The Herd with Colin Cowherd - 3 and Out - Lance to Cowboys Takeaways, Jerry's Angle, Rams + USC Red Flags

Episode Date: August 28, 2023

John gives his take on the Niners unloading Trey Lance on the Cowboys for a 4th round pick, why Jerry Jones outbid the reset of the league to land a QB3. He also explains why he has giant red flags on the Rams and overhyped USC and the underwhelming Trojan D, and how how Nick Bosa eventually gets his deal done with the Niners. Follow John on Twitter, Instagram and YouTube for the latest. Check out Gametime - the fastest growing ticketing app in the US, and the official ticketing app of 3 & Out and GoLow -  for tickets to all of your favorite NFL, NBA, NHL, NCAA teams. Concert and comedy show tickets, too. Go to Gametime now to create an account, download the app and use code JOHN for $20 off your first purchase. #Volume #HerdSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Everybody, John Middlecock, three and out podcast. How are we doing? Sunday afternoon, recording a little podcast. Have not talked to you guys since the Cowboys 49er Trade. So we will dive into that from the Cowboy angle, from the Niner angle, from the Trey Lance angle. I think it's a little bit bigger of a headline than it actually is in terms of acquisition.

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Since we last talked, Friday afternoon, there was a major trade in the national football league. And it happened. I would say it came out of left field. Not that Trey Lance was traded, but that Trey Lance was traded to the Dallas Cowboys.

But after I watched Jerry Jones talk this week, I understood it. Now, let's start with the Cowboys side of this. The reason they have Trey Lance, they simply outbid everybody by a wide margin. I promise you this, and I know through the grapevine, the 49ers thought best case scenario, they were going to get a six-round pick. And most of the teams were in that ballpark. Tray Lance's value was not high at all, right? What's one of the greatest values of a young quarterback is his contract?

Well, he only has two years left of that contract. And after this season, you've got to pick up his fifth year option. Also, based on his performance and the team is willing to give up on him, he's not exactly viewed as some superstar around the league. But Jerry Jones viewed it like, it's going to sound like I'm speaking out of both sides of my mouth. First and foremost, if I was a team, I would not trade for Trey Lance. I would not have traded a six-round pick for him. He would not be a guy that I would want on my team.

Regardless of he's young, quote-unquote, people believe he still has upside. I don't. I've seen it. I would go a different direction. There are so many young quarterbacks coming to the league every single year. Hell, this upcoming quarterback class in college right now, I would guess around seven to eight guys are going to be drafted. the top 50, let alone other quarterbacks throughout the draft. Every year, we're seeing guys come

flying in, Aiden O'Connell's, Brock Purdy's, that are just better immediately. So Jerry Jones looked at this less about Tray Lance is some star right now. He's our third string quarterback. And more like, I just think there's value in this. Or it's worth it for me to TEDx my money, almost like a stock. I don't have to pay that much, even though I'm paying more than everyone else. And if it works out, great. I actually paid nothing in the grand scheme of things because he's a quarterback. And if it doesn't work out, who really cares? Right? Because I've always said this. Like, listen, to me, a fourth round pick, when I said I wouldn't trade for him, it's because I don't think he's that good of a player. Not that I view a fifth round pick, a fourth round pick. Any

pick on the third day when it comes to making a trade, I don't lose much sleep. I don't lose much sleep. over. Right. So a huge part of the reason people weren't willing to offer that much because he makes a substantial amount of money for a guy that's used a thirstring quarterback, right? Even though this year it's like a million dollars, the 49ers have already paid his bonus. Next year you pay him over $5 million. If Tray Lance was a open street free agent right now, he would not get $5 million guarantee. But Jerry went, fuck it. I'll just pay what I have to, which is way more than everyone else, to make sure I'd get the opportunity to, you know, hit a home run that the 49ers couldn't. Right. I heard a story the other day at dinner, probably a couple weeks ago,

about this famous athlete in Scottsdale who is very, very rich and who had been striking out. There's this neighborhood called Paradise Valley. It's by far the most expensive neighborhood currently in just the greater Scottsdale area. It's just got, it's that famous picture of Cliff Kingsbury. He lived in Paradise Valley. that sweet big homes that before the craziness of the last several years of the housing market, these homes were like $5, $6 million. Now some of them go for $10, $15, $20 million.

