Welcome to NFL Daily, where we've always been proud of being able to say the word o diggi zua.
It's fair Here in the.
Chris Westling podcast studio, I'm with my friends Jordan Rodriege of The Athletic and Colleen Wolf.
Hey, what's up?
See your next Tuesday crew is back?
And odiggi Zua is not really a word, it's a it's a name. And we will get to the great news for the young defensive tackle Osa Odiggie Zua later in the show, but first I just got to say, how are you guys doing back from Indianapolis.
I'm good.
I'm on fumes at this point in the off season, but in a good way. I feel like a ultra marathon. This is about the point I get the second cliff Gel going, Oh, we're good, We're good.
Okay.
Do you guys know that Harry Styles ran the Japan Marathon and he did it under three point thirty, which is quite an impressive time if you know marathon type. I mean for like a normal person, that's wow, pretty outstanding.
I mean he's very talented in multiple areas. Yeah, it turns out several.
I'm a little jealous I don't know why.
I know that I was told that news and I wanted to know his time and he was like, yeah, twenty minutes faster than I was back doing the San Diego marathon in like twenty.
And nine, twenty minutes faster. I love that you're compared.
I was going to say, you compared yourself to Harry Styles in this phase.
Because my time was solid, like three forty seven.
You know that that's a solid time getting in under four hours.
But he he crushed me.
I think with anything in life, it is dangerous to compare yourself to Harry Styles.
That's fair, That's what That's what the saying is.
You were hosting the combine inside the stadium is I was not there? Nick Shook was there representing NFL Daily.
How was that was?
That?
It was me, Cynthia and Reggie Wayne and I wasn't really sure what to expect with it, and we had so much fun. It was maybe that was my best combine experience. It's because once I realized that we just could mess around with each other and people that were there like, I'm like scouts, let me hear you.
Like, it was.
That's amazing. Stop watches around yea.
Like Reggie Wayne is literally a coach on the Colts, and he has this gig that's wild, right.
And he used to work here a few years ago, and so I haven't worked with him then. So it was fun to reunite with Reggie. And then got back to LA. And this morning I dropped off Keema at Good Girls School.
So she's gonna do a little board and train, and.
I saw she was showing off her vertical, her vertical other prospects.
Okay, I am sitting at Combine.
Is my new dog.
I rescued her from a high kill shelter, the pound right here in LA, and she had everything wrong with her. I did not know that she was this athletic. And I get a call. I ignored it because I didn't know the number. And I see the voicemail popping up on my phone and it says, I think we have your dog in our backyard.
Can you give me a call back.
I'm in Indianapolis, and I'm like, oh my god. So I call and I'm like, yeah, you have Keema.
Great.
She was supposed to be with a dog sitter. She must have got out. Let me call the dog sitter. And so then I called the dog sitter, and she's like beside herself, Oh okay, are thing's gonna be fine here? She's like, I just didn't think that there was any way a dog could escape our yard.
We have six foot fences.
And then she sent me photos of Keema hopping the six foot fence.
Dang, like, no problem whatsoever?
Oh my gosh.
So you know she could be a show dog at some point, but she discovered she's loves.
To jump, right, she could she could do some training.
I forget what receiver it was said, like an embarrassingly vertical like chema.
She's got hops.
So when you say you're sending her to good girls school, you're really sending her to Exos training facility in Phoenix, Annesona.
Is there in girls.
School that would be amazing. Also, if anyone who picks the people for NFL events, which is you know how you do these? You do it internationally, you do the Super Bowl. I know I'm quote unquote unattractive and my voice is quote unquote annoying.
I'm available, don't talk about my friend.
I'm available. I feel like it's always all women. It's a lot of women and ex players.
How about so many women in sports. It's crazy.
And take some woman's opportunity, wouldn't that be nice?
We got to balance this out. I think we need to balance this out.
We got a big show, A lot of news happened on Tuesday. We were gonna like hold the show and post it overnight, but there's too much news.
It's hot. We got to get it out there now.
It's hot, it's happening for the next week and a half, two weeks.
News every day.
The day Loge has begun, so we will do all of that news, and we will also preview the offseason in the AFC North. But let's start where we do so often on Tuesdays. It feels like with Sam Donald, the franchise tag deadline, it's pasted. Only two guys got tagged, t Higgins and Tray Smith. We kind of knew that was happening. Sam Donald did not get one, and there's a lot of reporting around him not getting one. Colleen that indicates there's a decent chance he could return to Minnesota.
I think he probably will return to Soda. They weren't comfortable with the forty million dollar tag, so they're trying to get a deal done for less than that, the problem is with Sam Donald.
The market right now.
There's not a lot of options of veteran quarterbacks, and the draft is pretty light on quarterbacks, and there's a lot of quarterback needy teams talking Titans, Browns, Giants, Raiders, Jet Steelers, and the market is like Aaron Rodgers and whatever happens with Russell Wilson and Jimmy g Justin Fields like and we'll talk about Justin Fields and the Steelers
situation in the AFC North preview. However, I just feel like it's a little tough unless Sam Donald really wants to come back to Minnesota and play with KOC because him and Kevin O'Connell that's where he had his best football. And yeah, it was a shaky end of the season, but he's still the larger sample size was still very good.
Yeah, I think this is a win win.
