The Ringer NFL Show - Maxx Crosby Fallout, Daniel Jones Contract, and Checking In on the Bears, Cowboys, and Commanders!

Episode Date: March 13, 2026

Sheil is joined by The Ringer’s own Austin Gayle to analyze and debate some of the biggest free agency moves of the week and shine a light on the futures of those players and organizations. (00:00) Maxx Crosby, Daniel Jones, and FA updates on the Bears, Cowboys, and Commanders (00:57) Ravens rescind trade offer for DE Maxx Crosby (20:16) What now for the Raiders after the Crosby trade debacle? (29:34) Colts re-sign QB Daniel Jones (41:19) 49ers acquire DT Osa Odighizuwa (49:57) Bears offseason moves (55:58) Commanders defensive makeover Visit us in stores and online at https://Warbyparker.com/RINGERNFL The Ringer is committed to responsible gaming. Please visit www.rg-help.com to learn more about the resources and helplines available. Host: Sheil Kapadia Guest: Austin Gayle Producer: Chris Sutton Video Editor: Stefano Sanchez Production Supervision: Conor Nevins and Arjuna Ramgopowell Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Welcome to the Ringer NFL show. I'm your host, Shield Capati. So much to get to today. All the fallout from the Max Crosby, Trey Hendrickson, Ravens, Raiders, story that has dominated the headlines all week.

We've got to talk about that some more. And then the Colts, reach an agreement with Daniel Jones. The 49ers make a trade for Osa O'Digizua with the Cowboys. And then, you know what? We got to get to some teams. We haven't covered at length yet.

That's the Cowboys, that's the Bears, and the Commander. So we're doing all of that. We've got on my friend from the Ringer, Austin Gale. Let's take a break. We come back with Austin. All right, we are back here on the Ringer NFL show. With Austin Gale from the Ringer, who is, I would say, the most prominent Raiders fan I know, is Austin. And so I think I know where we have to start Austin.

And that is with the developments in this Max Crosby, Trey Hendrickson, Raven, Raiders story. We talked about it earlier in the week with Deontay. I said at the time, hey, in 12 hours from now, 24 hours from now, if the Ravens end up signing Trey Hendrickson, then I'm going to say, this is a little shady. They got some cold feet here. So we know what's happened since then. They signed Trey Hendrickson. Max Crosby goes back to the Raiders, says he's comfortable with the Raiders. Eric DeCosta says this, this hurts nobody more than him. He is gutted by what has happened here. I just want your big picture.

It was this on the up and up. A lot of reporting's been coming out on the athletic. Then there's some people given the Raven side that, nope, this was actually a medical issue as a Raiders fan, as an NFL analyst after having consumed all this information for the week. What do you think happened actually with the Baltimore Ravens and Max Crosby? I think that when they agreed to trade two first round picks, the Ravens agreed to trade two first round picks.

Remember, this is an organization that has never, traded a first round pick before. They traded two first round picks for Max Crosby on Friday night. They were feeling really good. They were excited by it. They were ready to rock with it. They had assumptions, I think, they were still going to be able to keep Tyler Linderbaum, and they were thinking, okay, we have Max Crosby. Yes, we dealt these two first. Over the weekend, as everyone, you know, a lot of analysts, media had kind of hit on, this is a uber aggressive play. They start to see some of that come in. This is an uber aggressive play. He's turning 29 years old. He's coming off knee surgery. He's got a lot of tread on the tires. He doesn't come off the field.

And they, I think, start to feel that in their stomachs. DeCosta, the owner Bashadhi, they start to feel that in their stomachs. Then Monday, because the NFL has this complete banana land thing called legal tampering period, they're able to now throw in new variables to evaluate this trade. Oh, we lost Tyler Linderbaum. That switches a gear for us. Oh, Trey Hendrickson isn't going to get 30, 32, 34 million dollars per year. He is going to be a more realistic price. Somehow the same amount of money we're going to pay Max Crosby. Then with the physical coming on Tuesday, all of a sudden, and I've seen the quotes, I've seen the reports, concerns long term, might have long term concerns with his knee. I see on Tuesday how easy it is to look at that physical and then think about we did trade two

first round picks. We did lose Linderbom. Hendrickson's on the line. He's literally in the building. Why don't we fail this physical? That's technically not illegal. We can do this, get out of this trade, get our first round picks back. That's the best football move. That's best for the Ravens organization. I think that's what happened. They did legally nothing wrong. But there's a reason this has never happened in the NFL before.

It's acting in bad faith. It's bad business. And that's why I think 30 other NFL teams here, 31 NFL teams are really upset with what the Ravens did. Well, teams have failed players on their physicals before and trades have been, you know, negated before. I'm going to play devil's advocate. And let's see if I make Austin mad or not.

I gave a lot of my thoughts on the previous episode, and I will give my actual thoughts here with the new information. But maybe this is a case, Austin, of all of you getting up in arms and being conspiracy theorists and saying, like you're saying, oh, all of a sudden, media analysts started saying this was aggressive. The Ravens have an analytics department. Eric Dacosta is an analytics savvy GM. You think he didn't know when he was trading two first round picks that this was an aggressive move and that this was an unravens-like move?

They've had all off-season to do the whole analysis. So they spent hours, days, weeks, maybe months deciding, is this the right move? They come to the conclusion that it's the right move. And maybe it's as simple as all of a sudden, Max Crosby's physical, their doctors say this looks a little different than what we thought. I don't know if you actually want to go through with it. Maybe the simplest explanation is what they're actually telling us happen. And all these anonymous GMs and sources around the NFL, there's all this is shady. they don't know any of the details.

They weren't in the room when Max Crosby was getting a physical. And if they actually think that that was shady, then they should be offering up two first round picks right now if they think Max Crosby's fine with the medical. So how about that, Austin? You say this is what they're saying. DeCosta didn't bring up in his press conference. The only official comments we've had from the Baltimore Ravens organization, by the way,

was when Eric DeCost, the GM went live at 2 o'clock Eastern yesterday. He didn't talk medicals at all. Why? That's because that's bad. Come on. That's bad. You can't just be ripping a players' medical. when you're sending them back to the Raiders,

that would have been a horrible look. If you're saying the reason is we thought, because they talked to Max Crosby's surgeon, they exchanged medical information before they made this offer. And you said this has happened before. It's never happened with two first round picks. It's happened with free agent deals. It's happened with like back-end trades.

It's never happened with this many first-round picks four days after it was made. Saturday, Sunday, Monday, where the Raiders spent $280 million in free agent contracts thinking Max Crosby was a raven. And then on Tuesday late, that's when the physical comes through and that's when they pull out of this deal.

The timing just doesn't make sense at all. I think that DeCosta's not bringing up medicals because if he comes out and says, this isn't what we thought it was, that puts blame on the Raiders. And they know they can't do that because the Raiders and the entire league were well aware what was going on

with this knee injury. What happened was they scheduled the physical late on Tuesday. They had new information to evaluate this deal. The physical, which they knew about, they knew about the knee. And obviously, Tray Hendrickson on the line

losing Linderbomb. I think with that new information, they said, yes, What we see in, I think there are long-term concerns with my knee. I think anyone's knee that's been surgically reconstructed, you could probably say this might have long-time concerns. I think that they looked at the knee, they factored the two first-run picks, they factored in that they could get Trey Hendrickson,

who signed 13 hours after they said that Max Crosby deal was off. Like, I think they brought in new information after the trade was already confirmed, right? You don't agree to that trade. And it wasn't like the reports were like pending physical. This is really important. He needs to pass the physical. It's like they were swapping him into Ravens jerseys. They brought him in his family to the building that next week.

Like, I think the Ravens know, and that's why does Eric DeCosta say, no one's more gutted about this than me? He knows it's a terrible situation, one that was done completely by the Ravens. Like, there's a reason why 30 other teams are really upset with this, too. All right, that was just, I was just doing an exercise there. Awesome. I believe that they got cold feet. Actually, I would call it double mind. I don't know if you ever heard of this.