And this athlete had made bids on homes and kept not being able to land them. Like he would lose in bidding process processes against other individuals. And finally, these people I was at dinner with, they knew this guy who had bought a lot in Paradise Valley and put $7 million into the home. This was a guy like a vice president of a company and got a knock on the door one day. I don't know if it was from the actual individual. I don't want to out him or his people.

And they said, how much do you want for the house? And the guys like, the house is not for sale. And they got talking a little bit. They found out he put $7 plus million into him. And they said, how about $15 million for your home? The guy handed him his keys. I don't know if he actually handed him his keys during the conversation, but he immediately sold him the house.

There comes to a point where you go, I don't really care how much I have to spend. I want this. And Jerry, if you listen to him talk and I watch this press conference at the Raider game, which is remarkable. Like you get to just find out from not just the GM, but the owner's perspective, why they made the deal. And he simply said, we love this guy coming out in the draft. We had first round picks.

And once I got them on the phone, I didn't want them to hang up. So I essentially made them an offer they couldn't refuse. And John Lynch said this during the 49ers preseason game. We did not expect to get a fourth round pick because no one that follows the NFL that works in the NFL that the 49ers could have got a fourth round pick for Tray Lance. But sometimes you get a guy like Jerry Jones that's just not going to be outbid just because he likes doing deals. And say this for Jerry Jones, part of being a good deal maker, right? obviously there's about like finding value and deals, but also some people, and listen, my girlfriend's in real estate, I see all the time these people get cold feet. They're afraid

to put their cards in the middle of the table. It gets hot in the kitchen. Sometimes you get burned. Jerry is not afraid, even because ultimately, and this is where I said I was going to talk out of both sides of my mouth, that if this doesn't work out for the Cowboys, who again, he's their third string quarterback. And based on the way Will Greer looked the other. night, I had to Google it. He's 28 years old. So as of recording this, Greer's technically still on the team. I would expect Jerry to cut him. But, you know, Trey Lance, is he better than him right now? But he's definitely not better than obviously, Dak Prescott or Cooper Rush. So he is going to the same scenario. We'll get into Trey here in a little bit. But Jerry

just saw it as an asset, a guy that's under contract for a couple of years. And a fourth-round pick, he's seen a million drafts. Like a fourth-round pick can become some star. It also can become a guy you cut during training camp. So a low value, big swing, but he also bid relative to the rest of the league at a, you know, dramatically more, right? So I think he just look at Jerry Jones, who is kind of unique right now, the only owner who's also the GM, watching his press conference and cowboy fans know, he's looking pretty old. You know, I wouldn't say Jerry just bring chicken at this moment.

but the simple reality is Trey Lance is in the exact same scenario in situation that he was just in. And honestly, it's even different because they have a $40 million quarterback. The Jerry, that Stephen, that the entire organization says, we are going to extend.

Now, part of why Jerry felt good about this is because he's like, we feel very good about getting Trey right next to Dac Prescott. Well, it's like Trey was right next to Jimmy Garapolo who learned, from Tom Brady, it's not like from a professional standpoint, from a preparation standpoint, he hasn't been around high-level guys. I would say Kyle is definitely

viewed as a better offensive coach than Mike McCarthy. So to me, this trade is a much bigger headline and much more fun to talk about because Jerry's kind of wheeling and dealing than the actual substance of it. I mean, we're talking about a third string quarterback. 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,

