The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Kyler Murray, Lakers, Jason Whitten, and the Cowboys

Episode Date: February 28, 2019

Colin explains why the measurements of QB Kyler Murray don't help his cause, the best case scenario for the Los Angeles Lakers, TE Jason Witten coming out of retirement, and why this is good news for the Dallas Cowboys. Guests include Chris Haynes, John Lynch, Tom Telesco, Daniel Jeremiah, and Jordan Palmer. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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We are packed today. A lot of NFL Combine stuff. We'll go to Indianapolis, with John Lynch, the Niners' GM, Daniel Jaram, Maya Scout and also a writer. Joy Taylor is joining me. A lot of good stuff today. A lot of one inch makes a big difference apparently today. Very exciting, Joy, for Kyle or Murray.

Well, I think it's important that we got the final answer. Yes. So he's 5.10. They measured him. 5.10 and-206. Yeah. 1-8th. 5-10 and 1-8th and 206.

And that's a robust dynamic change. this is what's interesting about this. I get it, I get it, I get it. Since Russell Wilson came out, more and more people are saying size doesn't matter. I've always argued Russell Wilson's a Hall of Famer first ballot. One of the great gifted quarterbacks reminds me of a right-handed Steve Young that I've ever seen. Steve Young and Russell Wilson, to me, will never get the respect because one's a lefty and one's a little smaller. They're all-time top 15 quarterbacks ever.

But we want to compare everybody now to Russell Wilson. But remember, Johnny Mansell was tiny. Bust. RG3, tiny thin frame. People talked about it. Bust. Teddy Bridgewater, tiny thin frame.

Lost a year due to a practice injury. It's not just the height. As Benjamin Albright came out today, a guy I respect on Twitter covers the NFL. He said, Russell Wilson was 206, but he was trying to lose weight for the combine and testing so he'd run faster. Okay, his playing weight, Russell Wilson's playing weight is 225.

He was trying to lose weight to be faster with the pre-draft testing. Kyler Murray's playing weights 190. He bulked up to 206, so people won't think he's small, but his playing weights 190. So Russell Wilson's playing weight 225. Kyler Murray is playing weight 190. That's a 35-pound difference. Look at the difference between the two. Here's their college picture.

Sorry for the radio listeners. Russell Wilson looks like a man at Wisconsin. Kyler-Murray is like a kid. Even his helmet looks too big. Don't compare the two. Folks, I'm a 195-pound guy. There are boxers trying to make weight for a fight that come in at 180. And then the minute the weigh-in's done, they weigh 208.

by the next morning. A lot of people are making wait. There are adjustments here. Kyler Burr is trying to prove to everybody, I am big and strong. He's bulking up. After about four days of training camp, August in the heat, he's down to 192. That's his playing weight. Look at the pictures.

And by the way, now there is a psychology here. There is a psychology at play here that needs to be mentioned. That many of the quarterbacks that get hurt are huge. Cam Newton's huge gets hurt. Carson Wentz huge gets hurt. Andrew Luck huge gets hurt. Big Ben huge that gets hurt. There's a psychology that when you're a big strong quarterback and you were able to run over kids at 8th grade, 8th grade, 9th grade, 10th grade, high school, Pop Warner College, that you have this embedded sort of DNA like Cam Newton. I'm Superman. I don't run over people. Then you get to the NFL and it doesn't work because no quarterback in the NFL. Campernick, Cam Ben can run over guys. You'll lose that battle every time overtime. Okay, so the guys that get hurt are the risk takers. Jared Goff doesn't get hurt because he knows I'm going to get hurt. Brady doesn't get hurt because he knows I get mashed.

Breeze, Rivers, Eli. The quarterbacks that don't get hurt aren't the big strong guys. They're the guys that know, I don't want to get run over. I'm not real tough and big and strong, just like in life. You know who gets beat up a lot in life? The opposite of what you think. Tough guys. Because tough guys get in more fights.

Tough guys are more confrontational. You know who doesn't get into fights and get beat up? Me, I'm a skinny guy. Small guys, passive guys, little guys. They're not confrontational. They don't get into fights. They walk away from trouble. They avoid trouble.

So there is a psychology here that guys who are bigger and stronger and luck and wents and Cam and Ben, they get hurt more. Jared Gough's skinny. He doesn't get hurt. He avoids it. Tom Brady's not fast. Neither is Eli. They get rid of the football fast.

They don't want to get hit. But size does matter. If Connor Murray was 6-4-208, 228, I wouldn't be leading the show with this news that he's 5-10. It wouldn't even be a story. He'd be the number one pick in the draft. And nobody would even doubt it. So if you're telling me, size doesn't matter. And we all know that if he was 6, 3.5, 228 and had all his skills, that would be no story.

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

touchdown. So they do it a lot. As did RG3. So it matters. Not perhaps to be all and all, but I don't believe this morning because I learned Kyler Murray is 510 that now we're all good. His playing weight's going to be way closer to 190, 195 than Russell Wilson's playing weight, which is much closer to 225. All right, let's shift gears. A lot of football today, a lot of football. But the Lakers won last night. They beat the Pelicans. Here's the point we're at with the Lakers and LeBron.

Here's where we're at now. That beating the awful Pelicans at home with Anthony Davis not playing in the fourth and LeBron hitting a crazy three-pointer late winning the game. That this morning, whew, back on track. This feels good. Here comes the eighth seed. Man, we're rolling.

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

The best case scenario for the Lakers at this point, if you look at the Western Conference standings, here's what I believe is the best case scenario. They sneak in statistically basketball reference, Vegas says they're not getting in. But the best case scenario for the Lakers is they slip in as the eight seed. Their schedule's not easy, but they face about seven dogs of their 21 remaining games. They've faced some, you know, some dogs, some Nick. some, you know the bad teams in this league. And they face Denver, who is only a half game out of the number one seat in the West.

So this is the best case scenario. They figure out a way, LeBron puts the cape on, Brandon Ingram keeps playing well, Coosman pretty good, Lanzo ball comes back, workable schedule. They get in as an eight and they face Denver. Because Denver is very interesting. They have no playoff experience among their best players. none. They'll be favored, meaning they could be a little tight. They're a bad road team. Also, their strength is they're really deep. Depth is not winning playoff series. Stars do. And the

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

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

better this year against better teams, blew out the Warriors once. Lanzo balls coming back, workable schedule, but let's be honest about this. We're at the point where beating the Pelicans at home without Anthony Davis late in a LeBron three-pointer feels great. that's kind of where we're at. That's where we're at. Coming up next, Arizona's got the number one pick in the NFL draft. Could you make an argument? They have to pick Kyler Murray.

I'll explain that coming up next. Hi, it's the herd. It's a situation nobody wants to experience during tax season. But with the breaches in the last couple of years, your information may have already been exposed. and that could lead to an unfortunate discovery, finding out that a cybercriminals stole your identity and filed for your tax return.

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you'll also have protection that blocked cybercriminal. criminals from stealing information from your devices. Of course, nobody prevents all of it, or nobody can monitor all transactions at all businesses. But you can join right now and get 10% off your first year. Just head to Lifelock.com or call 1-800 LifeLock and under the promo code Heard. That's Heard for 10% off your first year. God, we're loaded today. Great to have you in. So Kyler Murray came in at 510 instead of 5.9 and a half. And now it's like he's a power for it in the NBA. Like everybody's like, it's like he's Tristan Thompson suddenly. He's like 6'10. Now he's, he's 5'10 and he And 1 8th. And 1 8th. As a short person, I appreciate those. Sure. It's like when you're a little kid and you're like, I'm 9. I'm 9 and a half. No, I'm 5.2 and half. And that's very important. So I do think fit matters. It matters for me. It matters for you in relationships. Fits a really important thing. And it's a really important thing in the NFL.

Sean Payton and Drew Brees, it's like that works. It's like the same kind of intensity, same brain. I think Tom Brady and Belichick are both incredibly driven and aspirational. Belichick couldn't have a quarterback who liked football but didn't love it, and Brady would be frustrated with a coach that wasn't willing to evolve. You can have more talent. Big Ben's going to be a Hall of Famer. Mike Tom was going to be a Hall of Famer.

And they're not a great fit. They've underachieved. Mike McCarthy is, really good coach. Aaron Rogers is a great quarterback. They didn't really fit. They've underachieved. Fit matters. Kyler Murray, Arizona's got the number one pick. Kyler Murray fits Cliff Kingsbury.

Now, I don't think he's the best quarterback in the draft, Dwayne Haskins is. And I think Josh Rosen eventually could be better too. But they don't fit Cliff Kingsbury. Okay, Kyler Murray is the quarterback in the NFL that Cliff Kingsbury would choose second out of all of them. First is Patrick Mahomes. Run around, make the throws in that system, that spread system. And this matters, and this is a real thing. And remember, Arizona, Steve Kime, the GM, after last year's debacle, and there's a little bit of a rocky ship, they've given the farm to Cliff Kingsbury.

So if Cliff Kingsbury does not work, Steve Kime gets fired, scouting guys get fired, vice presidents get fired, they're cleaning house. You've got to make Cliff Kingsbury work. He's got a four-year, no-cut deal. And you just had a coach. He got rid of him after about 45 minutes. So this has to work. Or everybody's getting fired. And whether he works or not, I don't know.

He's very, very young and improved in the NFL. But he is a smart guy, and he's a clever guy, and he's a progressive thinker. But the quarterback he's got right now, he didn't pick Josh Rosen. That wasn't his guy. And Josh Rosen isn't a great fit. Josh is pro-style, not athletic. less mobile than Eli, 100% pocket passer, and frankly, little brittle. I think Josh Rosen fits as the next Tom Brady.

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

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

Not right now. Is practiced, rehearsed, is calculated. Are you going to leave your current job? You just interviewed for her job. Are you going to leave your current job? not right now is not no okay not right now is what you go into interviews saying through calculation okay he knew the question was coming from me before me and after me and he gave the same answer yesterday and that is not a no not right now is what you say when you're hedging so i think

Arizona has big questions, and I think the greatest thing to happen to Kyler Murray is not that he's 510 and 1-8, not 5-9 and a half. I think the greatest thing is fit matters a lot, and Cliff Kingsbury has to work in Arizona, or they are turning this ship on its side, and everybody's going into the sea. And I think he's a really, really good fit. And Albert Brewer told us yesterday about Cliff Kingsbury and Kyler Murray and why it works. I talked to Lincoln Riley last week. Lincoln Riley played with Cliff Kingsbury at Texas Tech. He's coached against Cliff Kingsbury the last four years. And of course, he had Kyler Murray on his roster over the last three years. And Lincoln told me that Kyler is a perfect fit for what Cliff Kingsbury wants to do.

He wasn't saying they're going to trade Josh Rosen and take Kyler number one overall. But he said the fit was, the fit there is absolutely perfect. There have been enough rumblings that Arizona would consider it, would look at it hard. and if Cliff really wants it, I think that the Cardinals would listen to Cliff on that. So there we are. Kyler Murray is not 5.9.5. He is bulked up to 206 and he's 510 and 1 8th.

Joy Taylor with the news. No, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. So the heat had a fun night last night. Wade hit a circus buzzer beater against the Warriors to give the heat the 126-125 win. He sent the Miami crowd and his teammates

in hysteria following this shot and he spoke afterward about what the shot meant for him. Been in his position so many times and so many times you don't make the shot. And the one I make is a one-legged flick from my chest. It's crazy, but it's great to do it in front of fans. You know, just a fun moment. I told stuff.

I was just, I needed this one on my way out. By the way, that's Kevin Durant's last game against Dwayne Wade. So 20 years from now, Kevin Duran will be telling like kids, Yeah, I played Dwayne Wade. I remember my last game. I mean, that's a great last game for all those warriors to put in their memory bank 30, 40, 50 years from now. Your last game against the Great Dwayne.

Right. And Duran is the one standing right next to him at the end when he hits the shot. It was a really cool moment. This whole year's been really cool for Wade and Dirk also, even though Dirk hasn't actually announced that he's retiring, even though everyone's kind of treating him as if he's retiring. He said he still feels good, so I don't know if that means he's coming back or not. That would be kind of awkward.

but Wade is definitely hanging it up after this year. Yeah, and your all-time, classy starting five, Dirk Novitsky is a forward, and D. Wade's a shooting guard, just two of the best dudes all time. And D. Wade has done a really great job of reinventing himself throughout his career. I mean, people call it the end of his career when LeBron left for Cleveland and how many years are we now later. And him leaving Miami was kind of a sore spot for a lot of Pete fans,

although it kind of had to happen. But this was a great moment for heat fans in ways. That's great video. And it's just fun. It just looked like he's having fun. Yeah. It's just nice. Nice crowd, too.