This is a phrase my mom has used for years. I don't know where she got it. I don't know if it's an Indian thing. She brought it over with her when she immigrated to America. I don't know if it's a Capadia thing. Maybe it's been passed down generations. I don't know. But she said this all the time as a kid.

And my mom is a very indecisive person. She changes her mind all the time. So it's like one minute you want to go here for dinner to this one restaurant. Then 20 minutes later you say, no, I'd rather do this. One minute you say, you know what? Let's go ahead and let's book that vacation. And then the next minute you say, I don't know. It's kind of expensive.

Maybe we don't want to do it. This was my childhood. This has been my life. And I've got some of that indecision, and she always says, I'm having double mind about this. The Ravens got double mind here. As I've said previously, I don't know if they got any Indians in that front office. Maybe they were using the phrase double mind at their facility or not. But I'm with you.

I mean, the timing of this and some of the details that have come out, this just, it doesn't smell right. It doesn't smell right to me that all the medical information they had and then they get the physical and all of a sudden they become so concerned. made a key point with Trey Hendrickson. So I've heard people say, oh, come on, they, they could have just said, then why didn't they just say at the beginning of free agency, they were going to sign Trey Hendrickson? Well, two things. One is you don't know for sure whether you're going to get that player or not until it's like you and the agent agree to a deal. And your point about the money I feel like people aren't talking enough about because we both do salary projections for these free agents. And I thought Trey Hendrickson was going to be in like

the $31 to $33 million per year. range with the potential of going higher than that if a bunch of teams were involved. That ended up being 28 million per year, which might not, I mean, that could be a $5 million difference in what the Ravens thought the actual projection was going to be for Trey Henderson. So they start thinking about it more. And then Austin, this report from Diana Rossini, she said that the Ravens were going to sign Max Crosby to a revised contract that would have made him among the highest paid pass rushers in the NFL.

Listen, Crosby's agent fired back and said, that's fake news. I feel like Racine's reporting on this has been really, really good where it hasn't been spun one way or the other. And she's really reflecting what a lot of people in the league thing. So now if you add that to the equation, not only is it Trey Hendrickson or Max Crosby and two first round picks, it's Trey Hendrickson for $28 million per year or Max Crosby for who knows, high 30s per year and to a first round picks. and all of a sudden it crystallizes a little bit, and they sit there and they go, is this really the best use of resources?

We have it out. We might get ripped for it for one week in the news cycle, but this is what gives us the best chance to win the Super Bowl. Let's pivot. It's a dirty league. It's a dirty business, and we're going to do what we need to do. I think I've had notifications turned on for Deanna Rossini

on every platform I can find it. She's been fantastic this whole process. I think in the article from The Athletic, I thought it was notable that for the people they talk to, the executives they talk to you, no one thinks the league, Gaddell, is going to come down on the Ravens for this

because they know it's legal. The problem with this is it's bad faith, bad business. You had an agreement on Friday, three days later, one of which where the Raiders spent $280 million thinking this player was no longer on their team.

And now you pulled this physical where we didn't bring this up, but his surgeon says he wouldn't be prepared to pass a physical until June or July anyway. So the fact that you're even really like evaluating his knee at this point in time in his rehab is also kind of

bullshit. So, like, the whole thing is they got buyers remorse, they got cold feet, they saw the Hendricks and stuff, they saw they lost Linderbaum and they re-evaluated the trade. After it was agreed to, three days after it was agreed to, mind you. And that I think is, again, you brought up, like, it happens before, this has not happened. No team has traded two first-round picks

and then rescinded the deal three days later because of a failed physical. It's just never happened. I think, ultimately, like I said, I don't think the league or anyone's going to come down with them on this. I think it's the most you can hope for is a Crosby curse. You hope for a little bad karma here for a team that has had awkward. bounces in the playoffs every year.

As a Raiders fan, I'm personally rooting for it. I'm hoping there's karma off of this because it's insane to me that it's such a smart football play. It's such a smart football move by Bashati and DeKasta, but it overwhelmingly put the Raiders in a bad situation. And I think they've handled it really well, actually. I said right out of the gate that the best case scenario is Max Crosby sends out

the Leo DiCaprio meme from Wolfborough Street and says, I'm not effing leaving. He did the Undertaker meme instead. He's recommitting. They're telling teams he's playing for the Raiders. the lowest point of Max Crosby's trade value was Tuesday night. And if they tried to immediately take calls and turn these deals around, yesterday's price is not today's price.

Physical or not, they know now that the Raiders were committed to moving on from Crosby in December. So that's out of the bag. So these teams are calling saying, we know you're ready to move him. Let's go first and a third or first in change. And so the Raiders holding Pat committing back to Crosby, Crosby recommitting to the team, even if it's just for show, is the best case scenario for this team. Take them all the way into the season.

Take them all the way up to this year's deadline just to recoup some of that value. because you probably aren't getting two first round picks again. I do want to talk more about the Raider side of this. And what we actually think is going to happen now in a minute. But a few more loose ends here, Austin. I mean, there's just so many angles to this story. Honestly, we could do two hours on it. But the Ravens saying that they were going to try to bring Max Crosby in

and sign Trey Hendrickson. I'm sorry. You're going to trade two first round picks, sign them to a new contract, and then signed Trey Hendrickson for $28 million per year, given the state of year. When have you ever made a move like that? Is this position specifically in the history of the franchise? I'm sorry, I don't believe that for a second. I don't care what some of the reporting is.

Well, I believe they told Trey Henderson that because he's probably wondering, like, whoa, you guys agreed to trade for Max Crosby on Friday, and you guys are talking to me now? Like, what are you guys thinking? Oh, we're thinking on the fly here. They'll sign you both. And that's why, people are like, well, Tray Hendrickson said the Ravens told him this. No shit, they told them that.

Because I do think they're, I don't think ultimately that Vashati and DeCosta scheduled the physical for Tuesday, three or four days after the trade was announced, to have this opportunity to potentially pull out of the deal. I don't think they're mastermining it at that level. I honestly think variables change when they lost Linderbaum and saw what Hendrickson was available for on Monday. Then that started putting them into this mode where we're reevaluating everything.

And at one point in that conversation, someone was like, well, technically, because we're in the tampering window, we can back out of this deal if we don't like his physical. Buddy, you know what the loudest story in the league was this year? Crosby's knee. They sat him out for the two years, you know, sat him out for the two games, the knee surgery.

No one's going to back down and push back on this physical thing. And like, that's where you're at now. And so I think it was ultimately, like I said, a super savvy play where if like you're playing a board game and someone pulls out, you're like, that is actually insane. You screwed me, but it's letter of the law. And you made ultimately, like, I think a smart move. Now we'll see what happens with the reputation,

all that stuff, the voodoo. but like I ultimately think it was it was it was the right move for the Ravens given that they could do it technically. The Athletic had a deep dive on this. Jordan Roderig and Mike Sandow, two very plugged in reporters. They wrote that multiple agents, execs and coaches referred to Baltimore rescinding its trade offer as bad business with one prominent agent noting that NFL transactions are a matter of repeating business where relationships and trust matter. A veteran agent called the move a shock, but not a surprise. when you think of who is involved. So a little shot there at Raven, at the Ravens and Eric Acosta.

