The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Hour 2 - Brock Purdy's contract

Episode Date: February 27, 2025

Brock Purdy isn't a great quarterback but is a great story and the Niners shouldn't break the bank to keep him Colin talks to Albert Breer about the news coming from the NFL CombineSee omnystudio.com/...listener for privacy information.

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Starting point is 00:00:00 This is an I-Heart 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.
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Starting point is 00:01:04 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 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 headlines. 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 SportsSlic on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.
Starting point is 00:01:34 And for more, follow Timbo Sliced Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Here's something that should not be as complicated as it is, getting a racist statue removed. And here's something that should be a whole lot easier than it is. Getting a new one put up in its place. I'm Akela Hughes, and Rebel Spirit season two is about both of those things. As I was watching these statues come down, I was thinking about what it meant that I grew up in a majority of black city. which there were more homages to enslavers than there were to enslave people. Listen to Rebel Spirit Season 2 on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Starting point is 00:02:09 Thanks for listening to The Heard podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weekday on Fox Sports Radio in noon to 3 Eastern, 9 a.m. to noon Pacific. Find your local station for the herd at Fox SportsRedia.com or stream us live every day on the IHeart Radio app by searching Fox Sports Radio or FSR. You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. Here we go. It's our two. Is it Thursday today, J. Mack?
Starting point is 00:02:40 It's Thursday. You know, I have so much fun on this show. It's just there all the same day. I can't tell. Anthony Edwards at the Lakers tonight. Are you going? You know, Finch could get me tickets. Work on your guys.
Starting point is 00:02:53 Are you going? I'm not. I can't go to two years. Then we have a men's league regular season. Oh, boy. All right. Okay. Okay.
Starting point is 00:03:00 All right. Watch out. I think this is very... Steve Sarkesian, Longhorn Football Coach, coming up in a couple of minutes. So I think this story on John Lynch, the Niners are negotiating with Brock Purdy. So I've said this before.
Starting point is 00:03:15 Do not confuse great story with great player. So Brock Purdy being the last guy taken in a draft and getting to a Super Bowl, that's a Disney movie. Don't hand him a great contract. because he's a great story. And last year, Christian McCaffrey gets dinged up. Brandon Ayuk is out.
Starting point is 00:03:39 You know, Trent Williams is hurt. Oh, little ice on the road and his car was spinning out of control. Suddenly he had 12 picks, fourth in the league. So last year against playoff teams, one and six, one and six, nine touchdowns, 10 picks, 18.9 points a game. So again, Dak Prescott was a great story. He got a great contract, and Dallas has been irrelevant since.
Starting point is 00:04:12 I like Brock Purdy. But again, the minute there was a little ice on the road, can you drive in bad weather? Can you drive on icy roads? Because that's what November, December, January football is in the NFL. I would give him a contract. I think he's a good kid. I think his superpower.
Starting point is 00:04:31 J. Mack talked about this yesterday. I think above the shoulders, the kid is really quick. I think cognitively, he's a really bright kid, and he gets it really quick. But listen, Andy Reid and Mahomes, once they paid Patrick Mahomes, Andy Reid and Mahomes have struggled the last two years to score points. Okay? That's what happens when you pay the quarterback. You're going to have to make big-time decisions.
Starting point is 00:04:59 And I'll just throw this out there. The NFC West. So who's your biggest rival if you're the Niners, J-Mack? It's the Rams. Okay, the Rams defense is good, bordering on excellent, young, and getting better. Seattle and Arizona, with defensive coaches, both their defenses moved up dramatically dramatically last year. Arizona was bottom of the league.
Starting point is 00:05:25 Now they're middle of the pack. So, look, my take is, the, the, the NFL. NFC West has become a very good defensive division. And if the Rams are your rival, and we know Brock Purdy's not Stafford, the talent, good luck against that Rams defense, because it is going to be the next Eagles defense. It is that good. If they land a good corner in the first or third round, they don't have a second round pick, watch out.
Starting point is 00:05:50 They're about a corner away from being even better. So I'll just say, last year was a real year for Brock Purdy. like he didn't have all his weapons. He had some of them. Kittle was great. Kittle was outstanding. Debo Samuel was there. Shanahan's a brilliant play designer,
Starting point is 00:06:07 play caller. You had some weapons, but they were one and six against playoff teams. They ate against bad teams. They scored 28 a game against non-playoff teams. They scored 19 a game against playoff teams. And not only did he have 12 picks, some of them,
Starting point is 00:06:27 We're ugly. Like more than a few were, what are we doing here? Here's John Lynch on the discussion on the contract. They're already talking. We have started negotiations. We're talking. I won't go into negotiations like always is our stance. Want Brock to be our quarterback as long as we're here and beyond.
Starting point is 00:06:49 And we'll leave it at that. I think the final thing, there's no guarantees that we get something done. but my experience has been when both sides are motivated, there's ample opportunity to do so. I mean, there's three quarterbacks in this league that win regardless of what's around them. Lamar, Josh, and Patrick. It just doesn't matter. Herbert's good, but he needs the right coach.
Starting point is 00:07:13 Right? Herbert's good. Needs the right coach. Joe Burrell's great. Needs a better offensive line and a better defense. There's three guys in this league that you can pay a ton of money to, and they're still going to win 75% of their game. James, Lamar, Josh, and Patrick, that's it. So I'm just throwing it out there.
