Burning Offseason Questions and Pitts Tagged with Ian Rapoport

00:00:04
Speaker 1: Welcome to NFL Daily, where we're trying to break some news while on the peloton. I'm Craig Rosenthal here in Indianapolis the convention Center with my friend, not even a friend of me, just a friend, Ian Rapaport. I'm not the one breaking news while on the peloton. You are my friend.

00:00:22
Speaker 2: It is true. That is true.

00:00:24
Speaker 3: Yeah, it's a I'm always a little bit nervous when news comes in the peloton. I want to type it out beforehand because sometimes if there's like droplets of water, then it gets tough to hit send. You don't want to have a typo, so I had to talot off hits end. Kyle Pitts getting franchise tagged is the news, yeah, which is like not a total surprise, but it was interesting to me because if you had asked me last year, like what is the career trajectory of Kyle Pitts, I don't know that it would be like fifteen million dollar free agent.

00:00:53
Speaker 2: But here we are. I want to get into that. We're going to start with it.

00:00:56
Speaker 1: But I mentioned the breaking the news on the peloton because we're texting about did Ian get to Indianapolis in time? And he's texting us, but you literally text it, Oh yeah, I'll be there. I'll see you in an hour. We're taping this Monday afternoon. But you literally texted us within seconds of hitting this other tweet. And I've seen you do other podcasts and stuff where you're talking about that you send hundreds of text like you could just wait to send us something. Doesn't that make you a little anxious that you're texting us seconds before breaking news.

00:01:25
Speaker 3: It makes me anxious to not text back, Like I have like group chats with friends from home and family and like high school buddies and whatever, And sometimes I have to stop myself from responding so quickly because like in work world, I respond quickly because like let's say, let's say you're talking to a head coach or coordinator, right like they get to their desk, they pick up their phone, they text you back, and if you don't text back immediately, like they might put their phone over there and like that's it. So if you need something else, like you'd send the text back immediately. And like same thing with agents, like if they're doing a deal, they might pick up the phone be like deal just got done. If you have any questions, like you better ask now because of my big All right, now, we're doing line which I'll see you in two and a half hours.

00:02:05
Speaker 2: And I respect you do that with us as well.

00:02:08
Speaker 1: If I send you just a random text, is x Y is DJ reader too high in my top one to one? You'll send it back right away. What we're gonna do on this show, and yes, the Top one to one free Agents is out. Check it out on NFL dot com. The final version is almost embarrassingly different from the one that I talked about on the podcast on Thursday. You talked about your pre version, your rough draft. It was a rough draft and we were kind of working it out. Ali Connelly helped me out, I said, he said, my most Trumpian quality is that I listened a lot to the last person that I spoke with, So in this case, he was my Stephen Miller.

00:02:42
Speaker 2: And you'll see some players.

00:02:45
Speaker 1: Like Charlie Kohler and Jalen Naylor who ended up being much higher on the list. So we're going to go through some players. But what I'm gonna do Ian doesn't know what the topics are. I'm going to go through a bunch of news. I just want the I intake of a lot of the biggest stories in the NFL and some of the free agents. But why not just start with since we got there, you broke the news. Do you actually think he could get a long term deal with them?

00:03:06
Speaker 2: Uh? Yeah, I don't see why not.

00:03:08
Speaker 3: I mean, to me, I'm always surprised when a team doesn't do a long term deal because like, all right, so, like he's a franchise tag for I think it's gonna be about fifteen and a half. It's almost five percent of the salary cap, which wuld like three hundred and five million or something like that. So it's somewhere between fifteen and a half and sixteen million. So okay, that's what he gets this year. Next year it's a little higher. So let's say you have a basically right now, assuming he's healthy, you have a two year deal for Kyle Pittsworth sixteen plus eighteen million dollars. Right, so if you get him on a four year deal for seventeen million dollar average, Like, why would you not do that?

00:03:48
Speaker 2: He gets happy, he avoids the whole drama. You avoid the drama, you lock in a good player.

00:03:53
Speaker 3: Like it's to me if the value, like the value doesn't always fit the franchise tag.

00:03:59
Speaker 2: Right. Let's say.

00:04:02
Speaker 3: I don't know Justin Jefferson, Jamar Chase, some like top of the position person got franchise tag. You can't work a deal off that because it's way too low Micah Parsons if he had getten tagged that.

00:04:13
Speaker 1: Kyler Linderbaum, it's maybe too high at the tackle.

00:04:16
Speaker 2: That's a whole different story.

00:04:18
Speaker 3: That's I mean, that's yeah, he is in an interesting place as well, But like you should be able to do a long term deal off the tag.

00:04:25
Speaker 2: So yeah, I think there's a chance they do.

00:04:27
Speaker 1: The counter would be Kyle Pitts pretty up and down in his career. If I'm the Falcons, I'm using the franchise tag as a test drive with a new scheme, a new coach, a new GM, and a player who hasn't looked great every single season of his career. I would say he had a couple of seasons where he was playing through injuries, did not look that explosive. He doesn't fit every offense, so it's unfair to the players. I think they should get rid of the franchise tag, but since they have it available to them, a one year deal, no long term money, for Kyle Pits sounds perfect.

00:04:58
Speaker 2: He might not be a great long signing.

00:05:00
Speaker 1: I had a below Kate and in my top one on one which that got a lot of response.

00:05:05
Speaker 3: Those ones and I have one more thing on Pits in a second, but those ones interest me. Like nobody cares about Kate Otten unless you're like a Bucks fan, might do extremely well in free and so like there's always those guys that'd be like I think this time last year, nobody kN whom Milton Williams was unless you were a hardcore Eagles fan. It's a rotational defensive lineman now one of the best defensive linemen and I number one player on the board last year, and how many casual fans heard of him? And then he made twenty three million dollars a year whatever it was. Like Kyle Pitts his I think it was his second When did he have a knee injury?

00:05:39
Speaker 2: Second year? Right? Yeah? I mean he played through a lot of it, but yeah, but he.

