40s and Free Agents: Offseason Preview for 12 Eliminated NFC Teams

00:00:07
Gregg: Welcome to forties and free agents. I'm Greg Rosenthal with Daniel Jeremiah. When you hear that song, you know it's time to start looking ahead to off season and player acquisition season. And Daniel Jeremiah, you are back off the road from covering the Chargers and now it's time to start looking at teams and what they're going to do this offseason in terms of free agency, in terms of the draft. Just like kind of a big autopsy and we're starting in the NFC this.

00:00:38
DJ: Can I give you one one thought here before we get going, please, you know you get through the year. I don't know if you have this a lot of times. It happens for me after the draft every year, and this time sometimes happened at the end of the regular season or whenever the Charger season is done. I've been traveling around with them. You get a little bit sick, so playing a little bit injured today. But I like the ricola is a good cough drop. It is effective, but it's too big. It looks like you've got to it looks like you've got a Charleston chew in your mouth or something like. It's just we've got a streamline like we need a flatter cough drop than what I mean has given me.

00:01:13
Gregg: That's a hot take. It's been working since I don't know since for like hundreds of years. That thing is great. You can't just put it on your tongue. No one's going to see it. If it's just on your tongue. You don't have to do it like a dip.

00:01:24
DJ: No, it's like it's like a big cube. It's like that car, like that cube car that like you see it. This is like cuban cough drop for me. You can't you can't do it when you're working in this medium. So just a frustration of mine. I just wanted to voice that as we get into the off season.

00:01:38
Gregg: It also would be disrespectful to have it, you know, to our forties and free agents listeners in your mouth while you're doing this show. It also doubles though, as like a candy for kids. Just you know, like you're going to say, it's a doorstop, let's go through the NFC teams and we're gonna get ambitious here. Yeah, we're actually going to go through every NFC team that is no longer in the playoffs, So that's twelve teams kind of an overview on some of the big questions, and we'll start and I'll get going with the teams that just got knocked out of the playoffs. So I will start with the Eagles, a team that you know really well, and to me, some of the bigger picture questions and just thoughts of like, Okay, where did this team need to go? The offensive line wasn't good enough this year, which is different for them. We got to find out one hundred percent is Lane Johnson definitely returning. You would think he doesn't want to go out this way, but that's a big question. I just personally have you know as we're taping this, they have not gotten rid of Kevin Patullo next, but the expectation is they're going to get some sort of big name. I'm assuming Nick Sirianni is not going to be gone. And then I also think again, and I'm just talking big pictures, not even getting into the free agents yet. You know, will Tanner McKee and or AJ Brown get traded this offseason? Two of the greats in the NFL right now, the backup quarterback Tanner McKee and AJ Brown.

00:03:03
DJ: There's a lot of fun thoughts there with this team it's a big off season, formed big opportunity. I am with you to me the you know, the offensive coordinator criticism. Look that when you're not productive and they have as many good to great players as they have on that offense, there's going to be there's going to be fallout there. So I would imagine we probably see a change. And then Delane Johnson thing, you've got to now address that in terms of either you're gonna just kind of okay, we're going to go in a new direction here because of not knowing whether you're in or out. You can't have that hold you hostage anymore. You have to at least go get a tackle, a highly sought after tackle in the draft, so that you have insurance there so that you don't get caught in this situation. I would also say, then tier that offensive line, they didn't get any push like when you watch them in years past the run game they were able to dent the defense and able to really get some push and knockoff. That wasn't the case at all. It was like a stalemate at best for far too much of the season. So and Howie Roseman's always believed in the philosophy along the line of scrimmage. I would imagine there'll be heavy reinforcements there, and maybe they reimagine some things. But you know, from the coordinator standpoint, the offensive line standpoint, I think that's where you start. And I'll give you my my, my AJ Brown team. If we ended up seeing a move, a team that would be in the lookout for a number two receiver, A team that's in a window right now depending on if this certain quarterback were to come back, A team that might have his college teammate as the number one wide receiver on their team. He wouldn't have to leave the state. Greg.

00:04:36
Gregg: That is intriguing and it would go along with the way that the Steelers have started to do business suddenly the last year. Essentially, I was hoping you would send him somewhere else in the Northeast, which a team that has a Patriots one hundred million dollars in cap space. That would be an interesting combo a J. Brown. Look, they get they're going to be able to get something when you look at when I looked at the money, though, like if they trade him before June, it's actually a pretty big cap hit that you're taking. Now he could negotiate a new contract and you can maybe finesse some of that. But it's not quite as easy as people think because he just signed that extension. It wasn't one that like he's on year four. I think this is only going to be year two. So it's not simple. And you know Howie Roseman, he likes to make moves. He also doesn't like to take bad deals. And if he can't replace aj Brown in a way that he's confident like, they could smooth things over and it could happen. But you're absolutely right. The offensive line. Maybe it's interesting to think back a little bit, just going back to last year's draft, because they took joh Hot Campbell, who you know it's going to be an important player for them. Na Kobe Dean is a free agent and to probably let him walk. But they could have taken Josh Simmons there, which would have been a very Philadelphia move, but instead, you know, they let the Chiefs do it there. They also have Jalen Phillips. It's going to be a free agent, so that's a guy they might tag. Dallas Goddter is a free agent. They might have to say goodbye to him after a long time. But overall going through all these teams, I mean, their roster is still in quite good shape, especially on.

