← The Athletic Football Show: A show about the NFL
The Athletic Football Show: A show about the NFL
Free agency day two: Perhaps you can go home again
01:10:31
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- [00:01]
Jennifer
Oh, could this vintage store be any cuter?
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Derek
Right.
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Jennifer
And the best part? They accept Discover.
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Robert Mays
Except Discover in a little place like this?
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Jennifer
I don't think so, Jennifer. Oh, yeah.
- [00:11]
Robert Mays
Huh?
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Jennifer
Discover's accepted where I like to shop. Come on, baby, get with the times.
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Robert Mays
Right. So we shouldn't get the parachute pants.
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Jennifer
These are making a comeback, I think.
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Derek
Discover is accepted at 99% of places
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Robert Mays
that take credit cards nationwide, based on the February 2025 Nielsen report.
- [00:31]
Derek
Dreaming of getting the all new iPhone 17 Pro, designed to be the most powerful iPhone ever.
- [00:35]
Dave Hellman
Then stay in bed and let a Boost Mobile expert deliver and set it up for you.
- [00:39]
Robert Mays
Oh, actually they will have to get up and open the door. Oh, right.
- [00:42]
Derek
Delivery available for select devices purchased@boostmobile.com terms apply.
- [00:45]
Dave Hellman
If you work in university maintenance, Grainger
- [00:48]
Derek
considers you an MVP because your playbook
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Robert Mays
ensures your arena is always ready for tip off.
- [00:53]
Dave Hellman
And Grainger is your trusted partner, offering
- [00:56]
Derek
the products you need all in one place, from H VAC and plumbing supplies
- [01:00]
Dave Hellman
to lighting and more.
- [01:02]
Derek
And all delivered with plenty of time
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Dave Hellman
left on the clock.
- [01:05]
Derek
So your team always gets the win.
- [01:07]
Robert Mays
Call 1-800-granger. Visit grainger.com or just stop by Granger
- [01:12]
Dave Hellman
for the ones who get it done.
- [01:21]
Robert Mays
Welcome to the Athletic Football Show. I'm Robert Mays. Day two of the NFL free agency period. That's what we're digging into today. Not quite as fast and furious as day one. Not as many signings to comb through. But we had a couple big news items right before we started recording. Geno Smith traded to the Jets. We have Romeo Dobbs headed to the Patriots. There were some big ones that happened overnight that we did not get a chance to hit yesterday. Elijah Vera, Tucker heading to New England. We have Devin Lloyd going to the Panthers. So we dug into all of those moves plus some of the smaller ones that have happened over the last 24 hours with me, Derek and Dave Hellman. So let's get to that conversation right now. We are back breaking down the second day of the NFL free agency period. I actually don't know what to call it. The tampering period. Second day of the tampering period. But like no, the bullets are flying. We know what's actually going on right now. Obviously not the same sort of back and forth affair that we saw yesterday. Not as many high profile names coming off the board. Most of the work, the big work was done yesterday but still plenty to dig into today. We had a couple things that happened overnight that were big time signings that we did not get to on yesterday's show, we wrapped at about 5:30pm Eastern. And then Dave, right before we started recording, had a couple of things come across the board to make things a little bit more exciting for us as we got going today.
- [02:45]
Derek
What if we have the ear of the league? Like, what if decision makers are like, all right, let's get on the phone.
- [02:50]
Robert Mays
I'm sure that's true.
- [02:51]
Derek
Get on the phone so the Taft guys have something to talk about. It felt like that because. So I left the house at 1pm Central to get here, and as I was, like, getting my keys and getting ready to go out the door, I was like, we talking about Kaimi Fairbairn today? Like, what. What has happened that is worthy of airtime? And then on my commute, all hell broke loose. And we got Geno and we got Dobbs and Braden Smith and I. By the time I got here, I was like, okay, we got it. We got a good show to have.
- [03:18]
Robert Mays
Let's talk about the couple moves that happened right before we started recording. Like, Dave just alluded to. Talk about Geno in a second. But in terms of, like, money handed out, the biggest deal of the day so far, I want to say, is the one that Romeo Dobbs got from the patri.
- [03:31]
Derek
Some conflicting reports.