The guy with me, it was sold out because it's the warrior. So, you know, it could have been like, it could have been Atlanta on a Wednesday, but it was the warrior, so it was packed. Yes, yes. All right. So the Lakers are expected to be major players in the summer's free agency, obviously, and they'll have enough cap room to sign a Max player.

However, former player and one-time Laker Antoine Jameson said that the Lakers can no longer rely on bragging about their championships when they recruit free agent. Thank you. He said the most important thing in today's generation is winning. In the past, it was more about the destination and the market, but these guys can play in Alaska and still have unbelievable marketing and sell anything. Now these guys are like, look, we love L.A. We're there in the off-season, but we want to know if we can win.

You can't recruit off the banners and pass championships anymore. I definitely agree with this. There was a time when they could do that. And even as a pretty recent, I feel like they could have done that. But the state that the Lakers are in for the past couple years, and now all the struggles that we're seeing with them this year, it clearly is not the same level of expectations that you have from the Lakers in the past. Yeah, baseball does not have a salary cap.

So one of the advantages the Yankees have isn't their championships? They just got more lettuce. They got more money. But in basketball, it's a salary cap. Right. So you're going to get paid, what you're going to get paid. Where can I win games? Well, yeah, because with the ability to watch and stream games,

you're not going to be in some random market where nobody sees you. If you're a good team, you get seen even if you're in a small market and you still get the shoe deals. And like he said, a lot of guys come out here and train during the off season or live out here in the off season. You can move wherever you want. So the idea of living somewhere in a league where you travel as much as they do in the NBA, it's like, what are you really offering? Of course, you know, the nicer weather is nice, but am I going to go there and watch my career die? So they definitely have to change that. But I don't know. This, this for you. agency. It's going to be interesting. So finally, Antonio Brown was not a fan of Kevin Colbert's

recent comments. That's the Steelers GM. He said Ben Raffa Sgrger has 52 kids under him, and that's where Brown drew the line. While Colbert later clarified, he only meant to point out Rathesberger's experience as a two-time Super Bowl champion. Damage is already done. Brown told ESPN, of course he tried to clarify because he stated the truth. He's going to backpedal on his words. But what grown man is calling another grown man a kid? 52 kids. Like you don't have no. No respect for these guys. Like these guys that go to work for you, things are not getting better. They're not changing.

I got to say, he's kind of right. I mean, Antonio Brown's been talking about how there's a lack of respect there and the communication and how he's treated and all that. And I do think that there's enough blame to go around with Antonio Brown. He has had his own issues off the field also as well. And you can blame Ben and you can blame Tomlin and you can blame GM. But this did say a lot. We hold athletes to every single word that they say when they talk to the media. We pick it apart very specifically.

If you're a GM, we just talked about Arizona, you know what every word that you say matters. And if this is the tone that you just so flippantly throw out there, 52 kids, I mean, I don't like to be called a kid. I'm not a kid. If I'm getting called a kid, it's by a grandparent. Right. Like sometimes even my mom, I'm like, I'm not a kid anymore. You know what I mean? these are grown men. They're not kids. They have kids. Yeah, I still think, I mean,

I still think Antonio Brown would be best served to hibernate a little bit on all these comments and hide. I think he's just trying to clarify that he's trying to use this as an example of what he's been trying to say and not the most eloquent way. But this is a tone that a lot of people pushed back on this. You just can't talk like that. I talked to a scout yesterday and somebody I trust and he said he's not sure Antonio Brown is going to have any takers. Pittsburgh may get stuck with him. I mean, so it's

there's, I'm hearing right now there is nobody on the market interested in AB. I'm also told there are multiple teams interested in Odell Beckham Jr. and they're teams with good quarterbacks. I find it very difficult to believe that no one is interested in me. I think

it just might be that the Steelers aren't interested in the packages that are being offered for AB or pick. It is offered for A-B, but at this point, it's probably best for everyone to just part ways and take what you get. Joy with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Hurd-Ly News.

Niners GM, John Lynch, top of the hour. They'll have one of the better picks. They don't need a quarterback, but we'll ask John Lynch about Kyler Murray anyway, who is now officially 5, 10, and 1-8. Last night, Lakers won. LeBron sat down, talked to our next guest, Chris Haynes, one-on-one after the game. so let's bring him in. NBA Insider, covered the Warriors for ESPN, covered the calves for the Cleveland Plain dealer, and last night it was at the Lakers game.

So, you know, there is this video out there of LeBron a couple of games ago just stinking it up on the defensive end, and LeBron sees everything. These guys see everything. It was funny. I was talking to O'Dell back on the other day, and he says, I see everything. He goes, I hear everything. If I don't hear it, my friend sent it to me. So these guys do hear everything.

And LeBron undoubtedly went to social. media and saw that video out there where he was hanging out and out playing defense. What did he say? Well, but first, let me say what you're not seeing, Colin, is that this week, now I'm officially the best dress guests you've had on this week. You have. You have Catino Mobley. You have.

Okay, thank you. I want to make that clear first. Sure. But to LeBron, I asked him about, you know, the criticism he's been receiving about his defense. And he said, look, he said, I hear it. He said, but look, if teams really do think I'm a liability, and they, they, they, they, they, They believe that to be true. Then come at me.

He said, have the pick and roll switch. I'll get the guard. I'll guard him. And let's see what happened. He said, bring it on. And, you know, he had a good defensive stop there against Drew Holiday late in the game last night. And, you know, which he wouldn't hit the dagger three-pointers. So, you know, he takes his fuel.

But, you know, he does admit that at times, you know, he takes, you know, some, you know, he's not at his best all the time. Yeah. But he relishes to the challenge. Yeah. By the way, last night he was good. Last night he played well. He had a great three-pointer late in the game and put all the numbers up and played better defense last night. You know, the Kyrie Irving situation is an interesting one because we do have a history in the NBA.

Is that Kyrie, John Wall, Westbrook, Marbury, there have been great talented point guards, but they're not necessarily great within a structure or a system, nor do they always elevate teammates. We've got some empirical data on the Laker, on the Celtics, with Kyrie this year and without him. Uh-oh. And it's not great for him. I mean, they're 28, 23 with him. They average six points less a game.

They shoot a significantly better three and field goal percentage without him, and they pass more. Nobody's doubting his talent, or John Walls, or Westbrooks, or Karees, or Marbury, or Stevie Francis. I covered Damon Stodemeyer. But Damon at times struggled because he was so talented within the structure of a coach's system. I mean, these numbers, everybody around the league in analytics is seeing these numbers. This is not a great look for Kyrie. They lost again last night. Yeah, it's not.

And he doesn't sound like he's having fun. It doesn't sound like he wants to be there at all as well. So look, I think obviously what is going on with that team dynamic is obviously some of the reason why he's acting or responding the way he is right now, just being snarked with the media. Yes. You know, just being dismissive. But I've been around Kyrie. He gets like that. And I covered him when he was in Cleveland with LeBron.

Okay, so let's talk about that. Well, you know, I've said this. You know, Kyrie was always, for me, one of the toughest players to cover, you know, because he would get in those moods to where if he's not feeling the environment, if he's unhappy, everybody's going to feel it. Okay. So, Ed, that's what Marcus Smart said the other night. He's like, we're not getting along.

We're not communicating. So you found Kyrie to be, is moody fair? more than fair. Okay. So he was the moodiest player you cover. Yeah, no doubt. So right now he's getting banged on by the media. He's struggling.

People are blaming him. Did you find that he could pop out of that? Well, look, he has a skill set that's undeniable. I still think he's one of the best, if not the best closer we have in this game. And so at the end of the day, winning Cures All. And he said it last night. He just wants to get to the postseason, where he can. really shine. The problem is that

if you're going through the course of the regular season where your team is not jelling, nine times out of ten, that's going to transition into postseason play. It's not going to be able to just turn that switch on and off. But the way he's acting right now is very disheartening. And, you know,

for the self-dicts, you know, they're not used to this. Brad Stevens is not used to having the eagle like this. This is the first blip in their rebuild. They got the right coach. They got the right picks. They got Jason Tatum. They got Gordon Hayward. This is the first blip. And it's bad time in Colony. Kyrie's going to a free agency summer.

So if the season ended right now, boy, you know, I would be devastated from a self-defense to figure out what Kyrie would do next. Let's segue back to LeBron James when you sit and talk about him. Do you find that LeBron's in a place where, listen, injury may not make the playoffs. This is very foreign territory for the king. What's his mood like? I don't think he realizes that this is a real possibility that he could miss the postseason. Oh, really?

And you said yesterday, you don't think they'll land AD. I said, no, I think I said, yeah, next year, I think, I just think New Orleans, they can be hamstrue. You know, I just think they can be deliberate in their pursuit of not getting AD the Lakers. That's why I say that. But I think with his success, I think it's 13 consecutive postseason of people. experiences by LeBron. Like, this is just unimaginable for a player like him. So I really do feel like he believes he's still the best player.

I talked about in my story, I asked him about, will you know when it's time to pass the torch? He said, we'll see. He said, at some point you have to. So I let me know he still feels like he's the best right now. And that's why he thinks that he can get this team into that top eight. And so I think it's a real possibility because, look, I'll say this. anytime a coach is changing the start line up

late February, early March, that's a problem. Luke Walton's doing that. Luke Walton. That's a problem. You don't see that too often in the NBA. And so that lets you know there's some real concerns with that team. Yeah, Kyle Kuzma last night started as a center. Yeah.

Yeah. Well, I mean, I will say this. And I'm not going to blame anybody for this, but I have a source who I trust, and I think it's 10% Luke Walton is the coach next year and 90% he's not. When I all say that, you react to it. I think 90% he's out. It would take getting into the playoffs, knocking off of Denver, it would take things I don't think this club is capable of.

I wouldn't dismiss that. Okay. You don't disagree with me? No, I don't know. If I said there's another coach out there, let's look at each other, wave length. Do you have in mind another coach for the Lakers next year? Well, obviously. You know, Tyron Loo.

Okay. That's what I think. Tyrone Lou. I mean, LeBron James, when he got, Lou got, the day Lou got fired, LeBron James put a tweet out, you know, supporting them. You know how to contact me if you need me? He did? He did.

That's powerful. That's almost as powerful as that half-inch Kyler Murray got at the combine today. That's the most powerful thing that's happened today. 5.9.5 to 510 and 1-8. I mean, if they didn't measure tight, it wouldn't matter. That's true. All right. So Chris Haynes, one-on-one last night with LeBron James.

Good seeing you. Thank you, Colin up next. We know it's true, but we don't want to say it's true. But it is. And there's an NFL team that would get better if they did it. But I don't think they have the guts to do it. That story and that player and that team coming up next. Be sure to catch live a day.

of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHeart Radio app. Cold and flu season. Try Vix Synex nasal spray. A couple of sprays, works in seconds, clears your nose up to 12 hours use only as

directed. So you ever known something to be true? You know it's true, but you don't want to say it. And you don't want to hurt your wife's feelings or your in-law's feelings or somebody at works feelings. And there's a lot of times is that you know something's true.

But you just don't want to create chaos. You don't want to hurt feelings. You don't want to let people struggle with something. And I'm looking at the list this morning of all the odds where Nick Foles, who's now a free agent, he can go everywhere. The Eagles did him a solid. He can pick wherever he wants to go. And Philadelphia got every ounce out of him.

And there's this list of where Nick Foles is going to play next in the odds. Okay. This is at a bet online. And it's Jaguars, Dolphins, Bingles, Washington, Oakland, Buffalo, Arizona. And they put down there at New York Giants. Everybody gets, let's just say it. It's okay to hurt Eli Manning's feelings. He's got a stack of money in two rings.

Nick Foles fits the New York Giants perfectly. There's four reasons. Number one is he's humble. He is Eli Manning. The one thing he shares with Eli Manning is his personality trait. with a New York press, you want to be Jeter, talk and never say anything. You want to be Eli, humble, you'll want to be Nick Foles. He's a perfect personality.

Number two is Pat Schumer coached Nick Foles in Philadelphia. It's the best year Nick Foles ever had, 27 touchdowns, two picks. He was his offensive coordinator, the best year he ever had in 2013. Sherman's now the coach of the New York Giants. Nick Foles was out of his gourd good. Number three is Foles is a distributor. He's really coachable. He knows where the weapons are and the Giants have him.

