The Kevin Sheehan Show - "They Have Been Far Apart"

Episode Date: August 7, 2025

Kevin and Thom today respond to the report from ESPN's Jeremy Fowler that Terry McLaurin wants $32 million per year and the Commanders have only offered $23 million per year. Thom thinks the possibility of a trade has increased. The boys talked about the increased intensity of media coverage around Washington this summer which came to a head during yesterday's joint practice in Foxboro with the Patriots. Aiden Hutchinson, the Nats, Thom's World Series winner prediction, and the 80's Orioles all a part of today's show.  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

You don't want it. You don't need it. But you're going to get it anyway. The Kevin Cheehan Show. Here's Kevin. Tommy's here. I am here. The show's presenting sponsor, as always,

Window Nation, 86690 Nation or WindowNation.com if you need new windows. Mention my name. I promise you they'll take really good care of you. So I read something on the radio show, I think, yesterday, that right when I read it, I'm like, oh, I should have saved this for Tom. me. But I can read it to you too. You know, not everybody that listens to this podcast, listens to the radio show. In fact, very, uh, I, I believe that not a large percentage

of the people that listen to the podcast, listen to the radio show and vice versa. I find that, I find that hard to believe. I would think that five hours a day of exactly, of course. It would be an absolute minimum. Oh, minimum. Minimum. Yeah, I, I would certainly guess that there is a, limit. There's, you know what, three hours of radio is enough. An hour and 15 minutes of a podcast, plenty. So yesterday on radio, I revisited the, so what do you think now? Whose side are you on now? Team Terry or team front office. Remember, I did it two weeks ago when it was 50-50. You and I talked about this again the other day when we were talking about the holdout. And I said, now that there's been a

hold out, a hold in, and a trade request, where are you now? Well, team front office, 69 and a half percent, Team Terry, 30.5 percent. So it has really sort of trended in the direction of team front office. And we could get into this if you want to again, but I feel like we've talked this thing out at this point, but I wanted to read one of the many followers up tweets. It came from Jedi Five who wrote, really, Kev? Hard not to see this as an intentionally divisive poll. Most of us are team Washington, aka both front office and Terry, and most want the best for both sides. It's like you that put out one-minute clips with a hot take, with a hot take for clicks and then amplify things and sway normies into picking sides.

Oh. My God. What a Pollyanna. Oh, my God. What a Pollyanna to think that people would not be divided by an issue like this. I mean, it's all kumbaya, right? It's all team. It's all team Washington.

Well, what I said on radio was what you would say. basically channeled my inner Tom Laverro, which is, by the way, very difficult to do. And I said, hey, if you're looking for a cheerleader show, I've got a couple of recommendations. If you're looking for cheerleader coverage, we've got a few, you know, recommendations for you. But I love the, you know, one-minute clip line. Like in the midst of a three-hour radio show, I'm putting out one-minute clips. By the way, the truth is, I want team front office and team Terry to both walk away from this at the end of it feeling good about it. I want a good deal that's fair for the team and something Terry can accept and get them into camp and go.

So I guess in many ways, I'm both team front office and team Terry too. But of course, in these situations, you're going to have probably a lean in one direction. or the other, like, who do you think's right? That's really more, not who are you rooting for? I'm rooting for both of them, but who do you think's right in this situation? It's human nature to have an opinion about something like that. Yeah. And again, like I said before, you know, there's some kind of deep psychological thing

why fans do this, but they will almost always side with management. even though they don't wear a jersey from anyone in management. They buy players' jerseys. They root for the players on Sunday. I think, and this I see it in baseball more, but there's a deep resentment about the idea that a player who's getting paid to play a game wouldn't be happy with whatever they're paying them.

Yeah, I know you think that. I guess you're right, but I don't think you're right, but I don't think you're right typically right from the beginning. I think the player gets the benefit of the doubt. No, actually, I shouldn't say that. I think in this case, I thought the player would get the benefit of the doubt because the player is such a popular player. But that actually leads me to this,

and I wasn't planning on doing this at the beginning other than just sharing with you that one response. Stick wrote in and said, anytime a player asks to be traded from a good team, good riddance, that's the final straw for me. So perhaps the trade request was the final sort of pushing people in the direction. What'd you say? That could be. That could be true.

You could be right about that. I mean, there could be some resentment always, oh, you don't want to play first? Okay. Pack your bag. I'll help you pack. Yeah, I could see that. Yeah, but it reminded me, by the way, when I read this earlier, it reminded me of just how different the organization is today.

Like, people are like, hey, you don't want to play for this great organization than Good Ridens where, you know, six, seven years ago, I think a top five Tom Leverro line on this show about DJ Swaranger who got released on Christmas Day for basically insubordination. and you said, that's a terrible punishment. If they really wanted to punish him, they wouldn't have cut him, they would have made him stay. That's still one of my favorites.

Because just think about saying that. Like, if you really want to punish a player, make them stay with this wretched franchise. Don't release them. And now it's different. I heard that didn't go over too well on Ashburn. Oh, that line? Yeah.

Well, you don't have to worry. None of those people are left. That's true. The, did you really hear that at the time? Yeah. That's funny. Usually I don't hear anything. But that was a good one.

Well, you wrote it too in a column. The interesting thing, though, is that it is different, and maybe people do feel that way. I kind of sense that a trade request from the team off of the season they had. would kind of rub people the wrong way. But to be honest with you, it doesn't affect me at all. To me, this is by the book. This is what players do when they are in contract squabbles. You go from missing OTAs, missing a mandatory minicamp,

missing the beginning of training camp, and then eventually asking for a trade request. I mean, Trey Hendrickson, Micah Parsons, and Terry McClorn, all three of the major holdouts have all asked, for a trade to be traded. Last summer it was Brandon Ayuk, and I'm sure I'm forgetting who else it was. So it's sort of like the playbook in this. So I'm not really moved by it one way or the other. I think if there's a final straw for me, it would be if under contract he missed regular season games. he's under contract.

