The Herd with Colin Cowherd - 3 & Out - Brett Veach Interview, The Franchise Tag, Kirk Cousins' Future

Episode Date: March 7, 2024

John recaps the players that had the Franchise Tag put on them, does the tag help the player or the team, he reacts to some of the players that have gotten cut, do any teams value the running back position, what's the latest with Kirk Cousins, and Russell Wilson is allowed to talk with other teams. Also, John is joined by the Kansas City Chiefs GM, Brett Veach. The guys dive into how they had to win the "hard way" this year to get to the Super Bowl, what made this year's KC team different, how impressive the Chiefs defense was, and the importance of getting the Tyreek Hill trade draft picks right. Later, John answers your questions in this episode's mailbag segment. 5:48 - The Franchise Tag 12:20 - Cut Day 17:23 - The Running Back position 24:23 - Draft Daily 29:52 - Kirk Cousins' future 32:14 - Peyton Manning and Bill Belichick 35:00 - Russell Wilson is allowed to talk with other teams 38:57 - Brett Veach Interview 49:37 - Mailbag 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.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. 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 IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, what's good, y'all? You're listening to Learn the Hard Way with your favorite therapist and host Kear Games. This space is about black men's experiences, having honest conversations that it's really not safe to have anywhere, but you're having them with a licensed professional who knows what he's doing. How many men carry a suit or armor? It signals to the world that you're not to be played with. And just because you have the capability that does not mean that you need to.

Listen and learn the hard way on the IHard radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. The volume. Get in on the action with Draft King Sportsbook, an official sports betting partner of the NBA. New customers who deposit $5 or more can get a no-sweb bet up to $1,000 back in a bonus bet. Download the Draft King Sportsbook app now and use the code John. New customers get a no-swed

bet up to $1,000 if your first bet loses. Only on Draft King Sportsbook with code J-O-HN. The crown is yours. Gambling problem, call 1-800 gambler or in West Virginia visit 1-800 gambler.net.

In New York, call 8778-8-Hope-N-Y or text Hope-N-Y-4-67-369. In Connecticut, Get help is available for problem gambling. Call 888-78-98-9-777- Or visit ccpg.org. Please play responsibly. On behalf of Boothill Casino and Resort in Kansas, 21 and over, age varies by jurisdiction. Void in Ontario.

One no-sweat per new customer. Issued as one bonus bet based on amount of initial losing bet. Bonus bets expire 168 hours after issuance. See dkng.com slash promos for deposit wagering in eligibility restrictions, terms, and responsible gaming resources. What is going on, everybody? How are we doing, my people? Big show today. Last time we talked football was a couple days ago, and a lot has happened.

The franchise tag, the bills cut about half their roster, the Seattle said by to Jamal Adams, the running back situation, those guys are probably in for an awakening when it comes to hitting the open market. Draft daily, some thoughts on the offensive linemen, and then just we'll bounce off some different stories. Manning and Belichick reunion on Omaha Productions.

Kirk Cousins to Atlanta, as Florio reported. Might not be an if, but when. And Russell Wilson, free to talk with whoever he wants. We will also have Brett Veach, who I talked to last week at the Combine. We will play that interview on this podcast, as well as the Middlekopf mailbag. At John Middilkoff, Instagram, fire in those DMs, get your question answered here on the show, as well as you guys know the drill. If you listen on Collins feed,

make sure you subscribe to the three and out feed. If you guys like the video version, all this stuff is up on the YouTube channel. Just type in my name, fire it right there. And we also got merch. I'm wearing a three and out hat right now. So if you go to the volume.com, we got some merch.

And the game plan is just keep banging out podcast. So we got V-John today. I also talked to Rick Spielman, the former Vikings gentleman, He will play that interview on Friday. And yeah, so we'll just, we'll keep the NFL content firing. Before we dive in some football, you know what I got to do. I got to tell you about my friends, my loyal partners, and the official ticketing app of this podcast.

You know where I'm going on Sunday? Or actually Saturday this weekend. I'm going to a Dodger game. A little spring training. I don't know if you heard, they signed this guy for about $700 million, name Shoehael. Tonny. They also signed his homie from Japan. I don't want to butcher his name, but he's supposed to be pretty sweet too. I don't know if he's pitching on Saturday, but the way I did it is I use game time. And I highly recommend you guys do it too. So if you want to go to a spring training game,

if you're in Florida, if you're in Arizona, if you want to go to one of these basketball games, NBA or college, March badness is right around the corner. It's March right now. Usually March badness doesn't get going until the end of the month. But any event, concert, comedy show, you name it, just download the GameTime app, promo code John. J-O-H-N, J-O-H-N, promo code John, save $20. I've been using these guys for well over a year now and swear by them. Download the GameTime app, promo code John, get $20 off your first pair of tickets. The franchise tag.

Pro Football Talk wrote an article that the franchise tag sucks. potentially, and I couldn't disagree anymore. Now, does it suck for a player? Yeah, you're getting pretty rich when you could get really rich. Does it suck for the team? Yeah, it's not ideal. You don't want to have to franchise tag a guy because if you're franchising them, you want him on your team and you're interested in extending,

meaning if you can get an extension done, it's easier on your cap. Because if the franchise tag is $20, $25 million, dollars, that entire number hits the salary cap. For example, the 49ers last year had a very high price team. A lot of guys making a lot of money. Trent Williams, Nick Bosa, Fred Warner, George Kittle, Debo Samuel. These guys run huge contracts. Their highest cap hit last season was $12 million, Trent Williams.

Contract extensions are all about manipulating the salary cap. And the franchise tag is actually beneficial for us, the fans. because one thing that the NFL has that these other sports simply do not have, if you want to keep your star player, it's very rare that a quarterback ever makes it this far. It's honestly unheard of for a superstar quarterback to get on the franchise tag. I guess it happened with Lamar Jackson, but that became complicated, right?

His negotiation, and ultimately it got done. But you see the Dak Prescott's and the Kirk Cousins, like those type guys, you don't see Patrick Mahomes. Justin Herbert, Josh Allen, those guys just aren't going to get franchise stacked. If Caleb Williams or any of these guys in this draft hit and become a star, like the franchise tag is not. If you're franchising, tagging a quarterback,

you have some questions. And listen, basketball, I was watching the Sun's Nuggets game last night. And I was just thinking like, it looks weird seeing Kevin Durant in a Sun's uniform. He's been like five different teams in four years. years. That's not great for a league when your star players are bouncing around constantly. Certain baseball teams, if you have Aaron Judge or a Bryce Harper, you kind of know that once his contract is up and he hits free agency, he gone. And that sucks. I try to hammer this home all

the time. This business exists because of you guys, myself included. I watch all this shit. Without us watching and it makes it more watchable when you know the star players are never leaving unless the team wants them to leave and you see the franchise tag list from the dude in baltimore who my buddy that was on the staff says he's basically john randle an absolute stud uh Carolina burns that situation's a little weird I think if they could redo it they would have traded him to the bears and kept DJ more Chicago no-brainer uh the kid from fresno jaylon Johnson he's a really good player and their defense was good. Cincinnati, T. Higgins. Listen, here's a good example of the franchise tag.

T. Higgins is going to get well over $20 million if he plays out the franchise tag. The Bengals do not want to lose T. Higgins. They love T. Higgins. They said last year, I remember when the GM was at the podium at the combine, you guys plan on trading T. Higgins? Or like a lot of people are sniffing around T. Higgins. And he basically said, find your own wide receiver. But this is a business. and they have a $50 million quarterback and a wide receiver who's better than him. So it complicates the situation. The Bengals don't want to lose them.

