The Right Time with Bomani Jones - Domonique Foxworth on Mike Vrabel-Dianna Russini rumors, Steelers uncertain QB future | 04.09

Episode Date: April 9, 2026

Bomani Jones is joined by Dominique Foxworth to talk through one of the wildest stretches of the NFL offseason. They break down Lamar Jackson showing up, what that says about his leverage in Baltimore, and why the Ravens still have to treat him like the franchise. They also get into the Mike Vrabel and Diana Russini news, what to make of that story, and why it blew up across sports media. Plus, they discuss whether Aaron Rodgers makes any sense for the Steelers, what the Browns are doing, some NFL Draft talk, and why athletes seem way less willing to speak on larger issues now than they were a few years ago. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Wave. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the right time, a wave original. My name is Beaumani Jones. Thanks for listening wherever you get your podcast. Thanks for watching us on YouTube. Subscribe, like, rate us, review us, give us five stars. You only give us four stars. I'm inclined to believe you are a hater.

We got Fosworth on a Thursday. Dolly Foswark, what's going on? Not much. Happy to be back. I was listening to, I think it was your last show. and I got a shout out from my man at the end. So I'm here. You asked that I'm here.

That's right, man. The streets be ready for you, dog. I got to tell you. I saw you on TV on Tuesday, and it was really funny. So for people who don't know what it happened on TV, it's that time of year where you'd be kind of having to make it work when you're producing the TV show. You know what I mean?

So Dominique's on Get Up, and this is me talking. I understand that part of the job of morning time, ESPN, television, is hopefully you get a story that you can use. to dictate what's going down for the rest of the day, right? Like something happened, you can set the tone and then everybody eats. You know, like all we need sometimes is one person on ESPN to say some wild shit. Like, not even while. Dan Olofsky is a very big fan of Ty Simpson.

Suddenly we have a counterpoint. The draft gets more interesting. And now we can carry that all the way through. So this time, the Ravens were beginning of a voluntary OTA, which Lamar Jackson typically cannot bother himself with. but it's a new coach. And so the question was, is Lamar going to show up?

What's it going to say? If Lamar doesn't show up, get up, starting 8 o'clock. They're like, baby, we're going to eat all day, man. It couldn't have been no more than 807, 808. Here come Lamar Jackson with his hoodie that say, I love Jesus, showing up to work. And suddenly there was a lot less to talk about. Yeah, fortunately, I wasn't on that morning.

I was on the next morning. Because there was much made of, like, the prediction that he wasn't going to show up. up in like the, like, premature analysis around what it means. And he hasn't, he's never really showed up. And the funny thing is, like, Lamar's in this situation where if he doesn't show up, we can do the, and by we, I mean, the sports media in general, play the hits, you know, same old, same old, not committed, leadership, blah, blah, blah.

Does this mean he's upset with the organization? Maybe he'll never be back. if he does show up, we go the other way, which admittedly, not as much meat on the ball. It'll pop. Not as much meat on the ball. Like, it appears Lamar Jackson fully believes in this new staff.

And maybe a contract extension is on the horizon. I don't know. Like, it does make his contract a lot less interesting because right now I was looking at it the other day. They restructured it, which they had the right to do without his participation. but next year the cap hit went from what it was supposed to be this year, now it's down to 30.

Next year is $80 plus million cap hit. He also has a no trade and a no tag clause. So he's looking at this thing like an NBA superstar. Like few NFL players get a chance to be like either I, like literally I'm a free agent, not I'm franchise tagged or not you can trade me. I could either be a free agent or you extend. Yeah, so this is actually more interesting that I give it a credit for, what you put it in those terms,

because I had seen them running up the thing about it's no guarantee money in 2027 and all that stuff. And the question was about whether or not he would be coming back to the Ravens, which I thought was being presented as though it was a question, as though whether the Ravens would want him to come back, which to me would be preposterous. Would you like your two-plus-time MVP to come back at quarterback? and if I have not mistaken, he still isn't 30.

Yeah, I think you go ahead and sign up for that one, dog. It does become an interesting one on the other side, though, that clearly Lamar is a dude who appreciates when he's got some leverage. That's why he ain't never been to one of these little play play camps that he don't necessarily have to go to. Like, I'm surprised he showed up at this one because he doesn't seem to have anybody in his camp whose job is to be like, hey, man, just go ahead. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

I know you ain't got to do it, right? But it'll probably be good if you just go ahead and do that. They don't seem to have anybody in Lamar and Mom LLC whose gig is to just be like, hey, just don't bone right quick and pull up. But if he can actually walk after this year, oh, man, this is completely different. And honestly, if the prognosis,

if something goes wrong is that he will walk again, he'll be fine. quarterbacks get hurt. Like, what we're looking at? Aaron Rogers? Still out there, man, coming off of Achilles. Your man, I mean, cousin's a different story. He's not going to be a starter.

But he got big money after an Achilles. Like, it would have to be something real tragic for him to no longer have the cash that he would have. And I think to your point about going and throw him a bone, there's nobody in his camp to do that. I think people in his camp look around and, you know, the type of people that need to throw somebody a bone? people who ain't balling. You know what I mean? Throw them no bone. You know, I'm going to throw.

I'm going to throw some touchdowns. Throw them no damn bone. I ain't coming to this workout. But the thing is, obviously, he has a team and offseason plan and whatever that he does all the time. So, like, he doesn't need this workout program. The only reason why you show up at this point of your Lamar Jackson with the new coach is that's like, let's throw him a bone. Like, it's essentially, I want. want them to know that I'm all in.