Saquan Barkley, star running back. Odell Beckham, world class receiving talent. Number two receiver, Sterling Shepard. They have a very, very good B, B, plus young tight end, Evan Ingram. They got weapons. And that's what he's good at. You can't ask him to carry this. He needs weapons.

He needs help. He's coachable and he's a distributor. And number four is he knows the Eagles rival of the giants inside and out. He knows their playbook. He knows their coaches. He knows their tendencies. He knows their roster. He knows their liabilities and weaknesses.

Nick Fulz is a perfect New York giant. And they don't have the guts to do it. And right now he's a better quarterback than Eli. He is. He's humble. He's worked with Pat Schumer. Giants have excellent weapons, which plays to his strength and he's got intimate knowledge of the Philadelphia Eagles that are probably the second

biggest, maybe the first biggest rival of the New York Giants. And I look at all these teams on this list and I'm like, come on, we all know that there's one here. I want to go back to Kyler Murray for a second. So Kyler Murray, and I do think there's a possibility he goes one, wouldn't be a guy I would build around, but he's a first round talent. The NFL's new. I do worry about his size. Right now he's got an agent.

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

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

Here it is. I can't hear you. There's too much money in my fucking hand. I can't hear you. I can't hear you. I'll call you back. We'll call you back. Zero to a hundred?

Yeah. You're a f***ing. Oh, God. This is terrible. That's the comp physically is Johnny Mansell, and now you got the same agent. And I don't know Johnny Mansell's agent, but I got an agent. And I remember years ago asking my parents about like agents, and I got great advice. And the advice I got was, well, they're going to represent you when you're not around.

So you should pick somebody that shares sort of your values. Because when you're not there is when the agent's often there. and does Kyler Murray, this is the agent he's got right now, recently on a podcast, here he is. Tyler is not some little shrimp they're making him out to be. This kid weighs 205 yesterday. Holy shit. This kid is jacked the F up. These days and age of these old NFL dinosaurs and scouts that sit back and talk about what players can't do.

Oh, he can't do that. He's not this. He's not that. Those are the losers. You want all your requirements and all of that? that's not what the NFL game is today. Yeah, it actually is. And by the way, Belichick won a Super Bowl.

He's almost 70. He's not a dinosaur. I just don't think that's a great look for Kyler Murray. I don't think it's good. Because when I think of Kyler Murray, I see Johnny Mansell physically. I don't see Russell Wilson. Russell Wilson playing weights 225. He cut weight before he got into the NFL to run faster.

His playing weights 225. Kiler Murray's playing weight. He's jacked up to 206. His playing weights in the 190s. He's about 25 pound lighter than Russell Wilson. I don't see the same quarterback. I see Johnny Mansell. And then I share his agent, right?

Anything, if you're connected to Johnny Manzell, it's just bad news. By the way, Kyler Murray was almost a baseball guy. He had Scott Boros, who's like the world's best agent. Now, I don't think you can use boros and football. Maybe you can, but I think you have to be approved. I think Boris is pretty much exclusive to MLB. Yeah. But, I mean, wouldn't Boris have had a better suggestion?

than this guy in a podcast calling guys over 60 dinosaurs? I don't know that I see Mansell. I just, I think, well, to his credit, Kyler Murray has become the talk of the combine in the draft. I mean, he went from us being completely questioning his size and if he's even an NFL player because he was trying to decide if he was going to play baseball to now is he going to go number one overall to a team that took a quarterback in the top 10 last year.

It's actually pretty remarkable. Yeah, I mean, like I get the world's changing. And ever since Russell Wilson got drafted in 2012, size is less significant. But I keep pointing out, Mansell was small bust. Teddy Bridgewater and RG3, very thin frames people are worried about. One's a bust. One has been hurt. You know, size frame.

It doesn't matter. But to me, if my job and the jobs of a bunch of other people are on the line, I'm not looking for the acceptance. I'm not looking to prove that I'm some football genius who found the one that can overcome all these things. But again, I don't care about his size. That's not changed. That's not news. Show me what he can do in the field that you can develop and make better. You can't change his size.

Go to an NFL practice. It's violent. Practice. Forget games. Islanders, Maple Leafs tonight, Discover card key matchup. Get your free credit scorecard today, even if you're not a Discover customer. include your FICA credit score. Learn more, Discover.com slash credit scorecard.

Limitations applied. John Lynch, Daniel Jeremiah, Jordan Palmer loaded next. Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd, weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. Ah, this is The Herd. Wherever you may be and however you may be listening, hour number two, and we got breaking news. We're on IHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, and FS1. wherever you may be and again, however you may be listening to us. How about this?

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

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

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

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

Look at the kid George Kittle. It's San Francisco. We all know Gronk, Zach Ertz, and Philadelphia. They just matter. Baltimore went and got two last year in the draft, and they were both really good. So John Lynch, the San Francisco 49ers general manager, will be joining us in a couple of minutes from the combine.

So there it is. Jason Witten is returning to the Dallas Cowboys, 36 years old, turns 37 by next season. Yeah, I think this is a, let's be honest about this. If broadcasting was going great, he'd stay. I mean, there's nothing better than doing broadcasting when somebody pays you $5 million a year and you don't get hit. And everybody's telling you how smart you are like Tony Romo.

Tony Romo everywhere he goes now. It's like he's getting better as a quarterback as he is a broadcaster because he's such a good broadcaster. When Tony Romo left football, everybody's like, can win a big game. Now everybody loves Tony Romo. So when the broadcasting goes well like it has for Troy Aikman or Tony Romo,

it's a great job. If it doesn't go well and you're getting massive scrutiny, football's way more fun. This is something. I don't know how you look coming off of a year off of football. That would be my concern. I mean, his leadership abilities obviously

are not in question. That's fine. Yeah, he'll have good hands. How we will actually play. is something else altogether. Yeah. Well, I mean, if you think about how long he was actually, yeah, he was off for a full year. Listen, when he left,

Goulet, you're our resident cowboy officiado. You've watched every piece of grainy tape for the last 40 years. His last year, describe his last year as a cowboy. Well, it's not super athletic. But he's, like you said, he's good at finding open space and he's sure-handed. So he's great for little four-yard dump-offs over the middle.

He's still a really intelligent player. I think they honestly want him more for that. He's not going to have a 600-yard season. He's going to have three or 400 yards. But he's intelligent. He's a locker room guy. He's a captain. He'll help.

Yeah, this is more of an intangible move than it is. Dallas is young. Decc's young. Dax young. Most of the defensive front's young. They're two great linebackers are young. Their best corner is young. Even Amari Cooper, who's a veteran, is very young.

He's like 24, 25 years old. Yeah. So it's a very, very young team. and it matters. Again, Jason Witten is probably not worth a point a game in the NFL. He may not be worth half a point. But can you envision Jason Witten coming back, elevating a young team,

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

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

Dallas didn't want him out. Dallas wanted him to stay because DAC was young. So this is not one of these things where it was your class. He's too expensive. Let's get rid of him. Dallas wanted to keep him. He decided it's time. And maybe some of it was.

Tony Romo was doing so well and having so much fun that Witten looked at it and thought, yeah, I mean, Tony Romo and Jason Witten are tight. And they were roommates. So in camp, they're roommates. So you could imagine Romo's telling Witten, hey, this is fun. You don't get hit. I get a golf a lot. I don't have to lift weights every day.

I don't have to get up at 5 a.m. and I only worked like 17 days a year. And maybe it was too big of an opportunity to pass up. Right. And remember, Aikman's a broadcaster on the number one team at Fox, and Romo's the number one guy, cowboy on CBS. And Michael Irvin's kind of the biggest star on the NFL network, and went and took the biggest job on ESPN slash ABC.

So, like, Jerry gave him his blessing, because Jerry kind of looked at it like, I kind of like him. Jerry wouldn't have been as happy if he went to a team. But Jerry was okay saying, you know, it's good for my brand. It's good for the Cowboys. It's good for Cowboy Nation. Another Cowboy on Monday Night Football.

How about that? So there's your story today. Jason Witten is going from broadcasting back to football. John Lynch went from broadcasting back to football. And we didn't like it here. We were bummed out, but we're really happy for him. And John is joining us at the Combine via the Cowherd Global Satellite Network. Well, how about that?

You know, it's funny. So Jason Witten is going back to football. John, can you envision a moment where you put the pads back on? Well, Colin, actually, I want to make an announcement here. I'm signing myself to play strong safety for the... No, I'm just playing with you. It's crazy. I just heard that.

And, you know, my first thought is that Witt's a good friend, but that broadcasting stuff's not so easy, right? And, you know, I know the feeling that, you know what? even though football is really hard, there's, you know, sometimes when you're trying something new, gosh, you know what, it comes natural to me and other things are tough. But I think wit, probably, I don't know this. This is surprising to me as well. But sometimes that itch hasn't gone away. And I suppose that's the case. And good for him. I'm excited as everybody else is. By the way, you've got, when you're a general manager of a team, you made a gutsy move and you went and got a franchise quarterback, and I think you had to do it because you got the coach and the quarterback, and that's about 50% of this league.

Now I could say, John, you need another perimeter star. John, you need another pass rusher. When you look at your team sitting above, if I said, John, one or two needs next step now that you have Garapolo, in your eyes, what are those? Well, I think, you know, I think one thing that I always, I think Ernie, of course, he once said, you got to have that quarterback and then you got to have the guys to knock him down. So we believe we have our quarterback and Jimmy Garoppolo. We're excited to have him back this year and healthy. And, you know, we're excited with our team's prospects when he's out there. You know, we've got a number of good defense alignment.

It has felt like we're missing that perimeter edge guy. Yeah. Fortunately, I'll tell you, Colin, and this isn't, I'm not the, you know, it's not like I have a unique perspective. This is an incredibly talented defense-aligned class in this draft. And not just as outside guys, inside guys. It's as good as it's been in years. And so, you know, I think that's a need for us. It's a need for a lot of people.

And, you know, when you say a need, you usually think you're really bad. I just look at it as I think that's one piece that's missing from an area where we, we can become a tough team to deal with. We've got guys like the Forrest Buckner and Eric Armstead and Solomon Thomas inside. If you put that edge presence, I think we can become a unit that is tough to deal with. It's interesting, John, because you hit a home run at Tide End with George Kittle. I mean, you hit it out of the park. I think Garoppolo's a home run.

I think you took a tackle from Notre Dame that people thought you drafted too high, and I thought he was a monster. You're set there. You got a running back who can catch. You got some nice components offensively. But I keep hearing Niners O'Dell and all these big names. Here's what I would ask you. I've watched the Rams and the Eagles in the last two years dip into free agency.

And that was always kind of the silly man's land. Like, yeah, that's just wasted money. But it does feel like, John, there is a little trend in this league to play with trades more. And to do a little NBA. Go get a free agent. Rams did it. Eagles did it. And it paid off.

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

We did it with Jimmy Gropolo. There's been a number of instances here in recent years. You mentioned a couple of them, and yeah, people are more inclined to do that than ever before, and that makes this job exciting, and it also makes your opportunity to improve as a team, and hopefully when you do those things, that it's a win-win for both sides.

We know the two receivers that are out there. I mean, it's well advertised. Odell and AB. I prefer Odell. a personal opinion. When you're talking about free agents, you have a young quarterback. Do you think about the psychology of it? How would Jimmy G. do this? How would my coach do? With stars out there, superstars, they can change a locker room. What would go about your thinking? Would Jimmy G's youth concern you? What would make you pull a trigger on something like that? Well, I think

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

but Kyler Murray came in at 510. I will say this, he's crazy fun. I mean, you don't need a quarterback, so you're not, but it's like, what do you make quarterback height, size, what do you make of all that talk? Well, I'll tell you, just, you know, we didn't study Kyler a lot this year because, like I said, we have three quarterbacks we really like Jimmy and Nick Mullins and C.J. Bethard, but I tell for enjoyment. I find myself often now just throwing him in. It is fun to watch and he is an electric talent. I had a chance

to meet the young man. He came up to me on the street in Atlanta down at Super Bowl. I could have told you that I knew it wasn't going to be 5'9. I didn't know what it'd be. He was standing next to Baker and I said, you know, that's not three inches. It might be one and a half. And it sounds about where

it ended up. But, you know, he's a special talent and you know, I think it's going to be fun to watch him in our league, unless, you know, of course you have to have to play against him. So we'll see where that all ends up. And, you know, he is an extremely good football player. Finally, John Lynch, former Niner Fox broadcaster now.