I think if he ultimately we don't know where JJ McCarthy's at in terms of not just his rehab but just getting like physically ready to come back in as this team starter in Minnesota, could potentially be an opportunity for Sam Donald to like wash clean the last two games, come out with a couple strong games next season early in the season or even in the reseason, and ramp back up the trade potential for him for Minnesota.
I also think that this is a win win.
For both sides because if the tag for one year was at forty was too rich for the Vikings, they could be kind of looking at the framework of that Baker Mayfield extension previously, where it was three for one hundred, but it was really only forty guaranteed at signing and fifty guaranteed overall. You obviously don't want to just do that for one year. You want to do that for
multiple years with a quarterback. If you are going to pay them that much money in one lump sum, you don't want to sit in a tag situation for about the same for way less time. And I do think that it gives them flexibility and plus Sam Donald like clearly thrives there. There was some reporting the other teams were actually not interested in him as the quarterback of the Raiders.
Heated up.
Yeah, Vic, my colleagues.
Victate friend to Sean Reid reported that last week, and so I think it's like, Okay, you're sort of looking at the lay of the land here and you're like a tag in trade or excuse me, a non tag and instead the potential of a trade. And I feel like there's a healthy enough relationship between Sam Donald and KOs See, for example, to be able to have that dialogue to be like, yeah, listen, we want you to thrive and succeed and set up your future.
You can do it with us. We might move you eventually for JJ.
I wonder if there just isn't as big a market for Darnald as people would expect because he's the best young dish option out there.
But that doesn't mean.
First of all, I think we know no one's given up picks and money for him or else. I think that would have happened, like maybe someone would give up a fourth or a fifth or something. If they could have gotten a second or a third, I think they would have just done it. They would have tagged and trade him or they would have So that's not happening.
And then you have to have someone that really loves you or he's going to be in that middle sort of area where like, yeah, Tennessee, I think could be a potential option, but they might have the number one overall draft picks, So how much are they really you know, at quarterback, how much are they really going to pay? You go down the list, like would he fit with
with Stefanski in Cleveland. Have to find someone that really loves you, and he he might not find anyone that loves him more than the Vikings.
There's kind of been or us or a colleagues.
He's not gonna find anyone that loves them.
I mean, those last two games really hurt him.
Mike Silver, another one of your colleagues, said he believed that Darnold was coming back if it wasn't for those last two games, and that even despite those last two games, like there's a decent chance.
I think he's coming back.
They do love him. I think that What does that say about J. J. McCarthy doesn't say anything.
Well, I mean the injury, you're gonna it's a it's a long timeline for recovery, but then also on ramping him back up. I mean, we're still so far away from spring practices, from them getting you know, an understanding of where he's at. He looked great last preseason near the end of the preseason, but we're still kind of a long way away from really having any understanding or intel publicly on where he's at the team would obviously.
Happen Torn Meniscus, but he had to have a follow up.
Yeah, and the other The other thing, though, I think this is smart that other teams are this play out the way that it is, versus kind of scrambling over themselves to secure their quarterback and Sam Donald before the draft happens. Because they're also letting the Vikings establish Sam's market. These other teams are because he's going to be most likely negotiating with them for a potential extension because he
wasn't tagged. Other teams are sort of sitting back and letting the Vikings tell us what Sam Donald is worth, and if you already have a contract framework, it's easier to trade for that player.
It's really crazy that Sam Donald is at the top of the free agent back list. I mean, I guess you guys are putting him there right, Yeah.
I would, but only because of Aaron Rodgers is personality.
The only personality in his.
Age, like everything, that personality.
I actually think if you're stripped everything out of it and it was just football, I would take Aaron Rodgers really because I'm just thinking about it as a one year thing. I'm not thinking Donald's going to be my long term solution.
So Mary Rodgers over Russell Wilson Justin Fields.
Oh yeah, yeah, okay, but you can't strip that out. It's the quarterback. You can't strip out everything that he brings. So I wouldn't want to deal with that whole everything, And so yeah, I would rather have Donald would be next on my list. But I think Rogers was playing pretty deep, pretty well enough by the end of the season. And I think they're both a little bit of a mystery bag of like they're not everything you want, so either way, they're short term solution.
You imagine if Aaron Rodgers went to Minnesota and then just like follows the exact Brett Farv.
It's really not that crazy, actually, because I don't necessarily think this says much about how they feel about JJ McCarthy. It's just he's a twenty one year old kid coming off of an injury. Of course, you can't just count on everything to be fine. What if you get gets reinjured, then your season's over. Like you have to have another decent veteran option, and Donald is makes the most sense.
For them, and this is like the best problem for a team to have, really if you're Minnesota, similarly with Atlanta, you know, I was talking to someone over there and just trying to get some insight a little bit more into Mike Pennix and kind of what we can expect from him this year, and the overwhelming theme was, Man, this is not stressful. This is so much less stressful
because we have a quarterback. So it's better to have a quarterback, even if the first one didn't quite work out, or even if there's a little bit of a messiness and logistics to figure out, having the quarterback is always better than not having the quarterback.
It's so funny.
I was talking to a head coach and he was saying how easy this combine was compared to years past when he didn't have a quarterback, and now he has a quarterback and it's a breeze.
It's like it's a walk in the park now.