That was consistent with what two executives said about the Ravens' reputation for, as one put it, effing with people, the Ravens' reputation. So some juice there in that story. Another note here. Sources noted that anything discovered in the Raven's separate medical evaluation of Crosby should not have surprised them what Austin was just saying. The league at large has known the details of Crosby's meniscus surgery since mid-February,

NFL teams are allowed to exchange medical information during the negotiation process. It's not clear what information about Crosby was shared between the Raiders and Raven. So there you go. And then one last thing here from that story,

there was an executive who said, I cannot believe whoever did the Ravens Analytic said it will be better for us to not have two first-round picks with Max Crosby instead of having Trey Hendrickson with those picks, he said. I just can't believe that was said, and I can't believe that

analysis wasn't done in late February the first couple days of March. If they could not get Hendrickson, they were going to go through with the Crosby trade, in my opinion. They were willing to pay that premium in draft choices as insurance. I think that's true. And that is an interesting aspect of this. Austin, if Trey Hendrickson signs with the Indianapolis Colts or whoever is Max Crosby a Raven

right now. I think that there's a chance he still isn't and they're reevaluating spending elsewhere. I don't think like getting Hendrickson like secured that form necessarily. I think they re-evaluated

the Max Crosby contract or Crosby trade after the fact. That we know. They reevaluated the Max Crosby trade after they had agreed to trade him, which like even when you're saying that out loud is insane. And I think part of it was Trey Hendrickson. Part of it was losing Linderbaum. And part of it, I think was probably looking at his knee. Like we can't just like completely throw that out. I think they looked at his knee and ankle. All this stuff. Like they looked at his x-rays. They said there might be long-term concern. And then when you factor them in with the other information they were able to pick up on Monday and Tuesday, it ultimately led them to backing out. Now like there were questions about would they renegotiate and DeCasta completely deflected. And then you know, and just said this wasn't the right decision. I think that, to me, screams that, like, oh my gosh, this is the overwhelming right thing to do back out of this trade and go pull the trigger on Trey Hendrickson. But yeah, I mean, I think the real impact of this, honestly, like, Ravens got Trey Hendrickson. It was the better football move. They got two first round picks back. Let's go. Raiders, getting Max Crosby recommitted. You hope his trade value goes up. If not, you hope it

just dominates and it's revenge maxing all season. What really should impact this is we need to get rid of the legal tampering window. Like that, it makes no, the Raiders and Ravens wanted to get this done with Max Crosby before you could start negotiating free agent contracts, obviously because the Raiders wanted to spend a ton of money and the Ravens need to figure out if they're going to get Linderbaum back or whatever they're going to do. But the fact that you're able to make that decision before those negotiations can start on Monday, but the new league year doesn't happen until Wednesday.

It gives you this new window to reevaluate decisions that you're making. And I think ultimately that leads to awkwardness and blunders and weird mistakes like this that the league shouldn't have with a new. legal tampering window. Just move free agency. I think everyone hates it. I disagree. This is great for content. Keep the legal legal to go. We wouldn't have had this story to talk about. This is my favorite story of the offseason. There are some questions about, well, why did it, you know, did it take them a little? Again, they agreed to the trade Friday. Why wasn't he having the physical in their building until Monday? You could ask that question. It was Tuesday. They didn't have it until Tuesday. Why did they wait until

Tuesday. If they did this Saturday, then they don't have, then they don't maybe have that opening to say, let's evaluate all our options. Are we going to be able to find another edge rusher, that kind of thing? So again, many, many layers to this story. I don't think it's going anywhere. We got the owner's meetings here in 10 days where all the owners, GMs will be having a couple beverages with reporters surrounding them in some posh hotel. And they, I mean, it's a gossipy league. And this is the most gossipy story of the offseason. So there's going to be. be a lot more to come of this. All right, let's take a break. I want to come back, and I do want to talk a little more about the Raider side of this and what happens with Max Crosby. Then we'll move on to Daniel Jones and some other stuff happening around the NFL. This episode is brought to you by Warby Parker. You know, I used to wear glasses, and it was so complicated and overwhelming trying to

pick a new pair, so many styles to choose from, and don't even get me started on the price. This is why Warby Parker is great. Their virtual try-on is a total game changer. And when it comes to price, Warby Parker gives you quality and better-looking prescription eyewear at a fraction of the going price. Our listeners get 15% off

plus free shipping when they buy two or more pairs of prescription glasses at Warbyparker.com slash ringer NFL. after you purchase, they will ask you where you heard about them. Please support our show and tell them our show sent you. All right, we're back here on the Ringer NFL show. So you said it.

Max Crosby puts out the tweet, the Undertaker meme, happy to be a Raider. I think it's show. Now, is there a chance? He suits up for the Raiders in week one. There is a chance, obviously. If you don't get the deal you're looking for, there's a chance. I still think the most likely scenario, is that Max Crosby gets traded probably between now and the draft.

I think in terms of compensation, they're going to get a first and something else for him. I mean, I just think there's going to be enough teams that look at it after maybe a week, catch their breath and say, okay, we were really into doing this a couple weeks ago. The price has come down. We're not that worried about the medical. Let's go ahead.

let's call the Raiders again here. Now, the Raiders are trying to spin it. There's no doubt about it. You know, even pro football talk had a report that teams that are calling the Raiders are being told Max Crosby's not available here. But I can't shake the reporting around Crosby wanting to leave that his relationship with the organization was fractured because they told him they didn't want him to play last year. The Alex Guerrero stuff and the athletic that Guerrero's going around,

annoying everybody in the facility. And Crosby, that didn't sit well with him, that this guy's just. walking around making decisions. So I think everybody needed a little time to catch their breath, to reset. And to your point, I think it is maybe the smart thing to do for the Raiders. Don't just make a deal the next day. Chill a little bit. There's no huge rush here.

Now the teams have already signed free agents, but I still believe, Austin, that he's going to get traded. So where are you in terms of buying, actually, what the Raiders are selling here? I would say I'm probably 40% confident that Max Crosby will be a Raider in 2026. I do think that, I don't think the most likely scenarios that he's traded between now and the draft. I think that he's not even going to be healthy by then. Do they want to get into this bed again? Like, he's not even going to be healthy.

We just said that way. The whole league is telling us that was a farce that he's not healthy. So here, two things. One, he's not going to be healthy again. Two, I don't think the price you're going to get between now, which is, It's six weeks away before the draft. Like between now and the draft is going to be all that close to what the Ravens were offering because there's this perceived pressure that they're trying to move them, especially if they start answering those calls.

And especially if pro football talk starts saying they're fielding calls, the new price is a first and a third, they can definitely get something done. I think it's more likely if he is traded to be traded after the 2026 NFL draft when he's healthy, closer to the season, maybe when teams in their offseason has kind of gone final and they're looking at their roster and someone gets hurt in camp, whatever ends up happening, and they end up needing a pass-wester and all of a sudden, Max Crosby's trade values a little bit closer, he's healthy. That I think is maybe more likely than him being traded. And the other thing you get with that is you get all of your draft capital in 2027,

which is supposed to be this big draft class instead of getting a 2026 first and a 2027 first, you're getting a 2027 first and maybe a 27 second or third, whatever it is. I also think Max Crosby is not the type of player to hold out where like if the Raiders don't get a deal they like, and I don't think they want egg on their face in this. Can you imagine right before the season they trade Max Crosby for a first and a fifth? they're going to feel stupid and they're going to hate that day. I think they'd rather go into the season and play him. I think Crosby's the type of player where he's not going to sit out games.

He's going to play games and play him at the highest level. And I think there's also a chance that he hates the Ravens organization more than he dislikes playing for the Raiders, especially after the moves they made him for A&C, trading for Terran Johnson, resigning Eric Stotes, resigning Malcolm Coons. They promoted their defensive line coach to defensive coordinator, brought him the two linebackers, Dean and Walker. I don't know. At the end of the day, the Raiders are smart to make

this a show, but I also think it's more than likely, it's not more than likely, but I also think it's likely that he plays for them this season because they don't want to back down off the price that they got. All right, that was a good argument. You did convince me a little bit. I'm going to go 25% chance that he plays for the Raiders. That's fair. That's fair. In, uh, 2026. Now I have to ask, this is not a leading question. Again, you are a Raiders fan. This is a, you just said, this is a very tricky situation. The Raiders don't want to have egg on their face. Tom Brady. John Spitech, I won't say Alex Guerrero again. All right, I said it one more time. Alex Guerrero, whoever's making decisions, Mark, is what is your level of confidence?

