The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Colin Cowherd Podcast BEST OF: NFL Offseason Moves, Mike McCarthy, Maxx Crosby, Kenneth Walker

Episode Date: March 18, 2026

Colin’s top takes from the NFL offseason. He discusses the biggest moves starting with Mike Tomlin’s replacement Mike McCarthy joining the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Maxx Crosby saga with the failed trade between the Las Vegas Raiders and Baltimore Ravens, Malik Willis signing with the Miami Dolphins, Mike Evans signing with the San Francisco 49ers, Tyler Linderbaum, Rashan Gary, Kenneth Walker III leaving the Seattle Seahawks for the Kansas City chiefs, and more. (Timestamps may vary based on advertisements.) Follow Colin and The Volume on Twitter for the latest content and updates!  #Volume See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human. Hey guys, it's us. The Jonas Brothers. I'm Joe. I'm Kevin. And I'm Nick. And guess what? We created our own podcast called, Hey Jonas.

We invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to it. We're the first people to do podcasts. We get to ask other people questions because we're sick and tired of being asked questions. Well, sick and tired is a strong way to put it. But, you know, tired and sick. Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you.

you get your podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. 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 ice. Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Winning on Clay is an art. The rallies are relentless. And at the French Open, only the toughest survive. I'd know. I competed there for decades. Join me, Renee Stubbs, on the Renee Stubbs tennis podcast for no-nonsense breakdowns of the biggest matches, the toughest players, and the moments that define Roland Garris. She can win.

She's an outsider to win the French fame. And she likes Clay. Listen, Lina Rubakina is arguably the best player in the world right now. And I actually can win on any service. Listen to the Renee Stubbs tennis podcasts on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened.

That's where Sports Slice 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 SportsSlice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slicalife-Life 12

and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. The volume. Today's show is brought to you by our presenting sponsor American beverage. If you think about some of the most iconic drinks in the country, the ones you grab at a barbecue, Q, the ones you raised to celebrate your team that have been part of your story for decades, Coke, Dr. Pepper, Pepsi. There's something people don't always think about. The companies behind those brands are still making their drinks right here in the U.S. While there's a lot of talk

about bringing manufacturing back, America's beverage companies never left. They're American companies making American products with American workers in America's hometown. So 275,000 men and women across all 50 states, real jobs, good paying jobs, the kind of jobs you can raise a family on. So more than 100 years, those brands have been part of every day. lives and they're still here, still investing, still operating in communities around the country. So if you care about strong local economies and companies that walk the walk, check out the good work and what they're doing at we deliver for America.org. And with that, let's end it with this. Mike McCarthy got hired by the Pittsburgh Steelers. And as we talk about the Patriot Seahawks,

let's just give this five minutes. So McCarthy to me is an offensive Mike Tomlin. He feels like Pittsburgh. He'll win games. He'll be loose. When they face a really well-coached team with a good quarterback, you'll feel like you have the second best coach. But he's a good motivator. Like Tomlin and defense, he does no offense.

His teams play with great enthusiasm. But to me, Pittsburgh once again is always reminding us how important Pittsburgh is and how they really love Pittsburgh. They love to hire Pittsburgh guys. They draft Kenny Pickett. They hire Mike McCarthy. It's kind of a Pittsburgh thing. They're the Inzers.

They're very proud. I thought they could have done better. I mean, I probably, I don't know if Chris Schuil was the answer. You could hire him tomorrow. What did you make of the hire? I feel like the reaction was shocked. People like they really hired Mike McCarthy. I honestly, when John Harbaugh got fired,

my jaw hit the floor just because I didn't expect him to get fired. Right. This was a situation where I went, of course they hired him. The owner, whatever was two weeks ago when Tomlin steps down, said, I'm not into throwing a season away. We do not plan on tanking, losing, we plan on competing every year. That showed me when everyone in the Pittsburgh fan base was tired of Tomlin, the Roonies were not.

They like going nine or ten wins. if that is their, you know, the floor. They want no part of the tanking teams. They don't ever want to have a season like the Jets. So Mike McCarthy represents at minimum stability of competing and at least giving us a chance to maintain what Tomlin has done. And he can say, I can coach quarterbacks to call the offense. Because in fairness, he's right.

Now, I was thinking about this. This is going to be his first situation. When he got hired with the Green Bay Packers, Brett Farve was on the roster. and the year before they had drafted Aaron Rogers. He was the offensive coordinator of the Niners who took Alex Smith. Aaron Rogers talked about this, like he had to get over it a little bit. Then when he went to the Cowboys, they had an established Dak Prescott.

He's now going to a team where they don't have a quarterback, right? So he's got to be involved in which you and I watch a lot of college football. This ain't a great quarterback draft. And I don't know who's really on the open, you know, the Davis Mills and Mack Jones type. There's not a lot of, there's no Dak Prescott or Aaron Rogers walking through that door. This job, I don't know if you watch the Dolphins guys. They're too really impressed at the press conference.

It was like, I see why Troy Aikman likes these two guys. They're impressive. But Stephen Ross, clearly, we're going to need a little bit of a reset and be bad before we get good because we're in shambles. It's kind of the Steelers, a lot of old guys, a lot of bad money. Why not? Once upon a time, you did this with Mike Tomlin at 34. Now, the difference is that team was equipped to, if, if, you know, Tomlin was good, they were going to be good than they were. But like, why not just go a little

younger, do a reset? And it's like, well, the Roonies don't believe in that. Like, they're at, like, that's a core value of that family, which in a weird way I can respect. But I think this thing is not, you know, when he got to the Cowboys, 2020 was a fake football year, right? Remember, but once he kind of settled down, got Dan Quinn, they were a real team there for four years. Google who was on that team. Like, they had young in his peak, like 23, 24, Micah, Parsons, they have Dak Prescott in his prime, they get C.D. Lamb. Like, this is, this is not the Steelers. And how are they equipped to acquire any of these players? T.J. Watt is making a ton of money. He's a lot of respect for his career, but it's trending the wrong way. The good news for

McCarthy, I think he realizes that. I think the first thing they have to do to me is, and they're not going to be able to find their quarterback unless they go get Ty Simpson. But let's say they can't get Do you like Ty Simpson and the weather in that conference or that division? Like, I don't know. They have to switch the money from the defense to the offensive side. So they've had the highest paid defense four years in a row. So you just, in the way to do that is they've got some very good young offensive player, Frazier, the center, Warren.

