The Fumblerooski Podcast - Last Minute -Ep 251 The Fumblerooski Podcast

Episode Date: March 6, 2024

Do the Giants deserve Saquon? Was retaining DE Josh Allen a MUST for the Jaguars? What kind of interest will Russell Wilson receive? Will Brian Burns no longer a Panther? Adam Wright and CJ Medeiros debate these topics and more!

Russell Wilson has officially been released by the Denver Broncos. Franchise tags are being placed today, and Saquon Barkley will not be receiving one. I'm Adam Wright, and you're listening to the Fumble Rooski Podcast. It may not have always showed it in the stat sheet, but you can see him making throws when he needs to make the throws. Back-to-back games where he has three touchdowns. Someone's got to get that six or seven spot. He's an elite wide receiver as a

rookie. Truly a lose-lose scenario for both sides. Welcome to the Fumble Rooski podcast by Power88 and Secret Weapon Consulting. I'm Adam Wright and I'm here with CJ Medeiros. Welcome to Franchise Tag Deadline Day. So by five today, which is, so you guys are going to be seeing this, this recording at seven 30 or later. So whatever tags are placed after this episode, we apologize. Um, but we did have a lot that were just placed right before our episode aired, namely, uh, defensive end, Brian Burns, safety, Antoine Winfield, Jrfield Jr., defensive tackle Justin Matabike, all given the tag today. Saquon Barkley will not receive one. So if that changes, then again, we apologize. But that's literally a report that just came out.

But in other news, what we're going to start off with, and we will keep you guys updated as the episode goes on with any other tags, but Russell Wilson has been released by the Denver Broncos. This came out basically during the regular season. It was one of the worst kept secrets in all of football that Russell Wilson will be released come March. And here we are and they did not um they weren't lying russell wilson is not going to be a part of the team and here is here is the biggest part of this is that the dead cat money is the largest by a wide margin in franchise history.

Actually, no, in league history. 85 million in dead cap. The next closest combined only make 80 million. So it's not only the most dead money they're taking, it's by a landslide, by an absolute, it's going to, it's going to hurt them in the next couple of years. Um, but looking at, looking at Russell Wilson in just looking at, looking past, looking past the Broncos in their, their financial issues, which is a story in itself, just looking at Russell Wilson, I think he's going to find a

new home. Eventually he probably won't receive very much interest after the past couple of years, but statistically this last year, he wasn't that bad. He was pretty solid and towards the middle of the season, he was helping them win games and he did win games for them for the Seahawks. In fact, they made the playoffs almost every year with him. So I do believe that he will find a new team eventually and he will be back in the playoffs at some point. It's a matter of who will. And there's a couple of teams out there who do need a quarterback. The Atlanta Falcons, most notably.

You can name the Commanders. You can name the Patriots. You can name even the Bears because, I mean, well, they're probably going to take Caleb Williams or keep Justin Fields, but they still need a quarterback. So we have to name all the options here. The Raiders are another team. They need a quarterback. Well, they just let go of jimmy g

they're about to yeah i was gonna say he's go he's been suspended and yeah sure he's event he's going to be released so it's not like it's like oh he. No, he's going to be off the team eventually. Another team. Geez, I had it on the tip of my. Yes, the Pittsburgh Steelers. Most of these teams are going to end up. Most of these teams are going to end up with their quarterback. Yeah, Kenny Pick is not going to be there any longer.

He's done. If he stays for another year. I was just going to be there any longer he's done if he stays for another year i was just gonna say i thought i read a report that pittsburgh wasn't interested in russell wilson well it's another team that it's another team that needs a quarterback if they're not interested in what russell wilson then so be it but we got to mention every team because again remember back in the 2021 NFL offseason, were the Seahawks not saying that they're not going to trade Russell Wilson and then traded Russell Wilson like a week later? So I'm just naming all the teams.

I'm not saying anything is going to happen. Also, the Minnesota Vikings, if they can't retain Kirk Cousins, they are going to add that to the list of teams, add him to the list of teams who need a new quarterback. Same with the Buccaneers. I think Baker Mayfield is going to stay a Buccaneer, but we got to mention him because Baker Mayfield is a free agent and the Buccaneers just use their franchise tag.

And I don't believe he can be franchised anyway since he's coming from a different team. But still, another team. Russell Wilson, I believe there was buzz around Wilson being a stealer when he was a Seahawk. I think that would be one of the better fits, to be honest. But I don't think it's probably not going to happen. So looking at all these teams,

I think the Falcons changed birds. I think that would be a good fit. I think as much as Russell Wilson had a rough go at it in Denver, we forget how good he was as a Seahawk. I don't know how good he is after what we just saw in Denver, but we know what he is capable of. We've seen him play well. I think the Falcons are one of the better spots.

