The Herd with Colin Cowherd - THE HERD - Hour 2 - More on NFL free agency, Dianna Russini stops by The Herd

Episode Date: March 10, 2026

The Lakers are bringing in new fresh eyes, and that's what the franchise needs Colin talks to Dianna Russini about NFL free agency, including the Dolphins getting Malik Willis, the future for Kyler Murray, the Raiders offseason moves and moreSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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

We invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to it. We're the first people to do podcasts. We get to ask other people questions because we're sick and tired of being asked questions. Well, sick and tired is a strong way to put it. But, you know, tired and sick. Tired and sick.

Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you. you get your podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. Another podcast from some SNL, late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and Friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman

help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends

on the ice. Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Will Ferrell's Big Money Players and IHeart Podcasts presents soccer moms. So I'm Leanne. Yeah. This is my best friend, Janet. Hey. And we have been joined at the hips since high school.

Absolutely. A redacted amount of years later, we're still joined at the hip. Just a little bit bigger hips. This is a podcast. We're recording it as we tailgate our youth soccer games in the back of my Honda Odyssey. With all the snacks and drinks. Why did you get hard seltzer instead of beer? Oh, they had a bogo.

Well, then you got them. Listen to soccer moms on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano. It's our favorite time of the year on our podcast point game, the playoffs. We're digging into the biggest surprises of the season. And I'm looking back on some of my greatest playoff moments. If we didn't talk ever again, I was funny.

You just understood. That's how personal it got. Wow. Then after that game seven, Marquis' keep coming to her. He's like, you know I love you, dog. You know, it's all love. This was just playoffs. This was just basketball.

basketball. So listen to Point Game on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, I'm Deanna Maria Riva, and on my new podcast, How Hard Can It Be? I call on my Gen X squad from Ohio to Hollywood as we navigate Midlife's most fantastic BS. Unfiltered conversations from night sweats to fupas to scheduling sex. Wait, what sex? Is it just me? Or does every woman my age want to look at Pinterest instead of having sex sometimes? They say we can't polish a turd, but we're sure going to try. So let's get blunt with laughs, tears, or tears of laughter. Listen to How Hard Can It Be with Diana Maria Riva on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Thanks for listening to The Heard Podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weekday on Fox Sports Radio in noon to 3 Eastern, 9 a.m. to noon Pacific. Find your local station for The Herd at Fox SportsRadio.com or stream us live every day on the IHeart Radio app by searching Fox Sports Radio or FSR. You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. Here we go. It's our two. We're in Chicago. World Baseball. Classics been great. A lot of things going on. A lot of stuff going on. I know a lot of you think I pick on LeBron. I have been the biggest LeBron advocate for 20 years.

But you have to be honest about it. Is that when Luca Dantzich and Austin Reeves play together or without LeBron, they're 9 and 2, and they are clearly better defensively, and Luca and Austin aren't even good defenders. You just have to be honest about this stuff. You've got new owners. They're looking at all this data. They're bringing in a new fresh set of eyes,

which the Lakers need. The other story is this Malik Willis. So people are freaking out. Well, it's only got six starts. Number one, how many starts do you need to know that Justin Herbert was good? Or Joe Burrow. I've told the story.

I remember Cam Newton's first. first start in the NFL. And I wasn't a big Cam Newton fan, but I think they played Arizona. He made one throw up the left sideline. And I'm like, okay, that's going to work. I remember Matt Ryan. The first time I watched Matt Ryan. Again, fuzzy memory, rookie year Matt Ryan's playing the Bears. He makes a throw up the left sideline. I'm like, yep, that works. I watched Malik Willis against Baltimore, 18 to 21, no turnovers, three total touchdowns, great touch. I watched them against the Bears. I'm watching them against the Ravens. Every time I watch them, I'm like, athletic, smart, makes good decisions. And don't forget a couple of weeks ago, John Eric Sullivan, the new

GM of the Dolphins, who was in Green Bay with Malik Willis, kind of foreshadowing, just listen to the quality of human being they're getting at quarterback. Any team that is potentially in a quarterback situation, a needy quarterback situation, if they tell you they're not, talking about Malik Willis, that would be a lie. Very happy for Malik on a personal level, the situation that he's put himself in. Malik's a very, very good kid. It's a testament to him and how he played and the opportunities that he got. A lot of like for the human being.

He's a great kid. Yeah, not everybody's journey is linear. This stuff is bumpy. Sam Darnold, Baker Mayfield. I think he's really talented. And people say, well, he's like two ways undersized. totally different players. One is hyper-athletic. One has a much better arm. One doesn't have an injury history. They're not the same player. Yeah, was I right about the Cam Newton first start? Was it against

Arizona? He had 420. Totally. I watched that game and I'm like, I'm not even the Cam Newton guy. I'm like, that's what a franchise quarterback looks like. You don't need that many starts. You don't need that many Justin Herbert, when the team doctor pierced some, was it the lung of Tyrod Taylor, and they insert Justin Herbert against Steve Spagg, Nolan, Kansas City, and you're watching this big strong kid, everybody's saying, well, he's a little stiff at Oregon. And after about two series, I'm like, he's a house with a huge arm that moves well. That's a franchise quarterback. I feel the same way with Malik Will's.