00:05:43
Speaker 3: So he had if I believe this is correct, where he had a MCL and I think he had a meniscus. I'm not one hundred percent sure of the injuries a long time ago, but it got kind of under reported that he'd be okay, and people thought he had minor knee surgery.

00:05:56
Speaker 2: He did not.

00:05:57
Speaker 3: He had major knee surgery and sometimes it a couple of years to come back. He has come back.

00:06:02
Speaker 2: Good call.

00:06:03
Speaker 1: That was his second year when yeah, he didn't produce much, missed a bunch of games. To me, he's always been so durable that people kind of forget that he's played through some stuff because he he has not missed a single game in four of his five seasons. Okay, so that's Kyle Pitts. He gets the tag. Let's go to the top of my list. Malik Willis number one overall on the list. I went with the draft reasoning that like, once you're in the top seven or eight, you should just be number one because that's more important. And I do believe that Malik Willis can be a plus starter. I want to ask you, though, where you think he could go. I feel like the conventional wisdom is Miami or Arizona.

00:06:40
Speaker 2: What do you think.

00:06:43
Speaker 3: So Miami, obviously, it's like, okay, well he has his GM who didn't draft him, by the way, but did trade for him seventh rounder or help trade for him. You had someone whose defensive coordinators so saw him up close. Now as the head coach and Jeff Hafley in Miami. I don't know that Miami has the money they are going to pay. Assuming Tua gets released, it's gonna be a nine nine million dollar cap hit, the worst in NFL history. And it's also like they pay him in cash too, So it's fifty four million dollars in cash. Can they afford another thirty five million dollar quarterback? I mean, if Justin Fields gets twenty a year, what is Malik Willis get thirty thirty five? Like, that's my guess is to what it is.

00:07:22
Speaker 1: I think Malik Willis will get a Daniel Jones Gino Smith type of contract that he got a year. It could be anywhere between thirty five and forty tour. I think that's probably right. But then it's like Miami can Arizona for that, right, So Arizona in Cardinals fans push, but some of them liked it, some of them hated it because I've been driving the Arizona bandwagon. That just with all the connections, Nathaniel Hackett and obviously Matt Lafleur can give him a nice recommendation that they do have the GM that drafted him, which is interesting. I don't know if that's a positive or a negative. That was monte As and Ford's Titan's team that drafted him in tennis. So it's an interesting connection. And people are like, well, you're drafting a guy and it's a mystery box and it's the family guy meme that like, oh, we have a forget Kyler Murray, Like we could have a whole other mystery box. It could even be Kyler Murray, like Kyler Murray two point zero, and to me, Malik Willis would be a better fit I think. And they're kind of moving on from Kyler Murray. But yeah, they're gonna be eating dead money for to get rid of Kyler Murray.

00:08:22
Speaker 2: But you have to have a quarterback.

00:08:23
Speaker 1: You have to keep taking swings, and they're not going to be taking a swing with Kyler Murray.

00:08:27
Speaker 3: Yeah, I would say I'm pretty clear on why I believe it's happening with Tua. It seems like he's going to be out in Miami. I'm not one hundred percent sure on Arizona. Like, yes, it's the same GM, it's a new coach, it's a new offense.

00:08:40
Speaker 2: He got benched last year, but like.

00:08:43
Speaker 3: Clearly wasn't right and like clearly his injury was worse than they thought. So he didn't, you know, did he get benched or did they say, like, your injury is not improving quick enough, we're just gonna move on. And like, I don't know what Kyler Murray is, but there have been moments when I'm like, this is a guy who can take you to the playoffs, right fair, So I'm not sure on that one. The Malik Willis thing is really interesting to me. Matt Lafour did such an unbelievable coaching job, not just like helping him be successful in games, but took a guy that nobody wanted discarded. Trading for quarterback for a seventh rounder is you know, basically a giveaway, and he resurrected his career. And like, there is a possibility that Malik Willis ends up being what everyone thought he was going to be in the draft before he just went to the third round.

00:09:32
Speaker 1: Which would be like an A plus starter, which would be like, I know, Matt Lafleur set up a great offense, and that's all true.

00:09:39
Speaker 2: You can see it with your eyes.

00:09:40
Speaker 1: He's the best running quarterback in the NFL right now, I would take like, if you're just asking me, he's one of the most talented specifically running quarterbacks I've ever seen. I don't even care about that. I care about that's huge. That opens up the passing.

00:09:52
Speaker 2: It is good. Here's what I care about.

00:09:55
Speaker 3: He came on with no warning in the absolute biggest moments and was great.

00:10:00
Speaker 2: That is so hard. I mean we see it all the time.

00:10:03
Speaker 3: Guys you think are good, they come into big moments and they It is different.

00:10:07
Speaker 1: In high level throws too, like the variety of throws over the middle of the field anticipation. Yeah, I mean for those couple of games, the offense look just as good. So well, we're at the Dolphins. Let's just stay Dolphins because they're fascinating to me. Your colleague Cameron Wolf mentioned Minka Fitzpatrick as a potential trade partner that are a candidate. He does not think that Jalen Waddle would be a guy that they would look to trade, although that's kind of been thrown out elsewhere as like a guy teams would be interesting.

00:10:37
Speaker 2: I'm sure teams would be interested in people like really good.

00:10:39
Speaker 1: What do you think the appetite for trading will be with them.

00:10:46
Speaker 2: I mean trading Minka.

00:10:47
Speaker 3: I don't know if he would want to be traded that not that it totally matters, but I mean that's the kind of thing that makes sense. He's would be on his third contract, he's a little older, he's good, but is he like the big last year player that you have to hold on to. I'm not sure that makes sense. I mean, they're gonna need to find money somewhere. They are in a Chris Grele left them in a really really challenging cap spot, and so like, you know, would they like to tradement?

00:11:14
Speaker 2: Could probably not, But well, now the knives are out for Chris Greer. You just waited untill he left, you know.

