The Bobby Bones Show - Lots to Say: Super Bowl Champ Willie Colon and Grown Man Rules

Episode Date: June 25, 2025

Bobby Bones and Matt Cassel talk about the heatwave and how poorly swimming headphones work. Did Tom Brady say no to Aaron Rodgers and Sam Darnold with the Raiders?  Brady won a fan competition and Bobby wonders if Tom's level of competitiveness is unhealthy.  Travis Hunter signs his rookie deal with the Jaguars.  Matt explains what will be expected of Hunter in camp.   Super Bowl Champ Willie Colon comments on Rodgers saying this could be his last year in the NFL.  Colon has played after an achilles injury as well and gives his thoughts on how Rodgers will play with the Steelers.  Bobby asks about Willie's playing days at Hofstra and his transition to the NFL.  Willie reveals the strongest and fastest players he ever played against. Willie takes us inside the very real rivalry between the Steelers and the Ravens.   "Which age should a grown man stop doing this?"  Bobby and Matt explain things like wearing jerseys, painting your face, bringing a glove to a game, or asking for an autograph.  Bobby and Matt both discuss dealing with adults seeking autographs just to sell them.  Is it ever okay to cry after your team loses?  Matt shares a personal experience of why he once cried on the field.    Lots to Say with Bobby Bones and Matt Cassel is part of the NFL Podcast Network See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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search 40s and free agents, and listen now. Lots to Say with Bobby Bones and Matt Castle is a production of the NFL and IHeart Podcasts. We got lots to say, to say. Yeah, we got lots to say. Now here's Bobby and Matt. What's happening, everybody? Matt, how are you, buddy?

Doing great, just kind of taking this heat in. You know, the heat wave finally got here. What's the first thing Matt said? As soon as I laid eyes on him, he goes, how about this heat? Are you at that age? It's hot in here. Or it's always the weather? Well, I'm a sweater, right?

So I walk outside and I just start dripping. And I've been out in the heat all weekend for a kids baseball tournament. So it's, I'm just feeling it. I'm feeling it. Well, this is the first real heat wave that we've had. Some people are just naturally sweaters. Like Brandon is a sweater because we'll work out like three. three of us over to the gym here on our property.

And I sweat a normal amount. But Brandon, man, it's like, all right, warm-ups. Brandon's just like drenched. I think just naturally some people are, Reed was like that, a crazy sweater. So that's you, huh? Oh, that's me. I'd go through like two shirts in a workout session

just because as soon as my pores open up, I am drenched. Is it a hydration? Like, are you always on top of your hydration? No, that's the issue too. I'm a cramper. Electrolate me. I-V-me. Give me whatever I need. Yeah, I mean, honestly, I just, I'm a sweater. I've been swimming the last few days. We've got to have a pool here. So I've been doing some laps in the pool. I did about close to a half mile yesterday.

That's good. Yeah, it's just very isolating. Yes. You've in swimming, though, by yourself too. It's something that you get in the pool. It's hard to do and just continue to swim laps. Especially when there's nothing in your ears. What I like about just working out in the gym or whatever, you can listen to music, or if I'm just walking on the treadmill, listen to a podcast. But when you're in the water, it's just you in the water. And I think there's probably something beautiful about that. But I don't like just being there with my thoughts. So I got online and I got on Amazon and I looked for a pair of swimming headphones.

And they make them waterproof headphones. And so they're not cheap. And they kind of wrap around your head. They are kind of above the year, but they kind of fit just right. And I put them on in the house and sound great. And I'm like, cool, jump in the water, go on the water immediately. And as soon as I go under, nothing. And I come back out, music.

And I go back under, nothing. I come back out, music. And so I didn't short them out because it says they're waterproofing for swimmers. So I'm in the middle of swimming, so I'm just going to deal with it after. So I throw the headphones on top of the pool and then I swim. and I'll do, I do like series of laps. Like I have to keep my head, my mind stimulated. So I'll do 14 laps, 12 laps, 10 laps, 8 laps, 6 laps, 4 laps, 2 laps, and I'm

done my workout. That's about a 45 minute. That's a solid workout right there. Yeah, for sure. Is it all freestyle? Or are you working a butterfly? I don't swim well enough to know any of that. I wish.

I did try to do, what's this one called? Butterfly. I tried the butterfly. That'll work you, dude. I did like three and I was like, I'm going to drown. I'm going to die. I'll get a swimmer? Are you ever a swimmer?

How did you know all that stuff? Oh, well, I just Watched the Olympics? Yeah, oh, you watch the Olympics? Wait, you grew up swimming? Yeah, I would swim all the time. Like against people? No, hell no, no, no.

Because we had like a lake. I mean, I could swim. I could always swim, but my mom was a swimmer when she was younger, so like she taught us. Oh, that's cool. You know, brush stroke and butterfly and all those things. I bet you've been a good one because you're just like long and athletic. You probably missed your calling. I miss my calling for sure.

But, I mean, after you listen to some of those guys in the workout regimen that they have in the morning routine. Yeah. And mornings, yeah. Mornings. And they're in the pool for two hours. And it's just like, what in the world? I always get water on my ear. I can't get it out. I did, that's when yesterday, I can't get the water out of my ear still. The best thing that I could do that I have done is take a hair dryer to it, my wife's

hair dryer and just hold it up to my ear and let it dry out. And that works like 75% of the time. That can't be good for you. It sucks. It cannot be good for you. So these stupid headphones that I buy, I go back inside the house and it's, look it up. And it says, by the way, if you're going to swim in these, Bluetooth doesn't work.

Oh. And I'm like, well, what are I supposed to do? Apparently it has an MP3 player built into the headphones, and you're supposed to take your MP3s. Is this 2007? And drag them over to the headphone app. So I gave him my friend Eddie today, and I was like, you can have these absolutely worthless.

It's been like, like, 300 bucks on them. You should give it to them and just be like, hey, they're great for swimming. Well, he doesn't even swim. I know. I was so frustrating. But, yeah, President of Castle said, hot enough for you? I feel like we're like the VFW were like 73 years old.

So do you not feel like it's warm outside? It's been raining so much. I'm just happy we have anything that's not rain. Okay. I'm good with that. But so you're saying it's not hot. You're totally fine. You're wearing a sweater right now on long pants.

It's hot, but I'm fine with hot. Okay. For me, it would be difficult to live somewhere cold. So this is too cold for me to live in in the wintertime. And I grew up in Arkansas, so I grew up in a climate like this. But this is it. I can't go any more north.

where you have lived in northern places in the winter. Is Boston, did you live in Boston? Did you live in Boston? Lived in Boston. Is that the coldest freaking place you could possibly live? Not at all. Minnesota? It's like being on Mars, did. Really?

I mean, I got there in the first October, like the last day of October, we got our first snow. Snow never left the ground. When we got to December, we had two weeks in a row where there weren't highs above zero. They said a cold front's coming through, so I back up. And everybody has the heaters in the garage. And I was like, why does everybody have a heater in the garage? you start to realize why. I back up and I've never seen it drop below zero

and then all of a sudden it keeps going. It stops at negative 17 real temperature. I mean, there was one day the wind chill was negative 46. And I was like, what is going on? How do people live here? And that winter goes all the way through April. Did you kind of get used to it? You kind of do just because you have to operate and be a human.

And so you start going out and shoveling snow and you just clothe yourself up. And the crazy part, people adapt to it so well that when it jumped up into like the teens and the 20s for the first day after that two-week span, you see people outside running in shorts. And I'm like, these people are savage, dude. They're savage.

Like a Southern California guy like you and that cold. Yeah, man. Just, you know, we're hardcore out there in Southern California. We adapt. No. In Southern California, you don't adapt. You don't have to adapt to anything. You don't have to adapt to anything.

