The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Colin Cowherd Podcast - INSTANT REACTION: NFL Free Agency Frenzy, Kirk Cousins to Falcons, Barkley and Jacobs In Perfect Situations

Episode Date: March 11, 2024

Colin reacts to a flurry of free agency moves in the NFL!   First, he parses how free agency has changed with a huge influx of money into the league (3:00).. He breaks down why Kirk Cousins leaving the NFC North for the Falcons makes total sense (6:30), and why an infusion of youth in front offices has meant teams are more willing to take big swings (9:15) He floats a theory for a reunion between Aaron Rodgers and one of his best friends from the Packers in New York (14:30) and why the market for Justin Fields has been so thin (17:00). He explains why leaving the Bengals may not make sense for Tee Higgins (19:00) and why Josh Jacobs and Saquon Barkley have landed in perfect spots (21:00). (Timestamps may vary based on advertisements.) Follow Colin and The Volume on Twitter for the latest content and updates! #Volume #HerdSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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I think my first takeaway is the money in the NFL, no, there are guards making what quarterbacks did 10 years ago. The explosion of revenue in the NFL based on your draft kings, your sports gambling money, and your TV contracts is enormous. I also think what's important to note, anybody connected to a quarterback, a quarterback, protecting a quarterback, or pursuing a quarterback is going to get paid.

Safeties, the furthest from a quarterback, are not getting paid. Look around right now. Safeties, pretty good safeties, are being let go. They're the furthest player from a quarterback. I mean, I don't know where Jamal Adams goes, of the Seahawks,

formerly the Jets, who pays for him. But yet guards are getting paid. The Rams now have two Pro Bowl-Level-level expensive guards as they'll move another guard to center. They're protecting an older quarterback, his knees. Quarterbacks need to be protected, and that's where the money's going. The other thing of influence that jumps out to me is that the influence of the head coach. So a great example.

Matt Lefleur is an offensive coach. He goes and convinces the front office. I can make Josh Jacobs work. Now, Aaron Jones is very good. He's let go, probably too often banged up. Now, Josh Jacobs has also had some injuries, but he may view Josh Jacobs as a better version of a good player, Aaron Jones, so they make the call. Rams, offensive coach, go get another expensive guard, Jonah Jackson, who is a terrific

young, late 20-year-old guard. Would a defensive coach pay that kind of? money or have that influence to want two expensive guards. Antonio Pierce, defensive coach, goes to Mark Davis and says, hey, get me in this division against Herbert and Mahomes, get me an expensive $100 million interior lineman, Christian Wilkins, 85 million guaranteed. You see the influence. Gabe Davis, an inconsistent receiver.

Doug Peterson, offensive coach, convinces his front office. Get me Gabe Davis. let's pay him $40 million. Jim Harbaugh. This is not a surprise. Harbaugh is willing. In fact, I think we talked about this about two weeks ago. He wants a running back.

He wants some power football. He goes and gives Gus Edwards, Baltimore, a two-year deal. Offensive coach. You see the influence. The guys making money in this league are not general managers. It's quarterbacks and head coaches are making $15 million, $10,000, $20,000, $30, $40 million a year. They have real power in the building. Those defensive coaches, they're going to, I mean, Mike Tomlin, look at all the money the

Steelers spend on the defensive side. Now look at the, look at the Rams. Outside of Aaron Donald, they're not paying anybody on defense. They're going to pay Cooper Cup. Matt Stafford, two guards, Rob Havenstein. They pay their tight end. See where the money goes? Mike Tomlin, it's the defensive guy is getting paid.