Because they did do a good job trading him in the first place. They maximized value for Max Crosby. There's no doubt about it. What is your level of confidence that they can navigate this situation? And whenever it gets resolved, you say, all right, they actually made the best of a bad situation. My percent confidence in Alex Guerrero is zero. And I hope that all the stuff that's been made about him has pushed him into a dark corner where he's not involved as much as he was last year. My confidence in Tom Brady is one out of 10 because he tries to run the team from Zoom meetings and daily calls with John SpyTech. My confidence in SpyTech is probably maybe six, maybe even like eight out of 10. Because I feel like how he handled getting Crosby out, saying that he was confident Crosby would be a raider

in 2026 at the Combine and then weeks after trading him for two first round picks, maximum value to a team that never does it. He did a great job there. And then I think how they've responded to a once a generation never happened before a situation to say we're honoring all of our free agent deals. Max Crosby's a Raider. We're not fielding calls at that time in the immediate 24 to 48 hours after. I think he's the exact playbook you need to run. And we'll see what ends up happening of it. I think he knows and everyone knows that trading Crosby for cents on the dollar in the immediate aftermath of this or even as we get closer to the season is not going to feel good in the Raiders organization at all. So I think they're prepared and Max is prepared. He was in the building at 6 a.m.

the next day to play for this team. And I think, you know, Crosby's frustrations are with all the turnover in Las Vegas, right? All of the different coaches and the different GMs and all these different leaders. And I think those concerns may still be there with Tom and Guerrero having weird roles. No one understands. But his relationship with the team, the organization, Mark Davis, specifically, I think is still very good. And this investment they've made in the team with Kubiak feels like, and with Mendoza at the number one overall pick, assumedly, feels like their best chance to reset and what has been like a sea of resets over the last. two decades that we've had in quite a long time.

I think Crosby can buy himself into that, especially after they tried to do right by him. They traded him to the Ravens for two first round picks. He was celebrating it. And now the Raiders are actually the organization that's done by right him, right by him. And I think he wants to go on that revenge tour with us. The problem is

there's almost no scenario where I believe they're going to get two first round picks out of this. So now it becomes what, like, what is the price where we would sit here and go, they made the best of a bad situation? A first and a third. I mean, if they got a first and a third, I would be like, that's like, I can't. In 2027, right?

I think a big miss would be like you get a first and a third from 2026. It's like that doesn't help us at all. Those are known pick values. And it keeps us out of getting future capital in this 2027 draft that everyone's going to be looking to trade up for and get into. With the 27 first as well, like the value you get in like maybe trading to a worst team, a team that might not be picking in the 20s. Like all of this stuff can shift, right?

I think a first and a third, a first and a second, both in 2027, feels a lot different than even getting a first and in 2020. 26 and 2027. So I think they wait until after the draft. I think that makes the most sense if they are going to trade him. That would be savvy. That would be a savvy move or even if they traded him before the draft, but it was for 2027 draft capital because you know how these front offices get the closer they get to the draft, they're more confident they're going to nail it. Oh my God, this defensive end. We're going to draft in the third round. This is going to be the next Max Crosby. Why would we trade for Max Crosby? But if you're looking at 2027, even for what you're

saying, everyone thinks that's going to be a better draft. Still, teams, they don't have that in their pocket right now. They're not deep. They don't have a big board, you know, where everybody's been just staring at it for weeks saying this is who we're going to draft. We're going to make our team so much better. There's that process of convincing themselves. They're going to nail this draft that they're not there yet with 2027. So that would be a pretty savvy move if they did something like a first and a second, a first and a third in 2027. And to your point, that adds, can add some nice uncertainty. If you bet on a team that you think, hey, there's a chance like the bottom falls out for Team X this year, now all of a sudden that could be a better pay than what you were getting

for the Raven. So very interesting situation to see how the Raiders handle that. All right, any loose ends, Austin, any takes you need to get off about this story before we move on to the next one. I saw some throwaway trades like a first in Brian Thomas Jr. No, thank you. I don't want Brian Thomas Jr. with Fernando Mendoza out of the gate. And I also saw Max Crosby for AJ Brown straight up. I don't want that at all. I'm turning both those trades down if I'm a raider. I think you wait for 2027 capital and at first case, you have one of the best pass rushers in the league on an absolute revenge tour playing for your football team, a team that has been newly invested in with a new quarterback, first first overall picket quarterback since you're Marcus. There's reason to like that scenario and

say, hey, you know what, we got Max Crosby, we have the money to pay him. Let's keep him. Max Crosby for A.J. Brown in the second, are you interested? I'm starting to pick up the phone. I'm picking up the phone because you start to throw in some other capital. I think it could get there. Okay. We'll say. All right. That is the Max Crosby. It's not the last time we're going to be talking about that. We all know this is a very, very juicy story that we will continue to discuss. But other stuff's happening around the NFL. One team that might be really mad about this, the Indianapolis Colts,

because there were reports that they were in on Trey Hendrickson and maybe a finalist for Trey Hendrickson, but then he gets another suitor at the last minute in the Baltimore Ravens. But the Colts, the big news out of Indy, they agree to terms. with Daniel Jones on a two-year, $88 million deal with $50 million guaranteed. Now, Austin, I feel like I am, I have begun sort of this strange relationship with Colts fans. I feel like they're upset with me, but, you know, including our friend Anthony Dubundel, calling me a hater, because I've been kind of critical of some of the moves they made, maybe including this move.

So I don't want to give my take off the bat. You give me your take on what you thought when you saw that the Colt signed Daniel Jones to a two-year $88 million deal with $50 million guaranteed. I want to first pick apart the contract with you because I'm not fully sure if I understand it. This is essentially a one-year $50 million deal, right? Where next year, most of the guarantees, I think it's only $10 million in 2027 guarantees or guaranteed it signing or something along those lines. I don't think they even guaranteed until March 2027.

I think this is essentially like a one-year $50 million deal, which is a huge payday and a lot more than they were going to pay them on the tag. but this isn't like a lock steady to your commitment in your opinion, right? That doesn't what, that's not what it looks like in terms of the details that have been leaked out so far. That's correct, which would, you know, a little bit beg the, now they lowered his cap hit by doing it this way. So if you're wondering, well, why would they do that versus the tag where it was, I think, $38 million, but all of that money gets tacked on to your 2026 salary cap. That would be the reason. But still, you're paying a lot of money if this ends up being a one-year deal.

Absolutely. I think that for me, and I know you've mentioned, in this that like there may be other options than Daniel Jones, like Kyla Murray for the veteran minimum, even Tuotunga by Loa for the veteran minimum, other players potentially available that would make more sense for the Colts than them investing $50 million in potentially one year of Daniel Jones. I think the problem is Chris Ballard's on his last legs. This is all he has left. And he went all in on Daniel Jones leading this football team, wish and Staken with Alec Pierce, with all these guys right before he tore his Achilles, you know, trading two first round picks for Saus Gardner going, like really pushing the chips in,

you can't, I think, look ownership in the face and say, well, with this Achilles injury, actually, we need to pull back and we need to bring a new quarterback and figure out a new offense and guess what Chris Ballard's doing again, figuring out the quarterback position. I think ownership in Indy is like, we're done. You wanted Daniel Jones, you're going to have to get back on that plan again. The one that you look at me in the face said we could trade two first round picks for a defensive player. I think this is the team we can go to the Super Bowl with.

