The Athletic Football Show: A show about the NFL - Offseason Buy or Sell: The Contenders

Episode Date: May 27, 2025

We've arrived at our fourth and final episode in the Offseason Buy or Sell series, and this is the big one. Seven of the eight teams that played in the Divisional Round of the playoffs last season are in this episode, and the eighth is a perennial contender that was ravaged by injury in 2024? So did the Rams, Commanders, Lions, Ravens, Bills and Chiefs do enough to win, say, another game or two in January of this coming season? Can the 49ers get back on track? Did the Eagles do enough to protect their crown? Robert Mays and Derrik Klassen make buy or sell calls on those eight teams on this episode of The Athletic Football Show.Hosts: Robert Mays and Derrik KlassenExecutive Producer: Michael BellerProducer: Michael BellerSubscribe to The Athletic Football Show...⁠Apple⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠YouTube⁠Follow 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. The last of our buy or sell offseason shows is here. We broke up the teams and do four different categories, essentially based on 2025 expectations, really driven by like Vegas over unders. We did the rebuilding teams. We did the middle class teams.

We did the playoff hopefuls. And today it is the contenders with me and Derek Klaas. And highly encourage you guys to go check out those other three shows. If you have not pretty much everything we said on them, up, but this is the headline grabbing one. These are the teams at the top of the board and very excited to dig into what we thought of their off-seasons with Derek right now. Here it is. The fourth and final edition of our buy or sell off-season series. We are hitting the contenders today. Derek, I love doing this. I was talking to my wife about this this morning when I was prepping for

the show. I'm like, you know what? I actually really love these. And as long as I do this show, I think we'll continue to do them. I think it's a really good exercise. just to look holistically at every single one of these teams and what they did and how all the pieces fit together. And today we're hitting the best teams in the league, the teams that we think are legitimate Super Bowl contenders and have legitimate Super Bowl aspirations heading into 2025. Again, based on the Vegas odds. I want to be clear about that. If your team is not on here, it's not my problem. And I honestly like doing it this way because obviously we've been doing this for a long time.

I've done, you know, the season previews for a long time now. And like, I kind of like climbing the ladder this way as opposed to doing it division by division. And we'll do division by division stuff later in the offseason. But like being able to climb the ladder from teams that just picked first overall to teams that just won the Super Bowl. I think it's almost a more fulfilling way to do it, a more instructive way to do it. Yeah, I think we did it the right way. And we're hitting the big ones today. Let's get started.

I'll start with the Los Angeles Rams. For all of these teams, we've quickly run through what they've done this offseason. before landing on a verdict of some kind. With the Rams, Nick Cayley out as the tight ends coach. He's now the OC in Houston. They actually brought in the Seahawks O' line coach from last year as the tight ends coach, which I didn't know until I was looking at their staff. Retained Matthew Stafford on an extension.

Retained Alaric Jackson on an extension. Devante Adams in free agency, two years, $44,000, 26 guaranteed. Brought in Puna Ford, three years, $28 million. Retained Tutu Atwell on a one year, $10 million. This is the one year free agent wide receiver contract of the year type of deal, the same one that Diami Brown got. Coleman Shelton back on a two-year depth deal. And then the last one I'll say is TK on Jalen Ramsey.

That's something that it seems like it's in the works and it may happen here soon. But worth mentioning, it may happen before you guys even hear this. So just something to keep an eye on. Draft, Terrence Ferguson's tight end in the second round. They picked up a 2026 first to move out of the first round with Atlanta, which was a huge move. Josiah Stewart Edge from Michigan in the third round. And then Jarquess Hunter, the running back from Auburn in the fourth round.

are you buying or selling the 2025 Los Angeles Rams offseason? I've had a very interesting, I think, path with this Rams off season. I think there were a lot of individual moves that I loved. The Adams thing, I loved it when it happened. Terence Ferguson, I think anybody that watched our draft show knows how jazzed I was about that. And I really liked the Puna 4 thing. And I think if the Jalen Ramsey thing happens, maybe this is going to sway how I feel. But I'm kind of like meh on the Rams off season, to be honest.

Yeah. Like I just... What's holding you back? This defense still sucks. Like, it's not good. And maybe if they get Jalen Ramsey, I do think that that will shift my mind a little bit. But even with Ramsey, I think the secondary is still pretty not good. And I think the offensive line, I don't necessarily dislike any of what they did with the

offensive line. I think they obviously found an okay rotation at the end of last year compared to where they started with a very expensive offensive line and, you know, moving a via back to to guard and stuff, but I think the more I look at the roster, it's just a more fickle unit on both sides of the ball than I would have liked. I think that's fair.

I think fickle is a good way to put it. The offensive line depth is something that would concern me. Like if they get a couple injuries, there's not a lot of things that they can turn to. And Shelton's really the big depth piece that they have.

Other than that, they really didn't add anything. DeMonte Adams is getting a little bit older. I agree with you with the secondary. I do think the Jalen Ramston thing probably happens. And if it does happen, I feel a little bit better about where they are.

But overall, I kind of knew this was going to happen. Like, this is just the build of the team. Like, it's always going to be a tough needle for them to thread just based on how they've approached things the last few years. But if we're just taking that as kind of, this is how the Rams are, I don't mind the way that they approach this offseason. I actually kind of like it for a bunch of different reasons. I think that's fair.

I guess, see, that's what's interesting why I think I had a weird journey with them is I don't necessarily dislike any. of the individual moves. I think I just... What would you like to him to see that they didn't do? I guess it was just I wanted more at defensive back.

Even like I said, even with Jalen Ramsey, I would have wanted maybe an earlier pick at defensive back. I wouldn't have wanted maybe another competition signing at defensive back. Like there were plenty of those mid-tier corners that they could have signed.

And I know that that's not something they love to do. This is a team that very much either likes to have a star at corner like a Jalen Ramsey or they just don't give a shit and they'll throw anybody out there. But I just, this was one of the worst secondaries in the league last year. And even if they get Ramsey, I expect that to continue to be the case. I'm not sure I would go that far.

I don't think they're good, but I think they can be passable given what the front is, especially if Ramsey is a part is in the fold at some point here soon. I don't necessarily disagree with that. But the secondary unit as an individual unit is one of the worst in the league. And if we can maybe say that the front will, maybe lift them a little bit. You really think that's true. Yes.

If Jaywin Ramsey and Darius Williams are outside corners, Cam Curl is still there, Cam Kinchin's coming into year two, Quentin Lake is like a serviceable nickel. I don't think it's an abomination. I don't think it's great. But if the front can be dominant, I think that unit specifically can lift its share of things

for this team and get them where they want to go. I do believe that. I think it can be good enough based on the potential upside of the front. And now I think that group is even better because you have Puna Ford in the mix to kind of be that nose tackle next to everything else. So I get what you're saying. And I think the corner spot, the other outside corner spot, maybe that's part of my thinking here is that that's the thing I had the most concern about. And so if they do the Ramsey thing, it assuages my concern to a point where I'm like, all right, the thing I was most worried about, you've addressed it. So now I feel a little bit better than I was going to feel.

maybe I just I do think that getting Ramsey there is going to solve a lot at least in year one obviously he's getting a little bit older but I think I just don't love the rest of the role players in the secondary maybe as much as you do and maybe I'm under rating I don't love them to be clear passable is the word that I used

see but I guess that's where I struggle is just that I think when you're shooting for passable I just feel like you leave yourself open for a lot of things to go wrong potentially you can't have everything though I know. Darius Williams is 32, man. Like, Jalen Ramsey is going to be over 30. Like, this is just Cam Curl isn't necessarily a young guy. Like, I just, I don't know. It feels like they're trying to thread a needle here. I think that's true, but I also think that's just kind of where this team is right now.

The quarterback is 37. Trying to thread a little bit of a needle. This is how I see the way that they're probably going to approach the next two years. And I'm sure that there will be some vacillations from this. But in an ideal world, this is how I see kind of the next 22. 25 and 2026 offseason is playing for the Rams. And I think they played into it with the way they approached this offseason. They bring back Stafford. They bring back Larry Jackson. They go get Devante Adams.

We can quibble about whether the 2-2-out-well 10 million would have been better spent on some sort of defensive player. That's fine. I'll listen to that. But other than that, if they go get Ramsey, they're pretty much, these are the moves that they were able to make cap-wise in the 2025 year. By going and getting that future first in 2026, it seems like they're potentially setting themselves up to do chase a quarterback next spring and then have a,

have 2026 be the last year. We're like this version of the team, we're pushing our chips in. We're going to see how it goes. And then we make a little bit of a pivot to whatever the next version of this looks like. Havenstein's going to be a free agent. Stafford will likely be gone. Adams will likely be gone after 2026. So I don't mind them saying we're trying to maximize the next two years.