00:06:08
DJ: The look at the young defensive players that are on their first contracts. It's it's in they have. They're gonna be fine. They got to just make some tweaks and corrections, which you know, one thing about how he is, he's never going to be scared about, you know, taking them some bold action and figuring it out. I know there's one you know name that keeps popping up in conversations, which I'm fascinated to see if how it would work, because you see Mike McDaniel's name a lot as uh, you know, that would be a place he could go as the office coordinator if he doesn't get a head coaching gig. And I don't know how that gels with with Jeff Stoutlin and what he kind of believes in and how he teaches it, and he's been obviously a fixture there is the offensive line coach. So I don't know how exactly that marriage would work. But that's the name you kind of hear floated around a lot.

00:06:51
Gregg: All right, that's one team that got knocked out this week. And how about the team with the most heartbreaking lost I think of the week.

00:06:58
DJ: Oh screen bit actors, buddy. They they had a great opportunity there to get out of Chicago with a win, and they just hit the brakes. We won't go into the full analysis of the game because I don't think that's what we're trying to accomplish here, but when we look at him from a team standpoint, that ties into that game. This is a team with no first round pick, you know, with the Micah Parsons trade, they do pick fifty two and eighty fours, they've got a two and a three. It's all defense and you know having you know, hopefully Michael Parsons comes back at some point in time, he's back to one hundred percent because he was a major, major difference maker there. But you saw the corner situation in that comeback not good enough. They've got to upgrade their defensive tackles that can help stop the run and play strong and firm in there. Adding to that group I think is going to be important. It just feels like there's I'm not you know, the receiver position. I think Romeo Dobbs a free agent, but I felt and I think I saw you tweet this I was I was on the road, but I do believe I saw Greg Rosenthal tweet I don't think that I was wrong, and I don't think that you were wrong, And thinking I wasn't wrong about Matthew Golden. Give him some opportunities. That was the most hit me. It's fourth first of everyboy's going to talk about the incredible touchdown and the spin and the hurdle and just how explosive an athletic he looked. How about the fourth and eight or ten or whatever it was when he hits the out route, gets all kinds of separation and kind of saves the game for them at that point in time. To me, i'd let Dobbs go. You got to find targets, you got to find opportunities. I think Matthew Golden's going to be a really good player. And I think all the hate that we might have taken, or at least I've taken, I don't know if you've taken it, but it's a little unwarranted. I think he just needed some opportunities. Man.

00:08:40
Gregg: Yeah, he was a rookie and you saw the talent. I heard some of his teammates Boat Mountain specifically saying like that was the thing that gave him the biggest smile was seeing him the next day that he finally got a touchdown. And they all are big fans of Matthew Golden. You're right. I think Romeo Dobbs, who had a nice season, kind of priced himself out of there, so did Malik Willis. They have some pretty high up players on my free agency list. In the end, Kway Walker is an interesting free agent Rashid Walker who really struggled in that game as their left tackle. But any left tackle that's played as much as.

00:09:11
DJ: He did see see more slash Dan.

00:09:15
Gregg: Yes, we'll get a contract somewhere. So they have a lot of guys, and then look, they need offensive line helped. Zach Tom has been their best player and he's apparently going to get a surgery this offseason for a partially torn potella tendon. And yeah, I think the offensive line did not really perform. It's interesting last offseason they got a little more aggressive in free agency, certainly a lot more if you include the trade of Parsons, and it didn't really work. Aaron Banks and Nate Hobbs were kind of free agent bus Banks could be a guy actually when I looked at the contract, they could cut right away and save a lot of money. They have about ten negative ten million dollars in cap space, so they're going to need to open up some.

00:09:52
DJ: Elton Jenkins is a part of that formula too. They got to figure out with him.

00:09:56
Gregg: That's intriguing.

00:09:57
DJ: I read an Arcord said he's got a BIG's.

00:10:00
Gregg: He does have a big numbers. Yea, the renegotiated Tron Diggs is suddenly somehow on this team too. So yeah, it's a it's gonna be a big transition year, even if they don't change their coach. I'll do the Panthers because they're they're easier to me, like they need everything. It was a really good step forward. I think it's a no brainer that they give Bryce Young the fifth year option. That to me, that's not even really already.

00:10:26
DJ: Come out and said that's going to happen, right, I mean, I think that's out there.

