Colin Cowherd Podcast - INSTANT REACTION: NFL Free Agency Frenzy, Kirk Cousins to Falcons, Barkley and Jacobs In Perfect Situations

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quarterback is going to get paid. Safeties, the furthest from a quarterback are not getting paid. Look around right now, safeties, pretty good safeties are being let go. They're the furthest player from a quarterback. I mean, I don't know where Jamal Adams goes of the Seahawks formerly the Jets, who pays for him, But yet guards are getting paid. The Rams now have two Pro Bowl level expensive guards. As they'll move another guard to center, they're protecting an older

quarterback his knees. Quarterbacks need to be protected, and that's where the money's going. The other thing of influence that jumps out to me is that the influence of the head coach. So a great example, Matt Lafleur is an offensive coach. He goes and convinces the front office I can make Josh Jacobs work. Now, Aaron Jones is very good, he's let go probably too often banged up. Now Josh Jacobs has also had injuries, but he may view Josh Jacobs as a better version of a good player Aaron Jones.

So they make the call Rams offensive coach go get another expensive guard, Jonah Jackson, who is a terrific young, late twenty year old guard. Would a defensive coach pay that kind of money or have that influence to want two expensive guards. Antonio Pierce, defensive coach, goes to Mark Davis and says, hey, get me in this division against Herbert and Mahomes. Get me an expensive one hundred million dollar interior lineman Christian Wilkins eighty five million guaranteed. You

see the influence. Gabe Davis, an inconsistent receiver. Doug Peterson offensive coach, convinces his front office, get me Gabe Davis, Let's pay him forty million dollars. Jim Harbaugh, this is not a surprise. Harbaugh is willing. In fact, I think we talked about this about two weeks ago. He wants a running back, want some power football. He goes and gives Gus Edwards Baltimore a two year deal offensive coach. You see the influence. The guys making money in this

league are not general managers. It's quarterbacks and head coaches are making fifteen million, ten million, twenty million, thirty forty million dollars a year. They have real power in the building. Those defensive coaches they're gonna I mean, Mike Tomlin, look at all the money the Steelers spend on the defensive side. Now look at the look at the rams outside Aaron Donald. They're not paying anybody on defense. They're gonna pay Cooper Cup,

Matt Stafford, two guards, Rob Havenstein. They're paying their their tight end. See where the money goes, Mike Tomlin. It's the defensive guys getting paid. So that tells you the influence of the head coach in terms of moves that will impact wins. Well, none of these teams are going to pay this money if they don't think it makes the team better, So we can all kind of admit that. Listen, I think Kirk Cousins to Atlanta is it more than

I'd like to pay. Yes, but the market for Kirk Cousins was going to be forty million up and he's going to get about forty five million for Atlanta. He has tremendous value in Atlanta, tremendous value defensive coach, weaker division, He'll be arguably the best quarterback in that division. They have young offensive players that need guidance. That's tremendous value. But in Minnesota, where he's not his younger talent that as Jared Goff looks like Jordan Love has a chance

to be more talented and more productive than him. Caleb Williams is coming into the fold, and they look at it in Minnesota and say, we have two good receivers, a great left tackle, very good tight end, excellent offensive coach. We don't need to spend forty five million dollars for Kirk Cousins, We're going to go get maybe a Sam Darnold on the cheap draft a quarterback kind of reset

our quarterback clock. So Kirk Cousins value in Atlanta is pretty strong, young team, defensive coach, weaker division where you drop twenty seven points, you can win a lot of games in that division. In the NFC North, you got Caleb Williams coming in, and regardless of what anybody says, Bears have some talent, now Bears have some talent. You also have Jordan Love and the Packers their talent overwhelmingly.

Now with Josh Jacobs on the offensive side, Detroit stacked offensively, best offensive line in the league, Ben Johnson, great coordinator, amer On Saint Brown, Piney Sewell, a tremendous young running back, Jared Goff. So the value for Kirk Cousins of Minnesota, let's go get a JJ McCarthy, Let's go get a Penix of bon Nicks, and then Sam Darnold reset the quarterback clock. Sam Darnold on the cheap. So it just depends on who the coach is. I think again, if

you're a quarterback protecting the quarterback. Pursuing a quarterback connected to the quarterback, you're gonna make a lot of money and the league is on fire. It's just I'm looking at some of the moves. Gardner Minshew went to the Raiders in that division, good luck, But Antonio Pears is going to spend a fortune on a defensive tackle Christian Wilkins. They get two years, twenty five million on the cheap,

they go and get a quarterback. I don't think Sean McVay or Matt Lafleur not that they need Gardner Minshew. I don't think they would go sign a two year deal with Gardner Minshew. That's not their answer. So you just see the importance offensive coaches put on a valuable back, a tackle, a weapon, a quarterback. All of it's fun, though, isn't it. You know, one of the things the NFL has created through the years is there's a lot more young general managers. In years and years ago, you just

didn't see this kind of activity. Older general managers very reluctant to take some swings on this stuff. But with the youth in free agency and the youth in coaches, a lot of these less sneed and Sean McVay and John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan. You know, these guys are close, They have each other's back. They work in unison, and they're aggressive people. Younger people in society tend to be a bit more some would say reckless, but more aggressive, you know, than older people. So I love what it is.

