The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Best of The Herd: 02/28/2019

Episode Date: February 28, 2019

Colin warns people not to think Kyler Murray is like Russell Wilson after his measurements at the combine.  He reacts to the Jason Witten news and thinks it’s another sign that the Cowboys are a well-run organization.  Plus, Super Bowl Champion and 49ers GM John Lynch talks about his plans with the 2nd overall pick and why even though he doesn't need a QB he loves watching Kyler Murray.  Presented by Perky Jerky. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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This is the best of the herd with Colin Cowherd on Fox Sports Radio. Ah, this is the herd. Wherever you may be and however you may be listening, we are live in Los Angeles on

IHeart Radio, on Fox Sports Radio, and right here on FS1, we are packed today, a lot of NFL Combine stuff. We'll go to Indianapolis with John Lynch, the Niners, the Niners, Daniel Jeremiah scout and also a writer Joy Taylor is joining me a lot of good stuff today a lot of

one inch makes a big difference apparently today very exciting joy for for Kyle or Murray well I think it's important that we got the final answer yes so he's 510 they measured him what 510 and 206 yeah one 8th 510 and 1 8th and 206 and that's a robust dynamic change. This is what's interesting about this. I get it, I get it. I get it. Since Russell Wilson came out, more and more people are saying size doesn't matter. I've always argued Russell Wilson's a Hall of Famer first ballot.

One of the great gifted quarterbacks reminds me of a right-handed Steve Young that I've ever seen. Steve Young and Russell Wilson, to me, will never get the respect because one's a lefty and one's a little smaller. They're all-time top 15 quarterbacks ever. But we want to compare everybody now to Russell Wilson. But remember, Johnny Mansell was tiny. Bust.

RG3, Tainy thin frame. People talked about it. Bust. Teddy Bridgewater, tiny thin frame. Lost a year due to a practice injury. It's not just the height. As Benjamin Albright came out today,

a guy I respect on Twitter covers the NFL. He said, Russell Wilson was 206, but he was trying to lose weight for the combine and testing so he'd run faster. Okay, his playing weight, Russell Wilson's playing weight is 225. He was trying to lose weight to be faster with the pre-draft testing. Kyler Murray's playing weights 190. He bulked up to 206, so people won't think he's small, but it's playing weights 190.

So Russell Wilson's playing weight 225. Kyler Murray is playing weight 190. That's a 35 pound difference. Look at the difference between the two. Here's their college picture. Sorry for the radio listeners. Russell Wilson looks like a man at Wisconsin. Kyler Murray is like a kid.

Even his helmet looks too big. Don't compare the two. Folks, I'm a 195 pound guy. There are boxers trying to make weight for a fight that come in at 180. And then the minute the weigh-in's done, they weigh 208. by the next morning. Okay, a lot of people are making weight. There are adjustments here.

Kyler Burr is trying to prove to everybody, I am big and strong. He's bulking up. After about four days at training camp, August in the heat, he's down to 192. That's his playing weight. Look at the pictures. And by the way, now there is a psychology here. There is a psychology at play here that needs to be mentioned. That many of the quarterbacks that get hurt are huge.

Cam Newton's huge gets hurt. Carson Wentz huge gets hurt. Andrew Luck huge gets hurt. Big Ben huge that gets hurt. There's a psychology that when you're a big, strong quarterback and you were able to run over kids at 8th grade, eighth grade, ninth grade, 10th grade, high school, Pop Warner College, that you have this embedded sort of DNA like Cam Newton. I'm Superman. I didn't run over people. Then you get to the NFL and it doesn't work because no quarterback in the NFL. Kaepernick, Cam Ben can run over guys. You'll lose that battle every time overtime. Okay. So the guys that get hurt are the risk takers. Jared Gough doesn't get hurt because he knows I'm going to get hurt. Brady didn't get hurt because he knows I get mashed. Breeze, Rivers,

Eli. The quarterbacks that don't get hurt aren't the big strong guys. They're the guys that know, I don't want to get run over. I'm not real tough and big and strong. Just like in life. You know who gets beat up a lot in life? The opposite of what you think. Tough guys. Because tough guys get in more fights. Tough guys are more confrontational. You know who doesn't get into fights and get beat up? Me. I'm a skinny guy. Small guys, passive guys, little guys. They're not confrontational. They don't get into fights. They walk away from trouble. They avoid trouble. So there is a psychology here that guys who are bigger and stronger and luck and wents and cam and Ben, they get hurt. Jared Gough's skinny. He doesn't get hurt. He avoids it. Tom Brady's not fast.

