The Around the NFL podcast.
Full of hot takes and cool dam.
And from the Chris Westling podcast studio. It's around the NFL. I am Dan hansis got heroes here, Mark Sessler, Greg Rosenthal, cool dad alert, look out, self proclaimed.
But yeah, I'll take that out of uncool dads. But yeah, we you know, we're a little different. We're a little different than when we started in twenty thirteen.
Well, we weren't dads.
I think I was. I know I was, and so is Mark. But yeah, but I was early, early.
That I was already to two children, but we weren't because you weren't so.
Much much older.
It's Mark and I. Then it hasn't happened to the show.
It needs to.
I think everyone knows that fatherhood started in twenty fourteen with the arrival of Jack Carson Kansas. By the way, speaking of my son and my other son and my family and really the whole town where I lived. Congratulations to El Segundo, the Little League team. They won the whole thing.
They won. They won the.
Little League World Series, won the United States title beating Texas on Saturday, then won the world title yesterday on a walk off by this kid Lewis Lappey who I don't know, man, he's never gonna pay for a soda pop again in this town.
Going to the celebration parade on Main Street out.
So maybe at the parade today, Yeah, yeah, it's it's It was a really fun, fun few days being a part of it in uh kind of history for the town because they'd never been to town that prides itself on baseball.
And community and just kind of being a throwback type of community in terms of values.
Uh.
And for that to happen, to go on that run which else is going to have never been in the World Series and win it. I will remember that for a long time. And how are things in your neck of the woods this weekend?
I would say one thing about El Segono because I spent a lot of time there over the years. And if you've never been there or or you know, it's where lax is essentially, but it is this like small old school American almost just like berg in the middle of Massive LA. And it's barely different than if Santa Monica went to the World Series or some other part of this city. It's like this little, tiny old school
town in there. So I can only imagine because you you're a resident now you've embraced it in like you're a huge baseball fan, so that the meeting of these two events together in your life must have been special. I mean you've been you were quite a bit.
I will at all, no.
Genuine missed the playoffs this year. You can't complain. You got your title.
Yes, the old oil refinery, that's true too, the mighty specific.
They called Maybury by the Sea.
A little baseball and our moms arbecuing Bruce Springsteen.
That's badass. Though I don't walk off. I don't know your kids. I would think are going to be talking about that and remember that for the rest of their lives.
Maybe when we always think that with our children, that they'll remember things the way we think they'll remember them, But they're also half paying attention and playing with their friends for the minority of the game because their kids and they have no sense of the moment.
Just mean, when they're in high school and stuff, they'll be like when they're I think they'll know it town pride.
It would be interesting to be in that high school when those kids, these kids like suddenly a royalty inside of a normal you know, what great are they in?
Like, I mean, they're like what, they're twelve, So.
There's a bunch of normal twelve year olds around that I can't even figure out how to like. You know, they're in middle school ways, so they're middle school. And then you got these like local heroes. I mean, there's gonna be a diverg and some social stratospheres in this world over the next few years.
So yes, very important to do in my neck of the woods. Also important is the celebration that is the end of the preseason schedule. It's over, folks. Every game was played, training camps wrapping up. Are we all done with camps across Yeah, pretty much, yep, which means football is next week, real football. Football is back. How about that? Well not yet. No, We've been through this, yeah many many times. You keep on trying to rush the football's back, right, Yeah, it's.
The whole point. It's back at so many different points.
But is it truly back where you could say it without any reservations?
I wouldn't say that. No, I think you need to be stoic about that.
I hate the third week of the preseason.
First couple you're excited, but man like billionaire owners charging full price for guys that have no chance making the team, tearing their acls like like Nate.
So I mean that the brown is a tough It's tough. It's a tough situation.
They literally cut Kellen Mond in Cleveland, and then after they made that, Josh Dobbs trade told Kellen Mond, You're not gonna make the team, but you have to play our entire third preseason game at quarterback. To me, that's preseason and not so they did the same when Nate Sudfeld in Detroit, essentially, and he ended up tearing his acl like he knew he had no chance to make the team.
But Greg, you also made the point it's rough a couple shows ago that anyone arguing about injuries in the preseason needs to pipe down, because.
So just third week, the third week is uh, little.
Mercenary is rough.
And if they if they just charged the twenty bucks per decad, I wouldn't be complained. The fact that you literally pay the exact same amount as a as a regular season game is popble.
You got the old Rex Ryan putting Mark Sanchez back in the preseason game and then a disaster strikes all right, too.
Much negative. We gotta get to the good stuff.
Sorry, no, those guys, those quarterbacks, that's a tough situation. The way they sell them on it is, hey, get the showcase, get some tape, ball out bro showcase and he brings sure someone else call him anyway, all right, we.
Got a lot to get to. Let's start with the news first and tent to the giant fourteen.
Rogers with the third for Wilson in the touchdown till my.
Point he grew an absolute dark Oh there it is.
First of many times I think boys Aaron Rodgers to Garrett Wilson, and I'm getting more and more annoyed to myself because of my Jet fandom. When I did the Superstar Club that I didn't put Garrett Wilson in ahead of it because I feel more certain about that than anything. If he stays healthy and Rogers stays healthy, he's going to think. I think he's gonna produce in that. Justin Jefferson Club this year, Devontae Adams Club. I think he is just different. And now he's paired with a truly
great QB who looks great as well. I think they are gonna make music.
And Aaron Rodgers I mean, I think if you look at the last couple of years in Green Bay sort of openly believe frustrated with wide receiver play. And when you hear on Hard Knocks how he talks about Garrett Wilson, it's genuine, it's real. I think he sees it too, and I think we saw some of it a year ago. And it's like the last year's draft class for the Jets is as big of a game changer and as big of a deal as getting Aaron Rodgers. I watched this game in a place in the middle of LA.
