The Ringer NFL Show - QBs Most Likely to Get Benched in 2025 With Steven Ruiz

Episode Date: September 3, 2025

Sheil is joined by The Ringer’s own Steven Ruiz to talk about some of the quarterbacks around the league who are starting for their respective teams in Week 1 but are likely on a fast track to holding a clipboard on the sideline. This includes: Daniel Jones Russell Wilson Justin Fields Joe Flacco Sam Darnold Sheil then ends the pod with an examination of the media aftermath of the big Micah Parsons trade last week. The Ringer is committed to responsible gaming. Please visit⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.rg-help.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to learn more about the resources and helplines available. Host: Sheil KapadiaGuest: Steven RuizProducer: Chris SuttonSocial: Kiera Givens and Brian WatersProduction 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 Capadia, with my friend Stephen Ruiz, and we are talking shaky quarterback spots today. This is an assessment of the most vulnerable, uncertain quarterback situations and how those situations might play out this season. So anyone can do, you know, coaches on the hot seat. We're kind of doing starting quarterbacks on the hot seat. And so the exercise is simple here.

We each ranked week one starters, most likely to get benched at some point. this season and how early will they get bench? So next week, Monday and Tuesday, Ruiz, when everyone's saying, settle down, it's early. It might not apply to these guys. These might be some quarterbacks who have to have a sense of urgency

because their starting spot might get pulled pretty early in the season. No, the more I thought about it and the wider I cast at my net and consider guys that are not on my radar for getting bench, the more I realized, maybe like guys 22 through 32 all have, a shot. I'm not saying like those

early 20s guys are going to get bench, but I'm saying I can envision a world a scenario where that does happen. Okay, well, I'm excited for that because I felt like there were a few obvious choices and then I kind of had a harder time after that, so I'm curious to see how many of our picks align and what this looks like.

So let's take a break. We come back and we talk about quarterbacks most likely to get benched during the 2025 season. This is the Ringer NFL show presented by Fandul and the NFL is officially backed. So if you're going to be in it, be in it with Fandul. They've got the goods, futures, live betting, SGPs, Your Way bets, all of it. The apps clean, it's fast. And yeah, when you win,

you get paid instantly, which is nice because Sunday patience doesn't exist. So get your bets in, build something bold, and make every game feel bigger. Download the Fandul app or head to fandul.com slash ringer NFL to get started. The ringer is committed. to responsible gaming, please visit RG-Help.com to learn more about the resources and help lines available and listen to the end of the episode for additional details. Must be 21

plus and present in select states. We're 18 plus and present in D.C., Kentucky or Wyoming. Gambling problem. Call 1-800 gambler or visit RG-dashelp.com. Call 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org slash chat in Connecticut.

Paid endorsement. All right, we're back on the Ringer NFL show. All right, get us start. Who is your number one pick here? The situation where you say maybe it's only a matter of time, but I am very confident that at some point, maybe early in this season or midway through the season, this team's going to make a quarterback change.

I'm going to go with Daniel Jones. I'm going to go with the quarterback change that I think caught a couple of people by a few people by surprise when it was announced a couple weeks ago. But my basis for picking Daniel Jones in Indianapolis is just the track record, the recent track record, the injury, the neck injury, I think totally warped Jones's game to the point where I don't know how he's going to be useful for this offense. We talked about it on the pot a couple weeks ago.

But also the decision making. If a big part of the Colts going with Daniel Jones was how he takes care of the offense and putting the offense in safe hands, adult hands, I don't know Daniel Jones is your guy. I always used to joke. Don't compliment Daniel Jones mid-possession. Don't do it in the middle of the drive because he's going to, He's liable to do something boneheaded by the end of the drive.

And I just think that if that's the basis for starting him, I know Shane Seichen has said, we're not going to give him a short lease. We're going to make him the start of the whole season. But I've heard Shane Seichen say that he wasn't going to bench Anthony Richardson and then do it the very next day last year. So I'm not buying it. And I think Daniel Jones has kind of been set up to,

I want to say fail, but I think fans in Indianapolis are going to be very loud the first time he makes a mistake. I was an interception against a sack pumple, something like that. it's not going to be a fun experience for them to watch Daniel Jones. I think you're right. And they were number two on my list. So I had one quarterback and one team ranked ahead of them.