The Bengals fans don't want to lose them. And ultimately they would love to get a contract figured out. But if the number is $28 million, like can you pay him $28 million? Then next year, Jamar Chase, $35 million. It is a legit conversation. This is a business. This is a business. And how often a lot of the media will always be very pro player,

which I am too, without the players, the sport doesn't exist. But like, how many of these guys are ultimately going to get screwed? How often do guys play on the franchise tag or get tagged and ultimately that are legit high-end guys don't end up making a ton of money? It's very, very few and far between. The Colts, Pittman.

When I first saw that, I was like, he's a franchise tag guy? And I texted a pro scout in the league and he said, well, there are a lot of very, variables here. One, best year of his career. Two, the Colts have missed on some picks. And this is very like, hey, look at what I'm doing, Jim Ursay. And three, like, when you factor in the receiver market, it's technically a cheap deal for a one-year contract. And it's also to prove, like, can you keep doing this? He's also a big body for a quarterback who's not that accurate. That was the one that

was like, is this guy really worth the franchise tag? But you definitely don't want to lose him. And he's probably not going to sign a contract with you for a quote-unquote cheap deal. The Jags tag the Josh Allen, the pass rusher, really good player coming off a big year. Tampa, Winfield Jr., baller, and KC basically tagging Sneed to trade him. He's going to get traded. So that's a good example. He's currently tagged. He is going to get an astronomical amount of money when he has traded to whoever.

The Lions, you pick the team that ends up pulling the trigger on him, is going to give him $60, $70 million in a contract extension. All these guys are going to get a ton of money, whether it's right now, which they're still really rich, they're just going to be really, really, really rich when they sign the actual contract. But this notion that everyone's getting screwed, these numbers are like $20, $25 million truly guaranteed.

Like how many guys in the league are making that much money? And beside Mbuke, I'm not saying his name right, the defendant number 92 with the, Ravens, how many of these guys, like Jalen Johnson, really good scheme fit? He's not for everybody. He would make a lot of money. He's going to make a lot of money. But some of these guys like Michael Pittman, our team's just lined up to give him $70, $80 million. Now you could argue, let the free market happen. And listen, I'm a capitalist. So I understand from their standpoint, but from the league's health standpoint, this benefits the league greatly from a business standpoint to us,

which, let's face it, kind of matter. The cuts today. This time of year, I think you see a lot of guys being waved, cut, relieved of their duties on the team, basically clear out your lockerer or not coming back. And there are two separate reasons, and they're dramatically different.

The Buffalo Bills today, it felt like cut half their defense, the two safeties, the corner. Now, granted, he's been hurt a couple times, but a lot of guys, they like all these players. In a perfect world, they would not cut any of these guys. They would bring them back.

But they're $40 million over the cap. They have no choice. They have to clean up their books. That was why this move happened. The Eagles cut Maddox, the slot corner, who's been injured, but they like a lot and is a really good player. But it's just strictly business. Like, we don't have a choice. We're not cutting like A.J. Brown.

So we're cutting you to try to clear up the books. And the bills found themselves in this position because just a couple years ago, like they can't cut Vaughn Miller based on their salary cap and the dead cap money and the way they structured his deal. Like they're kind of stuck with them. And I think, listen, we all make bad decisions in life. Some just cost you more than others, right? A lot of people that get their first job, they like go lease some Mercedes.

Probably not a great idea. Right. When you have a highly paid quarterback and you're going to, you know, fire your loan big bullet and you go after Vaughn Miller and you give him 50 plus million dollars in guarantees. He's an older player and I love Vaughn Miller. He made me back when I didn't have that much money like two, one of the biggest bets I've ever had at the time. I wanted like $2,500 because I went all in on the Denver Broncos to win that Super Bowl.

He was a Super Bowl MVP. I've seen him play live three or four times in his prime. He's one of the greatest talents I've ever seen. But at this point in time, like I should you be in the business of paying older guys, third contracts, and then he gets injured? and clearly he's never been the same. They would like a redo on that one, but you don't get Mulligans when you sign big contracts.

So that is a result of a poor business decision. And then there are cuts like Jamal Adams, Russell Wilson, where you can't get the guy out of the building fast enough. Now, I'm not trying to lump Russell and Jamal. Russell has, you can call him whatever you want, a politician, corny, kind of weird, but he's not like a malicious individual.

Clearly, Jamal, piss a lot of people off. And they do not like him in Seattle at all. I mean, last year was a great example. When the dude made fun of him on Twitter for getting smoked in a game and one-on-one coverage in the corner of the end zone, which Jamal Adams been bad cover guy for a long time now, and he goes after the guy's wife.

And listen, I've always been a big believer of no group struggles to give criticism and then take it worse than people in the space of criticizing professional athletes or professional coaches. So, like, listen, if you're going to make fun of him, he can make fun of you back. But, like, you're kind of a D-bag if you go after the guy's wife, which he basically called her ugly. I got news for you. Like, she wasn't that bad.

Like, give me a break. And even Pete Carroll had to apologize for it. It was an embarrassment. And one of the first moves from McDonald with Schneider is to get this guy out of our building. And I, listen, I think sometimes, like, this guy's never playing in the league again. Remember that was like Russell Westbrook a couple years ago? Like, this guy's going to head to China. Like, no, he's not.

I don't know who's signing this guy. Seriously. He's a complete headache. What's his role? He's basically a linebacker. Can't cover anybody. Listen, if I was a GM, this guy could cost $5. I wouldn't touch him with a 10-foot pull.

Obviously, Russell falls under a different category. But in terms of the Denver Broncos and Sean Payton, let's be real. Like, Sean Payton couldn't stand him. a player. And some of those cuts are simply like, we got to get this, we got to get rid of this guy.

So you see the cuts that are strictly business. And it's part of professional sports. It just happens. And then there are the cuts of like, we don't like this person. We don't like him as a player. We don't like the guy. We want him gone.

And that's, and I would imagine more names over the next three or four days will fall under that category, especially with new staffs. And sometimes new staffs, they also cut guys because, listen, you run new schemes.

The guy that used to fit no longer fits. If the Chicago Bears had blown up their operation and hired a new coach, there's a chance Jalen Johnson might not have fit the new defensive coordinator if they had gone that route. So maybe they would have tagged and traded him. Well, the Bears obviously aren't going to tag and trade this guy. They want to keep him. And then if you're the Carolina Panthers, for example, like with Brian Burns, you go, God, we don't have any picks.

Where are we going? couldn't you use him to kind of, I don't know, restock the cupboards a little bit? Like you don't know, obviously your first round picks in Chicago. So this is a time when a lot of business is being discussed internally in the front office and around the league. The running backs. I thought last year was, I mean, typical social media, things overblown,

things that we view as a big deal that are simply not a big deal, when they all hopped on a Zoom. And I think you've got to be able to separate. Like, if I was in their shoes, I'd be mad too. we all are a product of our own feelings, our own emotions, our own situations. So I get those guys thinking they're, you know, quote unquote getting screwed even they were, they were making $11 and $12 million, which obviously is a lot of money. But when they see random wide receivers getting $18, $20 million, they think they're getting

the short end of the stick. Here's the problem. Saquan Barkley, not tagged. Josh Jacobs, not tagged. Though I do think because the owner really, really like that. likes Josh Jacobs, and I think Josh Jacobs is a much better player than Sequin Barkley. I still think he ends up with the Raiders, but anytime that you quote-unquote hit free agency, like you hit the open market, you're never guaranteed to come back. That's like the old adage

in NFL front offices. If you're not going to tag him or get an extension done by the time free agency hits, you have to be prepared to lose the player. There are a lot of stories, and listen, I'm not some reporter, but it's pretty clear Saquan Barclay was offered an extension in last year for less money than he valued himself, but definitely more money than he's going to get. There were rumors at the combine, like, guys like him are going to get $5, $6, $7 million on a one-year deal. Part of life is obviously you've got to strike when the iron's hot. And if you're a defensive lineman, an offensive tackle, like last year, McClintia, he was licking