I don't know the level of franchise quarterback. That's what a franchise quarterback looks like. And now we know he's a great kid. Diana Rusini is joining us, the athletic senior NFL insider. She won the day yesterday. She was crushing. He was crushing everybody.

And I see now in your little Twitter, your avatars, you talking to Jerry Jones and prodding him for information. You are all dialed in. Okay. I want to start with Malik because I think when Green Bay guys go to Miami and they both are like, that's the guy to sign. That's the tell. So was there a market beyond Miami?

Well, yes, there was. Malik Willis's agent was doing a really good job of sort of gauging the interest. And there was a lot for him. He chose Miami. That was his call, his decision. He wanted to be with Jeff Hathley. He enjoyed his time with him in Green Bay. And I think he was also being advised, even by other people outside his agency to go to Miami to be there.

And to have success, he could live a good life there. of course in South Beach and he's going to get a legit opportunity and chance to be the franchise quarterback that you're talking of. I'm glad that you're highlighting the character because even coming out, that was something that was obviously at the top of the chart when you talked about who Malik was as a man. And Colin, you've met tons of athletes in your career. And when I was at ESPN, I always had to go to these rookie camps. And I remember I got sent down to Nashville and it was the year that the Titans had taken Malik. And I had a photographer, an audio guy, and someone else holding the mic, so like three guys in my crew, which was great. And so I go up to Malik and I'm like,

hey, how are you doing? I'm Diana Rossini from ESPN. And he was nice. He shook my hand. He went right over to my crew and just shook each of their hands and asked them what they did, how long they'd been working there. And meanwhile, like the Titans PR guy standing there like, hey, we only got like five minutes. We're not doing a whole introductory thing. And I share that story just a little insight into the type of man he is. I do this all the time. You don't get that a lot.

Nobody's ever really asking about the people behind the scenes. So that always stood out. So when he was starting to have success, I will say that jumped out at me only because I wasn't certain. I wasn't sure he was really the guy. And we saw such a limited amount of him until obviously in that last year he was in Green Bay. And Matt LaFleur, obviously, I think we all can give him his props. He runs a phenomenal offense. And I think he got the most out of Malik and really giving him an opportunity

and a talent that we hadn't really seen when he was in Tennessee. So I think for Miami, this is a win. But he was certainly a quarterback that teams that are in the quarterback market right now, teams who, by the way, can get cheap quarterbacks a lot on this, you know, veteran minimal deal. They were still flirting with him as well. So he lands in Miami. Miami. And the quarterback carousel is still swinging here, Colin. So what's going on with Kyler Murray? All right. So Kyle Murray, it makes all the sense of the world that Minnesota would be where he lands. Well, let me pre-before even say that, everyone wants to play in Minnesota.

Okay. So that's kind of like everyone knows that. All the agents chat about all the players talk about it. That is where they want to be because we've seen the second chance quarterbacks have these rebirths with Kevin O'Connell, right? Like we've seen it. And you get paid, right? You go play for Kevin. You win. You look good.

You go to Seattle. You want to bowl your name is Sand Donald. So you've got a guy like Kyle Murray. And I do think this is really interesting. I've been making a lot of calls the last 24 hours just to try to get an idea and separate what I think we have been talking about and perhaps have heard through the grapevine versus reality. Who is he? Is Kyle really the guy that's up late gaming and not study and not into football?

And I have to tell you from talking to. to players that played with him, talking to coaches that are interested in him over the last 24 hours, everyone's doing their own homework. It appears that he's still really passionate about football. He is competitive. And I do think we forget he was the number one overall pick. He is a Heisman trophy winner. And when we're talking about the second chance quarterback spot, I mean, what better formula here than for Kylo

Murray to go into Minnesota where I think Kevin O'Connell could probably do wonders? So listen, I try to be optimistic, glass half full, Colin on the draft and free agency. That said, there are moves that I question. The Niners are officially the oldest team in the league in a division with the Seahawks and the Rams are young, athletic, twitchy, fast, and the Niners are now the oldest team. They signed Mike Evans, who was hurt last year, love him. Red zone, unbelievable, classy guy. Kittlesold, McCaffrey's older, Trent Williams, Fred Warner, often in.

injury, Bose off an injury. Probably, they've taken some big swings at wide receiver. I, can you explain the move? Why? First of all, where are you going? Where are you going to get the type of receiver you're talking about? Okay, let's just on like the perfect day. Okay, go try to get A.J. Brown from Philadelphia.

They don't have that ability. You don't have the money to do that either. So I think from Kyle Shanahan's perspective on this, And they were fishing around the market for receivers here for a bit. I think the Mike Evans situation made sense. It's not costing that much money. It's roughly a year deal for $15, $16 million. And by the way, how about Mike Evans walking away from Tampa Bay with a lot more money on the table?

That also tells you where he's at in his career. He is not trying to just go off in the sunset. He's trying to win a Super Bowl. That's right. And if you're a guy like Mike Evans who wants to be used and you look at his production and his targets over the last few seasons, They've gone down. They've lost seven under the last nine games of the year.