The Snoopy Bowl. You speak of the Snoopy Bowl, but it's like in LA, I.
At least the Jets gave us something to watch this week, and we'll have a few starters out there.
You have a page page of people that don't that aren't tied to anything in LA. It's like they all have eighteen different teams. But the place came to a standstill to watch the Aaron Rodgers drive. It was like, that's what the Jets are this season.
I checked out the Offensive Player of the Year odds because we had to submit our predictions on NFL dot Com. We're also be doing our Awards predictions later on this week this podcast, and Garrett Wilson was somewhat high up there, and I was like, oh, that's that's surprising. But then I also saw Bryce Hall was somewhat high up there, and I was like, oh, Jets fans are feeling the scene. Reason those numbers are quite that high as Jets fans are putting a decent amount of money on it, and
it just puts them higher on the list. But the Garrett Wilson bart, I could buy that, as I said so much pre Sol Offensive Player of the Year, I.
Said, the eyes and the thing about this this Jets season is the logic checks out that they're going to be good.
Will they be good? Well, we're getting closer to finding out. Marquee Football's almost here. I think it's all, you know.
I can't decide if the Dan experience of it is going to be more of an issue for Greg and I if they are really good or if they creter.
And it's like, I really want that. I just want you to be happy.
It's been a huge I can't imagine your weekend, you know, the world serious situation. You've got Aaron Rodgers playing for the Jets. I don't know these are loo could go wrong.
We got our first lot, our reformed Monday Night football recap, the very first one whoa Shallon at Aaron Rodgers' debut, and.
Our super producer Eric Roberts the Bills fans.
So it's just going to be a lot of heat, a lot of heat on Monday Night.
All right, let's go to the news.
Let's start with Aaron Rodgers is a Jet because Zach Wilson failed as the number two overall pick in the twenty twenty one overall In the twenty twenty one draft, one pick after Wilson was taken, Trey Lance came off the board to the Niners, who moved major assets to get Trey Lance. They saw Trey Lance, they being Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch, as the missing piece of really potentially a dynasty that they could build in San Francisco,
And of course that has never happened. Injuries have been a major reason why, but Lance also has had opportunities, both on the field and behind the scenes to entrench himself in the Bay Area.
It never happened.
Sam Donald beat him out as the number two quarterback and now he's gone. The forty nine Ers traded Trey Lance the Cowboys for a twenty twenty four fourth round pick. The Cowboys take on Lance's entire salary that's five point three million guaranteed in twenty twenty four. The Cowboys now could also exercise that fifth round option for twenty twenty
five down the road. Let's start with the forty nine Ers side of it, Greg, This is a team that were they were forced almost to be candid about this after the trade happened, that it just didn't work out, and it's one of the biggest I feel like gaffes for any team in the last five years or so. The fact that it's a one of the super teams in the league makes it even more kind of fascinating.
It's crazy, and it's like fuel for like bad takes everywhere. I almost feel like, I don't like any takes coming out of this. I don't like the takes from the forty nine ers brass even like I watched the Kyle Shannon press conference and I thought he tried to be as honest as he could and he said, look, Sam Darnold really pulled away, that it wasn't that close, and that they were pleasantly surprised to get a fourth round pick.
They weren't.
They weren't even expecting to get something that good for Drey Lance. And I'm like, man, you were a Day three pick.
That's like, let's not make a fourth round pick. During the draft.
People are throwing around like like it's nothing. You throw it in just to move up in the third round. You got nothing for him. It was a disaster. I think after listening to him and Lynch talk about, I think part of it is Trey Lance the person is someone everyone really likes, and that's.
Part of it.
He like is brock Perty's closest friend on the team, which I think says a lot about both of those guys that they're like so tight and when they talk about each other you can tell you mean. And I think they were just trying to avoid their distraction and that it's a painful memory for Kyle Shanahan too, that they're embarrassed by it, and then it's just better off to just totally cut ties, take whatever you can for it.
And the Cowboys, apparently, unlike other teams, stepped up with a fourth round pick, whereas maybe the earlier offers were with the fifth and sixth round pick, and from a forty nine Ers perspective, I think you had to do it, but let's not do the backslapping thing. Was like, it was like, hey, they took a gamble, no harm in that they took it.
And I was like, no, you made a bad gamble. You know, you picked the wrong hard.
And because the rest of the roster has worked out so well, and because Kyle Shanahan has a reputation for essentially taking you know, mid level quarterbacks and maximizing them, this black eye is easier for the Niners to kind of shrug off and move into the season because they're still seen as maybe the second best team in the conference,
second or third. And I find it to be such a bizarre like subplot to this Niners regime because they have struggle in certain ways, and I mean there have been years where injuries derailed them at quarterback, but this is a this is a player that they simply couldn't develop, who if you look at all the rest of the guys that Shanahan has had in theory, on paper has
higher potential, but no one's seen it. I mean, I think you know now that Cowboys adopt this puzzle to solve essentially, I mean, what's not to like from the Cowboys side, But the Niners have to walk away saying this is a player we couldn't figure out, but we have, We've seen him more than anyone, and we gave him away for next to nothing. The Bills, the Ravens, the
Lions had some interest apparently. I mean, this is a black mark on the Niners organization, but I also don't freak out about it, because, yeah, you want team to go swing for the fences.
In another world. Trey Lance state healthy and they depend.
They also took Solomon Thomas over Patrick Mahomes when they desperately needed a quarterback and Josh Allen.
You know, isn't it weird that they have a bit of a blind spot considering the offensive mastermind that's running the show. And I don't know if we have the exact what makes this even more painful than the Jets, for instance, missing on Wilson is that the forty nine ers moved into that sting aggressively. I'm looking at the original article when it came out. Nick Schuk wrote it on March twenty six, twenty twenty one. They traded up
from twelve overall to third overall with the Dolphins. Miami received the twelfth pick, a third round pick, and first round picks in twenty two and twenty three, So they you have to be sure about that guy.