I want all the players to know. I want all the fans to know the coaches, front office. I'm all in. I'm going to give everything I got this year, no hard feelings. Or maybe this is your opportunity to come in and make sure the head coach know who really in charge, right? Like, this is your chance to come in there. Like, no, this is how we stretch.

The head coach know who really in charge. I believe that the head coach said Lamar was involved in the interview process. I think they know who really in charge around there. But maybe you're right. He wanted to come in and make sure they want. The real ball cycle missed day one. Yo, but I thought about this, too. We know so little about Lamar Jackson, like, as person or anything else.

And I realized this when he showed up with the I Love Jesus hoodie. And then Fox News wrote a story on Fox News.com about him wearing that hoodie. And then they sent a tweet out about it, a tweet that Lamar Jackson, then retweeted. And it was kind of like, I don't know about that one, buddy. I got no idea will Lamar Jackson think about anything, right? Right? Like remember that time where Trump said something about him and he was there's something back about Trump? And then I forget what his response was. I was like, anything you tell me about this is possible. You could be a Black Panther or you could be a Glenn Beck's program.

I have no idea. Son, I don't know anything about you. I don't even know if you own a suit. I know nothing about you. When I think he did a trust, a trust Trump tweet at one point back when they was doing big trust in the back deal. But yeah, I think you're right. I think you're right. We don't know anything about him. I think we grafted onto him a lot of different things. I can speak for myself.

Like, as a history of black quarterbacks and all that stuff, like grafted onto him a bunch of different things and a bunch of arguments and conversations and progress that, you know, really, I ain't really think about, man, man. Just want a ball and get paid. It is like for someone else, for other people, like he represents so much more.

And I think particularly because of the, when we do hear him speak, and the way that he generally carries himself. While he's not the first black quarterback, he's the first quarterback that comes off and that presents himself in this way. Like, he's a pioneering figure whether he wants to accept it or not.

Yeah, like I said, he's the first one that we don't know if he got a suit. Right? So I remember when Cam was young and the world started to catch fire, right? We kind of wanted Cam, or I don't know if we, a lot of people kind of wanted Cam to talk about, to bigger issues of the world.

And Cam, not explicitly, was kind of trying to let people know, I'm not really good at that, guys. That's not, I don't, I don't, like, it didn't feel so great about doing that. The Panthers had even had him meet with Frank Luntz, the right-wing strategist, to try to get his talking points together, which is a little worrisome.

But anyway, like, that's, they wanted Cam to talk. Now Cam talked for a living, and I get the feeling that y'all don't want him to do nearly as much. of that talking. Like you kind of like him to fall back. Nobody's asked Lamar Jackson to talk about anything. Like right now, we don't expect our aft elite to talk about a single solitary thing at this point. None of them. Like, we have given up on that experiment, which is interesting, because it seemed to be making some progress around 2020. Yeah, I noticed that the way that you presented it, like, it's not clear where you fall on that. But I think, like, Howard Bryant's book,

the prestige, which I assume you read, I read a... The heritage. I'm sorry, the prestige. I'm thinking about that movie. I watched it with my son two weeks ago. The heritage. Talks a bunch about how the black athlete was kind of the original like

wealthy and powerful black person. The expectation was there. And I think we still kind of have that expectation, but it feels like I'm fine with people. like I'm not going to tell nobody to shut up and dribble

but if you find yourself as someone who is most comfortable not talking about that stuff I think what's the scary part is in part because of like social media and all that stuff everyone feels that their opinion should be like held in high regard and some people don't trying to say this in a way that's not insulting

it makes it feel like I feel like I'm holier than now but like some people don't read yeah that's not what they do right Yeah, that's, yeah, and I'm fine. If you don't do it, then don't do it. So that's my big thing is if you don't do it, don't do it, right? But don't nobody do it? I guess I'm, I guess I'm a little confused, okay?

So think about this. Trayvon Martin died 14 years ago. So let's say that you're a 22-year-old athlete. You're eight years old when that happened. You actually grew up in a time. where athletes had things to say about the larger world. Now, we can raise questions about how deep the statements were or everything else, but they were out there.

It's all gone, right? Like, it's almost like the basketball is caught up to the music, where the music gradually, and it's weird in music, because music is always a space where you always expected to hear a little something about, you know, something larger than a personal expectation. Maybe this is in line, like I got an email the other day, day about the 20th anniversary of Bill Roden's book, The 40 million dollar slave. And he had a chapter in that book where he talked about the idea of the conveyor belt,

which is basically because the money gets a hold of these players so young, they are molded into being corporate pitchmen from such a young age that it's like a conveyor belt. They are handed over from person to person, job, job, place, place, whatever. And by the time you get to the end, you get a socially unconscious being who only exist to sell. maybe what we're seeing here is the culmination of that. But given that we thought the world was going to end on Tuesday,

you would think that one of these cats would care about it on some level, whether I want to hear what they got to say or not, right? You don't even really hear it from Jalen Brown no more. I mean, I honestly think that they are reacting. I don't think that they are, and maybe they never were, but I don't think athletes are like civil rights leaders. I agree. Right?