his lips to hit free agency because of the lack of tackles, even if he's averages the day as long, he was going to get a lot of money and he did. He plays a premium position. He had been a starter on a good team. And he took advantage of the Denver Broncos. But if the Denver Broncos hadn't to paid him, someone else would have paid him. Maybe not that much,

but he was going to make a lot of money. When you're a running back, and it's been pretty consistent in recent years, like the market is not on your side. And someone offers you a pretty good deal, relative to your position, a really good deal. If you're trying to sell your house right now, and let's just, let's say the market,

they cut rates and the market really starts heating up again. And your neighbor who has a very similar home to you sells his house for a million dollars. Well, if you think you're going to get two and a half million dollars for your home, you're fucking moron. You're wasting your time. Now, maybe you could get one to five. Maybe you could be aggressive that way

and like kind of strong arm some people trying to buy your house. Slow play them, play them off each other. See what happens. And maybe you get a little bit more than him. but you're not getting double. You're not getting 150% more than him. Like, you've got to be realistic. And I think sometimes, and it's hard,

like we're all emotional about our own situations, that clearly he got really emotional about his situation. And it cost him. And we'll see coming up what the money is, but I would imagine the money's not going to be great. And I'm not talking about the first time whether he signed somewhere the contract that is reported. Now, if you tell me he goes back to the New York Giants,

that to me is going to be where the most money is. But I also think once they sign Daniel Jones makes it a little more complicated. Like they have already gotten to a contract that they regret. And not that Sequan's, he's a better player than Daniel Jones, clearly, but financially, like, it's very, very risky

to do these running back contracts. It's not just random. They're not just suppressed because they're just suppressing them to try to drive down the price of these guys. They just don't think they're worth it. They think it's very, very easy. to find replacements all over the draft. It's kind of true.

Look at last year, Nick Chubb, who's clearly one of the best running backs in the NFL, not even debatable. You could argue before his injury, he's the second best running back in the league behind Christian McCaffrey. He has a devastating injury. Browns keep rolling. They didn't skip a beat. Made the playoffs pretty easily with Joe Flacco. So I just think these running backs, and this is good advice for anybody. Obviously, they're dealing with a lot more money than 99.9% of people, but sometimes when you're discussing money, whether it's selling something, whether it's negotiating your own contract, Colin said this for a long time about removing the emotion. The faster you can do that and kind of see the big picture and kind of understand the landscape of anything you're

dealing with helps you make good decisions financially. Because making poor decisions financially, especially when, you know, in a situation like this, like your career's not that long. You've already been in the league six or seven years. You're not going to play 15. Striking while the iron's hot, like this is pretty good deal. Ask Levy on Bell how that situation went. It was a disaster. It cost himself millions of dollars, millions, literally, $14 million, that he never got back.

And obviously then his career fell off a cliff. Now, that's not these guys, they kept playing. And it's not like, I'm not trying to talk. shit because I respect these players. I think it's very, very difficult to do what they do. But it's not really, you can't even argue that if the Giants drafted a guy in the third round, he easily could be a top, I don't know, eight, nine running back this year. Very easily.

It literally happens every single year. So that's the pushback of like, why off or anything? 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. Yep, that's me. Clipper Taylor the 4th.

You might have seen the skis. 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. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tap Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with a little Kim?

Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill, waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because of crack.

I'm down to talk about crack on day, but just so you're just so you're not. But just so you all know. I mean, at this point, this is the second episode where we've discussed correct. So I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now. Thank you finishing that sentence. Yes. I don't think there's a more important year for black people.

Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I wanted to do something quick on draft daily. Because I saw this graphic today of all the offensive linemen who ran at the combine. And the one thing is like, you know, all these quarterbacks and wide receivers, some of these guys, too cool for schools, not even fair. It's like if you're Marvin Harrison or Caleb Williams, you don't have to do any of this crap.

But they just kind of go, stand around. Offensive linemen, even if you're going to go in like the top five, you just do everything. It's just what you do. Someone asked me the other day, like, on the mailbag, why they're the most relatable. There's a humility to the group that is really unlike any other position. And 10 guys ran basically a 5 flat or better in the 40-yard dash. Joe Alt, who is projected to be the number one offensive lineman off the board, a top 10 pick, ran basically a 5-0-40.

and he's 6'8, 320 pounds. And he got up on his 40, the fastest of the group. He didn't run the fastest 40, but his peak speed was almost 15 miles an hour. Think about sometimes in the NFL when a Tyree killer, those guys, are running over 20 miles an hour. So a guy that big running that fast. And I was listening to, I forget who it was, but a draft guy saying this is one of the fastest groups of offensive linemen.

But DJ might even mention this. the athleticism of these individuals. Now, here's the problem. Now, he went to Notre Dame, so they run more of a physical style offense. I hear this all the time in the NBA. The players have never been more talented. Well, true, but the basketball's never been worse.

And the teams as a whole have never been worse in the league. Not debatable. Guys are moving nonstop. There are two or three teams who are excellent. The Denver Nuggets, the Boston Celtics, that could play in any era. most of these teams are a mismash of just guys from like last year or this year. There's no continuity on the team.

Baseball, it matters less. Like I can throw together a team in one year and you can win a hundred games. Basketball, cohesion matters, a lot like football. Now, the problem is, like the athletes at the offensive line position are obviously currently awesome. The problem is the way you play in college football and the spread offenses. Unlike quarterback, even if your offense is nothing like the offense that you're going to play in the pros, it's relatively easy to adapt. Like, for the most part, you should be able to figure out if you've been in shotgun your entire career

how to take the center quarterback exchange pretty seamlessly. Jared Goff's a good example. Only shotgun in college, like transition pretty easily. Takes maybe six months or whatever, but you can become pretty comfortable at it. And throws are throws. Like the go route and you're going to end up running a lot of shotgun. in the pros anyway. But pro football, especially in the run game and the physicality of the defensive linemen that you play, it is a huge, huge jump. So there's clearly physically a lot of guys

that have a lot to work with. And I bet offensive linemen or offensive line coaches all over the league are very, very intrigued. But the transition is not easy. It's not. Now, it's easier. and this is why when I asked Jason Light about the Shanahan offense and he simply said like every guy says it's easier on the quarterback it's also easier on the offensive line

because in the run game I don't need you to be Larry Allen and pick up you know Jalen Carter or Fletcher Cox or Aaron Donald and drive him four or five yards back it's positional blocking it's using your athleticism

now ultimately a game comes down to a third and eight, that guy's going to be at a disadvantage. But if you have a talented group of skill guys and a good offensive coordinator, I can circumvent a lot of those situations because of the way the offense is called. So I think a lot of these teams that run that offense, that need offensive linemen, are clearly going to be in to draft these offensive linemen in the first couple rounds because the athleticism, the speed, the speed matters in a zone blocking scheme, how fast your feet are, how fast you can go laterally.

In a power scheme, athleticism is less important. Obviously, you would like a complete player, right? You would love Jason Kelsey or Trent Williams or whoever the best players are at their individual. Zach Martin. The best can play in any scheme. A lot of guys can't. A lot of guys would struggle in the opposite of the scheme they're playing in. If they are a power guy and they're playing in more of a pro-style gap,

not having to move laterally as much, I put them in the Shanahan scheme and they're asked to do that. It's a problem. And vice versa. Those guys who aren't as powerful, I put them in more of a power run scheme, they're going to be at a disadvantage.