You saw the frustration boiling up. Now, with all that and knowing all that, and we all know it, I was surprised he still did it, you know, because I really just thought, you know, this is a guy that's only been in Tampa.

This is where he wants to be bigger and him have a great relationship. But I think for him, this is, he looks over what the Rams did with Stafford and Devante Adams. And I think that's, that was the blueprint in his mind.

This, I want to go to a place where the coach is going to figure out a way to make me the centerpiece or maybe at least a big part of what I want to do. And I think for the 49ers, they think that Mike Evans certainly still has enough and it's not costing them that much. Okay, I'll tell you a player, I feel bad for Joe Burrow. Now he's got Max Crosby in his division, Miles Garrett, T.J. Watt and T.J. Watt and Trey Hendrickson walks. Trey's good player.

I mean, I think Max Crosby outside of Miles Garrett's my favorite rush end in the league. but Trey Hendrickson, what's the story on him? Where's he going to land? You're right. 35 sacks. The last two seasons, all pro player, runner up for defensive player of the year two seasons ago. Like, I think we forget a little bit. And I think maybe teams are because last year he was injured, right?

And he only appeared in seven games. And it got a little mucky with his contract last year. It wasn't a good situation. And you can't really blame him for that. Now, that being said, Colin, teams have so much information on players. aging. Like that's something I've been discovering over the last few days going through free agency on why certain teams are jumping in, which kind of connects you to the Kyle thing with Mike. Like you're willing to go for an older receiver, but why aren't teams going for a

pass rusher at 32 years old, right? And I do think Trey is in a position right now. That's tough because I can tell you, I've talked to a lot of teams in the last three days about who's in on Trey. And everyone's interested. I think everyone can establish. that they would want a player like Trey. They just don't want to pay a number that starts with three. They wanted to be in the twos. And I think that's where the rub is right now. And I think Trey really wants to sit here and wait for that market to get there.

I just don't know if it is. I think we're at that point in free agency where the price is going to be the price. And he may just have to take it. Look, he can choose to wait some more time here and see if a team gets desperate if they're not able to get another pass rusher. Obviously, he sees Jalen Phillips go get that $30 million from Carolina. he thinks he can do it. And again, not a knock on Trey,

but I do think teams are going. You're 32 years old. Dallas, they were in on Trey before they made that trade for Rashad Gary with the Green Bay Packers. They're not paying that price. They don't need to. They can get a younger guy who's been in the system, who's got teammates from Green Bay

there already. So, look, I still think the bills, the Colts, Tampa Bay. I think they're all still kind of watching to see. And perhaps we could get some more teams jumping in if they hear that the price is going down. Okay. Eagles have lost three defensive starters. Jalen Phillips is a real loss. He gave them a pass rush they didn't have before he landed there.

Howie Roseman either picked a weird time to go on vacation or they've got something brewing. What's going on in Philadelphia? Yeah, look, yesterday was like the day of goodbye for them. It was like, but we all knew that. Like I think Howie had been pretty transparent. Like, look, I dressed well. I can't keep everybody. I can't hold on to all my free agents because they do have so many players to pay.

But remember, you've got the AJ Brown situation just sort of hanging over them right now as we try to figure out what they're going to do there. Obviously, it seems that the New England Patriots are the team that's in on them the most. The Rams have been in and out a little bit poking on it. The Chargers were poking a little bit. But I think we're at a point now where until they can sort out what they're going to do with A.J. Brown, I do think it's hard for Howie to make a lot of these moves. Remember, this is a general manager who also doesn't mind making trades later in the year.

So while it's not very entertaining if you're an Eagles fan right now, I think they should just trust in the fact that Howie always kind of sorts this out. Now, that being said, you're still combing the market. They're still looking for a pass rusher. You know, you've got a few players available that I know that they've made some calls on. So I'm not in panic mode about where the first. Philadelphia Eagles are in terms of acquiring talent. My panic with the Philadelphia Eagles is dealing with the talent that they have.

Are they going to be able to make all of this work this season? Because I do think there is a lot of pressure there for this to improve after how we saw them exit the playoffs last year. Okay, let's talk Chiefs. So they're going to sign Travis Kelsey, which feels like Gronk and Brady and Tampa. Kenneth Walker, I like, but he gets dinged up. He had a great playoff run. They don't have a ton of picks.

They need a back. It's a bad running back draft. I think they were a bit trapped. They've missed on just enough wide receiver draft picks that they're kind of trapped a little bit. The Niners and the Chiefs feel like they're getting a little old. They're keeping the band back together. But they're in divisions with really deep, young, talented rosters, the Broncos, the Chargers, Seahawks, Rams. I mean...