And I think that a lot of the outspokenness was a reaction to the waters that they were sitting in. And at the time, it was something that everybody was doing. And they had the larger platform. I don't think that we're looking at a time where the athlete is interested in or willing to be pilloried in the way that, say, Colin. Kaepernick was. I think what we have with the athletes more than anything is like to your point, it's like, all right, this is the way that the wind is blowing. I will amplify this message, but I'm not going to be the first one to stand up and be like, hey guys. And us generally as a

society, as crazy as shit has gotten, we haven't turned up to the degree that the world has turned up. We haven't turned up as a society. Like, we all protested out. Yeah, it's funny because my brother went to the protest they was having the other weekend. And so this is what the athletes could say, but it's not that, which is, hey, man, I think that, I think things have gone a little farther than people have been willing to bring themselves to appreciate and understand you. And I talk about this all the time, right? Like, I never want to say that it's at a point where there's no point in talking because I don't think that's ever truly the case. But we are, we pass that kind of march. Right.

Right. Where y'all be out here dressed up as fucking cartoon characters and y'all got. jokes and it makes for really funny stuff for you to put online. Nah, the stakes have greatly exceeded that method of presentation. It is real out here at this point. We were literally wondering if a nuclear war was about to break out on Tuesday. And by the way, it's still on the board. Like, they said it was a ceasefire, but you know what ain't ceased?

Fire. Like, I thought that was one of those where you put that word with that word. And we all know what it's. it is. It's pronounced the same way. The whole nine, right? No, no, no. This isn't what it is. And there is no reflection of that from, and for this case, I'd count athletes as pop culture features. Yeah. The world of pop culture, at least younger, ain't really given nothing on this. And I was like, oh, wow, I think you guys would be the more scared ones. I mean we had like at the award shows we had like some people saying ice out and I was like that was about that and now is the last thing we don't have and like to your point like we're at a different place now and it keeps amping up like where we were on Tuesday night when there's like a apocalyptic countdown like nobody said nothing like nobody put up a black square like I miss it I know we was mocking it back there but yeah can we do some color square?

or something. Like, there was a people, like, I live in D.C., so, like, I see a lot more protest. There were people out on the mall and stuff, but I think this, what comes to mind for me is that there was a point when the internet felt freer and social media felt more natural. And I think it feels more controlled and curated. And we're in a place now where a lot of, like, organizing and amplifying and motivating takes place on these platforms and if the algorithms are designed

to turn those down as much as we mocked like the performative nature of the stuff online like when it starts to build up you start to feel you get your muscles and you're like oh this this is where everything is going I want to be a leader of that I want to get involved in that

But when something start bubbling up and it gets tamped down, then we feel like nothing's actually happening. And we like, don't anybody care? It just kind of goes and happens. And we move on. Some new shit pops up. And there's some pictures pop up on the internet, connected to people you know, and you just move on.

That's all everybody needed. That's all. We always looking for a distraction. See, now you would have did the thing, right? What thing? The thing. But now, I'm like, am I going to do it? You know, you know, one thing I am not worried about is Beaumonti Jones being able to artfully

discuss something that most people are scared to pick up. So I'll throw anything on the table for you. You will, you will, and it's tricky. And people have seen this. It's the story where page six, I am amazed by the fact at, like, the levels at which people care about stories involving sports media. Yeah. But I guess when it comes with an allegation that a media.

member is sleeping with a head coach and there is pictures of them posted up by the pool at a hotel. That caught like wildfire. Wild, wild, wild, wild fire everywhere. And I just looked at the pictures and all I know is this, each of them had the same story. We was there with friends and we happened to be at the same place, but ain't none of the friends and none of the pictures. And all I'm saying is you said friends and nothing about your spouses,

which is how that story right there, even if it might get you through in public, is not going to, it's not going to help you out when it matters at the Ponderosa. I don't know, obviously. Like, I know both of them. and like both them and Braves and I go way back to like CBA negotiations and and when Gene Upshaw died so like he was a guy who I like is great dude upstanding guy

high integrity and like Diana's cool I like her too everyone is great and I wonder how I would have reacted if I didn't know these people but my immediate feeling was just a pit in my stomach like, God, damn this sucks for them and everybody around them. I was thinking minimally about how much is sucked for them. And immediately for how much it sucked for the husband in question here or all the parties involved in question here. Again, I didn't know. The fact that we as an industry or whatever, a paid six worthy is bananas.

It is like the larger media questions get to be a little bit tricky because they can veer into misogyny very, very quickly. There is obviously a clearly much greater judgment toward Diana in this allegation than there is toward Vrable. Though I think to be fair on that one, there's a there's a code of sorts that exist in Diana's line of work that this violates. that is not a violation of whatever code there is in Mike Ravel's line of work, if it is as it has been alleged, right? Like, I think that part is there. I just don't know how if the allegation is founded. I don't know how you can come back.

Like, who bring you on to do this job again? Yeah, I mean, it seems like the athletic is standing behind her, but yeah, you just can't really, if you are an information person, a reporter, an insider, and like people believe that's the that's the really terrible part about it is like whether it's true or false if people believe it then you kind of lose the value that you bring to this because like you're presenting yourself as someone who's just presenting the facts and if people don't believe that you're that person so that's the part where it's like again I don't know for sure

about anything I can speculate or whatever but I do know next time there's some reports from her like no one's the replies are going to be all jokes. No. Well, I know this though. If the athletic is standing behind her and they did stand behind her in that statement

and I wasn't sure that they were going to do such a thing, that means one thing. She presented a compelling retort when it was brought to her by the bosses. So can you tell us what's going on here? Whatever story she gave must have been a,

great one because I definitely expected a we'll look into it. Yeah. And yeah. I mean, I assume that there's like all types of legal ramifications for those decisions. Yes. That are made. But if we could get off of them specifically for a second,

just the idea of anyone going on a vacation with someone that is not their spouse, That's the shit that's crazy to me. What I don't understand is why I want to like play house. Like I have a house. That's the shit that get me. And yeah, it's not about them. Just generally it popped into my mind like, I don't know. Cheating happens, but having a whole like side relationship sounds tiresome.