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Listen to Stuff to Blow Your Mind on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And now from the 49ers perspective, like they swung and they missed. The process was pretty embarrassing. I've said it over and over. To make a trade that early in the process when you don't even know exactly who you're going to pick. And they have talked about this over and over. And a lot of teams do. I understand wanting a guy on a rookie contract that plays quarterback, whether it's a top 10 pick or whether it's a fifth rounder. It makes building your team much easier than when you have a 40, 45, $50 million quarterback. But you have to find a guy who can play,

right? The guy has to be able to function. You have to be able to win with him. Because just having a rookie contract, there are young players on rookie contracts all over the NFL right now that are second and third string quarterbacks. That if you had to play them on good teams, you're going to lose. So just because they're on a cheap contract does not actually mean they're a great asset. So the 49ers were consumed with getting this rookie cost-controlled contract, and they realized, like, the other half of is, we got to find a guy who is good, right? Or else it's pointless, especially when you factor in the trade in which they made.

So all-time bad trade. It's definitely the worst trade in 49er history. It's got a very, very good chance to go down as one of the worst trades, if not the worst trade in NFL history. But whenever I see people going like, And listen, there is a contingent. I call them gutter rats of like this 49er kind of Tray Lance hive that hates Purdy and Sam Donald.

Very weird. They're like, who is going to hold Kyle responsible? You mean for winning 13 games last year? Winning multiple playoff games? Winning the division? Sweeping the division? If the 49ers were not winning, this would be a major problem. But they have won four playoff games the last two seasons.

Let me repeat that. Four playoff games the last two seasons. They just won the division. They won 13 games. We all expect them, I don't know, even if you're a nine or hater, what's the lowest you would pick? 10-11 wins? I think they're 13, 14-win team. If they suck and they win six or seven games, then yes, we need to do some serious evaluations.

But the whole point of this sport with free agency, with draftics, and I love the freaking draft. I love Wheeland Dealing. None of it matters if you lose. And just like if you're winning all your mistakes, who gives a shit? Belichick made mistakes all the time during his two-decade run with Tom Brady. You know what happened every single year? They won 12, 13 games. They were in the AFC championship game.

And half the time they were in the Super Bowl, most of the time they were winning it. So when you make mistakes and you win, whatever, it ain't that big a deal. Do you know when people get fired? When you lose. Right now, Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch are not losing. And here's another thing. I give anyone respect. And Belichick was always the best of this in sports.

Obviously, a lot of people that are really successful in life are very good at this in business, of pivoting when something isn't working, regardless how many resources you put into them. You learn this in school. It's called a sunk cost. Once you put a lot of money into something, once you invest a lot of draft picks into something, it's awesome at first. And you're going to spend a lot of your time

trying to make it worth it. But once you get to a point where either you don't have the time, it's not working out, you realize you made a mistake, you have to pivot. And most of the time, you're going to take an L. I have a stock called Skills.

I've talked about this over the years. I got about 70 Gs, into it. If you open my E-Trade account, it shows less than 10 of its actual value. If I needed the money, I would have no choice but to sell it and take a large, large L. Now, in stocks, there's something called, you know, tax loss harvesting. You can kind of spread it out. But regardless, it would be easily the biggest L I've ever had financially in terms of an investment. And I don't expect it to go up much. I just don't need the money. So I'm going to write it out. Hopefully it just goes up a little bit, but sometimes in life you miss, whether you're GM, whether you invested

stocks, whether you are in real estate, I don't give a shit what you do. That's part of life, especially successful people that take big swings. Like, it's just, there's nothing you can do to avoid it. Now, you can look back on your process, like we've said, it was terrible. But they had to wave the white flag. You cannot have a $9 million third string quarterback. The other thing that Kyle and John both alluded to about why this makes no sense is because the way they run their operation, the third string quarterback does not get any reps during the season. This is no longer training camp where you're just running plays against a bunch of guys. You cut down your roster here in the next several days from 90 to 53. And with the 49ers, I don't know exactly how the Cowboys do it, but Sam Darnold will run the scout team.

