The Herd with Colin Cowherd - THE HERD - Hour 2 - What you should expect from a QB, update on Puka Nacua

Episode Date: April 2, 2026

 Colin explains what he expects from a quarterback and why it's so important Thoughts on Rams WR Puka Nacua going into rehab and why the AJ Brown rumors came about   Guest: Brian BaldingerSee 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. 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. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened.

That's where SportsSlice comes in. I'm Timbo, and every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the biggest moments in sports and giving you the real story behind the headline. And we're going straight to the source, the athletes themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions in the moment, and the stuff nobody gets to hear. Listen to SportsSlic on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slicalife 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. I'm Michelle McPhee, and I've been unraveling the strangest criminal alliance I've ever reported on.

A Mormon polygamist and an Armenian businessman. Multi-million dollar house, Ferraris and Lamborghinis, private jets, a billion dollar fraud. But how long can this alliance last? Tell me what you're. know is somebody coming after me. Listen to Kingdom of Fraud 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 SportsRedio.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. Our number two. I can't get enough of Wemby and Fernando Mendoza.

I think they're my two favorite players. For a while, it was like LeBron, Steph, Brady. I think my two favorite players now are Wembe and Fernando Mendoza. I've never bought a jersey ever. I've never bought a player jersey ever I got one for Christmas when I was like seven years old it was the Cleveland Browns and I forget what the number was but I'm telling you this Fernando Mendoza

What about Cooper Flagg? Would you buy a Cooper Flagg jersey? No I think he's really good though I really like him Arch Manning when he goes to the Jets No no no Wow you are tough on this huh? Fernando Mendoza is not just about being a quarterback Yeah it's that I love when people are willing to be authentic and just lay it out there and yeah I'm a little cringy

I'm a little dorky and it's like you know whatever it's you know what you know how I feel about quarterbacks it's a different position there's only one coach head coach per team but there's one head coach on the field it's not the wide receiver it's not the edge rusher it's the quarterback he touches the ball every snap and you need a different personality and I've oh you know a I remember telling a certain broadcaster this years ago. And he was a young broadcaster with a lot of talent. And I said, and had a little bit of a toad. And I said, just remember, you'll never be the coolest guy for very long.

It's almost like beauty. You're the prettiest today. You won't be in eight years. There'll be somebody prettier. Talent endures. Work ethic endures. Commitment endures. I can work harder than anybody else for 50 years.

but you can't be the coolest for 15 years because culture changes, style changes. So I love that Fernando Mendoza is like, yeah, I'm not worried about the cool thing. And I said, I thought Cam Newton was the best college football player I've ever seen. Cam needed to be cool. He never had back-to-back winning seasons. He was distracted. Cool was a really important thing to him. Cam Newton's got more talent than Fernando Mendoza.

And I don't think, I mean, I think Cam, history of college football is the most devastating player I've ever seen. Well, for one year he was. He only played one year. I don't care. The most. Tim Tebow was more devastating. If you're the fastest rocket ever, do you have to be the fastest rocket for nine years? Well, in football?

No, you don't. No, you don't. You're saying one year of Cam was better than three years of Tebow? You understand the World Olympics, right? If you do the longest long jump, you don't need 80 of them. If you set the record, you get the record. Individual. There's a team sport.

No, I'm saying, Cam Newton, talent, bigger, stronger, fast. deeper ball than Menendos. Not even arguable. It's all data. But Cam needed to be cool. Vince Young sometimes liked the cool thing. Johnny Mansell loved the cool thing. Baker could worry a little bit too much about chest out.

Just win games. Everything. Just win games. I want to talk about another athlete, though. And we've talked about this. When I look at mock drafts, they're sending messages. uncertain teams. Like the Raiders need a quarterback.

That's not a message. Fernando's the best one available. The Rams are a stacked roster and have two great receivers. Yet everybody's mock draft is the Rams targeting a wide receiver in a draft. That it's not a great receiver draft. Carnell Tate is considered the one absolute first round receiver. The kid out of Arizona State had injury issues. And Mackay Lemon from USC doesn't really separate.

He's not a burner. You can hold them up in traffic. But yet everybody's got the Rams taking one of those guys. Why? Because of what we've been talking about for weeks. It's not the Devante Adams age. It's the Puka issues. Story came out yesterday that Puka has entered rehab, his attorney says.

And this is why the A.J. Brown to the Rams rumors surfaced. We've been talking about this and hinting about it for weeks. stuff is going to come out, drip, drip, drip, drip. And it's the reality of pro sports. Some players, especially when they're young, have some personal demons. And pro sports has always been a little cruel and unfair for all sports. It works in the reverse of real life. The average American millionaire becomes a millionaire at 61.