Fryer Moose, not young, but he's a good player. They need another wide receiver, obviously, and the quarterback. But my take is they've got their offensive lines, got some. youth in it. The running back room's got some youth in it. They're dynamic. I think Friar moves really good in Washington broke his arm, but he, you know, those are two big bodies. He's a good player. Good player. So, D.K. Matt Calf is still athletically in his prime. It's one of those things where they have to do is they have to take about six different defensive players and just get young defensively. If you look at the Cahawks and the Rams,

if you really look at the secret of it, is the Cahawks and the Rams are not paying a lot of their defensive players. They're not. They're paying their quarterbacks. They're paying like maybe a left tackle or somebody on the offensive line. They're paying one of their weapons. But I mean, they're if you really look at what the Kansas City Chiefs have done as they've paid Mahomes and Travis Kelsey and a Joe Tunney, they've kept that defense really, really young. So I, you know, I've talked to GMs about this. Going forward, the recipe for success is you pay for offense. You just keep drafting defense day young. And the Rams, who are they paying on that defense?

I mean, nobody's getting paid yet. Same with Seattle. Murphy will get a lot of money. Leonard Williams probably makes some coin. But I think Pittsburgh's got it all backwards. Pittsburgh paying everybody on defense. So they've just got to draft about six, seven different guys. I don't know what their draft picks look like.

Whatever, just draft defense, let about four guys walk, trade another, and just switch where the money's at. And once they can do that, then you can go find your quarterback. If I wanted to defend McCarthy, like he has a branding issue because I saw people putting his resume next to John Harbaugh's looks pretty similar. And Google John Harbaugh the last several years with some of these big leads, a lot of else. Google Mike McCarthy's resume next to Tomlin's resume. Pretty similar. Not a lot of playoff success recently, made the playoffs a bunch.

People, his branding is bad. You know, John Harbaugh gets fired. Ten teams are calling his agent. McCarthy's begging for a job last year, no one will hire him. So this is not, McCarthy's better than the way we speak about him, right? Yeah.

Because he coached. The other thing he's got going for him, Jesse Mintor really impressive defensive coordinator. First time head coach in a pressure-packed job. That's not going to be easy. You know, Zach Taylor is going to be coaching for his job, surely this year. That coaching staff there.

And Cleveland doesn't have a coach. I mean, Colin, did you see the story that Cleveland makes you write an essay to try to get the, this? It'd be like you, telling me, hey, once you do a podcast for us, can you write us a three-page essay? It's like, Colin, this is a verbal medium. You're like, I don't care. The coaching is, it's a verbal job.

You don't, you would never write an essay ever. Even your, the things the team puts out, the PR staff does that for you. It's really, I don't want to go talk about the Browns much, but that's, I Googled, I couldn't figure it out, but I would imagine Barry's parents were in academia because I, couldn't even grasp how someone would go. The personality test, I understand. It's a big job. I don't know, but doing homework and essays.

So McCarthy and the Steelers have an advantage on the Browns, but it's, I think it's going to be a little more difficult than his cowboy stint. But he also, he's been the head coach of the Packers, the Dallas Cowboys and the Pittsburgh Steelers. It'd be like I've been the head coach of the Knicks, the Lakers, like Pat Riley's career. I mean, it doesn't get any better than that, football-wise, Colin. Yeah, and I think, and I'll say it about Tomlin and I'll say it about Mike McCarthy. they are above average NFL head coaches and John Harbaugh's not far off. I think that's fair.

Mike McCarthy will, you'll win games with Mike. And he's going to switch a defensive culture to an offensive culture. So there are some positives. But I've always thought Tomlin and big games, his teams were a little loose. Aaron helped slow down the penalty problem in Pittsburgh. Their offense had been, they had penalty problems for years on offense. Aaron brings in, you know, his IQ, EQ. Their penalties went down.

their turnovers went down because of Aaron Rogers. So it was better this year as 42-year-old Aaron Rogers took control of the offensive ship. And I think Aaron entertains coming back now with Mike? Yeah, I could see that. Aaron's, you know, Aaron always feels a little bit like a grudge holder, but Aaron also cares what people think and for him to just retire. That would feel weird, sort of, to just retire. because he played so well at the end of the year.

And you'd be like, wow, is he retiring because of McCarthy? And for the record, I think McCarthy will be better for Aaron. For sure. I think 100%. I mean, by and large, Seattle and maybe New England, the Super Bowl teams are a little bit of an exception, but usually the offensive coach helps the quarterback. You know, Vrable hands the offense over to Josh McDaniels.

But, yeah, I could see Aaron coming back. And I don't think my knock on McCarthy isn't that he's bad. My knock is it feels like an offensive Mike Tomlin. I was just looking for a more dynamic young guy, but Pittsburgh loves Pittsburgh. And I respect that. I mean, there are certain cities in this country, St. Louis Pittsburgh, where if you go to a party and people ask you, oh, where'd you go to high school? Like people don't, a lot of people, how many people in your life who are go-getters and have moved

to Pittsburgh. It's very much about Pittsburgh people love Pittsburgh. People from St. Louis love St. Louis. Not a lot of people moving to St. Louis or Hartford. So Pittsburgh's very proud of its history. A lot of good people. They, I mean, it's just, it's just, it felt like, yeah, that's kind of what Pittsburgh is going to do. I was hoping for a bigger swing, but I don't think they have it in their makeup, their DNA. Rooney's just, they can't even fathom. when they see the Jets, the Titans, the Cardinals, and they see so they can't even, they refuse, which we talk a lot about tanking

and some of these other sports. It's respectable, but also in football, the way you guys got Rothensberger once upon a time, didn't you draft like 11th? That wasn't one, but you're not going to land, you know,

most of these starting quarterback, you're not going to find purdy or Tom Brady typically, right? Most of these starting quarterbacks that are good in the NFL are drafted, or Drake May drafted second, Where is Sam Donald drafted third? I mean, typically you got to, it's okay. The Steeler fans, they've had enough good times and respectable seasons.

They would understand a five and 12 season to kind of reset the franchise. Of course. But the owners refuse. And that's why I think they did this instead of hiring a Davis, you know, some 32-year-old guy that was like, okay, we'll have some growing pains with you. McCarthy could sell them. Look at my resume. more than likely we will compete for a playoff spot and that was probably sold the Roonies good stuff all right here we go john middlecough and i i don't work tomorrow on tv so this is my uh i was down in florida all weekend and uh hanging out with my wife in naples have you ever gone to naples by the way back when i was with the eagles they had these scouting meetings at i forget the name of the place i mean right on the water i think it's about 30 minutes away from naples and then they end you have a week-long paid vacation.

I'm with a buddies. Like, let's take a, I don't even think Uber's existed back in 2013. We hopped in a cab, went up there, had dinner. It was, it was nice 15 years ago, I'll tell you that much. Yeah, it's exploded. Naples, Florida has exploded. I rented a little, with a friend, a little 22-foot boat to kind of go around and look at the billionaire row of homes.

And my friends in realty, he's like, oh, that's boom, boom, boom, boom. Some people live well. That's all I'm on a 22-foot boat looking at 35,000 square foot homes, but it was beautiful. So, you know, listen, well, let's start with Max Crosby. So I had said this before. I think he was kind of the soul of the Raiders, but they're breaking it down to the foundation. I thought they may keep Max because they have like 12 draft picks, 11 or 12 draft picks. So if they hit on seven or eight of those, they've got plenty of money.