He's supposed to be there now, but I understand, you know, him trying to strike now in his one last big deal. I get that. I know a lot of people are old school and don't get that, but more times than not, the team's involved in trying to create an extension too

because it benefits the team also. But I think if he misses the giant season opener, he's not going to miss the giant season opener. He can't. He just can't. It would be so bad for him. Look, I've seen different reporting from people who have far better sources

than I would have on something like this. That makes me think that they're not real. They're kind of low-balling them. Well, I'm going to get to that, save that, because Jeremy Fowler did have something today that I actually did not see until after the radio show. It may have been something that he said during the radio show on one of the ESPN shows. So I'm going to read that and we'll get to it.

But I wanted to go back to yesterday, the joint practice between the Patriots and the skins, and just read a couple of the tweets that came out about it. These were a few from the Patriots side. Patriots won the day. Mike Vrable was in a scrum. Drake May carved up Washington's defense. DeMario Douglas was unguardable. Alex Austin continues to stack strong days as cornerback won.

Here's another one from Patriots country. Quote, the commanders came in here today, and they were not the better football team, closed. And then this from the Washington side, quote, if a score was kept wouldn't have been close, O-line was dominant, pass rush already improved, JD to Eertz, unstoppable. And then J.P.

Finley wrote, I get the Pats aren't the 85 bears, but the commander's O-line has looked terrific. Wiley and Connerly playing well. Tunsell, dominant. Ben, by the way, was on with me on radio and said Laramie Tunsel was dominant as well. So there you go. Like, basically, too,

Everybody watching the same stuff with completely different opinions. And by the way, some, maybe all of this, other than, you know, basically Washington was unstoppable. And then the other side saying clearly Washington wasn't the better football team. But maybe a lot of it is true. I mean, maybe both sides are right. But it's like, you know what? What? I followed some tweets, too, from the joint practice.

Okay. And I saw something that I thought was kind of shocking, not shocking, but surprising, and really indicative of media reporting, sports media reporting, in 2025. In 2020. In 2025, yeah. What's that? Right. Well, you know, there were.

I'm not going to talk about who the reporters were, but it was about the Washington Commanders media, the media that covers the team. And there were a lot of fans who took note of the Patriots beat writers, ex and tweets, you know? Hold on, hold on, I'm trying to follow along. There were a bunch of fans as in... Washington football fans

that also were reading Patriots media tweets. Okay. Okay. Yep. And they were far more impressed with the Patriots media tweets for information than they were with the Washington media. Why? And basically came out on social media and said so. One guy said, were you not told to write about practice?

you know, about all the Jason Tatum tweets. Feel like I've seen double the amount of tweets about a Ballot Boston basketball player instead of our team in a joint practice today. There was another one. There were just multiple ones. Now, it was just more than one reporter, different reporters. Why are out beat reporters retweeting Boston sports reporters? Just an odd day of reporting on our side.

Well, was it because, we didn't have a large contingent because it was a road thing? I don't know. No, I think the core group was there. I just think initially people were unhappy with the content that they got. We've been talking about this. You know, you and I have talked about how, for us, it's ridiculous about the play-by-play that you see.

Now, this is a doing practice. Yeah, this is totally different. Yeah. Yeah, this is different. But there was a lot of stuff that went on on social media yesterday. I wasn't following. I just followed our group. I actually read one from this guy, Ben Volan.

I've had him on the show before. He's a longtime NFL writer. Yeah. Yeah. I had what he said about. I'm looking for it right now. He said, Jaden Daniels is absolutely surgical in 11-on-11. Never misses a read.

And he also wrote a story, I think, about Dan Quinn. But back to Jason Tatum. What was your reference to Jason Tatum about? Well, apparently there were a lot of tweets that went out from all media, but for Washington football fans, they were reading the Washington beat writers about John Bon Jovi being there. John Bon Jovi, yeah. Yeah, being there.

And fans were a little bit upset that they weren't getting more actual information about what was happening at the joint practices rather than the media sighties. And they let people know about that. Well, I... Go ahead. It was so... It was so 20-25 media in terms of... I'm not criticizing our group because I wasn't there, and I'm sure they, you know,

if I read through all their tweets, they were on top of almost everything they needed to be on top of. Yeah, I mean, because I was... I was reading some of the tweets as it was going on because I was on radio. And, you know, between John, Nikki, and Ben, which are kind of the ones that I, you know, pay attention to the most. There was a lot on what was going on. But it was an unusual pushback from your own, from your own followers about your content. Social media. Jesus.

I know. It is. It's boy. I mean, this stuff about Bon Jovi. The stuff about Bon Jovi and Jason Tatum being there, that's before the things started. I'm just telling you what I read. There was a lot of pushback from commanders fans against their media yesterday. Like I've never seen before.

Really? I mean, other than somebody wrote a critical story, you see lots of pushback. But this was just, you know, they were just, they were not happy. Well, what did they want? Did they want more of the play-by-play? Yes. Oh, God. Well, it's a good thing I wasn't there because they wouldn't have gotten any play-by-play.

They would have got, I would have been watching the coach's reactions to what was going on. Let me just make it clear. I'm not siding with these Washington fans. I just thought, as a media observer, It was an unusual phenomenon to me. Listen, I was on social media yesterday during the show because we had a joint practice going on, and really these joint practices are much more significant in revealing than the preseason games. For obvious reasons, the starters play.

They are actually participating against another team where they don't play or they barely play, in these preseason games. And I did not, I didn't. You know what? I wasn't looking at reaction. I was just following what Ben and John and Nikki were specifically tweeting out. And then I had Mitch Tishler on afterwards because he was there. And, you know, he gave his stuff.

So I don't know. Some of the reporters, some of the B-writers went back and forth with their followers arguing about this. Really? Yes. Okay. Again, I'm not name and names. Okay. But so what's the, what's your point here?