So I think the offensive lineman, the numbers on the 40, it's obviously the 40, how often are they running the 40? It's more the 10 and the 20, but the 40 are dashes with offensive linemen historically have translated a success

because it's just a major disson. display of athleticism for a guy that weighs anywhere from 310 to 330 pounds. Okay, let's fly around a couple stories. You know, pro football talk, which is Mike Florio, basically has been reporting for a while, and it's pretty well out there now. The Atlanta Falcons are circling the wagons on Kirk Cousins, and they feel like they are a quarterback away from being really good. And that honestly might be true, because you watch them last year, they were pretty

damn competitive with Desmond Ritter, who, to me, I don't. don't even think he's a top 50 quarterback in the NFL. Think about that. They were competitive with a guy who's probably not a top 50 quarterback in the NFL. Have a solid defense and clearly have a lot of skilled guys on offense. And if your cousins, let's face it, last year around this time, it didn't even feel like Minnesota was all in on him. It felt like they were actively potentially trying to trade him last year.

So you don't quite forget that. Even if you're very comfortable with the area, you like what you. where your kids go to school, you like where you live, you can always come back there, right? I think Atlanta's going to offer him a lot of money. And it's been well talked about the connection, because part of it, I would go, ah, new coach, he doesn't know these guys,

that ain't the case. He knows the group, knows the offense, knows the head coach, been around these guys, knows them personally, and they're going to be willing to pay. I think a number that Minnesota simply won't. And I don't necessarily blame Minnesota, but you get yourself in one of these positions, right?

It's like, okay, let cousins go. What are you going to do? Like, what's your plan? And I'm sure you have some plans, but when you're not drafting super high, you don't control the draft. So you need the area of luck on your side. I was like, okay, trade up to get a quarterback.

Well, listen, I like drafting a quarterback high as much to the next guy, but we all know the hit rate on those guys just isn't very high. So they find themselves in a procurement, various situation. Maybe they're just, you know, Cousins' camp is just driving the price up, which is smart business, and they've proven to be very, very lucrative businessmen because they've made a, I think, who said this? I mean, it's documented. I think he's already a top 10 paid

player in the history of the league. Now, those numbers are going to dramatically change over the next 10 years, but Cousins made a lot of money. And I would imagine he's got $100 million more coming to him in the next 10 days. Peyton Manning. I've said forever that I think Belichick, I'm honestly offended by everyone shitting on Bill. Like guys, we all watched him coach. He was pretty damn good.

Yeah, he was not good without a quarterback. Most coaches are not. Most coaches are not Andy Reed and they can deal with like any type quarterback. You give most quarterback or coaches a shitty quarterback. Look at Sean McVeigh of Kyle Shanahan. Take away Matt Stafford and Purdy from them. How'd it go?

Some lose a lot of games. I saw Kyle get his ass kick with Nick Mullins and C.J. Bethard. I saw last year Sean McVeigh have no chance throughout the season. It took him the one game with Baker Mayfield on Thursday night to have a shot, and he had to claim him on Monday. So it's very, very difficult. But perception becomes reality. And there's usually some truth to perception.

Bill's probably not the easiest guy to deal with, his personality. And he's not for everybody. but he's clearly better than most of these guys. Now, there are variables. He's old. How much power does he want? The only way to change perception, especially in a public job, is usually to use the media to your advantage. And to me, Belichick, I thought he should do everything humanly possible

to get on Thursday night football. It doesn't feel like that's going to happen. Well, now Peyton Manning and Omaha is going after him. Why not make Bill a weekly guest? Because here's the thing with Thursday and Monday night football, 30 of the 32 owners are watching that broadcast. Think about that. The guys who sign the checks,

the guys who make the ultimate decisions, yay or nay, are watching that game. No different than me or you. So if you're Bill, like, to me, the Omaha thing, obviously you could do, I'm sure you have some ideas,

make fun stuff with Peyton. I think if you can get consistently on that Peyton Manning broadcast, if you're Belichick, you should try to do that. even if it's just for a quarter. Like the second quarter of every game, Monday night football that they're on,

he's on with them. He should be all over that. Almost like a guest hit on a radio show. Like Rogers, every Tuesday, you know he's on McAfee. Every second quarter, you know Belichick's on. And I've said this for a while. Like, once they hired Joe and Troy,

I don't watch Peyton and Eli anymore. Not that I love those guys. I hang out with those guys, and that's how I feel like on that show. But once they got a real broadcast crew, I want to watch the game. but if you told me that Bill every second quarter for 15 minutes

is on with those guys, I'm in. I change the channel. So if I'm Peyton, that's one of my pitches. Like, we want you involved. It's not all 17 games or whatever. But whatever games we're calling, whatever games we're on, we want you to be a part of it.

And obviously we'll pay you for it. And last but not least, see, these cuts, I don't think they can become official until the league gear starts. And obviously there are mechanisms that you can push it back till June 1 to spread out the money. There are a lot of moving parts. But the Broncos, because it's not official for several days, not only did they cut Russell

Wilson or told them like, you're not coming back. They told them like, hey man, if you want to fly to other facilities, you can just act like you're truly a free agent right now, even though technically you're not. So you want to go to Pittsburgh? Go to them. You want to Atlanta, New England, wherever. go meet with the coaches. And I've heard a lot of people say this that cover the Broncos really closely.

I found the Broncos a tough watch. The last, I mean, two years ago they were. It was an embarrassment. Even this year, kind of boring. But I've heard Slera say this. I heard Brock Heward say this. He just really struggles in the, which is not an ideal way to define a quarterback in the context of the offense. Like after one read, he kind of just scrambles around.

throws off the timing of everything else. So there is a chance that some of these coaches are just not going to be that into him. But the one thing he's really got going for him, if he's willing to play, and I said this a couple days ago, the veteran minimum is based on your service time. And someone wrote that his number's like

a little over $1.2 million. That's the minimum amount you can pay him. If I get Russell Wilson for $1.2 million, if I'm the Pittsburgh Steelers, that's why a lot of people have kind of put him there. It makes a lot of sense. Now, does that just guarantee that they're going to be a lot better than they've been? No. But would I rather have Russell Wilson than Kenny Pickett? Of course I would. And maybe Pittsburgh won't decide that. If they don't, I think they're setting themselves up for

failure. And they're an organization that, let's face it, based on their history, has not been having success. Right? Like going nine and eight for them and getting your ass kicked in the first round, is not some accomplishment. That's a big deal for a lot of random teams. That's not the case with the Pittsburgh Steelers. So if you're Pittsburgh, what if you get him? Maybe a jolt you to 11-12 wins, even if he's just this version of what he's been,

moving forward. It's still better than what you have. 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. 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 which I'm 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 what 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. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tapped Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to?

I do a little kill. Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day, but yeah, yeah, literally.

But just so y'all know. I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack. So I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have age. on the table right now. Thank you for finishing that sentence. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really?

Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Okay, long time, pal. Back when I knew him, though, he didn't have three rings. I still do know him, and now he has three rings. Super Bowl champ, Brett Veach, GM of the Kansas City Chiefs. What's up, bro?

Hey, it's going good, man. It's been a while. I mean, it's always good to catch up with you, but, you know, it seems like yesterday we were playing lunchtime hoops down in Philadelphia and working for the Eagles, and now here we are, and you're doing your thing, and we're doing our thing, and everything's good, right? It's a small world. I was telling someone, that team, those couple years in Philly, I know half the league. Yeah.

You know, just, it was obviously you work for Coach Reed, who, who I'm going to, you're going to to talk to in a little bit, kind of like the chubbier version of Bill Walsh. Yeah. I mean, seriously, three Super Bowl rings, but his impact on the coaching profession now is you've been, and you know this, very lucky to be so close to him and obviously now be as general manager. It's got to be pretty special. Yeah, certainly special.

