The Herd with Colin Cowherd - 3 and Out - Lamar Bombshell, Packers Rodgers Pushback, Trey Lance Bust, Mailbag

Episode Date: March 28, 2023

John discusses Lamar Jackson revealing via Twitter that he has demanded a trade from the Ravens, why it was the correct strategic move, why the Packers are finally publicly pushing back against Aaron Rodgers, why he’s finally ready to call the Niners’ Trey Lance a bust, if the Bills should embrace Josh Allen’s running rather than try to dial it back, and why it’s clear the Giants re-signing Daniel Jones to a head scratching deal was clearly an ownership decision. He also answers listener questions in the Middlekauff Mailbag. Subscribe NOW and follow Middlekauff and The Volume on Twitter, Instagram and YouTube for the latest content. It's always FanDuel for the best wagering action! #volume #HerdSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Call 1-800 Gambler or visit fanduel.com slash RG, Colorado, Iowa, Michigan, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Tennessee, Virginia. 1-100 next step. Or text, next step to 533-42 Arizona, 1-888-78-9-77 or visit ccpg.org. chat. Connecticut, 1-800-9 with it, Indiana. 1-800-5-22-470-470, or visit KSgamblinghelp.com, Kansas, 18777-7-0. Stop, Louisiana, visit wwwWW-W-MdGamblinghelp.org, Maryland, 1-800, 522-4-700, Wyoming, or visit www.1-800 gambler.net, west Virginia. What is going on, everybody, John Middlecock's three and out podcast back at it again.

There was no podcast yesterday because as you saw on the feed, I went on with Coward, talk a little Final Four, talk a little football. And then we had breaking news today, some of the stuff that we had talked about. Lamar Jackson, Trade, Aaron Rogers, drama, Belichick attended the coaching photo. John Lynch said Purdy's his quarterback. We'll dive into all that coming up. Why going on? You gotta love this owner's meeting.

It's actually not that far away from me at the Biltmore Hotel in Phoenix. Super nice hotel. Little nugget. Not even sure if it's true. Played golf there one time and the guy that I played golf with told me under the 18th hole is a presidential bunker.

It's where the presidents used to stay at forever. Maybe they still do when they came to the desert. Make sense why the owners would stay. It's where the elites hang out. I may have gone to a point. pool party there one time. It's pretty sweet. Don't sleep on the Biltmore, so we will dive it in the owners meetings.

Subscribe to the podcast three and out. You can find it wherever you may listen. We will do after the second half of the show, not just at the end of the show, the mailbag. At John Middlecophis is the Instagram. Fire in those DMs and get your question answered here on the show. See any other housekeeping stuff? I don't think so. We got golf show coming up tomorrow. I guess it'll be out Wednesday. We'll have another football podcast.

later this week. We'll do another mailbag probably this weekend. And then next week is Masters Week. Football probably die down a little bit. I think these next couple weeks, because people go into draft meetings. So we'll get some buzz. People lying about who's going to get drafted

where. And we are unofficially about a month away from the NFL draft, which I would say is pretty exciting. So let's roll. But first, I want to tell you about my friends at GameTime. The Game Time app is the fastest growing ticket app in America. Go to the Game Time app. You want to go to a game. You want to go to a

concert. You want to go to a comedy show. Do it on me. I got your back. promo code John. So when you download the app onto your phone and you sign up first time users, get $20 off a pair of tickets. I'm going to go to a George Drake concert this summer. I might go to an NBA playoff game, especially if the Warriors are playing the Suns. I'm going to go to a baseball game. Heard those Diamondbacks are feisty. Get out in the sun. Go to an event this spring, this summer, the Masters, I don't think you can get tickets there, but PJ Tour events got you covered. promo code John, J-O-H-N, $20 off. I got you. Go sign up, download the app right now. Let's dive in. There was actually a lot of news today. The news that I woke up to, having my coffee,

enjoying the morning, trying to get my life together. Sometimes on like a Monday morning. My girlfriend's family was in town. I had friend in town. I had friend in We were having some booze. It was a long weekend. Played golf Friday, Saturday. It just kind of need sometimes Monday to just get your life in order. So the first thing you do, you pour a cup of Joe, you hit the internet, and you see what the hell is going on in the streets. And then you get a Lamar Jackson tweet bomb.

And I got to give my man some credit. Because I've been saying this for a while, and I told Colin this the other day, and I've been on this stance. I'm not pro-agent, I'm not anti-agent, I'm just pro good direction and good business. And sometimes when you get into contract situations in any industry at enormous sums of money, you need some help. Colin, you know, who has done countless negotiations says, listen, I need people that know what they're doing when I'm negotiating contracts. And he's 55 years old.

So I don't care who you are, everyone needs some direction. And let's face it, the Lamar Jackson situation had been a little clunky until today. I thought today was the first well-orchestrated move by the Lamar Jackson camp. Not exactly sure who that is. But clearly someone in there, whether it was him or whether it was someone advising him, kind of threw a blow to the ravens. Like, you guys don't just get to dictate the terms on this one publicly. And when he tweeted, I've demanded a trade for basically,

the last month, it wasn't necessarily because he's demanding a trade. The moment they slapped the exclusive tag on him, it's clear he's available to be had. The compensation is already dictated. It's two first round picks. And then you got to negotiate a contract. So it's not like people have been wondering his situation. But the moment he did that, right when John Harbaugh is talking at the Biltmore in Phoenix at 748 this morning, When Harbaugh started talking at 745, it was like, okay, you're taking some of the power into your own hands. Because part of having a high powered agent in these situations is they kind of clap back. They help fight the power that is the machine of all these individual teams.

Like leaking to the public is part of the business in contract negotiations. And the NFL, unlike the NBA, doesn't when players say, I want to be traded, they don't say, sure, where do you want to go? Can we drive you to the airport? Can we buy you some dinner first? In the NBA, the players run the operation. Clearly, based on the ratings, it's not going well. But when it comes to trades, the reason star players constantly get traded is because they can dictate

their way out of there. The NFL is the complete opposite. It's run by the management, the GMs, and the owners. And guess what? From my point of view, we all benefit the fans, right? It's because if players could just bounce whenever they wanted, it wouldn't be as powerful of the league. Now, that doesn't mean there isn't turnover and players don't demand trades and sometimes they get traded. But if I'm a team and I want to keep you, guess what happens?

I keep you. Because usually if I want to keep you, you're really good. Now, in this situation, let's face it, it's gotten a little weird. Even Chris Bortensen tweeted out like, you know, some teams have concerns about his eating and sleeping habits. I mean, it's like, did Chris Morton? He's talking about John Middlecuff, you know, Lamar Jackson doesn't go to bed on time, you know, eats fast food too much.

