he likes to do. And this is, and I tweeted this, this is, Deonté Hardy is what the bills wanted Isaiah McKenzie to be. It's a great, great point.

That's him. But Hardy's already done it. He's a returner, but also just, yeah, guy. He's actually a really good route runner. he's got a lot of juice. He's tiny, and so he gets hurt all the time, but they're not paying him like that. So it's incredibly explosive and a damn good route runner.

I really like this one. I think this is, I love this fit plopping him into that offense that can add that kind of vertical juice and bring some yak. And you're not, he's never going to have more than like five targets a game. You know, it's not like you're bringing him in like, oh, this guy's eating it. He's your number two with digs now. It's like, no, this is just a valuable role player that I think every offense that wants to be explosive needs a guy like this. where do you think Deante Hardy ranked in yards per route run in 2021 when he was getting real run? It's super high up there, isn't it? It's like eighth or something like that.

I will, first of all, I will list the guys who were ahead of him. Okay. In 2021. It's all top guys. Yeah. Cooper Cup. Debo Samuel, DeVante Adams, Antonio Brown, and A.J. Brown. Yeah.

That's it. And then he had something ridiculous, like first downs per route run. It was pretty high up there, too. It's like he's efficient and explosive. He's a good player. He's a really good player. He only had 57 targets that year, but he had 36 catches for 570 yards, and he ranked sixth in the NFL and yards per route run in 2021.

He was banged up for most of last season, so he didn't really play. It's like 5-7-170. But that's what Isaiah McKenzie is too. Worthwhile bet from Brandon being over there in Buffalo for a team that needs a little bit more juice on offense. All right. That's all we got. Is it what we got? I'm trying to think of any other notes I got in here.

Oh, P. Ryan going to the Broncos. I like that one. Oh, that's right. I like that one. No, I just want to throw it down in my notes. I know that you're a big P. Ryan guy. I am, but I think he's one of, if not the best, past protecting back right now in the league. Smart player.

Sean Payton likes his smart players. He's not going to run for a thousand yards for him, but he's going to play some really, really good valuable snap for them. So I like that one. Sean Payton's definitely rebuilding this team in his image. It's got a lot of smart guys on that team. I think that's all I got, though. That's all we got. Yeah.

We'll have a lot more tomorrow around the exact same time. Sorry, a little bit late today. Had some trouble with the setup over here in my hotel room. Wanted to look as pretty as I could for you guys. So it took a little bit longer than I had originally planned. But we'll be back tomorrow at our normal 3.30 p.m. Eastern time to recap day for a free agency. Hopefully we'll have some more fun stuff between now and then. A few big name guys still out there.

Orlando Brown hasn't signed yet. We still got a couple more dominoes to fall. Maybe some trades could happen over the first next day or so. So a lot of things potentially on the horizon, very excited about that. In the meantime, please rate and review the podcast wherever you happen to listen. If you want to go on Apple Podcasts and leave us five stars and tell us you like the show, I'd really appreciate that. It would mean a lot to us if you ended up doing that.

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