Welcome to NFL Daily, where we don't have any void years.
We don't even have any void days.
It's like Valentine's Day, middle of February pre combine, and we're cranking out these off season previews. I'm Greg Rosenthal here in the Chris Westleyan podcast studio for the first time in weeks with my friend Patrick Claybon weeks.
Honestly, well two.
I feel like because you guys are traveling the cranking out podcasts, confetti going down, shuffling through parking lots and parking decks to provide the people with content. And so I've just been waiting for a chance to get back and we're here to celebrate not just you know, one momentus occasion, but great it's the new glasses.
Oh yes, as well, this is a big day. I decided to wear my glasses into the studio and yeah, I like them. Although they make me look like my brother.
Well it's a bad thing. That's some news for you.
Yeah, I know, but it's just it's yeah, that's my my wife's take on it.
But I like them.
So people can let it, let me know in the comments, but only if they're nice. Only if they're nice comments. Otherwise I don't want to hear about them. Although we would love you to subscribe on on YouTube, please do so, and like it's great. We're doing these off season previews this week. We're doing the NFC South today. I mentioned the void years, Patrick because there was some news about Chris Godwin in his void year, and we're gonna get to that. Actually in the middle of this show. Oh,
we're gonna start this. Yeah, we're gonna start with with the off season previews. Unless you want to like give the listeners an update. It really only has been two weeks. By the way, we tape the Tuesday show during during Super Bowl week since I've seen you, hasn't been that long.
Now.
You've had a lot of dental work done in the meantime, but otherwise you seem fresh and ready to go.
I mean more ahead, more ahead than behind me, as is the case with don't work. There's actually dental people upstate trying to sell some wares today and I walked out last is this free? She was like, well, I'm like, no, you don't have to, don't have to keep talking. But you know, just asides from all that, just to be in a podcast video to celebrate Greg Rosethal's birthday. Oh wow, which is something new that we are all ready to do today?
This is this is Yeah, I'm sure everyone was prepared for that, and as I was, I'm glad I had it ready to go.
We did not plan that at all.
And he mentioned the momentous occasion I heard through the grapevine that in my fever birthday, so I had.
It ready to go.
Well, nothing I would rather do on my birthday than break down the Tampa Bay Buccaneers salary cap situation.
I'm telling you, it's looking good. All right, let's do it.
We've been doing what ten minutes per team? Why not that we wouldn't need all the ten minutes. Some of these teams are pretty pretty straightforward, but we might and uh, let's let's start on the clock. I will start with with the Buccaneers. Let's do it, and I'm gonna ask a question. We'll each ask a questionquestion for two of these teams. I'll kick us off. Are the Buccaneers sneakily one of the best franchises in the NFL And does
their positioning this offseason help to prove it? That is my question, which is a very leading question.
I think a lot of people's feelings about the Buccaneers tend to hinge around the NFC South. I know there was the Tom Brady experience that Stafford and Cooper cup came down and stabbed a big hole into and caused the kind of disruption of what ultimately could have been in that postseason on their way to a Super Bowl.
But I think the answer is yes, Greg, I think so it's hard to look past what you know, we'll get to what Jason light has been able to construct and to have this consistency with multiple quarterbacks, with multiple coaching staffs, and now having to replace yet another offensive coordinator who leaves to take a coaching That doesn't happen if you're not one of the better franchises in a position to put folks in that position.
And I know they lost the Commanders and they very likely would have lost to the Eagles, but they always are a matchup problem for the Eagles, and they kind of looking back at their last season remind me a little bit of the Rams the last couple of years, Like, yeah, they weren't one of the best teams in the NFL, but if you had replayed those playoffs a handful of times.
I don't know you could convince me that Baker Mayfield ends up with the Super Bowl MVP at the end of one out of ten of those seasons.
And here's my case for why they're good.
This exercise has been able to go through all the salary caps, all the situations that are going on this offseason, and I realized, like the Bucks are in one of the best positions. First of all, they're tenth in. Actually, they're not great in terms of cap space. They're only one under the cap right now. That's the tenth fewest, although they can make some moves to give them more space.
But they do have all their picks.
And then I look at the players that are most likely to leave this roster. There's almost no one hugely significant. Levante David and Chris Godwin are both free agents who I think are more likely to stay with the team than go. They've got all their their rosters intacted to a lot of young players. They sign their guys early. They remind me a little bit of the Eagles, which they're built very well on both lines, and they don't
have a lot of like major holes. When I look through the rosters I could find some you know, certainly they could use some edge rushing, I would say would be up there. But when I look at this roster overall, I'm like, this is a roster that's in position to push a little bit this offseason.
To improve the team.
They usually don't get dramatic and they just don't have a ton of huge issues. So when I look at the rest of the NFC South like going into the offseason, to me, they are the team that's in the best position and they remain the favorites winning a year after year.
Year after year in a different division with a different setup.
Where I looked at twenty twenty four, which was leading into my twenty twenty five question with the Tampa Buccaneers, perhaps looking back on a season where Godwin and Evans missed that extended time, they had great moments and they had an opportunity, was that the best year in terms of opportunity wise for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers that they're going to have here in the next two three years, because it's it's difficult to have this sustained success that
they have had. But I'm looking at an older Mike Evans and you know, how they're gonna go through this period with Chris Godwin, I was Avante David, with Shaq Barrett. There's just there's only so long you can do this. And maybe we've been convinced by looking at this chief's corps. Oh yeah, you just bring guys back. You played, you know, nineteen twenty games a year because you're going on deep playoff runs and then everybody comes back and you just
you just run it back. But having that sustained success comes at a football cost, and the Bucks have really been paying it. And Okay, I just I feel like maybe last year was the magic opportunity and it's tough to see it going.
I think if they have a great offseason, they got a chance here. Certainly Baker Mayfield. You lose your offensive coordinator in Liam Cohen. That could be a problem, but he obviously did great with it.
Last year.
They promoted from within, they found another wide receiver in Jalen McMillan, And part of the reason why I like is like this roster is mostly intact. We might as well talk Godwin. We don't need to save it for the news. There was a report that they have extended the negotiating period with which they can bring Chris Godwin back before the void in his contract happened. And it really sounds like there's mutual interest in making a deal happen.