Either is Eli. They get rid of the football fast. They don't want to get hit. but size does matter. If Connor Murray was 6.4, 208, 228, I wouldn't be leading the show with this news that he's 510. It wouldn't even be a story. He'd be the number one pick in the draft. And nobody would even doubt it. So if you're telling me, size doesn't matter. And we all know that if he was 6, 3.5, 228 and had all his skills, that would be no story.

It would be a slam dunk. You'd be like, yeah, have you seen that kid at Oklahoma? He's six, three and a half, two, 28, world-class speed, and those are perfect football. The whole story is he's 5-10 and tiny. So you cannot convince me size doesn't matter. And, you know, I start to look around. Longevity and quarterbacks are quarterbacks that avoid risks. And the problem with Lamar Jackson and the problem with Mitch Trubisky and the problem with

Kyler Murray and the problem with Michael Vick is they're so athletic psychologically running equals first down? touchdown. So they do it a lot. As did our G3. So it matters. Not perhaps to be all end all, but I don't believe this morning because I learned Kyler Murray is 510 that now we're all good. His playing weight's going to be way closer to 190, 195 than Russell Wilson's playing weight, which is much closer to 225. All right, let's shift gears. A lot of football today, a lot of football. But the Lakers won last night. They beat the Pelicans. Here's the point we're at with the Lakers and LeBron. Here's where we're at now. That beating the awful Pelicans at home with Anthony Davis not playing in the fourth and LeBron hitting a crazy three-pointer late winning the game. That this

morning, whew, back on track. This feels good. Here comes the eighth seed. Man, we're rolling. That. That's That's where we're at with the Lakers that I'm driving in this morning, listen to L.A. Radio. We are right. We are right where we want to be. Because you beat the Pelicans at home without AD and LeBron hitting an amazing shot in the corner to clinch it. Let's be honest about this whole thing. Let's take a deep breath. This year was never a title year. We would have all been satisfied. Get to the playoffs, win a playoff series, land another free agent.

That was our plans. The best case scenario for the Lakers at this point, if you look at the Western Conference standings, here's what I believe is the best case scenario. They sneak in statistically basketball reference, Vegas says they're not getting in. But the best case scenario for the Lakers is they slip in as the eight seed. Their schedule's not easy, but they face about seven dogs of their 21 remaining games. They've faced some, you know, some dogs, some Knicks, some. You know the bad teams in this league.

And they face Denver, who is only a half game out of the number one seat in the West. So this is the best case scenario. They figure out a way, LeBron puts the cape on, Brandon Ingram keeps playing well, Coosman pretty good, Lanzo ball comes back, workable schedule. They get in as an eight and they face Denver. Because Denver is very interesting. They have no playoff experience among their best players. None.

they'll be favored, meaning they could be a little tight. They're a bad road team. Also, their strength is they're really deep. Depth is not winning playoff series. Stars do. And the Lakers would have the best star in the series. Everybody tightens their rotations in the playoff. If you play nine, you play eight to seven.