00:11:20
Speaker 3: I mean I was pretty I was pretty clear about what it was beforehand, which I'm sure Chris Greer did not really like that very much. But like one of the things I kept saying on air, which again I'm sure he was not a huge fan of, was like, when you make your team, you revamp your team in May and June, you were getting the dregs of what's available, and like, you know, trading for Darren Waller and having him be your number one tight end.

00:11:45
Speaker 2: Like it's brutal.

00:11:46
Speaker 3: You can't have a roster set up like that, like you know, it just it was a lot of bad there. I mean, and the tool contract is bad. I don't even mind that one because like you sort of had to do it at the time.

00:11:59
Speaker 2: You had too maybe, but they were all in.

00:12:02
Speaker 1: If you look back on that Tyreek Hill trade, I think that's where it all started.

00:12:07
Speaker 2: Like in theory.

00:12:08
Speaker 1: Yeah, they supercharged their offense and he had great years for them, but you traded a first I think it was what two seconds A couple like Forths or something like that was that was a lot and a lot of money for I.

00:12:18
Speaker 3: Mean, the opposite look of what Ken City did with all that all those resources, they build a defense.

00:12:23
Speaker 2: So that's the Dolphins.

00:12:25
Speaker 1: I wanted to mention Kyle Pitts is getting tagged the Cowboys, and George Pickens is the other guy that's almost certainly going to get tagged. Steven Jones did speak to the media here on Monday and kind of mentioned how they're gonna need the money from the Kenny Clark and Quinn Williams contracts. I don't know how exactly he's talking about opening up that money, whether it structure, restructure, or you could cut or trade Kenny Clark.

00:12:54
Speaker 3: Could now it would be interesting if they did that after making a big deal that he was a key piece.

00:12:59
Speaker 1: They also made a big deal they were excited to get Logan Wilson for a minute, and they cut him last week.

00:13:03
Speaker 2: For what it's worth. But I l yeah, not the same level. I yeah. I mean George Pickens is getting tagged. We knew that. I mean I talked about that in November.

00:13:12
Speaker 3: I'm interested what happens next, because, more so than ever, the Cowboys are cognizant of being really top heavy and have a lot of money and a great receiver. And George Pickens for a year was awesome. Might they and they got him for three Might they trade him? Might they tag him and trade him and then use the money to build their defense.

00:13:35
Speaker 2: That would make the most sense to me.

00:13:36
Speaker 1: Stephen Jones did say, Hey, we know George Pickens's gonna be here. We love George Pickens. Now that could be him.

00:13:42
Speaker 3: He said the same thing about my pasture, He said the same thing about Micah.

00:13:45
Speaker 1: Okay, that that would be a fun team build and it actually would make a lot of sense to me if they did that. But either way, they kind of indicated that he's gonna get tagged, which I'm not saying. That's why I put Malik Willis number one in George Pickens number two. But in the end, I was like, George Pickens's gonna get tagged. And when that final list comes out, because we update it, we're on top of things as players get cut, as players get tagged, We're going to do it up until the minute free agency, you know, until the negotiating perily starts. He's gonna get taken off anyways, and he would have been number one while we're here with the Cowboys. Javonte Williams got a three year, twenty four million dollar contracts sixteen million dollars guaranteed. Did that tell you anything about like the running back mark?

00:14:24
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's so.

00:14:26
Speaker 3: It's always you know, I talked to agents a lot, and like people like you are always like you know, oh, like you know you're talking about this deal is great because you broke it or agent's your friend. Right, Here's what I would say about that deal. It takes a bold agent to step out and do the first deal in a market. Yes, two weeks before free agency, before the combine. I thought that was a great deal. I thought the deal done by Nicole Linn by the way of Clutch Sports, Joel Siegel did it.

00:14:56
Speaker 2: You don't have to whisper it.

00:14:58
Speaker 3: Uh, Joel Siegel did it, you know, eight years ago. Joe Siegel did it a couple of years ago with Matt Mlano in the deal. I will never forget. It was like four years, forty four million. He did it before free agency, and everyone's like, what is Joel doing? And it was the best linebacker deal the whole market that year. He knew the market wasn't wasn't shy, did it early and like, I'm going to set up everyone else and do the right deal for my player.

00:15:19
Speaker 2: And that's what I thought.

00:15:20
Speaker 3: This was all Like if you're a good starting running back, now it starts at eight. Like for like the Rico Dowdles of the world, Like, this is a great deal for JK.

00:15:31
Speaker 2: Dobbins.

00:15:32
Speaker 1: Who else is available running back in breeceehall, Mike get We'll see mikel I think etn at ken Walker get paid.

00:15:40
Speaker 3: Ken Walker's probably above that, but like, like Rico Dallas should get eight.

00:15:45
Speaker 2: Now that's a this helps him.

00:15:47
Speaker 1: I don't think he will though, So I look, I don't know the agent at all. I didn't know who the agent was, but I this was what I wrote that he was my RB five in free agency was a great like career turnaround, but with more expected cuts about the flood the market like there wise take the money down.

00:16:00
Speaker 2: I don't know.

00:16:01
Speaker 1: I don't know if Javonte Williams was getting that elsewhere. So I agree, Uh.

00:16:06
Speaker 3: The other thing they could be like we're good, you know, like that's your best market is the team that you proved it for anyway, go ahead.

00:16:13
Speaker 1: I mean you're checking the news while you're doing this. I'm seeing your Instagram pop up. It says you've had like a hundred followers since the last time you checked in. What what's going on? I mean, why though, I don't know.

00:16:28
Speaker 2: It's a great question.

00:16:29
Speaker 1: Actually, Ian's a good guy. He tweeted out today the top one O one list. He's always he's he's a he's sneaky, a good teammate.

00:16:37
Speaker 2: I'm not always helping people, but I am. He is just a good team. I'm just a good teammate.

00:16:41
Speaker 1: I you know, he's not everyone's flavor, but once you get used to it, it's like it's, uh, it's like this blackjack.

00:16:48
Speaker 2: Have you ever heard of blackjack gum? No, I'm not a weird though.

