The Kevin Sheehan Show - Washington Busy On Day 1!

Episode Date: March 11, 2024

Kevin started the podcast with knowledge of Washington's signings of Dorance Armstrong and Tyler Biadasz but as the show went on, news broke on the additions of Frankie Luvu and Austin Ekeler. Mickey Spagnola/DallasCowboys.com jumped on in between to talk about Armstrong and Biadasz.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices 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 Sheehan Show. Here's Kevin. Empty backfield. Pressure. He is checked.

That was the only touchdown so far of Dorrance Armstrong's six-year career in Dallas. It came back in December of 2021 and a 27 to 20-20 Cowboys win over Washington. And despite the very excited crowd reaction, you heard there? The game was actually here. It was played in Landover. A ton of Dallas fans that day. And many other days at what used to be called FedEx Field. Dorrance Armstrong, defensive end, the first move in free agency for Washington today. He gets a three-year

deal. The show's presenting sponsors, Windonation, call them at 86690 Nation or head towindonation.com. mention my name for a free no risk in-home estimate. A very busy start to NFL free agency. The legal tampering period is underway where these deals are agreed upon and then finalized starting Wednesday at 4 p.m. with the start of the league calendar and the official start of free agency. But today is really the start of free agency.

I am recording this late afternoon. So as of now, Washington is signed 2.5.2.5. players, both from Dallas, defensive and Dorrance Armstrong, and center Tyler Beaudish from Dallas. The spelling of Beaudish's last name will be a stumper for some of you for a while. It is spelled B-I-A-D-A-S-Z. The pronunciation is Beattish. So we're going to talk here in the opening segment about what Washington has done so far, who they've lost so far, and then perhaps what's next.

And then Mickey Spagnola, longtime guest on this show and the radio show, columnist forever in Dallas for Dallas Cowboys.com and other papers before that. Mickey's going to jump on with us and tell us what Dallas is losing in Armstrong and Beaudish and what Washington is getting. And then in the final segment of the show, we'll go through a busy day in NFL free agency so far. Lots of moves and big moves in the division. The biggest move today was, you know who, as Galdi calls Kirk Cousins,

who struck it big one more time in free agency, this time heading to Atlanta. So let's start with a few things, and then we'll get into the two players, Armstrong and Beaudish in more detail. but I wanted to give a couple of immediate thoughts coming off of these first few moves. So first of all, the positions, defensive end and center. These were two need areas, areas that seem to make sense for Washington and free agency. Because of an expected rookie quarterback, you wanted a veteran center. They didn't have one under contract. The thought was they would want one, and they got one in Biotic.

And then after trading away their two starting defensive ends at the deadline, Montez Sweat and Chase Young, you knew they had a need for pass rushers, plural. And at least one of them was possible in free agency. And they got one, at least one for now in Armstrong. Yes, these are two Dallas players. And yes, their new head coach, Dan Quinn, comes from Dallas. And yes, there are some Norv Turner 94 vibes here, 1994 vibes, maybe even some Ron Rivera from four years ago, Kamanther vibes going on. I honestly don't give a crap about that conversation. In free agency specifically, connections are very often the reason for a player landing in a spot.

Dan Quinn knows these players. They may sign a player or two that Adam Peters is familiar with, or Lance Newmark, their new assistant GM, is familiar with from Detroit. They've already signed Zach Ertz familiar to Cliff Kingsbury, their offensive coordinator. I don't care where they're from or what the connection is. I care that the evaluators, the decision makers, get it right. They had some obvious need positions entering free agency,

and so far they've made progress on two of them with what I would definitely refer to as upgrades to what they currently have on their roster and not for an ungodly sum of money. And that leads me to this. So far, I think the two moves, and it's early, it's very early, but I think the moves speak to a more cautionary approach to free agency. you know, part of this recalibration, not rebuild players and people who they know, roles that they have to fill, but without, you know, top end of the free agency compensation scale. You know, Armstrong gets a reported three years for a max of 45,

but Nikki Javala from the Post says it's really a three-year, $33 million deal, 11 a year, 11 million a year. That would put him somewhere around 20th in the league for the position. Maybe a tad high. I don't know. Biotish gets a reported 30 million for three years. That's not counting what might be a guaranteed number that's less than that. The guaranteed dollars are always the most important.

There may be some incentives in there. But even if you go with 10 million per year, it puts them somewhere. between 8th and 11th, depending on what happens with the centers in free agency, maybe a bit high for him, but neither deal is a super high-end deal. Some of this is open to further review of the deals and the deal parameters and the compensation after I get a chance to look at everything else that's going out there in free agency. But both signings so far are kind of in the mid-tier, you know, second. to third tier of signings, both from, you know, kind of a type of player and a contract standpoint.