My point is that covering of a football team in 2025 is a major challenge. Probably more than it was when I covered the Redskins in 1992. Well, yeah, there's no social media. Yes. But you know what? But this is something that just, that's just, I've never seen happen before. I've never seen that kind of pushback

out of just simply covering your beat. You know, you know what my... Because they were comparing it to the Patriots. Well, the Patriots probably had a lot more people there because it was their home joint practice. Just telling it. It wasn't the numbers. It was the content.

You know what? Okay. I want to move away from this, but I'm going to give you one parting thought. on this. This is all a good thing because there have been summers and off seasons and look, not in our specific world, because we have definitely, over a long period of time now, the conversation about the team for whatever reason has been satisfactory with those that couldn't even had gotten to the point where they couldn't even stand the team anymore, or

felt differently about the team during all of those dark years. But, you know, attention, that kind of attention that you're speaking of to the coverage of a joint practice speaks to this particular training camp, offseason, preseason. We are in the most anticipated season buildup we have ever had since. you and I have been doing this together. It's not even close. 2013 would have been, but it wasn't because

there was the injury, and there was a little bit as we got to training camp like, Jesus, this guy's a bit much with the all-in for week one. And it was starting to kind of, you know, but there was still a ton of excitement for 2013. Don't get me

wrong. I'll never forget the Monday night opener against Philly and what that stadium was like. You know, that was an electric atmosphere for opening night. You know, for RG3 being ready and ready to go and they got their ass kick, remember, by Mike Vick and company. It was Vick, right? Wasn't that Chip Kelly's first game?

Who was the quarterback that night for Philly? I don't remember. I'm going to Vic. I'm getting it confused with the bomb to Deshawn Jackson in the Monday Night Miracle game. Yeah. Yeah, that's the Donovan. Yeah, McNabb.

No, that was Vic to Deshawn Jackson. That was Vic. The Monday night. The Monday night, the Monday night beatdown game, Massacre. Massacre. Was in 2010 late in the season. Yeah, no, this was Vic. Vic was 2013.

With Chip Kelly. Vic was 2010, too. Yep, he was 2010, too. Yes, he was. He threw the bomb over Loran Landry, right, to Deshawn Jackson on the opening play of the game. God, remember the buildup for that was the fake contract extension that he did from McNabb?

I remember, we did our show. No, I don't think I did a show with you. I did a show. We were doing the show together in 2010. Yeah, I know that. But that day, we did a show from the arena theater. I was Andy. I was at the show.

I was at the stadium to do the pregame show. Yeah, you see, right. Okay, well, I was at the arena theater. ESPN was doing something from there. Okay. And I was there doing the show with Andy, our show. Got it. I think.

And, you know, Mike Toriko was there, and a bunch of ESPN people were there. Yeah, it was a big, big deal. And then the team with the announcement about the, the so-called McNabb extension. Oh, my God. Came after two weeks of the buy week, where there was so much turmoil about McNabb, remember?

Oh, yeah, of course. I mean, you know. That was to, like, stop all the stuff about McNabb. That was after he had been benched at the end of the Detroit game, right? Oh, yeah. At the end of the Detroit game, Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure, and I'm looking it up right now, that there was a bye week in between.

Yes, that's what I mean. So we had two weeks to simmer. Yeah. All this controversy about McDonnell. And it was Mike Shanahan's, you know, questioning his, you know, competency, questioning his conditioning, all of those things, you know. And there was some racial tension that started to develop with that. And that's when, you know, basically Bruce and Dan said, you know,

because of course they were the ones that made the trade. It wasn't a trade. How about that? First day on the job. Hey, I got you your quarterback. Well, I already told you I don't want that quarterback. Yeah. But yeah.

And then it was, then they came up with the phony baloney extension that, you know, it was a press release. And then they got their ass kicked. Yeah, there was a buy week. I'm looking at it right now. There was a buy week. And then Monday night. November 15th. They scored 28 in the first quarter and then scored on the first play of the

second quarter. It was 35 to nothing with 1442 to go in the game in the second quarter. 35 to nothing. That was just an absolute beat down. Wow. They had sick nearly 600 yards of offense and won the game 59 to 28. Anyway. Getting back to what you said, I think everything is heightened because of the anticipation going into this season. That's a good, I think that's great. Yes, this, I mean, I was going to save this for down the road a couple of weeks from now, but this is the most anticipated skin season since 2000. The 2000 season was the season in which they were coming off a division title, a playoff, win, a near divisional round win in Tampa. They lost 14 to 13. And they, you know, it was Snyder's first offseason as the owner. A lot of people like to say, I knew it then. I knew he was going to be

bad. I didn't. If you did, bless your heart. I remember there being a lot more excitement over Dion Sanders, Bruce Smith, Mark Carrier, you know, than, oh my God, this is a sign of, that we got the wrong owner. I don't remember. feeling that way at all. In fact, I was not super psyched about Jeff George. I do remember that. And I also remember being really upset that they let Brian Mitchell leave. But the, but Dion, I mean, Deon had some big moments in that 2000 season. That season, the team was the second favorite in the NFC behind the Rams who had won the Super Bowl with Kurt Warner in 99. to win the NFC championship, and they were the third favorite to win the Super Bowl.

They're not quite that high, odds-wise. They're like the third or fourth NFC and sixth or seventh to win the Super Bowl. But in terms of that, easily the most anticipated, in terms of the emotional sort of excitement, I think it's the most since 2000. That would be my guy Kevin from Arlington texted me because he heard me say it on radio, and he said, what about 2004 Joe Ging? Gibbs back. That was a big effing deal, no doubt. A lot of anticipation for that. But in terms of the team being good, being a Super Bowl contender, it was 2000, I think. I think you're right.