If you play 10, you play eight to seven. That's what happens. When you play a team over and over and over in a series, It's like Belichick. He finds your weakness, goes at it over and over and over. So a guy that'll get minutes, 15 minutes a night in the regular season and average 10 points, he ain't playing in the playoffs much. And then the Lakers pull off a stunning upset, then get washed out by an Oklahoma City, a Utah,

a Houston, a Golden State in the next round, which they would. And if this happens, best case scenario, sneak in eight, face Denver upset. I wouldn't everybody this morning be like it's all good remember and this is empirically true you can salvage a lot of things movies and vacations relationships with a great ending usual suspects was a good movie with a great ending therefore a lot of people think it's a great movie it's a good movie it's got a great last 19 minutes i've gone on family vacations lose your luggage, airport delays, rains the first four days, last 36 hours are amazing, take the family snorkeling, and you're like, what a great vacation flying home happy. The Lakers have played better

this year against better teams, blew out the Warriors once, Lanzo balls coming back, workable schedule, but let's be honest about this, we're at the point where beating the Pelicans at home without Anthony Davis late in a LeBron three-pointer feels great. That's kind of where we're at. That's where we're at. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1 and the IHeart Radio app. It's a situation nobody wants to experience during tax season.

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Fit's a really important thing, and it's a really important thing in the NFL. well. Sean Payton and Drew Brees, it's like that works. It's like the same kind of intensity, same brain. I think Tom Brady and Belichick are both incredibly driven and aspirational. Belichick couldn't have a quarterback who liked football but didn't love it, and Brady would be frustrated with a coach that wasn't willing to evolve. You can have more talent. Big Ben's going to be a Hall of Famer. Mike Tom was going to be a Hall of Famer. And they're not a great fit. They've underachieved. Mike McCarthy is really good coach. Aaron Rogers is a great quarterback.

It ain't really fit. They've underachieved. Fit matters. Kyler Murray, Arizona's got the number one pick. Kyler Murray fits Cliff Kingsbury. Now, I don't think he's the best quarterback in the draft. Dwayne Haskins is. And I think Josh Rosen eventually could be better too.

But they don't fit Cliff Kingsbury. Okay, Kyler Murray is the quarterback in the NFL that Cliff Kingsbury would choose second out of all of them. First is Patrick Mahomes. Run around, make the throws in that system, that spread system. So, and this matters, and this is a real thing. And remember, Arizona, Steve Kime, the GM, after last year's debacle, and there's a little bit of a rocky ship, they've given the farm to Cliff Kingsbury. So if Cliff Kingsbury does not work, Steve Kime gets fired, scouting guys get fired, vice presidents get fired, and they're cleaning house. You've got to make Cliff Kingsbury work. He's got a four-year, no-cut

deal. And you just had a coach. He got rid of him after about 45 minutes. So this has to work, or everybody's getting fired. And whether he works or not, I don't know. He's very, very young and unproven in the NFL. But he is a smart guy, and he's a clever guy, and he's a progressive thinker. But the quarterback he's got right now, he didn't pick Josh Rosen. That wasn't his guy. And Josh Rosen isn't a great fit. Josh is pro-style, not athletic, less mobile than Eli, 100% pocket passer, and frankly, little brittle. I think Josh Rosen fits as the next Tom Brady.

I think he fits in Atlanta, indoor quarterback, as the next Matt Ryan. I don't think Josh Rosen, with this offensive line and with his coach, is a great fit. And Arizona has put everything, everything in the Cliff Kingsbury. So the question becomes, what's best for Cliff Kingsbury? That's where Kyler Murray has a real shot at being the number one pick. And it's interesting. So we had Steve Kime on yesterday.

Words matter. How you say things matter. I asked him about, well, here it is. Is there a possibility that you could see yourself picking a quarterback at one? I can't foresee that right now. Okay. right now is not no. He knew he was going to be asked that question. Steve Kime knew he was going to be asked that question by me after me and before me in interviews. And in all of them, he said,

right now, if somebody says, do you think you and your wife are going to get a divorce? Not right now. Is practiced, rehearsed, is calculated. Are you going to leave your current job? You just interviewed for a new job. Are you going to leave your current job? Not right now is not no. Okay. Not right now is what you go into interviews saying through calculation. Okay.

He knew the question was coming from me before me and after me. And he gave the same answer yesterday. And that is not a no. Not right now is what you say when you're hedging. So I think Arizona has big questions. and I think the greatest thing to happen to Kyler Murray is not that he's 510 and 1-8, not 5-9 and a half. I think the greatest thing is fit matters a lot. And Cliff Kingsbury has to work in Arizona or they are turning this ship on its side and everybody's going into the sea.