But they have to be on anyone's short list. And you're so right there. Why has there been this sort of amnesia about like Daniel Jones in recent years? Again, they were. Sam Donald and Baker Mayfield. Yeah, okay. All right. I feel like there's just been two versions of him.

You know, there was the version that was kind of exciting in 2022, that he can run and he looks healthy. and he actually has tools. He was a toolsy quarterback, but to your point, he's had the injuries, and we are, you know,

three years removed from that season. And he had every opportunity with the Giants on a big contract for them to give him every chance to say, hey, show us you are that guy or some version of that guy. And it didn't happen. And it sucks for him because I do think the injuries played a role in that.

But just statistically, 36 quarterbacks with at least 500 dropbacks to the last two seasons, he is last in EPA per pass play. Below, Will Levis, Desmond Ritter, Sam Howell. I mean, some of Ruiz's favorites from watching the film during the week and doing quarterback ranking. So I'm with you. I was thinking about how does this work for Daniel Jones?

Like, they would have to win games right away. And they get the dolphins, the Broncos, at the Titans, at the Rams. So it's not like the hardest schedule. Can they squeeze out two and two there? But this is an organization, to your point, that just changes its mind based on how the wind blows. And I think there's going to come a point. It's just a matter of when where they're just like,

all right, yeah, let's try Anthony Richardson now maybe he learned something but they don't really have a plan. Yeah, that's the only thing that's like giving me pause is the schedule. I think that Broncos game

could get very, very ugly if the Broncos are just attacking him and we see the Daniel Jones where I think goes into a shell more easily over the last couple of years since the neck injury. And back to your point

about him being tools he likes, he pushed the ball downfield. He wasn't always accurate, but that was like the best part of his game was the, the rhythm of his passes on downfield passes, the weight of his passes, he gave his downfield receivers a chance. Like, Gary Slayton had a very good rapport with him.

I would say an underrated report, especially on deep passes. But we haven't seen that. And I think that there was a trade-off with him where he kind of had the darnal thing where he's kind of oblivious in the pocket to pressure. And it's almost a good thing at times because you're going to hang in there and throw it downfield. But now he's not really that kind of guy. And then he's not pushing the ball downfield.

So it's like the worst of both worlds instead of the best of both worlds there. I really don't see the value, but I think, like, they do, they don't play a murderer's row of defenses, but I do think they play defenses that can make a quarterback's day look very ugly. Like the Broncos I already mentioned, LA, we saw that against Darnold. I think you could see, like, a big sack game there. The Cardinals, they throw these tricky looks at you defensively, and Jonathan Gannon kind of got that up and running in the second half. I can see him throwing a couple picks there. The chargers were similar in that they didn't, they bent, but they didn't break, and they forced turnovers.

that if he starts throwing away these games and the by-week comes up mid-season, I think there's going to be a rallying cry from fans, and I think the Colts are going to give into that pressure as they already have. Yeah, I think you're right about that. We'll see. Maybe he'll say, hey, this is the healthiest I've ever felt,

and they'll be able to use him in the run game because that was the big thing in 2022, as he was a big factor in the run game and hasn't been the case since, and maybe he'll look more like that guy, but yeah, I just don't think that's the most likely scenario. So I think that's a good number one pick for you. all right, I've got the Giants and Russell Wilson

and Jackson Dart being named the number two quarterback behind him. I just think, and I think you can speak to this, but Russell Wilson is the type of quarterback that really annoys a lot of the coaches he plays for, especially this version of Russell Wilson, when you're not winning games, like there's stuff you could live with with Russell Wilson when he was improvising and creating and hitting shots down field.