Yeah, that sounds nice. It was miserably cold. And even the kids, they would go to preschool and they'd have them bring all their snow gear. And every day, as long as it wasn't past negative 20 or something like that, the kids would put on their snow gear and go outside for recess. That's how they do it there. And I was amazed. Yeah, that's tough. This is too cold for me.

Not this second, but winter's here. Are too cold for me? Are you serious? Yeah. It is not a cold winter here. I would move. Would you really? Yes, in the winter, I would move.

I would move to... Boka. Austin. Oh. My favorite city. I lived there for 12 years. Oh, I didn't know you lived there for 12 years. The entire, like, first part of my adult radio career when I built my syndication company was in Austin.

I was doing pop and hip-hop. Yeah, you were. Yeah, it's Captain Caucasian, man. Yeah. Where's the coldest place you ever live, Kevin? Here. Yeah, live-wise, yeah, because California, Southern California. California, Northern.

And I'm with you where this is the coldest I could ever go. This sucks. Yeah. It's not even that cold in the winter, guys. It's not that cold. When you've lived in Minnesota, I can see how it's not even that cold in the winter. It's 40-30s every now and then. Blue Moon, you'll get 20s.

And that sucks. That sucks for the day. That sucks. Can't even go play pickleball in the backyard. I love in the South, too, how the entire community and city shuts down on a cold front. Like, oh, we're going to get freezing rain. and the roads are all terrible and they don't have the infrastructure to clear them.

There in Minnesota, there wasn't a day where I'd wake up and couldn't drive on the roads. Because they have the infrastructure to prepare. Yeah, we don't have... Why would we invest a bunch of money in that if it happens like twice a year? I don't know. Well, maybe people need to get to work.

Maybe that's what it is. More getting to work. Less being cold, more getting to work. You heard of here. He sounds like he's from Minnesota. Yeah. Like he really is offended by us being like it's so cold. Oh.

Let's start with some Tom Brady stories. Yes, all right. Tom Brady reportedly said no to the Raiders adding Aaron Rogers and Sam Darnold. It's from Yahoo Sports. Also, I don't think that's at the same time. Does he have that type of pull, though? He's a partial owner. A partial owner and minority owner?

But I think the answer would be, that's a great question to ask for any minority owner that's not named Tom Brady. That's a good question. I mean, he does have some weight to his name, doesn't it? Because now he's kind of like the face of the organization as well. Right. I think that's probably a big part of the reason they let them buy part of the team. But the Raiders did add Gino Smith. But according to the athletics, Mike Silver,

Raiders Minority owner, Tom Brady, didn't want the Raiders to sign Darnold or Rogers. Donald eventually signed a three-year, $100.5 million contract with Seahawks. Obviously, Aaron Rogers is with Steelers. They also, the Raiders traded a third round selection in the 2025 NFL draft for Gino Smith and then signed him $75 million bucks.

Yeah. What do you think? Sam Darnold. What's his ceiling? Did we see it? Did we see a ceiling in Minnesota? We could have seen a ceiling. I mean, when you look at Jefferson, Addison, the supporting cast that he had there. And then also Kevin O'Connell, who he's brilliant with the quarterback position and coaching that position. He got the most out of Sam Darnold last year. Now, it would have been interesting to see if he came back to Minnesota, if he was able to replicate the year that he had. But now, again, it's always when you change organization, and a new coaching staff. You're also, regardless of what you say,

you're learning a new system, you've got to get buy-in from those players, and now you have to go out and earn it again. And so for him, hopefully he goes and he's able to pick up where he left off, not at the end of last year, but throughout the season, and prove that he is worth what they paid for him.

Because obviously last year, it's hard to win games in the NFL, but to do what he did, it was a remarkable season. He was up for the MVP midway through the year as well, just the way he was not. playing. So he's got to do that. And then everybody's going to point to in big games and big moments, but it's not just Sam Darnold when you get to the playoffs and you have some mishaps. I mean,

you look at the Detroit Lions and Jared Goff and he goes out there in the first playoff game and what, he throw four interceptions into that game. And a lot of guys get to that point. And because everybody's watching, they don't remember all the good that you did, but those playoff games matter. And so it's big games like that that you have to step up in to get the credibility that you're for in the NFL. And when I read this, I don't feel like it's that he didn't like Sam Darnold as a player. I feel like that's an extra $25 million bucks. You're going to have to give Sam Darnold versus a Gino Smith.

So it could have been that. That could have been financial. I definitely understand him not wanting Aaron Rogers because that feels like it can get toxic very quickly. With if you don't think Aaron's toxic, just what happens when you have Aaron on your team? with the media clamoring. Right, it's more of the media than anything else. Yeah, but he brings that on himself too, right? He does for sure.

So I can see where Tom Brady would not want that situation, but with Aaron Darnold, he doesn't want to have to pay that amount of money for a quarterback that's probably about even. And you're also looking at your ex-coach, who is now in Vegas, and you're probably, I don't know, what's Pete Carroll like when he taught with ownership?

I imagine he has a good relationship with everybody, but that should be seen his face. He's got a great relationship because he's one of those guys that brings everybody along. At the same time, I'm sure that he wants control over his team. And when I say that, there's probably collaboration with the GM and the front office. But at the end of the day, I'm sure part of him going there

was that he had control over that team and he was going to run it the way that he wants to run it. Because most successful organizations, they have that guy. and they've got a head coach that has a vision for his team, understands his personnel, and is going to go out there and get the guys that he wants, and then everybody else falls in line with that. So Coach Carroll obviously is there,

and then also the history that he had with Gino Smith. And that was my point, right, with Carol, it was Carol may have wanted the cheaper option, but also what he feels like is the better fit in his quarterback coming in with year one with the Raiders. Right, and he understands Gino Smith. He got the most out of him when he was in Seattle, and now he's making this transition.

also philosophically speaking, he's a guy that can go into that locker room and understands what Coach Carroll wants in his team and also be another coach in that locker room and help facilitate that. Speaking of Tom Brady, he won the Fanatics games and he won a million dollars. Did you happen to see this?

What is the Fanatics game? So we went to Fanatics Fest last year and basically it's a whole lot of athletes that come and speak and there are these little games you can play and then a whole bunch of cards being sold because Fanatics is great. So, and I can kind of give you the story here, seven times Super Bowl champion Tom Brady emerged Sunday

as the winner of the inaugural Fanatics Games, which had 50 athletes and celebrities against 50 fans in eight competitions. Brady finished atop the top the 100-person leaderboard with 399 points taking home the $1 million prize. What were the games? I'm glad you asked. Hula hoop?

The competitors took part in eight sports-themed skills competitions, including quarterback skills, basketball shooting, they played around the world, soccer goal scoring, baseball pitching accuracy, a washer dryer hockey shooting challenge where they had it open, you had to shoot in.

Okay. A W.W.E. Superstar entrance, a UFC striking challenge and a closest to the pin golf challenge. Okay, I've played golf with him. I know that he's a really good golfer. So that's going to be pretty good. He for sure won the quarterback skills.

Quarterback skills. Or at least finished in the top 10, because if you're finished in the top 10 of any of these in the hundreds, you're getting some big points. Yep. So quarterback skills. Check. Yes.

I don't know what kind of basketball player he is, but I watched him. Before, he can shoot. He can't shoot. Yep. Soccer goal scoring? I'm sure. If you're like, I played on the pitch with him before. Isn't he part owner?

Is he an owner? Isn't he an owner? The pitching accuracy makes sense. He got drafted by the Expos. Yeah. He was a baseball player. The hockey thing. I don't know.

A WWE superstar entrance. I'm sure they hyped on radio. I saw it. Did you guys see it? No. Yeah. I saw a video of it. Is it good? He had a

Eli Manning jersey that he grabbed him Oh, I saw that ripped it in too. So that was it. Got it. I saw him shooting against Eli playing around the world. Okay.