It does. It does. It does. It seems like a bandwidth drain. but I will say this from Mike Vrabel. I tell you who he ain't about to hear nothing about this from. Bob Kraft.

I wish you would try to tell me something about this. Oh, y'all, so what you're telling me, I should just go get a massage. That's what I thought. That's what I sit your old ass down. Yeah, and I mean, not that he was going to hear anything anyway. Like, if he just was like, yeah,

I got 13 girlfriends. I mean games we winning. It's the way it works. But you actually made a good point here because I'm with you. The idea that you are carrying on a whole, whole side situation, right? Like that is a significant expenditure of effort. And let us not forget, man,

we are in a world where people got two families, bro. I've heard that before. That's just sounds. Well, actually, I know people who have experienced something like that. That don't make sense to me in this day and age, How you can pull that move off? Well, well, well, the answer is baseball. Yeah.

You can pull it off in baseball, right? Like you go do spring trading and wherever it is for all of that time. You can have one base set up there, then the other base that's in the other spot. And everybody understands, well, hey, I play, I do these months over here. I do these months over here. No, no, no. You keep the kids in school here. That'll be fine.

I'm going to come holler back at you. when we come back on the other side, you understand what I'm saying? Like that's, I, that, it sounds expensive. Yeah. It sounds exhausting. And if you're going to have two families,

it implies that you're actually trying to manage the relationships and emotions of two spouses, which is, I mean, one spouse is, one might argue, more work than one man can handle. And then the kids on top of it. Like, that is really hard to try to be that. You're not being.

a good spouse or parent to somebody or to everybody. And also like, this might just be me, but the best thing about work travel is that I ain't got to worry about. Nobody. I got to make a call, tell people good night, remind them to homework, tell people I love them. And then I can go to dinner with Bermonti Jones in New York and then go to sleep. I can't imagine being on the work trip, like doing all the same stuff.

like I am. Yo, especially because this ain't the old days, right? Yeah. Like the old days where you leave the house for a week, at some point, perhaps you'll hear from me. But there was no obligation that you hear from anybody every day or on any sort of demand. Right?

Like if you got two of them, that's like, that's like it, have a foe of them back in the day. this also just reminds me of like whatever privilege i don't know if that's the word that we still using but whatever privilege that we get from being a man like how stark it was back then and how it still exists is like because you were the only one that had any like realistic way of generating money yes like they knew what was up what would they going to do go get a job or go get a bank account Yeah, you can't. That wasn't even on the board. That's mind-blowing to me.

Like, it's just like the idea that there's a full, and I know that there are other countries in the world where it exists even worse than this, but the idea that a full-grown adult has no recourse. No recourse. See, she caught me. It's like, oh, I heard you got a family in other city. I know that you're going over there with Latoya

and you raise her kids. Okay, what's you going to do? Right. Pick your next move, either leave or leave, live with it. Exactly. And if there were, and I know like the 1950s television shows depict these dads as

being great dads and fathers and employees, those dudes are the best. They just looked at this world where they could just be whatever they want. It was like, no, I'm gonna be good. Yo, I was thinking about this.

You know, you get older, the world is what it is, cats tell you what they do and don't do or whatever. But you have these situations with these dudes that talk about being out all night and then coming back home. And my thought always was, well, what are you saying when you get back home? Like, what story could you possibly have to explain this when you get back home? And little did I know. The answer was, what story?

Yes. I'm just walk in. Because you suspect that they respect that person as a full of, adult peer. Like, could you imagine if I walked in my house at one o'clock and my kids was like, where are you been? Where I been? Like, that's the same thing that they're like,

you come in a house and your wife is like, where are you been? And they just like, where I've been? Whatever the fuck I want to be. In my skin. Yeah, that's, yeah, I, yeah, that's the thing. Right? Hey, look, apparently that is not the dynamic for either of these two people. as their response to this was,

let me tell you what happened. Like, there's nobody involved in this situation that believed that they could just dictate what's going down. No, no, no, no, no. There was a story. Brother, somebody sent me an AI workup of them like they was at that Coldplay concert. Sheesh.

Yeah. And I'm going to tell you, I don't think, no matter what happened, I don't think either of them thought that they was famous enough that somebody would be taking a picture of them at some hotel in Arizona

and sending it off to the newspaper. Right. But the pictures alone is supposed to be like the damning evidence. I feel like the pictures are explainable. The hard part is then all the other contexts around it. Well, the pictures are explainable depending upon whom you were trying to explain what.

And I say that to say, explain to your wife the interlocking handhold. Yeah. This one right here. Explain that one. Yeah. That's a tough one.