They've gotten better. No, Travis Kelsey was just talking about it. how their division, it's not what it was a few years ago. You know, we just didn't count them. Now they're in. It's certainly picked up. And obviously,

with getting the return of Travis, he's not 25 anymore. We know what Travis Kelsey is. But there are teams who still were looking at that film, knowing he was hitting free agency going, look, he still has the smarts and ability. You know, and our good friend Nick Wright was giving me a hard time,

I think, because as a Kansas City fan, I think he was just mortified at the thought that Travis Kelsey would poke around the market to see if perhaps there was another team. They did. They talked to other teams just to see what was out there. And why wouldn't you, right? Because you got to figure out, hey, let's just say the New York Giants, the Tennessee Titans, you know, the Cleveland Browns, teams that he would have connections to from a personal

standpoint, right? If they were going to give him a boatload, I don't know, maybe that gets his price up in Kansas City. He can get a little bit more money or maybe he makes some big decision decides to go somewhere else. the way, we know what he did. This all signs pointed him to him going back to Kansas City. That being said, they make a big investment in a running back, right? And I think this is a team that had relied on such a good run game for so long that this is sort of the way for them to resurge, go back to the way they were winning games. I don't know if they hadn't spent so much

money. I'm not a GM. It seemed like a very pricey addition for a running back. But that's obviously been an area that they know has been a problem. They still have so many other spots got to fill. So yes, I'm with you on the older, but it's obvious they're trying to make more splashy moves to win next year. Whereas, you know, you see some other teams like the Vegas Raiders to me. They're making amazing moves with the money and the options that they have. But they don't seem like their team going all in for the Super Bowl next year. It's too hard. You're just trying to rebuild this thing the right way. And, and, you know, and I do think John Spitech there and Tom Brady are doing a nice job. Okay. By the way, do you want to break any news on the show? Is your phone flying

going crazy? I've been trying to be respectful because I enjoy coming on here. I'm checking a text right now because I'm waiting for a train. It has not happened yet. But I wish I had like a little camera on my desk that I could just like call you in. I guess I could. I have a camera on my desk. You should just keep me in the quarter of your show for two hours. And I'll just pop in when I got something for you. And if you think it's boring, you move on. If you think it's interesting, we do it. I am all for more Diana Rusini in the hurt. I am all for it.

You crushed it yesterday. Congrats. We'll talk again. And thank you for stopping by. It's fun. I love this stuff. Thanks for having me. Yeah. She did a great job yesterday. I'm telling you, the Raiders, it's unbelievable. And I got to give Ryan Poles, the GM of the Bears. So he made that Steeler move,

Chase Claypool move. I was like, eh. But, you know, wide receivers can be flaky, and it didn't work out. But it is also true that you,

there is no school for general managers. You can't major in NFL GM in college. So a lot of these young guys like Ryan Poles, the Bears GM, they get jobs. You're learning on the job. There's a big gap between being like scout, regional scout,

director of scouting, GM, what? Huh? You have big decisions to make. So I thought Ryan Poles first year, I was like, he's a kid. I think Ryan Poles had a great two years. And I like their defensive moves they've made. And Ryan Poles, a young guy from Kansas City. But it's, you know, coaching's different. You're a position coach. Then you're a coordinator. Maybe you go the college route. And then you become a coordinator at a different place. And then you get the head coaching job. And you could have 16 years in coaching. There's a big difference to me. Like scout, regional scout, you're the GM, it's hard.

And, you know, a lot of these moves that are made, the first time you make them, it's white knuckle time. You don't know how it's going to work out. But I got to tell you, last year, I thought they cleaned up. I thought the DJ Moore move was really, really smart. And I like what they're doing now. some jobs you've got to learn on the job. One more herd.

The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week within the IHard radio app. Search Herd to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like. Stegatz here. I have a podcast empire. It continues to grow. And I have brought it here to IHart. I'm also doing a live radio show from 3 to 5 p.m. Eastern

because my wife wanted to kick me out of the house. It's called Stugats & Company Live, which is available in podcast form. right when the show finishes every single day. Some of the biggest names in sports. A lot of phone calls. I love you guys' guys, not taking themselves too seriously. Those are just some of the things that you can expect from Stugats and Company

and Company Live. So listen to Stugats and Company Live and our original podcast. Please subscribe, rate, and review. Stugats and Company and God bless football. Taylor's livelihood depends on it. Do it today. And you can check all of those out on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Hey, it's us to Jonas Brothers.

And guess what? We have some big news. What's the news, new? Huge news. We created our own podcast called, Hey Jonas. We invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to a...

We're the first people to do podcasts. Pretty, yeah, pretty wide range of podcasts throughout there. But this one's extra special. So how do we actually come up? with the name hey Jonas guys. I honestly don't remember. I think it was on a call about what we should call it. Well, we were thinking I'm originally calling it

one of the early names of our band. Before Jonas Brothers was... This is how you guys remember it going down? Yes. I have a very different memory of this. We were talking about a thing, a bit for the podcast where people could call in and say, hey Jonas. And then I wrote down on my little notepad,

Hey Jonas, Jonas, and offered it up as a potential title for the podcast. But thanks for remembering that, guys. Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. Another podcast from some SNL, late-night comedy guy,

not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smigel and Friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel. Help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes.

Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. The French Open is one of the toughest tests in tennis. And I know firsthand because I competed there myself. I'm Renee Stubbs. And on the Renee Stubbs tennis podcast, I'm breaking down everything happening at Roland Garris. Every match, every upset, and what it really takes to win on clay. Genschen win.

I mean, she's a win. She went down at three to Rabakina, but I'm delighted. She's an outsider to win the French for me. And she likes Clay. Listen, Lena Rubakina is arguably the best player in the world right now. And I actually can win on any surface. Because if she's serving, well, good luck. Consider this your court side seat to the French Open.