I mean, what the fuck does that mean? But, and listen, I am never, like the media always gets so offended by that stuff. Like, teams, whenever teams tell you exactly what they're actually feeling, the media is like, this is so unfair. It's like, no, these are actual concerns these teams have. They're not just pulling them out of crevices on their body. They have been told this stuff.

Now, ultimately, Lamar Jackson, when healthy, given that he hasn't been that healthy the last couple of years, missed several games, is an excellent player. You know, the word elite, like, you know, that's like Patrick Mahomes, Joe Burrell, but he's in the next tier of somewhere when he's playing well, top, you know, four to eight quarterback in the league. You're going to the playoffs and you're competing in the playoffs. Now, he had some questions about him in playoff games, but the majority of the league would die to just be in the playoffs. So his value as a quarterback, he's better than most. But this situation is somewhat complicated. Now here's the ultimate questions. John Harbaugh said this morning,

like we plan on having him around. And like I said, if they want to keep him, Lamar's not going anywhere. Now the next step of this is, I'm never playing for the Ravens again. I will never play another snap. And that's where having the Rosenhouse, having the Scott Borris's, having these powerful agents on your side, you can kind of dictate the terms. And until this morning, it felt like, does Lamar even know what he's doing?

Like these GMs that are interested aren't just going to call up his mom. That's not how this thing's going to work. But if you start dictating the terms publicly, maybe you can make this. This divorce is inevitable. And then we can start talking contract. Now, where it gets complicated is I was reading about and listening to some podcast, the rules, so some of these teams with multiple first round picks, you have to trade your first round. round pick. So like if the Texans were interested, they couldn't trade the Brown's first round

picks these next two years if their pick is better. And obviously this year, their pick is number two. And listen, is Bryce Young going to be as good as Lamar Jackson? History would say, probably not. Is it going to win an MVP? I doubt it. Now, I'm a Bryce Young believer. But there is value and I know the way these GMs look at it in getting a guy, the number two overall pick. Then I have him under contract. I have him cost control for five straight years, right? And then I can even extend off of year four. Like, I know the direction. That's where it is a little complicated with Lamar, given that I have to give him so much money. I think he's pushed back a little on Twitter about how much actually he wants. This is just a clunky situation that for the first time felt

like we got a little clarity. And for the first time, it felt like, you know, maybe Lamar Jackson's side is going to flex their muscles a little bit. I think the next step, if he truly believes what he's saying, I'm never playing for you again. And force the hand. Because ideally if you're the Ravens and you are open to trading Lamar Jackson, which I think it's fair to not only assume,

but say they are open to trading Lamar Jackson, given the tag that they gave him, is you would do it before the draft because you would need someone to play quarterback for you. Now, listen, this is where I think having your, mom involved and having this like a family situation can get a little complicated because he is part of a very successful operation. The Ravens have been winning consistently the majority of my adult life. I'm 38 years old. So I would say the last 23 years since I was in high school in 2000 and those

good Ray Lewis teams all the way up through Flacco through Lamar, like they've proven to be a well-run, you know, of high level football NFL team, right? They just, they do good business. And this is where I think they're kind of in no man's land about like, they pride themselves on doing good business. It's why historically, if you look at a lot of the top three agents on a yearly basis, they tend to be fucking Ravens. Why?

Because Ozzy and the Ravens love those comp picks and they would let guys walk. Now, for the most part, they were not letting walk in their prime, Ed Reed, Ray Lewis, Suggs, Holodynada, right? But they did pick and choose the Judans, some of these guys that they let walk, and they're cool with it. So they pride themselves on price points, doing smart business. And I do wonder if they're a little uncomfortable with the price point given Lamar Jackson's injury history.

Because the thing I'll never forget being in free agent meetings, being in draft meetings, and it's the hardest thing. And I say this all the time. In any other business, if you were making it, decisions of $100 million, $150 million, it's pretty black and white on the Excel spreadsheet. Like how much we have to pay? What are our expenses? What's the cash flow coming back our way? How much are we breaking? What are we net in every month? What are we net in a year? What will we net in five years? Like you can kind of project stuff out. Now, you never know, 2020 can hit or a tornado can hit

the building. But for the most part, when you acquire businesses, it's pretty, you know, it's very tangible. It's very quantifiable. The hard part with players, you go, well, he's missed 10 games the last two years. He may never miss a game for the next seven years, or he may get hurt constantly from then on out. So there's a lot of uncertainty. And I think there tends to be more uncertainty when you get these athletic quarterbacks, which Lamar is one of the most athletic quarterbacks in the history of the league.

And I think we're just in a weird spot. I do think if Lamar keeps doubling down, doing what he did this morning, which I would say was pretty effective just into like throw a little kerosene on the fire. And sometimes in negotiations, when you don't think you're getting what you want and you got some juice. Because ultimately Lamar, he does have some juice. You got to fucking mix it up. Sometimes you got a light of fire. And it felt like he was kind of getting shoved around. And listen, I was guilty of it because we just don't really hear from Lamar.

And part of that is because he doesn't have real representation. He's got his mom. And I don't agree with that. I don't care how smart his mom is you need someone that knows these owners. Because even this move, high level move. Give him credit. But now do you have like the owners meetings are going on right now? So you get people talking.

But who is your conduit that these GMs feel comfortable talking to? Because they do feel comfortable talking to the top agents because they trust those guys. And I just believe to my core that there are price points in any one of our life. that you get to a point where I don't care how many business deals you've done, you might need a little help. And it might be worth it to pay a percent or two to just help you navigate to what you ultimately want. And what it feels like Lamar ultimately wants is to get traded.

Now, to me, like, is there going to be some curveballs? Like, do the lions get involved? Do the Falcons get involved? There are a lot of teams, you know, do the Niners get involved? Well, they don't have any cap space. And John Lynch said, you said Brock Purdy's their starting quarterback. But, you know, there are a lot of teams that, Capspace is an issue.

Picks are an issue. So I'm fascinated to watch this thing play out. But I do think today it got a little bit more interesting. And it kind of gotten the hamster wheel of just kind of making fun of Lamar and his mom. And I think that I think we got to pause a little bit on that. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque.

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or visit fanduel.com slash RG, Colorado, Iowa, Michigan, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Tennessee, Virginia. Win a hundred next step. Or text, next step. Next step to 5334-2 Arizona, 1-88-7-8-8-9-7-7. Or visit ccpg.org slash chat. Connecticut, 1-800-9 with-it Indiana.