So let's get to the players. Let's start with Dorrance Armstrong. Six years in Dallas. Second on the team, the last two years in sacks behind Micah Parsons. Solid run stopper, good pass rusher. Wasn't a starter in Dallas with DeMarcus Lawrence and Micah Parsons on the team, but was part of the rotation. Parsons and Lawrence were, you know, the two guys, and they moved Parsons around a lot. Armstrong played 56% of the snaps in 2021. That's a hefty amount. 47% in 2022. And then it dropped to 42% this past year. That is a bit concerning. I don't know the reasons why I will talk to Mickey Spagnola about why the snap counts have

dropped. Dan Quinn knows why they dropped, though. I mean, here's the thing. Dan Quinn knows the player. He knows why he played him a certain number of snaps. Dorrance Armstrong is 6-4-255, came out in 2018 from Kansas, was drafted in the fourth round, just a few picks after Washington selected Troy Apke. 16 of his career, 23 and a half sacks have come during the last two seasons. when he's played his best football. All of them, by the way, the sacks in the regular season. He's not had a sack in four playoff games. His PFF grade this year was the highest of his career at 70.1.

60 is considered average. The Cowboys probably prefer to keep him, but they've got major cap constraints. And that's why some of these players in Dallas, while fans and perhaps even the front office and coaching staff, would like to keep them. They can't. He can rush the passer. He can run a little bit. And he can play the run. He's a fraction of what Montez Sweat would have cost the team, but he's not the player that Sweat is. Sweat got 98 million from the Bears, 72 guaranteed. But this isn't Montez Sweat. Number two.

You can look at the sack totals all you want in recent years and say, oh, they're comparable. But sweat is a big, long, super freakish athletic dude and just an overall better player, both in not only production, but in projection. I still think Washington could sign another D-end in free agency. Definitely draft one in the first three rounds with the five picks they have. I thought K.J. Henry and Andre Jones last year showed some ability. Henry in particular with some quick twitch. Remember, Remember Casey, Two Hill showed some ability to rush the passer. Now, he's a free agent. And James Smith Williams, you know, is a free agent as well.

He was consistent as a run stopper. I'll guess that they'll let these players test the market. Obviously, they would have made a move on either one of them before today if they really wanted them back. But maybe the agents feel like Smith Williams and Two Hill can get good deals on the open market. And if they don't, it's possible that Washington could bring one of those players back. But right now, it is Dorrance Armstrong and K.J. Henry, essentially as, you know, you're starting defensive ends. You've got, you know, Obata, right, is still there, although he's a free agent. And yeah, and it's Henry and Jones

juniors. So they've got some work to do, certainly on the defensive end front. Now, it is possible they are thinking about Jamon Davis in a different role than the role he has had because he is under contract. And using Jamon Davis perhaps as a hand in the dirt or even a two-point stance, edge pass rusher on pass-downs is something Dan Quinn is thinking about to get the most out of what he really is at his core, which is quick twitch super fast off the edge and a little bit less consistent and a little bit more confused at times when having to play in coverage. So let's get to Beaudish. Tyler Beaudish, 63316 listed starter in Dallas the last three years pro bowler in 2022. He came out in 2020 as the best center in America and was drafted with the

final pick in the fourth round, the final compensatory pick in the fourth round. The Cowboys picked him out of Wisconsin. Washington selected just a few players before Antonio Gandhi Golden in the fourth round. Tyler Beaudish is coming off the best season of his career per pro football focus with a grade of 69.3 and the 13th best overall PFF grade for 2023 among centers. A better run blocker than he is a pass blocker, but really known as a very high IQ center, a guy that has been lauded in the past for his ability to help get the O-line and the quarterback all on the same page. with great pre-snap recognition.

You may see some highlights out there of him with a high motor running down plays and recovering fumbles. This is the kind of guy that Dan Quinn talked about in terms of motor and finisher. And they got a guy that I think they really needed, especially when you consider the likelihood of a very young rookie quarterback, taking perhaps the majority of the snap.

in 2024. So Beaudish joins them. This is not the end of the offensive line moves, for sure. But they needed a center desperately with Nick Gates gone, they didn't want him back. Tyler Larson may have been a possibility, but the injuries certainly would prevent them from giving Larson any kind of meaningful deal. You now have along that offensive line, you know, penciled in for sure, Cosme and Beaudish. Is it possible that Wiley will be penciled in soon? Yes, it is. And I think they'll like the competitiveness of Wiley. Will they bring Cornelius Lucas back? Could he be a potential starter? They need another tackle, if not tackles, plural. And they probably need another guard as well, but they really needed the center. They really needed the high IQ,

solid, middle of the pack or better starting center in the NFL with some experience on the bones. And they got that with Tyler Beattish today. I actually like that signing today, anyway, a little bit more than Dorrance Armstrong, just because the need was so great. And the player is a solid player. And the center market was starting to, you know, dry up. Mitch Moore signed early. The Denver Center Cushenberry signed. I don't know where Washington had Biotish on their center board, but I would imagine pretty high because of Dan Quinn's familiarity with the players. So I like the Biotish signing. I like the Armstrong signing, but there's more to come in both the offensive line area and certainly even at defensive end. Now, in terms of what they've lost today,