Listen to the Renee Stubbs tennis podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year.

Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear 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, Kear Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, learn the hard way.

Open your free, our heart radio app. Search learn the hard way and listen now. Man, who knew? Raiders, dolphins getting their act together. Michael Pittman to the Steelers is interesting because I've said, I think I said last hour, that I think Pittman's a little bit of a bat signal to Aaron Rogers, which is Aaron and Tom Brady have never loved young receivers. Like they want to win now. Aaron's not going to be a mentor.

He's fine with it. He was great with Jordan Love and Green Bay. But Aaron wants, if he's going to come back, he wants guys that are. ready to perform. I don't want to teach him football. And, you know, Michael Pittman's a tough. His dad was a tough player running back in the NFL with Tampa. Pitman's smart. He's tough. D.K. Metcalfe. These are big Washington's coming back off the injury. And Aaron made this dealer smarter and better in the red zone and fewer turnovers, fewer mistakes. So I think Michael Pittman was a bit of a, hey, if you come back, you know, we've added somebody that day

one can be a 75 cash guy for you. Now, you could say, well, Mike, Michael Pittman's, his numbers of regress. You got to remember, Alec Pierce took away some of those catches. The tight end at a Penn State was a stud. He took away some of those catches. And they also had quarterback issues when Daniel Jones got hurt. So you can look at Michael Pittman, going to the Steelers from the Colts and say, well, his numbers are dipping. And it's not an excuse, I would say, between the growth of their offensive weapons around him and their quarterback mess at the end of the year. That can explain some of it. So I like Pitman to the Steelers. And I think it's a bit of a, hey, Aaron, the biggest weakness that team had last year, too much money on defense, and they

didn't have a number two wide receiver. Here's J-Mac with the news. No, no, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. All right, there was a big deal over the weekend. Trent McDuffie leaves the Chiefs for the Rams. That was a huge one. And then McDuffie signed a four-year $124 million extension. Highest paid cornerback in NFL history. He can play outside. He can play in the slot. Quality guy.

He is a, I mean, he's a quality guy. They have basically said, what's interesting about this, J. Mack, in about a year or two, they're going to have to start paying a lot of their defensive players. And they've mostly spent their money on the offensive side. So for them, they've never really viewed corner. They don't draft corners high. They just don't. They want guys that are in the league.

And so to me, this is a very interesting. First of all, it solves their number one liability by a mile. And I'm a little surprised Kansas City let him go. I don't think they had a choice because they've let some corners go. But for the Rams to go all in on McDuffie tells you the kind of guy he is. He played with the Huskies in Seattle. I think he's a West Coast kid. So he's coming back home.

and I think he's probably real happy. Just a clutch player. Makes plays. Yes. You can see him with some punches out there, past defenses. So it's interesting. The Chiefs, Brett Veach, your guy, for whatever reason, does not want to give a cornerbacks their second contract. Remember, they moved off Charverius Ward, Legerius Sneed, now McDuffie, now that Watson, the other

cornerback they just lost also to the Rams. I guess he's thinking, in my system, I can coach him up, but after that we're not paying them. And you said the Rams are the opposite, right? that they want experienced cornerbacks. Look what happened last year when they tried to do it on the cheap. Forbes is barbecue chicken, and they just couldn't guard anybody. Right. So it's interesting seeing how the teams do it differently.

Well, if you look at a prime example, if you look at free agency, what you're trying to do with free agency is find a veteran that plugs a hole. The Ravens have lost more fourth quarter leads than anybody in the NFL last five years. So they go get Max Crosby. They go get their closer. like we want a consistent edge rusher. The one thing people forget about Max Crosby, he's been playing for the Raiders.

The Raiders trail in the fourth quarter. The Ravens lead in the fourth quarter. So Max Crosby is going to have 12 fourth quarter snaps, probably on average, every week with a chance to get a sack. With the Raiders, they trail. Teams are running the ball, underneath stuff. Right?

They're trying to kill the clock and get the game over. In Baltimore, teams are playing catch-up. Also, Kenneth Walker Chiefs, older dinged up. They don't have any juice in the backfield. So when you look at Trent McDuffie, what the Rams are saying is, unless we land with our first pick, the LSU corner, there's nobody on the market close to this. I mean, I think there's one corner in this draft that's in McDuffie's class, the LSU

Korn. LSU kid, yeah. Yeah, outside of that, there's nobody close to McDuffie in the class. So it's interesting. Chris Shula's defense for the Rams. A really intelligent guy. Did some smart things last year. Remember how they bottled up Caleb Williams inside the 10-yard line in that playoff game? Caleb couldn't do anything.

He moves his chest pieces around. He just got another one in McDuffy. He has a lake, and now he adds McDuffey. Colin, I'm just, I think the Rams are like in a tier by themselves in the NFC. That's how good that roster. Ciyahs have also had, they haven't lost great players. They've lost good players. And the offensive coordinator?