1-800-5-22-470-400 or visit KSgamblinghelp.com, Kansas, 1-8777-770. Stop, Louisiana. Visit wwwwvv-Md-D gamblinghelp.org. Maryland, 1-800, 522, 4-700, Wyoming, or visit www. www.1-800 gambler.net, West Virginia. One thing we don't need to pause on, and I always appreciate, like, you know, if you work somewhere long enough, you know, they say like separate personal and professional, let's face it, it gets very difficult to separate professional relationships from personal relationships when you do something with someone, or for a company or for your partners with an individual for a long period of time. It's easy to be unemotional at a company you work at one year.

It's like, fuck, I only like one guy in the building. I didn't even get to know that many people. I, you know, I worked from home half the year, right? But if you work for a place, listen, the way I grew up, most of my friends' parents, my mom, my dad, they had the same jobs my entire life until they retired. That's the way it used to be. So what happens? you start developing a lot of friends with who you work with or people that you work around.

So it becomes very personal. And when you get, if you get fired in that situation, well, in pro sports, sometimes you get traded or cut. It can get kind of ugly. But once you get to the point in any relationship where you know it's over, like it's done, there's always going to be a side, I feel like, that kind of just starts opening up and starts saying the truth. like says what they really believe, like in a personal relationship, like with a significant other,

with a wife, with a girlfriend, you know at first, when you kind of want to go your separate ways, you kind of start beating around the bush, and then eventually maybe it gets ugly enough where people, you just start, stop holding back. And you just say how you really feel.

And I feel like Brian Gutikins did that today. Like, you know what? I don't care at all. I am tired of pretending this relationship is something it's not. And it's probably, easier that, listen, there's two sides of every story. I don't know Goudicons or Aaron Rogers, but clearly both of them are calling the others liars essentially. Because Roger said last week that

he thought he was on the team, went in the darkness retreat, came out of the darkness retreat, Packers didn't want him. Goudicans today said, that's bullshit, that we talked after the end of the season, thought everything was good. The plan was to roll with Rogers. Then they tried to get a hold of them. I think it's fair to assume it wasn't the two or three days. that he was in the darkness retreat in Oregon, and he couldn't. And they couldn't get any clarity, any answers from him. And that basically sparked, I'm the GM.

I got to do my job. It's over. And the fascinating part about this trade and the Rogers situation is usually it takes the divorce to happen, the player to leave, then for everyone to kind of not even go on the record, but start leaking the local reporters. That's when you get some of the best articles.

is when a player is traded and then the Seattle Times writes the article of how John and Pete really feel. But John and Pete aren't actually quoted in the article, but it's clear they're feeding the reporter. God, this is juicy. They couldn't stand the guy. This stuff is happening while they're all still kind of under the same umbrella. Now, it's March, so they're not around each other. But the divorce, the breakup has happened. It's over. Murphy said it weeks ago. Roger said it a couple weeks ago. Gudikins against doubles down. But nothing is. has actually happened. You know, and the Jets, Robert Sala was asked today, his thoughts, I mean, this is, it's,

it is so Aaron Rogers. This thing is so bizarre. It fits perfectly like I'm recording this on Monday. The NBA media. And listen, I listen to some NBA, I listen to way more NBA podcast than I don't watch any NBA games, really, this regular season. But I do consume some of the content. And they have been hyping up this Yokic and Bede game for,

Three weeks. It's going to be, it's going to decide the MVP. And then what happened? Woe tweets out this morning and beads out. It's like that is so on brand for the NBA. This transaction with Aaron Rogers being clunky, everyone passive aggressively talking shit is just so on brand for Aaron Rogers. He wanted to control the narrative.

He wanted to control his side. And listen, maybe he's somewhat correct. But clearly I don't think Gutikins is just making this up. Like we're not just getting rid of Aaron Rogers. because he texts me back, he wanted to be traded. I think he would have said that. He basically just said, he got ghosted, and it's over, and we're moving on. And listen, there's probably truce to both sides, but this situation is just,

it's the ongoing saga, which I don't think we're that much closer. I mean, I think we got another month of this. And Robert Salas asked about what he believes a veteran quarterback, the importance of OTAs, basically in a roundabout way the reporter asked, like, because Aaron Rogers isn't on his team yet, so he can't exactly ask, is Aaron Rogers going to show up to OTAs? But he essentially did. And Robert Saul was like, you know, I don't think it's a, you know, it's not a mandate. If you're not around and you know the coordinator, you know, we'll be fine.

See you in training camp. Basically admitting Rogers clearly told those guys in Los Angeles, like guys, I'm not coming to offseason activities. So the situation, it's not like Rogers changing. I'm pro Aaron Rogers, the player when he's good. He is a fantastic player. But there is no disputing from a football standpoint. Baggage comes along with it, right? So I got to trade, whatever, potentially the 13th overall pick.

You're not going to show up in OTAs. And then by the time you get here, it's going to be the most hoop law, you know, in the history, arguably since like Brett Far, in the history of the franchise, and we're going to have a ton of pressure on us. It's going to be difficult. But it's pretty clear the divorce happens. And I just always appreciate when both sides just kind of go, you know, zero filter. We are done hiding everything.

I live for people that are authentic, non-phonies. And I think so often in sports, just because you have to, because it's very sensitive, it's a very public business, you get such, you know, fraudulent press conferences of what coaches say and what they actually believe. I think we're starting to get some pretty real, the sides are coming. out. We are getting the authentic version of Goudicons, and I would imagine Rogers does McAfee hit within the next two weeks, gives his side again. So buckle up for this one. Another story that I saw, it wasn't even a story. The first thing I saw was Bill Belichick was in the coaches,

the coaching picture, which is always just awesome. You know, love seeing coach read in a Hawaiian shirt. Sean McVeigh looks like he's going to a Vegas nightclub. McCarthy looks miserable. You know, so a lot of bald guys now. Ryan Dayball looks like he's on top of the world, ready to fly in top gun. And Belichick was there, front and center. And I'm pretty sure the last several years, Belichick has not gone to this. And part of it is like an FU to the establishment. The NFL has come after his team so many times.

And he kind of hates the idea of doing anything for the league. But this year was different. He was there. And then I saw some of Robert Crafts, Quotes. The first one was kind of funny, but also you know, the ultimate message was damn. Meek Mill,

you know the rapper from Philly, texted Robert Kraft because he's buddies with the fanatics guy and him and Kraft or BFFs and that connection, go get Lamar. And Kraft's response to Meek was, that's Bill's decision. Then he

also was quoted while he's talking to the press of basically last year was not good enough. And if you think about it, Bill Belichick was the most untouchable coach in sports. His team, every single year, guaranteed to go to the conference championship games. Most years, nine out of 20 years, basically 50% of the time he's in the Super Bowl. And then, you know, 70% of the time, once he's in, he's winning it. So he's making craft so much money.