Antonio Gibson signed a three-year deal with the New England Patriots. I've not seen the terms of this deal quite yet. Let me just see if they're in. Here it is. Gibson's deal in New England is for three years with a base value of 11.25 million and a max value of 17.25 million. So, you know, you're talking about a deal. That's not 11.25 million a year. That is 11.25 in base, okay? So that's less than, you know, four million per year. But he signs with the Patriots. Gibson, the only one of their own free agents at this point that is signed with another team. No Cameron Curl News, no Kendall Fuller News, no Curtis Samuel News at this point. Maybe by the time you listen to this podcast.

So before we get to Mickey Spagnola, what's next? What's next? Hold on for one second. What's next is that there is news here as we are recording this podcast. The news being a friend of mine, I was looking at my phone, a friend of mine texted me this tweet from Nikki Javala. Just moments ago, former Panthers linebacker Frankie Louvo has agreed to a three-year deal with the commanders that has a max value of $36 million.

per source. Frankie Louvre. Okay, so good signing by Washington. And a signing that totally fits with what Adam Peters and Dan Quinn told you in press conferences previously. The player trait that they're looking for. You know, finisher, motor, physical, that's Frankie Louvue. I'm now, I'm pissed off that I didn't actually. mention him at any point here over the last week because in seeing his name, he totally fits

that kind of attitude, that kind of competitive motor. All right. So I'm going to pull up his, I mean, he was with the Jets initially, and he's been with Carolina here recently. Let me pull up his information. So, you know, Frankie Louvre who came out. out of, I'm going to say he's been in the league for five years, something like that came out of a Pact 12 school. I think it was Oregon State, something like that, was not. Okay, three years with the Jets, three years, the last three years with Carolina. All right, 12 and a half of his 20 career sacks in the last two seasons, 125 tackles this year for Carolina. That had to lead the team, right? That had to lead the team and tackle. They were terrible.

terrible. Tackles this year. They were terrible. Frankie Louvre led the team in tackles with 125. Derek Brown was second. All right, led the team in solo tackles and in total tackles. Also was second on the team in Sacks behind Brian Burns, who they franchise tagged. So Frankie Louvre is one of these guys that, you know, nobody was paying attention to when he was in New York. And really because the Panthers have been the Panthers unless you're a real hardcore NFL fan. You're not really that familiar with Frankie Louvo is my guess. But he was a linebacker that was sought after in free agency.

I'd have to look at where he ranked on the linebackers lists. I would imagine, by the way, just off the top of my head, he's probably a higher ranked free agent than Beiotic or Armstrong on the overall list of free agents for 2020. For linebackers, let's see. Oh, my God, PFF had him number one. All right, I would have thought Patrick Queen would have been number one. Maybe an older Bobby Wagner would have been there.

Levante David. Where's David? So PFF had Louvre number one among linebackers and number 34 overall in their free agent rankings. Okay? This per Brad Spielberg. We've had Brad on the show before. Louvoo, let's see what they wrote about him. Louvoo burst onto the scene in 2021

has continued to be one of the best pass rushing off ball linebackers, which he is. But keep in mind, this is a guy that from the linebacker position, I think coming out, I don't think, let's see where he was drafted, because it certainly wasn't high. Let me read the rest of this. 43 pressures since 2022 ranking fourth at the position, nine and a half sacks since 2021 ranking first.

Well, actually, statistically, it shows that he had more than that in sacks the last two years. It says he's got 12 and a half sacks the last two years. But anyway, 62 defensive stops against the run, 12th among linebackers over that span. limitations in coverage, but is a menace coming forward, rushing the passer, or shooting through gaps to rack up tackles for loss. That's what this guy is. This guy is like Kaleek Hudson, but taller.

Like just a relentless, competitive motor. I did not realize that he was the number one backer per PFF. I'd like to see where, like, others had him ranked. in terms of free agent linebackers. Yeah, on some of these other lists, he's more like fourth or fifth among linebackers. You know, CBSSports.com the other day had him. You know, we mentioned some guys, you know, Josie Jewel, Devin White. You know, obviously we mentioned Patrick Queen.

Patrick Queen has been on a lot of the rankings, kind of the number one backer, but Louvo's there consistently in the top five. If you're an NFL fan, you know Frankie Louvue just because he's made some plays. Bad teams he's been on. I wonder if he's had a touchdown in his career. Because in coverage, actually, PFFs, I kind of remember him making some plays in coverage. It's got an interception return, just one. All right.