00:10:29
Gregg: So do you negotiate an extension this offseason for him? That could be trickier. I think they'll be happy to maybe just kick the can down the road for that. There aren't a lot of spots on the team where you feel like, oh, you don't need anything there, so it's pretty wide open. But Ikya Khan, who suffered a ruptured pateell attendant unfortunately in that game, and I actually was thinking they already might not be thrilled with how that offensive line really run blocked. I don't know if that was the scheme or the players, but they really fell off a cliff late last season.

00:11:00
DJ: Yeah, I think earlier in the year when they were humming, and I actually think individually, when you break down their offensive line there, they are all, for the vast majority of them, much better in the run game than they are in the past game. So they were kind of built to run, and then the run game just kind of got to get stagnant late in the year. But to me, it's adding more weaponry, and it's a compliment to Tedoro McMillan that he came in there and immediately became just kind of the lion on that and that pass target group. But it's also somewhat of an indictment that he could come in there and gobble up that much of the attention because there was nothing there. That they've got to add more firepower, more weaponry in the past game. I was encouraged by Bryce Young. There's times where you're still just is what it is? He's going to look small in some instances where you're kind of wondering, I don't know, is this going to work? But there's still some magic. I thought that was a result from the first round of the playoffs that's going to get lost. It is the drive that he had, the throw that he made, that was Bama. That was the Bama version of Bryce Young on that drive where there was a little to them, a little twitch, you know, being able to place the ball extremely well, that was in you know that To me, it was a really really encouraging sign that Okay, let's get them some more. Let's just get them some more guys and see if they can take it up a level.

00:12:14
Gregg: Totally agree because Jalen Coker they found something there.

00:12:17
DJ: Right.

00:12:18
Gregg: That's that's two guys, and that's including tight end, and that's including I'd even throw running back in there. In terms of like a receiving option. You know, you need two three more guys to really build out an entire group. They're one of the teams that has two the fewest amount of like meaningful free agents. Rico Daddle one of their interior alignment. Austin Corbetts a free agent, but pretty much they're in a good spot where they can keep pushing forward here in what will be what year three of Canalis. So that's kind of your your go year for the Panthers.

00:12:47
DJ: Yeah, that's it for our playoff teams. Right, that's it all right, let me let me jump into another one here and we can. We'll step on the gas a little bit going through some of these. Some of these are not complicated. Some of them we can go, oh, maybe this, maybe that, a little little of that. With the Dallas Cowboys, that defense, yep, that's defense. They got two first round picks, they're picking twelve and twenty. There's no second, no third. So I wouldn't be surprised if we'll get way ahead of ourselves and say one of those picks, maybe you trade down a little bit, trying to accumulate some more assets. But edge rush, probably need a little edge rush, and then if they could find some edge rush and maybe just a little edge rush, If they could get some edge rush, is what I help. That would help corner, linebacker, safety. What are the positions we had good at defensive tackle? They are they are locked and loaded at DT, but they're everywhere else, probably a little bit of help. And then you got the George Pickens thing, where, you know, I think, look, he had an unbelievable year. The talent was never in question. I go back to a very young or a younger Greg Rosenthal will be like, I don't know why you guys aren't high on George Pickens coming out of the draft. Well, Greg, everybody knows about everybody knows about the ability. This is not a can you do it in these sections? The question is do you have the maturity and the accountability to be where you're supposed to be on time, you know, be a professional to the point that they feel comfortable in laying out what will be a massive contract for him going forwards.

00:14:11
Gregg: I think it's because I see him, you know, almost as the NFL version of me, just just incredibly talented. Maybe underappreciated, yeah, underappreciated, unreliable, but just physical gifts and very similar. They're thirty nine million dollars over the cap. You said they're all set at defensive tackle. You're probably right with Kenny Clark and Quinn Williams, but I don't see a lot of obvious options here to save money this offseason. They would save a clean twenty one million dollars if they cut Kenny Clark. That that would take a little egg on their face if they had to do that. They can probably renegotiate stuff. There's some other contracts like Logan Wilson and Terrence Steele. That's creating another problem.

00:14:51
DJ: I think, Look, the quarterback deal, you can always yeah, you can always push that down the road. You can always keep redoing that thing.

00:14:58
Gregg: They went, they went quietly on a bunch of re signing spree right after they traded Michael almost like, hey, look at all these things we can do without Micah. And already they're aging a little weird. Deron Bland's contract does not look great already. Ferguson at tight end that that's fine. They also gave Taylor Smith a lot of money. Who's Who's a good player. But yeah, they have a lot of free agents too, Javon j Way, Sam Williams like and fine.

00:15:24
DJ: And that also goes along with hiring the right defensive coordinator. What you know who I kind of like for that. I saw a bunch of the names that they had rolling through there and who knows when you're listening to this, if they've already settled on one of these guys. Jonathan Gannon didn't forget how to coach. I think he's a good coach, and I think that was a didn't it didn't end well, they're in Arizona, but it's a different role. I think he's a very good defensive coordinator.