I mean, we got Jordan talking to Falcon sources, you're talking the head coaches. Meanwhile, I'm just asking NFL events.
To love me.
Well, put yourself out there more, I guess.
So let's move on to your team.
One. Barkley, surprising news on Tuesday, signed a two year extension worth forty one million dollars, thirty six million dollars guaranteed.
How about this. They didn't have to give.
Him, they didn't sat they did.
That's pretty badass.
And that's what Howie Roseven does.
Early early, exactly two years early, he had two years left at his condrick.
This was just like, hey man, that was the best season we've ever seen.
He earned it, he deserves it, and it also is great for the entire running back market. Like this all came full circle with running backs mattering he got paid that much. Now he sets now the Eagles and how we have set a new precedent for running backs. And yeah, he's locked up until locked in, locked up till twenty twenty eight. And a lot of the Eagles offensive corps are also locked in until twenty twenty eight, so it's
kind of crazy. He also has fifteen million dollars about in incentives, so he can make even more money.
Wow, that's see. I Gwinn checked.
He had twenty six guaranteed last year. It's basically the whole contract was guaranteed, and then thirty six this year. Thirty six is easily the most ever for a running back in terms of guaranteed money. So that's that's fifty two. And let's normalize this. We didn't have to give you a big raise, but you so far exceeded what you were actually worth. We're going to reward you for it. That almost never happens in the NFL. Max Crosby actually got a similar type of thing last year from the Raiders.
It also never happens anywhere, you know what, you know what I feel like. I love what Howie Roseman and Aleck Halliby do when they find outliers, right, they find these outlier situations. I would not say that teams should just all in flood towards the running back market the way that this is sort of the flag set in the sand, saying like, okay, this is where the market is now. I think that Howie Roseman is gifted in forcing people to mistake where markets really are because he.
Can capitalize on outlier players.
And this is that situation where just because it's Saquon Barkley, who's one of the best we've we've ever seen and particularly in this last season, does not mean now that every running back will or should get paid. Of course, of course, and I know that's what we're all saying. But it is interesting because he will force the market to deviate that way, and he can because he's forced it.
He can predict when it will next shift and find the zag to hit when everyone else is digging toward what they did, and.
He creates cap flexibility with the move as well.
So it's a win.
Win that's huge. You know, there is there is a world in which Saquon Barkley feels the I'm trying to do the math in my head.
He's underpaid.
If you include the one hundred touches that he had in the postseason, almost he is well over four hundred and fifty four hundred and seventy touches last season. It's one of the biggest workloads anyone's ever had in the history, and the numbers for guys with that big a workload are sometimes not kind.
But it doesn't matter. He earned all that money.
I just hope he can hold up to that and you can't ask I don't think you can ask him to have that sort of workload, which was way far and beyond what he had ever done previously year after year, so we had fresh legs. I hope they bring back. I guess they don't need to bring back Kenny gainwell if they like will Shipley, but you know, just so far, spread it around a little.
So far.
One of the real winners of free agency and the season is Colleen Wolf. I mean, yeah, can we just say, you know it's going great?
Right?
If the Colts said just won a few more games, you'd really be on top of it.
But it has been a good.
Back in on the Colts again after Donald Lucas Oil Stadium.
Donald's gonna have a nice cushy spot for himself with a paycheck. The Eagles are excellent and forcing markets to move.
And again, you know, it's.
Pretty cool college and like the Sixers. Once they brought in George, it was like, Wow, we've got our big three. We're gonna contend for a title. Maybe we'll take out the Celtics. We've got the star power to do it.
Great, go do an NFL event.
Let's talk about the Jets. They cut DeVante Adams. Expected that to happen, trade didn't happen. Too big of a salary.
I love that. Landing spots, any landing spots.
Do you have any spots we'd like to put to Montana. Let me announce actually where he has landed on the top one away. I put him right ahead of Amari Cooper, behind Chris Godwin, behind some of the top tier cornerbacks like DJ read S, Tarvarius Ward.
But that is twelfth overall.
That is pretty because there's not really quality starting receivers available and to me, he is that.
So with that in mind, any landing spot.
Yeah, so I was thinking he could go to the Giants and just stay in New York.
Now they're actually Rod Rodgers.
Is yeah, who I like that, And then you pair him up with Malik Neighbors, so that would be cool. And then Rams he's from the area like Palo Alto, which you know it's not that close, but he wants maybe he wants to get back to California. He's already on He's all the way on the East coast. It's
cold there. They have the sun here. And then especially if they end up trading Cooper Cup, then they compare him with Kukuanakua and the other one I thought maybe were the Patriots and he could reunite with Josh McDaniels from their time in Vegas together. And New England has a ton of cap space to play with, and they want to build around Drake May.
Yeah, I got to get that dynamic duo back together. McDaniels and everyone guess, actually he did produce it.
I shouldn't be if.
The forty nine, I mean, the West Coast thing is real. Ian Rappaport was talking about that earlier today. So the forty nine ers, I think if they do move Ayuk, I do think that they'll be in on this.
I think that they're looking to kind.
Of overhaul it looks like overhaul some of their situation with brock perty Now they're not going to be as flexible as other teams to actually make this happen. But yes, Colleen, great great spot there. The Rams I think would be interested, depend if he's cheap. And then also the Los Angeles Chargers, yes, should be interested. They should be on the phone trying to get this guy to pair him with Justin Herbert again at the right number.