So it wasn't all set up. Like, he really performed exceptionally well with these. Yeah. Yeah. Six fans were among the top ten finishers. James Hardin was fourth.

Eli Manning was fifth and Tom Brady finished first. He's going to give $5,000 to each of the 50 fans who competed and then give the rest of the chip. He won a million dollars? Yeah.

He won the million dollars. Wow. Did you see the video of him trying to identify gronk? No. Yes, I did. That was awesome. So funny. He's right there.

He walks into a room and there are probably 20 gronks. It's all got real humans. They're all dressed with the vizs. Yeah. Because they have on the 87, Grogon is 87, right? Yeah. 87. Same Patriots jersey, exact same helmet.

And Brady's like, okay, you're not gronk. You're too tall. You're too. And then he's like, none of these are gronk. And he walks out. and the real gronk takes his helmet off. And he's like, ah! Really?

Wait, so you got it or no? No, he didn't get it. He's like, none of you guys are gronk. Oh, okay, okay, yeah, yeah. Yeah, it was great. I think he said, you're too small. Yeah. And it was gronk.

I mean, it was hilarious. Does Brady have that, like, Jordan unhealthy, competitive edge about him? Like, does he find a reason to competitively be unhealthy? That's what I think made him so good for so long. I mean, because every off season, he'd find something to push himself. Because when you're winning, and championships and all that. It's easy to get complacent and just accept it.

But he'd always push himself. So whether it was martial arts or one year it was boxing, we'd go and he'd go through this full boxing routine where we're hitting the bag and we're doing all this stuff and ducking. And he said it helped him with his footwork, yoga one off season. So he's always finding something to push himself to be competitive. Then you get him out, and I said this before, probably about golfing. We get out there.

I mean, he's a madman out on the golf course. And he's competitive. and so he's trying to start bets and do all this stuff. But that's the nature of the beast is he's ultra competitive in everything he does and he wants to win. How does he stay so good looking? Like I think he might be getting better looking. Plastic surgery. Yeah, or see.

No, I'm just kidding. What skin care products? Send that to him. Like, it's just. I'm telling you this, dude, he doesn't age. I mean, he doesn't age. He's in better shape now than when he came out of college. But he's also one of those guys that goes back to the ultra competitiveness.

Everything he does, he's meticulous. And so from what he wears and his outfits and all that stuff to his eating regimen, like he eats healthy all the time and takes care of his body. And that's just, that's just him. It's in his DNA. Receiver, DB Travis Hunter signed it for your contract with the Jaguars. The deal worth $46.6 million fully guaranteed includes $30 million signing bonus, which was paid up front.

He's the first non-quarterback, not drafted first overall, to get his signing bonus entirely up front. He was the last of the top 10 picks to sign. I watched the Jacksonville when they were tweeting and they did two different tweets. They're like, Jacksonville has signed, wide receiver, Travis Hunter. And it's him at the contract.

It's like Jacksonville has signed, defensive back, Travis Hunter. It is kind of funny. That is very funny. I mean, he's a unique talent. It'll be interesting to see what he brings that team because obviously the new head coach with Leon Cohen, what he gets out of Trevor Lawrence and everything else.

But that guy is a dynamic player. I'm just interested to see how much he's going to play offensively, defensively, special teams, and what that workload's going to look like for him. Because everybody's anticipating him being that dude. It'll be interesting to see how it all plays out. I saw a video of him during camp and he was dancing and one of the other players like, dude, stop dancing. Yes, I did see that too.

So if a rookie comes in, highly touted, highly drafted, really paid, does he get a little more free? them than a rookie, even a fourth-round rookie? I mean, there's definitely a pecking order, right? When you come in, you're the, what was he, the second overall, third overall, when you come in and there's an expectation and you've having a little fun on the field, you get away with some stuff for sure because the type of player that you are. But at the same time, you've got to go out there and perform.

And then also, that's why you've got to have veteran guys on your team when it's time to go to work and time to stop jacking around a little bit. You've got to get on them and tell them and say, Hey, let's go to practice. So he'll get a little leeway, but at the same time you go out there and make the catch or make the play, I'm pretty sure you can dance all you want. Yeah, the more catches you make, the more dancing. I think we saw that way, the ochosinko. Yeah.

You know? Oh, yeah. The more you do, the more you're allowed to do. Yeah. We're going to come back and talk to Willie Cologne just a second. Give us a second. Be back here on lots to say. The 2026 NFL Draft is here and the NFL Daily podcast has it covered from all angles.

Join me, Greg Rose. and Jordan Rodriguez after night one on Thursday. Nick Shook joins me night two Friday and then Sunday to recap everything that went down over the three days in Pittsburgh. We'll tell you who won the draft and which players were my favorite picks. Listen to NFL Daily with Greg Rosenthal on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. I'm Daniel Jeremiah. And I'm Greg Rosenthal. And this is 40s and free agents.

The games may be over, but the NFL. NFL never stopped. This is my favorite part of the calendar. Yeah, mine too, Greg, free agency, the combine, the NFL draft, pro days, trades. This is where teams reshape their future. This is where Daniel Jeremiah makes his money. On 40s and free agents, we break down every move that actually matters. From my draft evaluations, mock drafts, and team fits to my top 101 free agents and how real rosters are built, cap space, contracts, and all the tough decisions included.

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Listen to 40s and free agents on the IHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Now we're going to talk to Willie Colon, fourth round draft pick in 2006. He went to Hofstra. He was inducted into their Hall of Fame in 2023. He is a Super Bowl champion with Pittsburgh Steelers. He played and started in exactly 100 NFL games during his career. He came home as a free agent in 2013 when he signed with the Jets. And now he does analysts work for the Jets.

And that's pre and post game for the Jets on SportsNet, New York television. Here he is, Willie Cologne. Hey, Willie, I appreciate the time. I'm big fan, big fan of when you played. Also love what you do in media. Also, love hearing you on Rasello's podcast. So, like, appreciate you being here. I just want to start first with Aaron Rogers.

The news just came out that he says this will be his final season. Is he saying it or does he mean it? What do you think? Well, honestly, I thought he was going to retire. I didn't even think he was, you know, after everything that had transpired in New York. I thought in my head that was going to be the last call. But, you know, I feel like him in Pittsburgh, it makes sense. You know, I see Aaron Rogers as a hired mercenary, right?

a hired assassin. I think he, I think he, Pittsburgh knows and he knows that, you know, he has one more left in the chamber. And he doesn't want his legacy or his career,

uh, to go down the way of winning in New York. And so he's decided to join the outfit that's always ready to compete and trying to set a standard and compete for a Super Bowl. And I think he really wants to go out with a bank. So,

uh, you know, I think this is it, you know, but like I said, I thought it was it in New York. So, who knows?

Let's talk about an Achilles injury for a second because last year he played after having it hurt and it seemed as the season went along for whatever reason and maybe it was because he was feeling better as the season went and healthier. One, can he all the way be rehabbed at his age from that Achilles to where it was even three years ago? And two, does he have enough in him to actually be a top 12 to 15 quarterback this year? Well, I thought he was a top 10 quarterback last year. I think if you put his stats next to Josh Allen, they weren't far.

off. I mean, he had 11 warrants. He had 11 interceptions. Josh Allen had 6th. But their numbers were fairly, I think he had a 63% completion rating. So did Josh Allen. So they weren't off. But obviously, two tails of two different seasons on and on and on. Nevertheless,

man, I still see him as a top 10 quarterback. One of the things that helped Aaron Rogers last year, when Tyron Smith went down, they was able to get Olu fashion of their rookie left half. And I thought that solidified the left side of that line. And then allowed Aaron to buy more time in the pocket.