And I think he's a really, really good fit. And Albert Breyer told us yesterday about Cliff Kingsbury and Kyler Murray and why it works. I talked to Lincoln Riley last week. Lincoln Riley played with Cliff Kingsbury at Texas Tech. He's coached against Cliff Kingsbury the last four years. And of course, he had Kyler Murray on his roster over the last three years. And Lincoln told me that Kyler is a perfect fit for what Cliff Kingsbury wants to do. He wasn't saying they're going to trade Josh Rosen and take Kyler number one overall. But he said the fit was, the fit there is absolutely perfect. There have been enough rumblings that Arizona would consider it, would look at it hard. and if Cliff really wants it, I think that the Cardinals would listen to Cliff on that. So there we are.

Kyler Murray is not 5.9.5. He is bulked up to 206 and he's 510 and 1 8. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays at noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific. Kyler Murray, and I do think there's a possibility he goes one, wouldn't be a guy I would build around. But he's a first round talent. The NFL's new. I do worry about his size. Right now he's got an agent.

His agent is Johnny Mansell's agent. I don't love that. Because I think when I watch Johnny Mansell, I see Kyler Murray. So he's the comp, not Russell Wilson. Smaller, smaller shoulders, smaller frame. Johnny Mansell is actually the comp for Kyler Murray. And so you're already kind of connected visually. I don't think he should have Johnny Mansell's agent.

Johnny Mansell yesterday, Canada is a pretty liberal place. They'll let a lot go in Canada. The CFL's like, we're done with Johnny Mansell. And I think who you associate with matters. And I think it really, really matters when you're a quarterback. I mocked Johnny Mansell when he came into this league. And I mocked him because of his selection of friends. friends. Do we have that piece of videotape? I could never, I played it a thousand times.

Here it is. I can't hear you. There's too much money in my fucking hands. I can't hear you. I can't hear it. I'll call you back. We'll call you back. We'll call you back. We'll call you back. Oh, God. This is terrible. That's, um, that's the comp physically is Johnny Mansell. And now you got the same agent. And I don't know Johnny Mansell's agent, but I got an agent. And I remember years ago asking my parents about like agents. And I got great advice. And the advice I got was, well, they're going to represent you when you're not around. So you should pick somebody that shares sort of your values. Because when you're not there is when the agent's often there. And does Kyler Murray, this is this is the agent he's got right now,

recently on a podcast, here he is. Taylor is not some little shrimp they're making him out. This kid weighs 205 yesterday. Holy shit. This kid is jacked the F up. These days and age of these old NFL dinosaurs and scouts that sit back and talk about what players can't do. Oh, he can't do that.

He's not this. He's not that. Those are the loser. You want all your requirements and all of that? That's not what the NFL game is today. Yeah, it actually is. And by the way, Belichick won a Super Bowl. He's almost 70.

He's not a dinosaur. or I just don't think that's a great look for Kyler Murray. I don't think it's good because when I think of Kyler Murray, I see Johnny Mansell physically. I don't see Russell Wilson. Russell Wilson playing weights 225. He cut weight before he got into the NFL to run faster. His playing weights 225. Kyler Murray's playing weight.

He's jacked up to 206. His playing weights in the 190s. He's about 25 pound lighter than Russell Wilson. I don't see the same quarterback. I see Johnny Manzell. and then I share his agent, right? Like anything, if you're connected to Johnny Mansell, it's just bad news. By the way, Kyler Murray was almost a baseball guy.

He had Scott Boros, who's like the world's best agent. Now, I don't think you can use boros and football. Maybe you can, but I think you have to be approved. I think Boris is pretty much exclusive to MLB. Yeah, but I mean, wouldn't Boris have had a better suggestion than this guy in a podcast calling guys over 60 dinosaurs? I don't know that I see Mansell. I just, I think, well, to his credit,

Kyler Murray has become the talk of the combine in the draft. I mean, he went from us being completely questioning his size and if he's even an NFL player because he was trying to decide if he was going to play baseball. So now is he going to go number one overall to a team that took a quarterback in the top 10 last year? It's actually pretty remarkable. Yeah, I mean, like I get the world changing.

and ever since Russell Wilson got drafted in 2012, size is less significant. But I keep pointing out, Mansell was small bust. Teddy Bridgewater and RG3, very thin frames people are worried about. One's a bust, one has been hurt. You know, size frame. It doesn't matter, but to me, if my job and the jobs of a bunch of other people are on the line, I'm not looking for the exception. Yes.