00:16:52
Speaker 1: For some reason, I heard someone mention blackjack gum in a podcast recently, and it's like an old I think Jewish like like old like Jews, like my grandfather would have had a lot of black jack out. And then I saw I went to I went to like a diner that night and I saw it for sale and I had a little black jack gum and it's it's licorice flavored, And at first I thought it was disgusting, and by like day two of it, I was like, Oh, I get it. Like it's so distinctive that I want more of it. And that's what Ian Rappaport is like.

00:17:21
Speaker 2: I don't even know what to say to that.

00:17:23
Speaker 1: I think just dead silence is perfect. The Colts and Daniel Jones, they're one of the most fascinating teams. I ended up putting him lower in my top ten. Yeah, give me the give me the twenty seconds. On that first well day, he's coming off of torn achilles, that he's had major arm surgery previously, and his career has been pretty up and down, so I don't know what he's going to be like this season. And you fit with Shane Steigen? Does he fit with everyone? He's still in my top ten free agents. He's a quarterback, but I'd rather have Malik Willis. I think his ceiling might be higher. So I do wonder what. I have no idea what they're going to do to me them between him and Alec Pierce both being available.

00:18:03
Speaker 3: Pierce Pierce being like a top receiver is not that it like through a wrench in things, because like, these are good problems to have, But that's pretty interesting.

00:18:13
Speaker 1: He's my number five overall player. Michael Pittman is on the last year of his contract. Could he be a potential trade candidate if they have to prioritize, Like, how do you think they figure this out?

00:18:27
Speaker 2: Between those two?

00:18:28
Speaker 3: Especially, so I'm gonna be really interested to see Daniel Jones does he get a long term deal before Like this is basically miss hilarious, But it's the same exact thing again, It's instead of Saquon, it's Alex Pierce. Remember it was like, you know, is Saquon going to get tagged? Is Daniel Jones going to get tagged in the end, you know, Sequin ends up getting tagged and Daniel Jones's.

00:18:50
Speaker 2: Deal, But is he gonna do a deal this time?

00:18:53
Speaker 3: I mean the deal could end up similar to the last time in the forties, you know, in the low.

00:18:57
Speaker 1: Forties, multi year Like what what do you think you're holding out on me?

00:19:03
Speaker 2: I mean, I think multi year deal would make sense.

00:19:05
Speaker 3: He's a quarterback, Like, he's young, he's a good guy, he works hard and when he's been healthy, which dude played through a broken leg like I reported that, and even still I'm like, are we serious? Like is this really what I had that dumb check double check, because he like he really played in a broken leg, Like that's the guy you want.

00:19:23
Speaker 2: It's just can you do a long term deal?

00:19:25
Speaker 3: And if they do a long term deal, then I wonder if Alec Pierce gets tagged, taking another top free agent receiver off the market, which always seems to happen.

00:19:32
Speaker 1: I think that is how it should happen. Tagging Dania Jones doesn't really make like a lot of sense to me. I take I've never gotten out about the Dania Jones situation.

00:19:42
Speaker 2: I'm ready for it. I'm excited.

00:19:43
Speaker 1: Remember how everyone was giving his friends that he's got these super smart friends from where was it, Stanford? I should know this, you know, from that helped like create this, you know, spe brace that was gonna let him play through a broken leg and then he tore his achilles like a game and a half later, and no one was like, maybe these are connected, Maybe you shouldn't have.

00:20:11
Speaker 2: Been playing on the broken leg.

00:20:13
Speaker 1: We're all giving your buddies a ton of credit for their their great brace, and your career was kind of altered forever. Two games later, no one's seeing that there's a connection here.

00:20:25
Speaker 2: I mean, the the base they.

00:20:27
Speaker 1: Were using one leg a little more and like, well it was a different leg, yeah, because you're making up for the other leg that's freaking broken.

00:20:32
Speaker 2: I mean, just the same thing happened to Lindsay Vaughn. You know.

00:20:35
Speaker 3: It's like skiing on a torn acl and her body's different, she's not a stable and she shatters her leg in a way that she'll maybe never recover, Like it's called cascading injuries, and like it really like one thing affects the other thing, and like, yeah, I mean playing with a broken leg, I'm sure affected.

00:20:52
Speaker 1: These This is why you know Ian makes the big money. This is why Ian went out of his way to get here before the winter storm. That's how much he wants to be on NFL Daily. That he flew to Florida to fly to Indianapolis from New York because he was afraid of getting stuck in the winter storm missing NFL Daily.

00:21:14
Speaker 2: And so that's the type of person. Yeah, that was the head.

00:21:18
Speaker 3: Yeah, I will say, interestingly enough, flying for fourteen hours, Yeah, doesn't make you feel the greatest.

00:21:26
Speaker 1: Yeah, interestingly, Yeah, you're being very generous a time. I have a lot to get through. We're gonna take quick break, We're gonna come back, We're gonna fly through. Obviously, we don't have to take the brand of this show. Obviously I watch a lot, so I know, I mean it's more of a it's more of an audio thing. But you can check us out on YouTube. Back in a second, back on NFL Daily.

00:21:51
Speaker 2: Uh.

00:21:51
Speaker 1: Back in Super Bowl we we talked to Kyle Hamilton and he was there with Visa who teamed up with Kyle Hamilton to spotlight the communities that power Game Week, especially the small businesses in neighborhoods where culture happens through the launch of the Visa and main platform. Visa is helping local businesses get the visibility tools and support they need to capitalize on major moments like the Super Bowl and stay long after the crowd's head home. Ian is barely paying attention to me. He's looking at his phone, but he's still given good, good takes.

00:22:25
Speaker 2: I was trying to lead to before about.

00:22:28
Speaker 1: Get a man that can do both that You had good good Olympics analogy. Did you have a favorite Olympics moment? I don't think we've mentioned the Olympics one.

00:22:36
Speaker 2: I mean really not. I think it just hasn't come up.

00:22:40
Speaker 3: It was I love the Olympics, but I was in Deer Valley skiing and like Rich skuy Prohams, poor athlete problem is really the problem, not poor athlete, mediogra athlete.