So that tells you the influence of the head coach. In terms of moves that will impact wins, well, none of these teams are going to pay this money if they don't think it makes the team better. So we can all kind of admit that. Listen, I think Kirk Cousins to Atlanta, is it more than I'd like to pay? Yes, but the market for Kirk Cousins was going to be $40 million up. And he's going to get about $45 million for Atlanta. He has tremendous value in Atlanta, tremendous value. Defensive coach, weaker division. He'll be a lot of arguably the best quarterback in that division. They have young offensive players that need guidance. That's tremendous value. But in Minnesota, where he's not as younger talented as Jared Goff,

looks like Jordan Love has a chance to be more talented and more productive than him. Caleb Williams is coming into the fold, and they look at it in Minnesota and say, we have two good receivers, a great left tackle, very good tight end, excellent offensive coach. We don't need to and $45 million for Kirk Cousins. We're going to go get maybe a Sam Darnold on the cheap, draft a quarterback, kind of reset our quarterback clock. So Kirk Cousins' value in Atlanta is pretty strong. Young team, defensive coach, weaker division, where you drop 27 points,

you can win a lot of games in that division. In the NFC North, you got Caleb Williams coming in, and regardless of what anybody says, bears have some talent now. Bears have some talent. You also have Jordan Love and the Packers. Their talent overwhelmingly now with Josh Jacobs on the offensive side. Detroit, stacked offensively. Best offensive line in the league.

Ben Johnson, great coordinator. Amaran St. Brown, Penaise Sewell, a tremendous young running back, Jared Gough. So the value for Kirk Cousins in Minnesota, let's go get a J.J. McCarthy. Let's go get a Pennix. And then Sam Darnold, reset the quarterback clock. Sam Darnold on the cheap. So it just depends on who the coach is. I think, again, if you're a quarterback, protecting the quarterback, pursuing a quarterback,

connected to the quarterback, you're going to make a lot of money. And the league is on fire. It's just, I'm looking at some of these moves. Gardner Minshu went to the Raiders in that division. Good luck. But Antonio Pierce is going to spend a fortune on a defensive tackle, Christian Wilkins. They get two years 25 million on the cheap. They go and get a quarterback.

I don't think Sean McVeigh or Matt LaFlewer, Not that they need Gardner Minch. I don't think they would go sign a two-year deal with Gardner Minchew. That's not their answer. So you just see the importance offensive coaches put on a valuable back, a tackle, a weapon, a quarterback. All of it's fun, though, isn't it? You know, one of the things the NFL has created through the years is there's a lot more young general managers. And years ago, you just didn't see this kind of activity.

older general managers, very reluctant to take some swings on this stuff. But with the youth in free agency and the youth in coaches, a lot of these less need in Sean McVeigh and John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan, you know, these guys are close. They have each other's back. They work in unison and they're aggressive people. Younger people in society tend to be a bit more, some would say reckless, but more aggressive, you know, than older people. So I love what it is right now we're seeing in the the NFL, some big swings. And there's not a single move. Let me look at, try to be critical here of a move. I don't know. I'm looking over, again, we could have 12 new ones by the time I'm done reading this. Gabe Davis, three years, 40 million of Jacksonville is pretty pricey. That probably means they're moving off Ridley or a Christian Kirk, both of who I like. That's a little pricey for me. But it's Trevor Lawrence, got a lot invested. Doug Peterson's going to spend money on a offense to make that work. So I get it. Little pricey for my taste. Now, Rams pay Jonah Jackson, the former Lions Guard, three years, 50 million. You say, oh, that's expensive. They already have

Kevin Dotson, but they're moving, their excellent rookie guard last year, they're going to move him to center. So it makes sense, right? You're not paying your left tackle. Now you're not paying your center yet. You're paying your guards to protect Matt Stafford. I get it. I guess those two you could say are at the higher end, the price point, nothing bothers me. I will say, I like Aaron Jones of the Packers a lot. I also like Josh Jacobs of Green Bay. Aaron Jones is a good football player. Where do you go with a running back? Like Austin Echler, free agent, Aaron Jones, Congori wants to go. I like Aaron Jones a lot. That's a really good player out there. These young general managers, though, a lot of these guys, if not analytics, they're going to push back on safety.

They're going to push back on off-ball linebackers. They're going to push back on running backs. That's what they're going to do. Matt Lefleur goes the opposite way. He pays for Josh Jacobs. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque.