I'm not looking to prove that I'm some football genius who found the one that can overcome all these things. But again, I don't, I don't care about his size. Nothing, that's not changed. That's not news. Show me what he can do in the field that you can develop and can make better. You can't change his size. Yeah. Go to an NFL practice. It's violent. Practice. Forget games. One more herd? The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week within the IHeart radio app. Search herd to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like. How about this? Just broke. Jason Witten.

He is leaving Monday Night Football, former Cowboy tied in, is going back to Dallas Cowboys to play. He is 36 years old. He still has great hands. He was a total security blanket for Dax's first year. ESPN cannot figure out their Monday Night Football booth. It continues to be a mess. And now it's a bigger mess.

And Dack Prescott is going to get a security blanket back. This is a quote. Let me read this from Jason Witten. The fire inside of me to compete and play is just burning too strong. The team has a great group of rising young stars. I want to help them make a run of the championship. This was completely to my decision. I'm very comfortable with it.

I'm looking forward to getting back in the dirt. So Jason Witten tried broadcasting for a year. It was pretty rocky. And some guys, you know, like Tony Romo walked in and he just nailed it. And I've heard a lot of players and coaches walk in and they struggle with a little bit. So there you go. Jason Witten's going back. to the Dallas Cowboys.

I think it's great news for Dak. I think he's an incredibly formidable leader. He's probably going to be a 60-catch guy, a 50 catch guy. It's not about that. He's got great hands. You play a zone against the Dallas Cowboys, and Jason Witten finds an opening every time. Tight ends are valuable in this league.

They're really, really valuable. Look at the kid George Kittle at San Francisco. We all know Gronk, Zach Ertz, and Philadelphia. They just matter. Baltimore went and got two last year in the draft, and they were both really good. So John Lynch, the San Francisco 49ers general manager, will be joining us in a couple of minutes from the combine. So there it is. Jason Whitten is returning to the Dallas Cowboys, 36 years old, turns 37 by next season.

Yeah, I think this is a, let's be honest about this. If broadcasting was going great, he'd stay. I mean, there's nothing better than doing broadcasting when somebody pays you $5 million a year, and you don't get hit. And everybody's telling you how smart you are like Tony Romo. Tony Romo everywhere he goes now. It's like he's getting better as a quarterback as he is a broadcaster because he's such a good broadcaster.

When Tony Romo left football, everybody's like, ah, couldn't win a big game. Now everybody loves Tony Romo. So when the broadcasting goes well like it has for Troy Aikman or Tony Romo, it's a great job. If it doesn't go well and you're getting massive scrutiny, football's way more fun. This is something.

I don't know how you look coming off of a year off of a football. That would be my concern. I mean, his leadership abilities obviously are not in question. That's fine. Yeah, he'll have good hands. How we will actually play is something else altogether. Yeah. Well, I mean, if you think about how long he was actually, yeah, he was off for a full year.

Listen, when he left, Goulet, you're our resident cowboy officiado. You've watched every piece of grainy tape for the last 40 years. His last year, describe his last year as a cowboy. Well, it's not super athletic, but he's, like you said, he's good at finding open space and he's sure-handed. So he's great for little four-yard dump-offs over the middle. He's still a really intelligent player. I think they honestly want him more for that. He's not going to have a 600-yard season.

He's going to have three or 400 yards. But he's intelligent. He's a locker room guy. He's a captain. He'll help. Yeah, this is more of an intangible move than it is an actual football move. Yeah, Dallas is young. Zeke's young, Dax young, most of the defensive front's young.