When that gets taken away, now he becomes an annoying quarterback for coaches because they're like, you're not doing what we practiced. You're not doing what we coach you to do during the week. The ball's not going where it's supposed to go on this play. And meanwhile, they got Jackson Dart at number two. And Brian Daibald, if you've been reading the Giants coverage,

he does seem smitten by his rookie quarterback, which is not uncommon in the NFL. But it just feels to me like there's going to come a time, maybe early in the season, where Dave Ball looks at it and says, I'm coaching for my job. My best shot here is to show that I can develop a young quarterback who shows some promise where we get to the end of the season

and ownership's thinking, hey, Dave Ball and Jackson Dart, let's give them a shot for one more year. So I don't know how early it's going to come. They're at Washington, at Dallas, home against the Chiefs, home versus the Chargers. They also have the hardest schedule in the NFL, so it's not like, hey, once we get through these six weeks,

we're going to be, okay, so I don't know when it's going to come, but I would have them first on my list of, if we're saying how early, like if it's a pool, you know, like a baby pool or something, I think I would have them first on my list. Yeah, I consider them first, definitely, because fans are going to want to see it after Jackson Dart lit it up in the preseason.

But, and I do agree with your point that this is Daveau's last chance, and Russell Wilson doesn't run the offense as designed. And if I'm him, I don't want to go out with a guy that's not even running my offense. I want to go down with the ship, so to speak. But if I'm dayball, I think my best chance at retaining this job and coming back again next year

is kind of banking that good energy you got from the preseason and not ruining it, not exposing Jackson Dark. Because if Jackson Dark goes out there and he's bad, you have no shot. You have no chance. One, the team's going to be bad. And then two, you can't even go, look, we're on the right track with the quarterback.

Now, if he doesn't play a game, if he doesn't see the field at all, then you could be like, oh, you remember Jackson Dart? Remember how excited I was? You remember how excited you guys were watching it? Like, I'm the guy. I'm the guy that wanted him.

I'm the guy that's brought him along over the first training camp. I had him looking pretty good in preseason. Imagine what I can do with a full off season with him. Imagine what this is going to look like next year. There's only one way to find out, and that's to keep me around. So it's a job preservation thing for me. But if I'm Brian Dayball, like I'm folding here. I'm holding here.

I'm not putting my cards on the table anymore in 2025. I love this because it's one of my favorite storylines in the NFL, which is sort of the inter-office politics. And so if Dave Ball can say to your point, I want to Dart and you guys saw Dart in the preseason, but you know, you signed Russell Wilson and you wanted me to play him and he didn't have it, but I was doing the best I can, you know,

just trying to be a good company man. But, you know, you got to give me a shout with Jackson Dart next year. I mean, you saw that, so that's it because you're right. If he plays him, and by the way, I want to know where you are with Jackson Dart because we talked about him during, halftime. I know you watch a lot more preseason than I do. I'm looking at, you know, the Jackson Dart headlines and the hype. And this is another one where I feel like people have

amnesia. Like I remember Kenny Pickett in 2020. I have some headlines here for you, Ruiz. I actually did prep for this part. 2023. Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett, highest graded quarterback in the preseason. He started 12 games for the Steelers and was traded to the Eagles after the season. Zach Wilson looks NFL ready in Jets preseason win. That's from 2021. Jets went 3 and 10 within that season. He was a rookie. We know how that went.

This is my favorite one because I left Philadelphia to take a job to cover the Seattle Seahawks in 2015. And I went to cover a Seahawks Chargers game. And I got back to my hotel and was checking my messages. And it was all my friends in Philadelphia going, you left at the wrong time, man. I can't believe you. Because you know why, Rui's that night when I was. was covering Seahawks Chargers. Sam Brad, you remember it.

See, this guy is a sicko. I mean, he's remembering a preseason game from 10 years ago. Sam Bradford looks unstoppable in Eagles win. That's the headline I found. He went 10 for 10 for 121 yards and three touchdowns, and he started 14 games that year before the Eagles decided they need to trade him for Carson Wentz. So all I'm saying is settle down on the preseason stuff,

but Ruiz, your assessment of Jackson Dart with kind of the information you have right now. I think it looked better than I expected it to look. But to all your point, it's preseason. Like, the looks aren't going to be the same on defense. I think the game plan, you can't run an RPO heavy game plan, which I feel like Brian Dayball kind of set him up for it, just the easiest transition to the pros, because that's what he ran at Ole Miss.