The average pro athlete today becomes a millionaire at like 25, 23. and listen, that's a lot. I mean, Pooka's from a small town in Utah. He goes to L.A. He would have been much better served going to Green Bay, going to Tampa Bay. He goes to L.A. with McVeigh, with Stafford, Super Bowls, number one offense, on national TV,

75,000 people in the number one, number two media market in the country. It is a lot for somebody that, you know, that's excelling on the field and getting this attention, I mean, I've talked to a lot of pro athletes, even the smart veterans. And they're like, oh, yeah, my first contract, I bought 30 suits. I bought, you know, I was playing the game. It's a lot. Pro sports is tough.

A lot of these athletes probably half don't come from a lot of money. Come from small, great powerhouse football programs in Hoover, Alabama, or Provo, Utah. You know, they don't come from big cities. And now you play for the Philadelphia Eagles. and your name's being mentioned and you're getting screamed at by the fans and you're on WIP radio. It's a lot. It is overwhelming. You hear all the time about young people on Instagram.

Well, imagine being on Instagram, literally on everybody else's Instagram, talking about you. So I hope, you know, I've said this before is I think part of them drafting a receiver in the first round is an insurance policy, not on Devonthe Adams' injuries, on Pooka's. stuff. Tom Pallisaro last week on the contract and Pooka's future in L.A. He's still one of the best players in the entire NFL. He is still somebody who's going to be in line for a big contract extension at some point. I don't get the sense that the Rams are really in much of a rush to do something with Puka. But again, I wouldn't directly connect that to any of the stuff that they've had to deal with with Puka off the field. He is under contract only for one more year, but you've got multiple franchise tags on top of it. They've got time. And this is probably

more so something we're going to be talking about in June and July, potentially getting done with Puka. And we'll see how some of these other things at a league level and a legal level play out between now and then. Well, it is, since he said that, it is ratcheted up on rehab for Puka. So, you know, I think, listen, he's great. He's a ram. Stafford loves him. You know, Stafford doesn't want to start over with another rookie receiver. He loves his personnel. The Rams defense is young, but the Rams offense now, Kiron Williams and Puka and Higsby and Parkinson and they got dudes and they're veteran players.

And Matt Stafford, you know, most veteran quarterbacks, Brady Aaron Rodger Stafford, they like their guys. They like going into a season with their guys. So he's a great player and hopefully he gets all this stuff sorted out. So Mike Sando at the other place has been talking to execs around the league here in the offseason. And they're being quoted anonymously, which is people always say more when it's anonymous. We talked about last hour I defended the Buffalo Bill signing DJ Moore. He also talked to people about the Pittsburgh Steelers, a franchise that fans hate me, but I'm right, which is what's your plan?

What are you doing? It's an offensive league. Why are you spending so much money on defense? Well, what do you know? Said one league exec on the Steelers, what's their vision? What's their plan?

Hmm. An affable talk show host pointed at that the last seven years. They got slower, said another. Rico Dattle, he's a comfort signing for McCarthy. Are they Super Bowl talented? Nope.

I don't think they're a Super Bowl team. So, you know, what I think is sort of ironic think about the Steelers. They've always projected the toughness. Mike Tomlin's teams projected this toughness. And, you know, it's like the small town bully. He's got the barbed wire tattoo. He's got the four by four, the cowboy hat, but he's really terrified to ever leave his hometown because he knows he'd have to compete in Dallas or the big city. Not smart people in those cities. And the Steelers have that kind of bully complex. We're tough.

We're intimidating. No, you're terrified to rebuild. You're terrified to rebrand yourself. That's why you've had the highest paid defense as the league is pivoted to offense the last four to five years. That's why Aaron Rogers is so valuable. He's at least maybe not a current model due to his age, but he gets offense. The Steelers have been the slowest team in the league, according to next gen stats in

20, 24, 2025. So as the league is getting faster in young, younger, the Steelers are getting older and slower. So they've projected all this toughness and all this, hey, we are the Steelers. Now, what you are is slow and outdated and terrified to rebuild. I mean, what's terrifying in the NFL is Sean McVeigh going to 13 personnel midseason, changing his offense midseason. And you don't know what Rams' offense is showing up next week.

That's terrifying. Or what's terrifying is Vrable takes his team to the super. Super Bowl and year one of the rebuild. It's like, damn, what did they get me next year? That is terrified. Somebody that rebuilds really quickly or on the fly or in week 13. The Steelers are not terrifying. They're predictable.

Those mics and articles, they are so good. Absolutely so good. J. Mack was smiling during that one. That was one of the rants he liked. Listen, I was just about to send you a text during the commercial break. You've had some pretty good one-liners this week. Are somebody writing new material for you there in Chicago? What's going on?

I put carrot top on the staff. He's crushing. Oh, yeah. Okay. Something's going on because that line about the Steelers and like the small town bully afraid to like leave the town. That's really good. You know what? And I agree with it.