They're two great linebackers are young. Their best corner's young. Even Amari Cooper, who's a veteran, is very young. He's like 24, 25 years old. Yeah, so it's a very, very young team. And it matters. Again, Jason Whitten is probably not worth a point a game in the NFL. He may not be worth half a point.

But can you envision Jason Whitten coming back, elevating a young team, and making two or three big plays next year on third down for the Cowboys, like against the Giants, against the Eagles, absolutely. And again, Jason Whitten is returning to the Cowboys, Jettisons, Monday Night Football. They're once again trying to figure that out. The fire inside me, too strong. Team has a great group of rising young stars. I want to be part of it.

Make a run of the championship. Completely my decision. I'm very comfortable with it. Now, it should be noted, this is not the first time that he's not going to cost much. He's not going to cost much. that's good. And the other thing is, remember when Jason left for the booth. It was a go-either-way decision.

Dallas didn't want him out. Dallas wanted him to stay because Dak was young. So this is not one of these things where it was your classic. He's too expensive. Let's get rid of him. Dallas wanted to keep him. He decided it's time. And maybe some of it was, Tony Romo was doing so well and having so much fun

that went and looked at it and thought, yeah. I mean, and Tony Romo and Jake. Jason Witten are tight, and they were roommates. So in camp, they're roommates. So you could imagine Romo's telling Witten, hey, this is fun, you don't get hit, I get a golf a lot, I don't have to lift weights every day, I don't have to get up at 5 a.m. And I only worked like 17 days a year. And maybe it was too big of an opportunity to pass up.

Right. And remember, Aikman's a broadcaster on the number one team at Fox, and Romo's the number one guy, Cowboy on CBS. And Michael Irvin's kind of the biggest star on the NFL network. And Witten took the biggest job on ESPN slash ABC. So like Jerry gave him his blessing because Jerry kind of looked at it like, I kind of like him. Jerry wouldn't have been as happy if he went to a team.

But Jerry was okay saying, you know, it's good for my brand. It's good for the Cowboys. It's good for Cowboy Nation. Another cowboy on Monday Night Football. How about that? So there's your story today. Jason Witten. is going from broadcasting back to football.

John Lynch went from broadcasting back to football, and we didn't like it here. We were bummed out, but we're really happy for him. And John is joining us at the Combine via the Cowherd Global Satellite Network. Well, how about that? You know, it's funny. So Jason Witten is going back to football. John, can you envision a moment where you put the pads back on?

Well, Colin, actually, I want to make. make an announcement here. I'm signing myself to play strong safety for the... No, I'm just playing with you. It's crazy. I just heard that. And I, you know, my first thought is that Witt's a good friend, but that broadcasting stuff's not so easy, right? And, you know, I've,

I know the feeling that you know what, even though football is really hard, there's, you know, sometimes when you're trying something new, gosh, you know what? I'm a lot, it comes natural to me and other things are tough, but I think wit, probably, I don't know this,

This is surprising to me as well. But sometimes that itch hasn't gone away. And I suppose that's the case. And good for him. I'm excited as everybody else is. By the way, when you're a general manager of a team, you made a gutsy move and you went and got a franchise quarterback, and I think you had to do it because you got the coach and the quarterback,

and that's about 50% of this league. Now I could say, John, you need another perimeter star. John, you need another pass rusher. When you look at your team sitting above, if I said, John, one or two needs next step now that you have Garapolo. In your eyes, what are those? Well, I think, you know, I think one thing that I always, I think Ernie, of course, he once said, you've got to have that quarterback and then you've got to have the guys to knock him down. So we believe we have our quarterback and Jimmy Garoppolo.

We're excited to have him back this year and healthy. And, you know, we're excited with our team's prospects when he's out there. You know, we've got a number of good defense alignment. It has felt like we're missing that perimeter edge guy. Fortunately, I'll tell you, Colin, and this isn't, I'm not the, you know, it's not like I have a unique perspective. This is an incredibly talented defense-aligned class in this draft. And not just as outside guys, inside guys.