And then we're going to find our pivot points in the 2026 off season to kind of figure out what the off ramp looks like and what the next version of this franchise looks like. and see, because I even liked them getting that extra first-round pick. And I see the vision for 2026. I guess, again, I don't know if there's that much on an individual level that I take much quibble with the moves that they made. I guess I just, as they were happening, I was kind of excited by each individual thing. And I thought I would feel much better about the end product. But the longer I look at it, I just, it's not quite as strong of a team as I thought I was getting.

I guess it's the way to put it. I think that's fair. And I think fickle is a good word. and I do think it's a little fragile. What they're, and again, just the same metaphor again, it isn't a thin needle that they're trying to thread here. I do think that it is a, there's not a ton of margin for error with this team as currently constructed.

But I think that was always kind of going to be the case. And you need to just give yourself a chance over the next year or two before you figured out what the next iteration of this was. And for the most part, when you combine the Adams move, some of the other things they've done, going to get Ramsey and then getting that extra first, I think that it's hard to live in two, worlds at the same time in a single offseason and be successful with both of them.

And I actually think they kind of accomplish that to an extent. And that's why I'm supportive of it. That's fair. I do think, like, maybe I just, I need to divorce, like, buying what they did in the off season versus how good I think they're going to be in 2025. So because, again, I- You don't need to do that. You can treat those two things as separate entities if you want to.

Well, that's what I'm saying. I think I need to treat them more as separate entities. and I'm like kind of bunching them together, which isn't fair. But again, I actually do think I like a lot of what they did. So if I have to say buy or sell the off season, like the approach, buy, but I think, like I said, I'm probably less enthusiastic about the 2025 outlook than I thought I was going to be. I kind of get that.

Here's what I would follow with. How many teams in the NFC do you think are definitively better than Los Angeles Rams right now? The Packers, the Vikings. You think the Packers are definitively better than the Rams? Yes, I think the Packers are. Yeah, I think the defense is going to be even better. And I have a lot of faith in the offense. I don't think the Packers are definitively better than the Rams.

They are. I think the Packers front is an idea. I think the Rams front is real. And so if we're looking at the two defenses specifically, I think the Rams pass rush is the best element of those two defenses. And I think it's pretty comfortable to say that. The Packers defense was way better than the Rams last year. Yeah, that's fair.

Like, it's not even close. Like, I think. No, you're right about that. The only thing with the Rams is I think we are kind of, we remember the Vikings game, right? And the Vikings game was awesome. Chris Shula threw a fucking heater in that game. It was one of the best defensive play-calling matches we saw. year. But for the most part, this Rams defense was like the 24th best team in the league.

And that was even true over just the second half of the year when these guys started to ramp up. So I just, I guess I just don't want to be hurt by this team again because I was really excited by them last year. But I just, there was more here that I wasn't quite as excited about than I wanted to be. I think you make a really good point. And I do think just to put a bow on this, I think I am being swayed a little bit too much by the playoffs period, not just the Viking game, they gave the Vikings, or the Eagles, like a real run. Yes. If they don't, if they don't fumble the ball twice in the snow, there is a world where they

win that game and the Eagles absolutely destroyed everyone else they played in the playoffs. So I think that's part of my issue here with the Rams overall over the last like two, three, four years is that I talk myself into the best case scenario too often because we've seen seen them do this before. We've seen them just get super hot before and where they're the best version of themselves for like four games and it's hard to bet on that sort of streak and getting hot to that degree. And so maybe I need to divorce myself from thinking about their ceiling and thinking about more, thinking more about like the scope of outcomes and where they could potentially land within

those. And see, but I get that too, because it's easy to talk yourself into it. And I've done it because they've won the Super Bowl. And we've seen Sean McVeigh get there before with a different iteration of the roster, whereas teams like the dolphins, it's like technically their people. might be as high, but we've never actually seen them reach the height, so it's harder to actually buy into it. But the Rams men, yeah, we have seen them do it. I'm still buying it. I'm still buying the offseason and I'm still buying how good they can be this year. I think the defense was,

here's the final rationalization for me. The defense is very young last year, extremely young. And I do think they got better in the second half of the year, right? They were 19th in a weighted defensive DVA last year with a secondary that was pieced together with duct tape and paper clips and a very, very young front. I think a little bit more stability in the back end, you go get a Jalen Ramsey, and you still have that young, potentially ascending group up front.

I don't think it's hard to imagine this team being the 12th best defense in the league this year if they get a little bit of luck. And I think the ceiling of the offense is still extremely high. And so I do think that there is an outcome where they're the fourth best offense in the league and the 12 best defense in the league, and that positions them as potentially,

if not the best team in the NFC, then right there in the same tier as the other really good teams in the NFC. I don't think that takes a lot of imagination to get there. I don't either. I guess I can see the vision with both sides of the ball, especially the offense, obviously. I think I just see more pitfalls

than like a higher percentage chance that they don't get there. I guess is my hang up. That's fair. And I think on the defense, that's even true than it is on the offense. Get to our next one here. The Washington football franchise,

has no notable coaching changes, a busy offseason of acquisitions and extensions. Quired Laramette Tunsell for the Texans for four picks. Really, when you look at it, it was kind of a three this year and a two next year. There were two forts that kind of canceled themselves out on another side of that trade. Got Debo Samuel for a fifth round pick. Signed, Yvonne Kinlaw, three years, $45,030 guaranteed, brought back Marcus Mariotta, Bobby Wagner, Zach Ertz, all on one-year deals. John Bates got an extension to tight end, smaller deals for Jonathan Jones,

the corner, Will Harris at safety and Dietrich Wise. In the draft, Josh Connerly, 29th overall, Trey Amos, your guy's second round, 61st overall, a corner, and then Jalen Lane, the wide receiver in the fourth round, 128th overall. Boss, Jonathan Allen, Diami Brown, Jeremy Chin, Dante Fowler, Jr.

Are you buying or selling the Washington offseason? Man, this is actually one of the really harder ones. I'm probably... I have my own personal journey with this one. Yeah, I'm probably closer to sell. I like I can I understand given how insane the offense was and how good the quarterback is why they're going all in on the offense getting Debo Samuel, Laramie Tonsel, and then even drafting Josh Connerly like really doubling down. I do appreciate this with them. They got away with the offensive line last year and I think it could have been easy to be like, oh, we can do it again. And I think they were very smart in realizing we don't want to live that life anymore. So I do appreciate that. It's an inspiring moment of self-awareness. Yes. Absolutely, which I think I've had a long time with this front office for as soon as they got there.

And like, again, them drafting Jaden Daniels when I thought they were supposed to draft Dr. Talking about personal journeys. Yes. Like I really didn't like a lot of the stuff this front office was doing. But they, I especially with the offensive line stuff, them hitting on Jaden Daniels, I appreciate a lot of what they've done. I still think this is incredibly aggressive. And I still think I don't like any of what they did with the defense. Pretty much outside of I like getting Trey Amos.

the second round, but I think the defensive roster is probably worse than it was last year. And I think they're trying to really thread a needle with some of the stuff they're doing on offense like with Debo Samuel. They still don't have a receiver three, by the way. You don't like Noah Brown? I mean, he is what he is. Maybe Jalen Lane is the dice roll, maybe that hits. Luke McCaffrey, they dropped, they took a, used a third round pick on last year.

I'm with you on the receiver group to an extent. We'll talk about that in a second. Here's where I'm out with this. I expected to just smash the cell button because I think we've seen this over the last couple years go wrong for certain teams where you get you have a surprise season you have a young quarterback that's really exciting

and it's really just kind of what the Texans did and they kind of what the Bears did to an extent they did it before they were even good right like they were all they were like oh we got Caleb Williams yeah this is they were in the mindset before he even played a game that Washington and Houston were in in the offseason

after they got their guys and I appreciate that to an extent, right, making sure your guy is set up for success. But I think that level of aggression, it's cut both ways for a lot of these teams who've had off-seasons like this. That being said, I really do appreciate how they approach the offensive line. And I don't think it was as aggressive as some of these other off-seasons have been because this isn't the final set of moves for them. Right. So they have $75 million in cap space next year. If you look at Houston, Houston going from 2025 or 2024 into 2025. They didn't have a lot of cap space of this offseason specifically.