25 years. So everything is, you know, it's a different level this offseason. Yes. Yeah, it's a huge spotlight on everything. Yeah. All right. Jeremy Fowler reported something just a little while ago. We'll get to that right after these words from a few of our sponsors. So guys, if you're starting to notice your hair thinning when you look in the mirror, join the club. You're not alone. Life gets busier and busier and you don't have much time to think about it or do something about it. That's why I'm going to help. I'm going to suggest Hymns. Hymns is a hair loss solution product. You can avoid jumping through a bunch of frustrating hoops and get access to treatment without even leaving your home. Hymns makes treating hair loss simple with doctor-trusted options and clinically proven ingredients. You can choose from personalized chewable, oral, spray and serum treatments to find what works best for you. The process is simple. It's 100% online and there are no uncomfortable

doctor visits. You just answer a few questions and a medical provider will determine if treatment is right for you. If prescribed, your treatment is sent directly to you for free. No insurance needed and one low price covers everything from treatments to ongoing care. Start your free online visit today at hymns.com slash sheen. That's hims.com slash sheen for your personalized hair loss treatment options. Hymns.com slash shian. That's HIMS.com Sheen. Results vary based on studies of topical and oral monocidil and phenosterite. Prescription products require an online consultation with a healthcare provider who will determine if a prescription is appropriate. Restrictions apply. See website for full details and important safety information. This segment brought to you by Window Nation, if you're in the market for new windows because you've got older windows. You want your home to look nicer. You want to save money on your air conditioning and heating bills. You want better insulated wind. Windows, keeping that cool air in and not letting it out of your home.

My recommendation is Window Nation. Call them at 86690 Nation. Go to WindowNation.com. Get a free estimate. There's nothing to lose. They'll come out to your home in an hour or less. You'll know exactly which windows are older and need to be replaced. They're not going to pressure you into making a decision.

I promise you that. They'll leave you with a quote. You can shop the quote if you'd like. Right now, the offer is 50. percent off on all Windows styles with no money down, no payments, and no interest charged for two years. So when you start to pay for the windows, it'll be 2027, and you'll be paying half price for those windows. I think Window Nation is a great company to work with. I've been with them for 15 years now, actually longer than that. And they have always taken good care of the listeners

to this show and the radio show as well. Over the years, so many people have come to me to say thank you for the recommendation. They've got a great product. Their customer service is second to none. Over 45,000 five-star reviews, an A-plus Better Business Bureau rating. A 96% customer satisfaction rating. They get it right, and God forbid they don't. They come out and fix it.

And right now the deal's great. 50% off all window styles. you don't pay anything for two years. 86690 Nation, windownation.com. All right. So today, Jeremy Fowler,

ESPN's Jeremy Fowler, who, by the way, I like a lot. You know, of the ESPN people, first of all, I think he's really likable, and I think he gets a lot of things right. And then instead of just giving you, like, this is the report, He tends to kind of inject some opinion in it.

I like him a lot. Anyway, he said this morning on the Get Up show, the Greenberg show, he said, quote, about Terry McClearn and the team, they have been far apart. I'll put it this way. He has, meaning Terry, has wanted metrics of the D.K. Metcalf contract, which is 32 million. I'm told the Washington commanders have only been slightly above where he was from before, which is $23 million. So take that gap, that $7 to $8 million. Actually, it's $9 million, that they have to bridge.

I'm told that they have gotten some calls about McLaren. There is some interest league wide. Now, he also reported along with others over the weekend that Washington has no intention of trading him. But I will say this. The 32 to 33 is too much to ask for and offering him $23 million. Talking in terms of average annual, we don't know the guaranteed and all the other moving pieces to the contract, which sometimes are more important than the average annual. In fact, often more important.

but we'll stick with this. 23 million a year is too low. So that $9 million bridge, $9 to $10 million, because I think Metcalfs is closer to $33 million a year, that's a big gap. You know, that is, that's a gap, Tommy, where when people say, look, you know, he comes down a little bit, they come up a little bit,

and boom, you got a deal. Well, no, you'd have to come down a lot, and you'd have to go up a lot. to get to a middle. Because the middle of, you know, that's 4.5, that's 27 and a half million per year. And I don't even know if that would be something Terry would even look at. So if he's right, $23 million is sort of a low ball offer, I think. It also speaks to what they think of him, doesn't it?

Which also speaks to the possibility of training for him. training him. Nah. If they don't think much of him, if they think they can do better, then this is the time to train him. When I said it says about what they think about him,

I don't think it means that they think that he's not very good, that they'd be okay without him. I'm not saying that. I'm just saying it speaks to how they value him. It's a low ball figure. they know that. If that's what it is and that's what it is on Terry's side,

both are wrong in this particular situation, in my opinion. Both are wrong. If you gave me a number that I think is fair that would make your wide receiver happy, I mean, I would take 30 million a year. I wouldn't go over 30 million. but I take the $30 million number for him. So I'd be way off compared to where they're at.

But I think if you offer him that, like you said, it speaks to what they think of him. If I'm Terry McLaren, I am upset because they don't think, they don't think enough of me to give me any kind of race, even though I've basically carried this locker room for the last five. years. You're not, I'm sorry, but that just doesn't play into it. You don't pay for past performance. You pay for future performance. Now, the 23 million a year is Calvin Ridley, Cortland Sutton, the deal he just did last week, four years, 92 million. Cortland Sutton is a talent. He just has missed a bunch of

games. Michael Pittman Jr., I'm a big fan. He's at 23.3 million on the deal that he signed last year. Nico Collins, Devonte Smith, now I'm going to get into the guys that would be higher. Nico Collins, Devonte Smith, DJ Moore, Jalen Waddle, T. Higgins. I think the Jalen Waddle, T. Higgins, Brandon I, you know, in that 28 to 30 range is what's right for Terry. And it might be, 30 might be a slight premium, but I think with Terry, you can pay a slight premium. You just can't pay a ridiculous premium. No, I agree with that. Yeah. I agree with that. He doesn't get D.K. Metcalfe money.