Yeah. Like, that's the, that's the one that you go. Like, that's like when Bobby Petrino got caught up. And no matter what happened, the part that he couldn't explain was why she was on your motorcycle. Like, no matter what deniability that you had, no matter any story that you came up with, end of the day, you got that little young thing on the back of your motorcycle. Riddle me that, big dog. I don't know. I'm just trying to think of

I of course like I have lots of friends and lots of people work with like hugs are not uncommon like you catch and we travel for work so like I'm at Super Bowl at a hotel with uh yeah you just interlocking them fingers I don't it's the little things man it's the little things because somebody snap a picture of me hugging somebody at a pool was like oh yeah

I saw I ain't seen in a year I saw at the thing, I hugged her. Oh, you guys' chairs was next to each other. Like, yeah, we're talking. It's cool. All of that. Yeah, y'all sit in that dinner with your hands up, tapping fingertips

like this. Jesus, tough, man. Yeah, yeah, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. Like, the question is this, would you do that with your cousin? Because if the answer is no, then the story immediately falls apart, right? Like, you can have an arboral situation, but you know what, that arm around, that woman knows your wife. Yeah.

Right? Fair point. Like you have taken the work and effort to introduce that woman to your wife with an understanding that I need to establish some measure of peace in this. Because to be that close to you, she has to love your wife. Otherwise, this is not allowed, right? Unwritten rules. That's so much right now.

Yes. You know what? You were right. Because I was terrified that this topic might come up. and what I might do with it. But you're right, I think I figured out how to discuss this without ruining any of our relationships or ruining anything that's going on with our lives,

which is good because I think they might, at least one of them, have ruined their careers. Yeah, yeah. Coming up next, something else. You can predict the playoff action all the way to the finals with Fandu Predicts. All you have to do is sign up to get you a $25 bonus. Follow all the playoff dishes

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I guess you're going to be in Pittsburgh pretty soon for the NFL draft. Yeah, yeah, yep. We're going to drive up. Me and Charlie going to road trip it. Oh, really? Yeah, I don't know. I was thinking, like, go to airport, fly to Pittsburgh.

It's like a four-hour drive. It ain't too bad. we ride up, me and Charlie get real close. Yeah, I'm not saying you're going to learn a lot about each other. You know what I'm saying? Put this relationship to the test. Hey, man, Pittsburgh shutting down for the draft. Boy, they cancel the schools and everything.

I mean, they got to. Make it easier. I'm on board with it. Them kids ain't going to learn nothing that day. Get them out of the streets. Make it safe. Make it easier for me to get about one day in school. We took a year off of school.

Everybody learned from home a few years ago. Y'all can take a day off. You'd be all right. I tell you this, though, you made a very interesting point earlier that I had completely lost track of. I still have no idea what the Steelers are going to do at quarterback, and it still might be starting Aaron Rogers. Like, I feel like you got the room to walk in and tell Aaron Rogers, like, yo, make a move. Yeah, they don't want to, though. I mean, the Steelers make it real hard for me because I've kind of staked out this, like, very aggressive anti-tanking position.

but I have to be sure that people understand that extremes on either end are bad I'm not saying you can't have a plan for the future like they approach every season like it's the last season like there's no season after this one which like I respect and appreciate and it's made them like somewhat competitive

but not really for a long time but yeah they got to they got to figure out some sort of transition there, man. I mean, Aaron Rogers could never be the answer. And I just don't think you can operate with you. Aaron Rogers last year wasn't good enough. I think that's fair to say.

Yeah. There's no reason to assume he'll be as good next year as he was last year. That's just not how things work. So why are we, like, why in the world are you doing this? Why weren't you the ones to go get Malik Willis or something, right? There's got to be a quarterback somewhere. It would have been okay with me if they went and, got Kurt Cousins compared to the eye.

I mean, I still think that I think he's a good idea for what they're doing with the Raiders, but I can't, I just can't imagine how they got themselves stuck in this place that they're in. And by the way, which makes you look at Mike Tomlin and be like, okay, maybe it wasn't on you. Yeah. I mean, I think the argument for the Steelers bringing Aaron Rogers back is we have a very expensive and talented defense that underachieved. I think you could make the argument that.

And I was like making this, when we were going through all these preseason months last year and we needed something to talk about and new ways to spend this same conversation, was like, look, Aaron Rogers wasn't good enough in New York. However, Aaron Rogers is a legitimate starting quarterback. If all they need him to do is like be, to make one special throw a game,

they might do well because their defense is so good. The problem is their defense was not that good. So that's the argument. It's like, look, we bring them back all, but then you end up with the same thing where it's like their defense is already old. There's no reason to believe that that old defense is suddenly going to be better this year than they were last year.

But that's the only argument. It's like we're really close as our core. And if we go to a young quarterback, then we might as well blow this whole thing up because everyone else is kind of old too. Yeah, but they're not the only team that's in this place. Arizona. I don't understand.

what you guys are doing here. Like, you don't, especially Arizona who said, no, we'll take a 30-something million dollar cap hit to tell our quarterback to lead. Who's your quarterback? Yeah, good question. Now, you know, when you put it like that, tough call.

They don't want, they don't want, they don't want Kyler back because he might win too many games. This is our chance. Yeah, that's it. It's like, we know that Kyle, we don't want Kyler long-term, long-term. So like if we're going to be here with him long term, then that's cool. We'll bring him back.

We don't want him here long term for whatever number of reasons. So why are we going to bring him back in so he can win three or four games for us that we don't expect to win? We end up with seven, eight wins. And we don't have our choice of quarterback. I think that's pretty clear. The cap hit, I mean, the dead money don't matter if you're not trying to win. Dead money help you if you're trying to lose. I think that's all fair.