And they do this twofold. One, they want their starter to get all the reps, kind of the Peyton Manning, Tom Brady mindset. You're the one playing. You're getting all the reps if you go down and we're in trouble. And to get your backup, way more reps than he would get even if he got 10% of the starter reps in practice. Now, he's not running those plays. He only gets mental reps after training camp, right? But he gets to practice. And if you're with the 49ers against the starting defense. It's why the starting defense last year when Brock Purdy had to come in for Jimmy Garoppel, they were so high on him.

They'd like, we've been practicing against this guy for several months. We think he's really good. And he got to improve against, you know, depending on what stats you look at, the number one defense in the league. So the 49ers think Sam Darnold is way better. They don't think Trey Lance is that good. They can say whatever they want, right? They do not want him on the team anymore.

And Trey Lance wanted out as well, which I don't totally. totally blame him either. Because any professional relationship, any personal relationship, when the other person you're involved with does not like you that much, there's no point to stay unless you're like, I guess, in business financially making a lot of money. But that, his money, he's going to make whatever he's going to make regardless, right? His contract is set. So why would he stay at a place when he knows the only person that matters with the 49ers is Kyle Shanahan does not like him? And then with the Cowboys, like, I don't really understand the fit for Tray Lance.

He's the third string quarterback. And I don't exactly know how they run practice during the season. But it's not like he's going to get that many reps. And the other thing Jerry mentioned was, we didn't consult Mike McCarthy on this. Now, he claimed that Mike liked him coming out of the draft. But it's not like Mike was in the war room saying, we got to make this trade. And if anything, and Cowboy fans know this, if you watch Mike after the preseason game, He just said Will Greer.

He told him to go play his ass off. And then he said it was the best preseason game he's ever seen since 1999. Honestly, if you just watch McCarthy talk, it's like, I don't know if he loves this situation. Now, like Kyle Shanahan with the 49ers, the only guy that you need to love you with the Cowboys is Jerry, who clearly does. But Jerry does not run the practice.

So I don't know if there's just unlimited reps for Trey Lance to play. if there are no injuries and there would take multiple injuries, Trey Lance is not going to play a snap for the Cowboys either. The Cowboys in the 49ers are the same fucking team. Every game matters. Every play matters. They're trying to win the division. They're trying to win playoff games.

They're trying to compete to win the Super Bowl. And as Jerry said, this is a raw product. We're going to coach him up. And this is not about this year. It's about next year. So he just went to a place. And Trey, ultimately what I think happened is, There had to be more teams, like the Buffalo Bills were teams sniffing around.

Now, they would never give a fourth round pick in this scenario, but let's just say that they would have won the bidding, and they would have given a fifth round pick. Well, if Trey Lance can be Josh Allen's backup, you're just one snap away, and you get to get way more reps. Look at some of the guys they're rolling out there, the Matt Marclays of the world.

Well, in this scenario, Cooper Rush proved last year that McCarthy's comfortable playing them, and the team's comfortable playing around them. So, like, I don't know. I don't really see it. And sometimes most picks at quarterback are not going to be good players. And when you look at Trey Lance's career, like, it's kind of understandable. Didn't play that much in college. Didn't get to play much in the pros.

Was injured. Got passed really quick by Brock Purdy, who the 49ers freaking love. They freaking love Brock Purdy. And they no longer love Trey Lance. Here's the other problem, though. as long as Tray Lance was on the 49ers, they were going to try to make him as good as possible because of what they had invested into him.