Came in 2022. I don't know who it was against. But, you know, five past defenses for last year. Just an active, high-motor linebacker. So another hole, you know, think of him too. Like in nickel, you know, well, Washington in the last few years is a bad example. But if you're in nickel with two linebackers on the field, Washington in recent years sometimes had one backer on the field, you know, in

dime defense with four pass rushers. He's going to be one of those backers on the field. You know, maybe they use Jamie Davis as a pass rusher, and maybe they'll sign another line backer to have in there. But in that, you know, 425, you know, nickel, he's one of those inside backers, and he's used as a pass rusher in those spots. I think PFF, well, I'll trust that they say that his weakness is in coverage. I think he's, he's, he's, he's, he's, he's, and just thinking about him as a player that he made some plays in coverage. But more evaluation of this. But I am right in initial instinct in that this of the free agent signings today is the highest rated player that they signed.

All right. So if I sit here and wait any longer, I'm not going to get the podcast out. So it's possible by the time you listen to this, they've signed other players. But now, as it stands, three players, Tyler Beattish, Dorrance Armstrong, and linebacker Frankie Louvre. I'm looking at his page. You wore number 49. Yes, 49 for Carolina was noticeable. You know, they had some.

Carolina has been pretty decent defensively, you know, with guys like Derek Brown and Brian Burns and Jeremy Chin. They've had good players defensively. the kid from Penn State, you know, the three-name Gross Matos. They've had some good defensive players on that team in recent years. They've been horrific offensively, you know, after trading McCaffrey. But I like Louvoo. He, this is really, the one thing I have talked about is, you know, use that kind of

player trait as a guide to what they're looking for. And it'll be the same in the draft. They want real tough finishers, closers, competitors, motors, high motors. You know, Adam Peters talked about that. You know, Debo Samuel, Fred Warner, you know, George Kittal, those kinds of players. That's why I've thought all along a guy like Kaleek Hudson, they'd probably be interested in. The problem is that Kaleek's like 5'9. I mean, not really, but he's just so undersized. Yeah, okay. Let's get to Mickey Spagnola who will have thoughts on the two cowboys signed next, right after these words from a few of our sponsors. This segment of the show brought to you by MyBooky. Go to MyBooky.g. Use my promo code, Kevin D.C. And MyBooky will give you a cash bonus on your initial deposit. That means free cash into your account on your initial deposit. You have to use my promo code as the way I just described it.

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and you guys some time right now in the wake of Washington signing two Cowboys so far. Mickey, let's start with Dorrance Armstrong. What's Washington getting in Dorrance Armstrong? Yeah, and I thought that was probably the most predictable one that would take place with Dan Quinn going to Washington and the commanders having like all the money in the world available under the salary cap and the Cowboys being tight. And if you look at Doran Armstrong as a, you know, somewhat of a rotational player over these last two years and this last year playing fewer snaps than he did before,

yet I believe he ends up with 16 snaps in two years. Yeah. As a rotation guy, I was like, oh, he's gone to Washington. And sure enough, on the first day, they, you know, came to an agreement. So I would like to see what he would do as a full-time player. As I said, the Cowboys used him kind of as a rotation guy, and he was pretty good and a pretty good soldier, too, by the way.

So you get a good guy that has been very productive in not only producing sacks, but holding down the edge as a defense. event. So I thought that one was going to be pretty predictable, and I knew Dan Quinn really liked him. And there'd be interesting to see if he gets full-time snaps how productive he can be. In the rotational sort of mode that he was in, did he always line up at end? And if so, was it, you know, look, Dan Quinn played Micah Parsons all over the place. But between Parsons and Lawrence and Armstrong, where did Armstrong typically line up? Do you remember?

Yeah, he normally was on the right side, so a right defense event. So it just sort of depended on how the rotation went, how much Micah Parsons was playing defensive end. They would move to Marcus Lawrence around to the right side, normally on the left side. Dorrance would be on the right side. They'd rotate in Dante Fowler. They would rotate in Sam Williams.

And like I said, if I remember correctly, Dorrance ended up with seven and a half sacks this year, but he played less snaps than he did the year before when he had eight and a half sacks. So, you know, productivity per snap, I think it was pretty high. But normally on the right side, I don't remember them moving them in that much inside sometimes when they would have three defensive ends on the field at the same time.

But, yeah, I just saw that one coming, and I figured that they could price the Cowboys out of even attempting to re-sign them. Is there a reason specifically you think he played fewer snaps in 23 than in 22? I think that Parsons snaps at defensive end went up. I thought that they used Sam – I don't know that they use Sam – I don't know that they use Sam Williams more, but more in a rotation with Dante Fowler, who was usually on the left side. They would move Dorrance – I mean, DeMarcus Lawrence over to the right side, quite a bit. And then they had started at times using the linebackers lining up on the line of scrimmage,

like before Leighton Vanderish got hurt, they started using him as a pass-rushing defensive end in passing situations. So I think that that contributed a little bit to maybe fewer snaps, which I don't know that I agreed with because I just thought he was awfully good when he was unethely good. on the field. Do you think the sacks, second sacks on the team for two consecutive years to Micah Parsons, we see what Parsons brings in terms of attention. Demarcus Lawrence to a certain degree as well. Do you think he was the, I mean, anybody would have been the beneficiary, right, of having Michael Parsons being focused on and also having a DeMarcus Lawrence. But in