They're not paying their quarterback for four years. So I would just keep Max Crosby. But I think, you know, they're looking at he's an older player, still great. But I think I saw a story today. They're interested in Tyler Linderbaum, the great center from Baltimore. And it's like the Giants and the Raiders, which I think would be a huge move because they drafted Jackson Powers. Johnson, I think. What is it?

Jackson Power. Johnson, JPJ, from Oregon. And he didn't play center. He played guard. So he's more comfortable at guard. He's very good. So to me, this feels like the Raiders are doing, if they get Tyler Lindembaum, it feels a little bit like Ben Johnson into the Bears.

Here's the quarterback. And I'm going to get the interior of the old line. I'm going to go get, now Drew Dalman just retired after one year in Chicago. But do you like the Max Crosby deal for them, especially for the Raiders, if they get Tyler Lindelbaum because of the availability to, you know, pay in top of the money. I like it simply because it was time, you know, I think quietly he kind of wanted out. He wasn't going to do it kind of like a yonness situation because he loves the fans. He loves the franchise.

Colin, they got more. Again, we'll have to see what plays out next year. The Dallas Cowboys traded Micah Parsons. And they are lucky. I mean, it took a Michael Parsons injury and a crazy comeback in a playoff game. They got picked 20. I didn't quite realize that the moment the trade was made and then you give it five minutes. The Ravens missed the playoffs and went eight and nine, which sometimes gets you picked 18.

It's pick 14. And I think I saw Warren Sharp. This is the highest amount of draft capital any team's ever had because they got the first pick in every round. You'd rather have pick one and 14 than pick eight and nine. I mean, it is the 14th pick. That to me is where it's like, damn, that was a lot, Colin. You know, the other thing, John, to remember is they already have, the Raiders have two ones, a two or three, three, fours, two, fives, two sixes. Those top, that top of round two, John, you do the first round.

Guys are making deals. GMs are making deals all night. You could move down seven spots and get another third or a fifth or a fourth. So the Raiders really can rebuild the entire franchise, quarterback. first pick, 14th pick. You could have the top interior O. lineman from Penn State.

You could have the second best corner. I mean, you can do it. You have to probably replace Max with one of your first three to four picks. You know, but I mean, it's the first time, I mean,

because Jackson Powers Johnson, you've got one in, and Colton Miller left tackle, Jackson Powers Johnson. You add Tyler Lindembaum. It's like, oh, this is what the Bears did. So I don't, I can't tell you the last time I was, I think John SpyTech, it deserves a lot of credit for this. How many teams do you think we're interested in cross-game?

This is why I never understood they won't get two first-round picks. Guys, every playoff team, there are 14 playoff teams. The Raiders are obviously not even remotely close to one of them. They were all interested. And then you get to, and you then throw in the Cowboys who have that ammunition who think they're going to be pretty good this year if they're, can flip it around on defense. So I think when the dust settled, you probably had five teams willing to get really aggressive, but no one could trump that 14th pick.

You know, you see stories on the Jags. You see, you know, teams like the bear. All these teams are in the 20s, Colin, in the mid to late 20s. And then you go, if I give a max, if I trade them to the Jags or I trade them to the Bears, well, if they're in the playoffs again, that's picked 25 and next year that's picked 24, where that's what the cap. What's the likelihood that the Cowboys pick, I guess, they might have already traded it because they traded for Quinn and Williams.

But the way that they had set up the Micah deal, that was looking like pick 28 and pick 28 back to back years, which I'm not opposed. But when I see, I can't believe they, the bills gave up a second rounder for DJ more. Guy, guys, it's picked 60. It's not picked 37. These things are not equal, you know, call it. I'm in my home. You're in your home.

We're both homeowners. We're not equal. If we sold our homes, they're not the same. So it's like when I see these things get thrown around, well, they're offering a first round pick. Well, we're in the first round because pick 14 is fantastic. Pick 29, like the Chiefs, they did well, but pick, you'd ask Andy, would you rather pick, you know, there's a big difference. There's a big gap. If I would have told you they would have got the round of the 15th overall pick, you would have been like, oh my God, what a hole.

Yeah, the DJ Moore pick to me, I thought work for Buffalo because Keon Coleman now, there's no pressure on him to work. He had a touchdown in the game against, I think, Denver in the playoffs. So he's a big, he's a big play kid. But now you've got your running back, your quarterback, your left tackle, a very good slot receiver, a number one. And if Keon Coleman is kind of a 50 catch, 43 catch guy, but a big, you know, he sort of was like Rashid Shahid for the Seahawks. He's just a big play guy, about twice a game, you go downfield, you keep the safeties honest. I thought DJ more to Buffalo was a great pick.

And you make a great point on this, is that Brett Veach is a very, very good general manager for the chiefs. I mean, Xavier Worthy last year at the end of the first round is kind of, I wouldn't say, a gadget receiver, but he's not a volume receiver. That's about as well as you can do late first round, which is get an explosive first round level athlete. But if he was a volume receiver, Mackay Lemon, USC, you'd go mid-first round. and McCoy Lemon doesn't have worthy speed or explosiveness. But, you know, you end of the first round. I mean, years ago, the Chiefs kind of whiffed on a running back out of LSU late first round. So it's no man's land.

This is very, when you look at the Ravens, I was reading a couple stories over the last 24 hours. They've never, I mean, obviously they've made big acquisitions on older players or veteran players, you know, historically from Anquan Boldens to Steve Smith to Roquan Smith. Like, they are an aggressive organization. They've never traded a first round pick for a player. and typically over the Lamar era, they have drafted what? I would 24 to 28 range, right? So they are not.

Yeah. This is a very valuable pick. If memory serves me correct, Kyle Hamilton was the 14th pick in the draft. Now, all drafts aren't equal, and I'm not saying there's Kyle Hamilton in this draft. And my point is that's how GMs think. Like if I'm 14, I can get a guy,

I mean, Micah Parsons was the 11th pick. You know, Jalen Carter was the ninth pick where the can, you just never know how it. draft shakes out. Laramie Tunzel, the picture comes out, all of a sudden he's there at whatever, pick 10 or 11. Weird things happen around the draft. Stories come out. Like, the Raiders have an opportunity. Now, they did this once upon a time and I was living in the Bay Area. One, they had three first round picks one year because they had traded Kalil Mack and they had traded Amari Cooper in the same year. And they whiffed on basically every pick over that

run, except for Josh Jacobs. So it is now incumbent on them to hit the pick. But listen, I've known Spitech. He left the Eagles right before I was with him and Jason Light at the Combine. He, I think he's really good. And if you watch Max Crosby's, I don't know if you watched it. It's about as genuine. No notes. Just him talking. To have that much loyalty and passion to a team that he didn't have any success on, besides personally, but not as a team. It was, you know, that's just refreshing to see a guy. If you're a Raider fan, this guy really cared about my organization, even though we're the butt of everyone's jokes. You can tell it was difficult for him because he kind of asked to sign off on this as well.