And this organization has done such a good job with this over the years, whether it's with Levante David or Mike Evans or even younger guys like Vita Vead, they usually keep the guys they want. Makes me think Chris Godwin is never even going to make it to the market. He's in my top twelve free agents. He's coming off a dislocated ankle, but he's still young enough that you want to bet on that town. But they have Jalen McMillan, and then I look at the rest of the roster.
The whole offense is coming back, except for left guard Ben Bradison, who is their worst starting offensive lineman. They have a good offensive line, and then on the defensive side, it's all just you mentioned Shaq Beart.
A lot of their depth is our free agents.
Their backups are all free agents, so it's filling in depth. You need some defensive linemen. You'll probably re sign some of your young good players because that's what smart teams do. Luke getti Key k Dott and Zion McCollum. All those guys could be up for contracts, and I just think they just keep cranking along while no one's looking, because those two lines are so good offensive and defensive line, and.
We've seen It's the conversation that we had about Howe before the Super Bowl, right in paying guys when you have an opportunity to so you could keep sustaining that success. And that's something that the Bucks have been able to do. I think a lot of the questions are going to be Baker centric, but few people fewer people are doubting the long term viability of Baker Mayfield. Now at this point two O C's in, right.
I mean I don't.
I don't love Baker still, like like he's not a top He's wait, did he make quarterback Island in the end? I think he might can't even remember. Uh, he had a great year. Losing Cohen is a little concerning, but it's if you have a great offense, Like what they've done is kind of what Philadelphia has done in a in a stronger way but still with with Hurts, which is they have Bucky Irving. They just keep hitting on
these picks. I mentioned the guys who they could extend, Like people don't think of Gett a Key and and and Zion McCollum as stars, but those are guys they drafted in the second, third, fourth round and they're all like plus starters. And Jason Light's really been good at adding to this roster. And oh, by the way, you have a guy Tristan Worf's is putting together a Hall of Fame resume right now.
That that's that's the key part. It's like, well, how can how can everybody duplicate that there's not a lot of Tristan Worf's on the planet. But you know, you if you can evaluate that players still something that they did, right, you know, other teams had a chance at Tristan Wurf's. I think it was you know, he was the first big acquisition after Tom Brady comes back, and so he's
kind of an afterthought. But maybe history looks back on that and says, yeah, that was a big part of what allows them to be able to do the things that they have done.
So I know they don't have a ton of cap space coming into it. And if I have a feeling this might be the year Levante David retires. He didn't play as well last year. You finally saw some decline. He has said publicly previously that he will only play for the Bucks, that he either is going to retire or they'll just figure out a way to keep.
Bringing him back.
So you do wonder, like, is this an off season where you push a little bit. You've been so close year after year. They've been patient, They've been good at drafting. They do have their picks, They're not going to give up any picks, but maybe you try to make a.
Splash on defense.
They do lack a little bit of juice in terms of top, top tier edge rushing talent. If Levante David is on, that's that's been a franchise cornerstone. You have some good players in the secondary. I don't know if you feel like you have premier players outside of Antoine Winfield, who's obviously good, but at cornerback, like maybe maybe they make a little bit of a push in free agency or or as in the trademarket it's been.
I thought it was a decent year for Yayadiabi all right, especially especially late towards the end of the season. You wonder because Carlton Davis was that that big departure, and there was success in spots until the injury in Detroit, where you think about what we were talking about with Jason Lin, it's like, well, how did Carlton Davis wind up getting
out of there? And so I feel like there's there's still kind of a need there that's tough to address in the draft, and maybe you know, we'll have an opportunity to see if the Packers don't necessarily want Gyr Alexander anymore. You know, there could be some good players at corner that could be available if the Bucks do want to make I.
Could I keep mentioning there's pretty good cornerback class. Sante sam Junior as is a team is a guy I could just see on the Bucks for some reason. It's one of the better free agent positions out there, and I think they could be looking there. All right, let's go on to your Panthers, calling them your Panthers because of the presence of Bryce Young. Put ten minutes on the clock and yeah, give me, give me a question you have about this Panthers.
Tea coming into twenty twenty four. The question was, how do you protect Bryce Young and they go and address that in the middle of the offensive line and looking at the year over your sack pressure numbers, pressures evaluated based on the offensive line allowing them. They did it. They solved that problem. Can the Carolina Panthers do for the offense for the defensive line what they were able to do for the offensive line in twenty twenty four
in free agency? Is the talent there that allows them to do that at the price point that they need to pay?
Greg It's it's very difficult to improve a position group that much in one offseason. But yeah, I'm totally with you that when I wrote down their needs, like, they certainly could use another receiver, they have a whole center.
Their center, Austin Corbin's a free agent.
But just you can just write defense like there is no position on defense where you don't need to get younger and more talented.
You have j C.
Horn at cornerback. He's someone you could look to extend this offseason. But other than that, you really don't have guys you're building around other than Derek Brown, who's coming off of a major injury. He's their great interior defensive linemen. And you had some veterans that worked out that are
still under contract Ashawn Robinson, Jenevian Clowney. Actually that those are good pieces to have, but you need to start drafting and hitting on some guys that can play alongside them for one year and then take over for them in twenty twenty six, twenty seven, because they really don't have anyone on the defensive side the ball practically that they feel like they can build around, because they've spent the last year or two really focusing on offense.
And that's what I like about retaining and maintaining the coaching staff and the continuity there with the zero ever, because clearly there was there was a talent deficiency on the defensive side of the ball. I don't think that you're able to do because this was a historically bad run defense, like almost all the way through the season. Dallas late ultimately got better, and so Carolina leap Frogdham back.
They were one to two right in the n GS era in terms of allowing opponents to run the ball at a very successful rate, and so I liked that they keep that consistency there to try to evaluate the talent that they have. You got, I believed right one more year with JD. Clowney.
Yeah, you're actually paying those guys like a decent amount of money. Ashawn Robinson, Shy Tuttle, and Jeemian Clowney all have cap hits over five million dollars, like h Tuttle making that much.
Shout out to Shy, he.