For any quarterback, to be be honest new head coach lots of good weapons who are still who have still have fresh legs because of the last idiot who was the head coach barely used any of his guys um i think they have a pretty solid offensive line and i know their defense wasn't good last year but they have some good pieces where if they have better coaching they should be better than they were i think they have a good pieces where if they have better coaching, they should be better than they were. I think they have a good defense, good offensive pieces, new head coach who has something to prove. I think the Falcons are a good spot for Russell Wilson.

What they end up doing is very different. They could end up with Justin Fields. They could get Kirk Cousins. But there's a lot of different spots for new quarterbacks. Yeah. fields they could get kurt cousins but there's a lot of different spots for new quarterbacks yeah so here's the thing with the denver broncos all right no denver the ride never ends well mostly because it you know hasn't even started yet and it never did it's just oh god i mean who really saw it ending this way did you did you really see it ending like this because he looked like a shell of himself in denver and even from that offseason when they got sean payton everything was supposed to be better heck even i thought it'd get a little

better and for a while it did but it was very obvious that Sean Payton was not a big Russell Wilson fan. He outright said, didn't he say something like he needs to start playing football and stop kissing babies or whatever that line was? He said, damn it, Ross, stop kissing babies. Exactly. I take it he never had kids. Yeah. And it's getting to the point where it's just Denver.

What do you do? Because I'm starting to think that when, you know, you're that defense carry Peyton Manning to a Super Bowl, though those many years ago, I think Denver, the city had collectively sold its soul. You know what I mean? For that ring. They sold their soul for that ring because look just

really look at what's happened i saw like a list of all the quarterbacks they've had to start since manning left one of them was that wide receiver kendall hinton so it's just i remember that yep yeah yep that was bad yeah and i just don't know what you do because you they go out and they get decent players in the draft like you know like uh justin simmons you know they got him they drafted bradley chubb they drafted portland sutton but it's just that they've got – and, you know, there's other guys like Garrett Bowles as well. You know, the guys that they're drafting, you know, they drafted Draymond Jones too, I believe.

And, you know, you keep drafting these guys, and you're hitting on a lot of them. But it's just that quarterback spot continues to elude them, like no matter what they do. But to be fair, they haven't spent a first round pick on a quarterback since they took a horrific reach on that memphis dude axton lynch back in the day you know so i feel like the only way they do this is uh you know take your first rounder draft a quarterback oh wait a minute you're still recouping from that trade you know and i your first round or draft a quarterback. Oh, wait a minute. You're still

recouping from that trade, you know, and I mean, I think they actually do have a first round pick this year, but I got news for you, Denver. You're not picking in the top three. So that more likely than not means that unless you sell another soul to trade up you will not be getting caleb williams you will not be getting drake may and you will not be getting jayden daniels honestly there's a chance that jj mccarthy's gone if a team really wants to reach on them there there's a very real chance that mccarthy's gone before he gets to you so i just don't know what you do. And then when you look at other teams, right? Michael Penix, though, Joe Bo Nix. I wouldn't call them first-rounders. You don't think they're going to?

I think Michael Penix might be a first-rounder. Yeah, but coming off that injury? Wait, no, no, no, that's not him. That's almost never mind. I'm sorry. My brain's all over the place. I was posting stuff, for those who don't know, for Fumble Rooski. News never stops.

But I want to look at this from Russell Wilson's perspective. Obviously, he's not going to get a lot of money in free agency, right? That much we know. However, is he even going to want that much, considering the fact that he's got it made because Denver literally has to pay him 85 million I mean if he takes like a cheaper deal and while Denver's still paying him I mean I don't know why he would I mean heck go to Atlanta they I mean I think Russell Wilson at least has like three good years left in the tank. I do. That is something I believe, like two to three good years.

You know, he's not cooked yet. So I would say, like you said, go to Atlanta with Bijan, Kyle Pitts, Drake London. Raheem Morris seems like a guy with a good head on his shoulders. That could work. Or, you know, I mean, I knowsburgh's not interested but think of new england the cupboards bear now but they have a little over a hundred million dollars in free agency and if you sign there maybe they get marvin harrison jr third overall so it's a work in progress but they have the resources to build around you or like like you mentioned heck maybe

the vikings you could literally play with the best receiver in the game right now. So for Russ, it's not over. He has options. But for Denver, well, see, I mean, you got – what's his name there? You got Sean Payton from the Saints. Maybe see if you can get Mickey Loomis out of there too to try to navigate in the cap hell you just got yourself into. Yeah.