And I just think that, listen, you know these coaches, he is as highly thought of as anyone you're going to find in the NFL. Oh. I mean, he's been sober for six years. He's in there every morning at 5 a.m. He is a no bullshit guy. He plays the game like he practices and he's an impact player at a premium position. The Ravens.

John. A really, really, I mean, a Hall of Fame level guy. Today's show brought to you by our presenting sponsor Hard Rock Bet, Florida Sportsbook. So it's March baby, college basketball center stage. Stakes are high. And now is the time to hit it with Hard Rock Bet. If you sign up today, double your winnings in your first 10 bets, max 50 bucks. So your winnings are doubled on your first 10 bet.

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concerned about gambling in Florida. Call 1888. Admit it. In Indiana, if you or somebody you know has a problem, wants help, call 1-800-9 with it. Gambling problem. Call 1-800-gambler, Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, New Jersey, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia. Hey, it's us, the Jonas brothers. And guess what? We have some big news. What's the news, name? Huge news. We created our own podcast called, Hey, Jonas. We invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to it. We're the first people to do podcasts. Pretty, yeah, pretty wide range of podcasts throughout there. But this one's extra special. So how did we actually come up with a name, Hey Jonas, guys? I honestly don't remember.

I think it was on a call about what we should call it. Well, we were thinking I'm originally calling it one of the early names of our band. Before Jonas Brothers. This is how you guys remember it going down? Yes. I have a very different memory of this. We were talking about a thing, a bit for the podcast,

where people could call in and say, hey, Jonas. And then I wrote down on my little notepad, Hey Jonas and offered it up as a potential title for the podcast. But thanks for remembering that, guys. Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. 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.

The French Open is one of the toughest tests in tennis. And I know firsthand because I competed there myself. I'm Renee Stubbs. And on the Renee Stubbs tennis podcast, I'm breaking down everything happening at Roland Garris. every match, every upset, and what it really takes to win on Clay. Jenshin win. I mean, she went down in three to Rabakina, but I'm delighted. She's an outsider to win the French for me.

And she likes Clay. Listen, Lina Rabakina is arguably the best player in the world right now, and I actually can win on any surface. Because if she's serving, well, good luck. Consider this your court side seat to the French Open. Listen to the Renee Stubbs tennis podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of I Heart Women's Sports.

Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines.

We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves. Their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context,

and ask the questions everybody wants answered. Sports Slice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to Sports Slice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo SlicLife 12 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. So in the last five years, the Ravens have blown the most fourth quarter elites.

Now, the last two, they're 17 and five if Lamar is playing and they lead in the fourth quarter. So they're better at it. But I get them saying, okay, we plan a division with Joe Burrow, you know, probably Aaron Rogers, Josh Allen, Mahomes, Herbert, C.J. Strouder in the division. I think what Baltimore is saying is, and I thought Green Bay did this as well. We're just going to go, it's our Mariano Rivera. We're going to go get a closer. Because I know what Bill Pullian told me this years ago, he said when we drafted Peyton Manning,

we knew we would lead most of our games in the fourth quarter. That's why Dwight Freeneing was so valuable. Is that, you know, Max, I said this the other day on FS1. Think how great Max Crosby was. How often do the Raiders lead in the fourth? Never. There's nine minutes to go. Teams are running the ball on the Raiders.

They're trying to kill the clock. They don't want players hurt. They're trying to get out of Vegas and go home. Max Krosby now is going to be his last 12 snaps are going to be sacked. But his last 12 snaps with the Raiders are usually, you know, it's a run play. So I think the Ravens are going to, listen, the bottom line is if Max is a monster for two years and they get to an AFC. championship, you're going to look at it and go worth it. The only thing, it's funny with the Raiders, John, and I, and I, you being a former scout,

so the Raiders have so many picks now. So two first, the second and a third, three, fourths, fifth, they could have multiple picks. But Tom Telesco told me this years ago, he said, you know, you have to be careful about being too young. You know, let's say you could trade a great player and get four picks. You said, I'd sometimes rather have three picks in a player. the Raiders are going to rebuild their franchise, but people should be patient.

But with that many picks, like I could see the Raiders, if they have three fourth round picks, I could see them using two of them and getting a second third. Like I look at the Raiders, and I think to myself in that division, it's not just about making sure your picks can play.

You need impact guys. I think one thing they have to do over the next, I don't know, three or four days is potentially overpay a high level veteran winning type guy. You know, get a guy who has been a part of a winner who is a high character, team leader. If you got to overpay them, and listen, they got advantages. People like living in Vegas, no state income tax.

It's not like a tough sell. And free agency and football, this isn't basketball or baseball. Like these guys go where you give them the most money. And I would imagine spite that because he came from Tampa where by the time Brady got there, they had the infrastructure. Tom just provided that veteran leadership. And now once he left, all those guys were equipped because they just watched Tom.

And then you had the Vita Veas. You had the, you know, Mike Evans was already a high-level guy. If I'm the Raiders, hey, Mike, who's offering you at what? What's the most you got at? 10? Hey, we'll offer you a 15. You know, you've already won at your Super Bowl. You're already going to the Hall of Fame.

We will overpay for what you bring in tangibly to our facility. Because, like you said, you can't put that all on Mendoza. You can't put that all on Cornell, Tate, or whoever you take with the 14th pick, you're going to need some guys for them to look up to. And that was Max, who is probably as good as anyone. And he's like him,

Fred Warner. Like it's a short list of like, you could not meet a human that can say a bad word about these guys. And then when you factor in how good of the player they are, but I thought that like it had come to the, you know the happiest three guys in the league, not in Baltimore. They're Jim Harbaugh and he read,

Sean Payton, because the Raiders have not been a good team, but they were a pain to play when Max was playing because he could just pull off. Those are three offensive guys, you know. Andy, I mean, talk to Andy about him. I mean, he reveres Max. I think I read something, Sean Payton,

set Max Crosby a text yesterday. So, I mean, these guys, they don't just, they're pretty numb to good players, right? They view Max as, like, high level respect because they also know how bad that team's been and how good. Remember, we turn on like random Friday night, Black Friday, or was it Christmas Eve games? And the Raiders are playing the Broncos.

it's like, God, this is hard, you know, because Max. Yeah. Yeah. No, they often play the Chiefs and the Broncos tight. You know, the other thing I thought about, think about Joe Burrell. So they let Trey Hendrickson walk. Instead of trading him for a really good player, like the Raiders John Spitech smartly, did he got two first round picks out of it.