That, even though maybe it should change because Daniel Jones, tears his Achilles and he's almost going to be 30 years old. I don't think it could change because ultimately I don't think Colts ownership wants any more excuses with Ballard. They don't. This is the team you bet on. This is your last quarterback bet. And you're going to bring him back and

he's going to be healthy for week one. You're going to bring Pierce back. We're going to let you do all these things. And it has to work. And if it doesn't, you're the first out the door. It's a great lesson in how organizations operate differently when their stability and the GM feels good about his job. And he's thinking about the next three

five years versus a GM who is potentially trying to save his job and ownership has come out in very clear terms and said, this is it. So you could be right there. Now, that's kind of sad to me that you're trying to save your job and this is the move you're making, but you're explaining, I'm not saying you're convinced ownership of making, right? Like, he already told them like Daniel Jones is the guy. Like, him backing off of it, I think would look worse. It's like, actually, I don't know, like, we might need to start over again. But let's say it's, all right, let's say, Howie Roseman or pick whatever gym you like. If they're in that situation,

they're very easily able to have a conversation with ownership. Not very easily, but they would have a conversation with ownership. Listen, we made a bet on Daniel Jones. We traded the two first for sauce. Circumstances have changed dramatically. Where I thought we were, you know, you could tell us, we thought we were going to get him for that Sam Darnel deal.

Three years, a hundred million, you know, even if this year isn't great, we got our quarterback for the following two years. He's healthier. He's on a reasonable contract. We have a plan. in for the next three years. That's what a GM who has a good relationship with ownership who's not trying to save their job, you can very easily have that conversation.

And then you say, listen, if his agency wants to really push this and if they get to this number, we really have to think about a plan B. I know it's not what we plan for, but I think that's what's best for the organization. But they're not in that situation. I mean, if they just let Daniel Jones walk, what kind of contract is he getting on the open? He is not, no one, no other team in the NFL is paying him this kind of money. I mean, doesn't anyone in the Colts building bring that up? That literally no other team in the NFL would give him two years, $88 million with $50 million guaranteed coming off in Achilles.

If anything, he'd be waiting until August, maybe, you know, until they see he's healthy. So why are we doing that? Doesn't anyone in the building bring that up, Austin? I think they do. It just feels like this is a, human decision. Like, this is a human decision. I remember when Daniel Jones went down with the injury and half the locker and was like, oh my God, like, this is our leader. This is our, this is the guy that, like,

leads us into battle, shows us how to work, who's, like, helped our team so much. And like, I think Ballard is human in this. I think the, the overall, like, the decision makers are looking at is, like, we trust Daniel Jones. We're willing to give him this upgrade in terms of how much money. We're willing to pay them even more than we were on the tag. And we're locked into this decision. We're not really wavering on it. I think that should they mathematically or like analytically, looked at the situation and said, we're bidding against no one. We're paying $50 million potentially for one year for a quarterback coming off an Achilles injury. And there's arguably comparable quarterbacks potentially on the market for the veteran minimum.

I think Daniel Jones is a better bet than Tuot-Tung-Bailoa. But I think Kyla Murray, I think deserves a conversation. Though the offense you run with Murray is completely different than what you run with Jones, right? Like, Stuyken's going to have to completely re-event the wheel. He's not throwing over the middle as much, all that stuff. Like, for me, I think they were pot committed to Daniel Jones before the injury. They trade the two first-round picks. And then when they go into the off-season, I think they won.

wanted to sign Jones to a darnel-esque deal and then tag Pearson figure that out down the road. I think what ended up happening was Jones Camp wanted more, forced them to tag Jones, force them to rethink how they're going to handle the Pierce situation, and now they've kind of ended in this spot where they have no leverage, right? Ballard has no leverage. This is his plan. This is what he has to go through with. And when you have no leverage, you end up making these kind of short-term high-risk

decisions. And that's what going all in is, right? It's either a short-term, high-risk decision and you're out, or it's a short-term high-risk decision and you win. And ultimately the Colts have pushed their chips in on like an interesting crew of players. Part of me, like, as a friend of Anthony Dubundo is hoping it works out for them because they've been through such hell since Andrew Luck retired. But you can't look at this and say it's a low risk move.

Like all of this has baked in a ton of risk. And I would say the most likely scenario is that Ballard is out and the Colts don't meet expectations. Yeah, I'm really not trying to be mean. And I know I sound like a broken record. This is just a move. I'll be shocked if this works out for the Colts. I mean, he fractured his fibula.

He suffered an Achilles. injury in December. It sucks for him. I do feel for him. I understand the human element. He was on the trajectory. They were in a great season. They were one of the biggest stories in the NFL, but you can't sweep under the rug that he tore his Achilles in December. And Austin, you look at last year, he had eight above average games based on EPA per pass play. That's what we're basing this whole thing off of eight above average games. He started over 80 games in his career. Now he's coming off the injury. They lost their right tackling free agency. They lost Michael Pittman Jr.

I think that was a good trade for the Colts. But still, it's one way. You know, Michael Pittman Jr. had 80 catches for them last year. They don't have a first round pick this year. They don't have a first round pick next year. I simply cannot get to a point where the ceiling for the 2026 Colts is going to be anything other than a team that loses in the wild card round.

Like best case scenario. And here's the other thing that I think people are making enough of. If you're really sold on Jones being your long-term starter, you're like, that was real. what we saw last year and it sucks that he got injured, but man, we love this guy. Then guess what? I want him under contract for more than two years. Because now next year is he's coming off the Achilles.

It's probably not going to be perfect. If 2027's better and he's making progress, guess what? You're right back in the same situation. Now you're decided transition tag, franchise tag. How much money are we paying him? Oh, well, he was good for this many games, but he got injured this many games. Like, I just think you add all of this up, and I would have been yelling in the building,

this is not the right thing to do. I know people are asking, well, what else could they have done? You mentioned Kyler Murray, like, Kyla Murray has been a better quarterback than Daniel Jones. Like, he's been a better quarterback for their career. He's more talented. Yeah, they have to change the offense. I don't think Shane Seichen would have been like, oh, man, I can't work with that. He worked with Jalen Hertz in Philadelphia, even some of the,

And I know you're not promised Kyler Murray, but it's an option. Even some of the other guys, if you have a long-term view of the franchise and these other guys, Gino Smith, Kurt Cousins, it's not going to look great in 2026, but they're going to be between 1 million and 3 million per year. You have a great play caller. You feel like you have a good environment. I would have been like we have to take our medicine. We have to reassess our plan. And this is what we're going with.

Kyler, where I'll push back is like signing him to longer years. I don't know if that makes sense. Like, you want to be in the best case where, like, you're reevaluating to pay him more because he's playing really well, right? I think they also want it to be an easy decision if he gets hurt again or if he completely craters, right? And you say, like, obviously it was eight good games last year. It was, like, the third best offense by EPA we've seen this century.

Like, the best version of the Colts offense we've seen since Andrew Locke was with Daniel Jones and Alec Pierce. They brought those guys back. They lost their right tackle. Defense is going to lose some pieces. But I think Ballard and I think ownership is bought into this idea that, like, the best we've seen this team, play was with these guys and we have a chance to bring them back.

Let's get back on track. Let's move on from these injuries and see if we can make it happen. And if it doesn't, they don't want excuses, right? It would be a terrible situation to be in with Ballard. It was like Ballard's wants Daniel Jones with this other guy. Now they're considering bringing Kyler and switching everything up and changing the offense. Like you create these more excuses. You run the leash a little bit longer for Ballard.

I think they want this to be an all in bet for good or for bad. And I think that's honestly like you're right that are there long term concerns with the decisions they made? Absolutely. They went all in. They don't have a first round pick this year or next year. They spent all this money on Jones. They spent $29 million per year on Alec Pierce. They said, you know what?

This is it. We got one, maybe two years to be competitive. Let's try and make it happen with the team that we saw the best version of the Colts in the last 10 plus years. Listen, maybe this will be my version of my Sam Darnel takes last year, where I said, this C-Ax offense, it's not going to happen. They don't have it. And then I had an egg on my face all year long. So Colts fans, there you go.