Starting point is 00:07:29 I know old J-Mack, give the bag to everybody over here, is just throwing them around like their jolly ranchers, just throwing those bills around, those C-notes around. You've got to be careful. Even you would acknowledge. Once you pay the quarterback, you're going to have to, you can't keep all the players. Yeah, I mean, listen, you did some cherry-picking with the stats
Starting point is 00:07:50 against playoff teams. Oh, no, no Christian McCaffrey, no Brandon Ayuk, he's missing half his team. like yeah he had a couple bad games but your dislike for Purdy really is something it's not dislike it comes back to audience this is real talk that he was the dead last pick in the draft if Brock Purdy was like the last pick in the first round
Starting point is 00:08:08 Cowher would be given him chance everybody would people are out on him because he was not an early pick he has proven more to you as a starter has he not I am noters that he's an elite quarterback he's not an elite quarterback I am not out on him I've never been out on deck I am out on paying DAC 60 million a year. I'm not out on Brock Purdy.
Starting point is 00:08:30 I don't think you should pay them early. I'd let the contract run. 50. How's 50? Nope. 45. We can talk about that. But remember. But remember.
Starting point is 00:08:42 If he says, no thanks, I'm going to test the market. Okay, good luck. Good luck for that. All right, good luck. Go ahead. I'm just saying this is not Sequin Barclay going from the Giants to the Eagles. If he went to Seattle with a dead. with a defensive coach.
Starting point is 00:08:56 He's not the same player. Okay, who would you rather take if you were the Colts? Brock Purdy or Sam Darnold? If I'm the Colts? Yeah. Well, you're going to have to pay, according to the agent here, more for Purdy. And Darnold's a much better athlete with a better arm. Oh, Sam.
Starting point is 00:09:11 What? You think Donald is a better quarterback than right now than Brock Pernard? Well, he's a much better athlete with a much better arm. That's all I'm saying. I'm just talking about traits as a quarterback. Steve Sarkesian, we got him a couple of times. We got them a couple times a year. Love having them on the show.
Starting point is 00:09:26 Fifth year at Texas football coach. And, you know, we were talking about this. The NFLPA yesterday came out with grades on food, facilities, how you treat the players. And what I saw was 20 coaches got A's. So in the relationship that matters, coaches and players like each other. In college football, though, Sark, it's a little different. Facilities matter because the players choose you. But I've always had this theory.
Starting point is 00:09:51 when USC, when you were at USC, those facilities were not good. And my take was that there was an edge, a chip to the Trojans, that some of it was, we're not like Oregon. We don't have pretty facilities. Do you ever worry about, listen, Texas football's got a lot of money, we want nice facilities, we don't want it to be a country club. Do you think about that? No, you have to think about that.
Starting point is 00:10:21 think there's got to be an edge to what you do, the way you operate, the way you develop your culture, the way you practice, the way you work out. And so you have to make sure that there's levels of hard, we like to say, and that you can overcome hard. And that's whether that's on the football field that is said in the weight room, things of that nature, because if it is too nice, I hate to use the word, you can find a way to soft if it's too nice. And so, and clearly, you know, I think our program has shown that over time, we've developed a hardness and edge about us and the way we operate. You know, it is funny because I said that for years.
Starting point is 00:11:00 I remember when Oregon had Otson Stadium, and then they got a new stadium, and Phil Knight gave them all that money in the following year they couldn't tackle. I said all of us, the crowd got quieter because it was so expensive for tickets. I do believe you have an edge. When you say you, and I do believe that, I think you lost Ohio State. Ohio State was the best team in football last year, whatever. They just were. They blew Tennessee out and Oregon out.
Starting point is 00:11:23 I look at you and you developed an edge. And I always said, I think USC and Texas are glamour programs. Notre Dame's in bad weather in a small town. Do you develop that edge? Is it a coach? Is it a mindset? I mean, you have five-star players everywhere. How do you do it?
Starting point is 00:11:40 I think it's everywhere. You know, Colin, I was fortunate. I was at SC, obviously, with Coach Carroll in the heyday, and we were recruiting a bunch of great players at that time. And then the level of consistency of which we operated, and I think it started at the top with him. And then it permeated through the staff, the organization, the players, the training room, the equipment room.
Starting point is 00:12:01 It was everybody. And then to have an opportunity to get with Coach Saban, you know, in years, I think, 16 and 17 years, whatever, how many years that he had been there that I was there for a couple of them, he clearly had instituted it in his own way, too, in recruiting the five-star players, four-and-five-star players. But yet there was a toughness, a mindset, a culture that had been developed throughout that organization. And I just felt like, man, we can create that here.
Starting point is 00:12:28 But it had to start for me, and it had to permeate, like I said, through the staff and the players we recruited, but it had to be the training room, the weight room, academics. All parties involved had to have been row in the boat kind of in the same direction. And now with our players, the standard is the standard. And our older players who have been here understand that. but they also understand they need these young players to be as successful as we want to be, so they have to teach them the way as quickly as possible. I really like that you canceled the spring game,
Starting point is 00:12:58 and it took a little courage because people are going to push back, and you and about four other programs did it. And my takeaway, I had a discussion with Jen Cohen, who's the athletic director at USC, and I said, you're pro football. I mean, I said, you've just got to come to terms with it. You need a general manager. You're paying the players. Your schedule now.