Right now, we're seeing in the NFL some big swings and there's not a single move. Let me look at try to be critical here of a move. I don't know. I'm looking over again. We could have twelve new ones by the time I'm done reading this. Gabe Davis three years forty million to Jacksonville is pretty pricey. That probably means they're moving off Ridley or a Christian Kirk, both of who I like. That's a little pricey for me,

But it's Trevor Lawrence got a lot invested. Doug Peterson's going to spend money on offense to make that work, So I get it little pricey for my taste. Now, Rams pay Jonah Jackson, the former Lions guard, three years fifty million. You say, oh, that's expensive. They already have Kevin Dotson, but they're moving the rookie guard last year they're gonna move him to center. So it makes sense, right, you're not paying your left tackle, now you're not paying

your center. Yet you're paying your guards to protect Matt Stafford. I get it. I guess those two you could say, are at the higher end the price point. Nothing bothers me. I will say, I like Aaron Jones with the Packers a lot. I also like Josh Jacobs of Green Bay. Aaron Jones is a good football player. Where do you go with a running back like Austin Eckler free agent Aaron Jones, Congori wants to go. I like Aaron Jones

a lot. That's a really good player out there. These young general managers, though, a lot of these guys if not analytics. They're going to push back on safeties. They're going to push back on off ball linebackers. They're gonna push back on running backs. That's what they're gonna do. Matt Lafleur goes the opposite way. He pays for Josh Jacobs. Here's an interesting one. So the Packers released David Bochtiari.

So he's missed forty one games in three years. He was really good in his prime, but he can't stay healthy. We know Aaron Rodgers has a history of wanting his buddies to play with him, and not necessarily his great buddies. Randall Cobb at once very productive past his prime. I guarantee you he'd love Backdiari to protect him for a

game Alan Lizard. So again, I could see Bocdari coming over and the Jets still drafting a left tackle and Bochtiari being there for some reassurance, some guidance, almost a coach to a rookie left tackle. Listen Andrew Thomas for the Giants was a very good left tackle. He wasn't ready to play when he came into the league. He got overwhelmed a bit. That is not an easy position to adapt to college to the pros. Left tackle, quarterback, left tackle, that is a lot to put on a

twenty two year old's plate. I could see Boctieri going to the Jets for a year again, can't stay healthy? Would he take incredibly team friendly one year deal. Aaron and David Bachtiari are close. Green Bay made a lot of moves, but again, young aggressive head coach in a division where Detroit's got real, real talent, stacked roster. They add Josh Jacobs, they release Aaron Jones, they lose Darnhill Savage and John Runyon. They released David Bachtiari, They add

a safety Xavier McKinney. A lot of movement in Green Bay. Not known as a team that does make a lot of moves of note in the free agent period. So there are some names out there that have not committed yet or been signed yet. Justin Fields from the Bears. I don't think he has a tremendous market. You're going to have to pay him within a year. Calvin Ridley Jaguars ride receiver is going to be out there. Leonard Williams, defensive lineman for the Seahawks. Austin Eckler Chargers. Ryan Tannehill

quarterback Titans. You know, Tannehill is interesting, so big Mobile Accurate at one point was a number one seat in the AFC. It's interesting if you had Ryan Tannehill or Justin Fields. Now Tannehill's more expensive, who would you choose. Well, kind of my belief is you can't worry too much

about cost at quarterback. I mean, it's obviously if you're Minnesota, forty five's too rich On Kirk Cousins, but it wouldn't be if he didn't have a surgery, was three years younger and a little more mobile, then you'd just pay it right. Tannehill's interesting. If Tannehill and Justin Fields are your options, I mean, one has been a number one seed. One can't win games. Sounds crazy. Derreck Henry of the Titans again, I'd be interested one or two year deal.