They had to prune some guys. They traded away Laramie Tunsell. I mean, they were much more aggressive. Like, there's no DeNeil Hunter contract involved in this set of moves like there was for the Texans last off season. So I do think that they have some wiggle room into next year. Here's my issue with this. I think that some of the moves that they made are like when now moves. and I think that what they've not done is,

if you're going to have expensive players and you're going to make some of these aggressive moves, you need to offset some of that with making sure you're retaining enough draft picks. My issue is not with the Tunsell trade and the Debo trade. My issue is combining the tonsil trade with the Latimore trade. Because now, over a two-year period, you're missing a third-round pick, two-third-round picks,

a second-round pick and a fourth-round pick. So that's just a lot of picks. to be giving up when you're not that close. When the defense still has enough work to do where you need three, four, five players probably all over that defense and not immediately, right? Like Bobby Wagner's there now, but he's there for one more year. I think for over a two to three year span, there are going to be enough holes on this defense where to me it's hard to get totally on board giving away as many draft picks

as they did. It kind of reminds me a little bit. It's like a diet version of what the Vikings did last. off season where you're trading away all these picks and now you're necessitating a really good year in free agency in 2026 when you have that financial flexibility to make the most of this window. That's certainly possible. I just think that it leaves you on the razor's edge a little bit.

And that's kind of how I feel about this offseason in totality for Washington. That's exactly how I feel about them. Because on one hand, I appreciate like with the offensive line, they said, oh, we don't want to live this way anymore. Totally love that. But on a grander scale, part of the way that they were living last year was we have to score 30 because we might give up 30. And they are kind of doing that again this year. And like you can be successful that way. The Bengals have been successful that way. You can also have years like last year with the Bengals where you score 30 and it doesn't matter because your defense is even worse. Like it's, I think this is kind of my why I'm selling it

with them. I think the offense could be as good or better. And that will probably, on a points per game basis, probably net them in about the same range. With the defense, I really struggle to see how they're going to be better. I think they've left themselves more room to be worse. And that's where I kind of struggle with the vision for this team right now. I do think the DB room can be better. I think that there is a path for the DB room to be better. Yes. If Amos and Latimore are you outside corners and Latimore have a little bit of a bounce back. You move Sainer still back to the nickel.

You know, the safety room is still a question, right? After you moved on from chin, but Will Harris can give you stopgap play there. I do think there's a chance that the defensive backroom is a little bit better. Maybe they can play a little bit more man coverage, etc. But I think overall, I tend to agree with you. And I look at the ways they allocated some of these resources. And I think that I can get on board with the Tunzel thing every single time.

I even get on board with the Debo thing, against the cap. Devo's aim only making like six million against the cap this year. What they did is they split that final year into two. And so it's going to be 18 million over two years, but he's not eating a lot of cap space this year. I think Latimore is sitting there for 18 million on the cap with those two picks that you gave up. Part of me is sitting here saying, would I rather have a third round picket corner and Josh

sweat and how would I feel differently about this team right now? I think that to me is sort of the misallocation and where it feels a little. bit disjointed, a little bit unbalanced, but that's not something they could address this offseason. Like in the moment, it felt like that swing might be worth taking for Latimore. Yeah, that one's tough to parse because like it's technically a move they made last year. So like it's like, does that qualify for what they did. I'm throwing it in. It kind of does because it's still a pick from. Yes. Yeah, it's still a pick from this off season. So, but I agree. It's the front that really scares me. I think, um, obviously I know Allen didn't play last year, but just on a pure or didn't

play much last year, but on pure talent perspective, I think they're losing something going from Allen to Kinlaw. Maybe Newton takes a step and that kind of bridges the gap. I do think he had some nice watches last year. That's your hope. The edge room, man. Doran Songstrong is like cool if he was their number two. And I think he is a good player, like he's a good starter. After that, it's Dietrich Wise, who to me has never been that effective of a pass rusher. Jacob Martin and Cleland Fail. Dietrich Wise is your type of player. And I mean that in a derisive way. Yeah, no, I know. Even if I'm even being like, oh, you're starting him as a four-down pass rushing unit, I just, I can't really get there with the pass-rushing unit.

You know, it's unfortunate is that this is the perfect Trey Hendrickson team. It is the perfect, but they have no picks. They have no ammo. They have their one and their two next year. And so if they wanted to do it, in theory, they could. But I still feel like you'd be living really dangerously. me, they have their one and their three next year. So they don't even have their two in 2026. So I just don't know if you could justify that based on some of the other moves they've made.

But that's the type of thing where if they had the ammo to maybe have added one more pass rush or somewhere, I think that I'd probably feel better about this team. But I still think I understand the vision. At the end of it, because of how fragile it kind of feels and because I do think there's a lot of potential downside here, I am selling it. But I will say going back and looking at it again, I like to it more than I thought I was going to. I can kind of agree. I thought I would be like a nine out of 10 towards sell. I'm probably more like a six or seven now because of specifically the vision with the

offensive line. I think that got me to be like, okay, they're thinking about this in a pretty smart way. It's just overall, it's hard for me to see everything. I'd be really curious to see how that group shakes out because I think Brandon Coleman has a lot of talent. And I do think that moving him to guard and just based on the play strength that he has, I think that could be something that works. And so if Cosme can come back at some point early in the season

and Coleman ends up winning one of those guard spots and then Connerley is your right tackle, I do think this could be a really fun unit. But I'm with you. I kind of waved at this earlier and I do think it's worth bringing up. If Debo gets hurt, which is not a crazy thing to imagine, this receiver room suddenly is in trouble again. And so I think even that part of it is a lot more fragile,

I think both literally and figuratively, then you probably want it to be in an offseason where you clearly, it was almost like a declaration of intent of we want to win right now, that being the receiver room and the construction of it, I feel like that's a janga tower where you pop one of those things out and we might be in a little bit of trouble. That's exactly what I'm scared of. And it's a lot of Luke McCaffrey and Noah Brown in that situation.

Let's get to our next one here. The San Francisco 49ers. I always love, I do my own notes, and then, you know, Bellers sends along. a doc for us. So we both noted that Sala is now the defensive coordinator and then that Gus Bradley is on the staff, just like a throw-in. Oh my God. Well, it makes sense because so Sala came up under Gus Bradley and Jacksonville, right? And so they've known each other forever. But it was just like a fun little thing to open up their coaching staff and be like, oh, Gus Bradley is the assistant

head coach of defense for the 49ers now. Great stuff. So I brought back Sala as the D.C. Clay Kubiak was promoted the offensive coordinator. Brandt Boyer is our special team's coordinator and Gus Bradley also in the fold now. Extended Brock Purdy, which we have not gotten a chance to talk about because of when that happened. I'm sure we'll hit it here. Five years, 265, 180 guaranteed. George Kittle on an extension, Fred Warner on an extension.

And then Luke Farrell, Mack Jones, DeMarcus Robinson on free agent deals. And then they brought back Kyle Use Check. A lot of those outside free agents, very modest deals for the 49ers this off season. In the draft, Michael Williams 11th overall edge from Georgia, defense to tackle Alfred Collins from Texas in the second round, linebacker Nicka Martin. in the third round. Upton Stout, another corner in the third round, and then C.J. West, the nose tackle from Indiana in the fourth round.

Lost. Debo Samuel, Aaron Banks, Travarious Ward, Javan, Hargrave, Jalen Moore, Telenow Fonga, Dragan, Dreggreen Law, Jordan Mason, Leonard Floyd, Malink Collins. Like we said, there's a little bit of a purge for the San Francisco 49ers this spring. Are you buying or selling the 2025 San Francisco 49ers offseason? So this is the contenders show. and I don't think any of what they did makes me feel better about them being contenders in 2025. However, I love the approach.

I think they are doing the right thing on defense with them taking their medicine, realizing they have to move on from guys like Cufanga and Greenlaw who were older, a little bit more expensive, injured all of the time, and finally throwing a lot more resources like really loading up on the front. They spent four picks on the front seven, which I think they absolutely needed. And then they also drafted Upton Stout, like you mentioned in the secondary. Five of their, I think it was five of their first six picks were all on defense, which they obviously needed. So I think this is going to end up being more of like a holding year,

like a kind of retooling year a little bit for the 49ers, and that's okay. I expect the offense to be better just by virtue of being healthier. So I don't think they'll be contenders, but as a long-term vision for like what this team needed to do this offseason, I'm kind of buying the way that they approached all of this. It's a tough thing to have a clean answer to for exactly the reasons that you laid out. It's funny that you said take their medicine. It's exactly the term I used in my notes.