Starting point is 00:13:14 It's like the NFL. You have to beat three to four good teams in a row. it's really about attrition. Do you have the depth? If you get banged up like Kansas City and lose the left tackle, you're probably not going to win a Super Bowl. So for you, when you're in a traditional program and you say, I'm going to cancel the spring game, my takeaway was it was a little bit of a delicate conversation, or did everybody at Texas go, guys, we can cling on to this old stuff or come to terms with we're about 70% pro football now? Well, I think you're right. And I don't know if we're ever going to get everybody right, because for some, people, that might have been one of the highlights of their years coming to the spring game and have an opportunity to see some of the new faces, new players. But things have changed so much. I think about, we just played a 16 game schedule. And we started August 31st. We finished January
Starting point is 00:14:03 10th. Playing 14 games the year before being in the CFP semifinals two years in a row. So we've played 30 games in a two-year span. When you go back to when spring game started, that's really three seasons. Remember everyone used to play 10 games. Yeah. And now things have evolved, things have changed. I've got 21 high school mid-years that are already in school, that should be high school seniors that are now with us trying to develop their craft. And so the timing has changed, the amount of games we're playing has changed, the development of your young players have changed.
Starting point is 00:14:36 But to your point, the depth has changed. And I'm going to need all these guys to be at their best in December and January of next season, which is definitely an NFL-type model. And when you lose a player or two, you sure hope that that backup or the backups backup can go in and give you quality reps to beat a Georgia or Ohio State or Notre Dame, whoever that is that you're going to have to play late in those playoffs.
Starting point is 00:15:01 So I've said before, I think this, about every three or four years, we get a draft where we have about four elite quarterbacks. There was the Burrough Herbert draft. That's a little bit of an outlier. But we're getting more and more good quarterbacks because the high school coaching is better, the camps are better.
Starting point is 00:15:16 just seeing more high quality drafts. It used to be, we said the Elway Marino draft was like an outlier. You get that about every third year now. I think this is the year of B2B plus quarterback prospects. I think Chedur, I think Quinn Ewers, Riley Leonard, Kyle McCor. I think in a weird way, because they're not, Cam Ward's ready to play today. He's just the arm, the movement, he's different. But in an interesting way, it may benefit Riley Leonard and Quinn Ewers. You may drop. you may go to a better team. You don't have to play immediately. So if I draft Quinn Ewers, give me the thing he needs to work on
Starting point is 00:15:53 and give me the thing that is pro-ready right now. Yeah, I'm going to go the other way. I'm going to start with why it makes him pro-ready. I think one playing in our market. You know, Austin, I think we've got 1.5 million people in the city of Austin with no pro sports, right? With no NFL, no NBA, no Major League Baseball. And so the microscope you're under the scrutiny,
Starting point is 00:16:15 the media coverage, the national media coverage, the brand, the having to have to be at your best under that, I think sets you up and gets you ready for the NFL where you're not so consumed of what other people think, but rather I need to focus, I need to prepare, I need to take care of my body, I need to be in the game plan. I think those things are really helpful to go along with all the physical attributes. There's not a throw that that guy can make, that he can't make, excuse me.
Starting point is 00:16:41 I think naturally all young players, when they go from college to the NFL, and I like it myself, I think about the Tom Brady's of the world, the Aaron Rogers, these guys that play for so long in the NFL, why do they play so long? They don't get hurt, right? And they know where their issues are. They take care of their body off the field, but they take care of their body on the field. And I know the game of football and the NFL is evolving, and I credit a lot of those coaches. And I think that's why there's quarterbacks getting drafted higher and higher now. Because I think think the NFL is adapting to some degree of what's going on in college football. But to that point, I think his ability to maintain his body, because it's not going to be about him knowing what to do or having the physical ability to do it. I think ultimately it's going to be putting himself in the best physical condition to perform week in and week out. So I think the NIL is rough, and I don't like my coaches having to be GMs. And GMs are now getting hired everywhere.
Starting point is 00:17:38 in pro football, money isn't a real thing because everybody's a pro, everybody's getting paid. In college football, you could have a quarterback making $2.75 million and a kicker, you know, getting lunch money. How do you balance that? I think it's much tougher than people to balance that, hey, there's two guys that are going to make big money. Do you talk about it? Do you discuss it? Do you pay a high, I don't think I love paying high school players, but if you want to get a five-star left tackle, you may have to pay a high school player, and not play a junior on your team
Starting point is 00:18:10 who's an all-conference guy doesn't get that much. Is it hard and murky for you, coaches, to dance around that payment thing? Well, I'm sure it's difficult for everybody. I think we're, I don't want to say we're in a different position, but the reality of it is, you know, I'm very upfront and honest with our guys, and I understand not everybody gets paid the same on our roster,
Starting point is 00:18:31 but what you get paid does not dictate how much you play in our organization. You know, the players that earn it on the field, the players that do the things the right way on and off the field that put the team in the best position to be successful are the ones that play for us. And so it's not about how much you get paid through NIL. It's ultimately about, you know, who gives us the best opportunity to be successful as a team. And I make that very clear with our players. And so I think they understand that because when we hit the grass, when we go in the wait room and we're in the classroom learning and studying, you know, I think that's what determines who plays.
Starting point is 00:19:08 And now that may reshuffle the debt going into the next season, but the reality of it is NIL in our program does not dictate who plays. Yeah. Finally, you guys are opening your seat. I have always said there's a handful of programs. USC would do this. Texas does this. Michigan has done this. And I like the idea if you just opening up with a big old dog, Ohio State, here we go.