And I guess the question I.
Would have if I'm really from both sides, the fact that they never truly gave him a chance, like truly gave him a chance. If I'm a Cowboys fan or I'm the Dallas guy, I'm kind of tempering my expectations in the sense like if the forty nine ers are willing to give up on this guy, and Sam Donald's bounced around the league for a couple of years and he beat him out in camp, like this might be just a guy that's not a pro.
I am convinced like this started to come into my mind a couple of weeks ago, Like I think Kyle Shanahan probably didn't Net was never on board with Trey Lance as much. I think that he and John Lynch might have been somewhere different on that front.
But that can't happen, you know what I mean. But I think of that magnitude they had to be in locks.
I think they weren't locked up at the beginning, though they convinced him and he was on board at that time.
They'd seen think that.
Like Trey Lance never seemed like the most Kyle Shanahan ESQ quarterback to me. I think by the end of this process, if there were no backstory or value attached to it, that he seemed more comfortable with Brandon Allen as a number three than Trey Lance.
And they moved on. I mean, they're just that.
I think it seemed like they wanted to get rid of and dump the whole Trey Lance weekly questions, the weekly narrative around it, and just move on. And they did right by the player on that front.
Well, I think it's a warning of like they were at the number twelve pick in the draft and they said as much over the weekend. We just didn't think we would be up there again. We thought this was our chance, we got to take a quarterback, this is the year to do it. But like some years, and that was a highly touted draft, they could have taken fields I Jones. My nuclear grade hot take is they might have won the Super Bowl there with Mac.
Joe a couple of years to step on the clear.
I actually think Mac Jones in San Francisco would have worked out like really well, but we'll never know, kind of like how I.
Think Sam Donald will work out with San Francisco really well. And now he's just one heart beat away.
From a Cowboys perspective.
I don't hate that they took on the money like the forty nine or just stop trying to make it out that you did okay in this street to stop it. They tried to like, hey, we were surprised someone actually took his money. It's like, were you really He's making six million over this money that year. It's like he is making less per year than Mike White is for the Dolphins.
So stop it on a one year deal basically, right, She want to keep.
Him around, right, And I think it's worth to try for the Cowboys. And I don't think it says much about Dak, but I do think it's you know, you have to think about the possibility what if Dak gets hurt or what if Dak just had a disastrous year and he has sort of an out in his contract coming up after this year. I think it's way more likely that he gets that contract renegotiated because they would take on a ton of dead money if they tried to ever cut or obviously more likely trade Dak Press.
Well, regardless, you know that you're gonna lose Dak for a number of games, probably the injury every season. I mean, I don't know if there's no proof that he's any better Trey Lance than Cooper Rush, but the potential is there.
Let's hear from Dak Prescott, and you don't have to listen closely to here. He did not necessarily that he's unhappy about the move, but he didn't really need to be talking about it.
But everybody's gonna ask him to be honest with you. I'm not surprised by anything anymore. You've been in this league eight years, been on this team. It's hard to say that I was surprised, to be honest with you.
And here is Jared Jones offering his take on things. Jerry did not consult many people on the front lines of the Cowboys.
According to his words, we.
Didn't tell anybody until we did it.
Period. There was nobody that knew it. We told my captter we've done it. But my point is we just.
Wanted to get it done.
Have you talked it back since then?
No, I have not.
Cathy, the head coach, Jared need to tell us he doesn't.
But I think Jarah loves it. Jarah wants you to know that this is his decision. But you're right, you don't need to go out of your way to say that you kind of kept your head coach in the dark on who his number two quarterback is as well as Dak, who you have a very deep business relationship with at this point and personal relationship I would imagine, and I.
Mean Jerry Jones is the one owner of that.
Jared sort of historically fawns over becomes friends with his players like his own sons.
And to go out of your life, shall we read into that thing?
I don't know, because I think you know, Dak is the one quarterback two of any that I can think of that any time you turn on any talking head show, they're talking about Dak Prescott. We're doing it right now. And it's like, I wonder if some of it's just rubbed off on him a little bit. It just seems to have the weight of the world on him to some degree.
It's disappointing. I mean, it's disappointing for Cooper rush too, who what is he making this year. Let's see, he signed a two year contract for five million dollars, so that's basically nothing. I think he'll be the backup right now, but it might be something where if Dak Prescott got hurt, Cooper Rush comes into the game, but if Dak Prescott misses seven weeks, you're gonna give Trey Lance the chance to play for seven weeks and you have him for two more years. I think that's I think that's a
good move. Dak's got to be thirty one. It's not like you would expect to ever move on from Dak. It's more like if an injury happens in a little bit of leverage, maybe in contract negotiations, but they would take on so much money, some of these quarterback contracts that the big guys are now signing, where they keep restructuring restructuring, like it would be very painful for the
Cowboys to ever move on from Dak Prescott. Not to mention, what are the freaking odds that Trey Lance is gonna ever be better than Dak Prescott is at age thirty one, I think it's pretty small.
The player that Dak is, I think is very small at this point, you know, circling back to what I said about the forty niners being willing to move on your your old boss Florio had wrote a post about you know, they just gave Zach market a top of the market contract. On the offensive line, Michael Parsons is gonna be up for a new deal soon and he's gonna be the highest played defensive player in the league.
Potentially when that happens, so does Dak's contract and having to restructure him soon enough to make the Parsons deal work. Is this all something to keep an eye on. I think it's worth keeping an eye.
Yeah.
It's a huge telling season for Dak Prescott and it is a very disappointing stretch drive year important year.
Another news, Josh Jacobs and the Raiders are back in business.