The Bengals, classic bingles, let Trey Hendrickson, who's not as good as Max Crosby, but is a very good player. They let him walk. So Burrow now in his division has Max Crosby twice a year, Miles Garrett twice a year, and DJ Watt twice a year, and his rush end is gone. I have theorized with, I just saw a picture of, it was Joe Burrow, I think it's this offseason in Vegas playing with some like celebrity, beautiful woman, just Galba. And my take is Burrow, just for his sanity, has really enjoyed his office. seasons because I think deep down he knows, you know, I'm not playing with the same level of scouting department. We don't make deals during the deadline. I mean, letting Trey Hendrickson

walk and getting nothing for him, it's just, to me, it's outrageous. And I think sometimes fans don't understand, like, the most exciting thing about the Raiders is not Fernando Mendoza. And it's not Clint Kubiak. It's John SpyTech. You have a competent general manager who's deal-making. So I don't know. I look at the Bengals letting Trey Hendrickson walk, and I look at Joe Burr and I think, God, that division. And that Bengals, for the record,

have a bottom 10 offensive line adding to it. I at this point in time, I mean, he signed a contract with a pretty questionable organization. Now, you're young. They offer you a ton of money. It's easy to say, looking back several years, you know what you're signing up for. It does inevitably have a feel of like,

is Sean McVeigh trading three-ones, three-twos and three-threes for him next off-season when he kind of makes a stink and demands a trade. I mean, this this thing feels headed toward a weird spot. Now, offensively, they are pretty good, you know, defensively, some major question marks still. But, I mean, they were kind of in the mix in a weird way, you know, the last couple of years with a lot of flaws. So now, Joe's got to say healthy as well. But I hear you. I mean, I still think they could be competitive. If he played 17 games, they're going to be a playoff level competitive team. Yeah.

I have been very encouraged. Free agency officially starts Wednesday, but the McDuffie move, the Max Crosby move, the DJ Moore move. Tyler Lindabom is, I think if you're paying Lamar and Max is going to be hard. And Kyle Hamilton,

it's going to be very hard to pay your center, what the market's going to offer. I think that's the next big shoe to drop the Giants or the Raiders, get Tyler Lindelbaum. Is there anything else out there, a bomb dropping that you would, you think could happen? I do think once DJ Moore goes for pick 60, you know, how he goes, well, if I'm going to trade AJ Brown, I got to get at least a top 40 pick, right?

So it gets pretty complicated. Most of the teams drafting, you know, from like 32 to 39, 40 aren't good. AJ doesn't make that much sense to them. And then you get into the high 20s, like who's trading, you know, would Kansas City? trade pick 29 for A.G. Brown. I don't financially, some of these things become a little complicated. But the other thing is Al Pierce. I mean, when Daniel was healthy, he was really good.

And I saw Albert Breer make this point somewhere that Mike Vrable's best friend is the Wisconsin head coach, Fickle. And Fickle was the coach of Cincinnati when he was there. I mean, this is a six three guy that can run and go deep. Well, what does Drake may do well, go deep? What do they just do get rid of Stefan Diggs? So they're wider. now they do have Kyle Williams, the Washington State guy, who's also a vertical threat. I would be stunned if the Patriots aren't highly, you know, interested in Alec Pierce.

But there's also, you know, most of these guys, Max Crosby would talk about getting traded, right? McDuffie, there was clear some rumblings, like they probably weren't going to resign them that they would trade him. DJ Moore was clear that they were going to pick one of their offensive. Yes. There has, I mean, these GMs are really aggressive. This has turned much more into baseball. and there are howie when I was around howie he was an outlier he was ready to do deals no one would do deals now it feels like there's 25 guys willing to make moves at any moment as big money moves these

owners have way more money so they'll trade salaries they don't care about previous signing bonuses i would get ready for just there are going to be a couple wild cards these next got there been some rumors about jalen carter the eagles guy because he's going to want 40 45 million a year so it's like are you comfortable investing in the human being because the player's excellent. But the human, it's a risky. Well, and the other thing, this is one of the criticisms I've had with the NBA, and I don't think Adam Silver, Adam Silver is so concerned about tanking and dynasties that the NBA now has been replaced by the NFL and baseball with trades.

Baseball and NFL guys are GMs are wild day traders. The NBA, You can't make these big sweeping deals anymore because of the aprons. And so it's like, God, the NBA does so many things. Like people like dynasties. We're more distracted because of our phone. It's like NBA, you want the Knicks and the Lakers to be good. You really want them to be good. I'm watching what these GMs are doing in the NFL.

John, this used to be what the NBA did eight years ago. Huge stars trading teams. I know. It's really crazy what it's, become because even within its own conference like max and now the raiders aren't a threat but in your own conference yeah man i i do think the influx of money i mean i i tweeted this out yesterday i think one thing football obviously has a lot going for it and it's thriving right now it does feel the majority of their players really really care and are really really invested

and like you say when these trades happen all these guys react they're just very invested into the game They're always, you watch these guys Twitter accounts during college football Saturday. I mean, they, you can't really play football without being an all-in football guy. You can't for a minute, but you will get exposed. You can't have long careers. Most of the top guys are kind of junkies, you know, I mean, and I think you watch Max Crosby talking, hearing these stories about Trent McDuffie. I mean, these guys are just all in.

I think one thing that hurts the NBA, feels like half the people don't care. And I'm not even just talking about the players. the coaches, the GMs, they're actively trying. It's like, do you guys care as much as the people watching your sport? Because if you don't, if the entertainment doesn't care, the consumer's not going to care. And the one thing football has, we know the stories are well documented about the coaches, how they're maniacal workers. It feels like the players aren't that far behind.

So it's like, God, they're as invested as I am watching these games and fall in this sport. Here are two or three things that fans, the ratings, and the. clicks prove fans love. Big trades. NBA doesn't have them. Dynasties. Baseball, NFL, regularly has them. And massive passion. Well, load management has been outrageous in the NBA for like eight to ten years. Just think about the things that, and this isn't just a dump on the NBA, but don't overthink the room on this shit. Dynasties, big trades, guys that live, that cry after losses that deeply care. You're not getting that with James Harden.

Like, you're not getting that with the NBA. So I thought that the Max Crosby comments were very symbolic of why we love football. I think you really touch on something. I think, and I've been bringing Max on a couple times a year for years. I'd see him at every UFC fight I went to. He would talk to anybody anytime. Same with Christian McCaffrey. You come up and talk to Christian McCaffrey, you'll talk your ear off.

And I think that's just a relatability that matters. And think about this, and I'm going to talk about this on my podcast, is that McCaffrey, you know, comes from, I don't want to say NFL royalty, but Ed was a really good NFL player, went to Stanford. Like Christian, it would. Max, to me, represents the NFL. And honestly, kind of society, didn't go to a school that most people have heard about, was not draft. He wasn't even the first defensive end. His own team took in that draft. They took Cleveland Farrell in the, you know, top five.