Austin gave you the other side of it. Maybe it works out for them. and maybe I'm issuing apologies next year. They're over under for wins, Austin. It's eight and a half. They rank 10th out of 16 teams in odds to get out of the AFC. They rank 17th in Super Bowl odds. And they are paying Daniel Jones $50 million guaranteed with the GM,

maybe likely GMing for his job in 2026. So that is the state of the Indianapolis Colts after this offseason so far. All right, let's take one more break. Then we're going to come back. We're going to talk about a trade in the NFL and then maybe hit on some teams that we haven't discussed so far. All right, we are back here on the Ringer NFL show. Austin, fun little under the radar trade, I feel like if this was another time in the calendar where we didn't have the Max Crosby chaos, this would have gotten a little more attention.

But 49ers trade a third round pick, number 92 overall to the Dallas Cowboys for Ossa O'Digizua. We're going to talk about the Cowboys in a minute. But give me your 49ers take here. They bring in Evans, they make this trade for Odigizua. Do you like this trade for the Niners? And do you have any thoughts on just kind of them overall at this stage of the offseason? I like this trade for the 49ers. I think OSA is a good player.

I liked him coming out of UCLA, like a big, his wrestling career is actually insane. I think he never lost as a high school wrestler. He has like a crazy high school wrestling story. But getting him, he was drafted in the third round, what, four years ago, whatever, and you're getting him for a third round pick. I find it kind of puzzling that Dallas is moving. on from defensive tackles. They traded Ossa Diggi Zua for top 100 pick. They did a swap

to get Solomon Thomas, I think to the commanders who it was. But I think for the 49ers, that defensive line all of a sudden, Michael Williams, Alfred Collins, you bring in Osa, Nick Bosa's still there. I think it's a smart upgrade for them, and I think you're adding talent. My bigger questions are on Dallas

aside, like saying, hey, defense was weakness for us last year. Is Tradingway Thomas and Odigizua helping us? I know they brought in Otito Agbenaya, but I don't think that guy is, you know, taking them to the next level. They still have Quentin Williams. They still have Kenny Clark. I think it was kind of an under the radar trade. I'm not surprised the 49ers kind of gave up decent capital for him either, though. I think also Dickizua is an interesting player. I think he adds

something to the Niners defense that they're trying to get with other players, but I think he brings it right away. Yeah, he was one of the big free agents names just last year. The Cowboys bringing back, I think for 20 million per year. I like this move for the Niners because it was a really weak defensive tackle group in free agency. They're in Win Now mode. And Odigizua, last year wasn't his best year, but he was still 11th among defensive tackles and pressures. In 2024, though, he was second behind only Zach Allen.

And if you look at the last five seasons per ESPN, he's fourth among defensive tackles in quarterback hit. So he has been a very productive player. I think he's just a rock solid. I wouldn't even say rock solid. above average, you know, in that window between all pro and good player. Like, I think that's the window he's in. And you mention it.

Michael Williams coming back healthy, you hope. Nick Bosa coming back and you still have the draft here. I like that move for the 49ers. All right, Cowboys, end of it. You just mentioned it. This is a team we haven't talked about much that I wanted to talk about in this show. So you look at it. There are additions here.

Rishon Gary. They trade a fourth round pick for Roshan Gary. Safety, Jalen Thompson, they signed in free agency. That's on the defensive side of the ball. On the offensive side of the ball, they bring back George Pickens on the franchise tag. They re-sign Giovante Williams. And really, their only big loss, at least as of this recording, is Ossa Odigizua. How do you feel about the state of the Cowboys, the moves they've made, the direction they're going in this offseason?

I mean, I think offensively, they're kind of just bringing all the guys back. running it back. Yeah, they got Pickens back. They got Williams back, like you said, the five starting offensive linemen that they had last year are all going to be back. I think they're in a lot of ways kind of running it back with the offense.

I think defensively, they know they need to make changes along the front seven, especially after losing Micah Parsons' last offseason. That's why trading for Rashon Gary, I think helps them, but I still think they need to do work along the defensive line. And I have concerns really about the secondary. I like Jaylon Thompson, the safety they got over from Arizona, three years, $36 million.

but I think the corners, specifically, Sharon Ravel, I have question marks about, I think they need to add upgrades at outside corner. The defense, this feels like, I think Craig Horaceck of the Ringer Fantasy Football Show, like first said this, but the Dallas Cowboys are kind of like the bangles of the NFC, where the offense, you feel really good about on any given night almost, you know, putting up 35 points. But defensively, it's been a problem, been a problem for a while now. And I think that made matters worse when they lost Michael Parsons. And I still think they're recovering from that. They're recovering from that in the front seven and in the secondary as well. I think they know the kind of team they're going to be is when they have to score a lot to win.

And I don't think the upgrades they've made so far in free. Part of that reason being they don't have a ton of money has actually helped them, especially after you trade Osadigizu away, like you're taking pieces away from this defense that needs everybody it can get. With the Gary trade, would you have a role like if you ran an organization

that if a guy posts the Instagram message that he's being released, we can't give up more than like a sixth round pay. They give up a fourth round pick after that Instagram post. So I don't know that that was hacked, Sheel. He was hacked, right? I know.

Listen, I mean, what a hacker. Unbelievable. Yeah. No, I think the rule would be the price drops. Was that the funniest I was hacked in recent memory in the NFL? Definitely. Pretty good, pretty good. I also think, like, was the price a third round pick?

And then they saw that and they dropped it to a fourth? Or did the trade value, like, stay the same through the hacking? Like, I wonder how that all went down. Because a fourth round pick does feel a little rich for a player that posted a long-fell goodbye message to Cream Bay and then deleted it within like a couple minutes after. Yeah. He had a really weird season last year for the first half, very productive, and then he just kind of went quiet the second half of this season here. I'll be honest, I'm kind of bullish on this Cowboys team.

Really? I hear what you're saying. I totally hear what you're saying defensively. I still look at it, and I'm like, hmm, it's not the best defensive depth chart. But the fact that you bring back all 11 starters from an offense that finished fourth in EPA per drive and fifth in success rate, and you have the same offensive coaches with Brian Schottenheimer and their OC Clayton Adams. Like, I think that's a really, really, that's going to be a really, really good offense once again.

And then defensively, I'm not asking them to be a top 10 defense. You know, they had the worst defense in the NFL last year by EPA per drive. So now you get Quinn and Williams for a full season. And I think the big thing, you know, possibly a hipster favorite this season, Austin. Keep an eye on Cowboys defensive coordinator, Christian Parker, who was in Philadelphia, under Vic Fangio, Vic Fangio protege, players raved about him.

I thought he did a fantastic job with the Eagles where I feel like is there enough here to get them to like the 20th best defense? Because I think with that offense, if you give him like the 20th best defense,

this is actually a team that can challenge for the NFC East, certainly challenge for a playoff spot. And don't forget, they pick's 12 and 20 here. Now, I know rookies don't always like come in and play well right away, But imagine if they spent 12 and 20, maybe one on the secondary, one on the pass rush, whatever the case may be, they have a chance.

Christian Parker was the guy coaching those Eagles rookie defensive backs, you know, Quignon Mitchell and Cooper DeGine, who were on a Super Bowl team. So I really like this Cowboys team. I don't know that I see a huge gap between them and the Eagles. They're plus 220 to win the division. And I'm looking at it like the Eagles have all kinds of uncertainty with their offense. And if I believe that offense is kind of what is more consistent year to year, I feel like they have a chance to challenge and win that division, especially let's see what happens after the draft.