Can I say it? It's that neuro gum. I swear to God. I thought it was going to that basketball, the Michigan Wolverines game this week. You saw what real dominance is like. So, you know, I had to set my game up. Michigan, Arizona this week, very excited for Saturday. You're watching those, right?

You're locked in them. Am I watching them? Yeah, I'm going to find time for Michigan, Arizona. 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. Hey, it's me, Rob Parker.

Check out my weekly MLB podcast inside the Parker for 22, It's a piping hot baseball talk featuring the biggest names and newsmakers in the sport. Whether you believe in analytics or the I-Test, we've got all the bases covered. New episodes drop every Thursday. So do yourself a favor and listen to Inside the Parker with Rob Parker on the IHeart Radio app 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, name? Huge news. We created our own podcast called. Hey Jonas. We invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to it. We're the first people to do podcasts. Pretty, yeah, pretty wide range of podcasts throughout there. But this one's extra special.

So how did we actually come up with a name Hey Jonas, guys? I honestly don't remember. I think it was on a call about what we should call it. Oh, we were thinking I'm originally calling it one of the early names of our band. Before Jonas Brothers was... This is how you guys remember it going down. Yes. I have a very different memory of this. We were talking about a thing, a bit for the podcast,

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

not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel,

help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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. 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. 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 Slical Life 12 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Jacob Kingston grew up in an isolated polygamous sect. We were God's chosen kingdom on earth.

He felt destined for greatness. So when a swaggering Armenian businessman catapults Jacob into an extraordinary world, he doesn't. look back. Ferraris and Lamborghinis, private jets, meeting the president of Turkey. I'm Michelle McPhee, and this is one of the most shocking criminal conspiracies I've ever come across. When Jacob met Levin this plant to a billion dollar fraud. But with two kings from entirely different worlds, just how long can their empire survive? The largest tax investigation in American history. You need to tell me what you know. Is somebody coming after me? Jacob told Levan, you're ruining my life.

Listen to Kingdom of Fraud on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. 13 years in the NFL, about a half of it with the Cowboys, Baldi's breakdowns, NFL network analyst. Love having them on the show. Brian Baldinger is joining us now live from his office. So, J-Mack and I go back and forth on this. I really don't have a problem a quarterback sitting the first year. Now, I do believe

as the NFL Brian has adopted or adapted a little bit to the college game. And the college game looks more, a little bit more. I mean, it's in the 70s or 80s. Some of the concepts, the motion, the multiple sets feel a little more like the NFL.

This kid played at Cal, Indiana. He's got a lot of starts. I'm okay with him still sitting for Kirk Cousins, but I think he's going to look really, really impressive, very early in camp. Where do you kind of lean on a college kid? Like Bo Nix, Brian, had 61 college starts. If he's good, he's good. If he's not, he's not.

He was ready to play. You know, I mean, he'd played in, you know, Sean Payton. Where do you stand on that? I mean, you go back. I mean, you're a USC fan. Carson Palmer sat his whole first year, John Kittner started in Cincinnati for an entire year. I mean, Donovan McNabb was drafted with the second pick of the draft,

and Doug Peterson was brought in to be the starter. If Fernando Mendoza plays anything like he did, starting from that Penn State win last year with the touchdown Omar Cooper in the last 30 seconds, all the way through the gauntlet to the national championship game, and he plays at that level, it's going to be hard to keep him on the sideline. Kirk Cousins or not Kirk Cousins there. You can't lie to your team.

If he's the best quarterback on the team, then I'd march him out and play him, just like they did Joe Burrell or any of these other number one picks in the draft. Mark Schlarith has told me stories about that where you go to camp and you're like, yeah, the draft pick is either really can't play a lick and you can't lie to the locker room because players know. My take is watching him yesterday at the pro day. He put on 10 to 12 pounds. I mean, you watch the college stuff and then you watch him yesterday not in pads in that t-shirt.

Brian, he looked 15 pounds thicker. Did he not? He, you know, he's constructed pretty well. And you go back and just, I'm always kind of looking at. at the times when he just got blasted in a game like that throw in Penn State to Omar Cooper. Like he got blasted in that play and the ball still went where he wanted it to go. Some guys get blasted and a ball pops up in the air and gets intercepted. His ball still, like he's got lower body strength that I think he could still follow through even

when he gets hit. And that lower body strength carries, you know, that ball to where he wants it to go. So a story yesterday came out during the summer in August, I was told by somebody connected to the front office of the Eagles that Jalen Hertz was wearing coaches out, was not the easiest to coach, could be a little rigid, was a little reluctant or reticent to make changes, which you get sometimes with older quarterbacks. Brett Farr famously, like, I'm not learning a new offense, I'll retire.