And Lad Mconkie charging and they outsaw and Lightning lad.
Argers desperately need a wide receiver. It's crazy. I really think this The forty nine ers are going to have a weird, wild off season. Really like the next couple weeks could be strange for them.
Also, he could go back to Green Bay.
Well, while we're on the Rams, we will mention there was a trade. I said the we're going to have a little trade tsunami. This offseason hasn't started quite yet, but the Rams sent Jonah Jackson. If you remember, Jonah Jackson was a big free agent pick up a lot of money.
They're just eating that money.
But they did get the Bears to take on his nine million dollars in fully guaranteed salary in twenty twenty five. They get a sixth round pick back. So we talked to Ryan Poles last week. He said he was going to get some interior alignment. He got one for a reasonable price.
Yeah, Greg, we did talk to Ryan Polt. Actually, we have a we have a photo of the three of us speaking.
Oh yeah, this is the three of us.
This happens to me all the time. She's caught a photo.
So the photo has a brutal crop. You do see my sli my sleeve in the corner. This is the photo, Greg Rosenthal.
You know I can explain this.
It's the little green splotch you see in the corner over there. YouTube there you are check this out now.
Actually, I want to diagnose this, Greg because my favorite part of this brutal crop and this photo is.
I didn't crap it. The NFL media crapped it.
That's what they sent the caption that says parentheses from when I was there.
Okay, you're not in this show was why it seemed confusing. Unfortunately, this interview was in the interview we didn't I didn't have I didn't have a a pick that that made sense to send out.
So I just was like, here's one from me.
That's our favorite moment from the combine. To be quite honest, but we're.
Just holding you accountable.
NFL media cropped you. We did have some other ones.
Shifting the blame, but luck getting an event.
Now you just blamed NFIL media.
Well that's different.
Poles did talk to us about how he was really ready to spend and invest in overhauling this offensive line. Obviously their interior was a disaster. Jonah Jackson can play guard or actually he can play center as well.
Kind of depends on where they'll want.
To put up both guard spots.
Right, Yeah, he.
Played well, he can play both guard spots, but last year he played both left guard and center, and he has familiarity with Ben Johnson, and a source told me that he is taking on the Bears are taking on his salary. So that was really why the Rams wanted to offload him, was they were they signed him to a three year, fifty one million dollars contract to not.
Play well and he was a disaster for them. Ultimately, it's unfortunate, but he'll be motivated to get better and it's a system that he knows well with Ben Johnson makes sense for what the for everyone, good good move because ultimately nine million dollars actually isn't that much money for like a one year deal, and there's just not in any guards that are going to be available in the in the free agency period. It will be in
the draft. The Cowboys sign osa Odigi's to a four year, eighty million dollar contract, fifty eight million dollars of that guaranteed. You know, the insiders are all patting the Cowboys on the back. Oh they're saving money, and you know they're saving money that they didn't have to tag them. It's like, yeah, you could have signed him much earlier and saved a
lot more money. So I'm not going to give them that much credit, but it is a step in the right direction that they're not letting these contracts go until the.
Very last minute. So like a small they're learning little.
Golf baby steps, like you don't just automatically go that route, like you have to slowly, I think, yeah.
To find a pen. You know, they haven't used theirs in a while, exactly.
It's tricky defensive tackles. They developed so slowly that a lot of times their fourth year they really break out and then it kind of catches the team not unawares, but their value goes up a ton Madam Week.
It was a good recent example.
Dexter Lawrence was another one, like Chris Jones, guys who they really don't improve till their fourth year. And Odiggy Zoo was in the top you know five in total pressures. He fits that Eberfluce offense. So that is a good move. I'm making fun of the Cowboys, but that's starts up next. Yes, and they didn't have to you know, per year. They did get it under what the franchise number would have. And just another couple quick items that the Eagles released
James Bradberry. Yeah, after Darius Slide tough that he will be remembered for the penalty. That a little questionable call in the Super Bowl is.
An all pro.
He switched from safety when the cornerback room was filled to the gills. He's turned into a mentor for the younger players. Yeah, that's what I'm going to remember.
Greg.
I don't remember him playing any safety. That was like a story, but he just sort of watched Alan. I don't know why I am mean to James Bradbury. I love James Bradbury.
Well, it's all right, you're internalizing and lashing out.
Yes, I think that is what it is.
I had him super high on the top one of one a few years ago.
Bradberry.
The Jets are letting Alan Lazard seek a trade so he might be cut. Brandon McManus quietly solved the years long Packers kicker issue last year, and so they signed him to a three year deal. The Seahawks cut Draymont Jones, Robertson Harris, Rayshawn Jenkins, and George. Draymont Jones was very high on my top one oh one a couple of years ago and was a total bust for the Seahawks. Not the profile of guys who are typically busted in free agency, like he was a young, ascending player, but
he did not play well for them at all. I'm not even gonna put him on my top one on one. It really worked out so poorly over there. And then finally in the news, just quickly, there was a report by Front Office Sports that Bill Belichick and UNC were going to be the new season of Hard Knocks, which I was waiting to have my take on, which was, the world does not need more Michael Lombardi on our television screen.