And I thought last year he was, you know, obviously coming off the Achilles, he was still dealing with a knee, a hip, an ankle, he started to break down. He broke down early. And then as the season went along, I mean, the just were out of it after week eight, he seemed to get healthier. And he seemed to get healthier right in time

when they got old-fashioned on the lineup. And they started to play better. You started to see examples of what he was, what he's capable of doing in his age. I mean, he still's not as quick in nim as he was, when he was, you know, stacking MVP with the Green Bay Packers. But you still see flashes of him having those big throws, those off-platform throws,

his ability to improvise. And so it's a long injury. Like, I tore my Achilles. I tore my Achilles right after I won my Super Bowl. It took me six months, excuse me, six months to really kind of feel good and do things. And it took me a full year to feel like I'm back to Neutral, where I can now get back to being who I want to be and how I want to play. The rehab process is tedious

and the mental grind of watching your brothers go to work while you're kind of on the sideline is even worse. So I honestly, it's a two-year injury altogether. But to get back to running and jumping and lifting and doing everything you can't do athletically is roughly six months.

With that injury, we just saw a bunch of NBA guys get it as well, right? I think we saw three of them from Dame to Halliburton to Tatum. You're talking about Aaron Roger talking about yourself, how much of that is mentally trusting it more than it actually not being ready? Because I'm sure there's such a like a mental part of, okay, I believe it works more so than it really just working. Well, I think it's, you know, it's a case-by-case scenario,

you know, for me being an office line, and I felt more confident because I remember I had talked to a doctor from Yale about the injury. I had never sustained, I never suffered from anything like that. And one of the first things they told me was like, hey, man, you're going to have to do more things barefooted so you get to strengthen, kind of get your body, get your foot firing like it was. And then out of that, man, it was more or less telling me like, hey, you're not a receiver, you're not a running back, you're not a DB. You're not going to be cutting and planning and changing direction like those guys have to do. You're going to be fine. You do your work in a box. So it gave me more optimistic and more confidence that I was going to return back to

the guy I wanted to be on the field. Those guys, as far as a point guard, or just basketball play in general, there's so much instinctive work they have to do when they're out there doing their job. It takes more of not only your confidence, but also trusting that, you know, the rest of your body is going to come into fruition

because one of the things that happened to me when I tore my Achilles, I saw they have knee issues, right? Because my body was confiscating for what I, you know, what I tour. And so it's a process. Confidence is huge. but also just really not just trusting your body,

trusting your brain to react how you wanted to react and not second guessing yourself for everything you do. Did you have an age in your life where, and I think Scotty Pippen's an example of this, I also saw another person that grew a bunch, where you grew like a substantial amount in like a year or time? No, you know, my genetics are different, man. My dad, my dad was roughly 6-4, 6.5.

My grandmother was 6-3, so I had to height from that side. But my mom's folks will all, you know, they're all big back and barrel-chested people. You know, we were all neat. So I kind of, I got the in-between of all that. But nevertheless, I never had a gross smirk like a Dennis Robin or Scotty Pippen had, if you will. I kind of grew with my age.

At one point, it seemed that the only thing that was grown was my feet, man, because my feet size matched my age. So when I was 12, I wore 12. When I was 14, I wore 14. And thank God, I stopped at 17. So I wear a size 17. and I was wearing a 17 when I was 17 and my dad was like, man, we're going to have to take you to adopt these.

This ain't making sense. You know, if you wear a side 17, you should be 6'10. And I was like six, I was like six feet with a side 17. And then I think in college I grew two more inches. I'm buddies with DeMarcus Square and he talked about in college. He grew a lot. Like from his freshman year until he finished at Troy, like he, I think six or seven inches through college.

So not even a year, but he grew a substantial amount in college. went to a smaller school, which is Troy, which again, and you went to Hofstra. So when you went into Hofstra, did you have a bunch of offers and physically was the most development why you were in college? No, I didn't have a bunch of offers. I had a lot of D1AA offers, like Maine and New Hampshire and those type schools. I didn't have, I think I had one D1A offer and that was to South Carolina. And it mostly wasn't because of my talent is because I didn't do a great job in the classroom.

and they wasn't bothered with me. They didn't want to bother with me. So that was the issue. Nevertheless, man, it was a situation where, like, my transformation did come into Weight Woman College, but what really happened was my athleticism really came into play. I had a great coach, and Damien Rebloski, who's now at the University of Maryland. Man, he had his jumping rope.

We was doing plios. We was doing so many things. And I grew up playing basketball, so I had naturally quick feet. And I was always the chubby kid on the team that could do. everything athletically. I was just, you know, I just happened to have belly and like snacks. But nevertheless, man, I, I attribute a lot of my athleticism and a lot of my footwork and things I was able to acquire, just me kind of being in the weight room, one, because I was always, I was always strong, but the athletic side, being able to jump, run, skip, doing all those things, the more dynamic stuff,

I attribute to my college training. My office line coach at time had a lot to help. He installed a lot of that, I mean, too. So when you go from Hofstra to the NFL Was the strength and the speed Very different As opposed to if you were to come from one of the Big Power 5 schools? No, I mean the strength in this The speed was definitely a factor

My brand of I played against guys who were big I was big in it right I played against a lot of speed defensive ends Guys who were like 250 who just get off the ball really fast When I got to the league You know people understand my first start was against Baltimore And it was against Trevor Price He was 6-8, 290 pounds, right?

Then my next start was against Sam Adams, who was 6-6, 360 pounds. And then I turned around the following year, because I started the next year against Cleveland, I had Willie McGinnis. So I was playing dudes who were not only big, fast, but like enormous human beings. So it was me taking, and I was considered an undersized tackle. I'm only 6-3. Most of the guys, most tackles are 6-4, 6-5, 6-6-6 guys. I'm a 6-3 tackle on the edge.

And I really had to use everything I learned, every God-gifted inch in me to fight these guys and compete. I remember my first game against Baltimore is a shot of me, man, where I look like I'm physically and emotionally and spiritually defeated. Because, one, I had never played at that level, that high level, especially against the Baltimore Ravens. And two, it was great. It was everything for me because I felt like I survived the game

rather than thrived in the game. But as I was able to mature and I had great coaches like, you know, I'm drawing blank, excuse me, Russ Grimm. And because he was an undersized guard, because me and him kind of same as stature, he instilled a lot of tools in me on how to be the combative, how to get after guys. You know, I remember watching a lot of tape on Jason Peters when he was at the Buffalo Bills and how he used to set and go after guys. I didn't have long arms, so I had to always take the fight to guys.

I couldn't sit back there like a Joe Thomas, a vertical set and just take on the bull rush and do all that stuff. you know i i remember playing against jason taylor vani holiday and all these guys was just extremely long big guys they would use their arms and they would drive you right into the quarterback and beat you up right and so i had to i had to cheat every snap like a bull coming out the cage i just had to go at them and and that was kind of my game using my footwork in my hands and i was a lot i learned a lot of that i was able to be coached by guys you lined up against if i were to say who was one of the stronger guys you lined up against and then who was one of the faster guys you

lined up against. Who would you say? Man, so I've told this story. So I've told the story. So I don't wear socks. I don't know if you knew that during your process. Did you know that? Yes, I, yes, I do. Yeah, yeah. So I don't wear socks. And so part of the reasons why, one of the reasons I don't wear socks, because I used to like to feel the studs underneath my feet when I was getting off the ball. That was kind of like a trigger for me. And so we're playing the San Francisco 49ers. And the week prior, you know, my office line is Kendall Simmons, Alan Fannick, like Marvell Smith, Jeff Hardings, all these guys who had won a Super Bowl

and really just decorated guys on a lot of different levels. And so they were telling me like, hey, young fellow, you need to, you don't have to strap it up, man. You got Brian Young this week. And I'm like, I'm like, okay, I knew who he was, but I wasn't, you know,

I wasn't intimidated nor scared. But I knew he, you know, I knew his career in Notre Dame and how long he had played. We played against the Niners man, and me and him are in an absolute dog fight. We were beating on each other, we're getting off the ball. And I remember saying to myself, like, man, this this dude's legit.