The Justin Field scenario is really interesting. Right, he hasn't been signed yet. There are certainly arguments in his favor. Hey, it's the Bears. They can't get quarterback right. His first year to year and a half, the offensive line was horrible. He had a first year defensive head coach. You know, the division has better teams and more experienced coaches, Dan Campbell, Matt Lafleur. There are certainly arguments to be made that

he could be better elsewhere. I think that's reasonable. I've said before, Sam Darnold reportedly is going to get a shot in Minnesota with the really nice offensive weapons. Is Justin Field's worthy of another shot? I think so now. I thought Atlanta was his best space, but Seattle's still out there. I mean, it does say something that Antonio Peers took Gardner Minshew over justin fields. Now, what's scary about Minshew is that he had one of the smartest

offensive coaches in the league, Shane Steiken. So is Minshue a little overvalued based on a brilliant offensive coach and the Raiders aren't going to get nearly as good of productivity out of him now with a defensive head coach and a defensive culture, that argument makes a lot of sense to me. You know, That's why I always worry. So Kevin O'Connell is an offensive coach, they have justin Jefferson. I mean, Kirk Cousins was on fire before the injury.

Now he goes to young offensive weapons and a defensive coach, it's realistic to think he won't be as productive. So in free agency, when you get a quarterback or a star receiver like t Higgins is out there right potentially in a trade, Well, T Higgins is going to go to a place. He's not going to Kansas City, I doubt. Now, if he got Mahomes, then spend some money. But the truth is he has Joe Burrow, okay, and then he has an offensive coach, and then he has Jamar Chase

on the other side, drawing double teams. So T Higgins productivity, you could argue for a number two receiver, he's in a perfect space to be productive. Offensive coach, great quarterback, star receiver. On the other side, Yeah, but what if he goes to an average quarterback. What if T Higgins ends up in New England and he is the dominant one draws double teams if they have a rookie quarterback

it's a defensive culture, then T Higgins could disappear. Tyreek Hill was lucky he went Andy Reid to Mike McDaniel and Tyreek's great. But so much of this stuff is situational. T Higgins is at the perfect place for a number two receiver to eat Burrow. The offensive coach Jamar Chase perfect, no guarantees he would do that if he went to the Raiders. Now I don't think he's going to the Raiders. But all this stuff is situational. Remember only about thirty

three percent. I think the number is a free agent's hit, right, that's it. So a lot of times you see a player and you look at him and go, well, how good is it going to be? Like I think Saquon Barkley to the Eagles could be productive. First of all, better offensive line in Philadelphia. Both the Giants and the Eagles have offensive coaches, but a better old line in Philadelphia. You have a better quarterback in Philly, less reliant on

Saquon Barkley, less predictable offen. You've also got two excellent wide receivers Devonte Smith and aj Brown. Eagles always have good tight ends, so you can't glom onto and focus on a Saquon Barkley like you could do with the New York Giants. So I think Saquon Barkley could go to Philadelphia and you lock up and you're like, oh, I'm getting the best version of Saquon Barkley. You know, the wide receivers wide, keep the safeties out of the box.

You have very productive pass catching tight ends in Philadelphia. A quarterback that can move all of a sudden Saquon Barkley in Philadelphia. Better offensive line. You may be looking at a proll Bowl running back Saquon Barkley. If I'm Saquon Barkley today, I am fist pumpin' get me to Philadelphia, Get me the Eagles playbook, better a line, better weapons, better quarterback. What's not to light. You could get fewer

carries and be more productive. So, you know, like a lot of these guys, I look at and I think, you know, sometimes a good player is a good player. But if I'm Josh Jacobs for the Raiders and I get now an offensive coach over the last ten years, better offensive lines, I would say a weaker defensive division. Okay, so you know you start looking at that division. Minnesota doesn't have a great defense. Detroit is mostly about offense.

So I look at Josh Jacobs and I think, I go to a winning culture with winning momentum and offensive coach. I've got tremendous tight end and wide receiver weapons young and it looks like Jordan Love. Again, here's a quarterback that can move and now he's got some experience in the system and starting. I'm Josh Jacobs. So Saquon Barkley Giants to the Eagles. Josh Jacobs Raiders are the Packers. I'm a running back. I should be much more efficient,

much more productive, perhaps even with fewer carries. Isn't that a running back's dream? Fewer care more production, more touchdowns. So there's an argument there that like a Barkley and a Josh Jacobs. Those everybody's saying, you know, running backs very sad nobody wants a running back. Satwuan Barkley and Josh Jacobs got great landing spots. I'd be shocked if

both aren't more productive. I mean, green Bay doesn't make moves in free agency, but Jordan loves twenty five, Jacob's twenty six, must Grave the tight End twenty three, Read the Receiver twenty three Christian Watson, Romeo Dobbs. I mean green Bay's offense is going to be dynamic for years, and they don't spend money in free agency this this they just want to make sure they can get a

running back that's healthy. If you don't like green Bay's offense, I don't know what you're watching because they got nothing but young, dynamic, twitchy, fast, talented pieces. Tight end, running back, wide receiver, quarterback. Thanks so much for listening. If you've enjoyed the podcast, take a moment rate and review