Similar vibes to Saquon and the Giants.
The Raiders signed Jacobs to a one year, twelve million dollar contract. That's a nice little raise. He would have made just over ten million under the franchise tag. It sets him up well in the future as well. If the Raiders Mark want to tag him again next year, he gets kind of a top of the market one year deal, or they could choose to give him free agency, which is kind of what he's been wanting anyway, if he's not going to get paid to the value he
believes he's worth. So Josh Jacobs back, hopefully the same way he was last year.
I mean, it kind of goes back to me with the whole concept of the Raiders vision about who they are and who they want to be. That they made this very strong decision not to give him a fifth year option, which would have cost them eight million dollars, so they're now paying well more than that after a prolongated, controversial tit and tat here where in the end, Josh Jacob's like, now you roll him out in Week one.
I hope he's healthy.
I hope we don't get one of these situations where a guy didn't show up in the preseason and he's gonna deal with a lower body injury. But he's like critical to their team. They have they they they got themselves into this own mess. And I mean, also, if you're Josh Jacobs, though there was a chance like teams could have come and offered something. The Dolphins had a little bit of interest. Josh Jacobs is the latest running back to learn like teams aren't giving up much for
any of you guys. Unfortunately sad for you, but like no one was coming with a monster deal that the Raiders would have ever accepted.
He did well, though he is the first ever franchise tag player to successfully not show up. It's not technically a holdout since he was unsigned and get a raise. Saquon didn't. Really he got an incentives and it'll hit some of those probably it's like a million bucks a million point eight for saque but uh, Jacobs got it. Jacob's got an actual one point six million dollar rais off the franchise tag that's actually never happened. So that's something. And I think it's because of the owner. I think
Mark Davis. He said, I'm so proud of him. He's the heartbeat of the team. You can read the tea leaves that Mark Davis was like, give this man a raise. I don't care what you think about running back. I just think it's something. But this is not at all what this group of running backs is seeking. These lists one year fix where then you have to go back out on the whole thing. It's like they want real deals and these are like short term, like we're desperate.
It's your Zamir White and so yeah, we'll pay you in the eleventh hour. He's also a guy like didn't have a lot of like no one was doubting them declining his fifth year option. To put that in perspective, well he's been very up and yeah.
Yeah, and if you're curious, yeah, So he's making twelve this year. Derek Henry's making twelve and a half this year as part of his four for fifty.
Contract he signed.
If he did get tagged next year, that would be fourteen, which is just behind Alvin Kamara, who makes fifteen million as the third highest annual value salary in the league. Christian McCaffrey, it's sixteen million per years, number one.
Okay.
Another news this came down a few minutes ago. The Cardinals man the tank is strong in Arizona and it is rolling over hope for the fans of the Redbirds. Colt McCoy will not be the starting quarterback this year. He won't even be on the team. After Arizona cut the veteran passer clearing the way Greg for I guess Josh Dobbs, who they literally just brought into the building come on Greg, don't say stop, this team ain't trying to win.
But why do you assume Josh Dobbs or Clayton Tune or any worse than McCoy Colt. McCoy's thirty eight years old in a new system, and by all accounts, struggled throughout the practice.
And even then he had the full off season, and he's a veteran, Like I felt like he might not play at a high level, but he would at least you know the playbook front and back right, and with Dobbs you're really like you're winging it.
Let's say.
So, their offensive coordinator is Drew Pittsing, who was with Dobbs last year, and so that helped in Cleveland. So that I think that was it that they I think they looked at McCoy and thought this was the other guy. You know, this was the previous regimes guy, and he was gonna have to probably play at a better level than he played at thirty eight years old for them to think, like, why don't we just play Clayton Tune. If there's not much difference between him, Let's play j
Josh Dobbs and Clayton Tune. Clayton Tuon is a fifth round rookie who who I watched quite a bit in the preseason, and I would say he looked okay for a rookie quarterback in the preseas not great, but not terrible.
He's clearly so they drafted him, so they're gonna probably favor him over cult McCoy. You mentioned the link with the OC and Dobbs, and you know, Dobbs was a guy that you know last year the Titans were like, we don't know much about you, but you want it. We need you to come in and win important for game games for us. Over Malik Willis down the stretch and he didn't look that bad. I mean, I think he's serviceable. He's older than people realize. He's been around.
But I think for me, Kyler Murray on the PU, it's like okay, Like in if this was a team that went seven and one, like you roll Kyler Murray back into lineup, if we want to say they're not tanking or they're not doing whatever the word is, like if Kyler Murray never sees the field, we know what this team is doing. And how how do you in today's NFL though, how do you explain to anyone if we don't see Kyler Murray all season long, because you can, you can probably shroud it in some sort of like
he's not fully healthy. But if they were a competitor, Kyler Murray would play this year, no doubt about it, and he probably won't.
They traded for Josh Jobs three days ago. These are not serious people making serious.
I'm absolutely with you right now. I'm very serious about getting the first.
Yeah pick, like serious decisions about being competitive, and that's the guy. I feel bad for Jonathan Gannat because I feel like he's going to be put in a very difficult situation this year, and then you got to trust ownership to let you start over next year.
I where are the wins coming from them?
I think they were hopeful of like the tune McCoy combo and which is crazy to begin with, that they could last for a little while, and that it probably maybe neither were quite as good as they were hoping for and Dobbs they felt like it was a better option. But yes, if you're I've never heard of a late round pick swap for a week one NFL starter. Maybe it might be Clayton Toon, though I can't be sure, I don't know if they're going to win more than
two games. Two good quarterbacks in this draft though, probably they're on an zero for watch for real.
I mean it's almost it's so tough to do that, but I know it is. But just they're on the watch list.
They do like like I want to see what this Rams team is, but like there's no other win on clear win on that schedule and they're at Houston.