The Patriots went from this regional brand to this national brand, untouchable. Then he's had a couple years, it's starting to get ugly. had one of the most embarrassing hires we've ever seen last year to make Joe Judge and Matt Patricia, his offensive brainpower was it was insanity when it was announced. It was even crazier as we watched it play out throughout the season. It's one of the greatest arrogant moves we've ever seen from a talented person.

Like, honestly, it's almost hard to explain how crazy it is. Now, sometimes great. in any industry, the older they get, they do kind of bizarre things. But even for Bill, who clearly I think mentally is all still there, pretty bizarre. I mean, pretty, could cost him his job. And I think the

way when you kind of read some of Kraft's comments, like, listen, this is my fucking team. I'm tired of watching you do these bizarre things that are not working anymore. It was one thing when we were in trouble, we had the league coming after us, everyone hated us. We were rattling

off 13 wins a year. We had Brady and we were at minimum in the Super Bowl. Those days are long gone. Now we are lucky to get the seven seed. And when we did make the playoffs one time in the last three years, we gave up like 700 points of the bills and got absolutely curbstomped. And is there a chance that I kind of thought this last year, but I think you feel it with his comments.

And then you watch Bill's actions. Kind of for the first time, I'm kind of a good company, man. You see what Sean Payton. Sean Payton somewhat like Belichick. Remember, he was suspended for a season. also like Bill, little against the machine that is the league office. In this event, the owner's meetings, is kind of like capitulating everything the league wants. Sean Payton used to skip this photo as well.

Sean Payton's there. Well, what is Sean Payton? New employee, $17 million a year, trying to be a good company man, not trying to ruffle any feathers. Different situation, like he's not worried about his job, but just trying to do right by the boss. What's funny about the coach's picture, I bet if we broke it, down if we truly knew how much everyone made. The medium, you know, the average salary would probably be over $9 million. These people are super rich, enormous egos, rightfully so. They've earned it. You start making $9, $10, $11, $12 million in your job. Your ego is going to be pretty big.

Because if someone's willing to pay you that, you're probably pretty good at your job, or at least you think you're pretty good at your job. And I just think the Belichick knows, man, clock might be ticking. This is a pretty big year. And my margin for error of pissing my owner off has shrunk dramatically. So I'm just going to kind of follow the rules a little bit. Like if there's a coach's photo, I'm not going to be at the pool with Cougar Linda slamming a mitai at the Biltmore. I'm going to be sitting there with Andy Reed and Ron Rivera with, you know, a half smile on my face and pretend that I like to do it. So maybe we're seeing a new Patriot, you know, kind of way with Belichick because last year, you have another year like last year,

he'll never get quote unquote fired. I have a hard time seeing that. But Belichick and the Patriots have mutual, you know, go in our mutual separation written all over him if this thing stays ugly. And honestly, with Mack Jones, it's going to be an uphill battle. I think we can officially call the Trey Lance trade a disaster. anytime that you go from 12 to 3, trade two other first round picks and heading into year 3, your general manager says at the owner's meeting.

And listen, I don't disagree with them. Because this is 100% the thing to say. Brock Purdy is the starting quarterback if healthy. But if Brock Purdy is a starting quarterback, that means Trey Lance is a backup. They traded three first round picks, which it's really more like two and a half because you go from 12 to 3.

Like you get a first round pick that year. but they haven't had a first round pick the last two years because of this guy. And they gave him the job last year. He obviously got hurt in the second game. And now he's no longer the starting quarterback. So this trade did not move. And I have a lot of people DM me, you know, over the last couple months, because we talk a lot about the draft.

These bold tradeups are very hit or miss. Most times they do not work out. And my theory has always been, if you're an NFL draft pick in general, there's a ton of pressure on you. Right? They're just this. If you're a fourth round pick, it's hard. You're not guaranteed a roster spot. You know, you got to earn your keep. If you're a second round pick, people think you're good. You're kind of expected to be a starter relatively earlier in your career. There's nothing like the elephant in the room of a first round pick in general. I've been going to NFL training camps for a decade. And the first thing you do, if you go to one of those, you know, kind of mandatory OTA practices or early on in training camp, where's the first round? pick. What does he look like? And the higher that pick is, I remember going to Raiders practice with Khalil Mack, you just gravitate right to him. Remember when the 49ers drafted Nick Bosa,

gravitate right to him. When is the quarterback, it's just, it's hard to really describe because you just, it's so easy to see what he does every single play. Then when you factor in, I trade a shit load for you. Like I trade all my draft picks for you. There is a pressure on that individual and just on that draft pick in general that no other player in your team has. Seriously, I've been to these practices. You feel it. It's tangible when it's going well, when it's not going well. So it just hasn't gone well. Now, the 49ers have been very, very lucky. They are the one team over these last couple years that have had turmoil at quarterback, right? Even last year, Jimmy's in his last year of his contract, gets banged up this year,

trade a Jimmy to Purdy, and they've gone to back-to-back conference championship games. The overwhelming majority of teams, if they had made this mistake, it would have cost everyone their job, and it'd be a disaster, i.e. the Jets. Why are the Jets dug in, they have no plan to be on Aaron Rogers? They don't have a choice. The 49ers are lucky that their roster is so situated, and because of their offensive coordinator, who is their head coach, that if I just get solid quarterback play,

my team is good enough, we can win. And we can win a lot of games. Right? So the Nider might be the rare team that have an all-time draftness. And that's what this is. I mean, he's not the starting quarterback heading into year three.

And my take is, I don't know if he's good enough to beat out Sam Darnel. If I was a betting man right now, Sam Darnold is better than him. And the way Sam Darnel played at the end of the season, like, Trey Lance definitely isn't better than that. So it could be an all-time mistake.

the 49ers are very, very, lucky's the wrong word because they've developed this team, like they've drafted and signed all these players. They've done a good enough job around, you know, outside the quarterback, which is a quarterback league. You get the quarterback right. You get Joe Burrow, you get Mahomes. You get Herbert. You get Trevor Lawrence.

Like, you're going to win. You're going to win every single year. Some years are going to be better than others, but your floor is so high. 49ers avoid a disaster potentially because of that. A couple things on the bills. Sean McDermott, you know, Leslie Frazier. I don't know. Is it officially a hiatus taking the year off?