Could be a cut potentially. Potentially not at least you have like some guys that are that are okay. But yeah, let's do a little bit of an overlook. I've been doing this with every team. So they have seventeen million dollars in cap space. So that's that's middle of the pack. You'll probably want to open up some more space. You could do that with some restructures. Maybe a tailor mote in their right tackle who's good could get restructured. You could sign J. C. Horn long term and get that
number down there. There's not too much there. They have the number eight overall pick, and then I kind of forgot about this. They have an extra second round pick that they got for Braiden Fist. It's not an extra because their second is still going to Chicago. They're still paying that freight. This is the last of it, so
they're missing their second round pick. But they did do a nice job picking up an extra second to move down in what was a trade for Braiden Fist with the Rams, and they actually have two fourths and two fists, so they they are a team that like if they're at number eight and they just happen to be in a spot where you could pick up an extra fourth
by moving down a few spots. Like they they just seem like they need to shoot as many arrows as they possibly can in the draft and really replenish young talent because it's not like this is one of the most talented teams in the league, but they really don't have any young talent.
Like they're like, they're good players. Are are Derek Brown.
Who's getting up there, and then some veteran free agents that have been around. They have two key free agents and I'll shut up now in Mike Jackson, who played a lot for them, played pretty well at cornerback, and Xavier Woods. Those are their two highest snap totals actually on defense, and they're both free agents.
But I guess it's a positive.
They only have one player in my top one oh one, and that is Mike Jackson.
After some Mark Jackson got on your top one on one.
Yeah, that was one where I asked some people around the league and they were like, Mike Jackson had a good year, he was like a starting cornerback, and he's going to do okay in free agency. I was like, Okay, he was not on my list, but he's snuck in to like the sixty to eighty, sixty.
To ninety range.
Yeah.
It was aby I'll be wrong and I'm wrong to trust these people, but they were like, like, he was like a legit average starting cornerback in the NFL, and he's going to get a decent contract in this in this cycle, we'll see good.
I mean, just watching a lot of Carolina Panthers chasing guys all year probably skewed my perception of the talent. On the defense, we'll find out. I hope Mike Jackson is compensated him well, as as I do for everyone. But clearly, whether it was scheme plan or they just caught teams on bad weeks, it was rough over on the defensive side of the ball to the extent that I don't think. And also how wild is it that we don't we don't even talked Bryce, Like six minutes
into this discussion. If you go take the time machine back to week three last year and then we tell people, yeah, they re signed Andy Dalton, people might be thinking, oh, okay, so that's over, like Bryce was not even it was it was over and done. And now we're worried about the defense because the offense showed so much promise towards the end of the year.
Right, It's true.
I mean they have to do everything they can to support him. Like Ikuanu what you know, improved as a left tackle very much. Still still questions about him long term, So it's going to be a big fourth year for him.
Jalen Cocher was an undrafted free agent who outplayed their first round pick, probably Xavier Lagett, who who had moments but and certainly out played a couple of their high picks in recent years that aren't even on the team anymore, Jonathan Mingo, Terras Marshall, and so they feel like they
have one in cocre. They still need more weapons. They might have a good fourth round tight end and Tavian Sanders, so they they are still in like bring bring more talent aboard here, and they don't have all the time in the world. They have to consider who their ultimate bosses. Ownership hasn't always been that patient in Carolina, So you
want to keep that that thing moving forward. You can't you can't take a you can't back up here to four wins in twenty twenty five and expect to like keep this plan going.
And that's what you have to hope that the staff is able to do. Because if you are trading down for me, if you do get more arrows in the quiver, you gotta hit right, like.
That's right, that's what I mean. Though they have two fours, two fists, can you get an extra third? Like you just gotta keep You just hope that you hit on Like let's say, let's say you somehow have like six picks in the third, fourth, and fifth round. Okay, if you can get like two starters from those six picks, that's amazing.
That's all I mean.
Is you take a lot of shots they don't and one is like a really plus starter.
Yeah, that's all I mean.
You gotta you gotta hit some of your Yeah, you fill the roster.
With a guy and you get one guy that maybe get makes it to a second contract, and that's that's like the that's what you have to do though, of course.
Now because that you see is you want to know why there's no good young players on this team. They haven't had any picks, like maybe you're Xavier, Xavier Lagette becomes uh a good pick. And they had some picks last year again, but like they missed a couple of years of picks because of Bryce. It's not Bryce Young's fault, but that's just that's just the reality of how this roster is built.
Can I read you four and you tell me which one that I'm making up? Shamar Bartholomew, That one's made up.
It's gotta be also made up.
Thomas and Koum.
I mean, these are end of the roster guys, but they all are people I'm familiar with.
I have to admit those are.
Will all three those are those are real? Those are all three are real?
Not not a team who. Yeah, the backups are really impressing you. So that this team needs a lot of work, a couple easy moves. I think that they can make Miles Sanders it didn't work out for them. They can save five million against the cap by cutting mynd Sanders. I would expect that to happen. They are all set at running back, if if Jonathan Brooks can get healthy as kind of the the one bee behind Chuba Hubard, who's now really established himself. He got a nice contract
actually during last season. So those are the types of moves I like, like, just take easy wins. You love Chuba Herbert for a couple more years, Like, Okay, now we don't have to worry about running back. It's not gonna cost that much. They did that, and I've seen it thrown out there is like, well, should they keep Adam Thielen or not.
I'm like, are you kidding me?
Yes, Adam Wheelings, He's he's sneaky on one of the best contracts in the year. I was like, he deserves a raise. How is he only making four million dollars next year? He's got like a one point five bonus. Is cap numbers eight million, eight million dollars. He's actually underpaid. Adam Thielen when he's been out there, has been freaking awesome and it's very trustworthy. So I like this offense. You add one more piece to it. But yeah, a
lot of work to do on defense. Think they'll be aggressive there, all right, we will take a quick break. I want to hear that break music. Uh, and we are going to come back and we are gonna do a little news before diving into the Falcons and the Saints, who are a little messier.
I feel like it's a little messy.
They're in this together.
Now, you're just making me feel awkward.
Shout out to the artist who is what number is this in the library?
Back on NFL Daily, your number one source for off season Jaden Comarti, Chremitie, and Thomas Incuin news. Shout out to them. Make it happen on the Carolina Panthers.
Thomas Incombe the season finale had a couple of tackles. Nice job both of them, solo.