But, I mean, this is that, according to this report, they're a lot farther apart than I thought they were. Yeah, the 23, I think somebody else had something like that, and I kind of discounted it, and I'm like, they're not offering them 23 million. But Jeremy Fowler is good. Look, it does say, From their standpoint, Terry, you're going into your age 30 season. We'd be paying you in the general area of, let's see what that would be. One, two, three, four, five, six.

Hold on. I'm going to count this up because it's not listed by number eight. You're into the top 15-ish kind of a contract. You know, again, guaranteed money is the most important thing. And we don't know what that is. But yeah, it would be top 15-ish. You know, it's right around 15-16 we're talking about. Like, let's just say they'd be willing to go up to 25, 26 million from where they are, you know.

But that still gets, I mean, he should make what DJ Moore is making. DJ Moore is making 27.5. He should make no less than what DJ. Jay Moore's making. DJ Moore is making $27.5 million a year. It's a four-year deal he signed last year.

He had a ridiculous sum of 81 million, which was a practical guarantee according to SpotRack. So I, that's... If they're offering him 23 million,

and they don't come, and the team doesn't come off that much, that either he'll be traded or he will play. Tommy, he has to play. This is pretty bad. He has to play. He has to play. He has to play. I think you push a button that you don't want to push. I don't think he has to play. If he doesn't play, he'll force the trade.

No, he won't. Yes, he will. Why? You're not getting much back for him. I mean, he says teams are interested, but are they interested in paying him? What? he wants. No. No one's going to pay him $32 million, $33 million a year. They stay around $23 million. He either gets traded or he sits out. He holds out. Here are some of the, you know, this is a tough game to play because, you know, you're taking sort of meaty entities that have put together, you know, trade propositions and talking about them. But I think in some ways they might make sense. Patriots. This This is the athletic.

The athletic staff put together several possible trades for Terry McClellan. The Patriots trade a 2027 third round pick for Terry. The Chargers trade a 2026 fourth round pick for Terry McLaren. The Steelers trade a third rounder and wide receiver Roman Wilson. He's receiver four or five on that team for Terry McLorn. The bills send Curtis Sam. Samuel back to Washington and a fifth round pick. And then the one that's, you know, a player for player is Brandon Ayuk from the 49ers for Terry

McLaren. Brandon Ayuk tore his ACL in the middle of October last year. He's not going to be ready when the season begins. He is much younger than Terry and is super talented. And obviously Adam Peters is familiar with him. I don't think the 49—well, maybe the 49ers would do that deal because they would have the McLaren right from the beginning and nobody knows when IUC will be ready. I don't think Washington makes that trade because of the injury.

The point here is because a team has to pay him, you're not getting a lot back. You're not trading Terry for a third or a fourth round pick. You're just not when he has a year left on his deal. And you've got all the control. You control him for two years. You know, you really control them for three, but most teams don't get to that second franchise tag. This organization did, but we know that that was an outlier. And it wasn't this organization.

If this number is accurate and they don't come off that number, this is going to get really ugly, far uglier than anyone thought. I wonder if this report will send people back towards Team Terry in their preference. You know what, Tommy? Maybe I'll do an intentionally divisive poll tomorrow, too. I think, honestly, look, this is kind of new context, and it is, I think $23 million is a lowish ball offer. I do. I also think, as I said, it really speaks to where they kind of have Terry slotted. It just does.

But by the way, that slot is still a true number one wide receiver. And they need him. They need him. You know, they absolutely need him. And he has to play. So I think... You know, that's the one thing that's the one thing that the Washington beat writers have kind of come out and said is based on what they've seen in practice.

and in the, you know, in the combined practice. The joint practice. What they're doing with the, yeah, there's not a lot after Terry on this team. Yeah, well, Ben suggested that, really what he was saying is there's not a lot after Debo Samuel, right now out there. Right. But the Debo has been, look, I don't really even care about the observations this time of year. I really don't. Terry's going to play.

He's not holding out. This is the thing that we've got to wrap our heads around. You now have a different view. You think if they don't budge off 23, they'll trade him. I think if they don't budge off 23, their plan is, or their plan all along was really we feel more comfortable paying him this year and then using the tag next year if we have to use the tag. because A, it gives us even more flexibility. B, it's a much less expensive way to go. And so that actually, that's what it says to me more than anything else,

is these guys out there are going, look, he's under contract, he's Terry, he's not going to hold out. It would really damage him to hold out. You know, he's not going to fake injuries and collect paychecks. And, you know, that's just, not going to happen with him. He needs to go out and have a big year in his age 30 season if he wants to get a big deal, if he wants to even get the franchise tag $28.6 million for 2026.

And for us, if we ended up giving him $60 million out of pocket day one, locked them up for three years at $28 million a year, you know, it's a lot of upfront money and it's a big cap number moving forward. I mean, maybe they're just coming to the conclusion that we hold all the cards. He's under contract. We then have the franchise tag. And it's just smarter in terms of our roster management and cap management to go that route. If he wants a long-term deal, he's going to have to take a deal that's more like the 15th best deal in the league.

I mean, assuming they move up a little bit, maybe the top 12 kind of a deal, which by the way kind of puts him in line with where he is as a receiver. Maybe that's it, Tommy. Maybe the team just feels more comfortable, or maybe it's what I suggested a few months back. They don't want big outlays of cash right now because that's all they've done since they acquired the team. $6 billion and $100 million on the existing stadium.