So the moment they pivoted, which was last week, no one else, no matter where he went until he proved that he was sweet, was ever going to like him like the 49ers did. Because even Jerry Jones, for as bullish as he sounded like what this could be and what maybe this turns into,

if Tray Lance does not show it for them in practice, which is very hard to do sometimes, they don't care. They don't have much invested, even though they outbitted everyone in the league. Jerry's like a fourth round pick. Who gives a shit? A couple million dollars. Whatever. It's not like, we got Dak Prescott. We're all in on him and we're all in on the rest of our team. Trey Lance shows something cool. If not, we'll just treat him like some other random guy. And now he's in that mix of just kind of random quarterbacks. And no one is ever going to be financially invested until he proves that he's a really good player. And think how difficult, right now, Trey Lance has to prove around the league that he's

just good enough to be a backup. So I think we talked about this last week. You can't script this shit. I know there are a lot of like memes going around about how the NFL scripted, but you can't, you can't make this stuff up. You couldn't, if I would have told you a couple years ago that Trey Lans not going to be the 49ers anymore, he's going to be the third stringer for the Cowboys. You'd be like, what? Well, how does that happen? And that's what happened. So the headline to me, Cowboys trade for Trey Lance is much, much crazier than the actual results of two teams that have played each other two years in a row in the playoffs.

That neither had any, you know, want to play Trey Lance, not just in the near future, but it, it's, the distant future as well. Couple teams that I got major red flags on. I was at dinner. What would that have been? Saturday night. Having a late dinner. Sat down, got a bottle of wine,

sat at the bar with my girlfriend, ordered some appetizers and look up. And the Denver Bronco, L.A. Ram game is on. And the Broncos are beating the living piss out of the ramps. End up winning 41 to nothing. And we get home, laying in bed and, you know, my mind works this way. And I'm just like, I'm pretty sure the Rams

did not do very well in this preseason. So I went to my app and I just looked at all three of their scores. I did a little addition. They lost their preseason games by a total of 75 points. And then I saw a headline from Sean McVeigh that said, last night was humbling. A lot of these guys were playing are backups on our team that are going to be on our 53-man roster. We were not trying to get mollywobbed. I've said this for a long time now. I think the Rams are going to be god-awful. Matt Stafford has proven these last couple of weeks. Really throughout his his durability can, he just gets injured a lot. And last year with the elbow injury, like I just do not pencil him as a guy that's going to play 17 games. They are built

essentially like an NBA team. They're all in on like three guys. They're paying the majority of their money to those three guys. And if two of the three of them go down, it is game over. And last year, literally all three got hurt. This year, Cooper Rush has already been injured. And Stafford, like, I'm just chalking him up to get hurt. Even if Aaron Donald has like an MVP level season, there's only so much you can do. If guys are wide open and dudes are missing tackles, I think the Rams have five wins or less written all over them. And I'm not talking shit about McVeigh. I think he's a really good coach. The organization did what they had to do to win big and it paid off.

But we often say in a salary cap league with guaranteed money that eventually the credit card statement comes due, it's come and due. Now, big picture, if they're drafting the top couple picks and you can get Drake Mayor Caleb Williams, it would be well worth it. And I think they are headed there on a straight path. I think a top five pick and the Rams are on a collision course. I'm not trying to act like the preseason is like they're just going to lose every game by 40 points. I just think their roster is awful. And I think they're top players who went healthy. Obviously, Cooper Cup and Aaron Donald are elite players and Stafford has proven to be really, really good.

Even though two years ago he led the league and interceptions even the year that they won the Super Bowl and throws a lot of pick sixes. But that team was way better than this one. So I'm telling you, I got a major, major red flag on the ramps. And the other team that Lincoln Riley is a really good coach. And offensively, if I was a star quarterback, there is not a coach in the country I would rather play for than Lincoln Riley because he would guarantee me to win the Heisman and have me an opportunity to be the number one overall pick. And his offense, I mean, a lot of teams now are running elements of his offense in the league.

And he's done. We put up a lot of points and I would dominate. But part of college football and winning national championships, one thing that's really proven in the SEC's dominance, is you've got to play defense. And really, even if you give up some points, you have to have the horses on defense. Georgia, Alabama, LSU, Ohio State, Michigan.