He is running a former NFL player, I should say, with Tampa 11 years, Denver, 4, and now the Niner GM. Finally, you have the number two pick. And I don't consider you in full rebuild mode because I think you would have won 8, 9, 10 games last year with Jimmy G starting. But I do think you, you have. you are rebuilding parts of your football team.

Would you trade the number two pick for several picks? Would you do that? I think we're open to anything. We showed a couple, you know, my first year on the job, we went back one spot for several picks. So I think you, you know, Colin, the one thing I've learned, a lot transpires between now and then, and, you know, including, hey, do we fall in love with the player

that said, you know what, we're silly if we move out of it. And, you know, the reason some people say, well, why don't you already know that? Well, your coaching staff just finished season. Now they're jumping in. They've done their free agent work. Now they're diving into the draft. So you know then we collaborate and we start putting all these thoughts together and it's an ongoing process. So there's so many different factors. Is there is there somebody to trade for, is somebody to

trade with, you know can you agree on a value, all those things but yes you you know you have those thoughts you go through different scenarios and then you know the draft happens and that's when all the fun starts. John formerly at Fox we miss you one of the good guys. guys, good talking to you. Thanks a lot, Colin. So there you go. How about that?

Jason Witten, no longer a broadcaster. Jason Witten, breaking news, is now back to being a Dallas cowboy, 36 years old, 37 in May. And broadcasting was not great, little clunky. And so he segues out of the booth, back to the Cowboys, veteran leadership. on a team that could use it. Most of their best players, Zeke, Dach, DeMarcus Lawrence,

Jones the Corner, Jason, Jalen Smith, Van der Wesh. If I listed their top eight players, Tyron Smith and Zach Martin, you know, Sean Lee, I'm not sure his future there, but they can use him.

And the guy, zone coverage, he finds openings. If you play, man him up, you can shut him down. But you play a zone and Jason Witten gets open. And is he going to have 400 yards this year?

I can absolutely see that. They got their Amari now. They got Cole Beasley, their slot guy. They got their star running back. They have a young kid Michael Gallup they like. Tight end is kind of the weakest spot on their roster. Yeah, and they don't have a first round pick. Now there's a, they may take a tie.

My guess is with the Cowboys, they take a tight end in the second round. And there's about six, two at Iowa alone that are great. But Jason Witten's back. I don't think it's a bad move. I mean, if I was Jerry Jones today, I'd feel pretty good about it. I'd feel pretty good about it. Yeah, it proves once again that playing in the NFL is way easier than doing what I'm doing. Way easier.

This thing right here is virtually impossible. Tackling guys, big deal. Fighting off Aaron Donald? Come on. Child's play. Jason Witten's a cowboy again. One more herd? The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

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Save three grand off MSRP breaking news. Jason Witten bailing on Monday night football and going back to the Dowell's Cowboys for his 16th year. he's 36 years old. You know, this is another reminder that the Dallas Cowboys are much better run than people think. Okay? They bailed on Des Bryant at the perfect time. They found Dak Prescott in the fourth round. They got all sorts of pushback for Amari Cooper in a first round pick, home run.

They nailed the draft. Layton Vanderey, small town, Idaho. Who is this kid? They reached home run. run. They drafted linebacker from Notre Dame Jalen Smith, who was hurt and said he's an unbelievable talent. We're just going to wait a year. He's not going to play and everybody pushed back. And it was another draft home run. They had a Zeeke controversy that was a mess. And they handle it pretty smartly. And oh, by the way, now they're bringing Jason Witten back,

the weakness of the team. They are desperate at tied end. He's going to be a great leader, nice third down guy against a zone. I mean, this is once again proving the Dallas County Cowboys know what they're doing. The New York Giants don't. Washington Redskins I can push back on. There's a lot of dysfunction in this league. Miami and Tampa. Historically, Cleveland, though, they have a GM that certainly knows talent. Cincinnati, Oakland. You can't put Dallas in that group. From drafting DAC in the fourth round to bringing Wittenback, to bailing on Desert the perfect time, to making a gamble with Amari Cooper that's been a home run, to finding latent Vanderash and Jalen Smith, risky picks to a lot of people, and they have both, that's the best young linebacking duo

on the NFL. And Chicago's got a good one, but that's about the best. So, you know, this is a well-run organization. This is a well-run organization. You think Jerry and you think vanity and a lot of ego and I don't see it. I know Charlotte, sharp as attack. I don't know Stephen, but if he's controlling the draft, they draft well. I mean, they draft well.

They got a lockdown corner, an elite pass rusher, world-class center, left tackle, running back. They got all the things, and they got now a perimeter star, two stud linebackers. They have so many linebackers. They could keep Sean Lee or not, and he's terrific. So Jason Witten's coming back, another smart, I think it's a smart move by the Cowboys. Joy with the News. No, no, no, no. Turn on the news.

This is the Herd Line News. So the Celtics are going through it a little bit. They're a roughest stretch of the season, basically. Lost four games in a row after last night's lost to the Blazers. And Kyrie Irving is tired of the stories of the team's lack of chemistry. And yesterday he used his old team, the 2017, Cavs, as a point of comparison. 2017, we'll get down a stretch and we lose a bunch of games in a row. We end up sweeping the whole Eastern Conference.

I don't think anybody needs to conference could really compete with. with us at a high level we're playing the way we're supposed to be playing. I mean, I can't wait for us. All those other BS about regular season and keep getting better and talking over and over and over and again about what we can do to keep getting better than the legacy. I just want to be at the highest level plan. And that's what I'm here for it. Wants to get to the playoffs. Wasn't he playing with LeBron from that Cavs team?

Yeah. That's why the regular season didn't matter. Right. I mean, what are we talking about here? Let's be serious. That's not a good comparison. I understand that that was a success for them, but it was because LeBron was on the team that that was a success.

Of course, if you look at the Warriors, we don't talk about the Warriors regular season performance or how they're playing at the end of the regular season, even though I think that that matters to them at this point as well because of them losing a free game league. This is not the same situation. There's a reason why everyone's concerned. And it's not because we forgot that the playoffs are a different animal

than the regular season. The team is different. This is a different situation. You don't have LeBron James there. I don't know what's going to happen with the Celtics, and I am actually concerned about the way that they're... Yeah, I mean, I like Boston, and it's an issue. They're better right now without Kyrie than with him.

It's a problem. Maybe something will switch in the playoffs. I think it will, but it's not good now, today. The East is just not, there's not that much separation in the East. It's not like it was before, where it was like everyone and then the Cavs. This is a different situation. We don't know how, who knows how Philly's going to play in the playoffs. They have a ton of talent.

I'm a big believer in the Raptors, and everyone's counting the bucks out. Like, this is not an easy situation. Yeah. So it looks like LeBron's positivity paid off, up three with just 30 seconds to go. LeBron drilled a pretty amazing one-legged three-pointer from the corner to put the game away last night. But this is a tiny little extra note on that shot is Anthony Davis's reaction to the shot, which is kind of a catch. Which is pretty funny. He looked...

He was a little, like, disappointed and also kind of... like, oh, that's just what LeBron does kind of look. It's really good. Funny luck. It's really good. They beat the Pelicans 125, 119. It's a great game for LeBron. He had 33 points 10 assists and six rebounds.

And three of those points came in that pivotal final minute of the game. But like I said earlier, it's kind of a little bittersweet. It's like a great game. We're considering this a great game at this point in the season. It's pretty crazy for LeBron. I do have this lingering fear of the chaos that's going to ensue if they don't actually make the playoffs. I'm still just, I'm rooting for it, imagining that they do make the playoffs. Are you? Yeah, it's good chaos for us. If the Lakers don't make the playoffs, it's chaos. We're in the

chaos business. I am in the chaos business. I usually root for chaos. However, I do think that certain types of chaos are exhausting. And the conversation about how everything that LeBron has done in his career really doesn't matter because it wasn't in the Western Conference. It's not a conversation I plan on having for the rest of my life, which we will. So finally, trading Khalil Mack has looked like a bad move after the way that he dominated last season, but John Gruden is tired of hearing that. He was speaking with the porters at the combine this morning, and Gruden got very testy over a question about that trade. Oh, sorry, I'm going to read this. I'm getting tired of you, of you bringing that up. Kalil Mack, we made the trade for a lot of reasons, whether it's

popular or not, for the fans that aren't happy about it. We're really sorry about that. It's hard to replace a guy like that. It's sensitive. I'm still sensitive about it. I do know this. My brother didn't get anything back for Kirk Cousins except a compensatory pick. At least we got some picks. We got a chance to do something with that. Yeah, and by the way, Gruden not only got picks, there are a ton of defensive linemen. And so we can all bag on him,

but if there's ever been a year that you need defensive linemen and have a bunch of picks, this is the year. And it's very possible that Gruden said deep down, listen, we got about nine guys next year we can draft. Let's get picks and we'll try to find the next Khalil. Now, you probably won't find the next Khalil, but it is the draft to be looking to replace a star defensive front player. I don't think you replace Khalil Mack.

No. I don't think you are lucky enough to find another Khalil Mack after letting him go. But I do think that he does have a point. At this point, it's like Kalil Mack is gone. Yep. And we haven't been able to use the picks we got for him yet. So let's just wait and see what we get. Yeah.

And then we'll go from there. At this, like, he's gone. We did it. We dealt with it all last year. We've moved on. I'm sure Khalil is happy where he is. He is having success. So I'm kind of with him.

We've got to see what happens with it. Who knows it may end up being a great move or a disaster, only time we'll tell. Joy with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Herd Lie News. Cowboys Jason Witten will sign a one-year, $3.5 million contract per sources. So he is back with the Cowboys out of broadcasting.

And with that, Tom Telesco via the Coward Global Satellite Network at the Combine. Tom, you guys brought back Antonio Gates last year, a old veteran smart tight end. who knows the league, who can certainly find space in his own coverage. Let's just talk about that. Sometimes, you know, you say 35 years old and people think, ah, they're past their prime. But there is value to leadership and experience. And Antonio Gates certainly helped you guys out. Did he not?

No, he really did. And for all those reasons, he just said, I mean, there's the leadership part of it. There's the locker room part of it. He's a great mentor to our young players. But on top of that, and this with Antonio, he still has some juice in his legs. I mean, he could still separate from tight coverage. We would see in different teams we would play. He would still draw double coverage in certain circumstances on third down in red zone.

And he just always has had a great feel to get open and still has its quickness. So he really brought to us, you know, dynamic on third down in red zone. And really, at the end of the year, he was still playing at a pretty high level for us. No, there's no question. You've got all your draft picks. You made the playoffs. So seven draft picks, I'm not sure there's seven guys in this draft that could start for your team. Your roster is pretty thick.

it's pretty loaded. Could I suggest that you are one of the teams with mostly all the pieces you need that could be a free agent player potentially? Move off a pick or two. We'll see. I mean, we're like a lot of teams. Our roster is okay right now,

but we have our weaknesses like everybody else. But we'll look at free agency. We'll look at the draft. We'd always like to accumulate picks in the draft, but it just depends how it goes. It depends how the draft board looks. But we have some things. some piece on this football team. We know we have to get better in a couple of different spots.

And we'll see how this draft works out. But I like where we are going into Freedency, going into the draft. I don't think we have to really reach for players or really push the envelope and go too far on Freedency. Now, we don't have a ton of cap space this year. But I'm always worried about, you know, paying top of the market prices for players that aren't quite top of the market players yet. So we have to be cognizant of that. But we've, you know, through our Freedency the last couple years, whether it's Russell O'Coon or Casey Hayward or Mike Pouncey, we've been able to find a guy here or there that can come and really played a high level for us.

You know, Tom, the last couple of years, it used to be that bad money was free agent money. People would overspend for a wide receiver, and halfway through the guy's first year, you're like, that was bad money. But the Rams, the Eagles, have been aggressive, and it's kind of paid off. They brought in guys.

Do you sense a culture changing in the NFL where people are more willing to go through a free agency route, which has always been big in the NBA? You know, it's hard to tell. Like I said, the Rams and Eagles did a great job with that. But I think, you know, by and large, when you look at it, you have to be very careful in free agency. There's a reason why players get to the market a lot of times. And you try and keep players with you, though you drafted, you developed, and you invested in.

You like to keep them with you if they can help you win. So you have to be very careful. We're very careful with the market. Like I said, I get very careful as far as top of the market prices for a player who might not be like to play at that level because it affects your locker room, affects your salary cap. it affects your cash structure. So, you know, our philosophy is a little bit different. We use it as a supplement.