It was like, you need a little bit of a purge. They took their medicine. They did very little in free agency knowing they were going to be handing a lot of out, handing out a lot of extensions to their guys. Here's my fear, though. How much time and how many shots do you really have left with this core? kiddo's going to be 32 this year. Trent Williams is 37 years old, or will be 37 years old when this season starts.

Okay? So life without those guys is coming quicker than you probably want it to. And so the idea of having a little bit of a gap year, even if it makes sense in the broader long-term vision of the franchise, it's hard to swallow. It's hard to get that down and feel good about it. That being said, here's the comparison I would make. It reminds me a little bit of the conversation we were having about the bills at this time last year, where they lost all these guys who were big-name guys but weren't really contributors to what that version of the team had been the previous year.

And obviously it's a little bit of a different outcome, right? The Niners are picking 11th because they were decimated by injury. I do think there's a chance that they're better in 2025 than the names on the losses list would lead you to believe. I just wonder how close they are to being real contenders, given some of the issues that still exist. Like, I like them attacking the defensive front in the way that they did, but the offensive line is still the same group

that we've had for like the last two or three years. And so there was no way for them to completely retool everything in the same off season while taking their medicine financially. I get that. There's a chance that over the next two years, they can kind of restock other groups in 2026. And then next year, that's the, year we're like, okay, this is our last push with these veterans and this team before we have to

kind of move on from a couple of these guys. That's fine. But that still doesn't make it easier to stomach the idea of having like a small step back for a team that's had this sort of aspiration for the last four or five years. I don't even disagree with that. I think it is hard to stomach, but it's again, it's to me the thing they needed to do. And I think the way that they've navigated It is pretty impressive. I do worry that we're probably running out a road a little bit with this offensive core, particularly with Williams and Kittal. And that's especially true because they are, when healthy, literally the best players at their position. It's like even that is a slightly different calculus than like, oh, it's a top seven guy at his position.

Like with the Ravens, if it was like Ronnie Stanley and Mark Andrews. Okay, those are very good players. But even that is like a tiered down from having to potentially recoup from what losing Williams and Kittle is going to do to them. So I don't know, man. I still think that because Kyle Shanahan is calling the plays on that side of the ball, they're going to be a really good unit even without those guys in the future. And I kind of love them taking this off season then to be like, dude, we need to do everything on defense to make sure we can at least be solid on both sides.

I think that's a really smart way of thinking about it. And I think you're probably right with that. I think part of my issue here is that I wasn't paying enough attention to what, the talent atrophy looked like on this team at certain position groups. And so waking up from that like 2024 slumber this spring and just realizing how far they had to go at some of these position groups, it was a little jarring. And I think I'm still kind of working through that a little bit and still getting used to and acclimated to this version of the Niners and what the three year outlook for this version is.

But I'm with you. I think that a team where, all right, we find some sort of, succession plan on left tackle next off season. We go get one more interior piece. That's kind of the position group we addressed next year after hitting the defense hard this year. They will still have a little bit of financial flexibility next year to maybe sign a free agent or two in a way they didn't want to this year.

And that even if it's going to look different, even if some of the component parts are switched out, an offense that has a first round left tackle, a free agent guard, Brandon I, Yuk, Ricky Piersol, and maybe even Christian McCaffrey in 2027, that works. Like that could still be a really good unit, even if it looks and feels different than what we have here. And so I think I just have to get more use to that idea than I'm willing to be right now. Because I do think you're actually right in how you're thinking about it. No, I think that's important too. I think that the 2020 teams, even like the 2021 team, we have to accept that that version of the team is dead.

They're gone. We are entering a new air almost in the same way that with the Rams, like we kind of had to like, okay, the teams where they're throwing all these picks and doing the Jared Gough thing and the Todd Gurley, like that's that version of the team was dead and they had to become something different. And obviously with the Rams, when you switch to the quarterback, it's easier to reframe the team with the Niners. We're not doing that. But I do think we just have to accept that like it's not a clean slate, but like we're almost doing so. Like we're restarting the save here with with the Niners and how they're doing this.

And one of the points I wanted to make is that it was easier to talk yourself into the bills not taking a step back. they have the MVP of the league, right? Like they have one of the best two, three players in the NFL. It's easy to stay good when that's the case. Brock Purdy, for whatever Brock Purdy is, he's not that. And I don't think I'm offending anybody by saying that. No. But Kyle Shanahan might be that.

Yes. And so you have the stabilizing force on offense that even as so many other things are changing around you, do you have enough at those important positions to kind of maintain that level or something close to it? And I'm open to that idea. I think that there's still a little bit of like it making me itchy with thinking about this not being the type of team we've seen in the past. But I do think you're right and that there are enough things to hang on to here that I still think that they can be really competitive even if the feeling of what this offense is starts to change a little bit. Yeah, it's funny you mentioned you're itchy.

I'm like, again, I don't think they're going to be contenders this year because of I think it's just going to take them a year. But I'm like weirdly excited to see what the next step is for this team. I'm kind of into it. I think I'm more afraid of these pivot points than I should be. I think that's happened in the last two or three years. I think that happened with the chiefs when they traded tire of kill. I think that happened with the bills last year. I think that I'm just, I don't know, there's a fear of the unknown with that kind of stuff

that creeps in with me more than it probably should when you have these organizations that have been successful and that probably deserve more of the benefit of the doubt in these moments than I've given them over the last couple years. And you'd think I'd start learning my lesson. And it's coming a little bit slower than I wanted to. And like the through line with all of them, obviously the chiefs and the bills have elite quarterbacks that allow them to be elite passing offenses. But like you mentioned, with the Niners, Brock Purdy isn't that.

But Kyle Shanahan probably is. Like if he's there and you're relatively healthy, you're probably going to be a top eight passing offense no matter what. And so that I think allows these teams to kind of stabilize through some of the at points. We haven't talked about the pretty deal at all. I think that's part of the offseason conversation here. I thought it was about what you'd expect.

It's kind of fine, yeah. Yeah, there's nothing shocking about it. And the cash flow is strong, right? So they were kind of going off of the golf deal. And that makes sense, I think, based on where he belongs in the hierarchy. And if you look at the percentage of the cap in terms of the AAV, it's 14th along quarterbacks. It sits about where you'd expect.

And there's, again, some other details like the guarantees and the cash flow are very strong, but I don't think anything crazy is happening here. Like, I think the way that Brock Purdy has played over the last couple years, it is justifiable to pay him in the same tier of quarterbacks as Tua Tua Tiaung of Iloa and Jared Gough. Absolutely. I, when we were having the Purdy conversation, I thought we were going to end up closer to like the DAC $60 million a year.

And that I was going to be like, man, that really seems like it's going to hamstring you. But with where they got him, what he's given them, I think this is like a perfectly acceptable deal. I really don't have that much to complain about it with. So you're buying. I'm buying. That's where you're letting on this. Yes, I really am.

I'm buying it for what it is, I guess. But it still doesn't make me feel good. I still don't feel great about that. I don't feel good about this year. But again, trying to see past this year, I'm into it. All right. I will alert a lesson here that I haven't learned in the last couple of years and be a little a little bit more optimistic about this than I would have been two off-seasons ago.

We're going to take our first quick break and then get back with another set of contenders here. The Detroit Lions, a couple coaching changes for the Lions. Johnny Morton, in for Ben Johnson as the offensive coordinator. Kelvin Shepard, in for Aaron Glenn as the defensive coordinator. They brought back Hank Fraley as their offensive line coach after he got some OC interests, which I think is absolutely a win for them. DJ Reed was the big off-season swing in the secondary three years, 48 million. Kirby Joseph got a monster.

contract four years, 86 million, Derek Barnes back on a small extension, smaller deals for Roy Lopez, Levi owns Rike and Avanti Maddox. Just a quick financial thing here. They're slated to be $50 million over next year's cap, the liais are. So that's just where they are right now. And so when you see maybe a lack of aggression and free agency, that's because they've had to hand out a ton of these contracts. These guys are all worth extending.