Washington, it's very likely he could potentially be the focus of, an offensive line on third and ten in terms of a pass rush. How do you think he'll do? Yeah, that'll be interesting because you're right. He would normally get, you know, basically one-on-one opportunities on the right side. But again, a lot of that might depend if he is a full-time defensive end, who's lining up next to him at defensive tackle? because, you know, that could draw. The Cowboys really, from a defensive tackle position, didn't have that much of a strength from a pass-rush situation,

and one of the reasons why they were using so many defensive ends in pass-rush situations laying up at tackle. But on normal downs, I mean, Jonathan Hankins, a nice guy against the run, but he wasn't much of a threat pass-rushing. So, yeah, that's a good question. I'll be interested to see how he would do if indeed Dan Quinn decides to use him in a full-time spot at defense event. You alluded to this, but this is a good locker room guy, right? Yeah, absolutely.

Kind of a quiet guy. You don't hear much from him unless you go up and talk to him yourself. He won't be a guy that seeks out attention. But, yeah, a real good, hardworking guy that I could have fun with because he went to Kansas and I went to Missouri. Border rivals right there. All right, let's go to Tyler Beaudish, the starting center for this team over the last three seasons. He earned a Pro Bowl in 2022. What's Washington getting in this veteran center?

I think a very good, solid center that I think at times around here from a media standpoint got picked on a little bit, but I don't think they understood the quality of play he had at center. I think he was solid. People will tell you, well, he has trouble with, you know, big defensive tackles lining up, head up. Well, a lot of people have trouble when they got a 340-pound defensive tackle head up. I thought he was awfully good, a good locker room guy, a good, hard-nosed kind of lunch-bale-type player. I liked him, and I had significant worry that, you know, he would get priced out of what the Cowboys could afford to pay to bring them back. And it leaves the Cowboys somewhat in a lurch at center.

They're going to have to decide if they have somebody on the roster they think capable of taking over. Brock Hoffman had gotten snaps as a young undrafted free agent when he came into the league with the Cowboys. and once again, when you have some of the personnel the cowboys have that's going to command big salaries and you don't have that much money available to spend under the cap that you're going to lose guys like this. And it's happened to them now. I want to say three years in a row,

they lose Connor Williams as a free agent starter to Miami. They lose Connor McGovern as a free agent. starter to Buffalo and now Tyler Beattish. And you just don't have enough money to go around to pay everybody on your offensive line. You've got to get into the field of developing young guys into starters if you're going to survive with the amount of high paid guys the Cowboys have not only on offense but also on defense.

Mickey, I think that there were a lot of us that thought that Center was going to be a priority for Washington, a veteran center, somebody with experience because they're very likely to take a quarterback at number two overall. How much will Dak miss Beaudish? Oh, I think he'll miss a lot. They had a pretty good situation there. You rarely, if ever saw a bad snap, a bad exchange. I think that while he was a pro bowler in 2022, I thought he played better this year, and I thought he was just more stable, and he was pretty sharp on taking care of the offensive calls on the line. And you just get a hard, hard worker.

I remember coming out of college at Wisconsin, he won the, whatever the award was for the best center in college football coming out. Remington Award or something like that. Remington, yeah, exactly. Thank you. So, yeah, I just knew somebody that they could price the Cowboys out of attempting to even try to resign them. Is there anybody else on the roster in terms of free agents? You could see Dan Quinn and Adam Peters targeting. because actually we were thinking a guy like Jordan Lewis could be a possibility,

a Dante Fowler could be a possibility in trying to connect the dots with, you know, Peters in San Francisco and Quinn in Dallas. Yeah, and I thought the two obvious ones, it's already happened. I would imagine, depending on what the money is, Jordan Lewis, Dan Quinn was a big fan of Jordan Lewis playing in the slot. So I can certainly see that happening. What was the other one you asked me about? I mentioned Dante Fowler.

I don't know about Taran Smith. I thought that was going to be another no-brainer since he had them in Atlanta. Yeah. And then here, but when he was here, it was two one-year contracts. So he's a good rotation player. So, yeah, depending on what the money is, I can see that happening. But again, with Washington having so much money under the cap, anything could happen. I mean, they could make a, you know, three-year deal with somebody for money you're going, huh?

And make a mistake, and it wouldn't bother them because they've got so much money available. Well, now you're sending me back to the Dan Snyder years when they overspent for everybody didn't get anybody right. Where do you think Tehran Smith lands? That's a good question because I just don't know what market value is going to be for him. Do they look at... Didn't he play well, though, this year? Yes, he did.