And now one of the things I always got kind of labeled as being a badass, because I didn't wear socks in my cleats. Or there's a TV timeout. I'm sitting in the huddle. And, you know, I got my lip busted. I'm breathing all heavy. We're looking at each other. He's looking at me.

And I looked at it. I looked down at his feet. He doesn't have any socks on. And I'm like, okay. And I remember we had a duo. play. And it's me and my right guard at the time. His name, Kendall was next to me. And it's pretty much a double team to the backside linebacker. And I called the double team off. I'm like, no, no, no, no, no. Like, I got him. Like, no, no, no, no. Like, I got him.

And I'm growling in my stance. And brother, man, I shout off the ball. He shout out the ball. He's like two bulls. Whack it. And I can feel me. And I feel like I'm getting him. Like, I'm trying to get him. And he, no bulls. He closed. press me off him like this, and I could feel his strength, go through my body to the point where like I was, you know how like the old WWE went like Hogan and War used to lock up and they used to be like this? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. That's how it felt.

And I remember that never happened to me before. And I was like, oh, my God. And I remember trying to like really dig in and get him. And he just slowly binched me off him, got let me go and went ahead and made the play. And I said, oh, my God. And what's so wild about that? The offseason came around, and that's all I thought about. That's all I thought about him bench pressing me off him and kind of shedding me and going to make the play.

And then I think the next time I looked up in the gym, like he was charged with like HGH or something. He got to talk to something. And I was like, I was like, okay, there's hope, right? I'm not weak. Like he did. He does more to the sauce than him just being bigger, faster, stronger, and then built like a great God. And so that was cool. That was always a funny story.

And then, you know, I played against Alodi Nata, man. Holodi was just, he's probably the best dude I ever played against. And I played against a lot of great guys. But he was, you know, one thing about the NFL, everybody has super power, right? Somebody's really smart. They're fast or strong. They got this. Everybody has an edge.

The problem with Holody is we were same guy, same temperament, fast, big, strong. And we both, we both had an effort mentality. Like, if you want to go to the backyard, we can be in a same guy. in the back, and we'll fight all day. And so that was the great thing about our rivalry against Baltimore, man. When your superpowers don't work anymore, what do you do? You fight, right? And so we were always kind of having that back and forth, getting after each other.

And I got a lot of respect for him, man, but he was a dog, all dog. I was going to ask you about the sock thing independently. I'm glad you brought that up because the only other player that I knew who would want to feel was Walter Peyton. He would take the souls out of his shoes. And as a running back, he would take. the soles out and yeah that felt weird but he said he wanted to feel the turf he wanted to feel the ground as a running back so he wanted his feet to be as close to the dirt as possible

and i was going to ask you about the socks if that was when that started and did that last your entire career or were you ever like man because when i don't wear socks my feet stink like just permanently so tell me about the sock thing well one i'm notoriously known for that like having the most stinkiest locker and the stinkiest feet uh in the locker room they have this machine called the ozone when you're able to throw your cleats in and kind of defunct your cleat. I think I broke one. My feet were so damn funky. It started in high school.

Like I said, I had a big shoe size. I think I was, I think my first pair of turf cleats, I was wearing a 16. And they didn't, my coach at the time went to, there was a sporting store called Franks in the Bronx. And they happened to somehow get these turf cleats that I was able to wear. And I put my, I had socks on at the time. And I started, when I put my, my, my, my feet in these socks. Excuse me, when I put my foot in these cleats, I started to get like, it was like, it was like, it was irritated my foot.

It was like, I don't know how to explain it. It was just, it was irritated my foot. And I started to get like this chafing thing going on. And so I said, damn, the damn with them. And then I simply just put my foot in there with no socks and I spat it. And I had a great game and I just kind of went with it. And that was my thing. it in the league, but you get fine

for not wearing socks. So I used to put the calf sleeves on. I used to put the whole sock on, cut the ankle off, and then tape. So, yeah, so it looked like a sock, but it was no sock. That's so legit that you cut the feet out of the socks and just wore the calves. So you didn't get fined, yeah.

I want to ask a final question, because I see the picture behind you and then also your jersey there. I think of you as just a steeler, like through and through a steeler. And you mentioned the Ravens earlier on. And to me, professional rivalries are always of interest because the fans and the media. Like, they're the ones, the fans, like, we live them, we hate the teams are supposed to hate,

and the media constantly propels it because it'll get clicks. Did you hate the Ravens as you played the Ravens? I hated the Ravens because, first of all, the rivalry is real. I think that you have to tell the fans that, because I think there's this level of where people think it's all made up for TV. No, it was, the rivalry. Robbery was very real. And it was intense. I know I personally wouldn't sleep well going into Ravens games. Like out of the week, I probably got, you know,

I probably slept good two days out of that week going into Ravens games because your manhood was going to be challenged. And it was one of those games where you couldn't blink, meaning you couldn't show fear and you couldn't look like the guy that didn't belong on the field. You had to match that level of intensity or you was going to stick out or you're going to get hurt or you're going to get somebody else hurt. So it wasn't just about your A game. It's about bringing your will to the floor.

And somebody may say, like, well, don't you do that every Sunday? You would think so. But sometimes when you're equally yoked as the guy across from you and you know they have the same passion, the same pride and the same fight as you, now you have to kind of match their intensity. And every time we played the Ravens, man, it was always intense.

It was always in your face. It was, you know, it's so funny because I just had Adelius Thomas and Bart Scott at my golf outing yesterday, right? Two great Ravens, right? And I work with Bart, obviously, because we both covered the Jets. But nevertheless, man, it was just always, it always felt big. I don't know. No matter where we were in the standings, it always felt big. And it always felt real.

And it was like a bloodlust that we had for each other. And I credit Heinz Ward, man. Heinz was always that guy. You know, what was unique about Heinz, when you talk about somebody setting the tone, it usually comes from a lineback or a running back or somebody on the defense that's a hard hitter. Never your, you know, 5-11 slot Korean receiver.

You know what I mean? Who looks to knock your damn head off, and he did. And how much hate they had for him. And I know hates a strong word, but it was intense, man. We said extremely unchristian-like things to each other. We got after each other. And we were just, you know, we were just two bulls on a block.

You know what I mean? We were just always clodding heads. And it was real, but I loved it. It made my career. It was one of my favorite games, as much as I would not sleep and get the knots in the stomach and try to play my best. I love playing Baltimore. I love playing in Baltimore. I love them coming home.

Play them at home. I saw your Instagram where you were playing golf. What's your handicap? Oh, I'm horrible, man. I'm like a 26 or something like that. It's not good. a debate on this show if you find a certain brand of ball in the woods because we're not very good either if you find a certain brand of ball in the woods what's the number one brand if you

see it you're like i don't even know if i want that ball oh probably bridge stone oh come on you with all the other guys i pick noodle i pick noodle i it was crazy i started to say noodles but i found myself kind of liking the noodle ball okay everybody you know i don't know why it's like not wearing socks it's all feel it's all feel it's all feel i'm i'm i'm i'm Listen, my golf game is so up and down. I love it. I wish, you know, one thing about golf, I wish I would have played it earlier in my career.

Because the beautiful thing about golf is it doesn't matter how mad you are. It doesn't matter how you feel about the game. You got to play the course. You got to present the ball with a level of education and mechanics to do the job, to hit the ball, to get into the hole. And so it requires you to kind of always get centered. Everything is about getting centered so you could do your job. And that's football, man.