You know, we're very, we put some critical eyes on these guys. And like I said, for us, our style has worked. But I would say our style may change a little bit each year. It kind of depends on what you have cap-wise too. But that's how we've done it, and it's worked out for us so far. By the way, was the loss in the playoffs to New England, as devastating a loss as you've had because you really have a nice team, you had momentum.

When that game ended, I imagine. in the next 48 hours. It was not easy to sleep for you. What was it like losing that game? It was ugly. It wasn't close. The expectations were through the roof. What was it like coming off that loss watching once again this dynasty just move its way back into the Super Bowl? Yeah, thanks, Colin. Because we had a nice year this year. We beat Baltimore in the playoffs, which was a great win, and then we go to New England. And like I said, it was painful. It was painful at halftime where we were. I mean, the football team I saw on the field, that just, this wasn't us all year. So it was tough to watch. I mean, New England beat us for four quarters,

but we fought back in the second half, but it just wasn't there. They beat us Farrant Square. And yeah, it was tough. You know, we put a lot of work into this. I love the makeup of our football team this year, the camaraderie, the accountability the players had. Anthony Lind did an incredible job with the football team. We had a high talent level. You just don't have that every year. So I felt like we had enough to get to where we wanted to go, to be in the Super Bowl, but we just didn't quite get there against New England. We have to reload this year and get ready to go, and you have to start from the bottom and work your way back up again. But all in all, is pleased with the season, but obviously that last game, that was tough to watch.

By the way, you're getting into that situation with an aging quarterback that you're going to have to develop the next one. Do you have conversations with Philip? I mean, you're in that, you're on the precipice of that or you're there. You're very, very close. He had a great year, but are you going to sit down with Philip at some point and say, hey, don't be offended. We may have to find the next Philip. I've had those conversations with him already. I mean, when I arrived here six years ago, it was on a forefront of my mind that I know Philip can't play forever, and we're going to have to have the next quarterback in place. So that's been the thought every year, and I have no problems with drafting a quarterback and have him sit for a number of

years. I don't have a problem with that. I've told Philip that. He knows that. So this isn't something new this year that all of a sudden now, oh, they're really going to start looking at a quarterback. We've been looking at this for the last six years. And whoever we sign or whoever we draft, if he's a sit for a number of years, then he's sits. Philip played is such a high level this year. He had, you know, one of his career best years. We have a nice team built around him, but like he's still playing at a high level. But we know, you know, we know he's not going to play until he's 45, but he's playing a high level right now, but we'll have a plan behind him. By the way, final question, Tom, Tom Lesko, GM Chargers.

Patrick Mahomes is now in your division. You're going to play him twice a year. You're going to face him 20 times over the next 10 years. He is an all-time talent, okay? Do you now draft a little bit with him in mind knowing that, hey guys, we can't win this division without beating that kid. Does it change your drafting philosophy a little bit facing this kind of talent? It does a little bit, because obviously, we both in 12 and 4, they won the division, they got the buy. That was critical in the playoffs this year. Yep, yep.

So our number one goal is to win the division. So you do have to try your matchups with Kansas City, with Oakland, Denver. You have to take those into account when you're building your football team, how we match up with them, how they match up with us. So that is a big part of team building. Obviously in Kansas City with Patrick Mahomes. He is a high level talent. He's going to be there a long time, unfortunately for us. He's one of the most fun players ever had a chance to watch. Unfortunately, I've got to watch them twice a year against us. But no, you have to build your football team to win your division. That's the first path of the playoffs, and that's how we

look at it. By the way, youngest GM in charge our history, Tom Telesco, at the Combine. Good seeing you, Tom. Good luck going forward. We'll talk soon. Sounds great. Thanks for having me on, Colin. You bet. Yeah, I know it's the best defensive draft up front. They're saying 20 years. Again, the breaking story, Jason Witten is returning to the Dallas Cowboys, 36 years old, 37 by the time the season starts. I think it's an indication once again, the Cowboys know what they're doing. They moved off Des perfectly. They handled the Zeke mess well. They found Dak in the fourth round. They were brilliant moving Amari Cooper for a first round pick,

and he was an absolute offense saver. I think they found Vandrech, Leighton Vandrech in the first round. People push back on that. Who's a small town kid from Idaho? He's been literally a grand slam. The year before they take Jalen Smith, the linebacker from Notre Dame,

who had a massive injury in a bowl game, didn't play, but they rolled the dice. People criticized him, and now Van derrash and Smith are easily the best linebacking duo. And now they bring in Jason Whitten, a veteran leader. He is very much an Antonio Gates. Chargers brought on Antonio Gates, and he was valuable down the stretch. A veteran confined crevices in zone coverage.

And remember, Dallas now has a one, and Amari's going to draw some doubles. That helps the tight end. They also have Zeke who can catch. They got a slot guy, Cole Beasley. We'll see if they can continue to pay him. I actually think the Cowboys will draft a tight end who will sit and watch and learn and play alongside Jason Witten for a year, and it's a good year for a tight end. So Jason Witten is now back with the Dallas Cowboys. Very, very exciting stuff. Also, an update on the Packers,

their situation. Oh, boy. Ooh, boy, getting more interesting by the day. 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 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hard Way with me, your host and your favorite therapist, Kier Games. And in recognition of mental health awareness month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience

in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, We get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. And we're still chasing it. And we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses.

Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on Earth. Are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Keir Gaines, is we have real. conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast,

learn the hard way. Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. What's up, guys? This is Clever Taylor the 4th. And on my podcast, The Cliverts Show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff. Like being an internet famous referee.

We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker, this linebacker walks up to me, he goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What? Time out. Quarterback on office blue with 42. Hey, Wreck. My mama want you to weigh better.

What? Hey, Ms. Parker. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano, and our podcast Point Game is about defying the odds.

Like LeBron heading into the playoffs without Luca and Austin Reed. And finding ways to win no matter what. He's the smartest player to ever play the game. game. His IQ is at a level that we've never seen before. And he knows. Without Luca and Austin Reeves, I got to manipulate the game. We get a player's perspective on the challenges of the playoffs. I think Joker's going to be exhausted this series because when they don't have Rudy in the lineup, he has to really guard guys like Nas Reid. He has to guard Julius Randall. And then he has to give us everything he gives us on the night-to-night basis on offense. And when IT's friends

stopped by, like Quentin Richardson, we dive into some playoff history too. Steve Nass, but get that thing. That man, hell get the flying. He running up the court, licking his fingers, why he got the ball. Like, you go through a training camp with that, Isaiah, you figure it out real quick. Get your ass up and down the court, and you're going to get the ball. So listen to Point Game on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Cold and flu season, try Vic's Sinex nasal spray.

A couple of Sinex nasal sprays works in seconds. Then it works up to 12 hours. Jason Witten's back to being a cowboy, year in the booth. Monday Night Football was not well received. So, you know, I said this earlier that Tony Romo and Wittener really tight. So Tony Romo did broadcasting and it's gone incredibly well. And so I'm sure Tony Romo was in Jason Witten's ear and said you should try, you know, because Jason was on the fence about giving up football.

He wanted to play. And then Romo probably said to him, you can make $5 million. You work one-tenth as much. Your body feels good. And I'm sure he had big influence on Jason, But Jason's not as, I would say, dynamic a personality as Tony Romo. And Tony's also a big star quarterback. And so he just pops more on TV than Jason Whitten.

And I've interviewed him. He's fine. But there's a big difference between doing seven minutes sitting with me and being on Monday night football, which it's the only game being played and everybody's literally there with every word. And so I think Jason Witten said, you know what? I'm going to take a pay cut and go back and play football. And by the way, I was just reading an Adam Schaefter tweet.

there are those in the Cowboys organization, it says, that have long considered Jason Whitten to be great NFL head coaching material. And returning to football, Jason Garrett, one year left, blah, blah, blah. I mean, that feels like a little too fast. Coaching's hard. I mean, just don't kid yourself. I just finished the Bill Belichick book written by Ian O'Connor. I mean, Bill Belichick's first four years as a head coach were rough.

He made a lot of mistakes. I was thinking Kellen Moore, but that is very interesting. Yeah, I think the coaching thing's harder than people think. Of course it's harder than people think. That would be a huge leap. From player broadcaster, back to player, coach of the Cowboys. Yes. That's just a massive leap.

That's a bit traumatic. Yeah, yeah. Oh, you would like to see that? Well, I thought we were for chaos around here. Yeah, but I don't think the Cowboys being one in 15 is good chaos. They were not going to be one and 15. Well, I'm telling you, I just read that Belichick book, and it's remarkable how many mistakes he made his first four years in Cleveland. And he's brilliant.

And his mom spoke seven languages and his dad invented scouting. And Bill learned a lot from Cleveland. And Belichick is one of these guys. He's always been willing to go, okay, made a mistake, get better. Coaching's hard in this league. No, it's very difficult. And it gets diminished all the time, how difficult it is. It's not just the X's and O's.

And you're managing a ton of egos and. personalities and above you and every direction. And the NFC is loaded and it's really easy to go in a, you know, they always say in coaching is that you just don't want to go in a three-game losing streak. Because you lose games and everybody knows it. And then you lose a second game and guys grumble. You lose a third game. You can lose players in the locker room.

So it's that you go into a three-game losing streak and you got the NFC right now is stacked. Philadelphia in that division is really good. So I think we're a little fast to pull the trigger on Jason Garrett. I still think if you take out the two or three or four best coaches, Garrett's in a pool of about 8, 10 solid guys, Dan Quinn level guys who are better on one side of the ball, not A-listers, but good enough. But again, I think it's a really good move by the Cowboys

because, you know, Chargers, we just had their GM on, they brought Antonio Gates back, and He was an old man, he was a creaky old man, and he was valuable. Antonio Gates was definitely valuable this year. He made big plays against Kansas City and good teams. I just some concern because he hasn't been on a football field in a year.

I don't doubt his leadership intangibles or being a good locker room guy or the, you know, the teaching abilities that he's going to help with with the Cowboys. That's not my concern. Not that I think he's going to have some crazy productive year either, but it is something to take a year off and sit in a booth. By the way, he leaves ESPN. They were caught off guard a little bit by it. It was a possibility. they thought it was a fairly remote possibility.

And I think a lot of this is it just wasn't going well there. I mean, listen, Troy Aikman got calls to go back, but Troy Aikman came into the booth and had a lot of talent. And it's like, broadcasting is really, really the perfect landing spot. You stay in football, you get paid a lot, you don't get hit, but you still get to go to the games and talk to your buddies and all your friends. So you don't get the locker room all the time, but you still feel like, you know.

Yeah, but doing a calling a Monday night football game and doing some interviews here and there is two different. Right. Like if, that's very difficult job. Let's say, let's say Jason Witten came here to Fox and we put him on our number three broadcast. 90% of the country wouldn't hear him.

He'd be doing the Tampa Bay Carolina game if you put somebody on their second or third team. But when you put somebody on Monday night football and like Tony Romo. No, you get all the eyes, all the pressure. All the shoes to fill. Yeah. And it's also a. difficult job. It is. It's not easy to do that. Broadcasting is where

the smartest people in the world. No, there's different jobs in broadcasting. This job is... Literally. It's Einstein and us. That's about only people that can get it done here. It's very difficult. If you haven't tried the delicious high-quality meat to butcherbox, go to butcherbox.com slash herd, high-quality stuff, organic, no hormones ever. So here you go. Jason Witton's a cowboy again. I think it's good stuff. And I like it. It makes cowboys interesting. I'll tell you, There's some dysfunction in this organization.

We played this game the other day. If I say organizations to you, you think of dysfunction. Cincinnati, Cleveland, Miami, Jacksonville, Tampa, Washington, Oakland, New York Giants increasingly, Jets. There's a lot of dysfunction. Cowboys do not qualify. They draft well. They sign free agents well. And for the record, they just won a division that has Philadelphia in it for the second time in three years.

They coach pretty well, too. I know nobody, you know, this whole thing about you've got to have rings, you got to have rings. you've got to have rings. Charles Barkley didn't want to win a ring. Dan Marino didn't win a ring. John Stockton and Caramelone didn't win a ring. Rings's not everything. It's something if you want to be the greatest of all time.

But Dallas knows what they're doing. And Jason Garrett's not the buffoon. Many have labeled him as Hour 3 just starting. Absolutely packed. It's the herd. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd. Weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific. Ah, here we go.