I think out of all of the potential destinations, unless the Vikings end up not keeping Kirk Cousins, which it, I mean, who knows what's going to happen there. Those are the two spots who i think are the most intriguing for a quarterback who are look who's looking for a new team um this uh pittsburgh pittsburgh and atlanta i think there are the best spots i think they have a lot of good weapons around them decent defense coaching that looks promising i think that's a spot i think that's a good spot for both of them um for uh russell wilson between uh kirk cousins uh justin fields as well if there's anything left with him um yeah we'll see what ends up happening either way i don't think mac jones is going to find a starting role ever again

it's very unlikely i'll grant you that i mean i've heard like you might get a fifth or sixth form like i would say just take what you can get there i mean it's it's at that point which is it's too bad that it's gotten there um all right well we're going to move on franchise tags have been placed today and we're going to move on. Franchise tags have been placed today, and we're going to cover all of them and what is going to become of those players. Do they get traded? Do they get extended?

Or do they just leave in free agency next year? Or do they get tagged again? That's next. This is the Fumble Rooski Podcast. It may not have always showed it in the stat sheet, but you can see him making throws when he needs to make the throws. Back-to-back games where he has three touchdowns someone's got to get that six or seven spot he's an elite wide receiver as a rookie truly a lose-lose scenario for both sides

welcome back to the fumble ruski podcast i'm adam right with cj maderos so out of all the franchise tags so the reason they're all being placed today is because today's the deadline at 5pm today that's going to be the official mark and so far today it's been Carolina Panthers defensive end Brian Burns, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

safety Antoine Winfield Jr., Ravens defensive tackle, Justin Matabike, all of those players are going to be tagged. Out of all of the other players, there was also LeJarius Sneed, who's been tagged as well t higgins another player um so out of all these players i think we can we can kind of skim through them all with brian burns i think this is the most interesting of them all because antoine winfield jr he is going to be he is going to reach a long term contract most likely the two sides are working hard it looks like they're going to reach a long-term contract, most likely. The two sides are working hard. It looks like they're going to get one done. With Brian Burns, it was already reported a couple days ago

that they stopped contract talks. And it's very, it raises some eyebrows that he was just franchise tagged that tells me either they want to resume later on or so like they think they could buy time or they are looking for a tag and trade and they already i don't know what to make of this because it could be either one, but I just don't see if you stopped, if you just abruptly stopped contract talks and then place the tag on him, you, I don't know if you would, if something like this happened,

I don't know if you would just have him play under the tag. So something seems a little weird here. Um, yeah. Well, well well well i i don't know what to tell you anymore i really don't the brian burns saga has been interesting because we all know the story i've mentioned it before so i'll be quick about it how a team i believe the rams literally offered two first round picks for him and Carolina turned it down. I mean, looking back now, you really have egg on your face, do you not? Because, well, it's tough for me to envision a future where Brian Burns stays.

It really is. I mean, think about it. Just really stop and think. You turn down two first-rounders for him, you're probably going to have to overpay him. And, you know, that probably wouldn't be the wisest thing because we've said before, Brian Burns is good, but has he only reached a double-digit sacks like once in his career?

I mean, he's good, but I wouldn't. He's done it twice, has he not? Yeah, once or twice. But my point is, as much as I like Brian Burns, I wouldn't necessarily describe him as in the upper echelon of cast rushers when we necessarily call him top five. Nope, he's done it once in 2022. Okay.

He had seven and a half, nine, nine, twelve and a half, eight. That's good, but I wouldn't pay him what Micah Parsons will eventually get. I wouldn't pay him what T.J tj watt's getting right now

we're not gonna pay him like what miles garrett's getting but yeah but i mean you either have to overpay him or just let him walk because i truly believe that if they didn't tag him he was gone like they could call him he wasn't gonna return their calls. He was just gone. And I think Carolina is just delaying the inevitable because the question I have is that if they stopped all negotiations, does Burns want to be there? Because the want for Burns to be in Carolina, in my eyes, looks just one sided.

Yeah. It seems like Carolina wants him. Yeah. But at the same time if he doesn't want to be there why are like they're placing the tag which is again cj you say it all the time uh it's more of a verbal agreement the player doesn't even yeah the not even agreement it's a it's just a a verbal thing that happens the they just say, we're tagging you, and the player doesn't even have to consent to it. My apologies for my dog barking in the background. Believe me, it's really no problem.

Yeah. Anyone just walks by and then... Yeah. If you are... If you're Brian Burns, honestly, you might want to ask for a trade. That might be what's best for both sides. Because if he doesn't want to be there, what are you looking for? I hear you. I do.