- [03:32]
Robert Mays
I think just the numbers have been all over the place when it comes to the exact details on this deal. But the number I've seen most consistently seems to be four years, $70 million, which makes sense. It's about exactly what Wando Robinson got. That contract thing had been reported at 78, but I think it's up to 78. I'm pretty sure that's. They're. Both of those guys are right in the same range, like $17 million a year. And so $17 million a year for Romeo Dobbs, Kind of about what we might have expected coming into this, into this period for a guy like that. When you look at the market overall,
- [04:03]
Dave Hellman
I think it's pretty reasonable. And I think, like, some of the conflicting numbers have been up to almost 20 million a year, which even that is not that crazy to me. And I think especially for a team like the Patriots, where what Stefan Diggs ended up giving them last year was Diggs, early in his. Earlier in his career was a lot more explosive, all that, but really, as a Patriot, he was more kind of the underneath zone beater, slot guy, kind of just moving the chains for the Patriots. And they had other explosive elements like kayshawn booty. They're probably hoping that Kyle Williams can give them that next year getting a guy like Romeo Dobbs who can he just win for Drake May on third down consistently, I think that that's kind of all that they needed. And so I'm sure they were in on the Alec Pierce, you know, swing that everybody was trying to make. But I think this was probably about as good a consolation prize as they were going to get.
- [04:47]
Robert Mays
You look at the, that tier of, of receiver contracts over the last couple years. It's a lot of the guys who've been hitting free agency. And so you have Wando Robinson, Romeo Dobbs. This is a slight uptick on the deal that Coop got last year from the Seahawks. Just by aav, I think the cup guarantees were a little bit lower. He only had 17 and a half billion dollars guaranteed. So it was like more like a one year deal. But in terms of aav, it's right in that range. It's just below what Jerry Judy got a couple years ago. Obviously based on inflation that's probably closer to 20 million. But that, that's the kind of grouping that we're talking about here. And then the other receiver contract, Dave, that comes in right around there last night, Rashid Shahid also getting $17 million a year from the Seahawks. So Wanda Robinson, Rashid Shahid and Romeo Dobbs all getting between 17 million and 17 and a half million in the last day or so.
- [05:36]
Derek
You feel pretty clearly that Dobbs is the best option of those three.
- [05:40]
Robert Mays
No, for.
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Derek
No.
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Robert Mays
I mean, I don't think so.
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Derek
Shahid brings a very three Dobbs, Shahid and Wando.
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Robert Mays
And Wando. I can ask you guys, I. Do you think Dobbs is the best guy?
- [05:48]
Derek
Shahid brings like an element that you just. It's hard to find. I get that the speed is very real and it is a valuable, valuable thing. But overall game and maybe, maybe the back half of his first year in Seattle, maybe I'm weighing that too heavily.
- [06:02]
Robert Mays
I think, I think that's. That was going to be the.
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Derek
I don't think you're crazy if you're willing to take a bet that Rashid Shahid has more than he showed in the second half of the season. I don't think that's crazy, but I think, I think Dobbs is the best overall player of those three. Even if I think Shahid has the rarest skill set.
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Robert Mays
Here's how tight the grouping is and here's how blurry I think the answer to that question is. I had this actual question in the rundown because I think it's worth asking.
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Derek
Didn't even look at it.
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Robert Mays
I was curious what the you guys would think about if you had to pick between those three guys and do. Do we think their Shaheed is the best value of all three of them? So it's close enough to ask.
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Derek
Shahid has the highest upside, but I feel the most confident about what I'm getting with Romeo Dobbs. How's that?
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Dave Hellman
I think that's the best way to frame it. I like that.
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Robert Mays
So here's. Here's what I land where I land with it. I think what Dobbs provides you is the clearest right among all the guys. Like the his ability to win in those situations on third down and what he showed you last year. I think he has the clearest utility to the offense in like one specific role. I think Shahid's overall contributions to the offense are the broadest. I think can give you the most things like he is a speed guy first and foremost, but you can move him around a little bit. You can use him in a bunch of ways. I think Wanda to me is clearly like a half step down from both of them if I were trying to tier them out.
- [07:17]
Dave Hellman
And Shahid does give you like incredible special. Like he literally swung that Rams game that they had because he gives you that. And so I think my concern with kind of the back half of last year is him working with Kubiak again, who he had worked with in New Orleans. It was just a little bit weird to me that they could not figure out the best way to use him consistently over the back half of the year. Obviously Sam Darnold just wasn't playing as well the second half of the year, but that gives me a little bit of pause. I also for a deal like this where it's a healthy amount of money but not insane, we're not paying top of the market. I kind of want to pay for certainty is probably the wrong word. But a guy where I think his utility is the most clear. So that's kind of the way that I fall with these contracts.