It's hour 3 and we're live in Los Angeles. This is The Herd, wherever you may be, and however, you may be listening to us. We're on IHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, and FS1. Lordy, Lordy, Lordy. Jason Whitten, breaking news, has announced after one year, one rocky year as a broadcaster, he is heading back to the Dallas Cowboys. It's a one-year contract somewhere between, you know, three and a half, four-and-a-half million dollars. Jason Whitten had to be...

He's frustrated with a lot of the criticism as a broadcaster after it went so well for a buddy of his and a teammate Tony Romo. And frankly, if you recall, the last year he was in Dallas, Jerry Jones tried to talk him into Sting. Much like Antonio Gates, he's got some game left. Now, he's not going to be a 1,500-yard tight end or a 1,000-yard tight end, but Antonio Gates came back for the Chargers and was a valuable third-down red zone guy, fine spaces against the zone. and so Jason Witten is now a cowboy again. I think it's smarting. I think again, it proves once again, the Dallas Cowboys are a better organization than people think.

They've won the division two out of three years. They found Dak Prescott in the fourth round. They moved off a first round pick for Amari Cooper. Many suggested that was a bad move. It was a home run that saved their offense. They went and got Vanderec. Again, small town Idaho kid. People kind of pushed back.

He was an absolute home run. They have now the best young linebacking duo in the NFL. They handled the Zeke mess, I thought, as bad as well as you could. And Jason, they got rid of Des Bryant at the right time bailed on him. They've done a lot of smart things here. You find a quarterback in the fourth round. You don't have to pay him for three or four years. They're not paying Des, DAC, anything.

And now they bring Jason Wittenback, who's a sage, a veteran. At the weakest part of this roster is probably tight end, I would say, is the weak spot. They're not great at safety. And so they'll probably draft both positions, but I like it. And so there you go. Jason Witten's back to being a Dallas cowboy. And again, don't, don't these old veteran guys in the middle of a field like Gronk, we all bailed on Gronk, myself included.

Gronk was huge against Kansas City. He was huge in the Super Bowl. You don't need Jason Witten to give you 1,000 yards. Gronk was the invisible man for about 13, 14 weeks. He was a blocking tight end. And then all of a sudden it was, oh, went to Kansas City, made the play of the game. Super Bowl against the Rams. Play of the game.

Antonio Gates came back. Very valuable, as Tom Telesco told us. I think that's Jason Witten's role. Very good hands. Smart guy. Finds openings. Nice third down target. And you'll know, you know, something that's really important.

for young quarterbacks. And I still classify DAC as pretty young. You know, it's his fourth year. And to me, Russell Wilson finally clicked in year three. I think DAC continues to get better. Tight ends are really valuable. They're right in the middle of that field. They're right in your sight line.

They're big targets. They're usually 6-5-ish, 245. They're big guys. And they're right in the middle of the field. You have, you know, they're generally most good tight ends are sure-handed guys, they can take a hit. They're valuable. I mean, listen, Tony Romo's best friend on that team was Jason Witten for a reason.

That was his security blanket. I mean, they had their issues at running back when Tony Romo was there. They had their issues on offensive line when Tony Romo was there. They didn't always have a great receiving corps. He had Jason Whitten, who was a college All-American, is going to be a Hall of Famer. And there you go. The other news out of the combine today is Kyler Murray officially measured at 5-10 and 1-8s.

There was a lot of speculation that he was in that Doug Flutie category, like 5-9-ish, 5-9-and-a-half. But when he comes out at almost 5-10-and-a-half, it does feel more like Russell Wilson. And it just kind of does. You know, he's athletic and he throws a good football. I think he's better as a prospect. I do.

Long-term, he's a better throw-over-to-the-football. I think he's a better prospect than a lot of these running quarterbacks. I think he's a better prospect than RG3, better prospect than Johnny Mansell, better prospect than Lamar Jackson. He throws a really good football. Now, some of that is Oklahoma's quarterbacks do well because they have a great coach offensively. He is small. I don't kind of buy any of these comparisons that he's Russell Wilson. I don't.

In fact, our staff today, Russell Wilson was 206 before he got drafted, but he was losing weight to run a really fast 40. He plays at 225. Kyler Murray bulked up to 206, he plays at about 190. If you look at their pictures, and I'm going to put it on the screen, Russell Wilson to the right at Wisconsin, Kyler Murray to the left, there's a huge difference in what they look like. One is just a bigger, stronger athlete. I mean, even the helmet looks really big on Kyle Murray. So, but I will say this, that being said, there is a.

There is a need by about six teams for a quarterback, and many would speculate that Arizona's got the number one pick, and they need a quarterback. And something that cannot be overstated is that Cliff Kingsbury, the Arizona coach, recruited Kyler Murray and has said, best high school quarterback I've ever seen. Cliff Kingsbury's offense is built for a guy like Kyler Murray. and if Cliff Kingsbury doesn't win in Arizona, everybody's getting flushed out. GM, scouts, scouting director. So Arizona has gone all in on Cliff Kingsbury. Four-year deal. They are rolling the dice on this inexperienced young kid who got fired at Texas Tech.

Didn't win a lot of games. Didn't win a lot of big games. So they've gone all in on Cliff. Well, so you've got to make Cliff work. So the question becomes very simple. Which quarterback does Cliff want? Does he want Josh Rosen? Little brittle, not athletic, 100% pocket guy, or does he want this guy?

Because if Cliff doesn't work there, you're all getting fired. So you got to go to Cliff. To me, you've got to go to Cliff Kingsbury and say, Cliff, we don't have the defensive personnel to win to beat a lot of teams we play. We've got to score some points. Who can I score more points with? And my guess is, Kyler Murray probably behind closed doors, get the boat. obviously you have to get the quarterback right,

but if I'm Arizona, I'm seeing who wants to give up a bunch of draft picks and move up because they need a lot. Yeah. So, I mean, if you look at what happened with golf, I feel like it's a little premature to bail on Josh Rosen. So do I. And to me, they just need so many pieces that that's not,

I'm getting more pieces and building the team as a whole. if I'm in that position. I would always trade the number one, except for John L. and Andrew Luck, my whole life, I'd always trade the number one pick. Because I didn't know Peyton Manning would be that good. Peyton Manning came out with Ryan Leif,

and I thought Ryan Leif would be better. I'd be the first to admit it. He was, I thought he had a better arm. I thought Peyton was too fidgety in the pocket with his feet. He was always tapping his feet. And I just, he played sometimes that felt nervous to me, and I thought, yeah, I don't know. I was wrong.

I mean, they had the worst, the second worst offensive line in the league last year. Oh, Arizona's old lines of men. And you take Kyler Murray, who the biggest discussion about him is his size. So even if he's fast, he's going to be, he better really be that fast. Yeah. So I just feel like they need too many pieces. Wow. You know, for everybody that says size doesn't matter, just remember if Kyler Murray with his skill set was 6-3, he'd be a slammed out number one pick.

So size does matter. Size is what GMs are concerned about. Now, Dwayne Haskins at Ohio State is who I think is the best long-term quarterback, but he's not a runner at all. In fact, when he moves, his accuracy falls off the table. Like, he needs to get his feet figured out. His arm's fine, his size fine, his leadership fine, his feet aren't good. So I asked Karch, GM, Steve Kime yesterday on the show directly about their number one pick. Is there a possibility?

that you could see yourself picking a quarterback at one. I can't foresee that right now. Right now is a calculated hedge that is not no. So that is a, he knew that question was going to be asked by me. And he said right now, that is what you do to hedge. Well, it doesn't benefit them in any way to paint themselves in a corner. But if they were all in on Josh Rose, then they'd say, no, no. Yeah, sure.

I mean, that is a, let's go now to the Combine via the Coward Global Satellite Network. Daniel Jeremiah is a former NFL scout with the Ravens, the Browns, and the Eagles. How big of a deal as a former scout is Kyler Murray being 5.10 and a half to 5.9 and a half, which is what many suspected. Yeah, you know, look, I think it's pretty significant because we had just heard so long about 5.9. and I was one of the ones who, even at that size, based off what I had seen and studying these guys, I was going to go ahead for the first time in my scouting career and roll with a 5'9 quarterback. So now a lot of guys like me inside this room here and inside the combine that have a good grade on Kyler Murray and they're breathing a little bit easier knowing that he crossed over that 510 threshold,

and even more so than the height, Colin, I think the weight, I heard you talking about a little earlier. Look, being over 200 pounds, I was told from guys that were in there, he carried it pretty well. I'm sure you can artificially bump that up, you know, four or five pounds. But they said he was carrying 200 plus pretty comfortably there. So that'll help in terms of the durability. By the way, this is a defensive class. Now, last year, I liked Darnold. I liked Rosen.

I liked Baker, I thought was too accurate to be a bust. Are we just, is it the fact that it's just, this is a really weak quarterback class? Is that helping Kyler Murray? You have desperate teams that need a quarterback, and there's not much else out there. Yeah, I always try and put it in context, and so when you talk about last year's group, I had it, Darnold is my top quarterback,

then Rosen, then Mayfield, then Allen. In this year's group, I have the same grade on Kyler Murray that I have on Josh Allen. Both have some risks there. Obviously, they come in different packaging, but special athletes, big arms, playmakers that are going to have to live,

with some issues. With Kyler, it's okay. He's not the biggest guy. He's going to be able to hold up. That's the question mark. Josh Allen was the accuracy to go along with his athletic ability. You knew about the athletic ability, but you had your other concern. So I had the same grade on Murray as I did there on Josh Allen, and then I had Haskins right behind even Josh Allen. So these guys don't stack up, in my opinion, with last year's top group, but I think they are going to be NFL starters. And if you're a team that doesn't have one, Colin, you're going to see these guys get elevated. We see it each and every year. Do you think Arizona will roll the dice? Kingsbury and Kyler Murray, that's a better fit for his offense than Josh Rosen. Do you think they'd make a move on that?

Well, I'll pose you this question. I'll answer a question with a question because when I heard the comments yesterday, he's our quarterback for now, there's one of two things that are going to happen. Number one, they've already gone to Josh Rosen and said, listen, put your earmuffs on for the next couple months. We're trying to drive some interest in this first overall pick. Don't listen to anything we're saying. You're our guy. We're moving forward with you. Or that conversation hasn't taken place and Kyler Murray is their quarterback of the future because you do not take a young quarterback coming off really kind of a poor season as rookie year. It can be as fragile as anybody in sports at that position at that age and not give a full commitment to them publicly. It makes no sense to me.

So I'm beginning to think it's looking more and more like Kyler Murray is a possibility. If not, then they must have already had that conversation with Josh Rosen. By the way, NFL Network, which you work provides live coverage of the scouting combine beginning tomorrow for three days. It's an absolute blast to watch. This is probably as good a defensive draft as I've seen in a long time. That's not some revelation of Watergate status here. I'm not doing great reporting. And we all know it's an average quarterback class most of us believe.

Is there a star, a sleeper star in the midst here, somebody that you think, and literally, like, Khalil Mack was a high draft pick, but nobody suggested he was going to be this. Is there somebody out there we don't know who's really special? I love the Iowa tight end in Hawkinson, and I heard you talking a little bit before I came on, Colin. I was doing the Charger game against the Patriots in the postseason where I saw Rob Grancowski dominate a football game without really touching the football very much. I mean, he was just so dominant in the run game.

They ran behind him the whole game, and it was such a weapon for them. But on the flight from that game down to Tampa for the East West Shrine game, I watched T.J. Hawkinson from Iowa. I saw him take over games as a run blocker at the collegiate level. I think he'll be able to do it at the NFL level. He's not Gronk. He's not 6'7. That's a unicorn.

But this kid gets open, catches everything, and he is an asset in the run game. So for all these teams with young quarterbacks, you want to help them out. I don't know who helps them more than this. kid. Dallas Cowboys, Jason Whitten goes one year in the booth back to the Cowboys. Now the Chargers did that with Antonio Gates. The middle of the football field, Daniel, is more valuable than ever. We're seeing old, young tight ends, Zach Ertz, Travis Kelsey, control games. What do you suspect? What will the Cowboys get from Jason Whitten, in your opinion? Well, you know, if you think about it from this standpoint, he didn't get a chance to play with

Amari Cooper. So Amari Cooper is going to run some of that coverage out of there. Is Jason Whitten, you know, as with Antonio Gates at this age, not going to be a great man-beater. You know, he's not going to be somebody that's going to create separation. But they have the feel in zones to be able to find space, present a big target to their quarterback and catch everything. Now, it's going to be a lot of catch and fall down. I don't think you'll see Jason Whitten doing a lot after the catch, Colin. But that is a security blanket for any quarterback. And I think he could definitely still fill that role. I found it ironic. The Cowboys, He's a team who forever has always enjoyed the buzz in a year with no first round pick.