I'm just like, you don't have a quarterback, but you did have a quarterback. Just lands a little funny, right? But that's better than being the Browns that have a million quarterbacks, except they don't. They don't have a quarterback. The owner has said that it's possible that Deshaal Watson could be the starter and everybody recalled. And I'm like, but it is.

I don't understand why everybody was so mortified by this idea. Shadour was bad last year. Like, this is not. I am amazed at the ways of which people try to talk themselves into he was anything other than bad last year. Like 10 interceptions for the number of games that he played in this NFL is almost like throwing 30 over 16 back in the day. Like, yes, Deshawn Watson could, Hawaii 5'9. He could wind up being the starter. The reason why the Deshaun Watson as a starter doesn't make sense to me while I agree with you as possible,

the Browns aren't even though they haven't been very successful like their decisions been pretty sound with the exception of the one like a lot of their roster construction decisions were pretty sound except for the one where Jimmy hasn't came in there was like let's get Deshawn Watson a huge contract but it doesn't make sense because if Deshawn Watson plays well he's on the last year of his deal if he plays well what's you're going to do pay him like you're going to pay him again Like that one doesn't make sense It's almost like they haven't looked At the end of the calendar

Or looked at his contract Which is why I think that maybe That they're just saying that nonsense Like maybe he'll play some But they're really going to put Gabriel and Sanders out there And get them a shot To lose a bunch of games So they can get a quarterback next year

Or get them the shot to prove themselves Hey bad Todd Monkin Those of you who don't know this story Todd Monkins is the new head coach of the Cleveland Browns And every year with the owner's meeting, they take a group picture with the coaches, and Todd Monkin missed

the picture because Todd Monkin had gone to get a haircut for the picture, and he was not there in time for the picture. Now, I have said, I am sure that there is a wide receiver or two on his roster who could absolutely relate to deciding that the haircut for the picture is actually more important than the picture itself. My concern for Todd Monkin, I don't know how important it is for him to be an NFL head coach. But if it is, I would think that you would want as many mementos as you could possibly get. And I would not assume that you'll just be able to take a picture next year. Yeah.

I mean, did David Cully miss his opportunity? Was he getting a shape up when he got his picture taken? I hope not. I hope young David Cully was, oh, not young. Oh, David Cullen. David Cully showed up already ready for that year. David Cudley revived me. Remember that brother they made the senator in Illinois?

Yep, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, like, like, that's like, hey, they'll be called to be set it up for the rest of my life. Yeah, just go ahead, give me them two weeks. Yep, yeah. My pension just went to a whole other level. Grand opening, great closing. But, yeah, I was surprised at Tom Munkin didn't make it.

Also, like, this is, like, a part of the culture that I don't know. But don't white haircuts last longer? Like, why are you getting the haircuts? at the event. Don't you get there before you come? That's how you know he really cared about this picture, man. Like, he just wanted to be, he really wanted to be sharp with it, right?

Like, this was a big thing for him. But don't they say, like, this is something I've always heard white guys say is that the haircut is best a week after you get the haircut, right? Yeah, yeah. It's not like us where day one, like, I got my hair cut the morning of my wedding because I wanted it to be extra sharp.

Yes. But like, they plan a week out, I thought. It just seemed like. So you say, so you're saying Mike Vrable got his hair cut 10 days before the owner's meeting because he really needed it to be right there weekend before. For the pictures. But to hang out with the homies at the hotel in Arizona. I thought we were.

I was. I was. I had walked away. And then I started to wonder. So when did Mike Brabel get his hair cut? Or do he even worry, right? He just, he just gorilla with it. And he just show up as he show up.

He might not even get a shower. Yeah, I mean, he gives off that vibe. He's like, gives off hockey player, dirty offensive linemen. Like, I am what I am kind of like a bear vibe. I will say I remember this. When that year was that Mike Vrable didn't get a job. Diana had reported that she had dinner with somebody at the senior bowl and the general manager was like, well, he'll get no job

because he's such a big, intimidating man. And my immediate thought was, well, Wow, that unnamed source name, Mike Brable, just offered his theory as to why Mike Brable, because who else would say such a thing? Then it turned out that she came with a report and said, actually, Rabel was hot because Rabel thought that she was calling him fat. And so she had to walk it back because Rable thought that Diana was reporting

that Brabel was fat, and that's why the coaches didn't want to hire him as a coach. Let me tell you, boy, the internet actually. had been on this hypothesis for quite a while. Gosh. Before this, before this actually came out, I was shocked how many regular people had theories on this.

I thought the too intimidating to hire was the domain of the black man. I didn't realize that Mike Brable was bringing that that heat also, that you could also be too intimidating to hire. Like, I, I have heard plenty of guys tell me that something ain't work. I thought I was going to rob the place. Maybe.

Also, you ain't got no degree. Hey, look, as Diana said at the time on part of my take podcast, his hands are the size of your head. Should I believe, man. Mike Rayble to big dude, man. He is. He's a very, he's a very large man who. Man, this is. This is wild.

It is, man. That's all I got. I believe that stories. And I hope that the truth comes out and that they are exonerated of the allegations. Yeah. Hey, man. People around them believe, her bosses believe this story. So what we are discussing here is a wild story.

Yes. Right? Like, that's, that's, unfounded allegations. Allegations that we have no confirmation of, but allegations that I am glad that I don't have to explain to anybody else. You. I can't imagine. At least the kids is young, man. You know, like, you got to hit this one with a,

I've said what I've said, I have nothing more to say on this matter. Oh, God, man. That pit's still there, man. I still feel terrible. It would be awful. Oh, I feel terrible. By the way, draft talk.