Don't forget about that. I mean, I like Kenneth Walker, but it should be noted. That playoff run was fantastic. But Kenneth Walker, in his Seattle career, two things are true. Very good after contact. He's a bully, and he got dinged up a lot. Well, he couldn't block me coming off the edge, if we're being honest. And let's be real.

I looked at his numbers, Colin. I crunched them last night. So last season, remember, over 300 touches is a lot. You get to 350, 370. It's bad. Last year, Kenneth Walker, 326 touches most in his career. And as you just said, gets dinged up. I would just a little buyer beware there.

All right, let's move on to the Indianapolis Colts. Weird saga, Colin. This is an interesting one. So Alec Pierce, as you alluded to earlier, got a huge contract. Huge. $84 million guaranteed for this guy? And again, he had a great season. But let's be specific.

He had a great half season. And then he didn't do as well when the quarterback play wasn't Daniel Jones. Daniel Jones is going to be out for half the season. Now, I was digging into some of these Indianapolis reports. So the reason that they had to pay Pierce and dump Pitman is because of Daniel Jones. Colin, I'm sure you saw this. Daniel Jones was negotiating and they thought they could get him on the cheap, like a hometown

discount, three years, 100 million. Daniel Jones said, I want 50 million a year. And they said, no way. So they had to transition tag him. So now you can't tag Pierce. So it was a disaster. I'm just telling, like, Colts fans, I know they're excited. Hey, we got Pierce back.

Losing Pittman over the middle and some of these numbers on yards per route run for Pierce, really good against zone because he's just a zone buster down the field. Deep. Against man, not as good. And he won a lot of contested catches last year. That's difficult to duplicate year over year. So I don't love this contract. No, I think it's too much, but I think he's a really good player.

I think their young, tied-in Jonathan Taylor. I think, listen, they have some really nice weapons. They were, yeah, let's be completely fair. Before Daniel Jones got hurt, they were good. They went to L.A. and they outplayed the Rams. Yeah. If not for Mitchell doing that goofy sideline act, they beat the Rams in L.A. So this team, when Daniel Jones was upright, was very good.

So our staff put together a full screen here. Sorry in advance, Colts fans. Alex Pierce has played four seasons. Yeah, pro bowls, zero. All pros, zero. 50-yard receiving seasons. Zero. You're sensing a theme.

10-touchdown seasons. Colin? I don't know, man. I know you're close with some guys in the Colts. Ever since they made that sauce gardener trade, everything just kind of fallen apart. Like the Daniel Jones injury. I mean, it's just they cratered.

I don't know. Where are they? Rank them in the division right now for me. You got Texans, Jags, Colts, and Titans. Third or fourth. Well, Liam Cohen and the Jags, this is just the first year of him implementing his culture. So you would think Leon Com and the Jags would get better. It's the second year coming up.

And I think the Texans defense and coaching is so good. Texans aren't going anywhere. Yeah, that defense is the best in the league. You turn the sound down, watch the Texans. They don't look like anybody else. Not even the Seahawks defense looks like that. So, yeah, I mean, you. I mean, listen, German Ursae passed.

The daughters take it over. So I think my take is it does feel like the daughters have told Chris Ballard take swings. This is a big swing, yeah. He's gotten super, he was always known as kind of a conservative GM. He has gotten highly aggressive in the last six months. All right. Final story, Colin is Trey Hendrickson mysteriously. He's considered, on you look at all these free agent lists, he's considered like one of the top five or six guys.

Where is he going? Well, that's the problem. Apparently, he and his agent went to market and we're like, we want 30 plus mill. And everybody else is saying, yeah, that's not happening. You're over 30 years old. No shot. And I got to be honest, some of the attitude and issues that he had in Cincinnati, I'm sure that's weighing up. Do you want to bring that into your locker room?

I don't know if entitled is the right word. I don't know if it's him or it's the Bengals. Could be the Bengals. Could be the Bengals. Maybe I'm wrong. But I just, I wonder if people are looking and be like, eh, do I need that? Do I want that? Well, when I look at Trey Hendrickson, I look at like a Buffalo.

What is a team? This is what the Ravens did. The Ravens had, in the last couple years, they were bottom of the league in fourth quarter sacks. That's why they bring in Max Crosby. Hendrickson works on a team that's going to be leading games late. Buffalo. That's where he makes sense. The Chargers probably looked at him and re-signed Khalil Mack.

I bet they looked at him. Yeah, it's Kalil Mac for like, 18 or 19 million a year, right? Yeah, Andrews are much way more than that. Yeah, but I think there's a place where he fits on a good team with fourth quarter leads, and he can be your closer. I don't think he's Max Crosby. I don't think he's Miles Garrett, but I do think, I mean, remember when the bills had Josh Allen,

they gave Vaughn Miller that huge deal, and their take was, yeah, we're scoring 30 a game, we're leading games late, we just need a closer. By the way, that's why when Stafford was with the Rams, McVan the Rams, they liked Vaughn Miller. We're leading games late. So, Trey Hendrickson fits on a very good news for him. The teams most attracted are probably high-quality teams with late game leads. Super Bowl contenders like your Chicago Bears. I remember you wanted Crosby badly.