Starting point is 00:19:35 I'm glad you like it. But here's the good news. The playoffs, Steve, allowed Ohio State as a 20-point favorite to deliver their worst performance in a decade. They were awful against Michigan, and they still made the playoffs. So my take is, I'll argue this is actually great for your program. You'll be able to measure where you're at. Now, again, it'd be nice maybe to play Miami of Ohio and you could work your way into the season. When you look at that game, how do you?
Starting point is 00:20:08 view it, how much important, how, I mean, does it change the way you practice going into it because it's the Buckeyes? Yeah, I think, you know, we've had some pretty good experience with this, and I know they weren't all in week one. You know, obviously, we played Alabama at a conference two years
Starting point is 00:20:24 in a row when we were here in year two and in year three. And then last year, we went to Michigan. You know, they were defending national champs in week two, and then this year we're going to Ohio State, the defending national champions in week one. And so, I I love this opportunity.
Starting point is 00:20:39 I know I was joking with you earlier, but I love the opportunity. I think it's great for our players in summer workouts and in training camp to know who we're getting ready to go play and the task at hand. I think now, to your point with the expanded playoffs, as long as we don't punish those teams for going to play those games, that it's great for college football, man.
Starting point is 00:21:01 It's opening weekend, and it's Texas out of Ohio State. It's a rematch of the semifinal game in last year's playoffs. you know, it's great for their program, it's great for our program, because that's what the players we recruit, those are the games they want to play in. They want to be in those big time games. Now, granted, we have other games on our schedule that hopefully we can play a lot of players to develop our players along the way. But this is a great opportunity for both programs. Somebody's going to win, somebody's going to lose. But hopefully the team that doesn't win that game doesn't get punished from the committee for playing in that game early in the season.
Starting point is 00:21:36 because I think that's the hardest part with the committee when they're trying to decide who's worthy of being one of those 12 teams. And it's always right. It's teams 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12. And looking at strength of schedule, looking at who you play rather than just staring at the record, who did you play, how did you play in those games, I think is as important as anything.
Starting point is 00:21:57 Finally, Archmanning, Texas football, massive brand, back-to-back semifinals. You'll be favored again. how do you avoid title or bust? Because I'm telling you, all the eyes are on you guys with Arch Manning. 2 and 0 last year, scoring 40. Steve, there are a lot of people. They're going to come in hard and hot early.
Starting point is 00:22:19 How do you simmer that down? Well, I think that's why we're here, right? I mean, Colin, you know me well enough over the years. I had plenty of opportunities to be a head coach again. And when this job was presented to me, I didn't take this job just to say I was a head coach. again. I came here because I believed we could be champions, conference champions, national champions, and that's the standard here.
Starting point is 00:22:40 And that's what we're competing for. It was no different than the last two seasons, whether it was in the Big 12, the SEC, and obviously the college football playoff. And I believe through all of that, we've recruited really good players. We've developed those players. We have 14 players at the NFL Combine this week. We had 11 last year, which was a school record, 11 draft picks last season. And, you know, like I said, 14 more in this year's NFL Combine.
Starting point is 00:23:04 The reality of it is, this is why we're here. And we embrace this opportunity. We're going to look forward to it. We're going to go for it. We understand we're going to get everybody's best shot. But, again, that's okay. That's why our players chose to come to Texas. That's why the coaches that are coaching here chose to be at Texas,
Starting point is 00:23:21 is to be on the stage and to go compete for national titles. Yeah, a Manning, Texas football meets Ohio State. That's going to be one for the ages. A lot to look forward as somebody who watches and loves college football. Sarkozoas. Hook him. Good seeing you again. Thanks, man. Hook him. See you. All right. There you go. Steve Sarkesian. You know what? One of the things I like about Arch Manning
Starting point is 00:23:43 is that Arch Manning moves a little bit better than Quinn Ewers, a lot better. And he's a Manning. It's American Football Royalty. Not a Pete. He's just one of the quarterbacks. That was the most impressive thing. It speaks really well of the Manning family. They could have come in here hot. We want to play. You get a lot of that with quarterbacks in college football.
Starting point is 00:24:03 Dad played college football. Dad wants his son to play. Dad's going to transfer. He doesn't play. Arch Manning came in as the number one player in college football. Not a peep. Head down, grinding, sitting behind Quinn Ewers. Who I think he's a better athlete than Quinn Ewers.
Starting point is 00:24:18 I don't know if he has the arm, but I think he's a better athlete. Not a peep. Very impressive to me. Live in Los Angeles, it's The Herd. 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.
Starting point is 00:24:33 you'd like. 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.
Starting point is 00:24:45 We just contributed to it. We're the first people to do podcasts. Pretty, yeah, pretty wide range of podcasts. We're starting a trend. 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.
Starting point is 00:25:01 Oh, 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.
Starting point is 00:25:13 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
Starting point is 00:25:23 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.
Starting point is 00:25:33 Another podcast from some SNL late-night comedy guy, not quite on Humor Me with Robert Smygel and Friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, S&L'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.
Starting point is 00:25:55 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. Jacob Kingston grew up in an isolated polygamous sect. We were God's chosen kingdom on earth. He felt destined for greatness. So when a swaggering Armenian businessman catapults Jacob into an extraordinary world, he doesn't look back.
Starting point is 00:26:21 Ferraris and Lamborghinis, private jets, meeting the president of Turkey. I'm Michelle McPhee, and this is one of the most shocking criminal conspiracies I've ever come across. When Jacob met Levan this went to a billion dollar fraud. But with two kings from entirely different worlds, just how long can their empire survive? The largest tax investigation in American history. You need to tell me what you know.