So that's where a lot of the money is going to go. And the Hutchinson extension will bring down his cap number next year so they can do that. Restructures for like Sewell, St. Brown and Lee McNeil, that's all potentially on the table. And then they'll probably carry over like 25 to 30-ish million. So they'll be fine. But I think it's just a good reminder that we're in a very new era of Detroit Lions football right now. And I think it's good to get acclimated to that and get used to that as we think about it in the broader context of their offseason moves. in the draft, Tiley Williams in the first round, Tate Rowage, the guard from Georgia in the second round,

and then that big trade up for Isaac Tesla in the third round. They gave up both of their 2026 third round picks to do that. Are you buying or selling the 2025 Detroit Lions offseason? I think I am emphatically buying this. I love a lot of what they did. Wow. Okay. I really do. So obviously it sucks to lose the coordinators, but there's really nothing they can.

have done about that. If those guys are going to go take jobs, they're going to take jobs. But I trust their judgment with having Shepard be the new defensive coordinator. I just think Campbell's done an incredible job of hiring. And I really like John Morton. I think he did, this is almost a decade ago now, but the 2017 Jets team with Josh McCown, that offense was awesome. And I actually think that Jared Goff can do some of that stuff. So I'm pretty into that.

I think them really leaning into their just identity as a team with their first two being a nose tackle and an offensive guard are fantastic. And I think they're good players. The Tesla thing, I think, was pretty aggressive, but they are known to do a little bit of that in the draft. And I don't love that. But honestly, with some of the free agent stuff, I loved, I think DJ Reed made a lot of sense for them.

And it allows Rake Straw to continue to be good depth for them, which I like. Avanti Maddox, I think was a really good depth signing, actually. Roy Lopez at Defensive Line, I think it's a really good depth signing. Like, I just, I kind of loved a lot of. lot of the positions they attacked and I expect them to, you know, maybe if I really wanted to, it would have been nice if they had like a better X receiver and maybe Tesla can be that. I don't know. But like otherwise, I think they attacked the right stuff and signed a lot of guys I liked.

Every offseason for the last like three years, it's felt like I look at the Lions roster and my two conclusions are, I wish they had a better like big body boundary receiver and I wish they had a better secondary pass rusher. And I become too fixated on both of those positions and I'm just wrong. about how good the rest of the roster is and they win 12 games. So I'm trying not to do that again. That being said, I kind of wish they had a better secondary edge rusher.

Because Marcus Davenport is just, who knows we're going to get out of Marcus Davenport. And I actually think that Al-Qadine Muhammad was kind of good for them last year after getting signed off the street. And now obviously you're getting Hutchinson back. The front and the interior might be so good that you can kind of overcome a little bit of a deficiency at that second edge rush or spot. So I think, again, this is something where I should probably learn my lesson and realize

this team absolutely deserves the benefit of the doubt. And they still have enough bodies there, like run defense-wise, like Barnes can walk down over there. Pascoll is that big body that they can play out there. I just wonder, are we going to get to a place where the pass rush isn't good enough at the end of the season? But they've shown an ability to overcome that often enough when healthy that I'm not going to lose a ton of sleep over it right now.

And I will say, I do think those concerns are more fair now that we're replacing the coordinators. Like at least last year, it was like, oh, well, we know Aaron Glenn can cook up a pass rush. And we know that Ben Johnson, even without a true extra receiver, can make the offense work anyway. There is, I think, more uncertainty on that part this offseason. But I think at least with the pass rush, they can't possibly be that injured again, right? Like, it would be shocking. You know, Davenport.

Davenport has a history. of it, so I guess him, but the rest of the unit, it would be shocking if they're that hurt again. And readers had issues staying healthy. He's been banged up pretty consistently. Alie McNeil's coming back from injury. So when is he going to be back and what level is he going to be back at? So I do think that that's worth at least acknowledging. But I think the point about the coordinators is a really good one, where we have this set

of conditions with the Lions where we know both the coordinators are good and we're going to get the most out of these players. And now you hope that's true. and we have no reason to think that Dan Campbell isn't going to do a good job at replacing these guys, but it definitely is more of an unknown. And I think that's why I'm not emphatically buying it. I'm kind of more neutral on it and I'm pushed toward by because they've earned it. But I'm very much in kind of wait and see mode with this team.

Like this is a new era in a bunch of different ways and how they navigate this new era, I think is going to say a lot about what the next two, three years of Lions football is going to look like it's tempting to think it'll just be on the same trajectory that it's been but that's not always the case and so i i think that being if not skeptical about it then a little bit more hesitant about just smashing the like button that's kind of where i fall with this right now i mean i think that's fair again because of some of the coordinator things i think for me it was just i really did love every free agent signing they made like i just think they all made sense it's just i mean that's what they do right they're so good at just what is the thing that's the thing that's the thing

thing that makes sense for us. Even, you know, last year being super aggressive with Carlton Davis, that was the thing that made sense. And then maybe going a tier down for a guy like DJ Reed, who is still good this year, but it was like, okay, we still need good competition at corner. Like, I just, I think they have such a smart vision for the way they need to build the team. So I completely agree. One more pass rusher would have been nice. I think an ex-receiver would have been nice. And again, maybe Tesla is that. We don't know. But maybe I'm just a little bit more willing to give the coaching staff the benefit of the doubt that that stuff will be fine because of how much I liked the other draft picks and signings that they made.

You're probably right to do that. I'm just, it's so much change that it just leaves me feeling a little bit apprehensive about being all the way in. I will say, the Routledge, Telleague Williams thing in the first two rounds is just a a real comment on how well you know what sort of team you want to be. And I think making sure that you're not losing any ground along the offensive line by when you lose Zeitler and free agency and just giving yourself a little bit more optionality at those interior spots.

I absolutely like that. Part of the other reason that I think the Tesla thing is a little bit worrisome, even if there weren't concerns about what he is as a player, right? Even if he was, let's say it was J.1. Nole, right? And role-wise, it's a little bit different. But just stick with me in this example for a second. Let's say it was a player we collectively like as much as J-1-N-L that they moved up for

in the third round. gave away two future third round picks to do it. Even that I would have issues with based on how many monster contracts you're having a handout. Like, you're going to need some of those third round picks to hit to supplement all of the money that you're spending elsewhere. And that's why that makes me a little bit uneasy to do something that aggressive with those picks next year.

That is the only part of the offseason I didn't like. Like, I would have much rather spend the, you know, actual third round pick. on just any other receiver and then like, I don't know. I just don't really love the way that they've done this with, again, how much cap space they're going to have leveraged in the next couple of years. It would have been nice to keep as many picks as possible. When you look at the positions themselves and you think, okay, could they have actually spent, again, I'm just throwing him out because even if it's not this specific example, but just

the money you're allocated. If Josh Swett was on this team instead of DJ Reed, would you feel better about it? But I actually like the fact that they were like, you know who the best player available in free agency is? DJ Reed. So we're going to go get the best player available in free agency, independent of whether or not it's our biggest need. And again, I think that's just a real comment on how well they know the roster and what they need.

So overall, I think I'm tepidly buying it. I just think it's a lot of change. And I kind of want to wait and see before I decide how all in I am on this version of what the lines are. And I think the last thing I'll say, I would be pretty surprised if they won as many games as last year. but I still really love the approach they've taken to how they're going to get to where they need to go the next couple of years. I guess is the way I would frame it. The Baltimore Ravens. Small coaching staff moves.

Chuck Pagano is in. Chris Hewitt was their passing game coordinator on defense or secondary coach. He's now in Indianapolis. Acquisitions and extensions brought back Ronnie Stanley three years, 60 million 44 guaranteed. Extended Derek Henry, two years, 30 million 25 guaranteed. Smaller deals for DeAndre Hopkins, Cooper Rush, Joe No Boom, Patrick Ricard, Chiodobey, a woozier. In the draft, Malachi Starx, 27th overall, Mike Green, edge rusher in the second round 59th overall. Emery Jones, who's going to be kind of a swing offensive lineman for them in the

third round 91st overall, linebacker Teddy Buchanan in the fourth round, 129th overall. Lost Patrick McCarrie, Brandon Stevens, Malik Harrison, and free agency. Are you buying or selling the 2025 Ravens offseason? I think I'm buying because to me the biggest issue with the Ravens last year was, I mean, at their best, the offense and defense were incredible. And so I think this offseason was just like about protecting yourself from potentially injuries on one side of the ball and then giving yourself a little bit more flexibility in the secondary. And they did that.

They didn't need another great receiver. They needed another role player receiver. And I think Hopkins can be that for them. He's Nelson Agor. He's now the Nelson Agor role. That's exactly what it is. And that's totally fine. That's what he is at this point in his career for $5 million.

Yes. And if he's a little bit healthier, that's. That's an absolute steal. Like, I think that was the issue with him last year. Yes, it's, it's, that was, there were better pure receivers they could have gotten in free agency if they wanted to, but like for who they are and for the money they spent, that was the best move they could have made. So that's why I liked it.