Well, they've spent some money on defense. I'm not sure how much left they have. Okay. J. Mack with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Herd Lye News. For the record, very quietly, the New York Giants, my pick next year is the most improved team in the league,

went out and found themselves a pretty good tied in via Ravens. I'm telling you, New York Giants, I already bought a couple of jet skis on my winnings. I feel really good about that. Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd. days in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHard Radio app. Hey, it's us to Jonas Brothers, and guess what? We have some big news. What's the news, huge news? We created our own podcast called Hey Jonas. We invented a podcast. Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to a first people to do podcasts. Pretty, yeah, pretty wide range of podcasts.

We're starting a trend. But this one's extra special. So how do we actually come up with a name Hey Jonas, guys? I honestly don't remember. I think it was on a call about what we should call it. We were thinking I'm originally calling it one of the early names of our band before Jonas Brothers. This is how you guys remember it going down? Yes. I have a very different memory of this. We were talking about a thing, a bit for the podcast, where people could call in and say, hey, Jonas.

And then I wrote down on my little notepad, Hey Jonas, and offered it up as a potential title for the podcast. But thanks for remembering that, guys. Listen to Hey Jonas on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smigel and Friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter.

Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. The French Open is one of the toughest tests in tennis, and I know firsthand because I competed there myself.

I'm Renee Stubbs, and on the Renee Stubbs Tennis podcast, I'm breaking down everything happening at Roland Garris. Every match, every upset, and what it really takes to win on clay. Jen Chinch win. I mean, she went down in three to, two, Rabakina, but I'm delighted. She's an outsider to win the French for me. And she likes Clay.

Listen, Lerna Rubakina is arguably the best player in the world right now. And I actually can win on any surface. Because if she's serving, well, good luck. Consider this your court side seat to the French Open. Listen to the Renee Stubbs tennis podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged.

It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app,

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear 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, or 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, Kear Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, learn the hard way. Open your free, our heart radio app,

Search learn the hard way and listen now. The World Baseball Classic continues as Team USA takes on Italy in their final game of the group stage tonight at 9 p.m. Eastern, right here on FS1. Now, they beat, USA beat Mexico last night. Here is their manager, Benji Gill, saying, oh, yeah, I want to face USA again. I hope we play the U.S. again. That would be awesome.

I would be ecstatic to face them again. For one, it's probably the championship, right? It's a championship in Miami. In fact, you know what? I want to face them more than I want anything else in the world. How's that? Way to go. Probably going to happen.

So whenever you have like free agency or a trade, we all, and I'm guilty of this, you want to proclaim winners and losers. Sometimes when you move off a big star, it takes a year or two. I always said this with Shaq and Kobe. It was the right move to choose Kobe over Shaq. The Lakers for a couple of years were going to have to eat a dirt sandwich

because Shaq was going to do a De Wade and a Miami team that was ready to win now. And then Kobe eventually had to find Pal Gasol. But for a year, it looked really ugly. But over time, Kobe was more obsessed. You know, he was healthier. He was going into his prime. There were no injuries. It was the right move, but you had to wait for a year or two for it to unpack.

And I said this when the Cowboys moved off Micah. I said, Green Bay is going to win it for the first year. They're a good team. He's going to get a bunch of sacks. They're going to be in the playoffs. And the Cowboys defense, which was bad with Micah will get worse. Just give it a year. Well, now have you noticed what happened this week?

Dallas did another move with Green Bay. They got Rishon Gary. So he'll come off the edge. And then they got Quinn and Williams from the Jets and Kenny Clark from Green Bay. So directly or indirectly, three defensive linemen the Cowboys did not have and would not have if it assigned Micah. So Gary, Quinn and Williams, Kenny Clark is a better defensive line than if you just paid Mike. Mika of fortune. So, and when you throw in Damarian, Damarvian overshone at outside linebacker and edge,

that front is excellent now. It is excellent. And my guess is, with their two first round picks, I would not be shocked if they didn't go get two corners. Because their offense doesn't, you don't worry about the offense. Schottinheimer at a good year. Dax healthy, two receivers. O' line's getting better.

already a good run blocking line. They got running back, sealed off. So I could see Dallas going, hey, we're just going to go get two corners. And there's about four in the first round, and they could get both of them. So when they made the move on Micah, the media reaction, I got it, was totally predictable. Green Bay won, Cowboys are morons. I said, sometimes you make moves, you get rid of stuff because what are rich people want? Flexibility. Rich people can buy. any asset they want. But sometimes in a salary cap sport, if you're a billionaire, what you don't have is flexibility. Jerry had so little flexibility that two years ago, they couldn't afford $8 million to buy Derek Hendrick. And they had no running games. And they couldn't make any moves.

So moving mica gave them flexibility. Quinn and Williams, Sean Gary, and first round picks. And by the way, they have two first round picks. I could see, Dallas, because they already gave out one of their two first round picks next year to get Quinn and Williams. I could see Dallas with their second pick or first pick, moving down, pushing more draft picks off into next year, or getting more this year. Flexibility. So I like what they've done.