Starting point is 00:26:48 Is somebody coming after me? Jacob told Levan, you're ruining my life. Listen to Kingdom of Fraud on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you. you get your podcasts. 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.
Starting point is 00:27:13 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.
Starting point is 00:27:28 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. SportsClyce brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to SportsCise on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slicelife Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. T-Wolves Lakers tonight. You may have just talked me into that. Jay Mack, you know, you are a little bit of a ticket broker.
Starting point is 00:28:02 You've got your finger on the pulse of what's happening in Los Angeles. Austin Rees locking down Anthony Edwards. I'm kind of interested to watch that. Worth the price of admission. I'll have to sit behind the T. Wolves bench, though. Oh, because of your boy, Finch. Yeah, yeah. I could ask JJ Reddick for tickets.
Starting point is 00:28:16 Are you guys close? I mean, he knows who I am. Damn. There's a flux. That doesn't mean he's going to get it. Don't you know who I am, damn it? No, I mean, I'm not going to ask J.J. Reddick's got, I'm not going to ask J.J. Reddick. He's got
Starting point is 00:28:30 a little on his hands right now, but Lucas's situation, and that story cracks me up. Huka Dantage. That whole idea that the Mabs are now leaking it, that he likes hookah. Everybody likes hookah. I mean, unless you're like a social
Starting point is 00:28:46 conservative, which most people in L.A. aren't. But who doesn't like hookah? If you've never been to a hookah bar in New York, go. It's a good time. J. Mack with the news. No, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the heard line news. Let's start with the Matt Stafford situation with the Rams still up in the air.
Starting point is 00:29:05 His reps did give him a chance to speak to other teams about a trade, and that's why we're hearing a lot of scuttlebut. However, Sean McVeigh wants to make it clear he wants Stafford with the Rams. There's no dispute, and let's not get it twisted in regards to anybody wanting him to be our quarterback. Now, there's layers to it. And as you try to put together the puzzle for your football team, you have to be able to say, how do we continuously build?
Starting point is 00:29:34 How do we support him? How do we make sure that he's getting, you know, what is his worth relative to those things? Yeah, they want him. I don't think there's any question. You know, the hard part is that I'll go back to this. Go back to that Philadelphia Rams game. They played him as well as anybody.
Starting point is 00:29:53 They played him as, oh, come on now. That final drive, But are we paying people for what happened in the past? No. Well, no, but I mean, here's the thing. I think the Rams are really close. And you're not going to be really... Super Bowl?
Starting point is 00:30:06 Absolutely. Okay. I didn't see that. I mean, I have them in the NFC West Championship next year. They barely got into the playoffs, man. Oh, boy. They, if you remember in the first six weeks, their offensive line was in shambles. They had injuries.
Starting point is 00:30:20 It took some time to jail. I mean, not let's injury. They had the dreaded cluster injuries, which basically knocks you. out of the playoffs. I mean, they had like cluster injuries at wide receiver and on the offensive line for six weeks and were a play from the NFC championship.
Starting point is 00:30:35 Here's my big issue. Stafford is due to make $27 million this season. Look at the numbers on the screen without him. You remove Stafford. I think this is a big mistake. Now, I'm not Mr. Let's pay everybody 60 mil, but let's not act like
Starting point is 00:30:51 the billionaires can't afford a little luxury tax bill. And, you know, The Rams can afford him, and the reason they can is they're not paying anybody on defense. They're not paying... But why aren't they paying him? Well, again, that's like saying, well, why doesn't blank company pay the sportscaster anything he wants? They made $700 million on the Super Bowl. There are layers to everything.
Starting point is 00:31:13 You don't want to get into a situation where you don't get a good enough right tackle because you can pay them a little bit more. I mean, they're called negotiations. And the Rams have leverage here. They're well-run. Oh, really? Oh, of course they do. The Rams, the team you just said that was a contender with Stafford on the doorstep, they have leverage. If Stafford walks out the door, Collin, they're done.
Starting point is 00:31:35 They're not going to playoff. If Aaron Rogers walks in that door, they're a playoff team. In fact, I will say Aaron Rogers or Stafford, they win the division. Both those quarterbacks, Rams win the division. You're so bullish on Rogers. I mean, 10 games with the Jets. Irrelevant games against bad teams. Well, guess what?
Starting point is 00:31:55 Half the league's bad. So you're going to play plenty of those in L.A. Oh, there's a report here added that the Rams are comfortable with Jimmy Garoppolo. If they move off of... Jimmy Garoppolo gets you close to the playoffs. I don't know if he gets you in. Their defense is so talented and so good and so young. Go look at the Rams defense from week eight to week 17.
Starting point is 00:32:18 It literally was arguably the best defense in the league. Look at what they did that Jalen Hertz in the playoffs. He threw for 65 yards. They had no passing offense. They bottled up your guy, Darnold. Oh, they, they... That was easy money, by the way. Rams, that was Lock City.
Starting point is 00:32:36 All right, let's move on to the next story, Con. The NFLPA recently released their annual team report card serving 1,700 players, and bad news for my Jets. Woody Johnson was the only owner in the league to receive an F. Only one. Regarding the grade, the NFLPA said the players, perceived top leadership issues, some describing issues as top-down problems, and a culture of fear.