It's not applicable to what we're going to see during the regular season. But I do think he showed some good traits, like his pocket presence was better than I assumed it would, not being in a dropback offense at Ole Miss. I thought he showed a little more. with his mobility and being able to avoid pressure in the pocket. So I do like parts of his game, but I think people are just looking at those box score numbers

and just being like, oh, yeah, he must have been good. But even if you watch some of it, like the last game we played, I think against the Patriots, he had that one RPO touchdown. And yeah, it's a touchdown. And people are like, oh, look, Jackson Dart's getting the ball out on time. He looks pro-ready. It was an RPO, so of course he's getting the ball out on time.

And two, it was a catch, but it was not an accurate pass by the means it was kind of behind the guy on the back shoulder. So, like, I just think that I don't think you should be looking into the film at all like that. I shouldn't be judging him based off those two plays, but I also don't think you should be buying a bunch of stock in him just because he put up good numbers. Because like you said, we saw it from

Kenny Pickett a couple years ago, saw it with Zach Wilson. I remember that the Zach Wilson hype after his rookie preseason. And then Sam Bradford's the one I thought of. A gold standard is burnt in my brain. That Packers game, I'm telling the first two drives, I think it was. They looked unstoppable. I was drinking

the Kool-Aid too, because that was the year after, I think, was that the year after Nick Foles? Or I forget, but it was like, oh, Chip Kelly has his quarterback now. It was. Chip Kelly made that trade, but it was all downhill from there. It looked nothing like that during the regular season. Right. And the point is, yeah, I want to be clear.

I'm not saying Jackson, Dart stinks. Like, he could be good. The hardest thing to predict is rookie quarterback performance. I'm just saying, in my opinion, and if you're a Giants fan, you can get hyped. You haven't had a lot to cheer about. So this isn't me scolding you. But if you're not a Giants fan and looking at it objectively, I would say settle down.

Let's see what it looks like in the regular season here with Jackson Dart. That's all. And it's better than him being bad. Yes. Absolutely. Absolutely. All right. Let's take a break. We come back.

Now it gets a little more difficult. I think those were the top two, Colts and Giants. Which other teams might have their starting quarterback in week one benched early midway through the season. We'll talk about that when we come back. This episode is sponsored by American Eagle. So it's official. American Eagle just launched their exclusive limited edition collab with true colors by Travis Kelsey, and we could not be more excited to check it out. From sweater polos to loosen baggy pants to comfy sets, there's literally something for everyone. They also dropped a handful of incredibly comfy graphic teas that you can easily wear on repeat with relaxed cargoes or jeans. If you're a huge fan or just love the collab, shop the first drop now before it's gone. You can check it all out at A.e.com or just go to the store. All right, we're back on the Ringer NFL show.

All right, Ruiz, who is next on your list here? I can go with the obvious one in Cleveland just because there's so many options there. But I honestly don't know if those backups are going to threaten Joe Flackos. I'm going to do a little bit of a reach. I'm going to go Justin Fields on this one. I know there was a lot of money invested in Justin Fields. But what are we in? In year five now, year five.

And I still, I don't know about you, but I still haven't seen meaningful progression in the areas where I thought Justin Fields needed to progress. The one that you could argue that we saw last year was him reducing his turnovers, reducing the interceptions, reducing the fumbles. But as we talked about throughout the season, that came at the cost. That came out of the cost of what we used to love about Justin Fields, if there was anything to love about his game, which was him just being a big play machine, whether it was with his legs or throwing the ball down field. We didn't see any of that with Pittsburgh. and just listening to him talk throughout the preseason, I think he just did a press conference today, actually, where he's highlighting the need to protect the football,

don't make mistakes. And it seems like he's echoing Aaron Glenn there. Defensive-minded head coach is probably saying, hey, if you guys don't turn over the football on offense, we can take care of the rest on defense. I think Justin Fields is going to start feeling that pressure to get back to his old self and create big plays because he realizes this is probably his last chance.