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Here's an interesting one. So the Packers released David Boktiari. So he's missed 41 games in three years. He was really good in his prime, but he can't stay healthy. We know Aaron Rogers has a history of wanting his buddies to play. with him and not necessarily his great buddies. Randall Cobb at once, very productive, past his prime. I guarantee you he'd love Bakhtiari to protect him for a game, Alan Lazard. So again, I could see Bakhtiari coming over and the Jets still drafting a left tackle and

Bakhtiari being there for some reassurance, some guidance, almost a coach to a rookie left tackle. Listen, Andrew Thomas for the Giants was a very good left tackle. He wasn't ready to play when he into the league. He got overwhelmed a bit. That is not an easy position to adapt to college to the pros left tackle. Quarterback left tackle. That is a lot to put on a 22-year-old's plate. I can see Bakhtiari going to the Jets for a year. Again, can't stay healthy. Would he take an incredibly team-friendly one-year deal? Aaron and David Bakhtiari are close. Green Bay made a lot of moves. But again, young aggressive head coach in a division where Detroit's got real talent, stacked roster. add Josh Jacobs, they release Aaron Jones, they lose Dornhill Savage and John Runyon, they release

David Boktiari, they add a safety Xavier, McKinney, a lot of movement in Green Bay, not known as a team that does make a lot of moves of note in the free agent period. So there are some names out there that have not committed yet or been signed yet, Justin Field from the Bears, I don't think he has a tremendous market. You're going to have to pay him within a year. Calvin Ridley, Jaguars ride receiver is going to be out there. Leonard Williams, defensive lineman for the Seahawks, Austin Echler Chargers, Ryan Tannahill, quarterback Titans. You know, Tannehill is interesting. So big, mobile, accurate, at one point was the number one seat in the AFC. It's interesting. If you had Ryan Tannahill or Justin Fields, now Tannihill's more expensive, who would you choose?

Well, kind of my belief is you can't worry too much about cost at quarterback. I mean, It's obviously if you're Minnesota, 45's too rich on Kirk Cousins, but it wouldn't be if he didn't have a surgery was three years younger and a little more mobile than you'd just pay it, right? Tanna Hill's interesting. If Tanna Hill and Justin Fields are your options, I mean, one has been a number one seed, one can't win games. Sounds crazy. Derek Henry of the Titans.

Again, I'd be interested, one or two-year deal. The Justin Field scenario is really interesting, right? He hasn't been signed yet. there are certainly arguments in his favor. Hey, it's the Bears, they can't get quarterback right. His first year to a year and a half, the offensive line was horrible. He had a first year defensive head coach. You know, the division has better teams and more experienced coaches.

Dan Campbell, Matt LaFleur. There are certainly arguments to be made that he could be better elsewhere. I think that's reasonable. I've said before. Sam Darnold reportedly is going to get a shot in Minnesota, with really nice offensive weapons, is Justin Fields worthy of another shot? I think so. Now, I thought Atlanta was his best space, but Seattle's still out there. I mean, it does say something that Antonio Pierce took Gardner Minshu over Justin Fields. Now, what's scary about Minshu is that he had one of the

smartest offensive coaches in the league, Shane Steichen. So is Min shoe a little overrefer. valued based on a brilliant offensive coach, and the Raiders aren't going to get nearly as good of productivity out of them now with a defensive head coach and a defensive culture. That argument makes a lot of sense to me. You know, that's why I always worry. So Kevin O'Connell is an offensive coach. They have Justin Jefferson. I mean, Kirk Cousins was on fire before the injury.

Now he goes to young offensive weapons and a defensive coach. It's realistic to think he won't be as productive. So in free agency, when you get a quarterback or a star receiver, like T. Higgins is out there, right? Potentially in a trade. Well, T. Higgins is going to go to a place. He's not going to Kansas City, I doubt. Now, if he got Mahomes, then spend some money.

But the truth is he has Joe Burrow. Okay. And then he has an offensive coach. And then he has Jammar Chase on the other side, drawing double teams. So T. Higgins' productivity. you could argue for a number two receiver, he's in a perfect space to be productive. Offensive coach, great quarterback, star receiver on the other side. Yeah, but what if he goes to an average quarterback?