And when the dust settles, he just keeps grinding. He had issues off the field, fix that, became a great husband, became a focused guy, started laughing people. And as he got older, started taking people out in the dust because that's the NFL, came from a school that wasn't Alabama or USC, then all of a sudden you look up, the guys made nine Pro Bowls and $200 million. Kaleo Mac just made, I googled it yesterday. I'm like, how much money is this guy made?

but at the end of next year he'll have made $220 million. Played at Buffalo. And he's still great. He looks incredible. The last year, if it wouldn't have been for the elbow injury, probably it's 10 sacks. So it's like the NFL is full of guys that, yes,

you're going to get, you know, you're paid Manning from the SEC number one pick. But you're also going to get a guy that was a one-year starter that's drafted in the sixth round, become your greatest quarterback of all time. You know, Joe Montana forever. He was a third-round pick who's six,

foot one. You know, it's like guys come in all shapes and sizes. They come all different paths. In football, it's not like some guys have early good starts. Like check in after four or five years because the NFL year in, year out to be a really good player, especially in the trenches or a quarterback or a linebacker. It is. And the other thing, I just think there's a nature of the sport, whether it's high school, college, or the NFL, even with NIO, you're still getting yelled at at practice. There's a nature. Your teammates are yelling at you. there's a humility that just comes along with being criticized by your peers and by your bosses every single day, which I just think happens less and less all over, you could argue, society.

And I think that helps these NFL guys. They just feel very relatable when you see them in social settings with just normal everyday people that they can interact. I'd say most of them pretty easily. Well, that's why people are so down on Kyler Murray is he's such an outlier where you're not sure he loves the sport. that's so rare in football. That's very common in the NBA where guys at 4 o'clock call up and say, I got to,

my ankle hurts. You know, I took a nap, my ankle hurts. And they don't, you know, and I don't, I'm not saying they're lying, but it's just like you don't play through certain things. So that's why to me, Kyle, to anyway, so you have, like I wouldn't be in that business. And if you are in the business, whoever does sign them,

it shows that that team's pretty desperate, you know, pretty desperate. Hey, it's us, the Jonas Brothers. And guess what? We have some big news. What's the news, name? Huge news. We created our own podcast called, Hey Jonas.

We invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to it. We're the first people to do podcasts. Pretty, yeah, pretty wide range of podcasts throughout there. But this one's extra special. So how do we actually come up with a name, Hey Jonas, guys? I honestly don't remember.

I think it was on a call about what we should call it. And we were thinking I'm originally calling it. one of the early names of our band before Jonas Brothers was... This is how you guys remember it going down? Yes. I have a very different memory of this.

We were talking about a thing, a bit for the podcast, where people could call in and say, Hey, Jonas. And then I wrote down on my little notepad, Hey Jonas, and offered it up as a potential title for the podcast.

But thanks for remembering that, guys. Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. 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 I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

The French Open is one of the toughest tests in tennis, and I know firsthand because I competed there myself. I'm Renee Stubbs, and on the Renee Stubbs Tennis podcast, I'm breaking down everything happening at Roland Garris. Every match, every upset, and what it really takes to win on clay. Jenchian win. I mean, she went down in three to Rabakina, but I'm delighted. She's an outsider to win the French for me. And she likes Clay. Listen, Lerner Rabakina is arguably the best player in the world right now.

and I actually can win on any surface. Because if she's serving, well, good luck. Consider this your court side seat to the French Open. Listen to the Renee Stubbs tennis podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHart Women's Sports. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind.

Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise. Breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves. Their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real.

From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context and ask the questions everybody wants answered. Sports slice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people. who live them. Listen to Sports Slice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Sliced Life 12 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. All right.

Let's start with this. Okay, I know he only has six starts. NFL free agency, Malik Willis, $22 million a year, three-year deal with the dolphins. He is not Tua. Stop saying that. He's a real athlete with a better arm. he's got a much better arm than two and he's really athletic i know he's young i like him i i you know john i've said this for years i don't know anything about music other than i like it i can watch

these musical shows i can tell him 30 seconds of somebody has like lounge act or you could sign him to a record deal and i don't know anything about music i know a little about football when i watch that kid's escapability arm he's got i mean he's got i mean he's got again, it's the, it's Green Bay, so he was well coached, but there were Packer fans saying they thought he was as good or better than Jordan Love. I think the Dolphins went and found a very interesting player at quarterback. Well, the other thing is the people that just signed him know him. And it's not the offensive coach, the defensive coordinator that went against him forever because, you know, in the NFL, when you're the backup quarterback, you run the, you run the scout team, you service the defense. So Jeff Hathley had a front row seat for two years.

And the general manager who was the right-hand guy for Goudicans, same thing, right, from an evaluation standpoint. Do you remember a guy improving this much, this fast? Because remember what Tennessee, he was pretty bad. Like, he was unplayable. And then last year when he had to play, he was basically just a running quarterback when LaFour, remember, because he got hurt in week one in Brazil, loved it. And then he had to play. And they started winning. She was like, okay, there's at least something there.

I gave LaFleur a lot of credit. This year to me with his arm was fantastic because he proved two things. One, he could come out of the bullpen. So he played in a game when Love got hurt against the Bears that he was not planning on playing. And then let's face it, Love was kind of hit or miss this year. In that game, he was fantastic.

And the cold weather, which is a big knock on Tua and a big knock on the Miami Dolphins, can't play in cold weather. Well, why is that the case usually? When you have a pea shooter arm, what doesn't pierce the cold in the wind? weak arm strength. Look at the great quarterbacks, you know, historically in that region, Big Ben, Tom Brady, Peyton Manning and Breeze played in a dome. Rivers played in Southern California. Eli Manning, huge arm. Where did he play? New York. You know, Donovan McNabb, Michael Vic, Patrick Mahomes, Cold Weather quarterbacks. Burroughs somewhat of an outlier, not a great arm,

but he's just, he's like Montana, just a great player. So it kind of translates. But I'm with you. I not only like it, I think it's an incredible story of just, improvement. Clearly, he was always a high character, interesting human, but the play was really raw when Tennessee drafted him. But LaFleur deserves a lot of credit because that offensive staff improving the player deserves a lot of credit. Incredible story. I'm with you. I think no brainer for him. Miami to me is more interesting than going to, than Arizona. So I like picking the spot and you know the guys know you and believe in you. So it wouldn't shock me at all if he, I don't think he becomes like a top seven, eight quarterback. but has just a solid career. Like what we saw last year,

there is no disputing. He was a really good player in limited action, really good. Yeah, and it should be noted that Sam Darnold and Baker Mayfield, you know, we've seen this before. There's more good offensive coaches. There's more sophisticated schemes. If you're a hardworking kid, you're not gobbling up, you know, too much cap space, although they have to pay two off for two years.

so I think we both like it. All right, here's another one. Mike Evans to the 49ers. So he is a big red zone target. They have been hit and miss on receivers. I thought they overplayed their hand on Debo. He was good briefly, got hurt, moved him. Iuk's a disaster.