And they got a lot coming on the new stadium. They haven't made a big, cash commitment to anybody. Not like this. Cosmy, you know, Javonkin Law, but not like this. And by the way, next off season, Laramie Tunsell and probably Frankie Louvo are all going to have to be dealt with, both, maybe even Latimore, depending on the kind of year he has. They'll all have to be dealt with next off season. Interesting. 23 million, 32 to 33 million. That's a large gap for sure. That is. Yep. So today, on August 7th, you now feel like he's getting traded. Only if they don't budge come from sick off that figure. You know, if they come, if they meet him

halfway, I don't, I'm not necessarily inclined to, to stay on that. But if they say, this is pretty much our offer, you know, yeah. Right. I think still the chances of them trading him are literally zero or barely above it. I just, somebody could come up with an absolute ridiculous package, but I just don't see it. I mean, nobody's trading. Dallas is not trading Micah Parsons straight up for Terry McLaurin. And even if, you know, Washington offered a first rounder with Terry, they're not going to trade Micah within the division. I don't see a blockbuster deal that Washington, you know, here's two things are true simultaneously.

Washington views him at a certain level, and at the same time, they also know they need him. Both of those things are true. All right. And as far as, look, the next couple of weeks, things could change, like they could, you know, Noah Brown could have an injury, you can't come back from, and Debo goes down, and you get all

these injuries, and now it's like, oh, my God, we don't have anybody for five to throw two. But you know what? Five can pretty much make anything happen. All right. You know what would be interesting? What?

If five spoke up. He did the other day. He just said, I can't wait. I mean, yeah. But what? Spoke up and said, get it done. I need him. Yeah. Yeah. He has not done that.

necessarily. No, he has not. And it's not his place. It isn't. But he may feel the urge sometime, you know? After enough drop passes and practice. What if Jaden Daniels, a week from today

just said, you know, scheduled presser was asked about Terry and he just said, you know, honestly, I think they got to get this thing done with him. We absolutely need him. he is so important to what we're trying to do and trying to accomplish this year and he's worth what he's asking for.

What if he said that? He could do that and I think his teammates would think would have even more positive opinion if he did that. And I don't think that's out of line for him to say it like that. In year two? No, I don't think it is. I don't think it's out of line. I mean, because he'd be right.

They do need him. Yeah. I mean, what I'm presenting is that he is essentially speaking on, you know, for Terry and against the team. Well, he's speaking for his players, his player. Ultimately. I don't think he'll do that. I don't think he will either, but remember,

kicked the guy out of, you know, we read it all about how he kicked the guy out of the huddle for not getting something right. So we've taken this leadership roles more seriously. Yep. Okay. Anything else on this? I think we've, we have spent a lot of oxygen talking about Terry McLaurin, haven't we? Yeah, we have. And, you know, people have gotten, you know, they've expressed their exhaustion with it, but at the same time, it is the topic right now when it comes to this team right now. Because we're not talking about, you know, a team that's going into an NFL season pick to finish third or fourth in their own division,

you know, with an over-under number of six and a half wins. You know, we're not having that conversation. We're having the conversation about a player who is debatably a top three or four player on the team. I mean, as high as number two, if you want to put him there. and came up big in the biggest moments last year, and it's not like they have his replacement out there. And, you know, they're trying to win the Super Bowl this year. They're in a Super Bowl window, the first of hopefully many to come,

but they're trying to win the whole thing this year or next. And so they should be. They would have a better chance of achieving that goal with him versus not having him. All right. More after these words from a few of our sponsors. All right, Tommy, tell us about Shelley's. Well, but Thursday, it's time to let you know about Shelley's specials each week, Shelly's. And you can find them for yourself if you follow Shelly's backroom on Facebook.

You know, Shelly's back room at 1331 F Street Northwest in the district is a special place to me. I always like to tell people every week what their food specials are, off what is a great menu at Shelley's. And this week, it's a Smokehouse Burger, a half a pound of Shelley's custom blend beef with smoked couta cheese, bacon, and barbecue sauce, with red onion, pepper, lettuce, tomato, and fries, and a kosher pickle. That's a Smokehouse burger. I would leave the red onion off, and actually everything except the good stuff.

You don't like red onions? If you're a more cosmopolitan eater like Kevin, maybe you might like the red onions. Red onions or cosmopolitan? Sophisticated? In my world, they are. In my world, they are. Red onions. What about onion rings?

Don't you like onion rings? I don't eat onion rings. Oh, okay. I don't eat that. Is that sophisticated eating? In some circles. I don't think so. I don't think onion rings.

circles it might be. You really think so. I've been in places where it's that way. They also have a chicken po-boy sandwich. Right. Deep-fried chicken tenders with Cajun seasoning, tomatoes, and coleslaw, in a butter toasted sub-roll, top with coleslaw served with fries and a kosher pickle. Now, imagine that sitting down, you know, in a nice table with your favorite drink,

whether it be a top-shelf liquor or one of the great draft beers they've got on there. Mine would be Sierra Nevada, and then after that, lighting up with one of the best cigars you can buy anywhere. That's what the meal experience is like at Shelley's Backroom. And you can see the menu for yourself if you go online at shelley's backroom.com. I'm telling you, your Shelley's promotion here on this podcast, comes right around lunchtime, and I haven't had lunch today. And I can't tell you how many times I'm like, God, D, I wish I was like a block away from Shelley's right now to get that.

I know the feeling. Yeah. All right. Tonight, the NFL, it was really last Thursday night, the Hall of Fame game, drew seven million viewers, Detroit and the Chargers. But tonight kicks off preseason week number one. Three games. I'm bringing it up for this sole reason.

The Bengals play the Eagles tonight. The defending champs aren't going to play their starters. The Bengals are going to play their starters for a little while this weekend. Next week, and next week. By the way, they play Washington a week from Monday night, National TV in the preseason. Next week from Monday night on ESPN. So just to give you an idea of what that means to the point spread,

the Eagles were two and a half point favorites, and now the Bengals are six and a half point favorites. The line moved nine points because the Bengals are going to play their starters for maybe a quarter, not even that much. I bet you there's going to be some heavy first half and first quarter betting on Cincinnati, but you're going to have to lay some points probably too. So anyway. Have you bet preseason football?