Nice job. Cormette's gonna make it happen. Been a nose tackle, sixth round pick. We're gonna do a little bit of news un till we get back to the NFC South offseason previews. And yes we already mentioned Chris Godwin. I really think that deal is going to happen. But the NFL dropped some news this was actually Wednesday morning, that the Chargers are going to be the team that kicks off the season, at least in terms of the opening weekend. You have the kickoff game, which will include the Eagles,
we don't know who they will be playing against. And then Friday night we're making this an annual thing now, the Brazil South Paolo Game. Last year it was Eagles Packers, a game that was replayed in the playoffs, and the Eagles started in Brazil ended with the Super Bowl. Can the Los Angeles Chargers do the same thing, because the Los Angeles Chargers are starting their season down in Brazil.
Yes, that's why we play the games, correct. Yeah, they got an opportunity, they got a good quarterback. Hardball is there in second year. You know, sometimes the second year allows you to build on what was left and fully realize what you've brought as well? Why not the Chargers in the Super Bowl?
And I'm guessing based on how they did it last year, they'll go big with this matchup. They'll give them a good opponent. It's it's not gonna be the Titans. No offense to the Titans, you know what I mean, Like they're gonna they're gonna. They did it with the Packers Eagles. They're putting the Chargers there. Chargers are giving up a home game here to go down to South Polo, so that I don't know if that's gonna be every single season.
The NFL hasn't committed, but now that we've done it back to back season, the president, the precedence is there that we might be going international on that Friday night, and this news being announced kind of reminded me. We hadn't hit really all these international announcements as they've been happening, and I almost felt like my my friend Henry Hodson just tapping my shoulder and asking me, you know, let's give some pop. Having our first NFL game in Dublin
and you guys didn't even mention it. So that was announced. That's happening. We don't know when, but we do know it's the Steelers that are playing in Dublin. The Colts are going back to Germany. I think they want to make up for that Colts Patriots game that would that Yeah, we're sorry, Yeah that was a little rough. And they're going to Berlin this time. That's a first, which is really cool. If Henry is listening, I mean, can I can I get to one of these games?
Can I?
I mean, I would love I would love Berlin. You know, my dad was My dad was born there. There's a connection there. But I would take Dublin or South Paula. Any of the above would be incredible, Hank.
What we're saying is today is Greg's birthday. Yeah, there you go, send Greg to Berlin.
Okay, I'll all say that Dublin would be cool to Actually, South Paolo would be cool. You go down there for the Friday night game and then you then you fly back on Saturday and you do you do week one.
I'm into it. I'm into all of it.
The Colts are in, the Dolphins are the first team announced in the Madrid game. They're the home you know, the quote unquote home team in the Madrid game. And then our London teams this year are the Jets, the Browns both playing at Tottenham Hotspurs Stadium, and the Jaguars in Wembley. So I'm counting it up here. That is
seven international games. We are cranking this number up. And it also has already been announced that the Rams are going all the way to Australia in twenty twenty six, so we hadn't hit like these assignments the Australia news. The NFL is now allowed to go all the way up to eight under the current rules, and I think that number like that that's the minimum that it's going to be at a certain point, and I wouldn't be surprised if that, like we're doing seven, that's a record high.
Whether this becomes like a television package that maybe.
Is sold separately.
Now right now, NFL Network thankfully gets a lot of these games. That Friday night game is Peacock, ESPN plus there's different networks involved in the different games in NFL Network has a lot of them. But you do wonder at some point they might take all these games kind of combine it together and make it like a separate package. Maybe that could be Netflix, it could be anyone people love the NFL.
Patrick.
Yeah, there's there's so many different ways that you can slice it. As we get to seven, maybe eight, you could have two sets of four. Maybe you know, you could have one game on one particular platform, one half of one game.
Yeah, don't take away our games, no, Yeah, we like our games here.
I like waking up, rise, shining and watching with all of you and then having you watched some highlights for three and a half hours afterwards.
I do like that the Steelers are the Dublin team they like claimed, yes, their territory, the Rooney's. He was the ambassador for President Obama, mister Rooney back in the day. And that'll be an amazing atmosphere. Man, that would be a great one to be at. Which one if you had to choose?
Oh, I would I would absolutely go to Ireland.
I mean that that would be your first pick, that.
That would be. That would be my number one pick it in terms of like, fine, I guess Madrid.
I know, I think I think I'd have to go South Polo or Madrid just because of the actual locales.
That would be quick. But yeah, if if I'm going anywhere in Europe, it's it's going to be to to see the folks in Ireland.
Okay, good choice. That That was our international news portion.
Of the program.
We've got offensive coordinator news and uh, they're kind of related. We're going to get into the Saints in a second, but we've learned that the Saints have decided on Doug nuss Meyer as their offensive coordinator. I thought of him as Kellen Moore's buddy essentially that has traveled with him from Dallas to Los Angeles to Philadelphia. Wait, was he in Dallas. He definitely was in Los Angeles, definitely in Philadelphia,
and now he is in New Orleans. But you know him as the coach of the Crimpton Tide in Alabama.
Yeah, from twenty twelve to twenty thirteen he was the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach and then before making his way to the Cowboys, where there was that carryover with Kellen Moore during his transition from like, you know, quarterback who's probably coaching to just taking his health.
He broke his ankle that year.
He was supposed to be the backup to Tony Romo and it ended up being Dak Prescott's Rookie of the Year season.
Yeah, so that solved those particular problems. But yeah, they were able to have a little success. Ultimately came to an and he went to Michigan after that, but Doug nuss Meyer back in the back in the OC game. Good to see.
Yeah, this is Kellen Moore's offense. Ultimately, I think if you're an Eagles fan, you're almost happy that he's taking a guy that's kind of his guy and isn't necessarily blowing up the rest of the staff. He had a big role I think in in installing that offense and the reporting from Philadelphia. I listened to you know, the podcast all Phoy and they said it really was a melding. Clearly, Nick Sirianni and Jalen Hurts and a lot of things that they did before.
Were a big part of their office.
You could almost see it in the week that Kellen Moore didn't have Jalen Hurts and maybe Nick Sirianni doing so much, which was week eighteen, and then suddenly it looked like a Kellen Moore offense. And so they go to New Orleans and they are running that offense. We still don't know who their DC is going to be, but the rumors since the beginning have been Brandon Staley, and he's back.