And I think we're going to see the return of those, that turnover-worthy, play problem that really played him in Chicago. And if that happens, I wouldn't be surprised Baron Glenn is quick to make a move. They have a backup option in Tyraud Taylor. But I don't know if he, where does, what area does Justin Fields give you a lot more

than Tyra Taylor at this point in his career, besides the explosive running? I think that's it. I think it's, I think it is, I mean, more talented. Like if you just watch them in practice and said, hey, throw the ball and run, you would be like, I, Justin Fields, but in terms of accurate, decision making. I think you nailed it

with kind of the head coach here and what he is going to want from his quarterback. And I think the quickest way for Justin Fields to get benched is turning the football over. I think Aaron Glenn is going to say we're going to win with defense. We're going to run the ball. Just don't turn it over.

And to your point, there has to be a balance there. Now, if he's running the ball effectively and we're saying, wow, look at this Jets run game. It's kind of fun. They're doing some things. And he's not turning the football over. That's a great outcome. But they've got to figure that out. And it's just the ceiling of your offense is going to be limited, I think, with Justin Fields in the passing game.

Now, I think they're okay with that. I think they know that. But you're right. Last year with the Steelers, it was like, well, he's not turning the ball over. I think they went four and two. It's a small sample. We had a pretty big sample before that that there were a lot of negative plays and a lot of turnovers and a lot of sacks. So, yeah, I think that is the key with him.

And then you, I can't go past the money here because 20 million, year. This was not a, hey, let's take a flyer on Justin Fields. It's not a big starting quarterback salary, but it's not a backup salary either. I mean, it's a pretty significant commitment they made to him. So maybe they don't care about that. They would go with Tyrod Taylor, but I'm with you. If he has turnovers early in the season and their defense is playing well, I think Aaron Glenn could get pretty sick of it pretty quickly. Yeah, I do think you get some of the benefit in the run game from Tyrod if he's out there. Like, I, the one thing I would say is like, he, he'd didn't add value to the Pittsburgh run game.

And I think we all kind of took that for granted and thought it would happen. It really didn't happen. So if he's not producing on the ground, and even if he is producing on the ground, I think they have the pieces for a good run game, right? They have a good offensive line. They have some good running backs. I think, you know, in theory, fields adds value to it. But even if they are basing the offense around that run game, I think there's a very

good chance that he gets banged up in this offense. That's true, too. If it's that style of run game. and I don't know if they see the offense under a steadier hand, which I think Taylor is at this point, then I don't know if they want to go back.

I don't know if a defensive coordinator is going to want to turn it over to a turnover prone quarterback. So I just think he might have a shorter leash than his salary implies. Yeah, it could be. I mean, I almost feel like they got to go layups and three-pointers

with that offense, just screens, run game, and hey, chuck it downfield. Like, you know, they really don't need any passes between five and 15 yards. It just, you know, go for it. You don't have to have a high success rate, but can you hit on those explosives?

That's going to be everything for that. The problem for Fields, though, is he has shown no ability to hit the labs or the three. You're right. You're right. Yeah, no, I'm with you there. All right. Next one on my list.

You said it. It's an obvious one. We've got to mention it. It's the Cleveland Browns. Joe Flacco is the starter. Dylan Gabriel is the backup. Chador Sanders is third. Now, I'm not sure what the Brown's motivation is this season.

Like, this was a hard one. I had them lower down the list here than I was expecting because I just don't know exactly what they want to do. I feel like their defense could keep them somewhat competitive. I feel like the coaching staff is still pretty good. And so I'm trying to figure out what's the motivation for going to Dylan Gabriel over Joe Flacco. So I've got them on the list because if Joe Flacco is your starter in 2025, they've got to be on this list, but I also didn't feel that

confident that it's going to happen early in this season. How do you read this situation? Yeah, that's the one thing. If there was someone to put, if Ken Pickett was still here, I can't believe I'm like, you know, thinking about, well, they've been much better off than getting paid. But if Kenny Piggin was here, I could see them making a change at some point.

But I just think the gap between Flacco and whatever Dylan Gabriel can be, which I don't know, he's an undersized player. He didn't come from a pro-style system at Oregon. Like, I think there is going to be a transition period for them. and he didn't like the world on fire in preseason. I think he showed some ability to kind of handle the offense,

but that's it really. I just don't know who pushes Flacco. I'm not saying Flacco is going to lock down the job, and by week six, he's untouchable in this offense. But, like, what we saw out of Shador, I just don't think he's ready to play this year. He's obviously starting the year as QB3.