Not in a long, long time. Okay. But I have friends that do. I was worried about you for a second. No, I have friends over the years that have sworn that this is a much better opportunity in the NFL than the regular season. I disagree and I've asked why and they've all had different theories. but the NFL preseason gets bet at a pretty big-time rate. So there will be action tonight on Colts Ravens, Bengals, Eagles,

and an old AFC West matchup, Tommy, tonight with the Raiders and the Seahawks. Football on TV for the rest of the foreseeable future. You're going to watch preseason football? No. Tonight? Yeah, I might. Really? I might watch something night. You know, it's funny.

I was on, I was on with Doc about a week or so ago. He was sitting in for one of the shows. And I think it was the night, the day of the Hall Fame game. Right. And they asked me, and his producer, they both asked me how excited I was. I finally have football back, and I was looking for, you know, to watch the Hall Fame game. I said, really? And I said, you know, I don't have this void in my life when there's no football that people speak of.

And they thought they acted like I had two heads. Yeah. No, you don't have that void. I have that void, definitely. I cannot wait. I mean, we are two weeks from Saturday, we will have week zero in college football. Iowa State, Kansas State from Dublin at 12 noon on Fox on August, what would that be, the 23rd. And then a week after that, August 30th, Labor Day weekend, Texas, number one in Columbus against number two, Ohio State.

12 noon on Fox on the first full Saturday of college football. First time ever, Tommy, a number one versus number two week. week one matchup in college football. By the way, Archie Manning said... Yeah, go ahead. That would have my interest. Yeah, absolutely. Archie Manning said about his grandson, Archmanning,

he's not leaving Texas after this season. One of the reasons might be he's making $10 million a year to play at Texas. How about this story out of Detroit? Aiden Hutchinson, who got injured early in the season last year. one of the best defensive players, you know, in football. Dan Campbell has implemented in training camp what he calls the Hutch rule. The Hutch rule is when Aidan Hutchinson beats his lineman and registers a hypothetical sack on the play, the coaches ignore it and let the play continue so the offense can get their work in.

he's disrupting so many pass plays with his pass rush that they can't get the work in. So when he beats his man and gets to Jared Goff for the hypothetical sack, he can't tackle Jared Goff with the red jersey or the gold jersey or whatever color jersey he's wearing in Detroit. They just continue the play as if Aidan Hutchinson isn't even on the field. You know, Washington rolled up 45 points in a playoff game on the road against the number one seed in mid-January of this year. And the lions had been decimated injury-wise on defense. And that's part of the game. That's part of the game.

Yeah, it is. You know, that's a reality, not, you know, of the NFL. means so much. But you think about, you know, they played a Tampa team in the first round that was decimated secondary-wise defensively. And, yeah, so their first two opponents, offensively, look, good defensive teams weren't stopping them. Philadelphia didn't really stop them in the NFC championship game. We just had four turnovers. You don't fault a team for taking advantage of an opportunity. Of course not. It's always been a part of the game.

It's a total reality that, you know... I've seen teams flop when they've been handed opportunities like that. Yeah. Yeah. Aidan Hutchinson's a special player, though, and a special pass rusher. We are now exactly four weeks away from the NFL season opener on September 4th in Philly, where the Cowboys and the Eagles will go head to head. The Micah Parsons situation is really very interesting. I can't see the Cowboys doing anything other than probably signing him.

You know, the game's on a Thursday night. It'll probably be a Wednesday afternoon or a Thursday morning of that week. And, you know, he'll be dressed and ready for limited participation in the game. But you can't trade Micah Parsons if you're the Cowboys. No. They really handle their business, interestingly. Some would say poorly. Well, it's Jerry's business, and Jerry's business has served him very well off the field.

Yes, it has. All right, just a little bit more show. The Nats just lost again, and Tommy thinks he has identified the World Series winner here on August 7th. We'll get to that and more after these are. words from a few of our sponsors. If you get a chance to rate and review this show, it would be much appreciated. Takes about 60 seconds on Apple and Spotify. Following this show is a big help for us as well.

Just hit the plus button or the follow button wherever you see it on whichever platform you are listening to this podcast, but both Apple and Spotify give you a chance to follow the show. The Nats lost again. This just in, the final, it just went final. The A's beat the Nats 6 to nothing. God, they won last night. C.J. Abrams had a walk-off to win two to one. But, God, they are struggling, and they just give up a lot of runs right now.

How about the... Boy, it's a good thing they fired Mike Rizzo and Dave Martinez, isn't it? Now we know where the problem was. You know, they gave up the most hits they've ever given up in a game in that last Friday nights lost to the Brewers. They gave up 25 hits in that 16 to 9 loss. In the 16 to 7 loss to the A's the other day, they gave up 24 hits.

I know. I mean, how about 32 runs and 49 hits in two games? I think the first four or five players, in the A's lineup, all have over 20 home runs. I know. That catcher's been so else. And the Brewers are the best team in baseball. Really?

Yes. Okay. Yes, they are. I mean, they play the game so right. They are the best team in baseball. They do everything right. They've got good players from top to bottom. and that if the World Series

started tomorrow, the team you least want to face are the Brewers. Interesting. I know the Yankees... Who have never won a World Series. No, they haven't. Haven't they only been in the one that when they...

Yes, 82. Against the Cardinals when Milwaukee was in the American League. Yes, very good. Paul Molitor, right? Yeah. Didn't he have the long hit streak that year, or maybe a couple years later? I think he did, yeah.

Gorman Thomas was on that team, big home run hitter. Yeah. Cecil Cooper. And then on the other side, Ozzy Smith. And then Coleman, the center fielder, right? Jack Clark. Jack Clark. Their big home run hitter.

Yeah, that was. And, well, wait a minute. Hold on for a second. because the Cardinals also played the Royals in the I-70 series. 87. That was 87. No, not 87. 85.

85. 85. 85. Right. So what year... And they lost to the Royals. They lost to the Royals in seven, right? I think it was seven.