They got the Rams a couple of times. But yeah, that's it's a tough stitch for Ryan Jensen and the Bucks.
NFL networks Ian Rappaport reports that the knee injury that Jensen's suffered last year and tried to play through down the stretch.
Is likely career ending. He was placed on IR.
He'll miss the twenty twenty three season obviously, and it sounds like this is the end to the road for Jensen. Robert Hainesley, who filled in for him last year, now will slot in as the starting center this year. So good luck to Robert and Ryan. This at thirty two years old, Ryan Jensen, that is a u that's tough and we talked about it last week, Greg that the he rushed and came back and tried to play on the knee and the blowout loss to the Bucks, a
blowout loss in the playoffs last year. Hopefully that doesn't that didn't come to play in terms of a long term issue.
I mean it seems like it did.
I mean, Jensen said, yeah, his heart was broken and he look, he was a friend of Tom Tom Brady, and Tom Brady helped him get that contract, which he ended up I think he got twenty two to twenty three million dollars guaranteed, ended up only playing one game with it, and he just you can't predict injuries. And he earned that money by playing great for years before that.
But he tried to come back from an ACL MCL meniscus tear and a fractured cartilage and kneecap without surgery using a new method what they they called, I believe a like a futuristic method where they used stem cells from the umbilical cords of babies.
Oh no, no, no, no, no, no, that does not sound right there. That's you need to red flag that if you are Ryan Jensen or anyone that's that's no.
It's like he'll be fair to the to the baby to be honest.
And he played.
He played that game, he played the playoff game, which was a this is not suicide.
Sci fi channel that was not wise.
It was not And plus you're six four three nineteen playing on an unsurgically repaired is.
He just like an old umbilical cord like wrapped around his knee was knotted up?
Like, No, I believe, I believe that's not how that it's it's stem cell treatments from the umbilical cords of babies, which look medical professionals, experts are the ones, uh that are doing this, but yeah that they were also donated by families of babies who were born by cesarean section in Antigua.
I mean, none of this sounds good.
I don't know.
I thought you're going down a different road there. Okay, the healthy baby is born, Okay, Yeah, let's just move on.
That offensive line, which was really good for a while with Tom Brady. To me, is a huge question mark in front of Baker Mayfield.
Look out jobs won at the end of training camp and and preseason Mackai Beckton. His audition at right tackle went well enough where it looks like Roberts is going to give him the right tackle job.
Good luck there. C J. Stroud with Houston.
He's been playing with the number ones all throughout the spring and summer and preseason, so no surprise.
He is now officially the QB one.
For the Texans. Transactions Alert Walker.
On first out, older George left now.
Walker fires down field looking for DJ Moore, didn't catch pro Panthers touchdown. WHOA sixty two yours Carolina.
That's tied the game.
Brilliant throw by PJ. Walker, But the Chicago Bears Greg and I know that throw.
Means a lot too.
It was one of the greatest throws in NFL history.
He was unable to hang around, hang around and be the backup to Justin Fields.
Cut loose by the Chicago Bears.
It's pretty shocking.
They gave I think two two million dollars guaranteed, so I guess the thought of cutting him this early is maybe another team picks him up and then the money offsets because he's he's probably gonna get another job.
But yes, I'm sad for PJ.
I'm sorry. I'm sorry. It was a great, hell of a throw.
Hell a throw Tyson Badgin.
Maybe from Shepherd the Division three Shepherd might be their backup, or it might be Nathan Peterman.
I mean, what a combination.
They he played all right in the preseason. I think that's why PJ. Yeah in the street.
Yeah, let's those Sheriff's fans. You know.
I do not want to see Badgeant on the field in any capacity this season. The Rams trade for starting guard Kevin Dotson uh and the Pats also add two tackles to the mix of their names.
Greg Oh my gosh, well, I gotta go look Tyrone Wheatley.
Tyrone Wheatley the old running back.
For Darien Lowe are the two names. I mean, no, it's not the same person one was. Yeah, the sixth round pick. I think at the Vikings hear go. Their their offensive line is is a mess. They've been just really injured. They had questions. Anyways, they have a new offensive line coach.
The the scar of losing Dante Scarnekia has the scarneck. Yes, it's got me worried. It's not about the facts that thes have his son. Yeah, that's where he's like, that's right there, head.
Of operations, Yeah, of something of some type of strange title.
Right now.
The Patriots starting rate tackles probably like a fourth round rookie who's looked bad in the preseason and is hurt also, so they are scrambling. I'm not sure who is starting week one. Oh, by the way, they play the equals oofah.
Finally, let's head to kicker corner. Let's go to the club. Nobody likes to go to the club on Monday. I do, Cade York, no good.
Bro the Browns kicker who struggled last year struggled again throughout training camp of preseason cut loose, So Cleveland's looking for a kicker. The Titans also without a kicker right now, let me just throw out there.
Hey, Robbie Gold still looking for a job. The Niners.
Also speaking of Robbie Gold, the Niners Moody the guy that they invested a high draft pick, and he's beat up. His backup also beat up, so they have questions there too. Robbie, do not pick up the phone if John Lynch calls. He was disrespect in the first place, but go to one of these other places.
I think Gold like I would take Robbie Gold in the second The Browns, though, traded a twenty twenty five to seventh round pick to the Chargers for Dustin Hopkins.
So in theory, that's their guy.
Dustin Hopkins was far from perfect either, but watching cade Yorke melt down this preseason.
Couldn't bring him back.
I mean it was rough like that. Did you see the final kick against the Chiefs. This was a chance to go kick. It was a manageable game winning field goal with less than a minute to go. Bart not gonna put Patrick Mahomes back in there at the Chiefs they're done and low kick deflected away locked.
Oh, just a mess and just you kind of knew right there.