And then even on the offensive line. I think the Eusia move is the, is like the defensive version of what they did with Hopkins. Because it protects them from playing T.J. Tampa too early if they don't want to. Like if Tampa wins the job in, in camp, awesome. If he doesn't, you have a playable cornerback too. And now you've drafted Starks, which solved the issue of like, now because you have a Woosier and you have Starks and you sell Washington on the roster, I think you can kind of do whatever you want with Kyle Hamilton again.

Oh, you didn't see the Adiris Washington thing, huh? Oh, I don't think so. Torn Achilles. Oh, Gigi. Never mind. All right. Well, that's fine. That's fine.

We can leave that in there because I actually think that's, I, that to me is why the Washington thing is such a bummer. because I was really excited about what this version of the secondary could be, because I like Ardarius Washington. And so I think having Starks back there to put Hamilton back in the nickel, now that increases your corner depth in a way that makes sense. But now we're at a place where safety is now a question kind of heading into the season in the way it wouldn't be if Ardarius Washington was healthy. But that's no fault of their own.

That's not like a knock against how they approached this offseason. It just changes the complexion of the secondary already, which sucks. Ardaris Washington is somebody I've really enjoyed watching last year. I think that him coming into his own and just the style of player he is, I think with Malachi Stark's would have been really fun as that secondary duo if Hamilton was going to play more nickel. That's why I would have wanted to see it because they're all very flexible players. I mean, Washington sizewise has some limitations,

but he can play wherever Hamilton can play whatever. He plays bigger than he is too. He's still physical. Exactly. He's however big his body is, he's going to get every ounce of it he can against the other team and that's, I always appreciate guys like that. So I, even with that being the case, I still like a lot of what they did with the secondary. And I still think it's a more flexible unit than it was last year. And I think they're going to have more options. And then even up front,

I'm already baking this in and this is probably reckless. It feels like they'll still be the clowny team at the end of the off season. Like, you know, him being gone from the like, if they do that, I'll feel even better about where they're at. It just feels like it's going to happen. I like the off season. I just buy the positions they addressed. I think they, address the right positions. Like getting Ronnie Stanley back is the most important thing this team did this offseason at that price especially. When you look at the way the market went, the fact that he got paid less than Dan Moore,

and it was right in the same range as like O'Leary Jackson based on how Ronnie Stanley played last year, I think you have to like that. I mean, you're, you already had the top three roster and I think you've supplemented it in the correct places. And that includes the Milekeye Stark's move. And listen, I don't think they should be commended for. getting Mike Green is like a value, especially in the wake of what's happened with Justin Tucker and how vocal they were about the zero tolerance policy they had in light of the Deshaun

Watson thing. But they needed another edge rusher and they got another edge rusher. So just throwing that in and they address the positions they should, it's easy to get behind a lot of the ways they approach this offseason. Yeah, signing Joe Noteboom as offensive line debbs where I think we've had questions there, drafting Emery Jones, who probably is a guard. But I think, think could potentially play tackle for them in a pinch if they need him to? Like I just essentially said that he's going to be a swing guy. Harbaugh came out and said that after the after the draft and that he'll compete. He'll be tackled up immediately, but he'll compete for one of those starting guard spots.

And so I think that's what'll happen. If he was the starting left guard in week one because he beat four he's out, I don't think that should surprise anybody. Like I think he's going to have every opportunity to be in the mix for them. Absolutely. That's honestly the perfect way to approach him is that he'll be tackled depth. Like that's our idea, but we're going to let him try to win the left guard job, which that's really the only spot up for debate on this offensive line, right?

It's the left guard spot. Fall Lele is a free agent after the year. So in terms of the long term. For this season, yes, that's the spot that's up in the air. And again, it's like you had McCarrie as your swing lineman in a way that very few players in the league are swing lineman. So Emery Jones being able to do everything short of playing center, you hope that he becomes your new version of Patrick McCurry. And they've done a very good job of doing that over the years where they've been able to

kind of recycle these archetypes of players over and over and over again. And I have no reason to believe that's not going to be the case again up front. Exactly. So, yeah, I just, this was a team that mostly needed to raise their floor and get by a lot of insurance this off season. And I think for the most part, I like how they did that. Kansas City Chiefs. No coaching changes for the Chiefs of note.

Sion Jalen Moore in free agency to be their left tackle. You hope that he gets beat out by Josh Simmons at some point this season. but you're still paying him 20 million against the cap combined over the next two years, which isn't nothing when you're a team that is a little bit cash strapped because of how many guys you've had to pay. Franchise Tag, Tray Smith, one year, $23 million. Brought back Nick Bolton, three years, $45 million with $30 guaranteed. Signed Jalen Moore, two years $30 million, $20 guaranteed. Christian Fulton, two years 2015 guaranteed, brought back Hollywood Brown in a one-year deal,

smaller deals for Charles Amanahue, Elijah Mitchell, Jerry Tillery. In the draft, they got Josh Simmons with the 32nd pick, Omar Norman Lottes. in the second round, defensive tackle. Ashton Jalati, pass rusher, third round, Noel Williams, the corner in the third round, 85th overall, and wide receiver Jalen Royals in the fourth round. They traded away Joe Tooney, lost to Sean Wharton, Justin Reed, Justin Watson, and DeAndre Hopkins in free agency. Are you buying or selling the 2025 Kansas City Chiefs offseason? They're going to be worse this year, but I think I'm buying it. And the reason I would say that is specifically the Simmons. thing. I think them kind of potentially making sure that this year is a, hey man, we have the best

quarterback in the world. Let's take a step here and make sure that we can get him a blindside protector. I really appreciate that. And I actually expect the receiving court to be a lot better next year. Obviously, Rice is going to come back from injury. I liked bringing Hollywood Brown back. The Jalen Royals pick, I think, made a lot of sense. So I like the approach they've taken to the offense with a lot of younger pieces and the offensive line plan. I like that on defense. they threw a lot of their picks there. The individual players I have some question marks on, but I'm going to let Spags do what he does.

And I'm going to give him a degree of faith there. But I think even if again, I think they're going to be a worse roster potentially this year, you're still going to be a good team because you have Patrick Mahomes. And I like the long-term vision for a lot of what they did. Why are you so definitive about that? You think that losing Tune is enough to push them that way? And Justin Reed, like are those the two guys that come to mind for you as you're kind of framing

it that way. Justin Reed is the big one. I think Tuny obviously hurts because I think we even saw last year, even when they moved him to left tackle that helped the pass protection a little bit, they were an even worse rushing unit. And they were already not that good last year. And so I do think losing him hurts unless Simmons comes out of the gate somehow. It's like incredible whenever he gets on the field.

So I think it's that. And then Reed again is the big one. Losing to Sean Warden isn't like crazy, but I don't think they did that much. much to really replace him. Like, you know, Norman Lott, I understand as a long-term bet, he's a guy who didn't play that many snaps in college. So I don't expect him to be a guy who's going to immediately come in and be a big-time contributor for them.

So I think losing Reed's like the, the veteranship that he brings and him just being a very flexible piece for Spags, I think is potentially going to hurt them a lot. And I also still, I like someone what they did at corner with Christian Fulton, drafting Noel Williams. I do still kind of worry that we're going to be. forced to play McDuffie on the outside, which again, I don't love. So I just, this year I'm not like super bought in, but I do again love the long term approach. I, so I don't have as fully formed thoughts about what Norman Lott and Jolati are like as players.

I just thinking if you're trying to address positions based on what they needed, those are the positions I would address, right? If like we're going to, we're going to have playable left tackle come howler, high water. That being the priority of this offseason, I can get on board with that based on if not the demands than the preferences of your quarterback. So getting there, totally by that. I think that trading Joe Tooney and keeping Tray Smith, if you could only keep one, you go with the younger player, I completely understand that.

The corner approach, I think I feel a little bit better than you do just because I think there's probably a path to two other outside corners in this room. Whether that's no Williams and Christian Fulton, Nazi Johnson has been okay at times. He was banged up last year. So I think because of how they addressed it by taking multiple stabs at it with Fulton and Williams, you can land in a place where you have two outside guys you feel good about and you can remove Tamari Connor from the mix there. And I think Jaden Hicks was good enough as a rookie where I think overall the secondary and the safety room

can be better than it was in the second half of last year even after losing Justin Reed. I think in the best case scenarios with Christian Fulton, Noel Williams, that is possible. I guess for me, I'm just looking at Corner who has hurt all the time and third round pick. And so I think I'm just baking in a little bit more potential that this doesn't go the way they wanted to go. No

belief in your guy Dave Merritt over there. A third round pick for him is like a Bentley. That's more money and resources that man's ever gotten in terms of other than McDuffie. The joke stands. There's a lot of seventh round picks he's turned into playable guys.