While you're honing in on Christian Parker, I'm going to hone in on Rishon Gary and Donovanezeraku and Sharon Revel and Reddy Stewart, like all these players on the defense that I don't have a ton of faith in. Now you bring up 12 and 20, I think that's great. Like are they a Mansour-delane team, the LSU corner that maybe could fall to 12? That 20, are they looking at Tennessee corner, Colton Hood? that's why like, you know, looking at over-unders or even kind of starting to project forward,

it's hard until you get through free agency or only a day in, technically, and then also after the drafts kind of fill where they're adding these, you know, kind of, or I guess like filling these holes. For me, I still think the defense is two steps back from even like competing for 20th and EAPE for drive.

And I think offensively, you're right. Like, I think things have to go well. But I also think, you know, there's just a lot of variables, I think, with the offense specifically and where they've invested, like people have to stay healthy. You're going against a really good division. I think the commander's improved in some ways.

So I don't know. I think the Cowboys, I'm always scared to buy the Cowboys because I feel like a lot of people are buying the Cowboys kind of almost every offseason. I still have concerns on the defense. I think the offense is going to be good, though. It should be good. It was good last year.

I think they're a playoff team. Check back with me in August. Right now, March, I can't believe you said we're a day into free agency. That's the craziest thing I've heard all week. That can't be true. See, that's why you've got to have the negotiating period because it feels like it's been about two months of free agency. It has.

It has. with all the stuff that is going on. All right, the next team we wanted to talk about, because we haven't mentioned that much, the Chicago Bears, Austin. You know, their center, Drew Dalman, he retires. They trade for Garrett Bradbury. They trade DJ more to the bills.

They release Tremaine Edmins. They lose a couple members of their secondary, Nashan Wright and Kevin Byard in free agency. Safety Jaquan Brisk are still out there. They add Kobe Bryant, the safety in free agency. They add Devin Bush, the linebacker in free agency. They add Khalif Raymond as sort of a wide receiver. or three special teams type player.

This is going to be a team, kind of like the commanders last off season, where everyone said this team's due for regression, look at X, Y, and Z. The Bears check a lot of those boxes. Yet I kind of still like the Bears. I have to see where I'm at after the draft. But what do you make of the moves they've made here

so far coming off of what was a really fun, really successful season for that? I think there are a different case than the commanders because I think a lot of that regression analysis was looking at, they were like 87% of fourth downs, which like the peak of the Tush Push era, the Eagles weren't converting 87% of fourth downs. And then also they had like the oldest roster in the league by Country Mile. Chicago's not that. And where the analytics will push back on them doing what they did again is all the comebacks, right? All the fourth quarter comebacks are going to be a big reason why people are doubting that. I do think that the experience they gained last year kind of understanding that they're not going to win all of those games, but they are in every single game. I think is going to hold through the Caleb Williams, Ben Johnson. year two. And the moves that they've made in the offseason, I actually kind of like how they've responded to some of the early stuff. I think moving on from DJ Moore was right. I think Luther

Burden is an ascending player. Roma Dunzee was hurt. They're counting on him being better this year. I love adding Raymond to the mix. They still have Loveland, the tight end, the rookie from last year, and also Colquette. The offensive line, they immediately go and trade for Garrett Bradbury. And I think that was after they kind of got the sniff that Lindelbaum was going to reset the center market by about 50%. You saw the Chargers sign Talar Bayottish, the other center, right before free agency started. I think teams started to know that the Linderbaum sweepstakes was getting out of control. So I think that was smart there. And getting in Devin Bush to play along

T.J. Edward, like, I really like what they did at linebacker bringing in Bush. I think that's a smart bet. It's a smart bet on Kobe Bryant as well. Now, replacing Nashon Wright, Kevin Byer, trainman admins, it's easier said than done. But I like the players that they've brought in. You're right that there's probably going to be some regression in terms of how many fourth quarter

comebacks can they pull off. But in terms of the early off-season moves, I didn't even mention them bringing in Jedrick Wills, who completely missed all of last season with this crazy knee injury. He also had like something where he had to like realign his femur with his hip. But that's a nice low risk flyer for a position that they need help with. Ozzie Tripilo, their left tackle, ruptured his patiller tendon in the playoffs last year. One move I'd like for them to make to be this little cherry on top of what I think has been a solid offseason. Go get Taylor Decker. Lions just released him. Ben Johnson has

experience. You have injury concerns at left tackle. Decker has been largely for most of his career, or someone who's playing 800, 900 snaps every year. Bring them in as this short-term option as you're figuring out Trapilo, can Dredrick will suit up? You add Taylor Decker to the mix. They bring in Bush. They added Kobe Bryant.

I think they've added good players. They haven't overspent really anywhere. They offloaded DJ more in a good way. I don't know. I think overall smart off-season moves for the bears, even if none of them are like pushing them over the top or if they broke the bank for anyone. I think that's the big question is,

is that big move still yet to come? We talked about Crosby earlier. if I had to pick a team that was going to trade for him, I think they would be one on my list right now. I think that would be a very interesting move if they were able to get Max Crosby. And now you have a game wrecker up front for the next, whatever, two to three years until his leg falls off,

as the Ravens would tell you. And you try to win a Super Bowl. You're trying to win a Super Bowl with Caleb Williams on his rookie deal. So I think that's certainly one to watch. But I'm with you. They've made quiet moves, but they've made smart moves.

They haven't signed these contracts. where you're like, oh my gosh, what are they doing? They did a nice job. Max in compensation, I think, for DJ Moore. And then left tackle is still their big question, to your point. You know, guy goes down in the playoffs, might miss the entire season. Are you going to try to piece that together? Or are you going to make a bigger move, whether it's in the draft, whether it's Taylor Decker,

whether it's a Trent Williams trade. I don't know if that's actually going to happen or not, but there are some options out there. So, yeah, I don't think we're close to being done here and from the Bears this offseason. I think it's interesting you bring up Crosby. They feel like exactly the kind of team that they get to July and they're going through camp and they're looking at De Ode Inbo

and Montez Sweat and they're saying, man, this still isn't where we need it to be. It's still going to be a weakness. We called immediately after the Ravens backed out and the Raiders were not even interested in picking up the phone. We were offering, say they were offering a first and a third

or first and a depth player or whatever. But as they get closer to the season, are they a team that re-evaluates it and says, hey, Would you do a first and a second in 2027? Like, is Crosby. And like that, that I think is going back to how we started this conversation. Like, that's exactly why playing the long game a little bit with any team that's interested

in Crosby is ultimately kind of the right move. And I think the Bears and some other teams, maybe the Lions are going to get closer to the season and have a real grasp of what their edge pressure is going to look like and say, wait a second, is Crosby still available? Maybe we do get into the mix at a first and a second or whatever ends up being. You got that second for DJ Moore, you know? You got some draft capital there. to use. And that would be interesting if the Raiders were like, we want your 2027 pick because

we think you're going to regress in 2026 with these one-score games. But yeah, I'm keeping an eye on them. I like what they've done so far. It hasn't been anything crazy. I think they got defensive players that fit Dennis Allen's scheme. I trust them on offense until Ben Johnson gives me a reason to not trust them on offense. I think Caleb Williams is a guy who I want to see where I'm at again in August. But are we talking about him as, hey, sleeper, we're doing a sleeper MVP. show and we say Caleb Williams is taking a monster leap this year if they surround him with some different pieces. I think that's certainly in play. All right, last team I wanted to get to that we haven't talked about so far. I haven't done the math on this. It feels like they've added

more players than maybe any team in the NFL. Not most dollars. I think that's still the Raiders, but most players, the Washington commanders. I mean, this has sort of flown under the radar that their defensive makeover, I think is a big, big offseason story where they, They brought in this guy, Durante Jones, who is not a, you know, Vic Fangio protege, who is not some of these other coaching trees. He is a Brian Flores protege. That's the style of defense they're going with. And so they said, all right, who are the players that can fit this defense?