He still appears to be the favorite.
Jordan rod Rieg loves her some Christian Parker who is a DB's coach with the Eagles, and he apparently is a finalist for this the Saints JEP So they could be hurting the Eagles staff if they decided to go Christian Parker and not Brandon Staley. That would make me feel more like new blood in terms of that type of decision. Can you name the Eagle new offensive coordinator and were you familiar with him before.
This week, before today, No, I was not.
Kevin Patulo is his name, and he's kind of Nick Sirianni's guy. He is to Nick Sirianni what Doug nuss Meyer is to Kellen Moore. He came with Nick to UH from Indianapolis to Philadelphia, has always kind of been his right hand man, the guy kind of helping to implement what Nick wants to do. And probably if you're in the building a guy that you kind of know is Nick's guy for what?
For what that's worth?
Like if you're gonna be talking trash about the boss, maybe they don't do it in front of Kevin, because that's Nick's boy. Like that just wouldn't be smart to do. So maybe like that's a little bit of a take away from me. It's an inexperienced play caller, guy who's never really called plays. And it's a sign that, like, you know, maybe Nick has a little more juice than last offseason when he didn't get to pay his offensive coordinator.
And that's what winning a super Bowl does. He goes from this perception of hey, what would you say you do here? To is like the most. I guess like newtered coach in the entire NFL to now you know we got his guy, paulin Plaze, he gets to be Jalen Hurts. Sixth offensive play call easy where I guess he has experience in the turnover there. I don't know that it's it is something you feel positive about, but if any quarterback can do it, I guess it will be jail Well.
And it seems like Jalen Hurts has a big voice in this offense because it always kind of looks the same. That's okay, like you should be playing into the strength of your quarterback. But like I said, Patula has been there so all the way since twenty twenty one. He's not that young. I think he's in his young forties, which for you know, today's coaches like like if they're not like in their late twenties or thirties, they seem old. So he has been around and I did think it
was interesting. Ian Rappaport says that Parks Fraser, who kind of is a rising offensive assistant with the Dolphins and is known pretty well, is actually going to replace Batulo as the pass game coordinator. There was some speculation that maybe frank Reich would come back in as like a
quarterbacks coach or past game coordinator. I suppose that's still possible, but no, it's going to be this guy, Parks Fraser and so overall it's continuity, which is for the most part, what you would want if you're an Eagles fan.
And I feel like maybe if things had gone wrong towards the end of the season, maybe that would be a frank Reich situation hmmm, and people would be you know, there would be all eyes on frank Reich if if there's a two or two start again and Nick's having fun with folks in the crowd. But but now you know, you win Super Bowls and those those issues don't exist.
And to be fair, like they made a great decision to keep Nick Sirianni, Like they made a great decision to hire Vic Fangio more than anything, I think something they wanted to do for a couple of years. And I don't think that hadded anything to do really with Sirianni. But they made a great decision. So good luck to Doug mus nuss Meyer. Kevin Patulo had some news that the projected salary cap is coming in at two hundred and seventy seven point five to two hundred and eighty
one point five million dollars. For some context, that is more than was expected, like even higher than the high end of what was expected. People thought it'd be two sixty five to two seventy five, so it could be well over that. At a minimum, it is a twenty two million dollar increase from last year. That is a lot. It has really gone up the last couple of years. For a few reasons, they were artificially kind of keeping it down waiting for this this TV deal to happen.
It's now happening, and it's now exponentially increasing, and it just goes to the overall trend that I've been pointing out.
There's a lot of cap space.
Like twenty twenty fifteen, teams have more than enough where cap space is sort of not an issue in a way that is so different than the NBA, for instance.
Yeah, it's one hundred million dollars more than it was in twenty eighteen.
That's crazy, Like that's good.
Twenty eighteen not that long ago, I guess for those of us who remember it vividly. But yeah, it's it's a lot of money shout out to collective bargaining.
Right, Yeah, it has nothing to do with them being generous, just going to as your workplace everybody. Yeah, it's just a percentage of the revenues that are coming in that has basically stayed the same. The players have gotten no advantages there, but the revenues come in are just going way up and it's going to make it easier. These teams that are spending all the way to the cap but doing it kind of in a responsible, forward looking way. I would put the Eagles in that category for instance,
like they're always spending to the cup. Those are the teams that are doing better. Are these teams that are carrying over too much money? Doesn't make sense? Like the Patriots have volleyed between being having terrible cap situations, so now they have one hundred plus million, Like there's not enough good players out there to spend them all that and that that actually adds some context to a final
news item. I just thought it was interesting Patrick Micah Parsons speaking about how he thinks he fits in the Cowboys' new scheme and Matt Eberflus talking very confidently about how he wants to play to Michael Parsons's strength. I've been banging this drama about maybe Micah Parsons gets traded. You know, our insiders have said they've thought about it. The way Parsons is talking, the way the Cowboys coaches are talking,
maybe this is a little bit of a charade. It doesn't really make any sense for them to trade him. And so I'm just kind of putting it out there that like they're they're not acting like that this is something that's.
Going to be ending in the next couple of weeks. Just throwing that out there.
Of all of the because we think about this pantheon of Dallas Cowboys players that have been within the Cowboys ecosystem and played at a very high level and deserve large contracts. I can't think of a more Jerry Jones player than Michael Parsons. True, I can't like a player with his own podcast who is in the content creation game as Jerry Jones is, who is more than a depth at generating attention on and off the field. That this is going to be a thing that happens for
years to come. But as long as long as those two are involved together, I think he's gonna be adellas.
Yeah, he did say it will be challenging having a new coordinator. But overall, if you if you read all the comments that that Parsons said on his podcast, I really think this is a matter of time. Although Parsons did not when the salary cap went up, you know, I think he did like the eyes emoji, just like, oh, this is good news. So I don't think we're going to see Michael Parsons in a Cowboys uniform again until a contract to sign. That's not that's not much of
a hot take. I don't think like he's not gonna be at OTA's or mini camp or training camp if the Cowboys waste you know, his time like they did with us last year in CD.