00:15:46
Gregg: Okay, Well, I mean they're they're going to be listening to it and you know, less than a day here. Okay, so I don't think too much is gonna happ Okay, I'll go with I'll go with the Vikings where the defensive coordinator situation is huge because you know, they obviously want to bring back Brian Flores, but he's a coaching free agent. Also, they're really talented. They're a great defense, but this group really fits what he does. I'm not saying they're not talented enough to work with someone else, but I think that's a really interesting situation. They're in DJ and you've been in front offices of just you know, wondering, like thinking, can we mold a defense and talent to whoever is the next guy. Because they're an expensive team, they're forty three million dollars over the cap. They have some tricky decisions to make. It's going to be a big challenge for REQUESTSI dopamenta this offseason.

00:16:37
DJ: I mean, their biggest challenge is going to be what is their belief system in their quarterback? I mean and JJ McCarthy, and it's it's hard. Looks, it's hard enough to gamble on someone's talent and readiness to play. It's another thing when you're gambling on does he have the durability to be able to last? Like that's another conversation that you get your forced to face here. So it's a big off season for Minnesota as they try and figure this thing out. There's still, like I said, there's a lot of money and there's still a lot of talent there. So I mean, that's it's gonna be fascinating to see. I would think they at least got to bring in some some competition or some insurance, whatever you want to call it here at the court.

00:17:14
Gregg: Maybe they could be at the Tanner McKee level of quarterbacks, sort of something in the middle of the road, not like a Kyler Murray. Maybe not even Malik Willis who's too expensive. But but someone like that. They also might cut some of the guys they spent a lot about plass off season. Hard Grave, Jonathan Allen. They could be gone, what.

00:17:31
DJ: About a trade for one Max Jones.

00:17:35
Gregg: Yeah like that. That's the sort of pond I think that they should be, you know, fishing it in an area like that. But yeah, there's gonna be a lot of turnover Hargrave, Jonathan Allen, Brian O'Neill, Aaron Jones, Ryan Kelly might be retiring at center, Harrison Smith is probably retiring. So's it's it's gonna be a lot of turnover.

00:17:55
DJ: There interesting stuff. I'm going to go to one of the pleasant surprises of the and that is a I think if you have an off season, Greg and tell me where you stand on this, I don't know how you can deem it anything other than a massive success if you find your head coach and your quarterback in the same offseason, which the New Orleans Saints did. I thought Kella Moore did a really nice job, and I thought Tyler Schuck came in there and more than held his own and got better as the year went along and finished up really strong. So to go into an off season where I looked it up. I'm like, surely they are they done with all this cap stuff, Like No, that's still they're still dealing with that.

00:18:30
Gregg: They're in better shape though they do have for them. You won million dollars in dead money for to Mario Davis, Taysom Hill, and Cam Jordan assuming they're not on the team, although Davis and Cam might very well be on the team. But they're in better shape. Like usually it's crazy. Now there's there's teams with like way more money over the captain them, so that feels different for them.

00:18:50
DJ: Yeah, but it's never just clean and easy, man. But so they gotta ge. They'll get that stuff sorted out. Finding another wide receiver to compliment a lave after the Rahis Shihed trade, I think is going to be important. Getting some more weaponry there for Tyler Shutt corner as an area they can look at. I think on the positive side, I mean, I mentioned you get the head coach and the quarterback right. Also, like from a foundational standpoint, when you've got two tackles, they've got too young talented tackles, I think that's a that's a great place to build from. And I think that it also it shows you where you know Kellen Moore came from Philadelphia and what was ingrained in him and how you build it properly. And they're in a they're in a very good spot in terms of trying to build up that foundation. They got a good center too, so they're they're in a good spot there on the offensive line.

00:19:37
Gregg: I think they love Calvin Banks Junior in that book and how that is working out. Yeah, I looked at that, you know, mentioned a good center, Eric McCoy. He's been hurt a lot, but it's really not their style to move on from a guy who's kind of one of their guys. They could look to sign a love a long term this offseason because he's going to be entering a contract year, but not a ton of freedoms. And I and I watch their postseason press conference, and you got the real sense that Mickey Loomis is like, oh, you thought we were done, Now we're gonna like they see an opportunity here, I think to go win the division next year, and.

00:20:11
DJ: Everybody that division that way.

00:20:15
Gregg: But you're absolutely right about Shuck and Kellen Moore, And I think I didn't I didn't know what to think about Kellen Moore for half the season, but the fact that he is a quarterback guy, and both Spencer Rattler and Tyler Schuck I think played at a level that it was higher than you would have expected considering the lack of talent around them, that you got to just feel like it's a home run. Shuck was was way better than I ever thought he could be. I'm taking the l on that one. If I'm gonna take the W on George Pickens.