And for as great of a coach he is, I mean, he's, as you know, John, he's even a better person. And he's one of those guys that comes in every day with trying to make people better. And inevitably, he makes everything better. And that includes the product on the field. but it's cool to be a part of, you know, his coaching tree, personnel tree, if you will. But as you mentioned, John, you were there. I mean, just think about all the players and coaches that were there from Spags and McDermott

and Howie and Jason Light. I mean, just Lewis Riddick. I mean, just a lot of good people there. And I think it all starts at the top with coach. And, you know, he goes in there with that mindset of making every individual better and that will yield great results. both on and off the field. And he's just been a legend and been a blessing to work for him.

Who'd ever thought Shady'd be a TV star now? He's the best. I mean, I watch him every day too. So that's also funny too, sitting there and thinking about him as a rookie. Yeah. Here's what you guys were a minute in the Chiefs, wasn't it? Yeah. Yeah, yeah.

We had them our first Super Bowl in Miami. But it's funny watching him on TV now. And I always go back to like his rookie year where coach had one role and that's like don't park in the coach's parking spot up at Lehigh at training camp. And the very first day he pulled his Hummer. SUV right on top of that spot and got kicked out of a meeting. But he's the best. Love him and love listening to him. He's done a great job. But again, it goes back to just being blessed to be around a lot of great people and coaches and players as well. You were a whoop or anything like

that during games, you know, to take the heart rate? No, no. What do you think? Highest Super Bowl at this point, you know, 10-3 down, overtime. How could you even sit down during the Super Bowl? Well, it's, it's, it's, Fortunately, our regular season has prepped us for this. We don't play in any blowouts. We don't play anybody out. Every game is close. So to a certain extent, I think we use our regular season to prep us for the playoffs

because all of our games come down to the end. But I think at the end of the day, knowing you have Coach Reed and 1-5 back there, just knowing that if things are close, we'll always have a shot. We'll always be in play to win a game. But, man, every Super Bowl, and we've been blessed and fortunate to win three, of these now, but once you leave that, you're like, wow, that can't get any more intense. And so I felt that way versus our first one against the Niners. Well, you were down and came back.

And then I felt more intensity for the Eagles game. And I left that thinking it can't get more intense. And then here we have an overtime game. And so, I mean, the anxiety and the stress every year, it seems like, is more than the last. You know, this team, obviously Christmas, you know, low point. It was pretty ugly. Coach Reed talked about it was kind of like a drawline in the sand type moment it's weird in your position you got to be pessimistic but positively

you know right you're always evaluating the team but also optimistic because that's part of the business where you did you think this was going to play out this way you know after that game were you like maybe this isn't our year there's nothing wrong with the Patriots didn't win them all right right well I mean I think after that game it it was a defining point in our season and had a chance to talk with obviously Coach Reed after every game and then spoke with, I think, Coach Nagy on Monday. And what we talked about was, all right, let's just be the best version of ourselves. And we're not the team that we used to be.

And we're not going to just roll the ball out there and score 40 points. But we still have Pat Mahomes. We still have a really good offense line. We have some great players on this team. We have a great defense. So let's just, let's get back to square one. Let's do things that our players are great at. And, you know, so it's almost like that mindset of just going back to the basics.

And I know it sounds simple. and it sounds clichéist, but, you know, let's go back to day one, install one concepts that players understand. Just let these guys play fast. And so we did that, and we leaned on our defense, operated offensively with that mindset, and then all of a sudden our offense, the productions are going, you know, through the roof. And, you know, we go into Miami, and I think that was the first time all year. I was like, I think that we're back. Feeling good.

Yeah, I mean, you go out there, it's negative. And listen, I've played in a lot of cold games, and I've been a lot of cold games, and I've been a part of a lot of... Delaware Star here. Yeah. But I mean... Four-four guy. Growing up in Pennsylvania?

No, not four-three. But growing up in Pennsylvania, I mean, listen, you're around some cold games. I mean, it's not like Minnesota or anything like that. But, I mean, there was nothing that I have experienced like that. I mean, the moment you walked out outside, I mean, everything just instantly froze. So then you watch our team go out there and execute it, probably the highest level it did all year. I think he had a sense there. Look, look, we have a tough road ahead going to Buffalo, going to Baltimore,

but this team is locked in, their focus, and then we just rode that wave of momentum right through the playoffs. Is this the hardest run? Obviously, after that, Miami, your first two road games, playing Josh Allen, who's, it plays really well against, I mean, he's a great player, but plays really well against you guys. And then that Baltimore team, I thought, talent-wise, had to be one of the best rosters in the NFL.

I mean, that's, is it almost more validating to win on the road in a weird way? I think it is, and I, you guys got spoiled, play a lot of home games. I mean, listen, I mean, there is an advantage. to have a buy week. And there is an advantage to only having to win one game and boom, you're in the AFC championship game. I mean, to have to start off

Wild Card weekend and then go to two of the toughest places to play in the NFL. I mean, you're talking about going to Buffalo playing a great Josh Allen-led team. And then a week later, have to go to Baltimore. And, I mean, obviously everyone

knows what they accomplished this year, just a powerhouse. So I think what you take the most pride in is this wasn't one of those years where we kind of backdoored our way in. There was three upsets, and we had the benefit of just beating some lower teams by virtue of upsets. No, we had to do it the hard way.

And we had to go, we had to beat an explosive offense in the Miami Dolphins, and we had to play right off the bat in Wild Card Weekend. And then we had to go to Buffalo, then we had to go to Baltimore, and then play the number one seed in the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC. So if you weren't the best team in the league, you can't do that. You can't accomplish that unless you're the best. team in the league. And that's why it's so validating. And so, you know, exciting for us as an organization to know that we took the league's best shots at every level and we're able to come

out on top. You know, you're relatively famous, obviously the GM, but because of your connection with Mahomes and how much he loved them. But this year's team, I mean, I was talking to someone earlier, you know, the teams that gave the Niners trouble this year were all the AFC North teams, right, Baltimore, Cleveland, tough teams. You guys were a defensive team. And you drafted all he's got, was this the best tackling secondary you've ever been around? All those guys hit. Yeah. No, listen, it was the best secondary I've been around.

And that's because you have two studs in LJ and Trent McDuffie. And then the safety play was great, and we lost Brian Cook. But, you know, Mike Edwards came in and helped us out. Our young guy, Shamari Connor, I think people will get to know him more as we go on here because he was a young guy that, I mean, it was really our fourth or fifth safety. And then, you know, injuries happen. And young guys are pressing his service. and he was a guy that Steve felt more and more comfortable with.

But the one common denominator, I think, with that, they're just players that are so extremely smart. And I think Steve actually mentioned this to me, and if you get a chance to talk to Steve, I think he would say the same thing that, you know, talent, depending on the year is always different. And, you know, year in and year out, you know, both sides of the football are constructed differently.