And then the story yesterday comes out with 12 sources from Jeremy Fowler that, listen, they got, this is tough. This is not what it appears on television. And it's got a, Brian, it's got a little Russell Wilson vibe. A little smaller than average, transferred in college, go to a team that's ready to win, get a lot of credit for the winning, a little bit of a politician at the podium. What did you make of the story? Is it too much too soon? Or do you think there's a little bit there?

If you would look, I live in Philly here, Colin. I know what this is like. And look, I mean, you know, the writers that came in, like, they're good riders. They know what they're doing. I think that, honestly, like, if you're 57 and 25 as a starter, and you've been to the playoffs every year as a starter, like, there's something, you can't, you can't finagle that. That's not luck. That's not good fortune. Like, that's, you know, he doesn't turn a ball over in a postseason.

He's thrown 11 touchdowns, three interceptions in the postseason. When we measure these guys at the highest level of measuring. a guy. He has played well when he has given those opportunities and he's gotten them there. He's been a good leader. He never misspeaks at the podium. Never. And all Philadelphia's looking for

is for him to misspeak. Donovan did that in Philly and all they had to do is go back and redo the press conference all over again. He never misspeaks. It's amazing actually. But he's the son of a coach and he might not be easy to coach but he's the thing that can

kill a team quicker than anything and that's why we doubted Sam Darnold all the way to the end last year was turnovers. But he's not going to get you beat. But does he hold the ball too long? Yep, he does. Does he not want to do certain things that maybe the offense asked for? Probably. But at the same time, he's not going to get you beat.

And then he's going to find ways to beat you. So the question is he's going to have to evolve, though, because he's not the same runner that he was at Alabama, Oklahoma, and the beginning of his career. And Russell wasn't. and Steve Young wasn't. And so all these guys that help make a living by being good runners and scramblers, I think he's going to have to adjust and be a better from the pocket than he's been.

And all quarterbacks have to evolve in that regard. So a player, and you watch more tape than anybody, any analyst I know, and there's a player in this draft, and I've always struggled with this, they just, they are bullies in college football. And then the pros are like, well, their hands aren't big. enough, their arms aren't long enough, and I'm like, all I know is when I watch Ruben Bain, he's just mowing over people. Now, Jared Vers was a guy. People said, well, he's only got one move. Well, that one move works in college and pro. But Ruben Bain, it's an arm length issue,

historic. What does the film say? What's your projection on him? He was the best player in the national championship game. I mean, no offense to Fernando Mendoza. He was the best player on the field. And he was almost unblockable. he lined up. He's got real power that works at any level. And he's just, you know, I've been to those Miami practices with Jason Taylor coaching on one side and Mario Cristobal on the other side. It's a war when you go to practice at Miami. It is. He's battling against Maranoa every day against Markelle Bell, the left tackle. He's going up against NFL tackles, good NFL tackles, every day in practice. And so there is no, oh, let's go put a baseball captain.

and go sit out there and go through this walkthrough. There's no walkthroughs at Miami. It looks like Tom Landry in the 80s to me. So I think he's been schooled the right way. I think he's wired the right way. The arm-lain thing, when I see him turn the corner on teams and players, good players in this business, I don't see an issue. The other player, and this is another issue I have, is, and I, through the years I followed high school recruiting.

and the five-star kids that don't pan out don't have a position. They're just big, strong kids that bully in high school, they get to the college game and they don't have a position. They're like a tight end slash receiver. Arvel Reese is amazing. They don't love football. They're just talented. That's another category there.

Arvel Reese. Yeah. He's going to learn a position in the pros. And by the way, could go to the Jets, an organization. I'm sorry, I don't trust. If he was going to Sala, Robert Sala, I'd be like, Hill, Hill Famer. There's something like, or Mike McDonald or D'Amico Ryans. I'm like, those guys, they'll figure him out.

I don't trust the Jets. I'm sorry, there's teams I don't. What do I make of Rvel Reese when he's, he's an incredible athlete, but I don't know what he is as a pro. Now, he's the wheel linebacker. He's not going to wear the green dot. He's not going to get people lined up. That's what Sonny Stiles did.

that was his job but he is a talented player now people want to make a big deal while he's a pass rush well like Matt of Patricia used him in a variety of ways he did come off the edge a little bit not much but they used him as a spy

got some sacks on that against some athletic quarterbacks you go up against Lamar or Josh or you know Jalen Hertz like you could spy him on third down and you know the spies only work if you're faster than the guy that's actually running the football

and he's probably faster than anybody who's going to run the football. Like I think he's a Will linebacker. Just let him run and hit. He is a great athlete. He's got great twitch. He reminds me of Frank Louvo. If you study Frank Louvo, who's just an electric wire on the field.