- [07:53]
Robert Mays
I'd be curious how Seattle talking to somebody that have not done this yet, but just talking to people there about why they were willing to give him that deal after he wasn't super productive in the back half of the year where I got we had kind of. We knew what our offense was. We were kind of trying to get him involved midstream. Now as we have an entire off season with him, maybe he can be a little bit more productive. He can be a bigger part of what we're doing. I have no idea what the answer is, but the fact that they wanted to bring him back after he really wasn't that big a part of the offense in the second half of the season, I find that interesting. Like, they. They clearly didn't think, oh, this was a mistake, like, we shouldn't have made this deal. If they're going to double down on it like this.
- [08:28]
Derek
I don't want to classify it as money burning a hole in their pocket because that has a negative and, like, irresponsible connotation. But we talked about it heading into free agency. I do think the Seahawks are in a pretty enviable position for a team that just won the super bowl, where, like, off the top of my head, Leonard Williams and DeMarcus Lawrence are probably not guys you're even interested in extending when they get to that point. Right. Like, two big pieces of that, you know, you. You're going to earmark money for Witherspoon and jsn, but that doesn't need to happen today. Byron Murphy's not even eligible for an extension. You knew as soon as the Seahawks started talking to agents weeks ago, I'm sure they knew, boy, Mafe was not a realistic possibility. And so you look at that and you're like, all right, we have way more money than a team in our position typically does, and we can't even spend some of it yet. So, like, who cares if we do Rashid Shahid for only three years, for that matter? So I don't want to classify it as reckless, but it's just kind of like, well, we can afford to do this. Why not? And we're in a position where even if his value is mainly on special teams and like, even if it's just the speed element, like, if it doesn't show up in stats, I think that's fine for this team for the time being. And I was thinking about that last night where I was like, well, they're probably in a position where this is a luxury they can afford to have, and it's probably not going to bite them if he doesn't completely live up
- [09:55]
Robert Mays
to the salary on New England side of this. For Dobbs, I completely understand it. Like, it's a skill set that they needed within the offense. They were obviously in the Alec Pierce conversation before he went back to the Colts. There were only so many players that gave you this. There's a reason why all the same teams were in on all of these guys, like Washington, New England, all were in on Alec Pierce. They're the teams that reportedly were in On Dobbs, New England ends up getting him. And so his skill set within that offense, I think makes perfect sense. You look at the other big deal the Patriots signed, was it yesterday or today? The Elijah Veritucker thing? I can never. That was late last, late last night. So Elijah Vera Tucker also going to New England, three years, $42 million. And so you're looking at that deal for Elijah Vera Tucker, three years, 42 million with I think it was 24 million, $21 million guaranteed. This is one of those deals that to me has like one of the wider range of outcomes of any of the contracts signed over the last couple days. Because to get him for $14 million in a world where Zion Johnson got 16 and a half and got $32 million guaranteed if Barrett Tucker can stay healthy, this is one of those free agent contracts, Derek, that I think could look pretty good in retrospect if you're New England.
- [11:03]
Dave Hellman
We, I think we said this at some point before on one of our earlier shows. This to me is like the Jonah Jackson type of bet where obviously that was a trade, but you are betting that this guy who has shown, shown very high level play before, who was a high draft pick, can actually continue that. And I think this is an offensive line that got away with a lot last year because I think the quarterback just kind of made up for a lot. And I think the scheme was obviously better than it had been the year before. So they went from 30th to 24th the way that we've talked about. But I think when you have a young quarterback who has shown the ability that he's had, you don't want to just stay trying to fight to be the 24th best offensive line. You need to take some of these swings. So if they do this, if Jared Wilson really handles center next year really well, which I liked him a good amount in college and, and so I
- [11:44]
Robert Mays
think that was always going to be the case. It was one of those things where like that was their best five last year. They could get Bradbury for the right price. That was before you have a rookie
- [11:52]
Dave Hellman
quarterback, but now that young quarterback has shown really high level ability. Now we can, we can take this younger center and probably be okay in that spot.