00:20:43
DJ: Well, look, I mean we got Tyler Shuck's got to run out there for seventeen games. Sure, we got to still have to see that the ability.

00:20:49
Gregg: Wait, he looked like your guy Herbert out there. I mean he played well. I'm talking about regular season Herbert, not.

00:20:55
DJ: Playoff for oh man, it was tough finish.

00:21:00
Gregg: We're halfway through. We're gonna come back. I was gonna do it. Uh, And we'll all hit six more NFC teams when we come back back on forties and free agents. And and I heard DJ's coaching from earlier in the show, and he wants to speed this thing up. But I just this is this is my time.

00:21:29
DJ: Have I told you have? I told you have I told you my news by the way.

00:21:33
Gregg: No, that you're going back to the Masters this year?

00:21:36
DJ: You like that? Though this I didn't even go. This was this was sent to me to the to the tournament itself. The how old your youngest? Greg?

00:21:44
Gregg: He just turned eleven.

00:21:47
DJ: I'm gonna have my first grandchild in August.

00:21:50
Gregg: Wow, congratulations, which you?

00:21:54
DJ: And since I see us side by side here and I don't think I look that much older than you, which is kinda no.

00:22:00
Gregg: I might have more gray, you're not. You can't be that far away from Philip Rivers. So you guys could just like hang out in the super young Athletic grandfather club just down there.

00:22:16
DJ: I don't know. I don't know if anybody. I love Philip. He's one of my favorite people of all time, but I don't think that that was necessarily the athletic vibe that he was putting out there in those well.

00:22:25
Gregg: I mean he's literally in the NFL at his well pretty good. That's pretty good. Speaking of quarterbacks who get by in this era without necessarily a lot of movements skills, Jared Goff still in Detroit and the Lions, they're another team that want to talk to Mike McDaniel, will see he's going to have his pick of the litter. But you know, who they choose as play caller is going to be really important, and they're gonna have to reshape kind of who we think of as the Lions because Taylor Decker is openly considering retirement. Rag now is not coming back, even though he tried to come back, like he's not gonna come back for twenty six one story we haven't hit on NFL Daily, which I thought was interesting. Brad Holmes all but said David Montgomery is going to get traded or not on the roster if they can't, Like he said, yeah, we're gonna consider trading. Was like, okay, I guess he's gone, and so they're gonna have to kind of reimagine who they are, get better up front really on both sides, on the edge across from Hutchinson, and then I think even if Decker does return, you know, finding a tackle and getting better on the interior.

00:23:30
DJ: By the way, I love that I've got you saying reimagine now it's been it's been a buzzword that I've just latched onto, and I've given you this section. I've passed it along to you. My other favorite one is from my time with Brandon Staley, who is just that. He's a great dude. But he used to always use the phrase onboarding, like Hey, we're gonna on board some guys. Yeah, And then he would say that, and then I would find myself like randomly saying that, like to the kids, like, are we gonna on board some friends this week? This week? What are we? What are we doing?

00:23:56
Gregg: It's very uh, it's very carpo speak.

00:23:58
DJ: Is that what it is? Yeah? That sounds like it.

00:24:01
Gregg: Like we would get that at an all all hands meeting at NFL media. You're too big to attend those now, but.

00:24:07
DJ: I get feedback and just let what I miss. That's my that's my goal on those.

00:24:12
Gregg: They're a team that can restructure, by the way, pretty easily. They're over the cap right now, but not a lot of concerns in terms of their free agents. It's like DJ Reader alex Anzeloni. So I actually think they're in a good spot to kind of.

00:24:23
DJ: I think they're coordination. Their biggest that's their biggest move that they have to make. It's not going to be a roster edition. It's going to be can they get the right voice in there? Because there's still so much explosive talent that they have there. I'll go to my next one here, which is Washington. Washington they have I'm looking at this. They are picking in the first round here and then they picked seventy one? Is that right? Do they not have a second round pick? Let me check that's is that fund? Yeah? You're I think you're right. I was looking that up. Yeah, they picked seven and seventy one. So, uh, they're a team that needs picks. They are in al I just literally I wrote in all caps, get younger. They've got a lot of guys falling off the books here they've been, and I think it's not Adam Peters's fault. I think with what he inherited there, they had to turnover the vast majority of the roster, and the only they do that was on these you know, one year vet flyers and they hit gold with it the first time. And you're one of that with Jade Daniels coming in surrounded by all these older guys who were able to kind of squeeze the last few drops out of that. Uh, and then it all kind of blew up this past year. But new offensive coordinator, new defensive coordinator coming your way in the Nation's Capital. Figuring out what do we need to do to keep Jade Daniels out there healthy and for an entire season is the key part of it. They do have some cap space with all those kind of veteran guys falling off. I think they have like sixty million bucks or so, but I mean edge rush, secondary on defense, more weaponry, wide receiver on offense. Like there's there's a lot of needs, but I think the number one overall thing is to me, like trading down, even trading some existing players for picks, like they need to get younger faster, just that they need a whole new vibe here they got real old.