Starting point is 00:33:04 Gotta love that one. Adding, rather than addressing concerns, players believe that management responded to feedback by making conditions worse. Oh, dear. Last year, Woody and the Jets got a B-minus, and now they fell to an F. The NFLPA said the Jets cut their food budget after receiving low grades in 2023 and didn't retain their longtime dietitians. Colin? What did Woody Johnson's kids get? What did Brick get for a grade?
Starting point is 00:33:31 This is the team I root for. It's not that hard to treat people good. I'm not saying you have to treat everybody great. It's not that hard to treat people well. Arizona, what did their owner get? Another lousy grade. It's just, it's not that hard to get a B as an owner. I don't need you to be an A owner.
Starting point is 00:33:51 Again, I don't need the world's best facilities. I think that stuff's overrated. I want my teams to have an edge. don't need the glossy. Miami, Miami apparently has great facilities. Well, wait, you know, I didn't want to jump all over your Tyson thing, but Tyson, when he was training in these dingy gyms, was on the come-up. He wasn't a heavyweight champion in the world, right? He was on the rise. These are pro athletes making millions. Your quarterback's making $50 million. You can't be given in prison food. That's just, that's stupid. This is your investment. You're paying the players.
Starting point is 00:34:22 No, no. I would fire the dietitian. I would give my guys good food. They'd don't need filet mignon. I'll give you good food. What do you want to give them? Top sirloin? Well done? Come on. Who are you?
Starting point is 00:34:34 Jeez. I'm not a big believer. Players get pampered as it is with their contracts, the agents. Nobody wants to offend them. It's like we don't need another layer of you get anything you want. If I have good facilities, if I have a good owner, we treat them well. I'm okay with it. Let's remember.
Starting point is 00:34:54 This isn't 46 weeks a year. like some or 48 or whatever a real job is. This is seriously, July through December, January, that's it. You can't pony up for six months to hook your guys up with a great sauna and a hot tub and food. You're making it sound like the Jets don't have a sauna in hot tub. The Jets, well, we've heard stories about the Bengals,
Starting point is 00:35:15 but the Jets players should be going to work acting. Oh my gosh, I'm just walking into the Ritz or the Hilton or whatever awesome hotel it is. That's where you want your guys in the right mindset, getting pampered so they're ready to go out and kill and maim on Sunday. Yeah, I think good is fine. You think it has to be excellent. My takeaway is if you treat them well and it's good, quality, that's good enough.
Starting point is 00:35:37 Yeah, you should go sit in 23E and economy on your next day. Good seat. It's a good seat. I wish I sat in a seat that nice. Final story is Kevin Stefanski's on the hunt for a new quarterback. Now listen to this. This is a little strange. Yesterday at the Combines,
Starting point is 00:35:53 Stefanski said the Browns will use every avenue to find their franchise QB but added he's impressed with the class of quarterback saying this is a really good class from top all the way through. That's not what we're hearing from literally everyone else.
Starting point is 00:36:08 We're hearing there's two good quarterbacks. Colin, what's... Is Cefansky doing some misdirection here? Do they not want a quarterback up top? They are hyping Travis Hunter, by the way. I'm starting to have second thoughts on Cleveland nailing this pitch. But, well, it should be a layup.
Starting point is 00:36:24 Take Cam Warder-Sadour-Sadr. Mel Khyper once told me, don't believe people at the Combine or the week before the draft. You just have to be careful about, if you look at all the prospects, I would say this. I think it's a very good class in terms of depth. I think there are eight guys that can play in the NFL. Like Will Howard is probably, I'll give you an example.
Starting point is 00:36:47 Cam Ward's a first-round talent. a Shadur Sanders, in my opinion, is a late first-round talent. I say Jalen Milro and Kyle McCord, to me, again, not where they'll get drafted. I think they're top to mid-second round talents. I think Riley, Leonard, Jackson Dart, or third round, Quinn Ewer's fourth, Will Howard Fifth. Now, again, I think Jalen Milro will get drafted first round by somebody. But what do I think he is as a talent? I think he and Kyle McCord feel like mid-second talents.
Starting point is 00:37:20 So Will Howard, before that playoff run, maybe seventh round pick, maybe. No, I think he's a fit. And he has a good couple playoff games, and they annihilate everyone. And it's, ooh. The Brown? Like, we watched him all season. I didn't think he was amazing. Well, he, he, he, um, he's a big kid.
Starting point is 00:37:37 He's a big kid who moves well. He's an NFL athlete. He looks like he's a big, strong kid, so he should be an NFL athlete. I don't think he's an NFL starter. But I think he's draftable in the fifth round. So Riley Leonard or... I think Riley Leonard could develop into a starting quarterback. I think Kyle McCord will develop into a starting quarterback.
Starting point is 00:37:56 Is this the same Riley Leonard? There's room for like 67 yards in a playoff game against... I don't want to do. Whoever. I have Riley Leonard as my fourth to fifth best quarterback. I like his size. I like his athletic ability. I love his toughness.
Starting point is 00:38:13 I think he's a tough kid. On that one drive game. No, he's a tough, tough. tough kid. What happened the rest of the way? Well, again, this was a run-first defensive-led team. This was not an aerial circus. That's not
Starting point is 00:38:24 what they were. You get caught up into that hole, throw it around the yard. I don't think that's Notre Dame's formula for winning, ball control, turnover
Starting point is 00:38:38 differential. It didn't turn it over much and they took the ball away. Very good situationally. I just think he's a big, tough kid. he's a little wonky throwing it but in games I watch Notre Dame play when he had to make big throws he usually made him yeah no I like him I know it sounds like I don't like him
Starting point is 00:38:56 but he's a good play I just starting to smell like fifth six round four Jay Mack for the news well that's the news and thanks for stopping by the herd line news Will Blackman who like Travis Hunter played receiver and DB in college
Starting point is 00:39:13 last hour so it's I don't know He's going to play some of both. I think if I was him, I'd rather play receiver. I think it's more fun than corner and having a tackle. Here comes Derek Henry around the corner. I don't think I'd love that.