You know, the layman's gonna blame that on the line, But many times it's the kicker kick he's been off, gotta leva fine and you knew he was gone.
And it's like they that was the highest one hundred and twenty fourth pick, fourth round, twenty twenty two draft.
That that doesn't happen that often.
It's the highest kicker drafted, I think in six years, since twenty sixteen. And this is why you gotta be careful on the old tweets on Twitter, Brown's sent out a tweet. I believe after week one, Eric's gonna fly up on the YouTube. That's why you draft a kicker when kd or hid that game with things changed fast.
Not a coincidence. That was sent on nine to eleven.
We have another Browns tweet that was quite a problem today if we I believe there we go Happy birthday to offensive guard Michael Dunn, who hours later and we've encountered this Dan multiple times was cut by the organization and that tweets later that day, yeah, hours later.
Why can't these two sides speak. You gotta have a social writer at the meetings. They got to be in there with the personnel chiefs. I mean, Jerry's got to tell everything. You don't tell Michae McCarthy, but you at least tell the social team that step can't be missed.
That you can't. You can't because they literally ruined his birthday, right, don't send out a tweet. It is like the worst birthday. You're mocking him. Michael Donne, Hey, Michael Dunn, No if ans or butts here, happy birthday from us.
We wish that.
I hope and I think he might get another job. He's he played a bunch for them. He's kind of connected to the podcast industry. His wife I happen to know as the producer of the Birds with Friends podcasts.
How about that features our friend of the show, Bo Wolf and Zach Berman.
It's a small world. The layman might not know that Mark, So yeah, well it's not usy'd be a layman.
I think some teams out there need some blocking.
One more plug. The guy's a millionaire, but I'm going to give him the plug anyway. Robbie Gould Lifetime, He's forty years old, made over eighty four percent of his kicks last year for the forty nine ers, and in the postseason the Browns. I would imagine Mark fashion themselves a team that could compete in the playoffs.
Well, they've got Hopkins. I think that they made their move.
But I think they do, and that's one of the reasons they weren't going to risk the kid York thing, even though a week ago they were talking like Rabel.
Probably they see themselves as playing meaningful ball.
Yeah, anyway, I literally don't have a kicker.
Robbie Gold twenty nine for twenty nine in field goals in the postseason, thirty nine for thirty nine and extra points sixteen games in his career, sixteen playoff games, has never missed it. I think it's AGM. I think it's in there. It's who goes touchbacks enough.
I would be worried too if you're the Browns, like taking the loser of a Chargers kicking competition.
Yeah, that seem feels I know Cameron Dicker is a good, good kicker, but ominous.
Uh. Before we take a break, a reminder, we announce it on Thursday. Give me some bad music, No little industrial factory. It's like in bed music. NFL plus.
Multiplication sign around the NFL this season two shows a week.
Do we have any word?
Or is it Mondays and Thursdays they go up live on the on their site or is it?
I think so yeah, like a heavy conversation. I would think so. Still, but it's going to be special.
Monday's Thursday's brand new episodes. Monday will be a Game of the Week. We picked the game we love the most. On Sunday we watch it together and look at it from a different angle. And then Thursday Treamatorium Dream out Loud.
Brother this game of the week situation.
So there's three of us and like, probably someone's gonna have to step in and break, you know, ties between person A and person B's picking two games, and then what if the third person votes a third game?
How do we decide? I didn't even think about that.
I mean it's gonna be I can just see already, like the Powers, you know, with the power wrestling.
What if it's all one one one, That's what I'm saying.
Yeah, leave it up to our silent.
Name of the hat.
You could we could put it out as a as a poll or something though maybe which would drew.
Behind the scenes.
He doesn't speak though, we would never get it out of him.
Yeah, we'll figure it out. That's for us to figure out anyway.
NFL Plus atn you need a subscription here in the States everywhere else. That's part of your disown game pass international situation over there.
We'll be right back after this. All right, welcome back.
My voice maybe a little off screaming in the local fields of the Southland.
Nobody could discredit your enthusiasm.
Now that preseason is over, now the training camp is over.
Are there any thoughts? We've got a big week coming up.
By the way, I want to express this before we get to the final conversation of this show, we have two of our favorite shows. In fact, you know who reached out to me. I'm not tone tails out of school here, right. I told you guys about this last night, out of nowhere, out of the blue. You know who text me? No, Scott Hansen. You know what Scott Hansen wanted to know?
You know who? Scott Hansen? I think anyone who's an American one.
Red Zone the voice which you can you can also get on NFL Plus.
Bang plug it Baby Hanson checkson with hands us and guess what he wants to know when around the AFC and around the NFC is rolling out on our podcast? Says I've been catching up on pods. When's it rolling out? And I said, well, Wednesday Baby, and Thursday Baby, AFC and NFC with special guests.
And he's like, thanks for the info.
He's like, this is the show that really the host of the first football Sunday for the entire country. These are the shows he needs to listen to before he feels prepared to welcome the entire country into his Hansonian insanity.
And he famously does not relieve himself during the Red Zone telecast. And what I almost replied to him, I wanted to kind of take the relationship a little further said, I relieved myself constantly during ATM tapings fifteen times a show. We got to stop down and old Zeuser's got to take care of the prostate. We know, I mean it is, it's it's become a major issue and impediment for the show.
So but that would guys are polar opposites from that part of the buckle.
And he had our last names very similar. Think about that? Have you ever thought about that?
No? Yours?
This moret of like an archaic European version of his recognized.
Version, exactly like I could have.
I could have had forefathers that got off the boat at Ellis Island and they said, no, bro, you're Hanson now.
So I duck that one. I like the originality of it all.
Did he mention like your co hosts on the in the text thread mentioned Greg, well, you know I saw Scott Hanson a couple of weeknds ago. I had some friends to give him a little tour, and like, he couldn't have been nicer.