It doesn't matter how angry people, fired up I am. I always had to get back to zero so I could do my job, right? And whatever came out of that, I had to still get back to zero. And that's very much golf. And so I, Ben, you know, Ben Robsberg is a big golfer. We had some guys that love golf. But I hated it up until I retire. Now I go to sleep with the golf channel.

Instagram at Willie Colon, 66. Again, big fan of your work in all capacities. like I watch you or listen to you or however I consume you. I'm a big fan of how you tell stories. And I appreciate your time today, Willie. And here's to a great NFL season. And hopefully I talk to you again soon. Appreciate you, brothers.

Thank you. All right, Willie. See, buddy. The 2026 NFL draft is here. And the NFL Daily podcast has it covered from all angles. Join me, Greg Rosenthal, and Jordan Rodriguez after night one on Thursday. Nick Shook joins me night two Friday and then Sunday to recap everything that went down over the three days in Pittsburgh.

We'll tell you who won the draft and which players were my favorite picks. Listen to NFL Daily with Greg Rosenthal on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. I'm Daniel Jeremiah. And I'm Greg Rosenthal. And this is 40s and free agents.

The games may be over, but the NFL never stopped. This is my favorite part of the calendar. Yeah, mine too, Greg. Free agency, the combine. The NFL draft Pro Days trades. is where teams reshape their future. This is where Daniel Jeremiah makes his money.

On 40s and free agents, we break down every move that actually matters. From my draft evaluations, mock drafts, and team fits. To my top 101 free agents and how real rosters are built, cap space, contracts, and all the tough decisions included. You got quarterbacks on the move. We got teams rebuilding. It's hope season. Yeah, absolutely.

It's hope season. We'll tell you what's real, what's noise, and what it means for your favorite team. Smart analysis, real conversations every week. I don't know about the smart, but definitely analysis. Listen to 40s and free agents on the IHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. All right, Kevin, what do you have for us over there? All right, guys, I want to read through a list of topics here. And each of you to answer at what age should a grown man stop doing this?

As a sports fan. We got two grown men right here ready to answer these questions. That's right. And if there is no age, you can say that too. Okay. All right. I'll write mine down. So, and then you'll go first, so I won't be affected by your answer.

Okay. Go ahead. All right. Number one, wearing a player's jersey outside of going to a game. Okay. Okay. I'm in. And I like to talk about why my answer is my answer.

Are you in? I'm in. Go ahead. What's your answer? 25. Why? I just think, you know, adult males after college don't need to be. rocking jerseys unless you're going to the gym or something like that outside of 25 like you're

just wearing another man's jersey not going to a sporting event i i'm pretty confident that 25 is my my cap there and i like your answer i went a little older and i'll tell you why because you do it no but i did when i played rec softball wear a signed margrey's jersey and i played awesome but i'm saying you're you're going to a sporting event no i played rec softball wearing a sign Grant Grace jersey. No, that's pretty baller. Thank you.

I think. That's acceptable. Yeah. I put down 32. Now, I agree with everything you said. But what about, doesn't matter if it is like a vintage, like a retro,

let's say I'm going somewhere, and my jersey is not a current player who's like a 23-year-old and I'm in my 40s, but it's like a mean Joe Green jersey. Like, it's like an old school. Like, the reason I went a little older is because I think I can get around that.

I don't want to look lame more in another dude's jersey because I'm wearing a Philadelphia Eagles, Reggie White, vintage jersey. I think that's pretty cool. And I think you can wear that as kind of a fashion statement more than just a lame... Because I agree with you, everything you said, I'm not pushing back on that at all. I think the only reason it can be a bit older is if the jersey is a bit older with older players or paying homage to the greats.

But if you're out wearing a C.J. Straud jersey and you're 42, and you're going to dinner on a Wednesday, that's pretty lame. That's what I'm saying. Yeah, yeah, you're sitting there. I totally agree with that. It warrants something, if you're wearing a legendary jersey of a player

and you're going to a concert or something like that and you've got the swag going, okay, it's a fashion statement. But if you're just going over to Ace Hardware and they're going to go out. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I think it's the age of the player you're wearing. I think if the age of the player is younger than you,

it's kind of lame. Yes, thank you. That's a good point. You're wearing a kid's jersey and you're putting them up on the God pedestal. So I would say if we're just nuanced in this thing because I agree with your age

and I'm going to lift it a bit if it's like a vintage old school jersey, but that player is still older than you or dead. So you cannot wear the jersey of someone that's younger than you. Okay, I'm with you. I think we just came to the absolute rule. You cannot wear the jersey

of a player that's younger than you if you're just going to a game, I still think that's almost the rule. even if you're going to the game. Like how many Aaron Roger jerseys? There's going to be a bunch of them out there in the Steelers. Just 45, 50-year-olds. And that's weird.

That's weird. Yeah. I think the general rule should be if I were a dictator. Yes, you must go Bradshaw. Or maybe even, well, but who's older, Rathusberger or Aaron Rogers? Oh, that's a good question. Rathesberger. He's definitely older.

Because Rogers is 40. 40. 40. Still looking around 40. Rothesberger's 43, looking around 55. I saw, I played in a charity, like Celebrity Golf Tourimer with Rothesberger a few weeks ago. Uh-huh. Towering. He's a massive human being.

And thick, not fat. No, just a thick, big old boy. You're like, is that a Lumbergack over there? Yeah. 43 and 41. Rathesberger. Wow, so close in age. Yeah.

So I couldn't wear a Rathesberger jersey then. Because I'm just, I just beat Rothersberger in age. Well, you can wear a Rogers jersey. No, I can't. He's younger than me. No, I think... Oh, yeah, yeah, sorry. I think no man should wear any jersey

of a player younger than them regardless. I think you just said a new rule. Yeah, I think that's the rule. For out of game and not out of game, both. Yeah, both. You shouldn't worship an athlete younger than you. You can root for them, but you shouldn't worship them. That's fair.

Unless they're your sibling. Yeah, if they're family, that works. Yeah, now we're just throwing curve balls. Yeah, we want to make sure we check all the boxes. Yeah, exactly. All right, next up. Next one. Bring a baseball glove to a game.

Okay. Hmm, okay. You know what? You want to go first? Yeah. Okay. No age, as long as a kid's with you. I was just going to say that.

For sure. If you have a kid with you and you're going to a game with the purpose of catching a foul ball for your child, totally makes sense. If you're going to a game by yourself. Oh, different age. Hold on. I like that.

Okay, I have no age if you have a kid with you. It's a bonding thing. Yeah. Okay. Okay, by yourself. I'm in at 22. Uh, 22.

Oh, I was going to say college is going to cut off for sure. When you graduate college, catch you with your bare hand, you little babies. Yeah, or I mean, even if maybe high school,

I mean, I don't know if we even drop that down to like 18. You can start smoking and buying cigarettes and at that point, that's your end point for bringing a glove

because you just got to man up and catch that ball with your hand. And if you're on a date, don't take a glove with you if there's no kid. I don't care how old you are. Yeah, what are you going to catch her a foul ball? And she's going to keep it forever.

You guys are going to break up tomorrow. Yeah, walk around with the glove, loser. Yeah. Catch it with your bare hand. Honey, I'm proposing tonight. That's why I brought the glove. Okay, maybe in that circumstance. All right, next up.

Okay, paint your face in the team colors. Never. Going to a game. You're going never to start. Again, you got to stay at 22. Like, right around that college age, where you're still entrenched in the environment. environment of college football or going to a stadium and you're with your buddies or your girlfriends

and you're just like, let's rage. Okay, I get it. But anything past that if you're an adult living in the real world, don't need to paint your face. I'm going to say 35, but only if you're doing it with other people. You can't go to a game by yourself and you be the only one painted. But if there's like eight of you and you're like the dog pound. Oh, you're part of like the community. Like the Raiders, like the black hole or whatever it might be where, but that's like costumes that's dress up. So they're still painting their face.