And I would say the same thing about Dylan Gabriel, so it's two rookies challenging a guy who, at the very least, I think he's going to be able to handle the offense better. I think you're going to be able to run more stuff with it. him, which I think Stefansky will appreciate. And it probably still has a better arm than both of these guys at this point in his career. There's no doubt about it. Yeah, I think if you just went by arm strength, I will be Flacco.

Gabriel, I'm with you. I think that's sort of him picking up the offense, the decision making. It seemed like they were pretty encouraged by that in the preseason. I think he probably looked better than a lot of people expected. But to our earlier point, it's the preseason. So who knows? And Chidor, it feels like unless there's something from ownership, I mean, at this point, based on what we've seen and the information we have,

I think it would be pretty surprising if he got into the game. And the job status stuff there, I don't really know. Like, it seems like ownership kind of still likes Andrew Barry and Kevin Stefansky, despite the Sean Watson disaster there. So maybe they would just stay on and they're not feeling that pressure. It's just a hard situation to predict there in Cleveland. And again, like Flacco, can he be like the 25th best starter in the NFL? like maybe and maybe the defense is good and they're a little more competitive than we think.

So that one is difficult to predict. All right, Ruizki, one more. Give us one more. You know, if you've got a spicy one and you want to go with that, go with that. If there's one on your mind where you're like, I got to get this take out there before the game start. Give me one more for this exercise. Oh, my God. I'm going to get myself in the trouble.

I mean, the quarterback rankings are coming out this week. So I'm going to be in trouble anyway. That's right. You can hide it. Do I go with a young quarterback or one that I know is already mad at you and me in particular? All right, I'm just going to go for it. I'm saying there's a chance. I'm not predicting that this is going to happen.

I'm just saying there is a world where Sam Darnold has a little Nick Foles in Jacksonville situation go on where he has the good year. The team that needs a quarterback in a pinch pays him a short-term contract. He gets there and he turns the ball over. I think that's very much in the range of outcomes for Sam Darnold and how he plays the sport. And we've talked about the concerns about Seattle's offensive line. I think the offensive line impressed in the preseason, I would say. But again, with the caveat, it is the preseason. And I don't know if it's going to be impressive in terms of past protection.

I think what we saw in the preseason was a good run game. Like that first game Darnel played where he let him down the field, there was no real dropback pass. And it was like throws to the flat play out of Alfa boot action. There was run plays in there. So unless they're able to maintain that environment, I think there's a good chance that we see some of the ugly Sam Darnold plays that we saw at the end of his tenure in Minnesota. And if that's the case, and I might be McDonald,

and I'm like, I have this defense that might be a top 10 defense, might be a top five defense if I get the most out of it. I got Drew Locke on the bench who, I mean, three years ago, I don't think you would have been like, there's a big difference between Drew Locke and Sam Darnold. Maybe Drew Lach's ready for his, you know, his resurgence late in his career. But I'm just saying you have a formidable backup behind them, one that has started games in this league,

one that has started games in Seattle. And then you have a quarterback who is prone to mistakes at times, especially when his protection gets bad. And then you have a defense that's ready to win now. So I wouldn't be surprised if it did happen. I'm not predicting it to happen. You know, I looked at the Seahawks, and I don't disagree with your assessment of Darnold.

I think you and I are on the same page. Maybe we'll be proven wrong and he's going to be awesome. and this scheme and Clint Kubiak's going to scheme things up. I just could have kept there because of the backup situation. Like, Drew Locke doesn't scream to me like, hey, let's put in, like he's going to play a safe style of mistake-free football and we can lean on our defense. And then Jail and Milrow, I don't, all accounts in Seattle didn't seem like he's ready to play this summer.