Oh, absolutely he did. But he's going to be 33 years old. going on 34, and we understand the injury situation that he has been. But, you know, my philosophy has been on him over the last several years. It's like, I don't care if he only plays me 13 games or 14 games or 12 games. I'm going to get better in those games out of him that anybody I can replace him with. And, you know, when you look at the cumulative a number of games that he missed, The one that kind of throws it out of whack is when he missed the entire season in 2020, maybe 2021,

when he ended up having surgery and he was out for the year. I think it was a hip thing. It was kind of a weird injury for him to have. But again, for 13 games, I'd pay him. but again, I think that one is going to come down to age, like how much are you going to pay a guy that's 33 years old and, you know, we'll miss three or four games a year. And the fact, you know, but he's awfully good at where he played

and left tackle. I guarantee you Dak Prescott didn't have to worry about what was coming from that side. All right, because I've had you on the radio show since the hiring, but not my podcast. So for the people that listen to me just on this podcast, your perspective from Dallas on Washington hiring Dan Quinn. Yeah. And, you know, Kevin, and I was going to say this before he even asked that one, I could remember back, what, 30 years when Washington hired North Turner as the head coach. And it was almost back in the day, blasphemeth that the Cowboys or the Redskins at that time would be going together on a player, right?

Going from one team to the other because of the significant rivalry. Right. The fact that a lot of fans, a lot of fans hated it when we hired Norv. And let me just tell you, even though the rivalry, you know, is not, you know, at where it was, boiling point-wise, there were a lot of old-time fans that weren't happy with this hire and probably aren't thrilled with the first two signings in free agency either. You know what? You just reminded me something, and I'm going to let you finish your thought. Do you know that one of the first signings, and I think I have his name right, was a center

by Norve. It was John Giesick. I'm pretty sure that Norves, one of Norves' first moves in free agency was Giesick. Then they signed, if not that year, the next year, James Washington. They had a bunch of former cowboys that he brought in. Which was unheard of, right? Right. Well, I don't know. Calvin Hill, Calvin Hill, Gene Fuget. There were a couple, you know, previously. George Allen, you know, had Calvin Hill here in Washington for, I think, a season, and he played a couple of big games against the Cowboys.

but now we're really going back. But to your point, yes, there was a day where you wouldn't have liked it and I wouldn't have liked it. We would have had a similar reaction. Yeah. But other than that, I just think Dan Quinn was destined to get a second chance at being a head coach. I think he's such a charismatic coach. and at any time, I just thought if it was the right situation, he was going to get hired.

I think the media will like Dan Quinn. He's pretty forthcoming. He doesn't sugarcoat things when he answers questions. And I think players love playing for him. I can remember the first year he was here. it was the offseason. I believe they were in a mini-camp, a rookie mini-camp. And, you know, nowadays, what do you have, maybe 25 players in a rookie mini-camp?

You don't have enough for everybody at one position. And they had a rookie playing defensive tackle. They're not in pads, right? Well, somebody gets hurt. He had to take a player two off. They didn't have another defensive tackle. So Dan Quinn turns his hat around as he's. known to do and got down in a three-point stance and lined up at defensive tackle.

Now, obviously, it wasn't a physical thing, but when the players saw that, it was like they'd go through a wall for them after seeing him jump in there and try to help out. So, yeah, I think as long as, you know, he has a strong offensive coordinator and doesn't have to worry about that side of the ball as a head coach, he'll be pretty. pretty strong. Well, look, if the, you know, 30 years ago, if we get the similar result, I'll hate it, you'll be fine with it because you still got two more Super Bowls to win after Norve left. One more. What's Dallas going to do at running back? Well, I think in lieu of Tony Pollard agreeing to terms with Tennessee, you know,

I think that they'll have to draft a quarterback, I mean a running back at least during the second day of the draft, and they'll keep their eye on free agency if something should turn up as a sweetheart deal. I was joking on our, well, somewhat joking on our podcast today. It's like, you know, when it comes to dead money this year, Ezekiel Elliott, it's still costing them $6 million dollars when what was left over from, you know, leaving him. Well, if I can get him for one year or $3 million, I'd bring them back. Now, I've got to pair him with somebody.

He can't be my lead guy. But, you know, it seems like in the draft over the last couple years, teams have been pretty successful, second, third round, finding a college running back. And I could see the Cowboys doing that. And then with the proliferation of running backs in free agency, I mean, there's guys out there that may not go in this first week. And one of the guys that came to mind, and I don't know with his health situation, is a guy like Eckler. You know, maybe he's available. they needed a running back that makes people miss.

Tony Pollard was fine running back. He's more of a straight line running back. But when I was watching the playoff, what occurred to me is these teams that had really good offenses, they're running back make people miss in the hole. And I think the Cowboys miss that. You didn't mention Derek Henry. Is that because of the money you think Henry will get? Oh, I would.