Did he get fired? But Sean McDermott's going to be the play caller. And to me, one of the values, the reason you pay a head coach so much, like, I don't need you to call plays. Like, I didn't love last year when Brian Dayball got the job and he didn't call place. But you know what it turns out? He's clearly very hands-on in the offense. And he hired Mike Kafka, who was going to be.

be a head coach. But at any single moment of any single game, and I'm sure this happened, Brian Daibol can call a play, can call a series. He has an area of expertise. I don't love it when I got a head coach who I don't think has an area of expertise. Right. It's why the Gannon hire with the Cardinals, is he a good defensive coordinator? Like, I don't see it. So even if the guy, and I don't know if he's calling the defense or not, I just don't think he's that good of a defensive coordinator. But part of having Sean McDermott, even if he has one of his buddies, Leslie Frazier calling the defense, the moment that guy disappears, if Sean has to, he can easily take over the defense. Why? He's proven to be a really good defensive coordinator. So

sometimes these coordinators get the job, especially if they are a coordinator from a team where they're not calling plays, I think it can be really risky. Or just a coordinator whose resume isn't that great. When you are a very, very good schemer, it just gives you a lot more room for error. The other thing is, Sean McDermott recently said is like, we need to find a way to have Josh Allen take less hits.

He's just getting peppered too much. And it is true. You watch the bills play. The dude takes a lot of hits. But it always like when, you know, sometimes like in a zoo, you know, like when a lion or a tiger or a grizzly bear or something like attacks

the zookeeper, it happened, you remember those, I forget the name, of them. They were in Vegas. I think the tiger killed one of the guys. Ultimately, guys, we're dealing with a wild animal. If the tiger bites you at any moment, even if you're quote unquote attempted to domesticate it over the years, I'm not blaming the tiger.

Sometimes these wild animals attack, like, you own snakes that bite you. It ain't the snake's fault. No one's ever got bitten by a shark outside of the ocean, right? So part of what makes Josh Allen special is him running around. Like it's one of his points of differentiation. He can make incredible throws. He physically is a special talent as a passer, right? But he can be a little hit or miss accurately with accuracy.

Right? When he's rolling, he's kind of a rhythm guy. He could look really accurate. But we saw last year, he could get a little off. The one thing that could always hang his hat on at any single moment, he could turn into Cam Newton. he could run over guys, he could run by guys, he could run around guys. His running is one of his great attributes.

Now, big picture, it's hard to play for 15, 16, 18 years playing like that, right? He, it just is. Part of like Mahomes or Burrow, who have both been banged up before in the pocket, they don't depend on their legs. Herbert, even Trevor Lawrence, like, they're going to depend. One of the things that's hard with Josh Allen is he's really more like Cam Newton. it's like one of his areas of dominance is he is an elite runner. He's not fast.

I mean, he is fast, but he's not like Lamar Jackson, Kyler Murray fast. He's not going to break too many 50-yard runs, but at any single moment he'd have a 20-yard run where he stiff arms a guy and just breaks, you know, it can be third and 15. He takes off and easily get it. And I think it's a really hard balance to kind of, you know, to strike. I remember going to the combine three, years ago after the 49ers went to Super Bowl.

I talked to Shanahan. There's a group of, you know, all the 49ers media. And I kind of stood there and watched them talk. And after we kind of walked away, and they were about to sign George Kittle. And one of the things they had been talking about was like, you know, we got to find a way. Because George is reckless is the wrong word. He's fearless. But it's hard.

You saw it with Grunkowski. It's hard. You know, it's easier for Travis Kelsey. Travis Kelsey, if he can, you know, is back or whatever, just the word. wear and tear of body, but he's not taking these halacious hits. And he's not giving these halacious hits. Part of what Kittle and before him, Gronk did, they would inflict pain on others. And because of their style, they would take, if they missed with their shoulder pads,

they get taken out of the knees. They just take, I mean, it's crazy the blows they take. And once you pay a guy like that, like part of paying him is like, I need you on the field. And it's hard to stay on the field when you're getting hit a lot. Part of what they bring to the table and I see it with Kittle is he like sets the tone with his physicality. He catches over the middle. He's not always looking to like get out of bounds. He sees a DB and he's not looking to go around him. He's looking to go through him. And I just, it's hard to coach that out of him. And honestly, in my experience of just watching the

game, you know, to pay the bills now very, very seriously for a decade, I don't think you really can't. I think he kind of got it or you don't. One of the reasons I always thought Frank Gore played football for so long is because when you watched him play, for a big physical, I guess he wasn't that tall, but he was built, he was very sturdy. He didn't take that many hits. He was very,

I would just say, how could I even put it? He was very careful about taking an extra pounding on the majority of his carries. And he would go out of bounds. You know, Marshawn Lynch played very, very physical

once he really got wrong with Seattle and then even when he joined the Raiders, people forget about that. But he looked for collisions. Adrian Peterson as well, who's kind of a physical outlier. Where I think Ezekiel Elliott's a good example of like, that's kind of how he played.

He didn't avoid. And when you don't avoid, like those hits, they add up and then they multiply like exponentially. So you go from a guy who looks pretty spry within a year. It feels like you're done. And I just think it's going to be hard for Josh.

It's going to be physically hard for him to play a long time if he doesn't, change and whenever like as he gets old you saw it with rothusberger just kind of ended you know but but i do think in the prime of his career if you're going to win a super bowl you're probably going to need josh allen playing like the josh allen we've seen in terms of his physicality and a runner so i i think that's going to be a very tough balance to strike and honestly probably impossible two quotes i saw from the nfc east today one i one i love and i mean it's just you know obvious And the other one that just makes you shake your head.

Howie Roseman said today, their top priority is getting Jalen Hertz under contract. And one thing that's going to be very fascinating, you saw it with the Chiefs. Like the Eagles had a pretty high-priced team this year, right? And because even if they signed Jalen to a massive deal, he cooked the books, his big number on his contract will be later. So they will have to build around that, you know, in terms of being more financially prudent, more like 25, 26, because they were still able to resign some of their older players. But it's going to be very, very fascinating to see the number and guaranteed cash he gets.

If I was Lamar Jackson, unless someone blew me out of the water, I would be very, I would try to wait. I try to see what Jalen Hertz gets. Now, the game Jalen Hertz played in the Super Bowl, I'll be honest, I don't know if Lamar Jackson has in the bag. but Lamar's success over a longer period of time is definitely more than Jalen. So if Jalen gets 165 guaranteed, like, you know, that's kind of the starting point for Lamar even to pick up your phone call. But it'll be fascinating over the years how the Eagles, and this is why they always draft linemen, right?