Here we are at the Combine, and look who we're talking about, Colin. It's great for our business. By the way, at Move the Sticks on Twitter, he's got a great podcast with Bucky Brooks, my buddy, called Move the Sticks. Daniel, Jeremiah, enjoy yourself. Thanks, bud. You bet. Eagles, Browns, Ravens, knows his stuff. Follow him, knows his stuff.

He's at the Combine all weekend. We're just starting. We've got a packed last 40 minutes. more herd? The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week within the IHeart radio app. Search herd to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like. Man, crazy stuff today. Dak Prescott has Jason Witten once again to throw to. Gave up broadcasting after a year. Decided to go back to the Dallas Cowboys for about three and a half million bucks. He's not going to be a big cap hit. They're bad at tight end. Dallas need to tight end. They're bad at it. So I think they'll drive.

1. I'll tell you, you start looking at the Cowboys roster. If they draft the tight end and Witten, they solved their big issue. They don't have a lot of issues. They got the kicker. They got the quarterback. They got the offensive line, which has to be healthier this year than last. They got the running back. They got the star receiver. Now they have a slot receiver. They got pass rushers. They've got unbelievable young talented linebacker. They got an elite top 5, 10 corner in the league. Safety and tight end is where they're not good. I think they're going to solve both in the draft. The Cowboys have shown an ability, they are good in the personnel department. A little wacky, little zany, little vanity driven. They're good in the personnel

department. I mean, there are not many teams in the NFL can say, yeah, we've got two areas of concern. Tide end, which Witten and a draft pick, there's good tight ends in this class, and then they got to find a safety. But that's about it. They got players, they got players everywhere. So I like the move. Jason Witton's a good dude, broadcasting. Listen, the late Bill Walsh was a great coach. a great broadcaster. I mean, a lot of guys that try that Joe Montana. There have been a lot of guys that are, they go into the broadcasting thing. I mean, Troy Aikman and Chris Collinsworth

and Romo, they're the exception. Most guys go into it, they're okay. Or maybe pretty good. Very few are great. Witten was a little clunky. It didn't work. And he said, listen, the fire inside me, too strong. Want to get back? Rising stars. I want to put my hand in the dirt. Good for

him. Joy with the news. No, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line. news. So fun night for Heat fans last night. Dwayne Wade hit a circus buzzer beater against the Warriors to give the heat a 126-125 win. He sent the Miami crowd and his teammates into hysteria following the shots. And Wade spoke about it afterward and what that shot meant for him. Been in his position so many times and so many times you don't make the shot.

And the one I make is a one-legged flick from my chest. It's crazy. Great to do it in front of fans, you know. It was just a fun moment. I told stuff. I needed this one on my way out. He scored 10 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter, including the last six points. No, he had a good game.

Not just the shot. He had a good game. These moments are the moments that, like, you remember. I mean, obviously, Kobe's last game is one of those games you talk about. It's just like a perfect ending to a career. And this year's been really great for Wade and the Heat. It really shows what he's made. to the NBA. And he looks like he's just, he's having fun, despite the fact that they're also, you know, trying to play out. Is it mere they've gone crazy with their court logos and stuff the last couple years? They went back to the Miami Sound. Well, they're doing the Miami Vice. Yeah. That's, that's the theme. I happen to love it. It's very Miami colors. I like the city, the NBA city jerseys. Like Brooklyn's is great. With the Koogee on the side, it's great. Do you like those? Yeah, I think some are okay. I think they're fun. I think they're NFL used to do that. And Pittsburgh had these bumblebee uniforms that were just hideous.

Well, those are throwbacks. Yeah. I agree. Those were throw-ups. They're not the best. Steelers were awful. I do think that the NFL should do that, though. I think they should do like city-themed uniforms.

Yeah. I think it'd be cool, especially the helmets. All right, so the Lakers are expected to obviously be big players in the summer's free agency and they'll have enough cap room to sign a max player. However, Antoine Jameson, former Lakers, said that the Lakers can no longer rely on bragging about their championships when they recruit free agents. He said the most important thing in today's generation is winning. In the past, it was more about the destination in the market, but these guys can play in Alaska and still have unbelievable marketing and sell anything.

Now these guys are like, look, we love L.A. We're there in the off season. But I want to know if we can win. You can't recruit off the banners and pass championships anymore. I think basketball as a whole has changed in this regard. Because when it comes to college, championships that you won in the past sound nice and obviously the reputation of the school. But for a lot of guys, it's if you're at a high level, which you're at a high level, which you're, is obviously what we're talking about, the top free agents. Can you get me to the NBA?

If I go to your school, are you going to put me in the best position for my career moving forward, as opposed to I want to go to a school with a great tradition of championships? If you make the tournament, you're going to get seen anyway. So I got to agree. They can't really recruit off-reputation anymore, and a lot of guys train here in the off-season. So it's not like it's hard to get to L.A. Or stay in L.A. and spend time in L.A. or Atlanta or Miami or, you know, Texas.

wherever it is that you want to live in the offseason. So I agree, and I do think of this free agency period is going to be very interesting. Because if they don't land Anthony Davis, yeah, good luck. Crazy. All right. Antonio Brown was not a fan of Calvin Colbert's recent comments. The Steelers' GM said Ben Robisberger had 52 kids under him, and he said that's where he'd do the line.

Colbert obviously clarified later what he meant to point out that Robisberger has experience, the two-time Super Bowl champion. But like you said earlier, words matter and how you say things matters. Well, Brown told ESPN, of course he tried to clarify because he stated the truth and he's going to backpedal on his words. But what grown man is calling another grown man a kid? 52 kids. Like you don't have no respect for these guys.

Like these are the guys that have to go to work for you. Things are not going to get better. They're not changing. He's kind of saying what I've been saying this whole time that it's a little bit on Antonio Brown. It's a little bit on Ben Rothensberger. It's a little bit on Tomlin. It's a little bit on the GM. But as a whole, the culture is broken in Pittsburgh.

Yep. There's a mentality that it's all Ben Rothensberger and whatever he says. And while obviously the quarterback is going to have the most say, and that's probably what you want, because that means he's a winner. You have to have some balance within your organization and some responsibility. Everyone has to be on the same page, basically, and everyone has to do their job. And it really doesn't feel like that's the case. So even though Antonio Brown is going to be gone and Levy on Bell is gone, now we're really going to see what the problem was.

Because everyone was blaming Antonio Brown and everyone was blaming Levy on Bell for all the noise. They're not going to be there next year, so we'll get to see what's happening. Yeah. been a lot of mess. They've underachieved last two years. Shame. They're really disappointing. Yeah, I got a lot of players. A joy with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by.

The Hurd-Lie News. He's the quarter-act whisperer, but he's too humble to admit it. He played four years in the National Football League. Some of you know his brother Carson Palmer. We like Jordan Palmer. We put him on all the time. And let's bring him on the show right now. All those Elite 11 camps. He was the tutor for Sam Darnold and Josh Allen.

He organized their pro days. So here we are a year later. go time for you. All this pro-day stuff and the combine stuff. By the way, Kyler Murray probably doesn't throw at the combine. Is that a mistake? Are you okay with that? Yeah, I'm fine with it.

You know, last year we had Sam that didn't throw at the pro-day. Or at the combine. I think with Kyler, it's kind of on-brand. I've been around him when he was younger. And this is like the greatest high school football player in the history of Texas, right? Oh, really? Yeah, four years in a row, never lost, big-time ball. You know, goes to a school.

It's not exactly the way he wants. It transfers to Oklahoma. maximizes his opportunity. So I think when a guy doesn't throw at the combine, sometimes there's an element of ego, and that can have a negative connotation. In this case, I think Kyler's kind of doing on brand. He's a super confident guy.

He's saying wait till the show in Oklahoma and Norman, whenever that is. And I don't have a problem with it. People, the comp people use is Russell Wilson, although his playing weights about 225, Kyler's playing weight in college was under 200. We put pictures up earlier of Wisconsin, Russell, and Oklahoma, Kyler.

And Russell just looks bigger, thicker, and more muscular. That's his playing weight. He's a little heavier. Do you worry about the frame? And Teddy Bridgewater's frame was spindly, got hurt. RG3's frame when he came out, we said kind of spindly, got hurt. Do you worry about his size, not just height, but stature? Well, golf is what you just said, too.

Yes. Hasn't got hurt, right? Been well protected, but also in college and NFL didn't get hurt. So I don't know that it's a given. What myself and what a lot of teams look at is actually joint size. Okay? How thick is his wrists, his ankles, his knees? So you've spent some time with Aaron Rogers.

Yes. Thick joints, big ankles, big wrists. Because that's where the tension is. You can put a bunch of muscle on, but there's been a lot of players where when they have RG3, the skinny knees, the skinny ankles that you look for in an athlete, when you look for in durability, and how do you project against that player's availability and how healthy they're going to be, I look more towards that. And even shorter guys like Russell, Wilson, Drew Brees, and Johnny Manzell.

thick joints, big wrists, big ankles, big knees. And so that's where that durability is, because those are the injuries. It's not a pulled quad. It's not a pulled hamstring, right? This isn't track, and I think Kyler is on benefiting side of that. Let's go to last year's class. Baker, Darnold. I like Donald more than I liked all of them.

Baker, Mayfield, Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, Josh Rosen. And then let's have these guys, Dwayne Haskins, Kyler Murray, Drew Locke, the kid at Missouri. If I jumbled them all together, where would Kyler be? You know, Kyler's the most difficult to evaluate, I think, because you've got some things that are off the charts, right? The career that he had in high school is relevant for me. It speaks to what he thinks when he steps on the field. He thinks that every time he go in the game, you're going to win because they have him. That's what I want in the guy, right?

But on the negative side, you have the height, he really only played one year, right? And so you've got all these, you've got so much to evaluate on both sides. And what's interesting that's happening is the game is obviously changing, right? a lot of stuff. It used to be the colleges stole stuff from the NFL, you know, offenses and defenses and schematics. But now it's NFL stealing concepts and, you know, Cliff Kingsbury is the head coach of the Arizona Cardinals. Right. Right. And so you see it going the other direction, but the way that that's affecting the talent evaluation and really the talent evaluators is drastically different than it was five years ago. Really? If you look at who's having success,

Baker Mayfield, he's a He's a Heisman finalist three times. He wins at once. He goes number one Overall looks to me like he's going to be a really good pro. Yeah. You look at North Dakota State's quarterback going number two overall. And if he stays healthy, I think we're all, he's one of the better guys in the league. Yeah. And what's happened is you, talent evaluators on the media side and on the team side, the pool of players that they have to give an honest look to is different. It's no longer just the six foot four right-handed quarterback from one of these seven schools. Now you have to look at Trace McSorley.

You have to look at Tyree Jackson. And I feel, I feel, because I get a lot of questions from both on the media side and the team side, I feel the stress and anxiety on these guys because they honestly have to look at a much larger group of people because when Drew Breeze does what he does, and then you mix in Russell Wilson and then Baker pans out, and you get these guys from obscure schools playing well, Jimmy Garapolo, the pool of people that could play this position at this level is just broader, and the pressure is on evaluators. So you think Kyler's going to be a good pro?

I think with players like that, and it's super cheesy answer where it just depends on what situation he goes to. Well, the best pick, whoever you love in the draft going to the worst situation for him, and a sixth rounder or Dak Prescott going fourth round with two guys getting hurt in camp, the guy that you didn't have as high in the perfect situation is better than the awesome guy in the bad situation. So I think Kyler could go to the wrong situation and be out quick. Yeah, you know, outside of Andrew Luck, John Elway, and probably Peyton, almost everybody, every quarterback in the league needs the right fit. Now, Elway would have worked anywhere.

He would have overcome a horrible organization. But couldn't I argue that even Sam Darnold, Adam Gase is probably going to be a good fit. Freddie Kitchens, that most guys are fit in this league, unless you're Khalil Mack, which is, you don't know, you look like a, you know, it's, so I, yeah, for receivers and tight ends and how you use them and all that. Yes. So when I look at Kyler, I think Cliff Kingsbury, I mean, I know it's the number one pick, but Jordan, that's the coach, right? Isn't that the perfect fit? I think there's something there. I have no inside information of anything that's going on. I'm just a fan watching sitting here going, it makes a lot of sense.