Starting point is 00:39:30 Will Blackman next hour live in L.A., it's The Herd. Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the I-Hard Radio app. Hey, is Steve Kovino. And I'm Rich David. And together we're Kavino and Rich on Fox Sports Radio. You could catch us weekdays from 5 to 7 p.m. Eastern, 2 to 4 Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and, of course, the IHeart Radio app. Why should you listen to Kavino and Rich?
Starting point is 00:39:56 We talk about everything, life, sports, relationships, what's going on in the world? We have a lot of fun talking about the stories behind the stories in the world of sports and pop culture. Stories that, well, other shows don't seem to have the time to discuss. And the fact that we've been friends for the last 20 years and still work together, I mean, that says something, right? So check us out. We like to get you involved, too. take your phone calls, chop it up as they say. I'd say the most interactive show on Fox Sports Radio.
Starting point is 00:40:22 Maybe the most interactive show on Planet Earth. Be sure to check out Covino & Rich live on Fox Sports Radio and the IHeart Radio app from 5 to 7 p.m. Eastern, 2 to 4 Pacific. And if you miss any of the live show, just search Covino and Rich, wherever you get your podcast and, of course, on social media. That's Cabino and Rich. Hey, it's us, the Jonas Brothers, and guess what? We have some big news.
Starting point is 00:40:41 What's the news, 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.
Starting point is 00:40:55 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. Well, 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.
Starting point is 00:41:18 We were talking about a thing, a bit for the podcast, 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.
Starting point is 00:41:38 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?
Starting point is 00:41:58 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. 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.
Starting point is 00:42:19 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.
Starting point is 00:42:45 SportsSlice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to SportsSlice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slices Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Jacob Kingston grew up in an isolated polygamous sect. We were God's chosen kingdom on earth. He felt destined for greatness. So when a swaggering Armenian business, man catapults Jacob into an extraordinary world.
Starting point is 00:43:15 He doesn't look back. Ferraris and Lamborghinis, private jets, meeting the president of Turkey. I'm Michelle McPhee, and this is one of the most shocking criminal conspiracies I've ever come across. When Jacob met Levant this plant to a billion dollar fraud. But with two kings from entirely different worlds,
Starting point is 00:43:36 just how long can their empire survive? The largest tax investigation in American history. You need to tell me what you know. Is somebody coming after me? Jacob told Levan, you're ruining my life. Listen to Kingdom of Fraud on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. The fastest racing on Earth is coming to Fox. The 2025 Indy Car Season gets underway in St. Petersburg.
Starting point is 00:44:09 The first stop on the road to the Indy 500, Sunday at noon Eastern live on Fox. Okay, this story just came down. There's been a lot of talk about, you know, Tom Brady, Matt Stafford, Montana, skiing, oh, tampering. It just got reported. There is no issue. The Rams gave Matt Stafford and his agent permission to speak to the Raiders.
Starting point is 00:44:39 That's what the NFL is saying. So the Rams said, go, go talk to Tom. with Tom, and it's fine. I will tell you is that I think the Raiders are absolutely in play. I'm serious. The people I trust are telling me, Raiders may be leading the Rams right now. Remember, they're willing to give him three years. Rams may be stuck at two. Raiders have given $50 million. Rams may be stuck closer to $45. And do not downplay this. 13 and a half percent tax in Cali, no state tax in Nevada, playing indoors, Chip Kelly, Pete Carroll, Brock Bowers.
Starting point is 00:45:20 I think they've got their left tackle and center all wrapped up. They drafted a right tackle, I think third round last year. Maryland, he's better. I think he's better than they thought, got pressed into duty early because of an injury and played well. So I think the Raiders are absolutely in play here. absolutely in play. And there's a dozen reasons. But Pete Carolyn, Chip Kelly, big. And the other thing is, if you can get, again, it would be one thing. I wouldn't move for an extra $9 million.
Starting point is 00:45:50 But if the Raiders are willing to go to three years and give him 50 in all three years, $150 million, and the Rams are like, we'll give you $2.45 a year. You've got to take it. I mean, to me, that is a different ball game. Again, I'd stay there. if it's $8 million, 9, 11, that's not going to make a difference. But what if the difference over the course of three years is $42 million? Don't you have to take it? I mean, again, you're not going, you're going to Pete Carroll, Chip Kelly, Brock Bowers, and the good left tackle, Colton Miller. They've got the pieces.
Starting point is 00:46:29 They need a running back, and it's a very, very rich running back draft. So to get Matt Stafford, they could give picks up. You could give a first or a second pick up. And I think the Rams would be very, I mean, let's just say this. The Raiders go, you get our first pick. Let's just play the scenario out. Because I think the Raiders would have to give up their first pick. Matt Stafford's worth of first pick.