- [11:59]
Robert Mays
So now we're talking about a Patriots offense that has Romeo Dobbs, K, Sean Booty now with which those roles I think are, you know, fine together. And then we have Demario Davis still in the, in the, in the fold here. The tight ends that they have, Treveon, Henderson, Ramandre Stevenson. Now the offensive line, left to right, Will Campbell, which. That's an ongoing conversation, but before he got hurt last year, I think he played better before he got hurt last year than he played at the end of the season, which I think is important to remember. Elijah Vera, Tucker, Jerry Wilson at center, you still have Mike on Wendo, you still have Morgan Moses. Like, it's, it's looking like if you look at it like all across all 11 guys, like, they filled most of those roles. Like, you. You have to feel like pretty good overall about the collection of players they have there. And now you can chase essentially whatever you want in the draft. You want some upgrades.
- [12:48]
Derek
Do you buy the idea kicking around at all? And I don't think you would do this right away. And I think it's very fair to point out that Will Campbell did get hurt, but I saw people suggesting that Elijah Vera Tucker could play tackle. If you decide Will Campbell is a guard, I.
- [13:03]
Robert Mays
No. Wow.
- [13:04]
Dave Hellman
That would be crazy to. To do that when he's not been healthy, I think would be a little bit scary.
- [13:09]
Robert Mays
That feels like galaxy brain stuff. That feels like what the Rams did two years ago. And Jonah Jackson.
- [13:14]
Dave Hellman
Oh, my God. Yeah.
- [13:15]
Robert Mays
Just like, we don't need to be doing this. Let's just let the guys play where they play.
- [13:18]
Derek
I think I'm. I'm not scared enough by the playoffs yet to be trying to do anything that outside the box with Will Campbell.
- [13:26]
Robert Mays
If you're Washington now, what do you do at receiver? You've been in on all these guys. You missed out on all of them.
- [13:32]
Dave Hellman
A.J.
- [13:33]
Robert Mays
they're not going to trade you A.J. brown within the division. That seems like with the Patriots getting Dobs, it feels like now AJ Brown is off the table, right?
- [13:40]
Dave Hellman
Yeah.
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Robert Mays
And so that was. They seemed like one of the teams that probably were in the mix for A.J. brown. But the A.J. brown thing is, I heard, you know, I can't remember who was reporting it, and I apologize. But the idea that how he was trying to, like, do part of the deal now and part of the deal after June 1, so they didn't have to eat all the money. But, like, that's the problem with this is that it really is not that tenable for the Eagles to trade him before June one with the money. And so if you want to sit there waiting around for A.J. brown, you're going to miss out on all these guys. And for Washington, you're probably not an AJ Brown team anyway. And so now they're sitting there with most of the. The receivers they were chasing off the board and they're still missing that. And so we'll see what happens. But feels like if Brandon Ayuk is gonna play that might be the solution for them.
- [14:24]
Dave Hellman
How much of a solution is that? Like that would really scare me. That I would wanna trust if that's where they end up.
- [14:29]
Robert Mays
I think it's one of those things. If it's the right price and you don't get burned. If it doesn't work out, is it something that's worth chasing? Cause he's gonna be a free agent. It's not like you're trading for that contract. So if you can get him for a one year flyer deal and he has to kind of rebuild his value a little bit, could that actually be the best thing for you in the end?
- [14:46]
Dave Hellman
If the price is right, I could get that. I would still. They have to add, I would say even two more bodies if they're doing that. Because you just don't know what he's going to be.
- [14:53]
Robert Mays
All right, so let's. Let me, let me lay this out for you. If you're Washington, you can have romeo Dobbs for four years. 70 million. I can't remember exactly what the guarantees were. Let's call it $35 million guaranteed. Or you can have Brandon Iuk for one year. 17 million.
- [15:10]
Jennifer
17.
- [15:11]
Dave Hellman
I think Romeo Dobbs.
- [15:12]
Robert Mays
I, I just honestly I'd rather take the. I'd rather roll the dice on Ryuk.
- [15:17]
Dave Hellman
But you love those types of receivers and I love the Romeo worth $30 million.
- [15:20]
Robert Mays
Two years ago we didn't play that eye.
- [15:23]
Dave Hellman
He simply wanted to play football.
- [15:24]
Derek
There's a lot of stuff that's happened since then that you can't just overlook. My only impression of Brandon Iuk since like that playoff run is him driving 100 miles an hour past the 49ers stadium on Instagram. That's the only thing he's.
- [15:39]
Robert Mays
Here's in the newspaper.
- [15:40]
Dave Hellman
Them giving him $17 million feels like the most Washington thing that they could do.
- [15:45]
Robert Mays
There's only so much risk that comes along with that though. One year deal.