And it turns.
Out that's not gonna happen. It's not happening, like they couldn't close the deal. NFL Media actually released the statement about it that it's not gonna happen.
I don't know why, but we all lose out.
Man, how Hard Knocks has fallen since last season, and I always enjoy it. I just I understand that it's sort of like, you know, a cursed gift here at this point.
The off season one, if it turns out to be one and done, was a great enterprise.
It was a great effort.
I think people are over almost over, you know, counting how much the Giants looked bad in it.
But because it was interesting.
There were a lot of things about it that were just like compelling television that wasn't making it look like an idiot.
There was that too.
There were executives like having these group chats together saying like, Okay, what did you think that was? Was that as bad as it seemed to us, like we would never want that, Like not judging them per se, but saying like, man, how could you say yes to this in the future, if if that's going to happen?
Yeah, And I think it would have been interesting, all jokes aside to watch this UNC thing, but it didn't get off the ground. Unfortunately. You know what did our division preview series? We're going to do that after the break. I can't wait to talk a little AFC North, maybe the best division in football, maybe so.
You have power rounds.
That kind of bowls them down.
Back on NFL Daily, I don't know if you heard Colleen Jordan, we're running like a sleeker, more efficient NFL Daily.
Here in the off season.
Okay, that sounds efficient, but like she maybe I don't.
Know, bikini bod for spring no more, like I'm trying to keep the show to double digits, like fifty minutes since.
They are under an hour.
Good luck, where are we out right?
That's what we've been doing. We're gonna do the AFC North. We're going to look ahead to the off season. I'm looking forward to tomorrow's show too. We're going to talk about free agents we are really looking for. But this will be more team centered. I will start. Let's put five minutes on the clock for the Cleveland Browns. They have the number to overall pick. Of course, they have an extra third round pick because of that Amari Cooper trade.
Remember that.
Yeah, they randomly have five sixth round picks. I just wanted to point that out. And they are twenty three million dollars over the cap, so they're in as much trouble as any team in terms of cap space. They have a lot going on that we can get into. But I will start the conversation just with the question because I think it informs everything we talk about with them.
How much do they want to blow it up?
Because there are levels to it, but there are a lot of players on this team that are aging and have high cap numbers, Like do they kind of blow it up?
Do they not blow it up at all? How much do they want them.
And their best player is demanding to be traded.
Well that too, yeah, to leave, So that leaves massive holes at quarterback, also running back because Nick Chubb is a free agent too, and he broke his foot in Week fifteen, but and wide receiver and have no money.
So there's like, I don't, I don't I think you have to blow it up.
Yeah, they actually are gonna, I think, open up almost forty million in additional money once they again restructure the contract they never should have signed with Deshaun Watson, so that still won't be like a ton of flexibility to the point where it's not dramatic enough a change to not consider like legitimately, like you guys are saying, blowing this thing up, getting recouping some picks for Miles Garrett.
I know they that.
Andrew Berry has been super emphatic, both at the podium and then inside scrums with reporters about how they're not
trading them. They're not trading them, they're not trading But when you're looking at your books over the next couple of years, when you're deciding if you do like or even love one of these young quarterbacks that are coming up in the draft class or even a bridge, like the proposition of acquiring your bridge and then getting to next year, like you are looking at potentially a multi year overhaul, And I think once they face the reality of that, you're going to start to see them, you know,
finally shed that that dead weight that they have.
Yeah, you mentioned Andrew Berry being emphatic, and that's true with his words. But I heard the great Danny Heifitz refer to Andrew Berry as an energy vampire.
Oh no, he had three different gms. I believe that we're.
Just sort of sucks the life out of a press conference or the room that he's in, and I hear that the reality they've sucked the life out of this organization. This is the one of the greatest fan bases ever and it's tough to root for them. Part of the reason I'm asking it if they should blow it up or not is because here's a list of the players that I think qualify as like, hmm, do they make sense on a longer timeline. Garrett, you get a ton
of picks for him. Jack Conklin, that's more just a money and injury thing, But he is up there and has had a ton of injuries, big salary, Joel Botonio, who is considering retirement, so that might be more up to him, big salary. Jeremiah Ousu Kormoa. That's just unfortunate. He's coming back from a big injury. They just have to kind of wait and see. That could be like a career threatning thing. Denzel Ward who said he wants
to leave with Miles Garrett. Oh, if Garrett goes and then they you know, there's always a question of these cornerbacks Martin Emerson, Greg Newsome. So it's just a lot of different players. They also have some free agents. You mentioned Chubb, Jameis Winson's a free agent, Elijah Moore, Jedrick Wills. I would expect all of those guys to leave. One thing they do have though, Colleen is a pretty good defense and like they're all coming back on paper.
So there is another route where.
You move up to draft cam Ward one spot instead of and you keep Miles Garrett and suddenly like that's that's your future.
You have to be in love with cam Ward though, and it sounds like it's just not as strong of a quarterback class at all as years passed, and so then you're moving up, which means you're losing draft capital when you really need it. I think that they should move back, get some picks, and then blow the whole thing up. I mean, they are so far over the cap at this point, and it's for bad teams, so it's not even like they're spending a lot of money
and it's paying off. It feels like forever ago they were in the playoffs with Joe Fan.