00:26:15
Gregg: Yeah, it'll be fascinating to watch them in free agency because they have almost the most amount of space as anyone in the league and one of the worst rosters. There's almost you can't find a position that they don't have a need. You mentioned them, but they need it, and they have so many of those older players like von Miller and Wagner and Debo and Jonathan Jones, all these guys coming off the books. Zach Ertz It goes on and on. Mariota Ecklert like it just goes on and on, and so it's just it's going to be calibrat and get the right people in there and being competitive, you know, because they're not gonna want they're probably cutting marsh On Latimore by the way, that'll open up another twenty million dollars. Like there's there's just a lot to.

00:26:55
DJ: Work on there. Yeah. And then to me, it's going after a different demographic in the free age market, trying to find some of the you know, the younger guys early, you know, mid twenties first come right off that first contract, try and get that wave and looking at a group that can grow with your young quarterback as opposed to them feeling I think they were so ahead of schedule last year there was like okay, well let's just try and let's try and use this as our window right now, a narrow window. And I think now they can think a little bit more building approach and a little bit more long term. And Adam did a great job when he was you know, a big part of the drafting process there in San Francisco. So they need to just they need to buckle down, see if they get some more picks and see if they can nail the draft.

00:27:34
Gregg: Tunsl's also making noise that he wants an extension and they've they've talked good. They've talked about doing it pretty openly Adam PETERSAZ, So that's something to watch out for. The Bucks are in good shape in terms of cap space twenty five million dollars. I like that you start with the picks. I start with the cap space.

00:27:51
DJ: Whatever you're going. Yeah, oh CE is.

00:27:54
Gregg: Wide open again. They interviewed Zach Robinson, the former Bucks coordinator, recently, but they're going to have a lot of interviews. One thing that's on my eye, and they have a lot of interesting free agents, Jammel Dean coming off his best season, Mike Evans, Hassan Reddick, Kate Atten is a good player. I don't think they're going to let him go. Maybe they'll tag him. Rashad White their their backup running So a lot of players that have really contributed a lot for him in a legend in Evans. But one thing on my eye. Will they re sign Baker. My guess is they'll just let him go into his contract year. He's coming off an uneven season. But for capital f franchise quarterback usually this is the offseason where a guy like Baker would get a new contract. So that's just something I'm interesting.

00:28:39
DJ: I think there's still a lot of belief in him there and a fondness there that could lead you to to going with the glass half full and think, and we get in front of this, well, we'll save, we'll save on it. Okay, so we'll see. To me, I could I could see them talking themselves into that pretty easily.

00:28:55
Gregg: They need they need pass rush, they need linebacker Leanzi David sounds like he might be retiring, and they need guards, like they love three of their offensive linemen, and it was interesting looking at their roster they basically don't have a guard, which is crazy. They they got killed by injuries and they're two guys that actually played are both free agents, so like they are going to have to add some real depth there.

00:29:19
DJ: Yeah, and Jason Light's done a really good job of finding offensive linemen and getting value for him where he does, so I think that's a that's a solve there that they can come up with. All Right, this next team, Greg, this is my team of the off season. Okay, this is the team that I cannot wait. Last year I would have said probably New England, just because the resources that they had and Drake May going into year two, like, there was a lot of reasons to be optimistic about them finding the right coach and using their draft picks, and they had a bunch of free agent money. My team of the offseason this year is the New York Giants. I'm fascinated by it. I'm a Dart believer. I thought he played really well, especially considering who was not there around him. I don't love seeing the stuff on neighbors about him being a little bit slow coming back from that injury that maybe was more than we anticipated. But you know, hopefully eventually you get him back in the fold. But this is a team with if you look at key pieces in place, They've got defensive linemen, got a left tackle. I've got a young quarterback. They've got a number one wide receiver that's a lot to kind of build off of. They've got the fifth pick in the draft and the thirty seventh pick in the draft. They need to find the right offensive voice. Doesn't necessarily have to be the head coach, but find that right offensive voice to grow with Jackson Dart. I mean, I'm intrigued by Stefanski I think could be a good fit there. But I'm also could be talked into, Hey, go out and get Shula or Minner and come in there, and they immediately solve your defense and maximize the talent you have, and they can bring an offensive coordinator there. I just think there's some fascinating moves to be made. Do you know you look at the draft that they had last year. You get Abdul Carter, who I thought played better than the stats would indicate, especially down the back half of the year, when you've got Burns who has not only the great play but the production. Thibodeau, is this one that you could can Can you trade him? Like? What can you do from that standpoint with him? Does that create some more opportunities for you, you know, interior, offensive line, more weapons on the perimeter. I don't know. I don't just this is a team. I'm fascinated to see what they do and how they put this puzzle together.