I mean, he may wear his jersey on the podcast, right, and during that whole during training camp, we're gonna have clips on NFL Network of what Mike is saying on his podcast, and then we're going to go to Jerry in the tower right in Oxnar and and it's ultimately going to come down to the very fat final moment until Michael Parsons is the highest played non quarterback.
And okay, I agree, so I'm taking him off the trade block, right, now until I've prove another work. Shout out to his brother Terrence, though in a series of tweets, he noted that the two sides are very part far apart in their contract negotiations, but helpfully suggested some ways that actually they could like free up some money like restructuring DAK and CD and stuff like that.
Not that that's a big secret.
But they don't. But while they need to do that.
Well normally it would be what you would want to do, but they just signed those deals. It's tough to restructure, like right off the top, like well, no, no, they would do it because you just in their mind, they're not They're not giving up any money when players restructure. When Joe Burrow is like, hey, I'll restructure, it's like, yeah, bro, you're just getting like a huge signing bonus instead of it paid out slowly.
You're not. You're not doing anyone any favor.
But what I'm saying is, whatever the number is, whatever the number of the Dallas Cowboys are willing to pay Michael Parsons, like that's the discussion, Like this idea that like, oh well we can't do that because you know we got you know, the backloader overall behind the team unit. It's like, no, the money is there, what's the number? Like that? That's what the far apart is like, just find the number.
Right, they are the opposite of the next team we're going to talk about. Let's put the New Orleans Saints on the cool boy because love him or hate them, the Saints do find a way to drop, you know, ring every last drop out of that salary cap. And they are fifty four million dollars over the cap as we enter February, and we know they're going to figure it all out. But Patrick, I'm wondering how that informs your big question about the New Orleans Saints.
My big question that I'm so glad that I can ask it to Greg Rosenthal, who is a valued resource on today his birthday, because I have been I've had a lot of fun with the fact that Dennis Allen was coaching this football team over the past few years. Yeah, he is no longer the head coached the New Orleans Saints. Did the majority of the problems that the Saints had in twenty twenty four were they solved by having Dennis Allen no longer be a part of the football team. No, No,
I don't think so. Okay, and as much as I got to check it back, as much as because it directly, it directly influenced the construction of the roster. The Philadelphia Eagles notably had two players celebrate with the Lombardi Trophy who were New Orleans Saints, and we're no longer on the Saints strictly because.
Okay, you make a good point, Zach Bond, they didn't even know how to use him, turn one to one of the best players link and Chauncey Gardner Johnson just couldn't manage him because you weren't a grown up enough to do so.
And that was prime Okay, GJ.
That's fair. That's fair.
And so there was there was a evacuation of talent. That's the hope. I guess that's the hope that's being there. And so I would say, I would suggest, and this is my very biased opinion, despite what the number is, I understand negative fifty one million dollars looks looks like a lot, right. The cap goes up, so that that that changes, uh, that changes and helps a little bit.
And also you can move things around. You don't have to try to lose like the idea that you need to go into things to say, oh, yeah, we gotta we gotta rebuild, we have to we can't pay anybody, we can't do that. That that's not a necessary function. And I know you're skeptical of Mickey pilot this process. Yes, but there is a path to do it that makes sense, that still gives us something to watch. Because that's what I care about.
I agree and they they certainly will agree with that. My thing is just looking at this team. It's just what is this team? It just it doesn't I don't know what it is. They've changed their plan, like in terms of what type of skill set they're looking for in the offensive line. A bunch of times they have a Lave in Shahed, two guys who could if you were a more forward thinking organization, and this is where they run into problems. They would be working out contract
extensions for a Lave or Shahed this offseason. Is that going to be a priority for them? Hopefully it will be.
Maybe they'll maybe they'll turn a new leaf.
But it seems like they're always trying to figure out, Okay, how many of these old guys still make sense. Let's go through the list here's some players still on this roster. Cameron Jordan's big, big salary cap number, to Mario Davis, pretty big salary cap number, Taysom Hill, pretty big salary cap number. Ryan Ramcheck is, by the way, still on this roster, although he's going to retire or they've been keeping him. That is just a numbers thing. Tyron Matthew,
does he make sense still on this roster? And then, most importantly Derek Carr, who if you cut him with a post June first cut, but then you don't get the savings still after June, it's a thirty million dollars savings. If you find someone willing to trade for Derek Carr, you save eleven million dollars. More importantly, you don't commit more guaranteed money to him in twenty twenty six, and you don't pay him like forty million dollars this year, which I just don't want. I don't want to pay
Derek Carr forty million dollars in any scenario. So unless Derek Carr is willing to take a big pay cut, I don't even want to start that negotiation.
I'm just trying to get rid of him.
That's to me question number one, and all the reporting and the whispers from our friends like Adam and Ryan on the Saints Black Party pockets is that Mickey is a Derek Carr guy.
He is the Derek Carr guy. And Mickey being there maybe complicates.
This, but Mickey was also the he was also the Dennis Allen guy.
Yeah, and ownership came over the top on that. Well, they do it here.
I thought they would get rid of Mickey, but they didn't.
He was vocal about it after the fact. And so if they can shift that change in that capacity, because Derek Carr right now has eighteen point seventy of the of the cap right devoted to Derek Carr. And I know Cam Jordan and Taysom Hill are expensive, but that part is claring. I don't think that you can have Taysom Hill back right at that at that particular pay rate and things become a little easier. Alva Kamara is not not an issue. I think Alvi Kamara is mistress now.
They just gave him a nice, big contra. They got a bunch of bad publicity for a couple of weeks. I don't know if you remember that. And then they gave Alvin Kamara a ton of new money. So that was actually a positive thing that Mickey Loomis did just to get everyone off his back.
Worked. Yeah, it worked. Do more positive things like getting perhaps, you know, unpopular players in different spots in the league.
It's not about like ripping the band aid off and looking to the future. It's just Kim Jordan is an all time great player. The Mario Davis is too with the Saints. Honey Badger has had a great, great career. But they're just declining players and where are the young good players on this team that you're building around. You need to start finding more of those. And they have the number nine overall pick. Highest have been nine.
Excuse me, so there's ten before.