There we go. Draft talk. Shout out to Fernando Mendoza. And I've said a shout out to him because he's going to watch the draft at the crib. Mm-hmm. I don't know why more guys don't do that. I would have much rather,

I think I would much rather watch the draft at the crib with the homies. Now, it's a little tricky if you try to get some homies out of your life. Yeah. Then you can't really do it at the crib. Or you got to be careful. I think it was ha-ha Clinton Dix. You can look at the picture of him watching the draft at the crib and somebody left something on the couch.

Yeah. A little party favor. Oh, I don't remember that. But yeah, good, goodbye. Yeah, yeah, yeah. He was ready. He was ready to celebrate. I would say, the one thing about, as it depends on who you are and what you're into.

Hold on, right fast. According to Google Jim and I, it is false that Ha Ha Ha, Clinton Dix had a joint next to him in a photo shortly before the 2014 draft. I tell you this, it looked just like a joint. the night it's a big moment man so like i guess it depends on how you want to celebrate do you want to have a family celebration because the year the draft was in Vegas pretty good place to be after you just became a first round draft that is true if it was in Vegas yeah i'm probably pulling up to the draft look what i just sent you by the way i'm probably pulling up but otherwise like i love joe thomas when he got drafted he knew who was

going to draft him, him and his daddy just went fishing, right? Like, I imagine, Dominic, I know you went through this because you waited so long, you ain't, you ain't waited a long time to get drafted, but you waited long enough that a white man got drafted to play quarter before you. And I know that had to be tough. There's no need to sit around, man. They'll call you when you get drafted. They'll let you know.

Yeah, but you can't. So, yeah, that definitely looks like what it looks like. But you can't ignore it. it, man. Like, the thing is they'll call you, but everybody knows on, so it's on. Like, it's not like you could just pretend like it's not happening. So, yeah, I remember

I wasn't invited to the draft course. I think I was 96, pick 96. Which is a high pick, just to be clear. No, I don't wait around. It's not a high pick when you're waiting around all day and people at your house. I'll have, you know. That is a very low pick at that point. Was they in there saying dumb

shit to you? No, because they knew better. But okay, just like everyone was trying to pretend like they were just there for a party after like no one expected me going to first round. Once we got through the second round, it was like, oh, people stopped paying attention. Then we get to late in the third. That's when we all just pretended like nothing was happening. And praise B that the Broncos gave me a call. Because if I had to wait another day, that was back when first, second, and third were all on the same day.

If I had to wait another day, that'd have been real rough. Don't come back over. by the way ha ha said he was in a crowded restaurant which has absolutely nothing to do with uh all you got is what all you got is what it was icy shit about what it was I believe him it happens all the time

there are joints laying on booze and crowded restaurants every day I see it I think I trust them Hey look man I'm looking at him like this actually made you a little cooler with me. Like, you know what I'm saying?

Like, this is not, this is not disqualified. I guess you don't want to have to go pee tomorrow morning. That part I can understand. It's a different time in the NFL in general in the way they felt about those things. Like, you remember, obviously, Laramie Tunsell thing like that. If that happened, he would not slide down the draft board in the way that he did where he had that gas mask full of weed.

Yo, he had the gas mask full of weed. And then he got out there talking about how he'd be, then he'd be getting paid? Oh, that's right. I forgot about that. He did. Yeah. He had a wild draft night.

Like, whoever it was who did that to him was foul. Yeah, that's pretty bad. And somebody was, like, trying to blackmail him, right? Yes. Which is, that's the thing about the blackmail is, like, it's, we all going to lose. Like, either you pay me or we all going to lose because he definitely ain't pay you after you put it out. No, no, you've lost all your leverage. I don't know.

like you hold it on until he signed a contract and say I'm embarrassed. I don't know. And also, offensive linemen, generally speaking, of good dudes. Yeah. Defensive lineman. Rolling the dice. Offensive lineman, generally speaking, good dudes, right? Like, you out here trying to blackmail somebody that people like.

I ain't been in a locker room as much as I was at one point, but the archetypes of positions, that was the realest thing ever. Like, I could pick you out. I could tell exactly what position. you played in high school based on the way that you carried yourself. I don't know if it stands up today, but you're right. There's a very different way to way defensive players, defensive linemen in particular, carry themselves.

And cornerbacks, we're going to be the loudest in every room, as many diamonds as you can find, the guys who draw in the most attention, very much cornerbacks, even higher than receivers. Yeah, well, quarterbacks and receivers, same thing in common. Most of y'all ran track. I didn't. I should have. Yeah, and I say, inexplicably, right?

Like that is, but like that track behavior come in there, offensive linemen over there playing Sudoku. Yeah. You know what I'm saying? Like they just, they're a different bunch of cats. Yeah, they're always fishing and hunting. That's the very different vibe is, yeah,

they pride themselves on how poorly dressed they are. That's a point of pride. Don't tell them they look nice. Their feelings will be hurt. Now, those are only like the closest to a nerd position group. like if Jonathan Ogden had wide receiver talent I'm not sure Jonathan Ogden turns into an NFL wide receiver And to be clear

Johnson Ogden Kind of as athletic That big market move man We got an episode coming up with Nate Tice About the 2011 draft And somehow we wind up talking about Ogden And Ogden The notion or idea of Ogden

Who they drafted the same draft as Ray Lewis The same round. There's an argument. That's Ozzy's first draft as a GM for the first year of the Baltimore Ravens. Yes. Like there's an argument that Ray Lewis was not the best player that they took in the first round that year. And that's not at all shade to Ray Lewis. That's just how cold Ogden was.