Like, when you watch them on defense, physically the size of their guys on all three levels, their defensive linemen, their linebackers, and always they have a ton of guys getting drafted in their secondary. Like, it makes sense why they're always really good. Clemson, some of their national championship teams, a ton of dudes on defense,

especially the defensive line, drafted, right? Florida State, we think it's going to be really good this year. They're going to have a ton of draft picks on defense. I don't pretend to be rivals.com here. But I'm watching USC on defense and all year long, hey, they got a Georgia transfer. They got an Alabama, they got this transfer. The eye test for me, they just look small.

San Jose State might be a bowl team, six and six or something, scored 28 points against them, ran for 150 yards and they were down the entire game. To me, there's just a lack of physicality when it comes to Lincoln's teams. It was like that at Oklahoma, and now through a year in a game, it looks like that against, again, for USC. No one argues how good Caleb Williams is. No one argues how good this freshman branch. I mean, the guy looks incredible. The other dude they have the returner, the wide receiver from Oklahoma last year that transferred Caleb.

Awesome. Number four. But they got really good players on offense. Defensively, I can't take them seriously. And it's why they didn't win the Pact 12 last year. Utah shoved them around. Well, Utah, I watched them against Penn State, who if they get some good quarterback play, has a chance to compete to make the playoffs. Penn State has guys on defense everywhere that are going to be drafted. they put Utah last year into a body bag in that Rose Bowl game. So just big picture, even not like, I'm sorry, like I don't take USC seriously as not just a national title contender. I don't think they're going to win the pack 12. But just big picture about their transition into the Big Ten, obviously they're not going to embarrass themselves.

Their offense, they're always going to be able to compete to win eight, nine games. But they're not winning that conference, not in the near future until they take defense seriously. And that's Lincoln, right? You have to take that side of the ball. When USC dominated with Pete Carroll, it was all about NFL guys on defense. Even the couple of years that they didn't win the national championship, like with Mark Sanchez, their defense was loaded. One year they had like Brian Cushing, Ray Malulga, and Clay Matthews were their starting linebackers. You just watch them play even when their offense struggled. They look like an NFL team on defense. And I just do not understand why they do not emphasize that side of the ball. They're in the greatest or one of them, area codes areas for recruiting. Defensive players everywhere. The state of California, a ton of good defensive players. It's why I think Washington or Oregon or even Utah, Utah has some issues right now offensively because they're quarterback's injured, but they play defense. So until you play defense, has always been a downfall of Chip Kelly. They don't even take defense seriously.

Whenever you hear NBA players that talked about Mike Dantone, you know, the seven seconds or less, basketball coach, the dude that coach Hardin and Chris Paul, who always get so close, they say he never even mentions the word defense. He does not care. He thinks it's irrelevant. Now, I don't think Lincoln thinks it's irrelevant, but he does not emphasize it. And the best coaches, right, in the country, Harbaugh, former quarterback, defense matters. Sabin, I would say he's turned into an offensive guy.

Mack Jones, Jalen Hertz, Tootanga Vailoa, Bryce Young, like, obviously he really cares about offense, defense comes first. Kirby Smart, defense. Ryan Day, what's been his downfall these last couple years? It feels like since Urban falling off the cliff. Say what you want about the Florida documentary. It's very PG. We're not talking drugs, guns, and the hookers. But it is, it's not bad football-wise. In Urban, they had really good players on defense. Their secondary was unreal. Brandon Spikes looks like Ray Lewis to win in college football. If you're not tackling, if you don't have NFL dudes on defense, I'm sorry, you don't have a snowball's chance in hell

to compete for the playoffs, let alone a national championship. It is not happening. So the Rams, I'm out on. USC, they'll win 10 games, but they are not winning the national championship. 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 is. 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 IHeart 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. We got some news today. Josh Jacobs kind of did a Sequin Barkley, right? signed equivalent of his franchise tag with some incentives to get it, I think, $11, $12 million. So now we are basically waiting on Nick Bosa and Chris Jones. In both teams, here's what I think happens with a lot of negotiations. There's a back and forth.