What if T. Higgins ends up in New England? And he is the dominant one, draws double teams. They have a rookie quarterback. It's a defensive culture. Then T. Higgins could disappear. Tyree Kill was lucky. He went Andy Reed to Mike McDaniel. And Tyreeks great, but so much of this stuff is situational.

T. Higgins is at the perfect place for a number two receiver to eat. Burrow, the offensive coach, Jemar Chase. Perfect. No guarantees he would do that if he went to the Raiders. Now, I don't think he's going to the Raiders, but all this stuff is situational. Remember, only about 33%, I think the number is, a free agent's hit, right? That's it. So a lot of times you see a player and you look at him and go, well, how good is he going to be?

Like I think Sakewan Barclay to the Eagles could be productive. First of all, better offensive line in Philadelphia. Both the Giants and the Eagles have offensive coaches, but a better old line in Philadelphia. You have a better quarterback in Philly, less reliant on Sakewan Barclay, less predictable offense. You've also got two excellent wide receivers, Devonte Smith and A.J. Brown. Eagles always have good tight ends. so you can't glom onto and focus on a Saquan Berkeley like you could do with the New York Giants. So I think Saquan Berkeley could go to Philadelphia and you luck up and you're like, oh, I'm getting the best version of Saquan Berkeley.

You know, the wide receivers wide, keep the safeties out of the box. You have very productive pass catching tight ends in Philadelphia, a quarterback that can move. All of a sudden, Saquan Berkeley and Philadelphia, better offensive line, you may, be looking at a pole running back Saquan Barclay. If I'm Seekwan Barclay

today, I am fist pumping. Get me to Philadelphia. Get me the Eagles playbook. Better align, better weapons,

better quarterback. What's not to like? You can get fewer carries and be more productive. So, you know, like a lot of these

guys I look at, and I think, you know, sometimes a good player is a good player, but if I'm Josh Jacobs, for the Raiders,

And I get now an offensive coach over the last 10 years, better offensive lines. I would say a weaker defensive division. Okay. So, you know, you start looking at that division. Minnesota doesn't have a great defense. Detroit is mostly about offense. So I look at Josh Jacobs. And I think I go to a winning culture with winning momentum, an offensive coach.

I've got tremendous tight end and wide receiver. weapons young, and it looks like Jordan Love, again, here's a quarterback that can move. And now he's got some experience in the system and starting. I'm Josh Jacobs. So Saquan Barkley, Giants to the Eagles, Josh Jacobs, Raiders are the Packers. I'm a running back? I should be much more efficient, much more productive, perhaps even with fewer carries. Isn't that a running back's dream? Fewer carries, more production, more touchdowns. So there's an argument there that like a Barclay and a Josh Jacobs, Everybody's saying, you know, running backs, very sad. Nobody wants a running back.

Sequin Barclay and Josh Jacobs got great landing spots. I'd be shocked if both aren't more productive. I mean, Green Bay doesn't make moves in free agency, but Jordan loves 25, Jacobs 26, Musgrave the Tide End 23, read the receiver 23, Christian Watson, Romeo Dobbs. I mean, Green Bay's offense is going to be dynamic. for years. And they don't spend money in free agency. This, this, they just want to make sure they can get a running back that's healthy. If you don't like Green Bay's offense, I don't know what you're watching because they got nothing but young, dynamic, twitchy, fast, talented pieces. Tight end, running back, wide receiver quarterback.

The volume. Thanks so much for listening. If you've enjoyed the podcast, take a moment, rate and review. 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. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying.

Yep, that's me. Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifers Show. This is a place for raw,

unfilled conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. So let's get to it. Listen to the Clippert Show on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok podcast network on TikTok. On The Look Back at it podcast.

For 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84 was big to me. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a year, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. With our friends, fellow comedians, and favorite authors. Like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s. 84 was a wild year.

It was a wild year. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.