Bobby Wagner was the mic. Frankie Louvo was the Will in Washington. And he's a great talent. And this guy's bigger and faster than Frank Louvo. But there's a position for him. I think he's a Will linebacker. And you can use him in some. in some ways, but that's what he is.

Off the ball inside, we'll lineback. You can move them around a little bit, match them up with different running backs and tight ends. Hey, you played off every offensive line position for the Cowboys. Miami's got a guy that can play tackle. Maybe an interior guy is nasty, tough guy. Just one of those guys, just let me draft him and he'll play. Fanoe out of Utah, probably more right tackle than left tackle, but you cannot get around

him. the tackle class is being called very, very good. What is your take on the top tackle prospects? What do you see? Very rarely do you have a 6-7 guy with great feet, the Utah guys, they got a couple of them that appeared to have that. Is the class as good as everybody says, offensive line, offensive tackle class?

I don't think there's Trent Williams or Lane Johnson in this draft. But we have to allow a guy like Monroe Freeling, you're talking about. You know, these guys are 20 years old. Like, he's going to, like, I don't know why he actually came out. He only played one year. But that's, you know, you develop in the NFL. We'll see what he looks like two years from now when he gets stronger and his core is better and all that kind of stuff.

Like, Francis of Manoa, Maranoa right now is, like, I think he can be, he looks like a guard playing tackle, even though he's huge. He's 6'6 and he has tackle a slink. But he reminds me of Zach Allen when he was at Notre Dame. I think he could be an all. pro guard in this league. But I think he can start a right tackle in this league. There's no question about it.

I think that Fano and Lomu, those guys at Utah, I think they both can be good tackles. Lomu was only 20 years old. I mean, he might only be 19, if I remember correctly. Like, they're all going to get bigger and stronger and have a chance to really develop. I remember talking, I'm good friends with Wayne Johnson. He said he never really got, like, NFL strength

until halfway through his second year. and when he really kind of figured out how to play. And so you've got to give these guys a little bit of time to, you know, get on the program and get on the strength program and figure out what functional strength is in this business and what you need to work on. Brian Baldinger, NFL Network, does great work. Baldi's breakdowns.

Good seeing you as always. Thanks, Colin. You bet, man. I'll talk to you soon. All right. I love guys that sit and watch tape. I've got to tell you, that interview, when he starts talking about Mario Cristobal and their coaching and how they they they it is like an it's like an NFL 1980s camp i've said for years college football is better when the miami hurricanes the u s c trojans and the texas longhorns are

good it they just they got a 30% NFL field to them big city field to them i i found the hurricanes last year to be so much fun to watch and they are committed financially you know my I don't know how many you know this. Miami is literally been changing the last three to four years. It's becoming a tech hub. The richest guy and one of the richest guys in Chicago, Ken Griffith moved down there and he's trying to get all these billionaires to move down there

is keep your Miami now. They got a lot of lettuce. J. Mack? That's more of a tax dodge than anything. Oh, these rich guys moving forward. I think it's more of a crypto play, which is sketchy as hell. know that down in Miami. They were trying to be a crypto hub, like Silicon Valley out west. They were

trying to do that with crypto, and it kind of sort of flopped. Well, I think it's a little bit more of a little bit more tech. Yeah, why don't you go ask your rich friends like Zuckerberg how things are going down in Florida? All these rich guys moving down there. Okay. Miami is officially the fastest growing U.S. city for technology startups. Not one word in there about Bitcoin. Yeah, because Bitcoin's tanking. They're pivoting quickly. Listen, go down there for tech, save money on taxes. I'm sure the governor has a great job with everything down there. Maybe I like him. Maybe he's a friend. I'm a little bit more poised.

Never a dull moment with C squared. That's you, buddy. Yeah, nice job. If you want to pay all my taxes, I can send you a bill. Jay Mack with the news. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. I'm sure the audience love that. Let's go to somebody that Colin Coward loves near or dear close to his heart.

Sam Darnold. Colin, Sam Darnold had a phenomenal season last year. Won a Super Bowl, 67% completions, 4,000 yards, 25 tutties. And GM John Schneider talked to Fox Sports.com and said, it's crazy to say because he won 14 games last year, but Darnold can be even better in 2026. Now, it's interesting. You love throwing out the two years worth of data on Darnold.

Great in Minnesota, great in Seattle. I will push back a little and say, I think this Clint Kubiak loss to the Raiders is significant. and Kenneth Walker was phenomenal down the stretch. Obviously not an easy replacement. Okay. So let me push back. So Darnold went 14 and 3 and 14 and 3, and you're saying, hey, he may pull back a little.