Those corners though, they usually, it took a year too before we got the Jerry Steed being what he was or Josh Williams or whoever it was. So in in 2026 if no Williams is incredible, I'm all there for it. In 2025 we'll see man. It's hard for a third our rookie to be that good.

Positionally I like what they did. I think they needed to add another defensive tackle. I wanted to see them add a couple pieces up front to supplement the pass rush. They did that corner depth at some point I think was really important and I like them adding Jalen Royals to the mix and saying all right, you know, we have enough guys at that position where we're

feel good about how we emerge as that group over the course of the season. And then I don't mind them double-dip in it left tackle. The one position and the one signing, I wanted to ask you about, because I think when you're a team that doesn't have a lot of financial flexibility, and they don't, right? Like they're, for the most part, Trey Smith, they're going to re-sign, I assume. He'll kiss cap number will come down this year. But you got Mahomes, Creed Humphrey, Trey Smith, Jawan Taylor, Travis Kelsey. Chris Jones, McDuffie's going to get extended soon.

Carl Loftus is probably going to get extended soon. You can have a lot of expensive pieces on this team. What did you think about the Bolton signing and the Bolton contract? I didn't really love it. And I understand, I'm trying to think about how I want to frame this. I think it is important to have pillars on your defense, right? And I think with Kansas City, it is Chris Jones. It is George Carloftus.

it's Trent McDuffie. It was Justin Reed. And I think you could kind of put Bolton in there. The issue I have with Bolton is I think he's an above average player between the tackles. I don't think he's a very good coverage player. And I think that he can struggle when teams really force him to play outside of the numbers, really make him go to the perimeter.

That to me is not a player that I think you need to be that jazz to go and sign, you know, the way that they did. So I understand them wanting continuity with the way that Spags runs his defense, but I do think they probably paid a premium specifically just to have continuity. I feel like they've done such a good job of developing players at those spots and getting the most out of guys at those spots, that saying let's just try to find the next Nick Bolton might have made a little bit more sense to me than giving him a pretty sizable deal. He's a $20 million cap hit next year in 2026. and right now they're $35 million over the 2026 cap.

Part of that is because Mahomes is sitting on a $78 million, $2026 cap hit. He will not play on that, obviously. They'll do something to adjust that. But again, this is still a team. You look at the cap hits for 2026. 78 million for Mahomes, 27 million for Joanne Taylor.

They can move on from Joanne Taylor after this year if they want to, but then that you have a whole right tackle if you end up doing that. Maybe you move Jaylon Moore over there or whatever, but it's on the books for now. Jalen Moore is at 18.8 million next year. They can save $8 million if they move on from him, but that's still $10 million against the cap. Creed Humphrey, $18 million.

Nick Bolton, $19 million. George Karloffat is at $15 million. They can get that down if they resign him. The point is there are a lot of expensive players on this team. So signing Nick Bolton to a deal where you're going to pay him at least $20 million or at least $19 million against the cap in 2026, given some of the restrictions you have resource, I just felt like that's something that maybe you shouldn't have been treated as just a given

when they did it. Especially when like I think they could have just plugged in Chanel to play his role. It's kind of what I'm saying. And like they drafted your guy Jeffrey Bossa in the fit for them. I love it. I just I, the only thing I can imagine is that with Chanel, they really wanted a stronger three linebacker group when they use it. And Chanel can be a little bit more of a hybrid player.

We can put them on the line. and so I wonder if they just wanted Bolton specifically so they can weaponize chanol that way but like it's a lot of money to pay it's a lot of money yes for that justification that's probably too much money and this isn't about Nick Bolton as a player this is more about your team with a finite amount of resources you have to decide how you want to divvy up those resources and that's just one that I don't think we've talked a lot about in the broader context of how the chiefs are paying players and keeping players. All right, we're going to take one more quick break and then come back with two more contenders before we get out of here. All right, the Buffalo Bills. No major coaching changes

for the bills. A couple small moves on their staff, but nothing overly crazy. Extended Josh Allen, six years, $330 million, $250 million guaranteed. Probably took less than he could have gotten, but I'm sure he's going to be just fine. Greg Rousseau, four years, $80 million, $54 million guaranteed. It's a pretty good looking deal for a number two pass rusher. Christian Benford, four years, $69,000. 48 guaranteed. Extended Khalil Shakir, four years, 53 million. Extended Terrell Bernard, four years 42 million. Getting to the free agent signings, Josh Palmer,

three years 29 million with 18 guaranteed. Joey Bosa, one year 12.6. Michael Hoyt, three years 21 with 13 guaranteed. Smaller deals for Larry Ogun, Joby, and Trey White. In the draft, Maxwell Hirston, overall, defense tackle, T.J. Sanders, 41st overall. Landed Jackson, edge rusher, 72nd overall. And then Dion Walker, defensive tackle in the fourth round

109th overall. No real big losses. Mac Hollins and Kyir Elam out the door for the bills. Are you buying or selling the 2025 of Buffalo Bills offseason? I'm pretty into it, man. I'm pretty into it. Hard buy for me. Hard buy. Like the Josh Palmer, if Josh Palmer is just better Matt Collins, that's a win. We already know the offense was already great with Matt Collins and Palmer is going to be a better version of that. Elijah Moore, I think we're all like, we all remember what he was at his peak. But I do think that there's at least like some percentage chance that he can be a useful wide receiver for in the Joe Brady offense like the funniest part about the Elijah Moore thing is that the Browns traded for Elijah Moore

and their draft their rationalization for trading for Elijah Moore was he was in an absolutely horrific situation with the Jets can we get more out of him in a better situation and then he went to the Browns who ended up having the worst offensive ecosystem in the NFL over the last two years and so if you're the bills your thought is well look at where a Elijah Moore wasn't what he was playing with for the last couple years. Could he do better with us? So the fact that we've done this twice with Elijah Moore in a way that I think is reasonable is actually pretty funny. And at least in this case, I am very confident that Josh Allen will not play anywhere nearly as poorly as Deshaun Watson did last year. You don't think so? I really don't think so. So I think

we'll be okay on that front. And so in that sense, I really like what they did at wide receiver. And then defense, I still have my questions when I look at the secondary. I think the safety room has some questions. I think the corner room isn't bad, but I do still have a little bit of question marks there on the outside spots. Like how is Harrison going to fit in what they do, all that stuff. But them throwing so many resources at the front, whether it was, I love that they did it both ways, right? Like you take, you get Michael Hoyt, who is like, okay, fun role player. And then you get Joey Bosa, who is our, we're a contender.

this is going to be our swing for a veteran. I like that. And then you just flood the room with a bunch of youth. I think they had three draft picks in the front forward. Like they just took all the right approaches to be to make sure our front, even by week 17 when a couple of guys are down, we're going to have bodies. I really like that approach. Yeah, I'm with you on that.

And I actually think you could make a similar case at safety. Like, I think having Dane Jackson is like the fourth corner on your roster, at least you're at a place where if you have a couple injuries over the course of the season, you have a guy that's been in the defense and you can get by for a week or two at one of those corner spots. And I think Derek Forrest is like potentially interesting depth piece at safety. Like he had some decent moments for Washington over the last few years. Overall, I'm still worried about the physicality at safety. It is a concern I had at the end of last season and it is nothing, they didn't do anything to address that.

And so if I look at the roster, that's probably the number one question that I have. whether you have a guy who can win you a playoff game on the defensive front, if Bosa gets hurt, I think that's also a fair concern. But I do think the volume shooting they did in that area is something I can absolutely get behind. And I like Palmer as a reasonable bet that differentiates our skill sets with the wide receiver group. So I think overall, and I think you're right on with Bosa, right? It's one year, 13 million. Let's try to win the fucking Super Bowl.

And if we don't, what do we lose? It's one year 13 million. Like this is a, and obviously he was coming off a much better year, but this is the responsible version of the Von Miller signing. Yes, exactly, which I don't, I didn't blame them for even doing that the first time. Like, again, it was incredibly aggressive, but I get them constantly being in this state of we can be a Super Bowl team because we have Josh Allen. Let's try to go get an ace pass rusher.