Like when people go, who do you think the Eagles are going to draft with a 10th overall pick? Probably a right tackle. so in a year or two, you know, as they have injuries and Lane, who knows, could retire. They'll just be able to slot in a high-price position for cheap. They're going to do it with Jason Kelsey when he retires. They do it with their guards. They're just always looking ahead at a defensive lineman. So when Fletcher and Brandon Graham are not on the team, you know, in 2024,

they have the guy ready to go. You saw it this year with, they did with Jordan Davis. you know, so I think it's, you're always trying to think big picture, but you really have to do it once you start paying a quarterback, $45 million a year, which I would imagine Jalen gets. And then a comment that kind of speaks to the why the Giants handled the contract situation with Daniel Jones and Sequin Barclay like they did. Because I think we all agree, even if you're a Giants fan who likes Daniel Jones, that contract was pretty crazy based on what he'd done. Like, based on his resume. contractless, I mean, insanity. Let's be real.

John Mara said that he wants to make Sequin Barclay a giant for life. And I get, you know, being positive with your players and Seqwan's a good guy and he represents your team. And it's just kind of, you know, coach owner speak. But I think he's kind of serious. So when they franchise, and this is what I said about, why wouldn't you just franchise Daniel Jones and then let Seekwan hit the market? And then who's going to offer him a big contract? And even if they did, what was that Denver going to be $25, $30 million? Remember when the Levion held out for the year?

And next year he basically got like offered a two-year contract. He got no money. I just don't know who they were bidding against. And then you say comments like this, I think, Sequin, if you told me he gets, you know, four years, 50 million, already guaranteed, like it won't shock me at all. it's why it's hard to judge Shane and Brian Dayball with these contracts because I think the owner's medal in the situation. When the Giants really like a guy, the owners aren't going to let him go. The owners always really like Daniel Jones and they clearly love Selein Barclay.

And I get loving Selequin Barclay. His talent is immense. Even though he's not a great pass blocker, though I think he improved a little bit this year. I would just be very hesitant to, you know, to extend a running back. but you read comments like this. You know the owners. They love their guys. Sequin Barclay.

I bet by week one, Saquan Barclay is a contract extension. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year.

Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the 4th.

You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show.

This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast. It's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So, if you've ever supported me, or you're just chasing down a dream,

this is right where you need to be. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeard radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Okay, mailback time. At John Middlecough, fire in those DMs. Question answered here on this little podcast.

We call three and out. I consider myself a realistic cowboy fan. This is from Daniel. And was wondering what you could do as an armchair owner, coach, GM to finally get the Cowboys back to the NFC championship game or the Super Bowl. Also, on a business note, can you briefly describe your stock investment strategy? Do you use an app by yourself or a professional consultant? Thanks so much.

From a stock standpoint, I just use, I bank with Wells Fargo. So I'm not a regional bank guy, one of those big four guys. I've banked with Wells Fargo for a long time and just through my there I just have a brokerage account so you know I get I can just transfer money from a checking account right into my brokerage account

and my strategy on individual stocks is I invest in things I use right like I've invested over the years in things like Netflix Spotify hell Welsh Fargo once upon a time not not recently

but like I'll make bold play based on the way things are happening. I recently bought about $45,000 of Snapchat. And not that I use Snapchat, I don't. I'm basically just doing an all-in play that TikTok gets banned. And if TikTok gets banned, maybe I can double the money. I mean, that's, I'll do bold plays like that. Now, I'm not acting like, that's a large chunk of money just on one stock.

It's a bold play. And maybe, you know, when I buy a house, it pays. for a remodel. I don't know. Could also backfire. You know, TikTok. I thought it was pretty bipartisan. I actually watched some of the CEO

who's just an idiot. And then of course, everyone's just on board. Like, this thing's fucked. And then of course, AOC comes out. She's like, we got to keep TikTok alive.

It's like, yeah, she's been bought and paid for. So, you know, these are things that make you nervous when you make political plays on stocks, on things getting like, you know,

banned or canceled or whatever. Because a lot of moving part. and it's all out of my control, but that's a good example. And then I do big picture ones like, you know, EV stuff and stuff for the long haul, ETFs. I mean, I actually did our Kathy Wood,

so we'll see what she's got in the bag. That's a long-term play, though. She owns like Zillow and Tesla. Yeah, I mean, I'm not reading annual reports. Now, on the cowboy thing, I think you guys are pretty close. I mean, your defense last year was Super Bowl. bowl worthy. That defense beat, I mean, was every bit as good as the 49ers in that game.

The problem was in that game, Dak Prescott threw two picks. If Dak Prescott can play well, I don't need the wild card game where he threw whatever against the bucks. Probably the best game of his career. Do you throw five touchdowns? It was four for sure. I mean, it was fucking awesome. I just need him to not throw two picks in a second round game. And one thing that would be nice for you guys, you know, especially I think when we look at the big three, and I do. I put the tier. I think the Eagles got a little worse. The Cowboys, I think actually got a little bit better. They had a brand of cooks, but I guess they lost their tight end.

So you got to get the Eagles the slight nod because they're quarterback. In theory is better if he plays like last year. It's like win your division. Because if you win your division, you're playing home games. Now, I guess you had a home game because you won your division two years ago and you lost the 49ers. You just need the quarterback to play well. In the last two years against the 49ers, he simply,

simply is not because the other guys on your team. I mean, last year would have been hard once Pollard, because if Pollard got hurt, he shattered his ankle. He's obviously one of your better, you know, him and C.D. were most explosive offensive players, but I think your defense is good, man. I mean, Micah Parsons, to me, has defensive player written all over him next year. You know, you have another good draft. It looks like the young guy you drafted last year in the first round, the offensive linemen turned out to be pretty good. So he should be even better. I'd be bullish on the Cowboys. Big fan.

I know you don't like hypotheticals, but what if the Jets are having talks in their building about acquiring Lamar Jackson? What if the idea of Aaron retiring is too much for the Jets to give up all those picks? Well, I think I saw Goudicens, who blasted Rogers, Joe Douglas, I didn't see the video.

I watched the video of Gudecans. I didn't see the video of Douglas, but if you're listening to this, I'm sure you've seen the headlines. I'm pretty sure Joe Douglas said, we don't have a plan B. So that's what makes this Rogers thing so bizarre. He's going to the Jets.

He's going to be traded. Both teams admit it's over for the Packers and we're in for the Jets. It just hasn't officially happened. Maybe when he ultimately gets traded, we talk about this week when Joe Douglas and Goudicans, you know, we're having a couple cold Coors lights and some wings, you know, at 10 o'clock at night in one of the suites hammering the, details out. Maybe this is the week actually that the deal gets done because you get them.