Starting point is 00:46:56 I think the Rams would, the six pick, trade down. Because I know the Rams, I have been told Rams want to trade down in the draft. get some offensive depth. They're getting, you know, a little old at tight end. They want another running back. They want maybe two tackles, two receivers. So they want to start hitting on their offensive pieces
Starting point is 00:47:20 like they have their defensive pieces last couple of years of the draft. So they would love to trade down. They'd love to trade that first round pick into the second and have no first round pick and get an extra third and maybe a fifth. So they're willing to listen to anybody. And they like Stafford. But I'm here to tell you, the Rams have the
Starting point is 00:47:36 26 pick in the first round. That's no man's land. They'd rather trade out of that and go to the second round. But if you gave them a first in the top six or seven, then they can trade that down. They can get multiple picks that way. Because what they need, I don't think, is available in this draft. I don't think there's a dominant left tackle. I think Kelvin Banks for Texas, Will Campbell, LSU are good. I don't think either as good as Joe Alt. And I think they would rather trade down to middle of the first round if they could get a second or a third round pick, they'd do it. So they don't have a ton of needs.
Starting point is 00:48:12 They need an offensive tackle, and they need a corner. That's all they really absolutely need, probably another inside linebacker, and absolutely another receiver, a boundary receiver. So I'm just saying, Raiders, if you're asking me today, it is a coin flip, Raiders Rams, coin flip, because Raiders will give an extra year, and if that extra year is $45 million, how do you not take it? By the way, here is Shadur Sanders yesterday,
Starting point is 00:48:43 walking around Indy with three different teams, Saints, Browns, Vikings, hats. You know, he doesn't know where he's going right now, grown men chasing him to get selfies. So there is Shadur Sanders yesterday. Here was Albert Breer on Shadur's challenge going into this draft. I think the issue is Shadur, and this is going to be a difficult thing for him to address
Starting point is 00:49:06 over the next six or seven months. or six or seven weeks is are you special in any one area? Do you have a superpower trait? Or are you an average athlete with an average arm in an NFL context? And I think that that's the way a lot of teams look at him.
Starting point is 00:49:23 He's not a great athlete. He doesn't have a big arm. So, like, where is the superpower that's going to make you want to take him in the top five? Yeah, I don't think he has that. But I think he's really accurate and he can initiate offense
Starting point is 00:49:37 and I think he'll create stability. I've said this before. I think Jay Mack and I both believe Cam Ward is going to go number one, and there's just too many teams that need quarterbacks, so I think Shadour could possibly go two or three. I don't think he's that good of a player. I think he's more of a mid-late, late first-round guy, but, you know, quarterbacks get overdrafted.
Starting point is 00:49:57 Who cares? I mean, it's, and this idea that he's not a bad athlete, he's just not Cam Ward, but he moves well enough. He moves better than Gough. moves better than Stafford. He moves better now than Aaron Rogers. He moves. He moves fine. He's just, you know, it's like C.J. Stroud. C.J. Stroud moves. Good enough. But C.J. Stroud was rather sit in the pocket and throw darts. I like the fact. I like the fact that Chador Sanders, I mean, the knock on him beyond traits as he holds the ball too long, but I don't know, man,
Starting point is 00:50:28 if you are accurate at throwing the ball and you've played behind a bad old line and a bad run game and had to kind of like carry a team. Those are some, I think there's a little edge to him. It's very easy if your dad's a superstar enriched to not have an edge. I think Chador getting beat up at Colorado for two years behind a bad O-line and no-run game. I think he developed a little bit of an edge,
Starting point is 00:50:50 so I like him. Can I go back to Stafford for a sec? So what does that do to the AFC West if he went to the Raiders? Okay? We're already calling it like the coaching division, right? You got Harbaugh, you got Reed, you got Sean Payton. now you're going quarterbacks, Herbert, Mahomes, Stafford, and Bo Nix, who's on the come up.
Starting point is 00:51:09 That's got to be the best division in football. I know it was the NFC North last year, but if Stafford goes Raiders, come on, that's a ridiculously tough division. Well, three teams, we've seen more than once, three teams can make it to the playoffs. But it's also another star quarterback going to the AFC. Remember, Joe Burrow missed the playoffs in the AFC this year. And now you're adding Stafford to the AFC. Oh, my God. What a brutal stretch.
Starting point is 00:51:33 It is. Now, if you're Jaden Daniels, you probably love that. If you're the Eagles, you're like, oh, thank goodness. Stafford's gone. If you're the Raiders, would you give up your first-round pick for him? That's tough. I'm telling you, what's fascinating about this... So they could be looking at Mason Graham at 6, the guy you love from Michigan.
Starting point is 00:51:56 Love him. He's going to be there 10 years in the middle, clog and run defenses, or Stafford for two years. Raiders may lead in the clubhouse right now. Hey guys, it's us. The Jonas Brothers. I'm Joe. I'm Kevin. And I'm Nick. And guess what?
Starting point is 00:52:10 We created our own podcast called, Hey Jonas. Nice. We invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to it out. We get to ask other 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.
Starting point is 00:52:25 But, you know, tired and sick. 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.
Starting point is 00:52:53 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. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. And nobody's telling you exactly what happened.
Starting point is 00:53:13 That's where SportsSlice comes in. I'm Timbo. In 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.
Starting point is 00:53:30 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 in the TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Here's something that should not be as complicated as it is, getting a racist statue removed. And here's something that should be a whole lot easier than it is, getting a new one put up in its place. I'm Akela Hughes, and Rebel Spirit Season 2 is about both of those things. As I was watching these statues come down, I was thinking about what it meant that I grew up in a majority black city, in which there were more homages to enslavers than there were to enslave people.
Starting point is 00:54:04 Listen to Rebel Spirit Season 2 on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.

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