But consider this. You turned down two first rounders for him, and now you're in a spot where you will not get two first rounders. So once again, there is no situation where Carolina comes out of this, not looking like a complete and utter buffoon. There's really not. Adam, you're muted.

You continue to be muted adam yeah i i had it muted for the dog and then understandable but uh this is probably the the best possible scenario for them at this point unless they convince him to stay and then they extend him but do the, how much money is he really worth? Yeah. Like you said, like statistically, I know you don't want to look too much into statistics,

but he isn't like, he isn't one of the best in the game. Like he, he isn't, he's better than average. I'd say like four years, 60 or so millions. Good.

But like, but if we're going past 70, I got to give you like you know the duane the rock johnson eyebrow you know i mean that's kind of wrong like yeah maybe we should i mean that's just me yeah um yeah all right one like one more player i don't know if we didn't need to go too much into antoine winfield Jr. I think it's more of a story that they, I don't think that they definitely can't place the, the tag on Baker Mayfield, but they're, they're working on a deal right now. I mean, that's, that's, they, they're, it's been very, it's been widely reported with justin matabike uh they they finally caved and gave him the tag and this guy just had a career year like by a mile i'm going to this freaking dog um this is i what do they do with this guy because i don't know is he really worth i know he had a

great year but is he really worth this money because if you look at the rest of his career he has not done that much yeah but he's one of those guys where his impact has felt more away from the stat sheet you know his football iq, you know, prominent voice in the locker room. I myself would argue for keeping him. And it's something that I would argue for. I genuinely believe that they will keep him. I do. I truly think he is going to stay in Tampa regardless of the money. You know, that's just what it comes down to.

I mean, I don't know what kind of contract he wants, what he could command. I'd say like the $60 million to $75 million range is good because, I mean, don't get me wrong. He is one of the better safeties in the league. I would actually dare to call him a top 10 safety. Actually, no, not dare. I would say pretty confidently that he is at minimum a top 10 safety. Actually, no, not dare. I would say pretty confidently that he is at minimum a top 10 safety. However, safety, oh, I'm about to get some real hate for this.

Low key can be like the running back of the defensive side of the ball. You don't need an elite one to succeed, you know? Yeah. Yeah. Pretty much. need an elite one just to succeed you know yeah yeah pretty much um all right i want to move on our last segment which is saquon barkley who will not receive the franchise tag he got it last year he isn't this year and um this is interesting because now he is officially going to hit the open market when it comes up so what is going to happen is he going to stay a new york giant where he's spent his entire career or will he continue to put up numbers somewhere else we're going to discuss that next this is the fumble ruski podcast it may not have always

showed it in the stat sheet, but you can see him making throws when he needs to make the throws. Back-to-back games where he has three touchdowns. Someone's got to get that six or seven spot. He's an elite wide receiver as a rookie. Truly a lose-lose scenario for both sides. Welcome back to the Fumble Rooski Podcast. I'm Adam Wright with CJ Medeiros.

So Saquon Barkley, we discussed this guy as a potential franchise tag candidate a couple of weeks ago, and we discussed that maybe the Giants don't actually deserve him. And I understand that the Giants have tried to give this team, to give this running back and the quarterback that they paid a bunch of money to a good offensive line, but it hasn't worked out and you can't just give them the past just for trying, right? Yeah. They made an effort at drafting offensive linemen in the first round and they didn't pan out. That doesn't mean we don't blame the front office for these players not panning out, right? You it's up to you guys to find the right guys for the job.

If you don't evaluate your talent correctly and it turns out it blows up in your face, who are we blaming the front office? So yeah, they found the good running back years ago. But what else have they really hit on at any other position? Yeah, you make a valid point. They used a fifth overall pick. I believe it was the fifth, right? I'm not talking about Saquon here. They used a fifth overall pick on Daniel Jones. That was the fifth? And I thought it was the fifth overall pick on daniel jones that was the fifth and

i thought it was the fifth wasn't it it was an early pick i mean it was overall uh look at all off the top of my head i believe it was fifth overall either way it was a top 10 pick um oh you were close sixth so it doesn't really matter yeah same thing you used it on daniel jones a quarterback who is at best above average he's not winning you a super bowl anytime soon so you have to look at the front office here and say like do you i'm not looking at it through through the giants perspective because obviously the giants if you're the giants you try to keep him but do the giants just from an outside perspective do the giants deserve him no they don't no and honestly he deserves a new team with better

weapons around him with a better offensive line to protect him and a team that actually has a chance of winning a championship i understand we've and we've always said that a team surrounded by uh that's that's centered around the running back they don't win super bowls but what if it's not centered around the running back but you still have that elite running back? Let's say he goes to the Texans. The team is not centered around Saquon Barkley anymore. It's meant for CJ Stroud. And Saquon Barkley is just an added luxury, a luxury that's going to benefit them well, especially in the postseason where running the ball is not nearly as easy as it once was.