It's as good as it's been in years. And so, you know, I think that's a need for. For us, it's a need for a lot of people. And, you know, when you say a need, you usually think you're really bad. I just look at it as I think that's one piece that's missing from an area where we can become a tough team to deal with. We've got guys like the Forrest Buckner and Eric Armstead and Solomon Thomas inside. If you put that edge presence, I think we can become a unit that is tough to deal with. It's interesting, John, because you hit a home run at tight end with George Kittle.

I mean, you hit it out of the park. I think Garoppolo's a home run. I think you took a tackle from Notre Dame that people thought you drafted too high, and I thought he was a monster. You're set there. You got a running back who can catch. You got some nice components offensively. But I keep hearing Niners O'Dell and all these big names.

Here's what I would ask you. I've watched the Rams and the Eagles in the last two years dip into free agency. And that was always kind of the silly man's land. Like, yeah, that's just wasted money. but it does feel like, John, there is a little trend in this league to play with trades more and to do a little NBA. Go get a free agent. Rams did it, Eagles did it, and it paid off.

Do you sense the culture changing in the league? I do, and as to why, I don't know. I think there's a group of general managers, and I think sometimes people just have to do it to make everyone else go, okay, that's not just the other sports that can do that. Why can't we do it? And so I think there's a culture and there's a lot of conversations that go on, particularly here at Indy. It's an area where it's a place and a situation where we're all together. And so having those relationships and talking about things is a really important part of this job. But people are more inclined. We did it with Jimmy Garoppolo. You know, there's been a number

of instances here in recent years. You mentioned a couple of them. And yeah, people are more inclined to do that than ever before. And that makes this job exciting. And it also makes your opportunity to improve as a team. And hopefully when you do those things, it's a win-win for both sides. And we know the two receivers that are out there. I mean, it's well advertised. Odell and AB. I prefer Odell. That's my personal opinion. When you're talking about free agents, you have a young quarterback. Do you think about the psychology of it? How would Jimmy G do this? How would my coach do? With stars out there, superstars, they can change a locker room. What would go about your thinking? Would Jimmy G's youth concern you? What would make you pull a trigger on something like that? Well, I think anytime you

love adding great football players to your locker room. And so I don't think there's a whole lot of concern. It's just how do you make things happen? So I think we're always open to bring in really good football players in. We discuss everything when you're talking about players like that. And I'll leave it at that. Those guys are both playing for other teams right now. And they're both guys that, you know, we have a ton of respect for. But, you know, I think anytime there's an opportunity to go get somebody who can vastly improve your team, you're going to look into it and see if it is possible. By the way, kind of big news at the Combine today, you don't need a quarterback, so it's not your concern. But Kyler Murray came in at 5'10.

I will say this, he's crazy fun. I mean, you don't need a quarterback, so you're not, but it's like, what do you make quarterback height, size? What do you make of all that talk? Well, I'll tell you, just, you know, we didn't study Kyler a lot this year because, like I said, we have three quarterbacks we really like Jimmy and Nick Mullins and C.J. Bethard, but I tell you, for enjoyment, I find myself often now just throwing him in. It is fun to watch, and he is an electric talent. I had a chance to meet the young man. He came up to me on the street. in Atlanta down at Super Bowl. I could have told you that I knew it wasn't going to be 5'9. I didn't know what it'd be.

He was standing next to Baker, and I said, you know, that's not three inches. It might be one and a half. And it sounds about where it ended up. But, you know, he's a special talent. And, you know, I think it's going to be fun to watch him enter our league. And, of course, you have to play against him. So we'll see where that all ends up. And, you know, he is an extremely good football.