You know it, just as an aside, if they cut j Shahn Watson right now, they would have one hundred and seventy two million dollars in dead money.
Ooh party.
You know what I would almost say, I would almost say all of these moves or potential moves have to happen in tandem.
You can't.
You can't half ass any of this. Forgive my French. I feel like you have to.
If you're going to decide you're going to move from Miles Garrett and Denzel Ward, you also in tandem have to commit to probably trading back that second overall pick, because then you could recoup even more capital gut and completely overhaul your roster top to bottom and think about quarterback next year and sign a veteran in a Bridge this year.
But all of it has to happen together.
You can't just do one or another trade Miles Garrett and then see if you can maybe get lucky for cam Ward.
It just won't work like that.
I think they have to fully commit to ripping the band aid off.
My guess is they try to win because the GM and coach will be fired if they think long. So I don't think they will blow it up. Let's talk about a team that does not need to blow it up. It's always in the mix, but maybe not as much as their fans want them to be. That's the Pittsburgh Steelers. Colleen Wolfe, get us.
Good, all right.
They have the twenty first overall pick. They also have picks in the second and third round. Nothing in the fourth though, And for them, it's the same question that they had last year at this very time, once again, who was your quarterback?
Like?
I don't I know.
Ian Rappaport came out with the report that they're leaning heavily towards Justin Fields that he's probably likely the quarterback of the Steelers, more likely than Russell Wilson, which the team already sort of chose. Russell Wilson over Justin Fields. At least they did that last year and then they finished the season zero to five, including that playoff game. But I guess Justin Fields would be a cheaper option for them. It's just I don't know if either option is actually good.
This is just a small side, but what was your favorite moment from the last two Pittsburgh Steelers playoff appearances?
Damn?
I just mean, like, has any team been in the playoffs and been more forgetful? If you're watching on YouTube, our guy you know behind this where you're going with Chris is doing great work with the graphics, and it says defeated by the Ravens twenty fourth, I was like, oh, yeah, I forgot they were in the playoffs, the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Yeah, sort of just an entrance and then an exit with a whimper. The only number I think that they should be looking at when it comes to Justin Fields, who potentially could be very much a cheaper option, is that he turns twenty six years old on March fifth. We are recording on March fourth, so obviously he is
still super super young. And I think stats whatever, you have a guy who is you know who you understand the locker room's reaction to him, and I think that you have to just commit to a young player who still has, in my opinion, untapped potential, who is again only twenty six years old.
They also have a similar issue at running back because both Naji Harris and Jalen Warren are free agents.
Dalen Warren's restriction they did free.
Agent, he would be obviously the cheaper option there. Wide receiver doesn't look great. Mike Williams was a non factor, so they'll be out. George Pickens is on the last year of his rookie deal. Van Jefferson's a free agent, and then on the other side of the ball, they're passing defense. Like their overall defense was good, but their pass coverage was the liability for them. And their number
two quarterback, Dante Jackson, is a free agent. They can probably upgrade at nickel two, but they have quite a few places where they need some upgrades.
Now they have fifty nine million dollars in cap space, so they are.
That's going to go to TJ. Wade, who apparently he's looking for a new contract.
That's a lot that's more than they can spend, and they're not traditionally huge spenders. They're kind of like middle to lower tier spenders in free agency. But they could use cornerback like an a Sante Samuel Jr. Or a DJ Reid like this would be a spot to go for. Left tackle could be a spot. Brogerick Jones they drafted a couple of years ago. He hasn't played well for them. And then yeah, they have some other key freads. James Daniels actually played well for them when he was at guard,
but I think they're gonna let him go. They they're going young there. Naja Harris. You mentioned Dan Moore there, they're left tackle. He's probably gone. Camp Sutton was another guy who played a lot for them, and then I threw out the possibility a couple of weeks ago.
I don't know. Just keep an eye on Minka Fitzpatrick.
You just get a set a feeling, just get a sense that like there's something it's time funky there.
But the Steelers always have the same needs.
It's always their cornerbacks, and it's always like their wide receive.
Lately it's their wide receiver depth.
They actually have solved mostly their their quarterback, offensive line and quarterback.
I was just.
Thinking what if Derek Carr ends up becoming available.
Derek Carr and Art Smith I interesting.
I believe the same. So we hadn't talked about this. I'm glad you brought up in the show. I believe the Saints at the combine Mickey Loomis. They didn't have a podium session, but they talked to their local board. They were about as strong as possible that Derek Carr is definitely their quarterback.
And you never know. It's line season.
I love rumor season, and I hate it too.
In this case, I believe him because he's always been Mickey Loomis's guy. And I think they're going to kick the can, but that would make some sense. And yet I do like the fields thing.
I keep an eye on former Jets corner Penny free agent DJ Reid as a potential fit with the Steelers again, who do need help in their defensive backfield. I think Stefan Diggs is kind of a sneaky fit for the Steelers if they do lose Van Jefferson, you're gonna need sort of a downfield threat.
You're going to be a player who can do that.
They really they need to overhaul that room and partner the I think the right people with George Pickens, people who can come in and sort of say, hey, this is being a pro, this is what we do.
They've obviously kept.
That together by a thread like they often do so until now. And I do think that, you know, Stefan Diggs, when he kind of goes into that mercenary mode, he can really elevate, he can really thrive.