They took, he was the second one taking. Like, they had a choice. They like who we want more. That guy. I tell you. They were right. The best Ogden story, his guy named Josh Lux, he wrote this tell all book as an agent. that seemed kind of like salacious at the time,

but now probably goes back and reads as prophetic. And so one of the things that he talked about was like how you recruited players. And so you'd be out, you'd meet them or whatever. And you know, you'd just do a lot of things to try to woo them and sway them. And so one thing that he did was he was trying to get Jonathan Ogden.

And so he got front row tickets to a Janet Jackson concert for Jonathan Ogden. Now, have you ever been to a Janet Jackson concert? No, but I mean, I'm seeing the videos. So I went to a Janet Jackson concert once, and it is a very interesting breakdown of who the people are who attend a Janet Jackson concert. You have straight women with their home girls, right? You have straight women with their dates, right? There's Janet Jackson fans.

You have not straight women, and that goes all kinds of directions. And the gay dudes who are there. But there's another interesting group. that doesn't really have a place or a role, which is straight men who don't have girlfriends, but really love Janet Jackson. Perhaps it's because you love Janet Jackson's music, or it's just because Janet Jackson. Anyway, Josh Lux in his book said he took Jonathan Ogden to the Janet Jackson concert and that Jonathan Ogden was down there front row singing those songs at the top of his lungs.

Come on, baby. Let's get away. But it's 20-something-year-old Ogden. It's college Ogden, a big old 6-9 dancing bear of a dork singing Janet Jackson songs at the top of his lungs, and I need the footage.

I mean, the poor people who were behind him. Oh, my God. You are excited about your third-row seats at the Janet Jackson concert. until it is like obstructive view. Yes, it's like, you know, but you know what, though? You Jonathan Ogden, put a little mama up on your shoulder. I bet she'd love it.

Probably, but that is even more obstructive view for the people behind you. You can't be, can't go nowhere at 6'9. He could have put four of them on his shoulders if he wanted to. I sent you that picture. I assume you've seen it before. Yes, the Charlie. Yeah, he went to high school around here. Charlie Kravitz.

Yeah, but the same school is Charlie Kravitz. And it's a picture of Jonathan Ogden. and playing online. This is my favorite picture of all time, and it is to me a friendly reminder. Changing schools to play football, I don't know if it's that necessary, right? What you need to be is big and fast.

And if you're big and fast, we'll work it out because Jonathan Ogden was out there playing against the future diplomats of America in high school. Yeah, it's a, yeah, it's a, um, the school is a private school that is, and they, and that, um, the funny thing is, the league has gotten a lot more aggressive about recruiting football players. And my daughter's school is in that league.

They left it from a football standpoint because it's a small school that's like very academic focus. And they put effort into like recruiting basketball players, but they can't put together a football team where the kids won't, won't like get hurt because there's a small school and it's really hard to find enough big dudes at a small school that is. very competitive academically that somebody won't get hurt.

So they got to schedule their own games. They don't really got like a legitimate football team. They need to be glad Ogden was a nice guy. Right? Because a different personality type. Are we sure that some people ain't have to pay? I'm sure somebody paid, but I bet he apologized. Probably.

I'm guessing that some people ain't show up either. I wouldn't put my kids out there. No, no, no, no, no. What's this time for us to study film? I'm like, good. You can win that game. We're not, this ain't college. We don't need the money to go get beat up by LSU

so that we can fund this program. Coach, I forgot to tell you this. I don't know if you knew this, but I'm actually an orthodox Jew. Just this weekend. Once the sun goes down, yeah, I just, I just pledged. I just crossed last week, right? You know, you just started wearing, I just started, don't you see me wearing the colors, right? You and I see this hat.

Okay. So things are going to be a little different. And once the sun go down, I can't, I can't be out there messing with Jonathan. I mean, I got to go inside. Oh, yeah. I'm spraying my ankle on the opening kickoff. That's the other part, too.

He was probably in there playing defensive tackle. That's not fair. It's impossible. I don't know. Yeah, he was 6'9 in high school, 300 pounds, and more athletic than every. everybody. That's just not fair. And football, to your point, football is one of those games.

It's not like these other ones. Like, even in wrestling, you can only get hurt but so badly. Football, we keep going. You keep doing it. It's like, you just keep playing. It's just not fair. Wrestling, if he's really big and strong, you're going to pin me. It's over. In three seconds. Football, they keep putting these kids back out there against somebody who they just don't belong up against. It just don't work. Dominique Fosworth. Check him out on the Dominique Fosberts show because I can't go back and talk about that other thing again.

No, no. I just need to protect us in this show right now. Check him out on the Dominique Fosber show available. We're all five podcasts. I give it away for free. My brother, I appreciate you. Thank you. All right, ladies and gentlemen,

thanks much for joining us here on the right time. We do this four days a week, but next week we're only going to do it two days. Ryan Brumley handles everything behind the scenes. Thank you, sir. Hit the voicemail line 3-2-3-5-9-6-7-67-67. Remember, follow the right time. Subscribe, like, rate us, review us, give us five stars.

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