Odate A.O.A. and K. Levin Chason at Edge. Cornerback of Meek Robertson. Safety, Nick Cross. Linebacker Leo Chanel. I mean, that's like, what did I just name? One, two, three, four, five. potential new starters that they have signed here in free agency. It is massive turnover on their roster.

And I don't have any issue with any of those additions. Like, I don't know what you think about the O-A-1. You can tell me here in a second. That was the one, you know, $25 million per year. The other ones were all a reasonable contrast. It kind of comes down to whether new defensive coordinator, who we have no idea if he's going to be good at his job or not, Durante Jones can put these pieces together,

and they can be a much improved defense because that defense stunk last year. Is it even confirmed that the new DC will call plays? Because I know Dan Quinn took over a little bit last year and I wonder if he's going to relinquish those duties to this guy now because to me, my reaction to them signing all these guys is there's a little pressure on Dan Quinn to fix this defense.

I think last year there were 32nd and yards allowed per drive, 31st in EPA allowed per drive. And this is Dan Quinn. defense. This is Dan Gwynne who took over play calling duties last year. So I think they go into free agency and they say, hey, you can't upgrade the defense. Go get Amicraub. Go get Amiq Robertson for a cheap deal. Go get Chaseon, Amenahue. They pay Odafet O.A., that four-year, Hunter Mill. Go make upgrades to this defense because at the end of the day, they moved on from Cliff Kingsbury, by the O.C., that kind of everyone was excited about Jaden Daniels' rookie year and you couldn't

bring up Jaden Daniels without bringing up also Cliff Kingsbury. They move on from him. They bring in David Blow, who has only been coaching in the NFL since 2024. He's kind of like the Sean Mannion, the Philadelphia Eagles. O.C. A guy who played quarterback backup for a while and is now calling plays for the first time ever. So you have a first time O.C., a D.C. that maybe starts the season calling plays, but Dan Quinn could take over. And then this massive, massive investment, if not money and bodies to upgrade the defense every year, which you could argue they needed to because the defense was so bad last year. But I think the fact that they're able to get all these guys and so much of the priority is adding bodies on defense.

I think there is pressure on Dan Quinn into this year to maximize what they have with Jaden Daniels on a rookie contract. who I think everyone in the organization, if the offense doesn't look good this year, they're blaming Blow and Dan Quinn before they're blaming Jaden Daniels. Because I think overall in D.C., there's this, I think, overall, this opinion that Jaden Daniels is not maximized yet

versus fans starting to have or organizations starting to have second thoughts on the quarterback and his talent level. So I think there's a lot of pressure on this coaching staff, and that's been reflected in just how many players they brought in. The only offensive players they've signed, tied-end Chikikikonquo,

and then Rashad White, the running back over from Tampa Bay, which are two interesting flavors into this offense, but I still have concerns what they're receiving core. They have some questions along the offensive line. I think there's a lot of pressure on this coaching staff that's going to have to go through a lot of newness on defense. Ultimately,

if you're a Washington fan, you're kind of like hoping this all kind of works out, but I also wouldn't be surprised and it almost feels more likely that they try to make a bunch of moves. It ultimately isn't enough, and there are legit questions on, do you bring Dan Quinn back? Do you just reset the dice and try and find someone else who can maximize Jane Daniels?

Yeah, I have no idea what to make of them, to your point. And we'll see if they sign, if they add Brandon Ayyuk. But you're absolutely right about the pressure on the coaching staff. And when you change both offensive coordinator and defensive coordinator, like a big part about being a head coach is basically nailing those two spots. And now you're doing it with two guys who have not done it before. I mean, two both sides of the ball. And it looks like Joneses expected to call plays on defense.

So these are big swings where if you nail them, you look really smart. Like I can identify coaching talent where other people camp. These were under the radar guys. now look what we're doing. We're zinging while the rest of the league is zagging. If you don't nail them, you might be out of a job. Now, I do wonder about the front office as well with Adam Peters. The Kingsbury thing was just weird to me where it felt like he clashed with somebody.

Now, was that person Quinn? Was it Daniels? Was it Peters? Was it two of those three? I have no idea. I don't think that we've gotten definitive reporting out of that. But just watching the on-field product every week, you didn't look at the commanders and be like, oh, you know, Cliff Kingsbury is the problem with the commanders last year.

I don't think anyone looked at it that way. So we'll see what, I still like Jaden and Daniels a lot, but you have to have some uncertainty. You know, I don't even know how you project this team. I have no idea of the offensive coordinator. They could be the worst offensive coordinator and defensive coordinator in the NFL. Maybe they found the next Ben Johnson. Maybe they found the closest thing to Brian Flores.

And we're saying a different story. So it's just a wide, wide range of outcomes where you feel like if they, don't at least make the playoffs that it feels like there's going to be a lot of change in Washington after next season. So I'm with you there. I wonder what the investment on defense in freeancy means for what they're thinking at number seven in the 26 NFL draft because I think there is a good chance. The best player available is going to be potentially a linebacker in Sunny Stiles or a safety in Caleb Downs where you can kind of continue to throw resources at the defense.

Dan Quinn's defense or this new guy's defense. I think they're going to probably split responsibilities by the end of the year. Or I think they are a Jeremiah Love team, the running back out of Notre Dame. I think if Jeremiah Love does get to 7, I think they're going to kind of push the Card in and say he's the best player available. They did. I think they need more at running back than Rashad White and Bill Kroski-Marrett. I think Jeremiah Love is kind of a game-breaking talent. Or are they saying, you know what, we might force the first receiver off the board at 7

because we know we need to kind of figure out what we're doing there. Because Terry McLaurin, I think, is entering his age 31 season coming off a pretty injury-plagued 20-25 campaign. and I love the McCaffrey's as much as anybody. I don't think Luke McCaffrey being your number two receiver going into the season is all that great. They're not going to have Debo back. So what they do at 7, I think is going to fascinate me because is it a long-term investment in the defense or do they force a skill player? Because at the end of the day, yes, you added a Conquo.

Yes, you added Rashad White. This offense simply doesn't have enough playmakers outside of Jane Daniels. It's a really weird roster. It's like I like Daniels. I think the offensive line has a chance to be good, although releasing Biotish, That was sort of a weird move and then he gets picked up by the Chargers right away

but I think the offensive line is decent but everywhere else I look and I'm like are they above average at any other position? I think the answer is probably no, just doing it in my head. Wide receiver no, tight end no, running back, no, defensive line, no, lineback no, cornerback, no. And secondary

and safety, no, I would say. None of those spots you would say they're definitely above average. So they got a lot of moves to make still with this roster but they're putting a lot on these new coordinators to kind of fit it all together with these new pieces. Again, I don't hate any of the moves they made on defense. I think those are pretty interesting players at reasonable prices. I'm just not sure yet whether this DC can piece it all together and the whole can be greater than the sum of the part.

So there you go. Commanders, Cowboys, Bears, we'll continue to do this. We'll get to the other teams that we haven't talked a lot about in free agency and we'll get to the news as it breaks here over the next. next several weeks leading up to the NFL draft. All right, thank you very much to Austin Gail. Thank you to Christopher Sutton for producing Stefano Sanchez on video and additional production supervision by Connor and Evans and Arjuna Ram Gopal. I'm Shiaa. We will talk to you next time on the ringer NFL show. 21 plus and present in select states for Kansas in affiliation with Kansas Star Casino or 18 plus and present in DC, Kentucky or Wyoming. Gambling problem. Call 1-800

gambler or 1-800 My Reset. Call 1.000. 888-7-8-8-9-7-77 or visit ccpg.org in Connecticut or visit MD gamblinghelp.org in Maryland. Hope is here. Visit gambling helpline-ma.m.m.m.m. or call 800-327-50-50 for 24-7 support in Massachusetts or call 1-877-8-Hope-N-Y or text Hope N.Y in New York. For Louisiana, call 1-877-770-7867.