So he and I are in a good place, good, good, good, great place, excellent, excellent.
So around the AFC, around the NFC in forty eight minutes each coming up later this week with our good friends Patrick, Clayban and Shook is back.
This is great.
Nick Schuck is going to join us and do the NFC. Also, we're going to do our season predictions award predictions. Did you guys get your copy in?
By the way? Oh yeah, I gonna mention here.
I feel like last year one of us didn't and maybe cause that issue one of you guys.
I remember, I did it. I think I needed an extension though it might have been you. No, I had it. I was in.
I sent I did it. That we're going to drop on Monday morning. It's like, oh, the rest of the world tease, It's like the rest of the world, Oh, Labor Day. Actually the rest of the world is like, what, you have a holiday and you know what it is for us day? Yeah, today, we'll be dropping it those awards predictions on Monday, Labor Day. Pick who wins the super Bowl, super.
Bowl Picks, award picks, any other predictions that we want to share that's coming up. All right, final thoughts on the summer That was Greg right before training camp started. I remember we had a conversation and a segment on the shows like what matters? What should the discerning smart football fan be paying attention to at the beginning of training camp. What's something at the end of training camp now that we should be keeping tabs on as Week one rapidly approaches.
The injuries, to me are always the biggest thing, So I tried to look at the bigger picture. The Dolphins starting camp with Jalen Ramsey getting hurt to me, was as big as story as there's been. And then for a cascade of injuries in the secondary along with Jalen Ramsey after that, Like that's one team. I just feel a little differently about like that actually mattered that going into the season. I think the Dolphins are a little thinner and a little more suspect on defense and X.
But I'd say outside of like what's happened to Denver's wide receiver corps, like the Dolphins a couple months ago, and this is so happens every year to a couple teams of dotting the teams just like they looked complete everywhere, and like toront Armstead has has that issues guys on defense and it's like, you know, a couple fortnights later and like there's holes there and like you in that division with that schedule, Miami is not as sure of a thing, and.
I hesitate to react too much this. I wouldn't have brought this up because I don't know if this part matters. But like I don't think to had a great camp, just based on the reports on the.
Scene that he was a little too also, no, not at all.
Just that he was a little up and down, and I you know he was. He played a lot in the preseason, and I think I think they were trying to work some things out a little bit, maybe that he had a little bit uneven of a start a year or two.
He I mean, we'll see.
Though he's had some just remarkably efficient runs when he's been healthy on the field, he's also had some really bad stretches and bad games if you kind of go by his game log, I don't think he's sure of a short slam dunk that he's going to play at a high level. I'm kind of in a similar boat and that and that, you know, the New England side of things as well, if we want to stick in
the AFC eas for a little bit. Their ability to have a full training camp and preseason with Mac Jones being the guy and O'Brien being the lead, What did you take out of the Patriots? Do you feel any better about their offense compared to this time last year?
Yes, except for the offensive line, which is a big except for I kind of like what they're getting out of kish On Booty to Mario, like, I actually think they have enough sneaky. One of the big stories was Zappi looked bad in practice and camp there was never and in the games there was certainly never any battle. I think they're a very frisky team if they get some protection.
I mean, I feel like the reporting around the offense has been just underwhelming from wire to wire, and it.
Got a little better I think towards the end. In term, I think they have enough there.
But we'll see.
That's two teams in the AFC. EA still that everyone wants to, you know, throw everyone in the playoffs. But it's like the Jets and the Patriots have big offensive line question marks.
You guys must have experienced it doing these predictions, Like man at the AFCs loaded, it's hard to leave out some of these teams that you're going to make it.
I know one team that I named as a division winner because you know, a couple of months ago at this started to get into the mind that this.
Team might be being overlooked.
I cannot think of a team that offensively had a more I wouldn't say outrageous, but just pretty clean from wire to wire.
The Pittsburgh Steelers think they mattered.
I think they mattered because I think there's a team that you could have said, well, we like Pittsburgh because of Tomlin, but we don't trust Kenny Pickett. And you have no idea if the offensive line is going to work or if the whole attack's going to eat me anything more than like a bowl of an ill ice cream.
And they came out on just execute it over and over.
And I thought to Picket, if it's the preseason, so it's like, fine, but if you get that version of him, if anything, he's not turning the ball over. He's super clean, Like he totally has chemistry with Pickens and the rest of those guys.
And so I picked them as my.
Division winner, over the Bengals, over the Ravens, over the Browns.
Over here that was it's random, fell little teeth well, because.
You know what, because a lot of times you'll see, yeah, really you're like saying they're gonna be good, but you're not gonna do anything about it.
It's like I'm doing so trust us we do.
After what you said in the summer and then they had a nice preseason, You're.
Probably have them in the super Bowl. Twelve and five, you have them the super Bowl. No, I'm not gonna reveal that answer right now. You got to leave.
You know, we'll see in the super Bowl.
I think they found an That's never.
What I said initially about them. I think they're just a.
I I listen, that preseason was perfect for them.
Now I can't wait.
In fact, when we do our draft, which is coming up week one draft?
Wow, can you believe it? Next week?
I know, Mark, you're gonna be hot in the pants for that ten am Steelers Niners. That's absolutely But you better hope the draft goes your way, aren't you. I want to do because I want to see the Steelers. I want to see that offense and action against a real defense. What's that's trying with its first team?
That would be a real tone setter for you to take that game away from me, like, well into our.
First draft, well you can't.
He First of all, the Jets are in primtim so he doesn't have to worry about that, right, so he just goes.
And plucks this. Well, I'll do the old I'll be watching the universe.
Of I on now that it would be coroel to take the Steelers away from Mark Ceils.
Let's hit. I'm down with this, Niners. It's like a huge aspect to that. That's a fetish of yours, I understand.