Yeah, there are other two wide receivers on the roster are Calvin Austin's kind of a gadget player and Roman Wilson, who was a third round pick a year ago. Let's move on to the Bengals. Fascinating team. He put the five minutes on the clock for Jordan.
You know, there are so many infrastructural questions with the Cincinnati Bengals, some of which are happening on the field, some of which are happening off the field in terms of the stadium, the ongoing stadium negotiation. The big question on the field for the Bengals is who will they actually pay Slash extend. And you know they could still trade t Higgins even though he got the tag. I would actually love to be a fly on the wall wondering like how he really felt about that getting the tag.
But Trey Hendrickson still up in the air, Jamar Chase still up in the arn. Duke Tobin was at the combine last week talking about how he expects to make Jamar Chase quote unquote the highest paid receiver in football, which could have been done already.
And they will say, hey, we saved the money by not giving him that money last year. That's sort of how the Bengals operate in terms of their free agents. They have spent a lot of cash to be fair and not well necessarily lately. I do think Jamar Chase gets that money. The rest of it, I have no idea. They're a very difficult team to predict.
Yeah, because also MIKEA Sicki is a free age yes as well, that's a huge deal. I feel like that's kind of under the radar and getting lost in the mix here with all of these big name stars that are trying to get new deals and Trey Hendrickson, I mean, this defense is an absolute mess. He is the one that held anything together. He was the silver lining last year and all three levels need help. I just don't know like they're gonna have to pay him, or they don't and then they draft his replacement.
But it's that's tough, that defense.
Yeah, I think he's kind of on that fringe right now where you look at a Trey Hendrickson and you think, Okay, is there anything that we could potentially get out of this here at age thirty with so many other players
that are needed. With t Higgins, you might kind of look at that too, although that would really piss Joe Burrow off as it stands currently based on his public commentary, they have so many issues at every single level, especially in the on their defense, but then they have some sneaky things they need to fix on offense.
They have to shore up their guards.
They obviously have to figure out, you know, what's going to happen at tight end.
The receivers are the looming question for everything.
And they have pick number seventeen, so that's a very tradable, probably backwards pick. There are a couple good, really good tight ends that might be available at that pickpoint. They have six picks total and about forty three million in cap space as it stands right now, but you have to think some significant portion of that is already sort of being set aside.
Right now.
Yeah, And I think with them and a lot of these teams that have owners and you mentioned the state issue, but these old school owners that maybe aren't as cash rich as some of the newer ones is, they could have cap space. But if you're paying that Jamar Chase signing bonus this offseason, and you're paying the t Higgins, you do got to figure it out. I kind of think you trade either t or Hendrickson. Maybe it's awful to say, but I think they could survive without either
one of them. I mean Trey only because he is thirty's If you can get a second round pick for Trey Hendrickson, I kind of think, like, it's not that crazy to me. Yeah, and then Higgins, he's a secondary receiver. Ultimately, you have your one. Can you really pay both of them? Maybe you can, but that seems that seems tough.
I think it's a good point to make that maybe Trey Hendrickson is the player that you could move off from, because if you kind of look at it, and I sort of visualize it in my mind like a little bit of a psychopath as like just this big picture where all these little dots are standing right, and so you have a massive dot that several other dots can fit inside of, and that is Trey Hendrickson like a solar.
And so you like.
Dislike the NGS dots that might go down the field that when.
You when you disperse that massive dot that all these other dots can fit inside of, all those other dots are reallocating across the entirety of the defense essentially, So basically, how many other things can this one massive thing get us? And that, to me is what Trey Henderson Hendrickson represents at his age.
And I know that my brain is a weird.
Place, specially at all microdos.
It's I'm it is really like, how can this giant basically asset min us one minute get us a bunch of other assets that we desperately need.
I can't believe they're in this position in the first place.
It's not like this.
Came as some surprise, like, oh my god, all three are up right now, like they could have avoided this and now it is their biggest problem.
Although I'm glad they didn't just let t walk. That would have been crazy. So you mentioned Mikekasiki. Trent Brown, by the way, is also a free agent. I don't think they'll bring him back that didn't work out. Mike Hilton and bj Hill, who have been very productive role players for them, are free agents and moves they could make. They could cut Jermaine Pratt kind of expect that to happen, and he had asked for a trade, one of the
many people who'd asked for trade. I think they'll cut Sam Hubbard, but who's been a starter there for a while and really struggled last year. But then if yeah, if you cut Sam Hubbard and you don't have Trey Henderson Hendrickson, you like don't have any defensive ends, you have a really young secondary. They're a team I think could add. There's so many good safeties available, Like just be.
A free agent had like are.
Had, like an adult in the room, Justin Reed. Just bring Justin Reid. I like that. Cool.
Let's go to the Baltimore Ravens. Wrapping up the AFC North put that five minutes on the clock, twelve million in cap space, so right in the middle.
That's actually lower middle.
They have, as they always do, a million compensatory picks. I just love Azzie Newsom's compensatory pick game. An extra fourth two fifths and a sixth all compensitory. They they just do that every year. They're key three agents. We've talked about some of them. Two offensive linemen Ronnie Stanley and Patrick McCary, who to me, it was better as a swing tackle than he was as their starting guard. But either way, that's two spots that are opening up.