Yeah. I don't have a problem with it if it's done in a group. There's power and numbers of being weird. So I'm going to say if you, like you and all your boys are going to a game and you just we're going to be stupid and take our shirts off and paint our chest and face. Like, I'm not going to do that. It ain't for me. But it's just when you're doing it by yourself.

yourself. Yeah, by yourself puts a whole other, puts you into a whole other category. So I'm going to go a little older, but I'm going to put the caveat of you have to do it with other people or it looks really weird by yourself. I'm going to catch a game by myself. Hold on. Paint it. Paint it with a glove and a jersey.

Yes. All right, next one. Okay. Bash an athlete on Twitter. Oh. Mm. I don't know. I don't know about this one.

You can't really cap it. because there are fans everywhere that are fanatical and they want to have their opinion. And right now in our society, social media gives them that ability. But like at what age are you like, dude, you're a grown man. Like you're taking time out of your day to come comment or say something bad. Well, do I think it's ridiculous that people go on and make comments half the time? Yeah, of course I do. But at the same time, I'd say as soon as you get into that 40 realm, it's like, do you, do you, do you,

really want to spend your time capping on a 21-year-old kid that missed the ball or crapping all over a player for a bad performance? I would say it also, like what, are we playing college or professional? I think that matters too. Professional. It's weird. I've never gone on and bashed an athlete. Me neither. And I have big opinions about everything all the time. I've bashed organizations. I've questioned coaching decisions. But I've never. been on, it's been like, this person sucks. Or felt like you had to go write that in. And maybe it's because people will do that to me

and it feels so personal. So that could be a reason, too, that people will come after me and say personal things because of the job that I do. And at times, maybe I don't perform as well as others. So that could possibly affect it. But I'm going to say, what age can you rent a car? 26. Yeah. Okay. That's when you should start stop throwing spears at specific athletes. Okay. When you can rent a car? Yeah. I think the issue, though,

with this is that with the betting now and everybody I think Betty yeah fantasy betting that's changed the world because you're I've got so many friends that are 40 plus

50 plus look they've got their parley they've got this that and the other point and they're just emotional that they miss their parlay or they miss this based on one player's performance and I don't know if they actually snap back at those guys on social media or the players but at the end of the day

that's what this world's come to is they have to get their frustrations out some way because they just lost a bunch of money. Then I would like to retract my statement that I've never said anything bad. Because I don't, I've not taken shots, but I have said things like if Jamal Charles would have got me four more yards, I would have taken a shot. Is it though? Or is it stating a fact?

No, I don't count that. Or I was one leg away if Ted Holmgren gets one more block. So if that doesn't count, I still don't think of ever something bad about an athlete. If that does, then I have many times because I didn't think about that. I do let my fantasy and betting, it is reflected in my posting. Yeah. But I don't ever go after the person because it's not really there. It could have been the scheme that week.

Right. More so than the player. Does that count us talking bad about somebody if I say, man, if they had gotten six more yards or one more catch out of one the game that my fantasy game this week? No. Because you're along with hundreds of thousands or whoever. are also on the same boat. And I'm not blaming the player ever.

I'm just saying if they would have. And that could have been, again, a quarterback's fault, the, it doesn't matter. Now, if he drops like a pass, I would have got you, at the last second, then you're like, oh, if he would have caught that pass, but he can't catch. Yeah, but I think I'm, I might have said,

there's layers to it. I might say if he would have caught that last ball, but I don't think I would have ever said he can't catch. Right. Because obviously he's in the NFL, and I think I handle it differently because people take shots at me all the time. So I don't think I'm the normal person,

but I'm still putting it to 26. Okay. We got back to 26. When you can rent a car, that's when you need to shut up about specific players sucking, because you hadn't done anything in your life. You barely can rent a car, loser. There you go. Okay.

Okay, I like that. The 26 NFL draft is here, and the NFL Daily podcast has it covered from all angles. Join me, Greg Rosenthal, and Jordan Roderig after night one on Thursday. Nick Shook joins me night two Friday and then Sunday to recap everything that went down over the three days in Pittsburgh. We'll tell you who won the draft and which players were my favorite picks. Listen to NFL Daily with Greg Rosenthal on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. I'm Daniel Jeremiah. And I'm Greg Rosenthal. And this is 40s and free agents. The games may be over, but the NFL never stopped. This is my favorite part of the calendar.

Yeah, mine too, Greg. Free agency, the combine. The NFL draft pro days, trades. This is where reshape their future. This is where Daniel Jeremiah makes his money. On 40s and free agents, we break down every move that actually matters. From my draft evaluations, mock drafts, and team fits to my top 101 free agents and how real rosters are built, cap space, contracts, and all the tough decisions included. You got quarterbacks on the move. We got teams rebuilding. It's hope season. Yeah, absolutely. It's hope season. We'll tell you what's real, what's noise, and what it means for your favorite team. Smart analysis, real conversations every week.

I don't know about the smart, but definitely analysis. Listen to 40s and free agents on the IHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Next one here, asking an athlete for an autograph. Well, for me, this one's tough. I think it's fair to be a fan into ask an athlete for an autograph when you're an adult. But it's got to be within, again, I'm. I'm cut off point for me is usually around college, like to ask for an autograph or, you know, it's hard because I respect the fans in that.

So I'll say 30. But I will say this. We've been out at training camp before, and they have the autograph seekers, right? Or you'll be going to your hotel the night before a game and they're sitting out there. These are grown adults with multiple things to sign, trying to get you to sign a blank, blank sheet of paper just to get your autograph and sell it and do that stuff. And there's little kids. And they try to jump in front of these little kids.

And it infuriates me watching them do that. And I know they're trying to make a buck and do whatever they want to do. And they've got something going on inside. But for kids, it's one thing. Grown adults getting in front of other kids to try to, you know, push their way in there and get autographs for their own. Because you know they're just trying to sell it, right? It has no purpose other than them trying to.

monetize it. So, oh, this one's hard for me. All right, I'll say 30. I've played shows at the Ryman auditorium here in Nashville, and you run into those guys, and they basically have a big piece of cardboard, and they have, like, six things on it, and they're like,

Bobby, will you sign this? But don't make it out to anybody. Right. Never personalize it. Because if you do, it loses the value in resale completely. And that's annoying. Also, you still do it, because, well, I do, because what's my autograph worth?

Very little. So you still do it, and you sign everybody else's thing to going in. But it does feel like the older they are, the goofier it feels, until you're like, you know what, they're just trying to make a living. I also own part of a sports memorabilia business. But again, I don't walk around asking athletes to sign them. Mostly that's a room set up with a bunch of stuff where the athlete goes and gets paid a blanket amount and they sign everything. Right.

I think if you can grow facial hair, it starts to get weird if you're just asking for an audit. Unless it's like a legend. Man, that's a tough one. That is a really tough one. I mean. If I had like a really cool old, I'll just give an example because I'm looking at one now,

like old Dallas Cowboys helmet and Herschel Walker was like standing there. I'd be like, dude. Yeah, I'd be like, hey, I was a big fan of yours. Would you mind sign of this old helmet? So I think it just matters. In the right setting, though, too. Yeah, I agree. Because setting matters.