00:31:22
Gregg: I agree that if you're just going off rosters, all the Giants fans who are well would John Harbaugh come here and we'll see they're definitely pursuing John Harbaugh. If you're just going off roster I get the argument. I think they probably are the best situation because of what you said. I'll to use a RAMS term, all those weight bearing walls that like kee key position, premiere talent and a little bit of cap space and uh yeah, a lot of needs though on defense in general, like linebacker, cornerback, defensive tackle, like.

00:31:51
DJ: Yeah, but again though, that's like the you know, you've got to found the D line is the foundation of the defense. That's the hardest thing to find. They got to get Dexter Lawrence rocking and rolling, you know.

00:32:02
Gregg: Because yeah, when you said Kavon, you know, as a trade candidate, I was just writing down some notes for this extors and I thought, like, would Dexter Lawrence ever be a trade candidate? He's coming up and down here.

00:32:14
DJ: Didn't. Yeah, I don't know if it was in shape situation or what. I haven't talked to anybody there about it, but he's been dominant at times, and he was not really that same guy this year, and.

00:32:25
Gregg: He was coming off a really serious injury. And as we've seen really at every position. But kirk Cousins and Rogers are even a reminder like the one year further removed. Sometimes you look a lot better. Speaking of Kirk Cousins, the Atlanta Falcons have twenty two million dollars in cap space. They have a brand new team president, Matt Ryan. Will Matt Ryan come in there and the first thing he does is cut Kirk Cousins. He just signed a new contract Cousins. Yeah, that moves the money around. That makes it easier for him to cut. They have kind of come out at least Arthur Blank. I don't know what that means. You would think it means a lot that Michael Pennix is their franchise quarterback and they have some big free agency decisions. Kyle Pitts is a free agent. He's gonna be pretty high on my list. Other than that, Cayden Ellis is a good player for them, is a free agent. But actually, thought, you know, doing this exercise, they're in a pretty good position where you could upgrade at almost every position, like other than running back of course, yeah, and wide receiver one. You're feeling good, but there aren't a ton of screaming needs. It feels like you can get better in a lot of places. But I look around this roster and actually think like they have a pretty good baseline that Terry Fontina left for the next GM.

00:33:45
DJ: I think it's fascinating for every team in that division, and that because the division is so average. You have a team under you know, they had three teams tied, you go to the playoffs under five hundred, like Carolina Panthers did, as you could say, man, we can just go get this better in this vetteran, this better in this veteran, we can win the division this year. Or it's like I think the better approach is if we just continue to be you know, discipline, and we're building to the draft and we're targeting the right young guys in free agency, we can build a model and we can win this division for the next five six years. You know. I think that there's two different ways to kind of look at how you approach an offseason when you're in a division it's just frankly very average.

00:34:25
Gregg: I know, because it's funny you have the three teams that tied for first and then you have the other team who believes they have the best quarterback in the division already and he's probably going to be a second year player and shuck, and it's not that crazy of a thought. I mean, I'm not ready to put him like over Baker. But if you're telling me, like, who would I rather have? Like indefinitely, I think I would take the upside of Shuck Right now, he looked that good.

00:34:53
DJ: I think the health of the quarterbacks in that division is going to be something to keep an eye on too.

00:34:57
Gregg: It's fair your last team, last team up is the Cardinals.

00:35:01
DJ: Yeah, last one overall, you're out, huh. I'm finishing us off here, Arizona Cardinals. They are picking three, thirty four and sixty five, so full a lot, but they're in the first three rounds. I believe about nine million dollars in cap space, but it's going to be all contingent upon the decision with Kyler Murray, and I just it does not feel at all like he's going to be there. It feels like that's a very strong likelihood that he gets traded. But you've got to get the coach thing figured out first. And I don't you know, I always laugh because I'm like, if you're a coach coming into an uncertain quarterback situation and you're coming into the interview, do you come in there and go, I can fix them. I can I can make this all right? I can take all that bat you think is bad money and I can make it look like good money. Or do you come in there and say, you guys have kind of already figured this out. I've already known this for a long time. This isn't going to work. We're going in our in our new direction.

00:35:55
Gregg: I have an answer for you. You say whatever you think the owner wants you to say. So last time around, they had just given Kyler that contract. It was incumbent on Jonathan Gannon to be like, I can fix him. The first thing they had Jonathan Gannon Monte Austin for it to. I don't know if actually the gm ausen for it down in the weight room was sending him well in the weight room. Yes, And then they also send him to Oklahoma when they retired his number or whatever to go support Kyler Murray in the middle of the offseason say like, hey, you're our guy. But now that they've been through that and he's gone this guy, I think the right thing to tell the owner what they want to hear is we're going to find our new quarterback.