- [15:48]
Derek
Lower that, lower that price if you want me to be in on it. Like $17 million.
- [15:53]
Robert Mays
Here's my argument.
- [15:54]
Derek
You've been hurt and you don't seem actively interested in playing football.
- [15:58]
Robert Mays
Him signing the deal to me is an indication that he might be interested in playing football.
- [16:02]
Derek
Okay. Because. Yeah. Cause that's never bitten anybody in the ass before.
- [16:06]
Robert Mays
All right, let's get to the other big bit of news that came out right before we Started Geno Smith on his way back to the New York Jets. The sixth, seventh round pick swap. The jets move back about 20 spots in the draft. Really feels like to ensure that they get him. Jordan Schultz was reporting that the Vikings may have been circling. I think if they're trying to figure out why the jets would do this rather than just waiting for him to be released again, you're only moving back 20 spots. Shefter reported that the Raiders are taking on the majority of the deal. So they're probably just gonna pay just over the minimum, which is what they would have paid if he were to be released. So what you're doing by trading away the pick and moving back 20 spots is you're making sure you're getting if another team was in the mix. So with Geno going to the jets, there's a couple different ways that you can look at this. I think the optimistic view is, okay, the offensive line is going to be better than it was with the Raiders last year. And so can we see a better version of Geno with the jets than we saw last year with the Raiders? The pessimistic view is I've watched what the Frank Reich offenses and what those offensive infrastructures have looked like with his last in his last year with the Colts and his only year with the Panthers. And even if the offensive line talent is better with the jets than it was with the Raiders last year, I think there is still a real possibility that everything about this ends up being a disaster and Gino is wading through another river of shit the same way he did last season.
- [17:30]
Dave Hellman
I'm a little bit worried about that because yeah, if you just look at the talent on paper, obviously nobody on this team is as good as Brock Bowers or even Ashen Genti, I would say. But the offensive line is tenfold better than what the Raiders have.
- [17:41]
Robert Mays
And Garrett Wilson is a very good player.
- [17:42]
Dave Hellman
And he's a very good player. Yeah, exactly. It's not like he's. It's not like they have nothing at receiver if he's healthy. But yeah, the Frank Reich of it all kind of scares me a little bit, what I would say. I want to be clear, I'm not buying into the Frank Reich offense again. I'm not going to fall for that, you know, kick the football there. However, his offenses had typically worked when he had quarterbacks that he could put a lot on them. Mentally. I do think Geno Smith is more that than like Bryce Young was or before that like Carson Wentz was. And so I don't think it's going to work, but if you're trying to spin it optimistically, that's where it would land. I want to be clear. I don't believe that the Jets.
- [18:16]
Derek
The jets feel like such a damned if you do, damned if you don't team. Because, like, so after we got done yesterday, the Cardinals sign Gardner Minshew and it comes out overnight that like, oh, it's Jacoby Brissette and Gardner Minshew. And so you're just like, this is a tank team. Like, this team is gunning for the best prospect.
- [18:35]
Robert Mays
There is no better tank commander quarterback than totally. And that is why when I was trying to play quarterback matchmaker this off season, I thought Jacoby Brissette going to the jets was the best possible solution. Played for Frank Reich in Indianapolis. Notoriously good dude to have in the locker room for a young team that's actively tanking. And he makes your offense watchable. Like, if there are fates worse than being the 2025 Arizona Cardinals offense, there are way their fates way worse than that. And so you get, you can, you can evaluate your young players. He's good enough for you to evaluate your young players. He clears so many bars if you're a tanking team. I honestly feel like if you're the Jets, Gino might be too good for what you actually want to accomplish this year.
- [19:20]
Derek
So that's what I was going to
- [19:21]
Robert Mays
say is by all the right circumstances, not last year, Gino, he's bad enough to get you where you want to go.
- [19:26]
Derek
The jets appear to be like, they're attempting to be an honorably bad team. Like, like a bad team that you can, you can sort of squint and see the vision and you're like, oh, these, these guys could be feisty. Like, this is. All of a sudden we got a ton of veterans on this defense that are going to know what they're doing. And Geno, like you just said, can get the results you want in the right environment, but then you think at it and you're like, to, to what end? Like, are the New York jets realistically going to finish better than third in their division and, like, make any legitimate noise? Probably not. And so it's hard to get excited about them. But at the same time, like, I do think there's more honor in what they're trying to do than just saying in March that Gardner Minshew and Jacoby Brissette are your options at quarterback.