Yeah, it's possible he's going to go 11 and 6. The guy's the winning his quarterback in the league, including Mahomes and Josh Allen the last two years. So saying, well, he may pull back a little, you think? I got to set you up with some meatball. occasionally so you can knock him out of the part. I don't know. So what are you saying? If we do a top 10 quarterback rankings in the off season,

is Darnold in there? How can he not be? How can he not be a top 10 quarterback? So is Brock Purdy in there? No. Oh, boy. I can't. Let's just do the...

How in the world can Sam Darnold, who just hoisted a trophy, had a perfect playoff run off a year in which he was getting MVP talk? You're not going to put him top 10? Well, I mean, Jalen Hertz, a hoist in a trophy a year ago, 13 months ago. Well, I think Jalen Hertz is close top 10, probably 12 for me.

I'm not as high in him as you are. And that's been the case for two years. Yeah. And Brad Purdy's good, but I think Brock Purdy's probably closer to 11 or 12. I don't think Brock's 28. We have the Darnold postseason stats, five touchdown, zero turnovers, 102 pass-a rating. Now, the Niners did not field it.

I think they had like a mass unit on defense there, so that doesn't count. He did perform well against the Rams at home. And then the Patriots defense was whatever. So, I don't know. Top 10 interesting. You have him definitely top 10. I got to see that list. I say closer to 10 than one.

But, I mean, again, how long can Patrick Mahomes play average football and we keep him at one or two? Whoa, whoa, whoa, who's we? Who's we? That's not me. Mahomes was bad last year before the injury. Yes. Yeah, no, maybe Darno Cracks there. I don't know.

I haven't drilled deep. I mean, I love C.J. Stroud. But I think he's moving out of the top 10 the last two years. I still think he's tremendously. I think he's so gifted. But yesterday, Lance Zerline comes on. He's like his footwork shot. Well, okay, then I can't.

I mean, outside of Josh Allen, maybe Joe Burrow when he's healthy, like Mahomes, the last two years has been had moments, but hasn't been consistent at all. It's not all his fault. Who do you think was better last year? Dak Prescott or Sam Darnold? Sam Darnold's a better quarterback, more talented. Wow, hold on. Jordan Love or Sam Darnal?

Sam Darnold. More consistent. Oh, boy. Sam has an occasional stinker. Hey, you know, I mean, sometimes, you know, chef burns the cake. It doesn't mean you're a bad cook. Sam has the occasional.

Sam will go sideways a couple times a year. He'll have a couple of two-pick halves, and you're like, Sam, what are you doing? But that's a four-pick game against the Rams. Brady had a pick six in the Super Bowl. So what. Interesting. Wow.

Okay. I did not expect that, but here we are. Let's go to the NBA, Colin, where we've heard a lot of talk about whether or not LeBron James will stay in L.A. Go to Cleveland. Go somewhere else. Well, Rich Paul has chimed in. I have a theory on this.

But he went on his podcast to shut down speculation about LeBron definitely staying with the Lakers. Here we go. You got all this speculation. you got every article. And what happens is you just have these algorithms pick up and everybody's talking. So you're saying there's no truth to it to those five teams? There's no truth to any of it. I don't know what's happening.

Remember when you just said, believe half of what you see and none of what you hear? I don't know if I believe any of that. I'm telling you. You don't know what's happening? I do not know. He don't know either. He don't know. We don't even talk about it.

I know. Okay, they do talk about it. But they do talk about it. But I think Rich Paul's being truthful. They don't know. They don't know. Is LeBron willing to take a pay cut? The Mark Walters group, these guys are sharp.

Okay? They don't know yet. What if they lay an egg, can't defend anybody, play Minnesota first round, and it's ugly? What if they end up in the Western Conference finals? And LeBron is willing to be a third option and says to him, I'll take a pay cut. Well, then it's a different argument.

Then it's a different discussion. That's 100%. Now, the question of how much of the pay cut is why I think Rich Paul's talking about this. With the Lakers cooking, oh, LeBron's at 50 milk, can you imagine him at $10 million next year? This team has room for, you add whoever. Now, I'm sure Rich Paul hears that and is like, uh-uh, LeBron ain't paying for 10 million. So he's pushing back against the narrative. But you're right.

Could be a first round flame out? Yeah. Could be conference finals. I think this is one of the things in life. Like when the Dodgers went after O-Tonnie. they plan that two years in advance. They literally, I was told there was a game plan two years in advance. They knew they were going after him.