Running defenses get a lot tighter, and teams score more points, making it harder to run the ball. So those are some things to consider um before we continue uh we'll get to this in a second the jaguars are expected to place the franchise tag on pass rusher josh allen and uh it's going to be for defensive ends 24 million Ben's $24 million. Look, they'll be forgiven. All right? Let's continue on Saquon first, but we'll get to it. So about Saquon. Now, I'm going to try to put myself in Saquon's shoes.

If I am Mr. Saquon Barkley, The question I would ask myself is, why would I stay in New York, a place that has glorified turnstiles where they should have an offensive line, a wide receiver core that pretty much doesn't exist, or at least a pass-catching core that doesn't exist outside of sometimes Darren Waller,er who by the way is actively considering retirement and the first time where they could have given me you know i'm talking from the perspective of saquon yeah a long-term deal they said nuts to you we're gonna throw money at danny dimes really why would i stay there i mean look if you're new york i'm sorry you dug your grave here all right just just jump in now but for saquon it's like fleeing off the titanic just

catch that boat out you're gone i don't really think there's any lore for him to stay. There really is. Like, he just had a career year two years ago. Back in 2022, 1,300 yards, 10 touchdowns. I mean, the guy was incredible. And then the offensive line gets significantly worse. And this is a pretty bad season. So again, this is something that I don't blame Saquon for. I blame the offensive line. And to blame the offensive line is to blame the front office

for not putting out a good enough offensive line right yeah say well like the the front office tried they added players from the first round well that's all fine and good but that just because they come in the first round doesn't mean they're going to work out you need to do your homework you need to evaluate these players well enough so that you can give Saquon Barkley and Daniel Jones the proper protection in order to, in order to continue to succeed. Um, and they didn't do that. I mean, you can even look at Daniel Jones in this scenario. He was sacked one game early on in the season, 11 times by the Seattle Seahawksks the seahawks have a solid defense but not good enough so that they get 11 sacks on you that's really bad that's that tells me offensive

line and uh they got him hurt eventually i mean don't let's not forget yeah i mean he left the season early so he was done yeah and but when you combine all these things together, once again, I will say, where is the incentive for Saquon to stay? Like it's something that I genuinely don't get. Yeah. Yeah.

There's, there's really no reason for him to stay. And if they're not placing the franchise tag on him, if he wants to leave, he's going to be gone. I mean, there's going to be interest for this guy someone's going to want to bring bring him on the team i i do think the texans should be on

be in on this guy i also thought the uh they they should have been in on mike evans but that's another that's another thing for another day um but they're one really solid weapon from being super bowl contenders i really do believe yeah all right excuse me uh josh allen has received the franchise tag um this guy i mean he's always been a good pass rusher but wait is it official that he got it or he's getting it yeah oh it's yeah rap sheet just put it out it's on the nfl instagram yep 24 million dollars which that's that's the official number for defensive ends this year uh i mean he is their best pass rusher. And they also have Trayvon Walker on the other side. So to have two quality pass rushers, and you also, let's not forget,

the Jaguars just released Darius Williams, who was their number two corner. So they kind of need that pass-catching core to stay intact in order for them to continue to have a good defense or at least have a chance to, I'd understand it wasn't that good this year, but they still have the personnel. If they want to have a good defense, you've got to have some sort of identity and theirs is go and get the quarterback. I don't hate that most of the time like imagine do you most of the most ferocious defenses in our league's history were ones that were able to get to the quarterback obviously the secondary is extremely

important you need a good secondary but the real difference maker is the one who can rush the quarterback who can make the quarterback make mistakes i mean you saw it in the super bowl chris jones had brock purdy throwing off his back feet all game aaron donald had tom brady throwing out his on his throwing on his back foot throughout the entire 2021 divisional round. Vita Veya and the rest of those boys on the Buccaneers in Super Bowl 55. Patrick Mahomes was running for his life. He made a few mistakes. The Buccaneers win the game in a blowout. I mean, these game wreckers, they quite literally have franchise quarterbacks, some of the best quarterbacks of all time, looking pedestrian. How important is that?