But Steve had mentioned me to one point, he said, from an intellect and a football IQ, this is the best defense I've been around. These guys all understand the game. I think I would certainly echo those sentiments. I mean, those guys are just razor smart, razor sharp, and, you know, I mean, not just a secondary. Then you talk about guys like Nick Bolton and Drew Tranquil. I mean, it's just a really highly intelligent crew that love to play the game and do things the right way. Well, because since we're at the combine, obviously, when you traded Tyreek and got the haul back,

it's one thing to trade a player like that and get a lot, but then you've got to make the picks. And if I remember correctly, you might have traded up a little bit to get McDuffie, but when you isolated McDuffie as a guy that you really liked, when did it start for you? I'm sure you watched him during the fall, but just explain to me the scouting process because now he has to be one of the best young D.Bs in the league. I don't think that's debatable. He's one of those guys that, and you know how this is, John,

because you've been a part of this for a long time, and he's one of those guys that you spend hours going through multiple scenarios at your picks, and I think that year because of the trade we had, too. you did have two first rounders yeah and so we exhausted probably i don't know six seven eight different scenarios none of which included macduffey because we just felt like he was not going to be you know we had a window where we you know we had two picks late in the first round and we knew with one of them we can maybe move up five six seven spots but you know we have to keep our picks so we can't go into the top ten and we're not going to be able to trade all these resources so there's a window here

and we went through a bunch of players that we're going to keep our picks that we can't go into the top ten and we're not going to be able to trade all these resources so there's a window here and we went through a bunch of players that we thought might be still live in that window. He was not one of them. And we had communications and discussions with New England. And as we finalized that trade, it was a little bit of a shock that he was still on the board. What did you think? Like top 16, 17, 17? Because you took Marcus Peters right, right around there. 15, 16, I think is where we had them. You know, most of those times when you project those guys to go 15, 16, they usually go 10, 11, 12. Especially at corner. Yeah, we're thinking worst case, 15, 16. And so I think that pick was, what, 21. Yeah, you traded up. So we had, we were in conversations with New England to potentially

trade up and, you know, we're looking at the board and we're like, oh my God, he might make it there. And, you know, we were, we were certainly fortunate that that happened. And then we were equally excited that or hopeful that George Carloffis wouldn't be selected because he's one of both those guys. We, you know, we, and listen, if there would have been a huge run on corners, we may have traded up for George because we felt that way about George too. So that's one of those things where the stars aligned and we were able to get two great players that we won it from the start of the day. And it worked out that they're both here and they're, you know, they're both

been in the league for two years and they both have two Super Bowl rings. You think that's a key to your success than drafting is like isolating specific players and not doing as much like three or four guys. Like, no, these are two or three guys. And obviously it has to be, you're not going to like, the guy that's going to go number two when you're drafting 32nd, but have a decent idea. And like,

we want this guy instead of like, well, it could be these five guys where you feel conviction. Because it goes back to Mahomes. Conviction, go get them. McDuffie, conviction. Corlofsky's. go get them. And now they're part of your Super Bowl champion teams. Yeah, I think early on, I mean, that's especially you have to operate. Harder later in the draft. Yeah, it's harder later than the draft. And, you know, I think

when you get into those stages, you're banking on traits and maybe untapped potential. But early on, you only have so many cracks at these guys. And, you know, if there's a window that makes sense, that's realistic, then identify this is who we want.

And if we're able to do that and, listen, we tried to do it last year. I think we tried to move up and we couldn't get it. So we just, we stayed put. But we weren't just moving up, as you pointed out, just to move up. We were moving up. We wanted a specific player. We tried that last year. Didn't work out. And we weren't, you know, we were content. Sucks for that kid. Yeah. Well, listen, you know, we're fortunate that we have Felix and we think he has a high upside. So hopefully it all works out. But I mean, to your point and to your original

question, I think, yeah. I mean, we always have a pocket of players that if they fall within this window of our comfort level that we're going to go up and get. You're pretty comfortable being a GM now? Like, is it pretty normal? Yeah, I mean, the only thing it's, is, you know, I'm still not great at the media stuff, but, you know, I mean, it's easy to do stuff with, with you because of our prior relationship and going back to our days and Phillies, but. Cutthroat negotiations, like your strength? Yeah, no, it's, um, does that get, you get used to that? Do you limit that? No, I mean, listen, it's tough because, uh, you have these players and you see them so much, they're part of your extended family and you have emotions and feelings,

and you want to always do what's best for everyone, and I mean, you like to keep all these players and, you know, just because of the way everything is set up, you can't do it. And so that's, you know, the, every team, and it's one of those coach speeches every year, every team is different, no team will ever be the same. Yeah. That's tough because, you know, you see these players and their sacrifices and what they mean to you on a personal level, but also on a professional level and helping this team, you know, reach these unbelievable heights. And so that's always tough this time of the year to try to get deals done,

but also have to say goodbye to some players that you develop a relationship with. So that will never get easy, but understand that it's just part of the job. Well, especially, I mean, you guys have some famous high-end Hall of Fame level guys, Tyreek. It's not like you didn't think Tyreek was good when you traded. I'm right. In the Chris Jones situation, last year got a little weird. He's one of the all-time great interior pass rushers. Right.

But that situation also means a lot of money. And you have a highly paid quarterback. I mean, that situation keep you up at night or is one of those? You have a good relationship, you and coach with him personally. Well, it's one of those things where you have a couple guys there for. We have a couple guys like that, whether it be Chris or LJ or any of those guys that are up this year. I mean, they're great players, and they're going to be highly coveted throughout the league. We know that.

And it's one of those deals where on one end you feel good because of the relationship and because what we've all accomplished together. But on the other end of things, I mean, it is a business for them as well. And if they have an opportunity to do something different and, you know, make more money elsewhere, you know, it is a business at the end of the day. And so it's that understanding both ways. So, I mean, I know that they understand that if we can keep all these guys, we would. But it's tough. But we also understand that when they have opportunities that are unique, like Tyreek was one of those situations.

Like, you know, we didn't want to leave. And I don't think he wanted to leave. But he also knew that there was an opportunity for him to, you know, to do something and just a rare opportunity. And so that was tough for us. But, you know, like you said, it's part of the business and something that every gym has to work through. Is it easier to make tough decisions once you win? Well, yeah, I think it's Yeah, I mean,

everything's easier when you win. You don't want to lose anybody, but the point, you know. Well, I think also, too, I think it is. This was baseball, you keep them all. Right, right, exactly. I think it, what is comforting to a certain extent is the belief, not just in 15, in 87, in Coach Reed, but, you know, to our coaching staff,

I think that we have a great setup in regard to, to the trust and the communication that my staff has with the coaching staff. And there is a belief that, you know, we can find players. And I think, you know, whether it be Isaiah Pacheco on the offensive side, the Noah Gray's on the offensive side, but on the secondary side, we've had a lot of young players. I mean, LJ. Watson?

Yeah, Watson, Williams, McDuffie, I mean, Sneed. We believe, not just in the draft process itself with our staff, but we believe in our coaches and that they will maximize. everything from these players. So we're always going to go out there with the intent and effort to keep our best players and to have them be mainstays in Kansas City, but we also know that it is a business. We can't keep everybody. And if we have to go down the path of seeing some players move on,

that we have a tremendous amount of confidence in our coaching staff. Can't get you out of here on this favorite Taylor Swift song? Oh, my God. Will you be invited to the wedding? I don't know. I still haven't met Taylor yet. That's the first question. That's the first question I get from all of my immediate friends and family.

So what's Taylor like? I'm like, I've never met her. I mean, like, she comes to the games and, like, she's up there. And typically families come down and see the players. Travis goes up to see her. So I've seen her in passing. I think Mahomes famous times that by like 100. Yeah, no.

But, no, it's been. She's got some bangers. Yeah, I mean, it's been a wild ride. And, you know, listen, maybe Travis will bring her around every now. Yeah. Yeah. Well, Vech, congratulations. I mean, all seriousness.

Yeah, I appreciate, man. I think you know how special. Super Bowls. I mean, it's, now you want more. Yeah. Well, it's been an amazing ride and blessed to be around great people along the way. And you're included in that list, man. We've had a blast back in the day. But, you know, just, again, thankful for a lot, a lot to look forward to. And just at the end of day, certainly blessed and very thankful for all the people that have helped me along the way.

Thanks a lot, Vich. Yep, you bet. Okay, time for the mailbag. Very, very easy to get involved. My name at John Middlough on Instagram, fire into those direct messages. We will start with Matt. Question for the pod. Will the huge salary cap increase widen the gap between the top teams and the lesser teams?