Look, when it comes to. comes that the money available, top 51, the Cowboys got $8 million right now. Now, can they get something done with DAC restructuring it or extending it to create more money, but they just don't have the money? And they've got to consider that the best way to create money is signing CD Lamb to a long-term deal in get-off his 50-year option they picked up, which is 17.9. million dollars. That can create some cap space for them. But they just don't have the money. And what did I just see, Sequin? I think he ended up with, what was the average? 12 and a half million a year. Yeah,

it's three for, you know, roughly 37 and change. Yeah, if these initial packages are accurate, because it's all agent stuff right now. I just don't know that they can afford that much for a running back. And if Sequin can get that kind of money, you know, don't you think Derek Henry is going to get more? I mean, is he going to get $15 million a year? But then again, I have to ask myself, what does Tennessee know that I don't? Yeah, I would think Barclay is going to end up with more money. I think Barclay was the high end of the market, given the age, right?

Right. So, yeah, I don't know. I've been thinking about these backs, and with Pollard, you know, leaving, I was like, is it Barclay, is it Henry? Echler is, you know, one of those guys. But you're right. There are backs not only, you know, that haven't even been mentioned yet in terms of, you know, free agents, down the list a little bit, guys like Zach Moss, J.K. Dobbins coming off injury,

you know, those kinds of names. Plus, it's a position that certainly, it seems like, every year. There are three or four guys that got drafted in the third or fourth or fifth round that end up being super productive. I mean, I know it was a first round pick, but look what Detroit did, right? This idea that, well, you can't take a running back in the first round. Well, if you take the right running back in the first round, then, yeah, you can do that. Now, I don't know that the Cowboys go that high because they'll have so many other, you know,

priorities when they get to the draft, depending on what happens in the rest of free agency. But again, if the guy can play, I don't care where it's at. I'm taking them if that's something that I need. You're the best for doing this on such short notice. I always enjoy our conversations. Mickey Spagnola at Spaggs 52 on Twitter on X, a legend in terms of the guys covering the Cowboys over all of these years. We'll talk maybe towards training camp, I guess, but I appreciate you doing this as always. Sure thing. I always enjoy it. And who knows, it might be tomorrow. It could be tomorrow. You never know. If Washington still continues to go down that Dallas path. Thanks, Mickey. Okay, sure thing, Kevin.

Always pleasant, always informative. Dallas Cowboys.com, long time columnist and reporter Mickey Spagnola. All right, a few things to finish up the show with when we come back right after. words from a few of our sponsors. This segment of the show brought you by Window Nation. Call them at 86690 Nation or head to Windonation.com. March is a really good month if you've been thinking about new windows. Their deal for the month of March is buy to get too free with no limits. So if you have a need for, say, eight new windows, you're only going to pay for four of them.

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200,000 homeowners have. 86690 Nation, windownation.com. All right, a very busy day here around the league. But let me just, before I get to that, mention the big deal of the day. The big deal being Kirk Cousins signing with the Atlanta Falcons. a deal in aggregate worth 180 million, but 100 million guaranteed, 90 million of it guaranteed in the first two years of what is a four-year deal. This guy is going to go down, as one of, along with his agent, Mike McCartney, as one of

the great dealmakers in the history of the league. Now, the timing has worked out perfectly for him. You know, once Washington set him down that franchise tag path, the timing when he became an unrestricted free agent in 2018 was perfect, multiple teams needing quarterbacks and a bidding war. He actually took the lesser of the two deals between Minnesota and the Jets in 2018. He got another extension when he was in Minnesota. And now, you know, after Minnesota hesitated a bit last year to give a more guaranteed years, he became a free agent. and it has paid off for You Know Who once again. Four years to go to a team, which actually is set up pretty well for cousins.

Rahim Morris is familiar with Kirk, Zach Robinson, who coached in L.A. with Sean McVeigh and his disciple of the Shanahan scheme. They've got some talent in Atlanta, certainly in Kyle Pitts and Drake London and Bijon Robinson, some skill positions, although they could use another receiver. They've got a guy like Jesse Bates who played so well on defense. They've got some young players. They've got a decent O line. And they're in a bad division, at least the way we think of the NFC South.

Those things change. But I thought he'd end up staying in Minnesota. Minnesota tried desperately. The reports are that Minnesota was on the phone with him trying and giving him every last chance up until. 12 noon today, but ultimately old Kirkgo signs with Atlanta and rings the bell again. Let me just say this. You know I'm a big fan of Kirk's. He's got a win in Atlanta. He's going to go down as one of the great negotiators, along with McCartney, his agent, in the history of the league. Timing had a lot

to do with it, but they did a great job as well. And he's played consistently at a high enough level to be desired. But he's won one playoff game as a starting quarterback. It's a dependent position. I understand that. You know, I understand how bad their defense was against the Giants last year in a playoff game. I understand that, you know, a couple of years there, they should have been in the playoffs with a better O-line or a better defense. But, Part of the reason they didn't have great defense and they didn't have a great offensive line at times is because he was taking up a shitload of salary cap space. He's with a team that's got some good cap space. They've got the number eight pick in the draft.