It's crazy how much easier it is to do deals when you're in person, right? It's so easy to be passive aggressive or act tough over email or even on a phone call or text. It's another thing if you're just two adults who probably know and respect each other are just having a conversation you know in a hotel suite with a couple cocktails, which, you know, I'm recording this, you know, the well in the afternoon, 6.30, no big deal. Not tap myself on the back, just working late for you guys. And they could be a couple cocktails deep hammering out some details. The Vikings front office recently turned down a hometown discount extension for Kirk Cousins.

He is on his final year of a rework deal, and it looks like the new GM, Quessie, I know Quessie, is going to move on from him after the season. There also has been some rumors that we are a wild card to land Lamar Jackson, but I think that is too good to be true. What would the Vikings, what would you do in the Vikings position? Trade up for 23, Hendon Hooker, wait until next year's draft. I forget the name, but the quarterback you guys drafted, I think he was from Texas A&M.

This was like the last like three years. And Zimmer talked so much shit about him. It was hilarious. But it has nothing to do with Kirk Cousins. I would play the season out with Kirk Cousins and just see what happens. I mean, last year you won whatever, 13 games. I don't think it's inconceivable that, you know, you win double-digit games again. You're going to be, you're right there to win that division, especially if Rogers gets traded, you and the Lions.

I guess the Lions could have technically beat you twice, but I would just roll it out. You know, I don't know if Lamar Jackson, you guys have cap issues to begin with. I would just, the problem with Kirk Cousins is you're going to be making the playoffs isn't a bad thing. I mean, you guys have made the playoffs with Kirk Cousins like, what? He's been there six years, four of the six years, if he makes it this year. He's been pretty good, you know? I think we talk sometimes about Kirk Cousins. I don't necessarily, and I'm not the biggest Kurt Cousins guy,

but I never act like he's some scrub. You do a good job building the team, which I would say they have for the most part when Cousins has been there. You're going to go to the playoffs. Now, what would Cousins want as a free agent? I don't know. I think it's a complicated situation. My short-term solution, play this season out. I would play this season out with Kirk Cousins.

And hell, maybe I win a couple of playoff games and I give him like a two-year $70 million extension, guaranteed every penny or something like that. Okay, never miss the show. Keep up the good work. I have a quick issue with Lamar Jackson situation and a question. First, I like Lamar. But the way he's handled this contract situation

is starting to make him look stupid. And nobody wants a stupid quarterback. Second, the media seems to be ignoring analytics when they fawn over Lamar as if he was a sure first ballot hall of famer. For instance, they say it's a no-brainer he should be paid way more than Daniel Jones. In reality, is it possible that Lamar simply had one great year as an outlier? Ignoring that one great year, his average quarterback rating is 90, which is somewhere between the 2022 numbers for Taylor Heineke and Daniel Jones. Can you remember any other situation where a guy had absolutely stellar year, but it proved to be an anomaly? Well, yeah, one name comes to mind, Cam Newton.

Cam Newton's MVP season is abnormal for the rest of his career. Now, it took Cam Newton a little longer to get there, and I would say he did it a little different than Lamar because Lamar was faster, Cam was more physical. I would say Lamar or Cam was much more of an explosive passer down the field, throwing bombs, but when you look at it, a little bit of an outlier. So that would be my example. Could that be the case with Lamar? Now, the difference is, like, the Panthers were always going to keep, and they did

Cam Newton for the majority of his prime, right? His entire prime, he played for the Carolina Panthers. And it worked. You know, they were always, he made them very relevant. They played in big time games. He took them to the playoffs several times. Obviously, the one year when they won the conference. And it was worth it for.

Now, the difference is, is like, they were. were able to figure out contract situations. I'm pretty sure Cam Newton had an agent and they could just do business together. In this situation, it feels like it got pretty ugly pretty fast. So I think there are some similarities with Lamar and Cam Newton in terms of the up and down nature. Cam got banged up sometimes. But pretty clear Cam was easy for them to do business with. And maybe I'm forgetting some stuff.

If Panther fans are listening, well, John, you forget in 2014. They got it done. And this thing got pretty ugly, pretty fast. Love listening to every draft and free agency season. What teams are most likely to trade up? Also a question about my team. What are the odds the Eagles are taking Bejohn Robinson? I do think we will see a team or two trade up in this draft.

I think we could see a team trade up to get the second or third quarterback. And I do think if Jalen Carter, the defensive tackle, were to slide. Now, he easily could not. like Seattle could take him, Detroit could take him if he falls out of like, you know, the top three or four picks. So he might not slide out of the top 10. But to me, he feels like the type guy if he slides a little out of the top 10

that gets a good team to trade up to get them. The one thing I would say about the Eagles is when I think about some of their successful running backs with the franchise, Shady McCoy, you know, probably the best running back of the most recent. You know, remember when they traded, or they didn't trade, they signed, they signed DeMarco Murray, that didn't go well.

But they signed kind of, I wouldn't say off the scrap heap, but Ryan Matthews, who turned out to be very, very productive for the Eagles for a couple years, Deuce Daly, Brian Westbrook, historically in their organization, like some of their best running backs have not been high picks. Now, I was thinking about this the other day because if the Eagles with Pick 10,

like I got news for you, the Eagles with Pick 10, are taking alignment, you know, they're going to take, I bet they take a pass rusher, I could see them taking if a sweet offensive tackles there you'd be like well they already got offensive tackling they're always preparing for the future and those positions are impossible to get

and how he's going to go we're never going to be drafting this high for a while so if the top offensive tackle is on the board at 10 like find the Eagles I'd take them right or the best pass rushers there I would take them and that's usually what they do because they value the value chart of quarterbacks linemen that's you know I can find wide receivers

and other positions, other parts in the draft. So I think it's very unlikely because they would have to take him at 10. He's not going to be there whenever they pick at whatever pick that is, 30 or 31. He's not. So the question is, do you take them at 10? And I can't see them taking them.

Now, if I put Bejan Robinson on their team, they're fucking sweet. What they might tell you is like, we'll use our second round pick on a running back, which I could see them doing. Or is their second day pick, which is probably more likely than taking Bejean Robinson that high,

which, again, I would say 95%, they do not take Bejan Robinson, and 75% of that 95% they take alignment there. Which can be boring, but pay dividends big picture. I really appreciate your point of view on all things. I've been a longtime Packer fan,

and my question for you is, why do you think Green Bay is dragging their heels on the Jets trade? They seem to be done with the Rogers, and they seem to be ready to move on. Also, if they don't have to trade Rogers, do you think that they eat his contract and move on with love regardless? Roger is not going to be on their team.

Like, it's over. You know, I think they're digging their heels because why wouldn't they? Like, if you're them, even if you're done with Rogers and Rogers says like he could retire it any day, you're going to try to get the most for him possibly, right? If you're moving out of your house

and you know, you'd know, No, at the end of the day, you'd take a million dollars. Right? But you're like, you know what? I don't have to leave right away. I can sit on this for a while. My payments, because my interest rate's so low, are pretty small. I don't have to move for another six months.