I think it was seven games. It might have been, yeah. So what year was Milwaukee? What year did they play St. Louis? Because 83 was the Orioles. And 81 was the Dodgers in the 80s. Right. Okay.

82. Right. You said 82. Brewers, Cardinals, 82. Right. And correct me if I'm wrong. But didn't the Brewers and the Orioles have a season-ending series in Baltimore for the American League East title? Yes.

Yes. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, the, the division title came. down to that last weekend. And Palmer, correct me if I'm wrong, Palmer may have pitched the last game, which was like on a Sunday, and he did not pitch well. Oh, they got lit up. Yeah, they got lit up. I think Don Sutton was pitching against them. Yeah. Was it Palmer? Am I right about Palmer? Yeah, it was Palmer. It was Palmer.

Yeah. I can remember what happened in the 1980s. I just can't remember what happened yesterday. That Orioles team Arguably was a disappointment And I think Earl Weaver who Who is beloved Really does not get called in the question about this From 79 to 80 From 82

The Orioles won the American League pennant in 79 Lost to the Pirates in the World Series When they had, I think, a 2-0 lead in the series when they had, I think, a 2-0 lead in the series. In 1980, they lost to the Yankees in a division. Even though the Orioles won 100 games, the Yankees won 103. 81 was the strike split season. Right.

And the Orioles felt just short of having enough wins to qualify for the playoffs. And in 82, they got beat by Milwaukee in the final weekend of the season. And then Earl retired. You know, and that great Eddie Murray-Call Ripkin team, he never won a World Series with that team. The 83 team won with Joe Altebelly. Yeah, Altebelly, right. Beat the Pirates in five.

You know, I know this, I've heard there's a good book about those 83 Orioles. Really? Was it written by LaBereau? It might have been. Man, Eddie Murray was something else. I mean, I was not an Orioles. Eddie Murray was great. I was not an Orioles fan.

I just always wanted my own team in D.C., but I definitely in those days had so many friends that were big-time Orioles fans. So I went to games at Memorial Stadium. And so I remember, you know, the Eddie Murray's and the, you know, the center fielder. Al-Bumbry, right? Al-Bumbry. Yeah. And Flanagan, the lefty. And Ken Singleton?

And Ken Singleton. Yeah, the right-fielder, right? And then Lowenstein and the NC State guy that was the pitcher Tim Stoddard. Stoddard, yep. They had a bunch of lefties, right? Flanagan was a lefty and then Scott McGregor was a lefty, right? Yeah, yeah. Yeah.

In that 83 year, Flanagan, who was going, who was on his way to a young season, Flanagan got hurt, and Mitch a big chunk of the middle of the season, and then they called up Mike Boddicker. and Mike Boddicker lift things up. I think he won like 18 games that year. Wow. God, the Orioles going back to the 70s just always had great pitching, didn't they?

Yeah. I mean, it was pretty much Earl's thing, hit a bunch of home runs and pitching? Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. That season-ending series against the Brewers in 82, what I remember about it,

and I may be wrong, maybe it was only a three-game series. But I think it was a four-game series that started on a Thursday night and the Orioles won the first three. And then, or did they win enough to force, was the Palmer versus Sutton game? You said Sutton, right, Don Sutton? Was that a one-game playoff? Or was that the last day of the regular season? Okay.

So do you remember, was it a four-game series that finished it off? and the Orioles needed to win all four and they won the first three? Or was it a three game series? I didn't know it's a three game series. Baseball reference. Seasons. Well, teams.

I need teams. Orioles. This might take a little bit. Anyway, those were, when you only had two playoff teams from each league, It's kind of crazy.

You only had two divisions in each league. AL East, AL West, right? NL East, NL West. And teams like the Braves were in the National League West, and the Brewers were in the American League East. But, I mean, can you imagine a sports league with just four playoff teams? It's insane. I know.

Crazy. When I grew up, when I grew up, There was just an American League and a National League. Two teams. That was it. Guess what? It didn't start division play until 69. That's crazy.

It was a four-game set. Here it is. Friday, October 1st, 1982, Orioles 8, Brewers 3. Oh, it was a double header on Friday. So there must have been a makeup game. And that's what you... So they won the double header to stay alive.

Eight to three, seven to one. They crushed the Brewers on Saturday, October 2nd, 11 to 3, and then good memory. Sutton versus Palmer. Yeah, and Palmer got shelled, and they lost 10 to 2 on the final regular season day of the season at Memorial Stadium in Milwaukee won the division. Paul Molitor, Cecil Cooper, Robin Yount, we forgot him. He's a Hall of Famer, right? Yes, he is. Gorman Thomas.

Don Sutton's a Hall of Famer, isn't he? Or not? Yes, he is. Yeah. Don Sutton. I was at the Hall of Fame once, where they have a Saturday night reception in the Hall of Fame itself with the plaques, like a party. Right.

And I remember Don Sutton telling me, and he was serious that he could see ghosts in the Hall of Fame. Okay. Yeah. 51,642 at Memorial Stadium. By the way, I'm looking at the box score. It was 10 to 2 was the final, but it was, oh, I'm sorry. Yeah, it was 5 to 2 entering the 9th inning,

and then the Brewers got 5 in the top of the 9th. All right, there you go. Some memory lane stuff for you Orioles fans that are listening. we're probably screaming. No, that's wrong. That's right. That's wrong. Anything else? The Nats stink, bottom line. Yes, nothing else for you today, boss. All right. I'm going to be back tomorrow, but not with a show out in the afternoon or early evening. I will do a show after the preseason game against the Patriots, and I'll have a player.

I've been promised a player who will have played in the game. That means not a starter. okay no starters are playing in the game tomorrow night but my show tomorrow will be the post game following the first preseason game of the year against the Patriots all right Tommy I'll talk to you next week okay you are bearing witness you deserve you've been one of the greatest