That was Yeah, Mickey limis not remembering what pick he had back in the when he did his press conference. They do have an extra third and fourth round pick because of the Marshawn Lattimore trade, so that was a nice move. Those are the types They remind me of the Panthers in that way. It was like they need more thirds, they need more force. They just need to like fill out this roster with some young guys because
you can say, like they always figure it out. It's fine, the cap isn't that real, But like they can't even cut most of these guys and get any savings because they've already gone to the bank and restructured him so many times that actually cutting them doesn't really save him unless you do a post June first cut, and then it doesn't save it till June. And it's just like, at some point, I do think you have to make tough decisions with these guys that are declining.
There's a few of them on the roster.
Obviously, a trade for car would be the valued option.
Right, could you get like a six to seventh swap. He's not gonna get much for him, but yeah, I mean.
There's somebody's gonna need a quarterback at this at this juncture, I think you've you can convince some of these teams, perhaps the team, one of the teams in New York, but roster.
Would anyone trade for him?
Though?
With that contract, I think he defines to me the type of guy you're like, let's just wait till you get cut, you know, like I'm not giving up, because then you have to deal with that contract. Okay, then you have to negotiate him to take a pay cut. It's just complicated. I don't think anyone wants to pay Derek Carr thirty plus mine.
Okay, So if you're playing that game of chicken, do you just start Derek Carr as your.
Quarterback if you're the Saint.
If you're the Saint, No, because I wouldn't because, like I said, it guarantees money into next year, and you're actually paying him that money this year, even if it's not a ton of cap cap savings. I just don't want to be paying him thirty million dollars. Let's start spending that money. Like, if you're going to be spending that cash, spend it on the Kris Olavey or Rashid Shaheed extensions. Do it on stuff like that. Let's move forward.
You want to know some top free agents from this team. Yeah, Paulson Adebo, who was potentially gonna get a big cut like it, could have gotten a big contract from the Saints after his third season. Unfortunately, in his fourth season, started out very slowly, was having a rough first month of the season, and then he suffered a serious injury. I still have him relatively high because he's a young player who's shown a high level production. So I think
some team will take a shot. Maybe Dennis Allen in Chicago wouldn't surprise me. And then Chase Young is a free agent who came in and kind of did what you expelled here. Yeah, it was solid. He's a top fifty free agent. I think we're stopping waiting for Chase Young to be any different than he is. But he can he be like late career Genevian Clowney. Maybe not quite, but.
Yeah, that would be the absolute ceiling, right like twenty twenty four Jadevian Clowney.
That's yeah, that's fine. He's gonna have a good career. He was the number two overall pick, but he had some serious injuries. What do you think this team's biggest need is if you look up and down the roster, what is something they just lack that screams depth?
Right? Because he talked to he talked about the age of some of the guys that were on their way out, Ramchick occupying the space even right in retirement with.
That Repetting revived Trevor Petting.
Yeah, supposedly, but that that's really what they just need talent. I think back to that Trevor Penning draft where it's it's very very difficult to draft the player that you need at the position that you need, that is the best player for you to take at that point, Like to to kind.
Of thread that needle is very difficult and give up extra picks to do so.
So so just stop drafting for need find unique talents that you can get on your team. But because you're able to find them, like Rashi Shaheed, everybody miss on Mashie Shaheed and he found his way to New Orleans, and so you just try to locate that that unique talent. But the team fell apart.
I just don't know. I don't know what this team is. I think they need everything except for running back. They're they're good at running back, linebacker. I guess they feel good enough about Pete Warner to Mario Davis left tackle.
They found one, and then they definitely need some pass rushing.
Juwan Johnson's gonna be a free agent.
Good point forgot about.
Joelesson's a tight end as well, top probably the top tight end available. It's either him or Gaseki or Tyler Conklin. Not a lot of good, yeah, a lot of good one yeah, not a lot of good Free agent tight ends. It's Juwan Johnson, Tyler Conklin, and Gaseki are both between like sixty and one hundred on my top one on one. All right, we're gonna wrap up the NFC South with the Falcons here. And my question with the Falcons basically, can they fix this defense in one offseason? Because I
just don't think they're gonna be patient. Rahie Morris is a defensive coach and the defense needs a lot of work. They're just not gonna, I think, have the resources. They don't have a lot of picks to change the offense month much. The offense looks pretty good on paper overall. But can they fix this defense in one off season? And it's going to have to mostly be through free agency in trades because they don't have a ton of
draft capital. I mean, they would be through the draft tube less than other teams.
Yeah, it's context dependent. They can they fix the defense? Can they compete with the defense as it's projected to be structured in twenty twenty five? Yes, I think they can be a competitive football team.
I disagree they need to add a lot right now. So the extent that they were in twenty twenty four good well they're missing, then they're also losing a couple of players. Justin Simmons is a free agent.
Yeah, they're brought in Simmons for a year.
I think they're going to have to cut either On Yamada or Grady Jarrett just for cap reasons. That would be painful. Matthew Judon is a free agent. Mike Cues playing a lot for them. He's a free agent.
So I don't know. It's just a rough looking defense on paper.
Yes, it's it's rough, but I think projecting right this next year of Bijon with Michael PENNOCKX junior with an entire season going in as the starter, I think the offense is in a position where they don't necessarily need a top ten defense. It's be competitive. I think Raheem and his group can can get this defense in the seventeen eighteens nineteen okay, and that would be actional NFL TA. I don't think it's as bad like I don't think they're twenty twenty four Carolina Panthers bad, right.
I think they're personally wise. They have Raheem Morris who's done a good job coaching up lesser talented teams but just talent wise, if you took the coaching out of it, they're pretty bottom of the barrel. And in the end, they finished twenty ninth in DVOA last year. You know, overall, they were a bad defense. Like if they if they had that seventeenth ranked defense that you were talking about, like, they would have probably won the NFC South.
Something.
I mean, they came close, right, they almost did it. Anyways, here's just a little big picture.
Look.
They are missing their third round pick because of what turned out to be a disastrous Matthew Juden trade.
I don't know.
If Judaan get gets a job this year, he might be he might be out of the league. They lost a fifth round pick for tampering with Kirk Cousins. That was pretty disastrous all the way around. They lost a sixth round pick for Van Jefferson, which you know whatever, and I mean, I'm not going to kill him for it, but it wasn't a good move overall.
He hasn't helped him.