I did make a prediction yesterday, Ruiz, that Kirk Cousins is going to have a meaningful moment at some point this season. Listen, isn't that a scheme, sort of a scheme that maybe he would be comfortable in? Maybe we'll tuck that one away. I wouldn't rule it out. Yeah. In Seattle,

if their defense is playing really well, he's another year off the Achilles, you know, he can run the play action, boot stuff that he's familiar with. He's going to make good decisions. He's a veteran. You tell him he don't turn the football over,

that kind of thing. Something to maybe keep an eye on. I don't know if you saw it, but I saw a report. I think he was out of Tom Pelliserra. He's like, dozens have been thrown the ball well in training camp. Oh, I didn't see that.

I think that's just the PR campaign. I think that's the machine role and trying to drum up some interest. But I'm just that, you know? Like you said, better than the alternative of he looks terrible in training camp. So there you go. All right, the Seattle Seahawks, that's a good, I was just dreading. You were going to give me a Jalen Hertz, Tanner McKee, and I was going to have to be like, I cut his mic off.

We're not where we, I can't do this days before the Eagles Cowboys opener. I'm the one that's rational about Jalen Hertz's rankings. Is everyone else that is it? And I'm a little irrational about how good Tanner McKee is, but I still stand by it. I think he's really good. All right. When are the QB rankings coming out, Ruiz? I think I'm now at Wednesday.

Wednesday. Perfect. What timing? All right. So by the time people listen to this, you go on the ringer.com and you check out Stephen Ruiz's first installment of the 2025 quarterback rankings. He's ready for all the smoke. How many years have you been doing this?

On the ringer, I've been doing it for four years now. Four years. Four years. I've been ranking quarterback since the beginning of my career. Since he was in diapers. He's been

franking quarterbacks. There you go. All right. So check that out on the ringer.com. Thank you to Stephen Ruiz for joining. I'll be right back

with the hurry up. All right. The hurry up is our closing segment where I give you a take on news in the NFL and while we covered the Micah Parsons trade

last week, more reporting has come out and I just need to cut through some of the noise here for a second. So I have seen some of the argument that, hey, maybe this move makes sense for the Cowboys, you know?

They acquired valuable draft capital. They saved money by not paying Micah Parsons. They didn't win anything with him. Anyway, you know, there was a report on ESPN.com that Parsons maybe wasn't the most diligent in the wait room or in getting treatment according to sources. Maybe his comments on his podcast rankled some teammates. Listen, I don't know how much validity there is to all of that.

I'm sure there's some validity to all of that. Here is the problem. Cowboy sources also told the SPN that the team offered more guaranteed money than Parsons ended up getting from the Green Bay Packers. Now, if they had all these concerns about Micah Parsons, would you be making that kind of offer to the guy and making a long-term commitment to the guy? Of course you wouldn't. So give me a break with all that stuff. The Dallas Cowboys of all franchises are not playing chess. We know this. This isn't a one-time thing. We know how they have operated in recent years, maybe longer than recent years here. This comes down to Jerry Jones thinking he had an agreement with Parsons, Parsons not viewing

it that way, wanting his agent involved in negotiations, and the Cowboys getting emotional and then making a trade. Statistically, based on EPA per play, when Parsons has been on the field over the last four seasons, the Cowboys have performed like the NFL's best defense without him, they've performed like the NFL's worst defense, one to 32, with Parsons, without Parsons. There literally could not be a wider gap in performance. I think it's going to be pretty clear how much they miss him when we watch Dallas's defense this year. All right, thanks to Stephen Ruiz. Thank you to Christopher Sutton for producing Kiera Gibbons and Brian Waters on social,

and additional production supervision by Conorne Evans and Arjuna Ram Gopal. I'm Sheila Capadio. We'll talk to you next time on the Ringer NFL show. Must be 21 plus and present in select states for Kansas in affiliation with Kansas Star Casino or 18 plus and present in D.C., Kentucky or Wyoming. Gambling problem, call 1-800 gambler

or visit RG-HELP.com. Call 1-888-78-9-77-77 or visit ccpg.org slash chat in Connecticut or visit MD gambling help.org in Maryland. Hope is here. Visit gambling helplinema.m.m.m.m.m.m. or call 800-32750 for 24-7 support in Massachusetts or call 1-8778-8-Hope NY or text Hope NY in New York.