I think with these two guys, they're just kind of saying their number. We both want to be the highest paid non-quarterback in the NFL, 110, 115, $120 million guaranteed. we're not in this to negotiate. This is our number. And I think they're looking at it a lot like quarterbacks look at it. There's not much negotiating right, like for Joe Burrow.

His contract is going to be based on Jalen Hertz and Herbert's contract. It'll be a couple million dollars more. But they don't have to go back and forth. Like, well, could we meet you? No, this is the number. Call me when you're ready to sign. Because we know what the number is.

We will sign the piece of paper when the number we're looking for is on it. And most people in the NFL, most players, do not have that leverage. Sean Payton, it was a rare coach that was like, if you want me to come out of retirement, it's going to cost you $18 million a year. And you got a desperate team to give them $90 million. So I think these two defensive linemen go, I'm your best player on defense.

One team won the Super Bowl last year, and Chris Jones was incredible. The other team could have won the Super Bowl if their quarterback doesn't get hurt. And he was a defensive player of the year that I think they're acting like a lot of quarterback's act. Now, typically because of the importance of quarterback to just run your operation, those contracts no longer carry over, right? Like if Joe Burrow was holding out this training camp, his contract would already be done. Jalen Hurts, Herbert, like those were pretty seamless deals. It's like, wham, bam, thank you, man. This, anytime you're not dealing with a quarterback, teams want to negotiate. Okay, it's a business. And I think Nick Bosa and John Lynch has talked about it.

Like, we haven't really talked to him. And I think it's, pretty clear. Like, hey, man, I want $120 million. We're not going to go phone tag here. That's my number. Call me when you're ready to put it to a piece of paper and I'll sign it. But until you do, like, I'm not signing it. We're not going back and forth on this. Like, I know what I'm worth. I know you know what I'm worth. And I think Chris Jones is saying that too. The more complicated part about Chris Jones is this is his third contract, right? Anytime in the NFL with a non-quarterback, look at the history of signing players to back-to-back premium deals. It's much more missed than hit.

So even though I would sign Chris Jones, just like I would sign Nick Bosa to probably basically whatever they wanted, unless it was like $150 million guaranteed, I do understand somewhat of the reservation from the chiefs. Like, hey, we'll give you a couple year extension, but a lot of wear and tear on you. It's just a little riskier. though I think Chris Jones, what, 28, 29?

It's not like he's 34 years old. But Nick Bosa, the 49ers have no choice. They have to have him in a couple weeks for the Steeler game. Like, the deal has to get done. And obviously, you can't just sign the deal on Friday and have them play on Sunday. So you got to, they're going to have to try to get this done in the next couple days. But, yeah, it's just not an ideal scenario right now when you have two teams. I mean, the Chiefs are now at the point where it's Super Bowl or bust.

To me, they're the only team in the league that if they don't win the Super Bowl, it is a letdown, right? Like the Eagles, the 49ers, even the Bengals, like if you get to the Super Bowl, I don't actually losing it. Like on that given day, it's a letdown. It sucks.

I'm not trying to act like you shouldn't be disappointed. But once you get months removed, like every Eagle fan has to admit, the macro version, last year's season was incredible. Right? It sucked the way it ended, but it was still a major, major success.

And just like this year, if they get back to the Super Bowl, it's a very, very successful year. There's one team in the league, and that's the Chiefs. And beside Mahomes, he's probably right there with Kelsey, right? You got one is Mahomes, and then you got like one B and one C. It's like Kelsey and Chris Jones. So they're in a predicament right now.

This is why it's hard to be a GM. You got to figure this out. Brett Veach and John Lynch with their contract negotiators, just got to find a way to get this done. Because unlike Lincoln Riley, defense matters, and those two guys are complete ass kickers. The volume. Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy,

not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform?

We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor. me with Robert Smigel and friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. 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 IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.