And again, Bosa hasn't played very much the last handful of years. But if he gives you 11 really. good games and then is healthy enough for the playoffs, that's an emphatic win for what this team is trying to do. He should play 20 snaps a game during the regular season. Maybe that might be a little bit much, right? Like, Bosa plays third downs for the first 15 weeks of the year. And then when you're trying to get the number one seed in December, you like roll him out like Hans Solo from like cryosleep. And that's how you roll. That's how the defensive line plays out. And you know what? I kind of like that because one of the values with Joey Bosa early in his career is he was also a really good run defender,

really good edge setter. They just drafted Landon Jackson who we'll see what we get out of him as a pass rusher. He can set the edge, man. He can go hit people. So I kind of like that idea. And Hoyt and you have a big ass other edge rusher you can throw out there. And so I think that's a fine approach. And if they want Joey Bosa to be a January player for them at $13 million, I can get behind that.

And we'll see what happens with Hirsten. You know, they've done this before. where they've been aggressive with that other outside corner spot in the first round because they needed to hit there and it didn't end up working out. It's always a crapshoot with those spots. But I do think they've protected themselves in a way that makes sense with some of those other signings. So I feel good about it. This is one of the easiest ones for me. I don't think there are any like monster home run moves.

But I think overall, when you take them all combined, it's easy to get behind what they did this spring. They didn't need any. There were stretches last year where they were the best team in football. So for them to not really lose that much and kind of, I think volume shoot at a lot of these spots, I'm totally cool with all of it. Last one here. Your defending champion, Philadelphia Eagles. Notable coaching changes just gave Nick Siriani an extension, which he won the Super Bowl. So I think that's a decent thing to do, reasonable choice.

Kevin Petulow and is their offensive coordinator with Kellan Moore leaving to go to the Saints. Acquisitions and extensions, not a lot. Fairly quiet offseason for the Eagles. Extended Cam Jergins, four years, 68 million. Extended Sequin Barclay, two years, 40 million, brought back Zach Ball in three years 51 million. And then outside guys, really just small deals. Azizzo Jolari, Josh Uche, Adori Jackson,

traded CJ Gardner Johnson for Kenyon Green. Notable draft picks, Jehad Campbell in the first round, Andrew McCuba, safety from Texas in the second round to replace C.J. Gardner Johnson, and then Ty Robinson defensive tackle in the fourth round. Milton Williams, Josh Sweat, Darius Slay, McKay, Isaiah Rogers, Chauncey Gardner Johnson, gone for the Eagles. Are you buying or selling? I'm talking very slow here because I wanted to see how many compics,

Eagles are getting next year. Third rounder for Milton Williams, fourth rounder for Josh Sweat, fifth rounder for Mackay Beckton, as things currently stand. Are you buying or selling the 2025 Philadelphia Eagles offseason? They are pretty clearly going to be a worst roster. I am also extremely in on everything they did this offseason. I think it was all the right approach. First of all, you just won the Super Bowl.

So you're fine there. I think them taking that winning the Super Bowl and being like, okay, on defense, we're going to reset a little bit. We don't need to pay Milton Williams. We don't need to pay Josh Sweat. We're going to let this really young secondary kind of figure itself out. They ship off CJ Gardner Johnson and then draft, honey, I just shrunk CJ Gardner Johnson in the draft with Andrew McCuba. I just, all of it makes so much sense.

I just love them winning the Super Bowl, and now they're going to take a year to let all of these young guys on defense, fight it out, figure it out, get a bunch of snaps, get a bunch of reps, and then next year we'll figure out who the hell we need to replace and who we don't. They took the right approach to everything, man. I totally agree. I mean, well, maybe you could quibble about whether they should have done more at corner. Now it's Keely Ringo and Adori Jackson, but it's like, all right,

you know, we'll see how that ends up working out. this is very much a, you know, Josh Sweat's a good player, but what they did at Eddrushar is 100% the money ball. We're going to replace him in the aggregate where we have Jihad Campbell, Zizo, Jolari, and Josh Uche, and we're going to build that into whatever Josh Swet was, which I think is a fine approach. And then with Campbell, obviously, Nekobi Dean is hurt. So how much is he going to play off the ball?

How much edge rusher is he going to play in certain situations? You have OJomo, who I know you really like, potentially to step into more of that Milton Williams role. and then I think what they did on offense is perfectly defensible. Even this is maybe just a little bit of the heat coming off the Super Bowl, me saying this, but even like Kendall Lamb and Matt Pryor as depth pieces along your offensive line, Matt Pryor was really solid for the Bears of Guard last year,

like much more solid than he had any right to be after being thrust into that starting role for most of the season. Kendall Lamb has been serviceable as a swing tackle for a lot of teams over the last few years. So you have those bets along with Kenyon Green with our offensive line infrastructure, we'll get to a place where we have an up-depth, we can replace Mackay-Bectin

and what he was for us last year. Every single bet they made. Most of them were very modest with the outside pieces. All of them collectively make a lot of sense to me. And even on top of the free agency signings and the Kenyan Green thing, they drafted three guys on day three, almost like the defense.

They're going to go into camp and say, all right, three of these people are getting cut. but somebody's going to win a job and be like a pretty useful player for us. I just, they're taking the right approach here. They are setting up for the future. Like, I think it could have been easy to, okay, you win the Super Bowl, let's be super aggressive. Let's retain Josh Twett.

Let's retain Milton Williams. Let's try to do it again. I think they are taking the right approach of like, we'll be cool in 2026, man. We'll get there. Don't worry about it. One of the reasons for that and whether it's explicit or not, it's guarantee you it plays into their thinking. They did that after the 22 season.

They regretted it. they did they did that with james bradbury there were a lot of guys that they were not in their future plans and because they got so close and because they're looking at the roster and saying oh man like we're right there like let's just do this let's compromise a little bit on some of these decisions where we might have taken more hardline stances in the past i'll i think that you know how he's had an interesting trajectory and obviously he's had a ton of success i think one of the the better things I can say about him in terms of what makes him good at this, he learns from his mistakes. I think they weigh on him enough that it's hard for him to ignore them in the future

because I think he feels a little bit scarred by like each and every one of them. And so I don't, he makes a lot of the same mistakes twice. And I think that's a really good characteristic to have when you were somebody in his position. It's why it seems like he is, you know, the Barclay thing is a good example of like why it seems like he can be on the front foot for a lot of things is because he doesn't want to make some of the same roster building mistakes that he had made in the past. He's like, okay, what's, I f***ed that up two years ago. How do I not do that, you know, this year next, this off season and the offseason after that? I don't want to, again, this may be, uh, chalking up something with intention that has no intention.

It might just be random. For the last two years, they've had just a crazy amount of like fifth and sixth round picks. I'm really curious if they have like some nugget of data that says that there's an inefficiency with that range of the draft. If you look at this year, they had, let's look at it. They had one, two, three, four fifth round picks, one, two, three, three fifth round picks. And if you look at last year, it was similar. Like they've just had a ton of picks in that area of the draft over the last two years. In 2023, they had one, two, three fifth round picks again.

So they've had a combined sixth fifth round picks in the last two years. That could just be random or they're consciously trying to take more shots in that area of the draft. I don't know how much evidence we have that that's worthwhile. It's just something that I noticed when looking at their like collective draft strategy over the last two years in their collective draft halls. It might not even be a data. It could be a they have some data, but it also could just be Howie being like, well, we're great. Let's just try something new. Let's just throw a bunch of darts, which, again, not a bad strategy, especially on the

offensive line when you have the guy who's going to make one of these guys work no matter what. Yeah, they had four six-round picks this year. They had two last year. That's preposterous. You know, a lot of those guys don't end up working out, but I just thought it was interesting. All right, that's all we got. All 32 teams, if you have not listened to the other three versions of the show, they're available. Nothing has really changed. For the most part, those are still good. So please go back and check those out. You guys will be hearing this on Tuesday, the 27th of May.

Just a quick heads up over the next couple weeks. The feed is going to look and sound a little bit different. I will be on this show. This will be the last show that I'm on. That's not a mailbag. I'll be on next week's mailbag. But we're going to have three shows coming your guys as way that are a combination of Beller, Derek, and a couple fun guests.

I am leaving for Spain in 20 minutes. So that will be all you guys here for me for a little while, with the exception of that mailbag next. week. So please, you know, please check out the shows when I'm gone. I know that these guys are going to do a great job. I appreciate them holding down the fort for me while me and my wife are away. As always, we sincerely appreciate you guys listening and I'll be excited to be back with you in a couple weeks. Talk to you soon.