Diana Rusini and the opposite of Dallas, lack of flexibility, reminds me of the one move. I don't know what I feel about it. And that is Mike Evans to the 49ers. So their roster is old, brittle, and expensive. So they don't have a lot of flexibility. So I found it a little bit curious, and they have overspent, in my opinion, at wide receiver for years,

overdrafted and overspent. I asked Diana Rusini, explain 30-year-old Mike Evans on an offense that already feels way too old. I think from Kyle Shanahan's perspective on this, and they were fishing around the market for receivers here for a bit, I think the Mike Evan situation made sense. It's not costing that much money.

It's roughly a year deal for $15, $16 million. I think for him, this is, he looks over what the Rams did with Stafford and Devante Adams, and I think that was the blueprint in his mind. This, I want to go to a place where the coach is, going to figure out a way to make me the centerpiece or maybe at least a big part of what I want to do. And what's interesting, the one thing that J. Mack and I know you'll have an opinion on this, Mike Evans could have made more money in Tampa. He bails on Baker. He bails on the coaching staff. So Mike Evans, did he choose Kyle Shanahan here?

Did he choose? Listen, I'm going to make less money. By the way, Tampa is in Florida, no state tax. California's 13.5%. So you're taking less. You're going to an expensive state, and that stuff matters to agents and players. It does. And I'm not saying Mike's driven by money, but I'm saying is Tampa's a nice place to live.

Baker's a more than capable quarterback. do you find it interesting that he goes and chooses Brock Purdy and Kyle Shanahan across 3,000 miles away? Do you find that a little odd? It was surprising. Now, it's interesting. On the screen you see 3, 460 mil. But the guaranteed money is only 16.3 million, according to one report. So, Colin, that's interesting. It's a one-year deal. I mean, I don't know how much Evans has left in the tank. It feels like he's ring hunting. He thinks this is the best place to go win a ring. Next season? Well, I think maybe He likes Shanahan a lot.

I mean, obviously, you know, Evans had a great run with Tom Brady. And now with Baker, they've pulled back. They got passed by Carolina. I think Carolina wins that division next year, by the way. They added two defensive stars. The offense looks good. I think Carolina's the team to beat there. So, yeah, I don't hate Evans going to the Niners.

I just, I don't know what they're going to be, Colin. Did you see they have the most travel of any team in NFL history next year? Yeah. And Trent Williams is what's going on there. McCaffrey coming off a heavy usage season. Iyuk's gone. Jennings looks like he's gone. Can you tell me when George Kittles coming back?

A lot of question marks in San Francisco. And Fred Warner and Bosa coming off injuries. Fred Warner as well, that's right. That's why I'm saying is this team needs an infusion of youth and speed and they just got older. So this isn't Carl Malone going to the Lakers, is it? Remember that? 2000? Yeah, yeah, yeah.

And they lost to the Pistons and the finals. Yeah. I hope it's not that. And, you know, Evan's obviously a really town. You and I should be duly noted. We love Mike Evans. Great red zone guy. Great guy.

Terrific player. But man, of all the places to go, the Niners are old. We saw him play Seattle at the end of the year. The fifth youngest team. And Seattle was so much quicker and so much healthier and so much deeper and so much faster and so much more explosive. Well, yeah. Or maybe he wants to be in a tech hub. Maybe he's got a future in tech in Silicon Valley out there.

I don't. San Fran's lovely as a city. Oh, sure. Matt Hasselback hour number three coming up on a Tuesday. It's the herd. Hey guys, it's us. The Jonas Brothers. I'm Joe.

I'm Kevin. And I'm Nick. And guess what? We created our own podcast called, Hey, Jonas. We invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to it.

We're the first people to do podcasts. We get to ask other people questions because we're sick and tired of being asked questions. Well, sick and tired is a strong way to put it. But, you know, tired and sick. tired and sick. Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer, Streeter Seidel,

help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano.

It's our favorite time of the year on our podcast point game, the playoffs. We're digging into the biggest surprises of the season. And I'm looking back on some of my greatest playoff moments. If we didn't talk ever again, I was harmed. You just understood. That's how personal it got. Wow. Then after that game seven, Marquis keep coming to.

He's like, you know, I love it. love you, dog. You know, it's all love. This was just playoffs. This was just basketball. So listen to Point Game on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, I'm Deanna Maria Riva, and on my new podcast, How Hard Can It Be? I call on my Gen X squad from Ohio to Hollywood as we navigate Midlife's most fantastic BS. Unfiltered conversations from night sweats to futas to scheduling sacks. Wait, what sex? Is it just me? Or does every woman my age want to look at Pinterest? instead of having sex sometimes. They say we can't polish a turd, but we're sure going to try.

So let's get blunt with laughs, tears, or tears of laughter. Listen to How Hard Can It Be with Diana Maria Riva on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Will Ferrell's Big Money Players and IHeart Podcast Presents soccer moms. So I'm Leanne. Yeah. This is my best friend, Janet. Hey.

And we have been joined at the hips since high school. Absolutely. A redacted amount of years later, we're still joined at the hip. Just a little bit bigger hips. This is a podcast. We're recording it as we tailgate our youth soccer games in the back of my Honda Odyssey With all the snacks and drinks. Why did you get hard seltzer instead of beer?

Oh, they hit a bogo. Well, then you got them. Listen to soccer moms on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHart podcast. Guaranteed human.