Other than that, not too much, Nelson Aguilar and Brandon Staley. My question is actually more about the offense. Ronnie, what did I say?
Said?
Oh, I was thinking of Brandon Steeve.
I was like, wait, Brandon Staley was an offensive line.
I don't think he would do well. But Brandon Stevens, who who struggled mostly as a as a young starter, also free agent, could call. My question is actually about the offense. Todd Monkin's been there for two years. It's gone really well. But I do think after you've run an offense for a couple years, you have to keep reinventing yourself. So with the issues they have on the offensive line, like what do they do to make Monkin Lamar two point zero remain the best offense in the league.
I don't think they can just kind of run it back.
I wonder if they end up getting running back to help spell some of the carries Dereck Henry. That would be like an option for them because it feels like otherwise it's going to be kind of a relatively quiet off season for them because of looking at what they need, they don't have like a ton of glaring needs like all of the other teams that we've talked about. I think that Ronnie Stanley is like their biggest question.
Yeah, they I think they might be able to get Ronnie Stanley back because he's been very clear, I mean even took a pay cut last year and to stay with the Ravens, and he's made it very clear he wants to be a Baltimore Raven for life.
He obviously works really well.
With Lamar, had his best season, his really his only right, his only healthy season this past year. And I think that in part, you saw some of the guard tackle market move a little bit even before free agency started, because people understood that maybe this is a foregone conclusion, and now he's he's one of the best available because other teams would have up to his market understanding that maybe Ronnie has already spoken for And so I think
that this is an interesting situation. In terms of the offense, I liked that they were a lot of different things last year, some of it by necessity at the beginning when Lamar was really going run heavy by himself, he was doing a lot of the option stuff and really
didn't look like he fully trusted his receivers. I think continuing to improve that receiving corps and continuing to add dimension in that way, multiple layers of the passing game and flow everything out of that run game the way that you really saw him do it in really positive
spurts last season. There are a million different ways you're going to be able to do this if you're Todd Monkin with Lamar Jackson, and I think continuing to develop that trust, specifically with the receivers is important.
I think you need another receiver. Zay is not a real one drafted. He is a great Day Flowers is a great part of a hole and he was a pro bowler this year. Don't get me wrong. He was like great, But you need other types of receivers around him. You ever shot Bateman. There's been some talk that they could cut Mark Andrews. I don't see that happening, and I don't think that.
Oh no, I don't think that after the playoffs that would be so rough.
That would be I didn't even think of that. They could save twelve million, but he played well down the stretch last year. Other than yeah, that game, they have Isaiah. Likely they could cut Marcus Williams, who's been a bit of a free agent bus for them, but they don't really save much, so they might just bring them to camp. And then I looked at adafe Oway. They could extend him. Do you want to extend him? They actually don't have many good young players to extend, which is not a
great sign. A little surprising. Their needs, to me are actually more on defense. I just thought talking offense would be interesting, and they needed some edge defenders. They need an outside cornerback. They are not afraid to be aggressive to kind of swoop in and take like a lower like cost free agent that's available at the end of free agency, so I think they could be pretty active.
They could use a cornerback as well.
Yeah, this is actually kind of a good corner cornerback market for sort of that second and third tier corners. I saw a lot of them ranked in the middle to latter parts of Greg Rosenthal's Drew Rosenhaus approved top one hundred one right, And I do think that if you're a team that does need immediate help, if you're in contention, if you need it quick patch, especially in the secondary, this is a really great free agency.
Your guy, big Play Sleigh now available. Actually he seems like such a raven like a one year, five million dollar contract and that they sign him to in April and then he's out there in the AFC Championship game making plays and you're like, what else.
Kello Witherspoon's other one who to me seems like he would be fit over there.
Yeah, you're too good. Baltimore Ravens, Yeah, we love you for it. Come back to the pack.
Ravens fans are like, can we make a Super Bowl maybe next year? That would make a happy Patrick Claven I would love to see. I would love to do a post AFC Championship game podcast with the Ravens going to the Super Bowls with Patrick.
Yeah, that would be That would be a beautiful thing to listen to, to.
Be in Baltimore for it would be cool.
Uh.
Last year, last show rather we listened to to Ron wolf Lee announced the Arizona Cardinals making the Super Bowl for the first and only time, and uh, it gave me chills, like that that moment. We're so far away from that moment, and yet.
It'll come so quick. I get football is so.
Bad, right, And I was gonna ask Colleen, because I'm trying to workshop this a little, do you do you think like football is back now?
No, it's the summer, the summer is starting, summer of Okay.
It's literally March fourth. It we're so far from.
The sun to not start of or it's not the start of the league year yet, the new league year, so it's not back at the end of the year. It's pretty back to me Marching March twelfth.
Like, we had a lot of news today so much so we're putting this show right out. So I think we're going to be now in the cadence of putting these shows out in the late afternoon West Coast time because why wait, the news might get blown up.
Give the people what they want.
Yeah, let's just let it out there. Let's not worry about the people. It's like, oh, you get more downloads if you do it in the morning, or I just like the consistency you wake.
Up really get what a bad boy doesn't care about.
Downloads really excited Ollie Connolly and Patrick Claybahn. On our next show, we're going to talk about free agents to look at and all the news.
I guess football it's not it's not back.