Okay, so they knew what they were doing. There are also stories where aging stars, you're like, let's just see how they play at the end of the year. LeBron could have an injury tomorrow and they're like, now we're not going to do it. LeBron could be unbelievable in the playoffs and they say, okay, I do not believe in my opinion they're going to bring him back for the current salary. No way. There's no shot of that. I will say I agree with you. But you know the saying, have a plan or plan to fail. The Lakers new ownership group's only been on board, I think, was it September, right before the season? So they don't have a two-year runway here, and they've got to get a lay of the land with this Yonnas situation. By the way, very quiet

on the Yonis front. You notice that? Very quiet as we head into the off season. All right, final story, Colin, is sticking in the NBA. This is kind of spicy. So the Mavs are still without a GM after they ran Nico Harrison out of town. Reports are indicating that the most frequently whispered candidate is, drum roll please, former Warriors GM Bob Myers could be the new GM of the Mavericks. Now, we know Bob Myers at a rough ending last few years in Golden State was terrible with the draft and free agency, handling clay, Draymond, all that. However, he's a big name.

and guess who could be drafting in the top five, the Dallas Mavericks. Colin, the chance to draft Cooper Flags wingman for the next decade? That's a great job, and I'm sure Bob Myers would leave TV in a heartbeat and take that gig. No, Bob, a little eye, I'll tell you, go look at the Dallas Mavericks draft and where they're drafting and what's available.

Keep your eye on the Illinois-U-Con game and the point guard for Illinois. Wogler. Yeah. That would be a good bit. Six. Six. Six. Six. Six. SGA feel. Six to go with Cooper Flag. You are set for 10 years. I'm telling you the Dallas, this draft, the Dallas Mavericks, I, listen, they always say, you don't want to come in and be, you know, Bob Myers is like, I don't want to be a GM at the end of a dynasty. It gets sloppy. Yeah. You know, the late Jerry Krause. It's great to be part of building a dynasty in the middle of a dynasty, you want to get out of it late because then you have to make tough decisions on personnel.

Do we keep Clay Thompson? Do we get rid of it? If they get, I can, this NBA draft, the NFL draft, the New York Giants and the Dolphins fascinated. Dallas Mavericks in the draft. Who do you, who do you couple with Cooper Flag? Because that's the whole draft. Which guy works best off him? I think it's the Illinois Guard. I like that. So remember when LeBron was a rookie, they tried to make him point guard. It just didn't work back in the day. They needed him off the ball. They ended up bringing in a point guard.

I think it was Moe Williams. And it worked great. Keaton Wogler with Cooper off the ball? Or you run pick and roll with those two? It could be lights out. So I think you're right. I remember when I was building the big lead back in the day. Everybody wanted to come on board and write.

You know, it was fun. It was kind of we could do whatever we wanted. Once I sold it and then new owners come in and they start telling me what to do, hey, you got to move off this guy. That's not fun. And I'm sure Myers was dealing with that. Yes. At the NBA level.

I think at the end of dynasties, you can go to Jerry Krause, the last dance. You can go to Bob Myers. It's no fun because now players are past their prime. Now players, they expect to get big contracts because they're rich. They're a bit in, you know, I mean, listen, they're legends and their icons and, well, how do I not get a max deal? It's no fun to be a GM at the end. It's not. Who wants to break up Clay and Steph?

Nobody wants to do that. Who wants to pay Dremont a max deal? Then the Jordan pool fall out. He whiffed with Weissman, Coominga, and so forth. Yeah, it was ugly at the end, but Myers was part of the architect of building that great dynasty. J-Mak with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by.

The Herd Lie News. Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. Hey, it's us, the 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... We're the first people to do podcasts. Pretty, yeah, pretty wide range of podcasts throughout there. But this one's extra special. So how did we actually come up with a name Hey Jonas, guys? I honestly don't remember.

I think it was on a call about what we should call it. Well, we were thinking I'm originally calling it one of the early names of our band. Before Jonas Brothers 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, people could call in and say, Hey, Jonas. And then I wrote down on my little notepad, Hey Jonas,

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

me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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 iHeartRadio app.

Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. Jacob Kingston grew up in an isolated polygamous sect. We were God's chosen kingdom on earth. He felt destined for greatness. So when a swaggering Armenian businessman catapults Jacob into an extraordinary world, he doesn't look back. Ferraris and Lamborghinis, private jets, meeting the president of Turkey. I'm Michelle McPhee, and this is one of the most shocking criminal conspiracies I've ever come across. When Jacob met Levant this plant to a billion dollar fraud.

But with two kings from Indiana, entirely different worlds. Just how long can their empire survive? The largest tax investigation in American history. You need to tell me what you know. Is somebody coming after me? Jacob told Levan, you're ruining my life. Listen to Kingdom of Fraud on the IHeart Radio app,

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Saturday night is baseball night on Fox. This week, we've got Pete Crowe Armstrong in the cup. versus Jose Ramirez and the Guardians, or Ronald Acuna Jr., and the Braves against the diamondbacks. Baseball night in America, Saturday at 7 Eastern only on Fox. By the way, I love bringing Brian Baldinger on and people that, you don't have to agree with me on this show. I would prefer it. No.