I'm going to stick to this one-two-five number. And you know what? If push comes to shove and the only offer I get is a million, I'm cool with taking that. But I'm going to sit on this for a while. So maybe they're sitting on this. We want your first and second round pick. we want your first and second round pick and they're like we will give you

our two second round picks and they're going back and forth and maybe they know eventually they'd be cool with like just give us 13 shake hands and done deal or maybe they know you know what give us your two second round picks

and a conditional pick next year whatever the number is I don't know I would be pretty adamant on that number 13 overall pick that would be the pick I'd want to have but as I'm sitting here on March 27th OTAs the draft far away

I want pick 13 and I want your second round pick. Now ultimately I'm cool with like, just give me 13 and like your fifth, which probably ends up happening. That would be my guess. But times on their side for both teams. Like there's no rush. There's no practices. We basically know through Robert Sala that,

that Rogers is not going to be at OTAs. So times on their side. Question for the pod about the NFLPA. We hear they want Lamar and others to get huge and fully guaranteed deals. Makes sense for Lamar himself. But in a fixed cap league where all teams are spending around $230 million per year, why does the NFLPA care if Lamar is making 50 or if he's making 40 and another guy is getting 10? The teams are spending all of the annual money and all the players are repped by the union.

seems to me that if Lamar or anyone breaks the bank it's only going to mean other guys are going to get cut out of lower salaries and wouldn't be pissed off if their union is supporting and helping Lamar or whoever make that happen and guaranteed money doesn't change it it's just 200 million and that's committed to one guy but doesn't really change the overall cap a team is spending am I crazy I thought about this the other day

because I think sometimes you hear like oh this owner just wants to pocket you're going to pocket you're at the cash. Look at how much as teams worth doesn't want to spend it. Look around the league. This is not baseball. We're the Cincinnati Reds. I saw the Cincinnati Reds. Ken Griffey Jr., who hasn't played and God knows how long, is like the fourth highest paid guy on the 2023 Reds. The Oakland A's payroll is like $20 million. In baseball, that's an argument. In football, I don't know how many teams last year were not within 5% of the salary cap max. You spend it all every single year.

Why? Because every team has the money because the media rights deal. So whenever you hear an argument from a media guy, oh, these greedy owners don't want to spend it, it's bullshit. It's just not true. Like you said, it's just how do I allocate my resources? I'd rather spend it on this guy, this guy, this guy. Like the 49ers are an example.

They have Trey Lance who makes like eight. Brock Purdy makes like 800 grand. And Sam Donald makes like $3 million. So their total amount of money on the quarterback is like, let's just say, $12 million. Where I bet they should go after Lamar Jackson. They can't afford it. No, they're spending all their money on all these other players. Like most teams, the Cowboys, the Seattle, the Eagles, you're spending all these money on all these players.

It's just a puzzle. So I'm with you. The thing is, the reality is, I've never been in the union. But in any situation, there's a hierarchy. It's why I follow the PJ tour closely. Go Low, be out on Wednesday. Fire that at Go Low Pod. Roy McElroy, Tiger Woods, you know, and John Romp, speak for everyone else.

When they talk, it's all that matters. When the quarterbacks talk in these negotiations, remember when Aaron Rogers and Tom Brady are like, let's get rid of OTAs? Well, yeah, they don't. matter to you, but to the majority of the workforce, I don't know, they're kind of important. Now, that was a case that no one listened to Aaron Rogers just because he wanted to scrap OTAs, because part of the reason Brock Purdy happens is last year OTAs. He earns respect,

gives himself a chance going into training camp. So, I hear you. It ultimately, it doesn't matter. And I love Richard Sherman, but he said on his podcast, you know, that these quarterbacks not getting these guaranteed deals has screwed it up for everyone else. Not really. Because when you're a quarterback and you get a four or five-year contract, how many of these quarterbacks do not play out their entire contract? Jared Goff, remember like three years ago? It's like, this contract sucks, he's awful, he's got to be out of the league. He's literally going into the last year of his contract this season.

Derek Carr, who has been one of the most polarizing quarterbacks of all time, played out his entire $140 million contract that he got like six years ago from Reggie. McKenzie. The whole thing, up and down. even Carson Wentz and Matt Ryan, who got cut this year, played out four or five of their six-year deals. So as quarterbacks, unlike these position players like Bobby Wagner, gets a multi-year deal cut after one year, a lot of contracts are fake.

With quarterbacks are not, because even if you're a cheap quarterback, I sign you to $90, $120 million guaranteed, that guarantees because of the way I have to build you on my salary cap on the team for a while. So if Lamar signed a four-year contract, let's pick a number. four years, $160 million. Let's just make it easy. $40 million a year. Let's say I guaranteed $120 million of that contract.

I would say the likelihood he's guaranteed to be on the team three of the four years. And it'd have to be like a catastrophic injury or character stuff going off going to a wall for him not to make it four years. Like Dak Prescott, four years 160, he's going to play every, hell, they're talking about giving him a contract extension.

Kirk Cousins, immediate contract extension. quarterback's play out contracts for so much longer. And I hear you, like these teams spend all this money. Think about the teams that quote unquote don't have the cash, the Raiders, the Bengals, some of the lower budget and their owners aren't as rich. Look at their salary cap every single year. It's not like they're like, well, the cap's 210 and they're spending 120. It's never the case.

It's always like, oh, the Bengals got to clear some salary cap space. Raiders are up against it, you know? I think sometimes some of these narratives that are run with because it is easy to just call the rich guy greedy but which happens sometimes and I even defend like the A's owner now should he own the team? Maybe not but his business makes no money

so he just spends the money that his business has it's like why does he come out of his own pocket because it wouldn't work in the NFL you don't have to come out of the owner's pocket so why I laugh when John Lynch today was like you know we asked Chad York if we could sign Hargrave and he's like, go get him, guys. We act like it's Jed York's personal fucking account. It's just the 49ers.

There are a business entity, which obviously he owns, but the money you pay the players, it's not like Jed uses that money for a Paris vacation, you know, probably puts himself on salary, his whole life's through business expenses. And, I mean, if he needs money, there are profit endeavors part of the organization that he could touch.

But like the money you pay the players is the media money from the least. league. It's paid for every single year. So regardless how much, I'm with you, whether Lamar gets 110 guaranteed or 200, he's going to see the majority of the fake part of the contract as well. Appreciate everyone listen. Adios. Have a good week. See you. Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smigel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mike

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