But that's a great game and I can't wait to see. But it's also another test of what drives me so crazy about this time of year is people get so worked up right about teams that do well in the preseason, and then you don't have that that mindset of like.
Nobody's really trying. It doesn't matter right.
Well, well, like the Ravens, for instance, it didn't get nearly the pop in the preseason. They lost their starters. Yeah they lost again. Uh oh, this thing, this boat is taking on water. They didn't get a lot of pop in terms of the camp reports. Their starters didn't play in the preseason. But I actually look at that and I look for the most part, there haven't been massive game changing injuries around the league.
Burrow, we assume it is gonna be totally fine for week one.
Like I actually look at their camp now and think, look, they got to week one with this receiver group healthy, that JK. Dobbins did return in time, Like that was a concern going into it in July, and like even though we have no idea what's gonna happen, Like Flowers looks pretty good, Bateman and obj are healthy. Like they got to week one with everything intact, which for that team is a win. They brought in Clowny, So like, to me, that's a win for the Ravens in terms
of the preseason. That mattered that none of those guys are hurt when you actually think they're gonna be hurt. I think the Panthers had a bad preseason, Okay, I Kanmu keeps struggling. He gave up another sack, Like this is three straight weeks, and their receiver group is pretty banged up and not impressive even if they weren't branged up, like they're slow. I have a little more concern about Bryce Young and that offense that I did come in into it.
And the fact that this cult situation and we're coming up on tomorrow is the self imposed deadline.
Right on cut day for the Colts with Jonathan Taylor.
The fact that that you look at the Raiders, they got Josh Jacobs situation under control. Here, it's going to be very tough for the Colts with a rookie wide, rookie quarterback and Anthony Richardson. If this is going to continue to hang over this team. Does this get done? Maybe by the time you hear this podcast Jonathan Taylor's traded.
I also thought I didn't really share it last week, but you know, sometimes you could sniff this stuff out, like that report that there were all these different teams interested in Taylor that could have been sent out, you know, to Wavers and trying to make this a thing, even when it's not necessarily a thing.
Is that guy even healthy? Where are the Colts?
And you look at the AFC South in general, it just it's kind of a tough division to make sense of because you have the Colts, as I said, with a rookie quarterback, you got Houston Texans or the rookie quarterback the Tennessee Titans. Everybody's kind of saying they're on the downswing now. But you know, unless you're really high in the Jaguars Titans could hang around. That's why I shouldn't have bang the under the Colts.
Like, so, this is a player who is revered as like the guy in the locker room, your star running back is like considered one of the best dudes around
for every person talks about him that way. What are you saying to like everyone else in the organization when it's like we're we're willing to shop this guy, go into the season without the core of our offense and like after a last year's organizational meltdown, I mean you thought that, you know, you repset things you bring in Stike in like Stiking's gonna have a vision, You give Stiking what he needs to succeed, and instead you're in this prolonged like battle with the best player.
On your team.
I think it's like it's a weird message to everyone involved about what the cults hope to achieve based on really just a couple of million, millions of dollars.
It's a bad way to start the season.
And my last one is bad vibes. It's good if you're a forty nine Ers fan. The brock party thing went as well as possible. That mattered that that really absolutely matter.
That he got on the field for practice, first coops played in the preseason, no setbacks. The Trey Lance thing was a cloud hanging over the organization and they move him out U And now you have Sam Donald, who they like behind Party and it's all systems go with an offense that is gonna be ready to roll. I really think no matter who the quarterback is, so they have clarity at that spot because Donald is a locked
and loaded back up. They showed their faith in Party and they got Trey Lance out of there, which I think was necessary.
So if I'm a San.
Francisco forty nine Ers fan, I'm like, Okay, good, we know what's going on here. We don't have anything else with this team standing in the way of making that run and finally getting over the hump and getting back to the super Bowl and winning the thing.
Well except for one guy. He's up in the Pacific Northwest Gino. I don't know about that offensive line better. All right, let's you know what, let's sit down the side. I know there's too many weak one.
Around the AFC and around the NFC.
We don't want to stomp on the new of those conversations about these teams.
Yep, save it. That would disappoint Scott Hanson. We cannot do that, No need to. All right, that's it. How are you doing? Eric? How's your thumb? By the way, thumb check Robert's thumb check.
Actually, it's supposed to be getting stitches out today, so.
Well that's gonna be telling to see what the what it looks like. Whatever's happened to me?
Growth yet?
I mean it's scabbed over pretty nice.
I mean, I don't think you need a daily update on the growth. It's gonna take.
I do take Mark is Also, this is just from a human like the evolution. I know your anti Darwinism, Greg, but like I want to know if we're dealing with something new.
Yeah, just being actual.
Doctor said that his thumb would just literally grow back.
That's news. That was news.
I think it's gonna happen. I have faith in you. I have faith in your thumb. But it's not gonna be like it grows an extra inch every day.
It's gotta take a little while.
Right, like those I said, those stats about like glaciers, like it's moving at an incredible pace. It's like a centimeter and you know every five years.
You know, Rosenthal is always like on and on about Adam and even the Guardian and everything. I think that we might be dealing with our producer here, that this is the next stage of evolution and it starts in the kitchen with an accident and it turns into a revolution.
It's exciting for our show.
If nothing else, If I can bring anything, I hope it's a fun talking point for the next year.
So Greg, go ahead, What.
Else do I have to say?
Maybe he'll be the next like Pedro Martinez that thumb's gonna come back like three inches longer.
And Eric I thought you were gonna have an Adam and Eve tap.
Oh yeah, love those guys.
All right, that's it, Like you said Wednesday around the AFC in exactly forty eight minutes with Patrick Clayban.
Now that sothing to be excited about.
We're getting closer. Football is back mostly not really, but soon.
Here's the goll