Brian Balding, I would talk about Jalen Hertz, and he's too small, and he's gotten banged up, this and that. But Baldi knows Philadelphia well. one of the things he talked about, it's really important. Philadelphia is the loudest city in the country. New York is a city where sports matters, but I remember when there was a Super Bowl in New York, being in New York,

and it's like you didn't know the Super Bowl was going on. It's like the UN was in town. Like it was just like, honestly, it was like the city's too big to host a Super Bowl. It's the same in Los Angeles. They do a great job, but I mean, L.A. has got, you know,

if you live in Malibu, you know, you don't even go downtown. Like there's just, you live in your area, you because of the traffic. And New York's got so many things going on. Like sports can get lost. And we know the Yankees are great. You go to Philadelphia, sports is number one.

That eagle football, that's what they care about. So there's an argument that Jalen Hertz's personality, much like Russell Wilson's, and they're kind of similar, are actually perfect for noisy, noisy cities. Russell's going to be a politician. He's going to say the right thing. And that's not necessarily it was bad in Philadelphia. Jalen Hertz is going to do the same thing. But there are stories out now that he's harder to coach and he's a little rigid and reticent to change

and baldy on where Jalen Hertz needs to improve. He's not going to get you beat. Does he hold the ball too long? Yeah, he does. Does he not want to do certain things that maybe the offense asked for? Probably. But at the same time, he's not going to get you beat. And then he's going to find ways to beat you.

He's going to have to adjust and be better from the pocket that he's been. and all quarterbacks have to evolve in that regard. You know, I had said this once about Baker Mayfield. Cleveland was a tough place for Baker Mayfield to go, just like the Jets were for Sam Darnold, is that Baker Mayfield had a lot of chutzpah and a chip on his shoulder and the Cleveland media, and some of them, I think, are very good,

but the Cleveland media loves, you know, they're just negative, it's their default personality, just the composition of Cleveland makeup, Cleveland personalities and they've been beaten up for so long. I really honestly think of Baker would have gone to Sean McVey, happier organization, great ownership, no Looney Tunes. And Baker McVey had to sat him down and said, hey, scale back on that stuff. And the LA media, you know, their teams all win.

They're in a good mood. I think Baker going to the Rams or Darnold going to Kyle Shanahan right out of college, those guys would have been pro bowlers very, very quickly. But you go to the Jets who never seem to get the coach right. You go to the Browns where they're beaten up on, you know, LeBron left to the Miami heat and they're like, worst human on the planet. No, I don't think he's going to qualify for that.

So where you land goes, and in Philadelphia, Bill Parcells famously said when Andy Reid got the job there, young Andy Reid got the job in Philly. He said, you do know that's the toughest place to coach in the league. Way tougher than New York. I always said about New York. Boston will be loyal to you day one. But even if you're Ted Williams, they'll crap on you in the way out of town.

New York is really tough when you show up. But once you win in New York, you're theirs forever. Phil Sims, Eli Manning. I mean, Eli Manning had lost his fastball. They were outraged. He was benched. New York is for a city with so many different voices. New York's incredibly loyal if you're a New Yorker.

You're there's. You're a made man. You are a minted maid man in New York. Boston, you could be Brady. I mean, they're already selling their stock on Brady. Well, we gave him a statue. We get absolute loyalty on every story. Tom's a broadcaster now, right?

He's got to play it down the middle. So Philadelphia is a whole different ballgame. And a lot of it's the talk radio. It is, it's fantastic. Complete cuckoo for cocoa puffs, but it's absolutely fantastic. There are days once or twice a year. I'm jealous of local sportscasters. It's always Philadelphia radio after the Eagles meltdown.

I would die for that microphone on that Monday. Hour three coming up. Hey guys, it's us. The Jonas Brothers. I'm Joe. I'm Kevin. And I'm Nick, and guess what? We created our own podcast called Hey Jonas.

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

Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. Another podcast from some SNL, late night comedy guy, not quite. on Humor Me with Robert Smygel and Friends, me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, S&L's Mikey Day and head writer, Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter.

Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to Humor Me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Last night, a blown call changed the game. This morning, the internet lost its mind, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened.

That's where SportsSlice comes in. I'm Timbo, and every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the biggest moments in sports and giving you the real story behind the headline. And we're going straight to the source, the athletes themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions in the moment, and the stuff nobody gets to hear. Listen to SportsSlic on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo's Slice of Life 12. and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok.

I'm Michelle McPhee, and I've been unraveling the strangest criminal alliance I've ever reported on, a Mormon polygamist and an Armenian businessman. Multi-million dollar house, Ferraris and Lamborghinis, private jets, a billion dollar fraud. But how long can this alliance last?

Tell me what you know. Is somebody coming after me? Listen to Kingdom of Fraud on the Aihar Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.