Ricky Piersall's solid, not great, but, you know, late first round pick. Mike Evans, red zone guy, Kittle, McCaffrey, Trent Williams. It's again, older player picks up the playbook with Kyle Shanahan quickly, a playmaker. It feels like Kyle Shanahan doesn't have a ton of patience with young players. He likes guys. Yeah, I mean, it feels like to me he likes veteran players. So Mike Evans to the Niners, again, this gives Brock Purdy another weapon.

Feels like it works to me. Yeah, fits their kind of mold, high character, high level guy, very productive. You know, Fred Warner, Christian McCaffrey, like that type human slash player. Ricky Pearsall is a good player. He just can't stay on the field. And Juan Jennings is going to get a lot of money. So the IU thing blew up in their face. Yeah, I mean, they have a major question mark at the wide receiver position.

And the other thing is the Rams are loading up on their defensive backfield. So I think the 49ers had to do something offensively. Because you saw in those last couple games against Seattle, obviously Kittle went down in the second game, but they just had no firepower. and the one thing you have to do, the Rams prove this. If you have some firepower, this is not 1987.

The rules are on your side as an offensive coach, but they were rolling out practice squad level guys. So you get Mike Evans a future Hall of Famer. Love that move. Doesn't shock me at all. I mean, the 49ers at this point in time haven't been that active the last couple of years in free agency, but that's a Kyle Shanahan type guy for sure.

Yeah, I mean, it's, listen, the entire team gets nicked up. I mean, there's been stories about some right next to their practice facility. There's a substation, which weakens tissues. I don't know if it's true. But to me, he feels so 49ers. All right, let me throw another one at you. We talked about this yesterday.

Tyler Lindelbaum, I'm not sure why Baltimore didn't sign him, probably because they have a Lamar contract renegotiation coming up, renegotiation coming up. Max Crosby is expensive. Kyle Hamilton. Outside of Creed Humphrey of the Chiefs, There's an argument. Tyler Linderbaum is the best center in football.

I thought they were going to resign him. He was a first round pick out of Iowa, tough, smart, durable, doesn't miss a lot of starts. I love, this is an A-plus move to me by the Raiders because this is what Ben Johnson did with the Bears. You know, they drafted JPJ out of Oregon last year. He's more of a guard. He was a center in college. He's more of a guard. Then they bring in a pro bowl center.

for Fernando Mendoza. Now their offense, basically, they'll probably, they have so many picks, they'll probably get a receiver in the second or third round. They'll also probably draft a right tackle, fourth, fifth round. I love this. To me, this is my favorite signing so far in free agency.

Well, look at all the good teams, right? The Ravens for the last four years have had one of the best centers. The chiefs have one of the best centers. The bills just paid their center. Like, I mean, center kind of matters, especially when you have a young quarterback. and I think if you're a Raider fan, you look at it, go, we essentially traded Max Crosby for two first round picks,

one being 14 and a center, who's one of the better centers in the league. I just looked, he hasn't missed a snap really in the last two years. So this is a very durable, classic like Midwest center, right? The other thing is, I would say this for the Raven standpoint, he was banged up last year, but the previous two years, when you factor in the center, obviously,

was an excellent player and likely, who accounted for 11 touchdowns, 23 and 24 was very productive in their two playoff or their two playoff runs those two years. Like he's not Kelsey or Kittle or anything, but he was a unique player for them and made huge plays. Even the play that led to the Miss Field goal against Pittsburgh on that Sunday night game, who made the crazy catch? Isaiah likely. How many teams have a six-six guy? I mean, he kind of plays like a little Darren Waller, basketball player, elite athlete. You just, You don't need to be that accurate.

Just throw them a 50-50 ball because it's not a 50-50 ball. So there are some injury concerns. He's not the most durable player. He is a unique player, though. So you tell me the Ravens on offense with this 29-year-old aging quarterback, new offensive coordinator, lose their, you know, kind of just stalwart guy at center and this unique chest piece with likely, you know, Henry still got something in the tank, but he's a little older. Zay Flowers isn't exactly Jerry.

Rice, good player. But I mean, their offense has some question marks, assuming their defense will improve, which it will. But I don't know. That's, that's to me something to keep an eye on with the Ravens who are clearly trying, you know, we talked about this last night, right? Super Bowl or bust. I mean, making it to the Super Bowl. They're in this little couple year window now of them and the bills. There's no, well, we made the playoffs. That's not really their standard in their organization now. Roshan Gary to Dallas, Russia off the edge. I mean, listen, Quinnon Williams, Kenny Clark,

and the trade for Micah Parsons, Rishon Gary. It allows them to go get a corner and maybe a Caleb Downs in the draft in the first round. I mean, that's what it feels like to me is that they're going to buy, you know, they're going to spend money defensively up front. They don't want to wait for developing players. Jerry Jones is getting older. Dax getting older. So they're going to go buy veteran players up front, which they have.

and then they're going to draft on the back end. I still think they're going to draft defensive players with their picks in the first round. Yeah, I think clearly there's going to be a good defensive back there with their first pick, which is, what is it, 13? Like they're going to get, Caleb Downs, definitely, there's a chance he's there when you factor in. Or one of the two best corners. Yeah. They're going to get, and I think at pick 20 gives them a little leeway of just, they can take a great player,

right, who doesn't have to be a position in need. Say this about the Cowboys. They've drafted pretty well. especially in the first round from Zach Martin, you know, Zeke was really good, obviously C.D. Lamb. Well, Tyler Smith has become a good player. Tyler, all their offensive linemen have become, you know, starters for their team. So one thing you'd say about Jerry and the front office operation, Jerry's not the guy breaking down seven games on every player, right? Now, he's the guy front and center when the press conference comes, but they have a really good scouting staff.

So I think the Cowboys, I was just texting somebody. I think the Giants, this NFC East, you know, the Eagles. They lose Jalen Phillips. Their pass rush when they won the Super Bowl a couple years ago was like historically great. I think they have four guys get double-digit sacks. Well, since then, Brandon Graham, retired, came back, probably retire again.

Fletcher Cox is gone. Obviously, sweat is now on the Cardinals. They have this Jalen Carter situation, who is an elite talent, but they are very uncomfortable paying him $40, $45 million. So it's like, now you look at the giants who have some stability. The Cowboys offensively have been. been fantastic.

Schottenheimer proved, like he's a pretty good offensive play call. If their defense is just solid, they're going to be a pretty interesting team. So you got to have the Giants and the Cowboys. Like that division is going to be to me dramatically more competitive than I would say it's been over the last 10 years

when it's basically just been the Eagles or those couple years with McCarthy when the Cowboys were pretty loaded. But now the commanders, I think commanders still have a lot of question marks. I think they clearly wanted Linderbom, but what did the Raiders have? No state income tax can offer a huge amount of money. you just have a fresh slate here.