They've got a new staff. They are committed to winning in Atlanta and winning now. He's got to deliver. You know, his legacy is right now about the incredible contracts that he signed. And it'll also go down as a franchise record setter in Washington. And from a number's standpoint, one of the greatest to ever do it in the history of Minnesota Vikings quarterback play. But you're not remembered for all of that, you know, at that position. It's not that you have to win Super Bowls per se, but man, you've got to get to the playoffs more often and win more playoff games.

He's going to have to do that in Atlanta. All right, let's talk real quickly and wrap up this show for the day with some of the other big free agent signings. And there have been a ton of them. And they're all still coming in. Wow, look at this. This is new news. Brian Burns traded to the New York Giants. The Giants acquiring Carolina Pass rusher Brian Burns, who was tagged by the Panthers, remember, last week.

So the Giants adding Brian Burns to the mix after losing earlier today, which was not a surprise, Sequin Barclay. To the Eagles, the Eagles signed

Saquan Barclay and others. They also re-signed Brandon Graham, and they signed Huff, the defensive end from the Jets, who was one of those pass rushers that I think some people thought Washington would be interested in, and don't be surprised if they were interested in Huff before signing Dorrance Armstrong. So let me backtrack here. Oh, my God,

look at this. I'm just going with this today, boys and girls. Washington big news again. Austin Echler signing a two-year deal with Washington. The running back from the Chargers. Austin Echler signs with Washington. This, I see it, it looks like Schefter's reporting it. Remember, Anthony Lynn, who's in Washington as part of this staff, was the head coach of the Chargers during a couple of those years with Philip Rivers and Echler in the backfield and Allen and Williams, you know, the wide receivers. Austin Echler, a two-year deal with Washington.

By the way, let me just mention all four deals. Three-year deal, three-year deal, three-year deal, two-year deal. You know the advantages to the shorter-term deals? Not a huge outlay of in-escro money, if that's even something that they still are required to do. But it ultimately means less guaranteed money. You could add in tag some voidable years at the end of the deal, but typically in an aggregate contract over four to five,

years, you have more of an outlay in terms of guaranteed cash, which often has to be put into escrow. Something I suggested last week that maybe some of their deals would be shorter-term deals. Austin Echler, wow, I'm a fan of Austin Echler. Echler is one versatile back. You know, you've got a situation with a guy like Echler and Robinson, Jr. in that backfield. You know, he's better than Gibson. I always thought Gibson was sort of underappreciated and underutilized. But here's a guy Echler who's been in the league for six, seven years, seven years, you know, had, he's scored a lot of touchdowns.

Obviously, he's been a fantasy favorite in some of these years. 13 touchdowns rushing in 2022, had five passing touchdowns in 2020. The year before that, it was 12 and 8, 20 total touchdowns in 2021. Last year banged up at times, but still ended up rushing for 628 yards, catching 51 passes for 436 yards. Austin Echler, you know, 28 years old. Man, I would have thought he would have been approaching 30 or older. The running back market red hot today.

It started with DeAndre Swift going to show. Chicago, Saquan Barkley to Philadelphia, Josh Jacobs to the Packers. Aaron Jones is available right now. Antonio Gibson to the Patriots, Eckler to Washington. So what started off, as I started to record this podcast, as a two-player free agency class so far, has now turned into a four-player free agency class on day one. All right? Remember, they also signed Zach Ertz.

But Dorrance Armstrong, Tyler Beaudish, Frankie Louvre, and now Austin Echler. You know, there was certainly some thought that if you lose Gibson, you're not just going to roll out with Robinson Jr. and Rodriguez, that you needed that change of pace back. Echler very much is not only the change of pace back, but is also a guy that almost replaces in some ways Curtis Samuels. catches. Lovu and Echler here during the recording of this podcast has made this podcast a little bit more exciting in the day a little bit more exciting for Washington.

Look, we could go through all of these other moves. The Raiders signed Gardner Minchew and Christian Wilkins today. By the way, the Chargers before Echler, they signed Gus Edwards from Baltimore yeah Pollard another running back that went to the Titans a busy day

a busy day that I should probably just wrap up right now because we're not going to get everything in today I'll be back tomorrow with Tommy and we'll finish it up but overall a pretty encouraging day I think

for Washington on the first day of free agency You know, the splash deal, you know, in terms of a big money, long-term commitment to a player, no. But Frankie Louvre and Austin Eckler are two names that you certainly know of. And I think if you've been following the Cowboys, you certainly knew Armstrong and Beaudish as well. And look, all four players fill some of those roster holes. So I think so far so good. Back tomorrow.