Big time. Like if somebody comes up to you and you're at the restaurant with your wife and they say, hey, could you sign this for me? That's a weird circumstance. Can we also insert the if they're older than you rule that's okay? Because again, if I see Larry Bird and I got a ball, freaking Larry Bird. Yeah. Like when I was a kid, I need you to sign that because you're still kind of a kid to that person

that affected you when you were a kid. So I almost want to put that if they're older than you, you can ask for an autograph at any time. If they're younger than you, we have some rules we need to talk about. Yes. When in doubt, that absolutely makes sense. Yeah, when in doubt go with that line, that parameter. If they're older than you and they were cool to you as a kid and you would have wanted their autograph as a kid, I think it's still okay as long as you're not being creepy and like they're not with their kids,

they're not eating, have food in front of them. It's okay to ask for an autograph. Yeah. But it's when an older man comes up to you who's 15 years older than you and is like, we saw my shoe. That's when it gets weird. It does get weird. Good question, though.

Give me one more. Okay, last one. Crying after a loss, after your favorite team loses, as a fan, crying. Will you define crying because I cry like this? God, we suck at everything! No, I'm talking about it. I've seen actual fans cry. Like, I'm talking tears.

All right, so six years old is mine. You don't even have to be an adult. If you're an adult, you shouldn't be crying after your team lost. Maybe after victory. I could see that. Celebration. Yes, like a celebration tier? No, like a sadness, loss.

You're a Pacer's fan, just loss. Yeah, I'm with you. I think if you're an adult, you don't cry after a loss. I think a cry after a win is a different feeling, a different emotion. Because you've experienced that with somebody or some years you've spent. After a loss, it's like, bro, people are at war right now. Yeah, there's a lot going on. Like, people are hungry right now.

And nobody, I don't feel rage in my life. Like, I don't ever get too high or too low. It's something I go to therapy for because I don't feel that often. And I think I got numb from my early childhood at just really not having parents and having to survive. So I don't like look forward to things. I don't have hopes for things. But also things don't affect me that much on the bottom side either

where I'm just like... You're just calloused. Very much so. But I've really been trying to work my way out of that with a lot of therapy. And that being said, I've never experienced so much rage or I wanted to like punch somebody

or I guess me like, I'll move on. Like I'm like triggered or competitive and want to kill somebody. But I never feel that rage where it's like, through something through a television, except for when Arkansas loses. I was just about to say. That's the only time I see red in my eyes. I'm starting to think about this, and you've been through some difficult circumstances, just this year.

It's just this year. It's awful. And I get so rage-filled. But I now can understand what people, that feeling they get towards just general life. And yet I still have never cried. But that's my point. Never cried at a loss. Yeah.

At a loss. Like if you were going to cry, it was the other night for the World Series. That was a bad one. Sweet 16 was a bad one. We could walk through the whole thing. Softball. Two players had food poisoning. My brother-in-law's coach on the team.

We could do football. The thing about football was stupid because we lose a terrible Oklahoma State game. But then we beat Tennessee again. We shouldn't have won. They kept the coaches around longer. I wanted to cry after that. We won, but now our coaches are going to be here longer. I still have never cried because of a loss because I'm an adult.

Yes. I just haven't cried over. Yeah. As an adult, have not cried. over a game. This might be human. And again, it felt so weird, but when my brother-in-law was not at Arkansas,

he went to Utah to be the hitting coach. It was his first job, and he was hitting coach, and he took them to their first ever college world series, and after they won the game, I got like a tear. But I think that was family for him. Yeah, that's deep.

Yeah, that's not just... Yeah, that's celebrating family. It's the emotional side of it. You get the pass on that. You get the pass on that. All right. All right, so you did cry. After a win, though.

After a win, that's what I'm saying. After a win, it makes a win. sense to me. After loss, it's devastating. You feel helpless. But at the end of the day, it's a game. And you didn't play. Yeah. And it's weird to say that. It's a game because we invest so much of our lives and you, your career into sports and it matters so much. But it only matters to a point. After I remind myself that sometimes. Yes. I have to look in the mirror and go, it's just a game. And tomorrow, the sun will come up again. Yeah. As a fan, I haven't done it. As a player, there's been emotional games. Like when my dad passed away and we went and

played against the Raiders and then Coach Belichick brought the team up and presented me with the game ball. There was this emotional release because I hadn't really cried that week and it all happened so sudden where that's an emotional just, you know, things are coming out. But like watching the Dodgers lose the World Series or do something like that or the Lakers or something, I'm just like, that's part of sports. You're going to win or you're going to lose. I also think, and you made a good point, it doesn't even have to be the loss of of something. I think if you work all season,

let's use the Pacers this last week when they lost their game. I think if you lose, it's okay to cry a little bit if you were the one playing. Yes. As a fan,

okay, stop. Stand up, shake your hands, shake your feet, get a little in your extremities and then stop being a little wimp. It sucks, but don't cry.

But if you're like McConnell and you've played your freaking face off, you deserve to cry, that's okay. I'm not going to judge you for crying if you actually played the game because you put time, heart,

your body into this. Yeah, it was a grind. Yeah, but I feel rage, man. I punched the couch. My wife has never, because again, I'm never too high, never too low. I will start punching couches.

I would love to see you just have a complete breakdown of the help. You will never see it. Can somebody film this, please? I don't get around people when I watch stuff. Oh, you have to watch by yourself? By myself. Is it only Arkansas? Yes.

Yeah, only Arkansas. Yeah, yes. 99%. 99%. 99%. I mean, there are bad beats in gambling, but even then, I'm just like, of course. Of course, I lost because I'm a terrible idiot. Terrible gambler.

And they told me to bet that parlay, and it looked good. And I had two out of the three. It was so meaty. Gosh, I'm so stupid. Just lost again. Then I just cry because I'm a loser. I'm not even about the game. All right, we're done.

Thank you guys. Oh, Kevin, we got to pick a book. Yes. Did you, uh, you want to, what do you think? So I saw a few comments on there. By the way, the jerseys, they reached the destination. Both of them. Both of them.

All the way to Germany. Let's go. It took only three days. Really? Yeah. Mailman, who even knew? I know. Yeah.

What service? Let's look at some, I'm going to pull up some comments here. If you just tell me, I think what we should do is if you just tell me how many there are, I'll just pick a number. That's the one we do. Okay. Because then we're not judging based on creativity in the comments, which I never really wanted that to be. Bobby Dance with me was the comment? No, we're all over it.

Were they? Yeah. I don't know how many there are, but I'm going to pick number 14. Here we go. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen. Danny says, dance with me, Bobby. Last time I tried to buy your book, Bear Bones on Amazon, the copy I wanted was out of stock. So, Danny. Danny. Let's go. Danny, dance with him. Yeah, Danny. I don't, his name is just Danny from four days ago. Kevin, I don't know how you're going to find him. He's going to message you, but message Kevin, kick off Kevin. What's your Instagram name?

Yep, right there. Kick off Kevin. Danny. Kevin and then we will send you an autograph book. And thank you for a little. Shoot a DM. That's it. Thanks for listening. He's Matt Castle. Let's kick off Kevin.

That's Brandon Ray. I'm Bobby Bowen. We have had lots to say. We'll see you guys next week. Bye, everybody. Lots to say with Bobby Bowens and Matt Castle is a production of the NFL and IHeart podcasts. For more podcasts from IHartRadio, visit the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever

you get your podcasts. The 2026 NFL draft is here and the NFL Daily podcast has it covered from all angles. join me, Greg Rosenthal, and Jordan Roderig after night one on Thursday. Nick Shook joins me night two Friday and then Sunday to recap everything that went down over the three days in Pittsburgh. We'll tell you who won the draft and which players were my favorite picks. Listen to NFL Daily with Greg Rosenthal on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. I'm Daniel Jeremiah. And I am Greg Rosenthal.

I know that, Greg. We're teaming up on 40s and free agents, the podcasts that, owns the NFL off season. This is where teams are built. Free agency, combine, pro days, trades. Every move matters. From my draft boards and mock drafts to my vaunted top 101 free agents

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