00:36:31
DJ: Yeah, there's somebody knew out there. We'll go locate him. Continue to upgrade the offensive line, is going to be a big part of that for whoever's playing quarterback. Paris Johnson's there, but adding some more talent around that front. Obviously you got a big time tight end. Feel good about that. Marvin Harrison Junior has been a riddle, just hadn't been healthy, hasn't been impactful. Michael Wilson's end up being a revelation. He's been excellent.

00:36:55
Gregg: So want to sign him to the contract?

00:36:58
DJ: Yeah, there are some is he free agent?

00:37:00
Gregg: He will be entering his free agent year, but he is He earned himself a lot of money the last nine games of the season. DJ Number one it's Pukinakua. Number two it's Michael Wilson, and number three it's Jackson Smith and Jigba.

00:37:16
DJ: Those are cracious. Yeah, that's not too shabby. No, So that's encouraging. So there are some pieces there defensively, just still a lot of work to be done there. So they're kind of one of these teams that it's like you stack up the the head coaching board of the best jobs. I don't know, this one comes up on the high end of that thing.

00:37:39
Gregg: I think that's fair because of the history of the organization in general and when you go through the division, right, you're stuck having a coach against these three behemoths and these three well run organizations, and when you go through the roster, you know, matyasen for it was a little defensive about it when some reporters pushed him out.

00:37:58
DJ: I saw that. I did see that.

00:38:00
Gregg: It's not a bad roster. I kind of get what he means. When I was looking at it, was like, actually, they're in good shape cap wise. They don't have any young free agents like Jalen Thompson and Kalays Campbell are their best rereadons. They're in good shape. They don't have a lot of guys who are obvious cuts. But there's just not a lot of sizzle. It's a lot of like, hey, we're the eighteenth best team in the league at a lot of positions, and we're against these three awesome teams in our division, which is tough.

00:38:25
DJ: Yeah. I mean I just think I look at it defensively and say, if you're getting ready to play that team in a playoff game, who do you circle on that defense? And you're like, oh boy, we better be ready. You know, we got to handle this person or that person.

00:38:36
Gregg: I don't know jus Josh wed Ad and OK, you're Buddha Baker. Unfortunately, when I wrote down possible cuts or trade, I had to write down Yeah it was coming off a tough year.

00:38:47
DJ: But so that's an interesting one. This is a fun exercise though, Like this is like the I told you before we started off the air that this is like you know, kind of personally in terms of the team, and as we get a little bit deeper into it, I'm kind of knocking out these draft guys. Is that I feel like I'm the shallow end a little bit. But it's a good exercise kind of getting a little bit of a look see here at where these teams are.

00:39:11
Gregg: No, this was a great homework assignment. I appreciate forties and freedoms for that. And look, our producer Drew Christensen, he knows what's up so much so that he got us talking about Juwan Jennings. Remember yeah, last week's show as a as a four star recruit quarterback and what happens that next weekend? Yeah, the touchdown is great. No, that what really happened was I sent out an image that Drew sent me of the rankings of him ahead of Burrow and Lamar Arnold and that's a hit tweet two point five million views on that too.

00:39:47
DJ: Did you really?

00:39:49
Gregg: Wow?

00:39:50
DJ: Did you have I stole it? Any attribution on that tweet? Drew?

00:39:53
Gregg: You want to know we're doing it now. That's why I feel bad about it. It's like Sean McVay says, the best coaches are the best thieves.

00:40:01
DJ: I did not did not use that opportunity to plug forties and free agency either. As Drew puts in the chat, I'm sure we have. I'm sure there's two point five million listeners right now that's going to even that math out as you just gave him some credit.

00:40:13
Gregg: I mean, I didn't know. I didn't know it was gonna pop like that. If I if I did, I wouldn't have had a typo on the first try and then had that.

00:40:19
DJ: Man, maybe I would to edit on.

00:40:21
Gregg: The picture to take away learn about this skidding cream.

00:40:24
DJ: Yeah, I'm just learning about this and I'm and literally within five seconds, I thought, Okay, how would I approach this to be Like we had a fascinating chat on forties and free agents this week about John Jennings. Here you go, look at what he was as a high school quarterback. Boom, everybody's covered, Like you just totally unselfishly promote our little project we've been working on. But nope, didn't happen.

00:40:47
Gregg: Yeah, but see this is where you know your you being a grandfather and me being you know, younger and understanding the kids makes more sense. Like if you did all that leading into it, maybe it does a million. You know. It's like as discussed on forties and free you don't need all that you gotta get. You got to get to the meet. You know, does it look like I have a dip in?

00:41:06
DJ: I just popped a recolo because we're finishing up pair.

00:41:10
Gregg: We are done. We're going to be back next week. I really enjoyed this exercise, So we will do the AFC next week as we start this off season planning here on forties and free agents. We will see you then