00:22:53
Speaker 2: I couldn't watch as much as I want to.

00:22:55
Speaker 3: I mean the Olympic, you know, the the Olympic gold medal win for the hockey team was an all time classic moment. And I'm like, I will nerd out like like all of us do. Like the call was amazing, call is great, you know, like these are things I get weirdly nervous about is like, great moment, you only get one shot at it. I know you have a spotter, but like hockey's fast and like you don't quite know, like is it a goal?

00:23:21
Speaker 2: Is it not? Guys streaking down the ice who score?

00:23:24
Speaker 3: Like?

00:23:25
Speaker 2: It was incredible?

00:23:27
Speaker 1: I mean, to be fair, both both Olympic Golden goals were great. I wasn't as big a fan of the call and the woman's one, but the women's one was better. I mean, I was making that that's an all time I mean, they're both all time, all time goals. But to pull out a one on one move off like that to win the gold medal, that that's a that's an even better moment. They're both InCred I wish it was when I was sitting in front of a TV paying more attention. Okay, I'm fascinated by the Eagles. Okay, I don't know if you have anything on the Eagles specifically. First of all, since we last tape, Lane Johnson is returning to the Eagles this year. We don't know about Landon Dickerson. There's been reports that he's considering pretty beat up retirement. Multiple trade options here, Tanner McKee, aj Brown a ton of free agents, Dallas Goddard, Jalen Phillips, Na, Kobe Dean. I would throw in, and I haven't asked you this off mic, so it's going to be tough for you to answer it on tough. I would throw in Jalen Carter as a really crazy trade candidate. If someone wanted to come, are they willing to, you know, go the extra mile and pay Jalen Carter like a ton of money?

00:24:33
Speaker 2: Now would be the time.

00:24:33
Speaker 1: I just feel like the bread crumbs are telling us the Eagles are going to go nuts this offseason.

00:24:39
Speaker 2: What does nuts mean? Just are you talking to get rid of guys or bringing guys because, like you know, I just can do it.

00:24:46
Speaker 1: The extremely active in free agency, getting rid of guys, getting guys, trades that they're going to be trying to win, of course, but that the team you see in twenty twenty six is going to look a lot different than the team you saw in twenty five.

00:24:56
Speaker 2: I think that's probably right now.

00:24:58
Speaker 3: Trading aj things possible, but it doesn't really help them, It really doesn't. It costs a lot, it's hard on the cap, and he's a great receiver, and so like I understand and him, and him and Jalen from what I'm told, are in a much better place now than they were almost at any point last year until week like fourteen, fifteen sixteen. So I don't know that they have to do it now. If you'd ask me in week eight, I would say you have to do it. I don't know that they have to do it now. And just like money, like you would have to give him away and pay for it. I don't know, because of all the extensions they give him, I don't know that that really makes sense. It can happen now. The Jalen Carter one is an interesting one because he is a great player. But to have great players, you have to pay the money. So what does he make thirty thirty two million a year if you pay him?

00:25:55
Speaker 2: Who do not pay?

00:25:56
Speaker 1: So like they do have the fifth year option with him, so that cook can't kick.

00:26:00
Speaker 3: Every year like when a team they go for it every year. And so when you do that, you pay for everything. And so like Dallas Goddard, like, I don't know what's gonna happen, but generally when a player takes a pay cut one year, the next year they go somewhere else. That's just so I do think they'll be active. I just don't know. I don't know that it'll be as crazy as we all were anticipating.

00:26:21
Speaker 2: But we'll see. I have some more teams.

00:26:23
Speaker 1: But now that you mention some of the players there, and Jalen Phillips specifically, I might just rip through some free agents. Jalen Phillips two sacks. Yeah, that was the one response. I I do send my list out to various dignitaries, including yourself. You were the last person to respond, but that you sent a response at all, I appreciate it. And the only response was, like, Jalen Phillips really two sex?

00:26:49
Speaker 2: I mean it was like three years. I mean he had two sex. I think he had two sex for the Eagles.

00:26:56
Speaker 3: He is a really disruptive player who made a splash and then didn't do much after.

00:27:02
Speaker 2: But like those guys.

00:27:03
Speaker 1: Get paid five sacks total, you know, but three before a ton of pressure pressure agreed, he's going to get paid.

00:27:10
Speaker 2: I'm just it's gonna be really interesting because they don't need.

00:27:13
Speaker 3: To justify anything. Yeah, but you could justify that trade by giving him big money. But like, and you've seen him in your system, you've seen him with fanjo a couple of times. Fango's coming back, which I wasn't definitely wasn't sure about for a while. So paying him makes a lot of sense. I just the production, how do you calculate the values? Gonna be really interesting. He'll get paid though.

00:27:37
Speaker 1: To me, there he has a lot of similarities to guys that they used to pay back in the day. Now he might cost more because now he's getting through free agency, which is like the first Josh Swet contractor Brandon Graham's contracts all throughout the years, where guys who didn't rack up a ton of sacks but were really complete, versatile players.

00:27:54
Speaker 3: And seems like a good guy, like they liked him a lot like that, Keeping him makes sense.

00:27:58
Speaker 1: He had a monster year in Miami. It was just a few years ago before those injuries happened. So he's not He's not just like a one hit wonder you thought. Linderbaum is an interesting situation. And do you have any if you have any possible teams for any of these players, just throw them out there.

00:28:15
Speaker 2: I do not like to do that.

00:28:16
Speaker 3: I don't like to play that game because then teams are like, hey, why would you say this? And then agents are like, why would you say this instead of this guy? And I'm just like I don't.

00:28:23
Speaker 1: When you say things that makes news, it changes, like the the prediction markets.

00:28:29
Speaker 3: Yes, I care greatly they have the prediction markets. Maybe I should, I don't know, but I just there's plenty of people who will say like, like this team should sign this player, and then it becomes a whole article.

00:28:42
Speaker 2: And so anyway, Lenden Bomb is interesting.