Teams like the Chief Sniners can hold on to players. They otherwise would have lost, while the lesser teams will end up having to pay A money for B players. Well, one thing, part of having salary cap space, a lot of it, means you probably haven't extended a lot of guys in your own team. When you think about teams who are just not going to be as active in free agency on a yearly basis, they're extending their own players. Part of the reason the Ravens have let guys leave for years and not been a huge, huge player in free agency,

extended their own guys. Think about the Patriots, the two different iterations. The first championship dynasty and the second one. They had a core group of guys. Now, it doesn't mean you can't buy a player here and there. But whenever I see, you know, Team X, kind of cap space, okay, sign one or two players. Christian Wilkins from the Dolphins.

If I was the Texans or whatever the teams are with a lot of Cavalphs, the commanders, Yeah, buy him, but I don't need to buy five guys, right? Buy guys that fit my scheme if I'm going to pay a lot of money. So I think there's a balance of teams that usually have a lot of cap space, either have a young quarterback or a team that's not very good. There's not like, it's not often that you find a team that just was in the final four that's like, oh, they got the second most cap space in the league.

Usually not how it works. Question for the pod. I'm a 30-year-old guy that just went back to school to finish my degree. Now I've been offered a job in my field with a salary that's under 60 grand. But here's the thing. For the past three years, I've been pouring my heart and soul into opening my own cocktail bar, and I estimate that I'll need around 450K in investment to make it happen. I'm single, no kids, and I'm torn between taking a stable job for financial security,

we're diving headfirst into entrepreneurship. On one hand, the job offers stability, a steady income, benefits, and sense of security. It's the safer option. On the other hand, starting my own business is a dream I've been nurturing for years. What are your thoughts? I think you've already answered your own question. You said for years you've been pouring your heart. heart and soul. Now, obviously, you throw out a number of basically half a million dollars,

even in these inflationary times. I don't know where you're going to get the money. It's obviously not going to be easy. But what do you have to lose? Once you have children, once you have a wife, I assume you maybe don't have a home, so you don't have a mortgage. Now's the time to take a chance. What's the worst happens? It fails. It's always like, should I ask her out? Well, what's the worst things she's going to say, no. So yeah, why not try it? You can always find a job. You'll always be able to find a job. You got a degree, you know, sounds like you're an ambitious person. I would take a chance. Now, just based on the number you threw out, it's clearly a tough endeavor. I've never worked in the restaurant bar business. I have a lot of family and friends who have. It's well documented.

that it's pretty difficult. Most of them fail. So if you go in with the mindset of like, this is going to be really hard, there's no guarantees, right? Instead of just, you can't go into the mindset like 100%.

It's going to be the number one cocktail bar in my city. But like, I'm going to do everything humanly possible. Give yourself, you know, 36 months or 24 months to make some stuff happen.

And see where it lands. Worst case scenario. A couple years, it didn't work out in your 32. modern medicine, health, you got 50 years left of life. So if it's something you're going to regret, try it now. To me, if the job offer had been a ton of money, I'd be like try to do them both at the same time.

If it was like several hundred thousand dollars, use some of that money, maybe try to utilize some of that to help you start. But this, you'd be living basically paycheck to paycheck anyway. Follow your dreams. Mailbag question. I get the trade in division held logic, but to me if you're Minnesota and you think you can trade up to top three to get a franchise quarterback, it's medical malpractice not to do so because you're worried about trading a position player in the division. Maybe the best position player in the league, no doubt, but per your Jets bit, which I love on nailing every pick but not the quarterback, to me it's bananas to forego the operas.

that exists. I think he's talking about someone asked a question last week. Why doesn't Minnesota offer Jefferson to the Bears to trade up to one? Because if I'm the Bears, I hang up on you. I don't want Jefferson and Justin Fields. I would just rather have Caleb Williams. Because Justin Fields, I don't care if I got Justin Jefferson, Debo Samuel, D.K. McCaff and DJ Moore.

We're not going for her. He's not good enough. So the moment you get to the point where you're not good enough and you get this opportunity with the number one overall pick, who knows? I mean, some people are saying Jane Daniels, pick whoever you think is the best quarterback, that's the move. Justin Jefferson, who is an elite player,

could argue when healthy is the best wide receiver in the league. I'd hang up the phone. Yeah, thanks for the offer. We love the guy as a player. It's less about the division. If I mentioned that, maybe if I said that, I don't even necessarily, that's not the reason I would say no. You have the chance to get a quarterback who can change your franchise.

You always do that. Why would they be willing to trade Justin Jefferson? Not just because of quote-unquote quarterback, because a guy that could change your franchise. Why wouldn't you just do that if you're the Bears? DJ Moore's not as good as Justin Jefferson, but you already got a stud wide receiver. Mailbag. Am I a natural born general manager? I'm joking.

But the Panthers have had two first-round picks that were. so obviously bad that makes me wonder. Akonwu, Akonwu, I think is the offensive linemen that they drafted in like the top ten. First round left tackle from NC State is knock knee, which in scouting terms means your knees kind of hit. It's a scouting term when you're out of practice. You see a guy's knock knee or bow leg.

That's how the old scouts talk. How is that not a giant red flag when you're being asked to block some of the freakiest athletes on the field? Bryce Young, the average size of a high school point, I just think the level of talent needed to overcome being that small as too much. I agree. Even Kyler Murray, who I think is a one-of-one in terms of special, in terms of athletic ability, has some limitations that other guys don't.

For sure. And Kyler Murray is a dramatically better talent than Bryce Young. It ain't even close. I watched Kyler Murray last year off an ACL tear up teams down the stretch. not really my cup of tea, even though it sounds like he's matured a lot, I just, small quarterbacks,

like ideally I'm just, I like bigger, stronger guys, you know, doesn't mean they can't be good, but once you're like five, nine, like pretty small,

six foot and a half, six one small. I remember being around Jimmy Garoplo. Like, he looks small. You ever meet like Josh Allen or some of these guys? They're fucking huge.

I'll never forget meeting Carson Palmer. I'm like, this guy looks like an NBA center. Am I being too simple here? Are these, I think here's part of the problem. I loved Bryce Young as a player because I respect how good he was at Alabama. But the moment you see him in pads, you go, I don't know if this can work. Even if the team's really good around them, it's very, very hard to overcome that. Star players who are tiny are such outliers in pro sports. It is so hard to be Alan Iverson

Jose Al Tuvei Just go around pro sports in general They usually are freak talents You watch Bryce Like average arm, bad athlete I can't I'd be lying if I broke down

the offensive linemen Wasn't one of the things with the offensive lineman That a lot of people thought he was a guard Not a tackle So Offensive lineman can't be hard when you start doing the projections, especially really high.

With the 18 game rumors, with more international games mixed in, I believe the roster size should increase, but also another buy week should be added for the health of the players. What is your opinion? Raider Nation. I think you essentially get two buys throughout the season because you get a true buy, and then you usually get that mini buy, which is the Thursday night game. So if you play a Thursday night game, usually your buy is spread out throughout the season. So I heard the Kelsey brothers say this. They love Thursday night games because once it's over, you get those extra three or four days, which is a game change.

Ideally, I wouldn't complain if there were two buys. I'm just, I'm realistic. Like, do I think they're going to do that? I don't. The 18 games, like I said, is not only coming. It's because everyone makes more money. And this is a business where the goal is to make more money. this isn't just like that's everyone benefits right i saw cave on thibodeau the the line the pass rusher

from the giants is on twitter talking about like if they go to 18 games the gambling it's like bro you guys share the revenue from them you get a piece of the pie you just happen to split it with 53 guys a team for 32 teams and the rosters have expanded because the practice squads are much bigger. And let's face it, these guys from practice squads, the majority of them end up playing throughout the season because of injuries. I've got a lot of riffraffed here in my DMs. Big fan the show, never miss an episode. Did you have a chance to read this article by ESPN bashing the NFL and what is your reaction? What benefit does ESPN get out of this as a stakeholder of the league? I have not read the article, but he linked it here, from tragedy to Taylor Swift.