So if you're the Jacksonville Jaguars, hold on to Josh Allen to pair with Trayvon Walker. That's a pretty good duo. Yeah. You know, you raised a solid point. However, I do have to ask, how much is it worth for him? Um, not 20. What would you pay him? Um, I think he deserves high end money because he is, um, I think he deserves high-end money i do um sometimes these players have their best years

um later on in their career we saw it with matt judon i mean he received a big contract and look at how he's doing in new england right now then again he did get us changed scenery yeah also i would argue though that new england actually used him better than Baltimore did because Baltimore used him as like a Dante high tower off ball guy. Whenever he edge, whenever they put them on the edge, he was good. They usually used him off ball, but new England used him strictly as an edge rusher. But I feel like I should clear that up. That's just me.

Sorry. Yeah, no, I understand that. Um, was the same thing. I, I don't, I haven that. Was the same thing... I don't... I haven't done all of my homework on Josh Allen. Is that what they... It could be a similar scenario with Josh Allen here.

Because, I mean, he goes from being a decent pass rusher to being one of the better ones in the game. I mean, it's not like he just, he was just like, he was, didn't he have 19 and a half sacks? Yeah. Something like that. Wait, Alan. Let me look something. I know he had like a good number at one point. Yeah. Yeah. Josh Allen has been like, he had an incredible year this year. Josh Allen and 17 and a half.

66 combined tackles, 17 and a half sacks, and even a pick. But the year before that, he had seven. Which is still good. Yeah. But here's the deal with him, all right? His rookie year, he had 10 and a half, and then he had two and a half, seven he had two and a half seven and a half seven 17 and a half although that year he had two and a half i'll give him credit because i actually

think he was hurt he was hurt he he missed he missed uh he he missed a lot of games he missed nine games yeah he missed nine games so that'll do it although i mean seven in two and a half two and a half sacks in seven games imagine that again i don't know it's you you can give him the pass for that year you can he's still a really good pass rusher is he not i mean yeah he had a career year but he was bound to blow up at some point. I mean, quality pass rushers are ones of this caliber. You don't want to just let them go. And they never are cheap.

You're never just going to find a cheap pass rusher who puts up numbers like Josh Allen does. It's not going to happen. There's a reason why they go so high in drafts every year. Because of how important they are are and the league knows it. So they pay them as such. They're one of the most positions in most, one of the positions in all of football. They're one of the most important positions in all of football.

Outside of the quarterback, you can name them probably in the top three or four of the most important positions. Yeah. And it's, it shows in the in the in the money by the way so yeah i don't i don't i don't blame them for wanting to keep him i obviously i know he's going to get overpaid 24 million for the franchise tag is ridiculous but if you want to keep this guy i just i'm just saying i'm just saying. I'm looking at the scenario. Yeah, we'll get there. I know.

Did you see what just happened? I see it. I see it. I just want to finish making my point. Understandable. Yeah. Oh, damn it. I wanted Jalen Johnson as a Patriot.

Well, we have the cat out of the bag. I know. I know. I know. I know. I'm glad these are coming up now and not when we're off air. Fair, fair. Yeah, so, Jesus.

I'm just looking at the Jaguars scenario right now, right? They just released Darius Williams, meaning their secondary isn't going to be quite as good as it was last year. Or at least it won't have the type of potential. So you've got to make up for it by hanging on to that front seven so i i don't blame him for that but let's let's get to the the other news which is um jalen johnson yeah well adam yep if you'd like to start, or do you want me to?

Here, you can do it. I'm typing in the banner. All right. Well, as you've probably pieced together by now, ladies and gentlemen, we're trying to get news out here. It's that time of the year. Well, the Chicago Bears have officially franchise-tagged corner Jalen Johnson, proving once and for all why the franchise tag sucks.

And, yeah, i'm just saying so yeah i don't mean you can tackle that i'll i'll get a post out yeah well also another part is uh so a lot of a lot of cornerback news a lot of defensive back news today we We already talked about Darius Williams being released. We've just addressed that Jalen Johnson has received the franchise tag. Well, the Seattle Seahawks are releasing three-time Pro Bowl safeties, Jamal Adams and Quandre Diggs. So a lot of stuff coming out today. But as for what CJ said, I mean, this guy deserves the bag. He's been one of the most underrated corners in the game of football. And the problem is the Bears are just, they are trying everything they can to stay in contention.

They have a lot of good pieces. They spend through their teeth in free agency. They have high picks that they spend on the players who they believe are the best ones available. I mean, they drafted Justin Fields years ago. They traded back with the number one overall pick, got DJ Moore for it, which was incredible, and got an additional first round pick um that was in the not that was the ninth overall pick and uh they got darnell right out of it a tackle who is young he might he didn't look great this year but he was all right that offensive line he's fine he helped that offensive line i know he was the fifth bears are bears fans are going to point this out uh justin he was the fifth. Bears fans are going to point this out.