00:28:45
Speaker 1: I mean that's literally I do that all the time. I literally I just did one with Bill Barnwell.

00:28:49
Speaker 2: I had no idea. It was a good it was a good podcast.

00:28:52
Speaker 3: The Linden Bomb is interesting because he almost he not almost, he cannot get tagged. It's a tackle tag, right, and so what is it? What is the what's the tackle tag?

00:29:02
Speaker 1: It's like twenty eight ar yeah, I mean not going to be that, but it's offensive lineman tag, right, But.

00:29:08
Speaker 3: It's really a guards get tagged only when they're tray smith. And that made the tack the guard market go crazy and like everyone else was like seriously, but you had to do it right. Lender Mam is the top center. He's a really good player who the Ravens should want to keep and I feel like they have to keep but they've every year they've let a couple offensive linemen go and figure it out.

00:29:34
Speaker 2: They haven't seen that that interested in keeping him.

00:29:36
Speaker 1: They didn't set they didn't fit your option him, but they have tried to negotiate with him.

00:29:40
Speaker 3: Sure, his agent is very difficult to negotiate with. Neil Kornwich is the agent, and he his method is basically just not responding. We all have someone like that, and yeah, it's pretty good. Yeah, I mean right, it's like trying.

00:29:59
Speaker 2: To get you in on this.

00:30:00
Speaker 1: Think.

00:30:01
Speaker 2: I would think so. They they've done deals. Eric Takosh.

00:30:05
Speaker 3: The way he does things is it's kind of like how he rose me. He's very aggressive and he will keep at it. So they locked Ronnie Stanley up. I think it was like the Saturday before free agency last year, Is that right?

00:30:15
Speaker 2: Something like that.

00:30:17
Speaker 1: It might have even been into the negotiating window unless it was all tampering, because the reporting afterwards was kind of like the Patriots drove up the price, but maybe that was behind you.

00:30:27
Speaker 2: You're right that it might have Saturday.

00:30:29
Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean there now it's sort of like I do like that's one thing that's changed over the years. Maybe you can give us some context.

00:30:38
Speaker 2: Uh.

00:30:38
Speaker 1: You know, Florio used to always you know, my old boss, Mike Floyd used to always be banging on about this year. Oh they're tampering in Indianapolis. Oh can you believe it? Agents are talking to players and teams are talking to no agents. And now it's like no one cares. It's just the NFL was like, we don't care, Florio, We're just gonna allow this. What's the what's the problem? I mean, I meant to be shurely. We have no stand It's like driving seventy five and a sixty five.

00:31:03
Speaker 3: Right, I officially have no stance given where I work, But I'm sort of not really sure I see where the problem is.

00:31:13
Speaker 2: No, I don't think there is a problem.

00:31:15
Speaker 1: The only yeah, the only You have to have a start date at some point, so it's always gonna be bored before.

00:31:20
Speaker 3: People like, well they should just open up free and the temper wind. I'm like, okay, well then they would just start talking and they kind of have they kind of have whatever done that.

00:31:28
Speaker 1: I'm gonna throw out just some different names, see if any strike your fancy. Mike Evans, Rashid Shahid, Tarik Woland, Aaron Rodgers, like any of those stand out as like gonna have particularly good markets. Bad markets stand out to you, like could have? Could Evans actually leave for one?

00:31:47
Speaker 3: I mean anything could happen. He should finish his career in Tampa. Okay, I mean he should, and I don't mean like like he should. It just would be right in the world. Now, he might get enough dollars where he could go and it be one of those like you know Emma Smith and the Cardinals.

00:32:05
Speaker 2: Uniform type deal. But the Bucks take care of their guys. I mean they've with the Eagles. If if they traded aj Brown, you could see him with any team.

00:32:13
Speaker 3: With the Chiefs literally, any good team, any good team.

00:32:16
Speaker 2: The Chiefs receiving quarrel will be interesting to watch in general.

00:32:22
Speaker 1: Sorry, I asked the questions that it was Evans Shaheed, it was Reek, it was Roger Jhemes.

00:32:27
Speaker 3: Shaheed should be a Seattle resign. I mean that makes too much sense. Rogers should be a Steelers only for emerging.

00:32:38
Speaker 2: What else? Did you say? They should be a Malik Willis team?

00:32:40
Speaker 1: But I don't think they want to be, I said, I mean treequill and the cornerback market's going to be interesting. Have you heard of like who is potentially at the top of that that so some options. Jalen Watson from the Chiefs has had a good career. Alante Taylor of the Saints is an interesting player. Jamelle is out there, and Nassan Wright made some all Pro teams this year, and then Tariq will and like.

00:33:06
Speaker 3: So tariquill And is sort of interesting to me because I thought last year midway through that Seattle was going to trade him. I felt like he maybe fell out of favor a little bit and like maybe the scheme wasn't great, but like he kind of kept at it and kind of started playing better and then they were like, we cannot lose him, and that was interesting to me. And I don't know that he's staying, but like a lot of good tape at the end of the year on him.

00:33:29
Speaker 2: That should I think he should have a good market.

00:33:33
Speaker 3: I think Jayleen Watson has the potential for to get a nice deal, and people like, who the heck is this guy. Jamel Dean took a huge pay cut with the Bucks last year which they wanted to start two young guys, and came back with an excellent excellent season, like I could see him, maybe he goes back to the Bucks.

00:33:48
Speaker 2: Anything's possible, but.

00:33:50
Speaker 3: Could be one of those final pieces to a good veteran playoff ready team like he's been through it, he's played great last year, like he's a veteran but not too too old.

00:33:58
Speaker 1: Like, yeah, I'm making you work here. The familiarizes me with free agency. Well, do you have some surprise? Do you have something that you You're like mentioning guys who people don't know that might get a ton of don't does anyone to pop up?

00:34:12
Speaker 3: I don't work like that. Uh, they don't want I don't. They don't all like swim around in my brain if you mentioned I can.

00:34:17
Speaker 2: Yeah, I am like that too. Where I struggle.