The cost of the NFL's invincibility. I think a lot of writers have this weird, I don't know, animosity, probably the wrong way to put it, jealousy. They just, they want it to fail. They do. Because they like root against success in a weird way. and I refuse to read that I just feel like I'll get dumber

reading that article Howard Brian wrote it I don't even know who that is but I don't care I think some of these guys are holding on for fucking dear life like who's reading that article

like oh sweet points yeah NFL's in trouble so my opinion is like I only gonna read so many articles throughout the day probably not wasting many brain cells on that bad boy just wondering

are you in favor of Andrew Barry's proposal to extend the trade deadline longer in the season. I think his proposal has it moving from week eight to week 10 for sure. Why would you, here's a hot take. Why even have a trade deadline? Who cares? Why don't you have the entire season? Like once the regular season ends, you can't make a trade.

What if I want to make a trade December 1st? Why do we have trade deadlines? Honestly, I don't even know the answer. I'm sure there was some thought behind it a long time ago. But in 2024, do you need a trade deadline? Do you need a trade deadline? What if I want to trade for a player week 11? What if the other team knows he ain't coming back?

I get like a fourth round pick for him. I'd just cancel the trade deadline, to be honest with you. So yeah, I support the move for sure. Some hockey NHL contracts are structured so that a no trade clause is a set number of teams the player can choose to not be traded to do. Depending on the contract, some players might have only two selections, while some have 20,

depending on what they negotiate. Upon learning that they are on the trade block, they will use that number of selections to eliminate teams they don't want to go to. Is this something that the NFL does as well? Baseball does that also, right? Was it Churzer last year? Verlander has a bunch of teams in this contract.

I think I think Scherzer ended up waving it to go to the Rangers if I remember correctly or maybe it was Verlander, I forget. It's definitely prevalent in baseball which the players in negotiations the star ones have a lot of juice.

I don't know much about hockey. I'm pretty sure with the NFL it is just a no trade clause or nothing. Like there's no middle ground. And if you have the juice which most players do not, just like most humans,

even if you're a successful earner at your company, like they can still replace you. Don't have that type power. But we have seen quarterbacks for sure have no trade clauses. Derek Carr had one with the Raiders when he re-signed with Josh McDaniels. Russell Wilson, I'm pretty sure, had one as well. So most star quarterback, I think Jalen Hertz has one.

So a lot of quarterbacks get them, but most players don't get to go. You know, in my contract, I want to add these seven teams. You cannot trade me to, I don't like the cold. So Buffalo, New England, New York teams, Washington, Philly. I'm cool with the L.A. teams, Arizona, Raiders, Cowboys.

It just, the NFL is still old school that way, baby. It's a management league. and it's not I wouldn't be opposed to that I just don't think it's going to happen anytime soon that'd be awesome if you just put like five teams on your list

of you could not trade me to it'd be fun to make fun of them big fan from Ireland wondering your thoughts on the Bengals this upcoming year Burrow when Healthy has had the most success first Mahomes of any quarterback in the league Josh Allen has had a lot of success

his teams have just not won, but he has not been the reason they've lost. But I hear what you're saying. Those two guys, Burrow and Josh, play a lot better against Chiefs than Lamar did. Even if T. Higgins leaves, which he wouldn't just leave,

you'd tag and trade them, so you'd get something. Chase the top five receiver in the league. Yes, their defense sucked last year, but I can't see it being this bad again. They absolutely bossed the Niners around last season at Levi's. They did. And I still have a feeling they can beat anyone

when they're on. despite the Ravens being the perceived top team in the FACC North. Do you think the window for a Super Bowl is gone? I don't. Now, their defense was better a couple years ago, clearly. But you hit on the right draft picks, like, you can find safeties. You had a high-end safety. He left in free agency.

You can find that. Part of what made you pretty special were the two wide receivers. So if you got them both next year, you're fine. If you do trade them and you get a high first-round pick, when I say high, like a pick in the 20. or even a pick in the early 30s, if it's like a high second round pick, late first round pick,

you better hit it on that pick. There'd be a lot of pressure on it. But talent on your team, when you got a quarterback who's that good, you always got a chance. So division's hard. Yeah, it's just, it's difficult. But if Burroughs healthy,

you should be a top five, six team in the league. If he's not, you're screwed. Screwed in the sense You're still actually kind of watchable But you got no chance of winning Big I mean you might win some games You know what I mean

That is an awesome point Andy made on the podcast Since losing time of possession In the first half of the Super Bowl It actually left them With a full arsenal of unused plays They could leverage in the second half To put the Niners on their heels

Yeah Andy was good If you haven't heard that interview that was on Tuesday's podcast. The last question from Felix. What's your opinion on the Broncos releasing Russell with the huge dead cap number? Would you rather split the $85 million and void the one year in 24 and 25, or would you prefer to eat the whole 85?

Realistically speaking, the Broncos wouldn't be a Super Bowl contender anyway in 24. So better get it over with as quickly as possible right. What would you do from a strategic standpoint? Greetings from Germany. Like your content a lot. I would eat the money. I would just take it right on the chin. You know when you're like a kid,

and when I say a kid, I mean, it could be like in high school, and you get in trouble. And he's just like, you better tell the truth. Just take your medicine. And you're just like, I don't want to tell the truth here.

I'm going to get in so much trouble. And then you do it and you realize that was the right thing to do. I think you just take it. I think you just let this number bend you over this year. Screw you. Right, $85 million, which number, that number's never getting topped.

I think the salary cap would have to go to like $6, $700 million to ever see $85 million in dead cap space. I'm meeting it all. Why do I want to split the two numbers? Because Sean Payton, year three, you're definitely going to be trying to win, and you're going to still have this albatross of a number. I saw Matt Ryan and Aaron Rogers two dead cap numbers. did not equal the $85 million. So it is, it's a lot to stomach.

My guess is, if I just, if I'm a betting man, they split it up, I would 100% not do that. I would take it right now and drop to quarterback. Because I forget, I saw the numbers. Maybe it's like 38 this year, 40 next year, 42, whatever. It's some high 30 and low 40 number in some order.

I'm just taking it on the chin. I really am. I mean, which sucks, like no one wants to suck year two, but it's a double whammy. If you can trade up and draft a quarterback, it is 100% the right move. Take the huge hit, use the quarterback to get them some experience,

see if you can play, and you're probably going to get a top pick next year, and you can kind of restock the cupboard with high draft picks. So I'd eat the money. I really would. I think they'll get a lot of shit if that's the route they take.

And I think long-term... I remember, I think Warren Buffett or Charlie Munger said successful rich people always take short-term losses for long-term games. Basically, like, they always can see the big picture. A lot of people, and I think just financially, kind of a poor mindset, and not acting like,

I haven't made this mistake as well. You're always thinking short term. And when you can think big picture, it allows you to make moves that in like three years you look back that take you to another level. Right? But when you're always living in the moment,

like, oh, we need that extra cap space to maybe sign a player. Like you said, they're not winning anything this year. It ain't happening. Eat it all. Doubt they do it, but I would commend them if they do.

Because I think big picture, it's 100% the right move. 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 IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, what's good, y'all? You're listening to Learn the Hard Way with your favorite therapist and host, Kear Games. This space is about black men's experiences, having honest conversations that it's really not safe to have anywhere, but you're having them with a licensed professional who knows what he's doing. How many men carry a suit or armor?

It signals to the world that you're not to be played with. And just because you have the capability that does. not mean that you need to listen to learn the hard way on the iHeart radio app apple podcast or wherever you get your podcast this is an iHeart podcast guaranteed human