Justin Fields was the fifth most sacked quarterback in all of football this year. You want to know why I call BS on that? It's because Justin Fields held the ball longer than any quarterback in football. So I don't want to hear about that. He's taken the most time, but he's still sacked the fifth most. I blame not on fields. Either way, this is, I mean, the Bears are trying everything they can, and I almost feel bad about the, I almost feel bad for them at this point.

Like they're trying super hard, and it just doesn't work out. And they're like, their GM is making trades that make a lot of sense i mean that trading the first overall pick and getting an extra asset out of it that turned into the first overall pick this year and now they have two first round picks this year too that is a that was a great trade. And there I, they've, the offensive line looks a lot better. Their past tension core looks better. I just don't know. We just got something big.

The Seattle Seahawks are cutting Jamal Adams. And I just said that. Wait, what? I just said that. Yes. I'm sorry. I was doing a post.

Yeesh. I'm sorry. I was doing a post. Yeesh. I'm sorry. I didn't hear you. If you want. All right. It's okay. It's okay. I thought you heard me.

So I thought. I was like, oh my God, is there something big? And then you repeated what I said five minutes ago. I understand. I'm sorry. I know you're literally multitasking. I'm making posts. I know.

You're multitasking. I apologize. Yeah. Quandre Diggs and they're also releasing tight end Will Disley. Yeah, but Jalen Johnson has been one of the better corners. They were so confident in Jalen Johnson's abilities that they released their previous number one corner, Kyle Fuller in order to, in order to make Jalen Johnson their number one. And he's done pretty well doing that. I mean, the bears actually had a pretty good defense this year.

Uh, the problem is, are they going to end up paying this guy? They have the money to do it. But is that in their plans? I mean, you have to. They have a lot of money, do they not? They have the money. I do think that they can do it. But what about, I don't know. This is going to be tough because they have their hands full on the offensive side of the ball right now,

but I don't know. What do you, do you think that they're going to end up keeping this guy long-term? Yeah, I do. Yeah. Okay. He might.

I just think it's, they have, they have a lot of things to figure out on the offensive side of the ball. So they might, um, I think they should, and they have the money to do it. They just have, they have, they have their list of, they have, they have their share of issues right now to deal with. Uh, so I hope that they're able to multitask and give Jalen Johnson the money he deserves and hopefully eventually win a Super Bowl because this Bears team, they are working really hard. little better than the giants i know the giants just made the playoffs like 10 minutes ago but i feel like that was their ceiling was that playoff berth here this right here the bears should be a lot better than they are um yeah anything else uh quandary digiggs and Jamal Adams. Jamal Adams, he hasn't been the same since he was

a Jet. But Quandre Diggs was pretty good, too. Yeah, no, no, no. Diggs was fine. But this is insane, isn't it? That defense was starting to look a lot better. And it probably

will still be good, but only in the cornerback department. You have Tariq Woolen and Devin Witherspoon, but now Jamal Adams and Quandre Diggs are going to be out the door. Yeah. I don't know about seattle anymore they're just they just they're stuck on that hamster wheel of not bad enough to tank and not good enough to be a true threat i mean they made the playoffs last year and then this year they still were nine and eight like they were the season prior but they weren't good't good enough to make it to the playoffs again.

But they were still fine. I don't think Geno Smith is bad. I think their defense is good, not great. Their offensive line is okay. Their coaching is fine. I know people want to blame a lot of their faulties on Pete Carroll, but I think Pete Carroll, as far as nfl coaches go is pretty solid like there's just everything is good nothing is great there yeah i i got nothing about that i

i really do it's just they just they're kind of there i mean they're obviously a team that you gotta put some real prepping for because they have some good top-end talent, you know, like D.K. Metcalf. I would say Chabal Adams, but not anymore. But, yeah, I mean, they're just good but not great. That's really what it comes down to. Pretty much. I mean, Geno had that one storybook season, and that's all you get, I fear. Jeez, look at all these posts coming out,, and that's all you get, I fear.

Jeez, look at all these posts coming out, man. And free agency hasn't even started yet. Your most busy point in the year. Mm-hmm. Yep. Oh, and by the way, folks, don't worry about me and free agency. Whenever I miss a signing, Adam will just call me up and scream lacking repeatedly until I get it. I text in the group chat every now and then.