00:34:21
Speaker 1: I'm showing you the list boy Mafi, I think is gonna get a lot here.

00:34:25
Speaker 2: Devin Lloyd, I think it'll be good, will be good.

00:34:27
Speaker 3: I'll tell you what I mean. Isaiah likely is interesting too because he doesn't have the production. But it's obviously he doesn't have the production.

00:34:34
Speaker 2: I think he's gonna do what. I want to put you on the spot here.

00:34:36
Speaker 1: I want to I have more specific stuff I want to get you before you go Max Crosby, Like, do you think in the end he gets traded.

00:34:45
Speaker 2: I don't know, I really don't.

00:34:48
Speaker 3: It's gonna be a while because rarely do guys get traded when they are coming back from many month injuries. And so that's why, like I thought, I mean, who knows, maybe all my reports are done, but I thought it was an import thing to report during the Super Bowl because like, I don't think people knew how serious his injury was. Now he's doing great, But like you know, if you trade for him, and then let's say you pay him, you know, somewhere around where Mike is getting, like you want him to be healthy.

00:35:17
Speaker 1: Older player too, Yeah, getting to player money this year, and then you'd probably have to rack on some new stuff.

00:35:23
Speaker 2: Right, but like you want him to be healthy.

00:35:25
Speaker 3: So that might be like around the draft or maybe even before the start of the season. It's gonna be so like the timing is no. Look, he could get traded tomorrow, who knows. But the timing could be interesting because let's say it's before the draft. Okay, you got Feranana Medoza coming in. You've seen what this coaching staff and GM can do in free agency. They I'm sure are gonna target a actually good offensive line. They're gonna make it quarterback friendly defense. They got some pieces anyway. But let's say they improve their team, I wonder, and you know they're gonna try to keep them. So at that point, does Max goo, I'm on out or does he go all right, fine, I'm in one more year. Like, I don't know the answer to what he's going to say. After all that, I.

00:36:08
Speaker 1: Thought it was interesting. There was like a list of teams This was from the NFLPA who have to spend a certain amount of cash this year, you know, to hit that three year average. It's too complicated a rule that I don't totally understand to even get into here, but basically, you have to hit an average of money that you've spent over a rolling three year period. And the Jets, Saints, Seahawks, Raiders, both LA teams and Titans where the teams that have to spend like over a certain amount of cash like fifty million dollars more than the rest of the teams.

00:36:40
Speaker 2: I mean.

00:36:40
Speaker 3: The Rams are interesting because they have some of their own free agents who are gonna get huge deals coming up, you know, like the Kobe Turners of the world.

00:36:49
Speaker 2: They could spend it on their spend it on their own guys. I mean I shared verse.

00:36:53
Speaker 3: Yeah first would be another one. I mean they Yeah, they have Puka Puka. Interesting offseason for Puca. I mean it's just been, yeah, an interest. Why do you say that. No, it's just he's been in the news a lot. The Internet loves him.

00:37:08
Speaker 1: I don't know if love is the word that I would use. Do you think Dj Moore gets traded? Have you heard any and have you heard anything about the Bears in particular, who have a lot of cap issues, not a lot of defensive backs coming back to their team, like a kind of a lot going on. I think them and the Patriots are very interesting in like, Okay, how do you pivot off this surprisingly good year one with these new coaches?

00:37:31
Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean I thought, I think last year they did an underratedly awesome job, didn't like what was out there in the offensive line market and said, you know, we're just gonna trade for two guys. And I was I thought, you know, Ryan Pols does not get universally loved. I thought he crushed it last offseason and set themselves up for big success. They'll have to make some decisions, DJ Moore. I mean that one would make sense, but like could also make it work money wise, you know, Like I don't know if you say to me, like, well the Bears need to do this, Like what do they need to do? I think they have another good draft year and and like what do they need?

00:38:10
Speaker 1: Uh? Pass rushers and defensive backs because half of them are one agents. One of the top defensive backers their own free agent. Yeah, Kevin Kevin Byard is also actually to a free agent. I think about Chauncey Gardner Johnson who's lower on the list, but I.

00:38:22
Speaker 3: Don't have him buyer and it was like a minimum guy a couple of years ago. He's and he's like the best dude too.

00:38:29
Speaker 2: Quon Brisker is a free agent.

00:38:30
Speaker 1: They have they have a lot of work, and they're like way over the cap right now.

00:38:34
Speaker 2: See I'm giving you good information? Are you?

00:38:37
Speaker 1: Though? You could go to overthcap dot com and find out about that. How about the Bills and the Chiefs? Do you have any like over arching thoughts of like the two most consistent teams in the AFC over the last handful of years and and how they are going to attack this offseason? You mentioned earlier the Chiefs and the receiver group.

00:38:54
Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean I think you know they I was not surprised that they shuffle their offensive coaching staff.

00:38:59
Speaker 1: I was.

00:39:00
Speaker 3: I'm not surprised they brought Eric b Enemy back. You know, there was certainly some frustration last year with the receivers. They fired the receivers coach. That's generally shows that Rashi Rice has also been in the new sum on the football field. Is a very very good player, but like inconsistency around like Hollywood Brown.

00:39:20
Speaker 2: Sometimes, yes something you free agent Taekwon Thornton.

00:39:25
Speaker 3: I think he's gonna have a nice market, but like they have a chance to kind of rebuild that with some really good mid level guys.

00:39:31
Speaker 1: Kelsey, you know what happens there. Do you think Kelsey and Rice are on the team.

00:39:37
Speaker 2: Uh?

00:39:38
Speaker 3: My guess is probably, But I don't know why Rice wouldn't be. I mean, if you say, like, are they gonna trade him Mike, I don't know that that would happen. And Kelsey, you know, he's been seemingly pretty positive about the higher of Eric the Enemy, making me think he's coming back. But you like to work out a deal too, and they that's cat problems.

00:40:00
Speaker 1: He said, you weren't surprised that they made changes. Should that worry Giants fans that they now have the offensive course said.