Come, you get to be the team captain. So the commanders had cut their center. He's now on the Chargers. I'm sure they wanted Linderbombs. They don't have that. The roster's kind of old to begin with. So the Eagles just got a lot of moving parts. Now, they still got a lot of talents and talent and the NFL matters.

But, man, there's just that division to me has gotten a lot more interesting in the last couple months, I will say. Today's show is brought to you by our presenting sponsor American beverage. If you think about some of the most iconic drinks in the country, the ones you grab at a barbecue, the ones you raise to celebrate your team that have been part of your story for decades, Coke, Dr. Pepper, Pepsi, there's something people don't always think about.

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still investing, still operating in communities around the country. So if you care about strong local economies and companies that walk to walk, check out the good work and what they're doing at we deliver for America.org. Kenneth Walker from Seattle to Kansas City. again, he's great after contact, gets dinged up, but they have no juice. They're losing backs to free agency. They have no juice in the backfield. I also thought this made sense because they don't have a ton of draft picks, but it allows them now.

Their first pick could be the right tackle, Fano from Utah. They need a corner for McDuffie. They need an edge rusher. They have three big needs now with Kenneth Walker. They'll probably draft another running back later in the draft. It's not a good running back draft. So, I mean, to me, Kenneth Walker is. more valuable. This sounds weird to say as a Super Bowl MVP, but I think because of Charbonnet with

Seahawks as a backup, they have another couple backs in Seattle that are, you know, spot players. They don't play a ton. But I think Kenneth Walker to the Chiefs feels incredibly valuable. And with Seattle, not that he was disposable, but they have such a stacked roster, it feels like if they, if they drafted another running back in the fourth round, one of the, a Penn State running back in the third round, you're like, they're fine. I think Kansas City had to do. do this. Yeah, I don't think they had a choice either. I think it's pretty clear to them, too. I don't think they would have taken Jeremiah Love, but at this point in time, you're weighing all your options. I think they understand that that wasn't even going to be

an option at Pick 9. So you go quote unquote overpay. I mean, they gave them a substantial amount of money. Three years, $45 million, almost guaranteed in 30. Remember a couple of years ago, that was essentially what Howie Roseman gave Statelaw at Berkeley. So these running backs, they've been on Zoom calls, always bitching them on and they don't get any money. Like, Business has been a lot better the last couple of years. The funny is gravitated toward them. Listen, the Chiefs, they weren't going to let Baltimore and Buffalo have all the fun. Like Andy Reid, they don't plan on, I know a lot of people talk about this.

I'll just have an off year and they ain't mailing anything in. Their game plan is Mahomes starting week one. They plan on winning. They get a plug and play running back. Now, one thing that he's going to have to prove he can do, Andy likes throwing the ball to the back, right? Shady McCoy, Brian Westbrook, Jamal Charles when he first got to... That's not what Walker does.

So it's like now, could they maybe want to adapt a little bit to take some pressure? Who'd they bring back? Eric B. Enemy, what's he? A running back guy. Right? So maybe they want to take a little pressure off,

coming off an injury, right? Coming off an ACL, they're not going to want him to throw 40, 50 times a game like he did earlier in his career. So could they maybe try to lean on Kenneth Walker a little bit more? Now, that would be very opposite of Andy's history. But listen, what do you count to people in any industry do? They adapt, they change. Andy's changed how many times his offense. His offense now, ask anyone,

is dramatically different than it was 10 years ago, 20 years ago. So what if you tell everyone, I don't think many people in the league would believe you, they're a rushing team this year, right? They got a good guard. They got a good center. They got a young, left tackle. Like you said, what if they draft a right tackle and if they go, you know what? Why don't we do some Kyle Shanahan and just run the ball, take a little pressure off our quarterback, build up our young defense with our stud coordinator. So what if the chiefs are, their game plan this year is to be one of the better rushing teams?

Look at, you know, the bills with Cook. Now, Cook's a better player than Walker, but what if the chiefs are about to throw a little curveball here and become a running offense? Do you think Travis Kelsey signs with them or somebody else? Well, I thought he was going to go to the Giants and then they signed likely. Well, that's not happening. I mean, by all accounts, maybe they're just as a tie that I. undervalue a little bit. This is a unique player with a unique connection to Andy and the

Chiefs. And for the right price, I mean, at this point in time, he's, he's so wealthy on and off the field that maybe he's just cool with like, hey, man, I understand I'm not a $15 million year player anymore. Could we go like five and incentivize that up if I give you 10 touchdowns? But this is where I want to be. These are my people, which I value. I think I do understand from a player standpoint of seeing some, you know, Kobe Bryant types, like this is the only franchise I ever played with, even though historically, that's not really how the NFL work. So I am a little surprised if it does work out. But I think the reason that we haven't seen it yet is the chiefs aren't just going to, well, Travis, here's the check. You fill it in.

Like those days are kind of over because he wasn't great last year, Colin. I mean, the drops, he definitely looked his age. I think he got to be very careful. And Andy has been over the course of his career of kind of, you know, separating the emotional connection to the human in the past. Right. But this might just be a really tough one given that, I mean, Andy says, well, I might owe some Super Bowls to this guy, right? I mean, I do, listen, we're all human beings. So I, this is probably really tough internally for Veech and Andy.

This is most players, they'd say, hey, see you. Godspeed, good luck, get what you can. Because this is, this is a little abnormal to what good teams do in the NFL. right but maybe there is just a connection that unless you really in that building with these guys every day that i i even undervalue from the outside so um Alex Pierce one of the moves I I think Alex Pierce is Alex Pierce is very good at a Cincinnati 29 million a year is a lot for him that that's a little steep and the sauce gardener two first round picks for sauce gardener people thought that was too much so suddenly Chris Ballard is hyper aggressive the

Steelers get Michael Pittman, which they needed a number two receiver. You know what that feels like to me? The Michael Pittman of the Steelers from the Colts. First of all, it frees up room for Pierce, who's a better downfield receiver. I think he's a faster guy. Pitman's a big, strong. Pittman almost felt like a great two. Pierce feels like a middle one. I mean, that's my interpretation, that they really like Pierce. And he can really move. Pitman's a very tough, durable. You know, his dad was a running back for Tampa. Pitman was a great player at USC, tough, motivated self-starter, always liked him. But that feels like a Mike McCarthy bang the table. So the Steelers are paying D.K. Metcalf and Michael Pittman. Suddenly Pittsburgh now has got an

offensive staff that you've heard of them before. Now they've got two expensive wide receivers. I don't know. It feels like that's a Mike McCarthy bang the table move, that Pittsburgh has been the highest spending defense for, I think, four years in a row. And I've argued for years, just move your money to offense. That's what teams like the Rams are doing. So Pittman to the Steelers, to me, it's sort of a changing of the, not only the guard, but changing of the tide where they're moving offensive money over. Shoot your shot, get paid double, only on hard rock bet. Hard rock bet is Florida's only legal way to bet the NBA, teams, players, points, and more.

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