Just keep you on your toes. Every now and then chat every now and then just keep you on every now and then every now and then oh if you don't do it within three seconds then i'm going to text you and say that you're lacking yes all right we gotta end the show here tonight um all right if anything else happens between now two o'clock p.m eastern standard time and when the uh franchise tag deadline passes we apologize we did the best we could this is the best time we can get an episode out but um this uh i mean this is about as this is a pretty much predictable how it goes. I mean, during the time, during the span of just this morning until now, one, two, three, four, five tags placed, and there might be more. Probably, if I had to guess, I would prefer not, but it is what it is. Yeah, I'd prefer them to be in red, white, and blue.

The Patriots kind, not any other kind for those who are wondering. Maybe, yeah. Don't want to be in red white and blue the patriots kind not any other kind for those who are wondering maybe yeah don't want to tempt fate and all exactly um yeah but i mean this is pretty much how it goes the franchise tag right so like you end up it maybe there will be a couple that get placed here and there during the span of that of those two weeks but it's not until the last minute that they're placed because it's the last thing that both sides want to do. I mean, they want their players to be happy. They want them to be here and be happy.

So to place the tag on them, holding them there against their will practically, I mean, that's a difficult decision to make. That's exactly what they're doing. Yeah, it's a difficulty. Oh, man. Just when we thought our episode was about to be over guess who's going to be tagged is it pitman nope per jeremy fowler the patriots are placing the transition tag on safety kyle duggar wait hold the transition tag what's the difference between

that and the franchise it could be that thing where you can match any offer or what? I'm completely forgetting. The Patriots are actually tagging Duggar. How about that? They're tagging Duggar. Keep talking. That's weird. Let me just speak as a Patriots fan.

That's kind of strange because New England is notorious for, like, not using it. I mean, they used it on Steve Gostowski a few times. They used it on Wilfork. Most recently they used it on Joe Tooney. They were going to again, but the team just agreed that he would leave because, you know, you didn't want to be messy about it. So I get it. I haven't seen the report yet, but I feel like if i just google kyle duggar

i'll probably find it granted the transition tag and the franchise tag i don't really know what the difference is so the so it's the the the transition tag is a one year uh tender offer for the average of the top 10 salaries at the position, as opposed to the top five for the franchise tag. So they're just giving them less money, essentially. Understandable. He is a safety. Yeah.

Yeah. Adam, are you shocked? See, here's the thing. As a Patriots fan, I happen to be a big Kyle Duggar guy. However, why would we not use that money for Michael Wenu? I'm not really sure, but all right. I'm just saying. I would have actually preferred we get Michael Wenu, but whatever.

I like Duggar. I like Duggar too. I think he's a really good – he's a good story too. If you remember, he was taking the second round, but he was a – wasn't he a D – he's a he's a really good he's a good story too if you remember he was taking the second round but he was a wasn't he a d he was a d2 player yeah d2 out of lenore ryan the very same and he turned out to be a pretty good player like during his entire it's not just this year during his entire time here he's been pretty good um so kyle dugger i i think he he does deserve to to stay I like him here. I do think that they have a bigger need on that offensive line.

Whatever keeps them from going up in the line third overall and wasting the third pick. But yeah. Yeah. Yeah. um yeah um yeah it's i just think i just think the patriots could have placed it on michael on whenu and the fact that he's going to hit free agency now i don't love that i think they i would have rather him stay but yeah look i hate to say it too,

but unpopular opinion from a Pats fan, if Alwenu hits free open market, he's good as gone. There's like, I hate to say it, there's not really much incentive to stay in New England unless we overpay, which, you know, if he leaves, we're going to have to draft a tackle at three, which I'm sorry, O-line in the top three is a waste and you would have better luck

debating a wall um yeah i thought there was news about it about jalen johnson signing long term but it was by adam rank who's an opinionated guy he's not a news person um and he's a bears fan so anything that adam rank says about the bears just don't listen to him he's a good sportsman i like hearing him talk he's he's fun but uh just and anything about the bears he's extremely biased everything i have post notifications on for him um just for fantasy football purposes because he's a good fantasy writer as well um and every every other tweet he posts is about the bears so i'm a patriots fan but you don't hear me rambling on about the patriots all the time then again there's not much to talk about but still

um yeah so official number is 13.8 million for kyle duggar that's fair i think it's fine i mean they'll have plenty of money just they if they don't re-sign now they have to re-sign both one tackle to re-sign one and bring in another and you also need an extra guard because you have cole strange and mark andrews uh and you need a wide receiver another guard city sal happened to be one of the better graded rookie guards last season it'll be fine trust me oh i'm my men i am mentally ill all right That'll do it for us tonight. Thank you for listening to us. We have all episodes available on Spotify,

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