player. Finally, John Lynch, former Niner Fox broadcaster now. He is running a former NFL player, I should say, with Tampa 11 years, Denver 4, and now the Niner GM. Finally, you have the number two pick. And I don't consider you in full rebuild mode because I think you would have won 8, 9, 10 games last year with Jimmy G starting. But I do think you are rebuilding parts of your football team. Would you trade the number two pick for several picks? Would you do that? I think we're open to anything. We showed a couple, you know, my first year on the job, we went back, one spot for several picks. So I think you, you know, Colin, the one thing I've learned, a lot transpires between now and then, and, you know, including, hey, do we fall in love with the player

that said, you know what, we're silly if we move out of it. And, you know, the reason some people say, well, why don't you already know that? Well, your coaching staff just finished a season. Now they're jumping in. They've done their free agent work. Now they're diving into the draft. So, you know, then we collaborate and we start putting all these thoughts together. And it's an ongoing process. So there's so many different factors. Is there a, is there somebody to trade for, is somebody to trade with? You know, can you agree on a value, all those things? But yes, you, you know, you have those thoughts. You go through different scenarios. And then, you know, the draft happens. And that's when all the fun starts. John, formerly at Fox, we miss you. One of the good guys.

Good talking to you. Thanks a lot, Colin. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IH Radio app. Breaking news, Jason Whitten, bailing on Monday Night Football and going back to the Dallas Cowboys for his 16th year. He's 36 years old. You know, this is another reminder that the Dallas Cowboys are much better run than people think. Okay. They bailed on Des Bryant at the perfect time. They found Dak Prescott in the fourth round. They got all sorts of pushback for Amari Cooper in a first round pick, home run. They nailed the draft.

Leighton Van der Leyen Wendish. Small town, Idaho. Who is this kid? They reached home run. They drafted linebacker from Notre Dame Jalen Smith, who was hurt and said he's an unbelievable talent. We're just going to wait a year. He's not going to play and everybody pushed back.

And it was another draft home run. They had a Zeeke controversy that was a mess and they handled it pretty smartly. And oh, by the way, now they're bringing Jason Witten back. The weakness of the team, they are desperate at tied end. He's going to be a great leader. Nice third down guy against a zone. I mean, this is once again proving that Dallas Cowboys know what they're doing. The New York Giants don't.

Washington Redskins I can push back on. There's a lot of dysfunction in this league. Miami and Tampa. Historically Cleveland, though, they have a GM that certainly knows talent. Cincinnati, Oakland. You can't put Dallas in that group. From drafting DAC in the fourth round to bring in Wittenback to bailing on Desert the perfect time, to making a gamble with Amari Cooper that's been a home run,

to finding latent Vanderaish and Jalen Smith risky picks to a lot of people, and that's the best young linebacking duo in the NFL. And Chicago's got a good one, but that's about the best. So, you know, this is a well-run organization. This is a well-run organization. You think Jerry and you think vanity and a lot of ego and I don't see it. I know Charlotte, sharp as a tack. I don't know Stephen, but if he's controlling the draft, they draft well.

I mean, they draft what. They got a locked down corner, an elite pass rusher, world-class center, left tackle, running back. They got all the things, and they got now a perimeter star, two stud linebackers. They have so many linebackers. They could keep Sean Lee or not, and he's terrific. So Jason Witton's coming back, another smart, I think it's a smart move by the Cowboys. Last night, a blown call changed the game. This morning, the internet lost its mind, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened.

That's where SportsSlice comes in. I'm Timbo, and every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the biggest moments in sports and giving you the real story behind the headline. And we're going straight to the source, the athletes themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions in the moment, and the stuff nobody gets to hear. Listen to Sports Slice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slicalife Life 12. and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok.

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 Smygle and Friends on the I-Heart Radio app. podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. What's up, guys? This is Clever Taylor the 4th. And on my podcast, The Clivert Show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds

of stuff, like being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker, this guy, this linebacker walks up to me. He goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What? Time out. Quarterback on office blue of 42. Hey, Rex, my mama want you to wave at her.

What? Where she is? Hey, Miss Parker. Listen to the Clippers show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano. It's our favorite time of the year on our podcast point game, the playoffs.

We're digging into the biggest surprises of the season. And I'm looking back on some of my greatest playoff moments. If we didn't talk ever again, I was hungry. You just understood. That's how personal it got. Wow. Then after that game seven, Marquis came to him. He's like, you know I love.

You know, it's all love. This was just playoffs. This was just basketball. So listen to Point Game on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.