And then they have eleven point nine million dollars in cap space right now, middle lower of the pack. They are spending one hundred and seventy plus million dollars on their offense and barely over one hundred on their defense, and that is largely because of Kirk Cousins. And to me, that's that's a that's a big decision or a big thing they got to make happen, because I think they've already made their decision. Can they get someone to trade for kirk Cousins and and how much will that save
them against the cap? On paper, it would save seven million dollars against cap, so that's something. But they would still have thirty seven million dollars in dead cap money for kirk Cousins, just a couple years after they had about fifty plus for Matt Ryan. Having thirty seven plus for kirk Cousins is bad management. It's it's like making the same sort of mistake twice in a short period.
It just it just didn't work out.
Now you have to take those swings though, right the the the Achilles. The Achilles tair of course is going to be pre eminent in all of this, but the Falcons weren't the only team to make offerings to kirk Cousins. And you know, we gotta we gotta get rid of this whole tampering idea, the whole the whole thing is so nebulous. I can't believe, Like we've seen teams too far worse things. Yeah and not and not.
Say the only problem was that he talked about it on the podium and then Florio wrote an article about it. Honestly, if like Florio didn't write an article about it, I don't know if they even get that pick take it away.
Now I hate it even more.
Greg, I'm just guessing.
I actually don't even know that that was how it all happened, but I'm I just feel like he talked about it on the podium and then Floria is like, isn't that tampering? And they're like, well, I guess we got to take away as we have.
We have to have this rule in place to justify agents taking what they take, because they have to be the ones to have these conversations. And if players are trying to represent themselves, then they're in a fundamental disadvantage because they can't have these things. Because so why else does the rule exist anywhere?
Tampering is is a big problem in this society. Who's going to tamper with Drew Dollman. So let's look at some big questions for this team. The big free agents I mentioned, you know, not a ton on defense. Justin Simmons, Mike Hues, two guys who helped them out. You know, I would think you would want to bring back Justin Simmons at the right price.
He was he was good for them overall.
Drew Dahlman is a guy that not a lot of our listeners might be familiar with. He was a fourth round pick in twenty one. Since he took over the starting job in his second season, he's played almost every game. Missed some time in twenty twenty four, but he started every game that he was available. Is thought of as one of the better run blocking guards in the league. He's kind of the prototypical smaller move guy that you
want in a zone scheme. Maybe not as good, you know, stopping pass rushers, which usually is the thing that you want, but if you're surrounded by a couple big guards, I could see that being a very attractive package that multiple teams could be looking for this offsene. Maybe the Packers, I'll throw out one. The Seahawks might be another. They
have Clint Kubiak. It's a similar system. Drew Dolman talking to people around the league, like he is going to get like a starting offensive lineman type of what who got twenty million dollars a year? But Drew Dallman will be that guy. He is absolutely getting that. I don't think the Falcons are going to be able to afford to keep him.
And that's and that's another problem with making the not necessarily bad investments. I mean, Kirk Cousins being one of the worst right that you can make. But I see a case right for being in positions that they are with Amnyamada and Grady Jared's contracts where things didn't necessarily go the way that you would have wanted them to go in twenty twenty four. But you have to give up on like guys in that range, like between twenty five and in twenty eight, who are playing good football
that other teams would like to have. Are if things are operated on a good level money wise, you shouldn't have to see those players go be successful elsewhere.
Well, that that's true, And I saw Grady Jared pop up on our NFL dot Com cut candidate's list, and I was really surprised because when you think Falcons, you think Grady Jarrett and considering he was coming back from a big time injury. I thought he made some plays and maybe wasn't the old Grady Jarrett. But they would save sixteen million dollars in cap savings pre June first by cutting him, and so that will be a consideration
on Yamada. I thought he's he's been a classic one good year, one disastrous year type of career and they could save about eight million dollars for cutting him, so they might, I mean, don't cut Grady Jarrett. No, people have Grady Jarrett jerseys, probably a lot of them. Yeah, And that's why you know, the Cousins miss hurt so bad.
Where you've you got somebody who's like associated with the team for like an off season and then a few weeks of the season and then it's it's just over and you're having to say goodbye to like a franchise cornerstone.
And when I look at the needs around the team, we basically have pointed it out. There's not a position that they don't need on defense, maybe off ball, linebacker they're happy with. Katon Ellis was awesome, and then Troy Anderson was not awesome as their second guy.
But he's a young player at least, But.
Man for the million straight year ever since John Abraham was there. The Falcons need an edge player. So in this draft and in free agency, they need an edge player. And then I just looked at some contracts they could get done. Drake London, you know, is eligible for a contract extension. Get we've been talking about getting contracts done early. That needs to be a guy who's who's part of your future. And if Kyle Pitts is not part of your future, he's not a crazy guy to think about
in terms of a trade. If you could get a decent pick, I don't think that's crazy. If you kind of are making the decision he's not for us in twenty twenty six, Could I get a defensive player for Kyle Pitts restart the clock or like a veteran defense player, I don't think that's crazy.
Or you write a number down and slaughtered across the table and see if Kyle will sign it, right? Is that insane? No?
At this point, no, it's got to be. It's not top five tight money though. I'm just not convinced in him as a player to up and down. And uh yeah, the Alfred's another guy who's been pretty good for them that they could probably get to sign long term. That is your Atlanta Falcons in New Orleans Saints messy recap these are they hate each other with Patrick and they're they're similarly messy. You thought I was kind of putting the NFC South in a spot that I shouldn't.
No, Well, in hindsight and looking back at it, I know you love this division. I do know, and you want better, uh, specifically for the Falcons in the Saints something again.
I do, but you know, as I don't remember if it was Big Boy who.
Said it, the South got something to say like we we got we gotta get going this NFC South.
But yes, I made a choice.
It was strategic and and we're putting our NFC North let's go off season preview up on Friday.
And you want to know why that is playing the music because the Friday one, it sits.
There longer, you know, Saturday, Sunday sometimes with it Monday morning. This end, which has more like primetime players, good teams fighting for a season.
I think it's the NFC, right, I think that's more of a.
Friday Okay, hey, look when we're quoting big Boy here, it's regular season.
We're all disgusting sickos football oohs and our poores. Old pizza. Just what can I eat? Just mowing on some ritz crackers with some cheese, just so we could have some more football