Does it make more sense than building it around the guy you took last year? I don't know. I'm not in that building. It certainly makes sense because if somebody believes that Kyler is the perfect person to run their thing, and the data that they have is he ran something similar at the other level. Right. That's the only data you're going to have. Then I think it becomes a real discussion. And I do think that he's the one player, since I've been paying attention to this stuff,

that is the most difficult to predict us what's going to happen. Kyler Marie? Yeah. I kind of felt that Baker was going to go where he was going to go. And especially at the end, you started hearing how his pro day wins. how his meetings were going. And then you started looking at what Jimmy Haslam was really looking for. And it started to make a bunch of sense at the end.

Kyler's different. I have no idea what's going to happen with this kid. Isn't that crazy? It's fun. Yeah, you say that you're getting, you know, you feel the tension now with teams and they've got to look at these athletes. Does, I mean, I still think there is a prototype for this position.

Does mobility mean anything anymore? Yeah, well, you and I have talked about this for. I think the future of the quarterback position comes down to the main element is the quarterback's ability to extend the play. Now, that doesn't necessarily mean 40 time because I think Drew Brees does a fantastic job of extending the play. I think Tony Romo was a magician back there. And I don't know that he could have broken a five flat 40 ever in his life, but he certainly bought a lot of time and created time and space. So that can play out different ways. I think Bortles extended the play really well,

regardless of what people's opinions were or what he was really doing or not doing, he extended the play really well. You give the offense more opportunity. The defense has to cover longer. The pass rushers have to get off the block. That has a negative effect on the defense. And then you look at the decline in offensive line play.

With a 20-hour rule in college where they can't really spend that much time with the guy, and the CBA is basically the same thing. In pro. In pro, right? They can't really get the time to develop. O lines are bad. O lines, they walk through what they used to run through with pads in back-to-back

two-a-day practices. They don't do that anymore. And so the premium on a guy who can extend the play, for me, I just wouldn't touch a guy in the draft who couldn't extend the play. You like the Ohio State kid, Dwayne Haskins? I do. I will say, his accuracy plummets when he moves too much. Like he needs footwork help.

What do you like about it? Because I think size pocket, he's, he, he, You know, he's kind of the opposite of Kyler. You're not going to run around at all. No. He's really big. Not dynamic. And he can spin it.

He throws it really well. No, no. Yeah. 28 yards down the middle of the field, pop. Yeah. I think quarterbacks get really good at the things that they have to do to survive. Oh. You look at Peyton at the end of his career.

He's losing his grip. He's losing his arm talent. Starts wearing a glove to hold on to a little bit better. Starts moving his feet faster in the pocket because it made him think faster. Got really good pre-snap because we got to get in the perfect play. Good call. Deshawn early on rookie year. I didn't really see it.

I didn't really know. I was with Mahomes last week talking to him about what week did it all click for you? And it was a lot closer to the middle of the season than the beginning. Really? But if you can create the time and the space and you learn what you have to do to survive. And so I look at Dwayne Haskins and I go, well, when I hear the inaccuracy or any concerns around that, well, he did throw to a lot of open guys at Ohio State and a lot of games, they were the best team on the field. But what I know about Dwayne, he's a fighter, he's a worker,

he's a confident guy. I think that once he gets to the league, any, and we saw this with Josh last year, right? Josh Allen, right? Not accurate enough, not this. I believed that he was the type of kid that when he gets in the NFL and he really sees what he has to do to survive,

he's a survivor. I think Dwayne is too. A survivor. Well, you've got a lot of theories on stuff. Well, I listen to Colin Cowherd all those lines. Yeah, that guy is smart. I got to have a take. Yeah.

That is great. I ran through all my questions and then some. Great seeing you. Yeah. Thanks for having me. I love having you. By the way, isn't it cooler? Look at the hat he's wearing, Joey.

You're a style maven. I am a style maven. The all black hat or very little on the black hat is the way to go of this move going forward. Don't you think? It's a very nice hat. It doesn't matter what I think. It matters what she thinks. Yeah, it's a great hat.

I like the look of it. And I'm sure you appreciate that he's wearing it forward because you don't like backward hat. Do not at all. There you go. Won't draft a guy like that. Would you like his theories of me hat on a backwards hat? What about a top hat with feathers? I can live with that.

Great scene. You coming up tomorrow's headlines today with Jason McIntyre. One more herd? The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week within the IHeart radio app. Search Herd to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like. Saturday, Big Ten and Big East powerhouses go back to back as sixth ranked Michigan State takes on Indiana. Then Villanova clashes with Butler. It all tips off Saturday at 1130 Eastern on Fox and the Fox Sports app.

All right, Jason McIntyre, founder of the big lead.com. coming up Winners podcast, Jason Witten to the Cowboys. What do you make of it, J. Mack? So I started texting people in Indy to try to get the vibe of what they're saying at the combine. The funniest one was, hey, man, is Jason Garrett going to groom Witten to be the next head coach of the Cowboys? Because, you know, Witton's highly thought of. Jerry Jones loves him. Smart guy went to Tennessee.

Is he going to be the next coach after Garrett? Because we know Garrett, he did get a playoff win this year. But do you think he's the long-term answer there? They do love Witten in Dallas. He's like a folk hero. It seems like a big rush to go from playing, broadcasting, playing, and then head coach. I just finished the Belichick book. He made so many mistakes his first four years in Cleveland. Coaching is hard.

It is. And it's also a tough time in the NFL because the culture is changing. The quarterback position is changing. So you don't think Witten long term is a coach. You just think he's coming back to play for a year or two and then back to the casino. I think he would have been a fine broadcaster as the number three guy at a net work. Like a number three guy for CBS or a number three guy for Fox.

I don't think he's a one. If he played for the Jaguars, do you think he's a one? He played for the Cowboys. That's a big part of it. That's a good point. Yeah, you come out of the Cowboys organization right to the booth. I'm off tomorrow, so we're doing the J-Mack Journal Monday headline. So here we go.

Kyler Murray, wows at the NFL Combine, Monday's headline today. Kyler Blurry. Dude, he is going to crush the Combine. We talked about this a little two weeks ago, Colin, but here's where we love Kyler Murray, okay? He's 5'10, and his height is so scrutinized. It's the number one story in sports today. As soon as the height came out this morning,

you know, we posted it on the website, and it was as if the NBA's not happening, he's 207 pounds. That's enormous. This is a college quarterback. He started for one year, Colin. And Kyler Murray, it's looking as if he's going to the Cardinals at one. I don't think anyone's going to trade up for him,

but Kyler Blurie, he's going to be the talk of the town all weekend. Yeah, I think you're right. How about Cardinals trade Josh Rosen to the Patriots Monday's headline today? Well, I think this is the second biggest story at the Combine. Josh Rosen going from the outhouse to the penthouse. Can you think about this for a second? Cardinals' worst team in the league. Josh Rosen, rough rookie year, tough spot with the head coach who's now fired.

He's wanted by the Patriots who just won a Super Bowl. and he's wanted by the New York Giants, a great organization. There are some rumors that Miami could be interested, but the New England Patriots, Colin, are going to be the story here. You got Tom Brady, who turns 42, I believe, in August. They have 12 draft picks, and they don't have 12 college players who can make their team. So that's when you get into a situation where you have a good team and you have 12 picks, you don't have 12 guys you can draft who can be valuable assets to your team.

They got about eight spots that they could have a starter or a crucial backup. It makes sense. I know a lot of people said, well, Brady just won the Super Bowl. If you look at all his nine Super Bowls, his worst statistical one was just now against the Rams. His worst Super Bowl ever. I don't think it's over, but as soon as he starts to begin the dissent, the way Peyton Manning did, you got Josh Rosen waiting in the wings. Belichick did love him coming out of UCLA.

Monday's headlines today. Giants draft, Dwayne Haskins. Oh, boy. Eli Manning, we love him. We love to poke fun at him. I think the headline in New York will be Eli Manning picked off again. You know, I know he's led to league in interceptions.

It's good love to poke fun at Eli. It's a guy who's 38 years old, okay? Eli Manning, really the weak link on the offense. I know they have offensive line issues as well. But if you get Haskins and Eli, again, like Tom Brady, begins to slip, you can put Haskins right in the lineup. Colin, if you looked at his final three games, The biggest games they had, Michigan, Big Ten Championship, and the Rose Bowl.

Haskins was lights out. He right now is a top 10 lock, and I think the Giants make the most sense. And Eli, you know, we know it's over, right? I mean, we can't keep. We do, but it's a fear-based organization. It is fear, but listen to Gettleman's words, the GM. He keeps saying, oh, Eli's our guy. Eli's our guy.

We love Eli. When you overcompensate like that, it probably means, hey, we need a quarterback. They cannot not draft a quarterback here, the New York. Giants have to pick one. Jag sign Nick Foles. Monday's headline today. Yeah, I know Nick Foles is probably the top guy on the market, right? I would say Ryan Tannahill, Teddy Bridgewater.

That goes off, so, you know, yeah. It's got to be Foles. I think the headline will be Foles-proof plan, Nick Foles to Jacksonville. Jacksonville, Doug Marone, they need a quarterback. The Blake Bortle's ship has sailed. Yeah. They were in the AFC championship game, Colin, two years ago. Yeah.

About eight minutes away from beating the Patriots. And now you can put Nick Foles in, D.D. Westbrook, a good receiver. I like D.D. Westbro. They're keeping Leonard Fournett. This is a team that could surge back into the playoffs. And if I'm, you know, Jacksonville, I would rather have Nick Foles than Joe Flacco. Would you not? I mean, Flacco to Denver.

I could get him for cheaper to, yeah, I, listen, everybody dumps on Flacco. He's a very good playoff quarterback, big strong-arm guy. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. He had one awesome playoff run. Well, that's so Eli had a couple and he's going to probably make the Hall of Fame. Nick Foles had one. Come on, he hung 500 yards on Belichick in the Super Bowl. I would much rather have Foles than Tannahill, Teddy Bridgewater, Case Keenom.

I mean, and no doubt, Nick Foles, good guy. He's the quarterback I'd want. Jason McIntyre, founder of the big lead. All right, Celtic struggles. Mondays headlines today. I know your audience is going to be upset. We didn't do a lot of NBA because we love to hammer it. But NBA's down right now.

They're struggling, just like the Boston Celtics. I think the headline will be Boston Me Party lost their fourth straight game last night. And I wrote about this on the site today. You know, Brad Stevens has never had this much talent on a roster. Butler, he never had a bunch of stars. He had Gordon Haywards. I'm okay guys. Early years in Boston, Stevens overachieved with like the Marcus Smarts of the world,

Isaiah Thomas. Now he's got Kyrie Irving, Tatum. And there's that pull and the ego of superstars. And you see Kyrie Irving here on TV arguing with Jalen Brown. Last night arguing on the bench with teammates. I don't think Stevens is handling this well. You're not, you think Boston can still get to the finals. Yeah, no, I think these ego things solve themselves when the playoffs come around.

They always do. By the way, here's breaking news, folks. Breaking news. Bryce Harper to the Philadelphia Phillies. Oh, geez, Dodgers fans are going to be crying, huh? Well, Phillies, this was the heavy lean from the first. kind of weak and then there was kind of a pushback that he didn't grow up loving the Phillies. But I guarantee the Phillies probably paid the most money.

So Bryce Harper goes to the Phillies. He stays in the National League. Oh, man. I'm a big Harper fan. You know, I was in Pennsylvania before moving out here for FS1. And, you know, the Phillies haven't been good for the last few years. But this is massive. Harper is in a box office attraction, is he not?

Well, Philadelphia is a great sports town. He's your classic home run slugger. You know, the downside. is. I mean, he goes, he's a Vegas kid. He's going to go from D.C. to Philadelphia. These are, these are, Philadelphia is a rabid sports town. D.C. is a great football town. Yeah. I think they love their baseball in Philly. So when do the Mike Trout rumors really kick off? You know, he's a, he's a New Jersey guy right across the border from Philly. And you know that Bryce Harper and Trout. They're going to be dreaming of that. I think there's a great signing for the Phillies.

Yeah, of course. I think Bryce Harper is, listen, Philadelphia, He has a bigger market than a San Diego, so I think they can surround him with more. And we're also getting to a point that TV revenues now are so unbelievable in baseball that the idea of a $30 million player, I don't have a problem with playing the guy $30 million. I don't like 10 years. I'm never a fan of a 10-year deal. But $30 million a year, Bryce Harper can put a lot of people on the seats, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday games that do not sell out. And that $30 million becomes 21.

No salary cap in baseball. I love that. None. All right. Bryce Harper to the Phillies. congratulations to the sports fans there. Major signing. Jason Witten back to the Cowboys, too.

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