00:40:08
Speaker 3: No, no, no, the running back and receiver coach, position coaches. I think Matt Naggy intentionally put himself where he is. I think he was like he was with Andy Reid. I think they were really good until last year when they were not as good, and there was a lot of reasons they could be not as good. Offensive line that's a missue, and there's a lot of things, injuries, a lot of things. I think Matt and Noggy wanted to be a play caller and was like, I'm going to take a risk, put myself out there and be a play caller and see if I could be a head coach.

00:40:41
Speaker 2: And that's what happened, all right, it worked out. Yeah.

00:40:43
Speaker 1: A couple more for you. Is Kristin Wilkins, the name you've heard it all. He kind of was brought up on our show and I was like, oh, yeah, Kristin Wilkins, who was like top five on this list a couple of years ago. I didn't know whether to put him in the top one on one or not. Is he how like, have you heard any team going to sign Kristin Wilkins.

00:40:59
Speaker 2: I don't know.

00:41:00
Speaker 3: I would need to look back at his contract situation and see he's free and clear at this point, are they not? The Raiders got out of the guaranteed money business.

00:41:10
Speaker 1: They're paying dead money to him. Sometimes I don't know if the Raiders got out of the to You usually are the one giving me information, but sometimes I'll send it in and be like, hey, you should check one with Christian Wilkins. Thing. Now I'm blowing it because it's gonna go on the podcast. But you know, I was like, just dude, no, I'll just check out on Christian Wilkins. If you send a tweet out about Christian Wilkins, I actually think it'll be a.

00:41:30
Speaker 2: Medium hit tweet. You know. I think you're probably if he signs media now, I mean.

00:41:33
Speaker 1: He was I don't even mean signs, but just be like, hey, he's healthy, he's ready to go.

00:41:37
Speaker 2: There's some interest, but he is.

00:41:38
Speaker 3: I mean at the time, remember it was a fight over surgery because he didn't want to have surgery and they wanted him to.

00:41:46
Speaker 2: And then also they there was also a lot of stuff.

00:41:51
Speaker 1: There was a report that Yeah, there was a lot of teammates uncomfortable with him. I don't know if any of that was true. We have it this year, that was season, that was last season. It seems like a thousand years it does.

00:42:03
Speaker 2: You know, what else?

00:42:03
Speaker 1: Does the Starbucks incident that you had back at the combine a year. I'm going there right after this. Are you worried or I wasn't worried then? Why would I be worried now? I thought it was like a little much the NFL network, with you know, so much going on at the company and everything, decided to provide like a four man security detail everywhere you go, just afraid of Sultz. You know, big, big Jordan Schultz coming around the corner. He is tall to me, he is tall in general. That was still the.

00:42:33
Speaker 3: Weirdest thing to It wasn't the weirdest thing to ever happened, but it was the weirdest thing that happened to me lately. That was still like people laugh at my reaction because I literally just stood there like this, like what on earth is happening?

00:42:44
Speaker 2: Because that's what I felt.

00:42:44
Speaker 1: Like, you know, as someone who has annoyed plenty of people.

00:42:49
Speaker 2: No, I'm talking about myself. I'm talking about you too.

00:42:51
Speaker 1: Yeah, I and not the biggest guy I have been in this situation, including even at work with an old uh. I'll say, rival of yours happened once, and it is a tough situation because you're not gonna what are you gonna do. You're just gonna like try to talk talk it out. In this case, you were very surprised by it, but like, it's not you. I knew.

00:43:12
Speaker 2: I know right away. It's not gonna help me out to like the man here.

00:43:16
Speaker 3: I mean, that's not I mean, I haven't fought in a very long time, and it's certainly not gonna be my world.

00:43:23
Speaker 2: I was just mostly confused.

00:43:24
Speaker 3: I kept being like, uber stock, is that something that's in the realm of possibility that someone offers players uber stock for scoops?

00:43:32
Speaker 2: In hindsight, it's a bizarre story. Yeah.

00:43:35
Speaker 1: For some background, Jordan Schultz, who who also breaks news does NFL News, confronted you with an accusation that you were telling people that he was trading uber stocks for for information, which is which is a wild claim to just to just come out of nowhere. But I was trying to make the point though that you're gonna be a free agent coming up soon, and just hear me out you you did a podcast with Andrew Machand and he brought up how your contracts coming up uh soon, and you were saying you're excited that. You know, with this new ESPN world, maybe you and Schefter can be like you know, the the Avengers coming together. We have me, Mike Tom right everyone. But I mean, I'm just putting out there. We have our iHeart executive here, Jason English. They've been great partners for NFL Daily as you hit free agency. What about NFL Daily insider Ian Rappaport. You know, we could get in this mix. I don't know financially, I don't know what are we offering here? Well, what are we talking about that that's an off camera that's but they've been great.

00:44:44
Speaker 2: You know, used to have a part podcast back in the day.

00:44:47
Speaker 1: Right, we can give you you could yep, maybe you could have your own pocket you could take maybe I could take Greg now. But you could have a regular part of the you know, you could be a regular part of the Just the thought.

00:44:58
Speaker 3: I I have no idea what's come. I am very excited about it, though. If the ESPN thing works out. I think the possibilities are really really good. From what it sounds like, everyone should be pretty optimistic.

00:45:12
Speaker 1: That that's a good way to look at things and a good way I think for people just also reality to look forward. Like sometimes you kill yourself worrying about things that you're not going to change the outcome of until they happen.

00:45:25
Speaker 2: So just be optimistic.

00:45:27
Speaker 1: I was optimistic about how long we would get ian and look it happened.

00:45:31
Speaker 2: We did forty.

00:45:33
Speaker 1: Strong minutes. You had great answers. We will be here all week. There were some other minor news out there, and we'll hit all that on when Tuesday's show with Jordan rod Rieg. We also are planning to have a couple of guests. Some gms are gonna sit down with us, and so we'll go over all the news that is coming out of Indianapolis for ian Rapport. I'm Greg Rosenthal, and we will be better back from Indianapolis on Tuesday