- [20:10]
Robert Mays
I think that's a perfectly reasonable approach to being an, being an honorably bad team. If you're the 20, 26 jets I think is completely fine for the most part. The deals the jets have signed, you know, Demario Davis is a two year deal, but it's 15 guaranteed. You can move off from Demero Davis after this year if you want to. Kingsley Anagbari deal is one year. Joseph Osai is a youngish player and so if you see him, he's 25. Joseph Osai is right now, he hasn't turned 26 until April. So you're going to have him for his age is 25, 26, 27, 28 seasons. So even if you're not competitive for three years, he's under contract for three years. Like that's the type of free agent deal I think is totally reasonable for a team in the stage that the jets are in. And so all their moves in conjunction with one another, I do think that's the goal is like let's be not embarrassing in the short term, but also not take away from any of the real resources. We need two years from now when we can be competitive.
- [21:04]
Derek
Just don't play your way out of the quarterback range. And we don't know what that is right now, but that I would prefer teams to be honorably bad. I think that's more interesting and it gives, you know, jets fans over the last two days. I don't know. I think if you're a Jets fan you can sit there and be like this should be ideal, like hopefully a watchable team and not just like an embarrassment of a football team. But that sounds great. Until there are. It's a two quarterback draft and you're picking sixth or it's a three quarterback draft and you're picking eighth. I mean there's no, there's no good answer to that.
- [21:35]
Robert Mays
But here's the argument from my end. You're not just picking 6th or 8th, you're picking 8th, 17th and 25th.
- [21:43]
Derek
The. The stockpile might come in handy which is ace to have up your sleeve.
- [21:47]
Dave Hellman
Them being decent might not really hurt them that bad because of what you're
- [21:50]
Robert Mays
saying that that's always good in.
- [21:52]
Dave Hellman
You would still have to give up stuff but like you have the ammo to do it.
- [21:55]
Robert Mays
To me it's not about giving to me it's that we do this all the time where you think like oh well, you have two first round picks. You know, maybe like this is the perfect example of this is Minnesota two years ago where they have those two first round picks and all those teams in range to pick those quarterbacks. Like, why would I give up the chance to pick? I have what you want. Like, why are the picks more valuable to me than the chance to pick the quarterbacks? Every once in a while this does happen, right? Like this happened with Bryce Young and the Panthers when the Bears decided to move back out of the first overall pick. But if the quarterback prospects are worth having and worth being excited about, are you going to find a trade partner to dance with you if you need to move up for one? That becomes the question.
- [22:36]
Derek
I say this all the time on Building the Beast. I'm just, I don't want to live in the world of looking to the next draft anyway. I mean, obviously, you know, the 2024 draft is looking like it could deliver on the hype, but I'm tired of doing that. Oh, next year could be great. And we're already doing it right now and maybe it will be, but. But I don't know. I'd rather be honorable. I'd rather wanna watch my team on Sunday at the end of the day. And the odds that it's gonna completely screw you over, I think, are not as good as people act like they are.
- [23:05]
Robert Mays
We've talked about this a bunch. Just the idea of tanking in a vacuum versus tanking in reality and how hard it is and how kind of erosive it is to your culture and building to be that bad and that purposefully bad and have no, like, real people at the front of this thing. And so the fact that the Jet just said the Raiders, that the jets have tried to gesture at the idea that they're trying to be at least a little bit competitive, I think there is potentially value in that. All right, before we move on, let's take our first quick break.
- [23:35]
Dave Hellman
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- [24:52]
Jennifer
Oh, could this vintage store be any cuter?
- [24:54]
Robert Mays
Right?
- [24:55]
Jennifer
And the best part? They accept Discover.
- [24:57]
Robert Mays
Except Discover in a little place like this?
- [25:00]
Jennifer
I don't think so. Jennifer oh yeah, huh? Discovers Accepted where I like to shop. Come on baby, get with the times.
- [25:07]
Robert Mays
Right. So we shouldn't get the parachute pants.
- [25:10]
Jennifer
These are making a comeback, I think.
- [25:14]
Derek
Discover is accepted at 99 of police
- [25:17]
Robert Mays
places that take credit cards nationwide, based on the February 2025 Nielsen report. With almost half a million customers and over a trillion dollars of secure payments, Bill isn't new to intelligent finance. It's the proven way to simplify bill pay and maximize cash flow. Want to learn more? Visit bill.comproven for a special offer. The big deal that happened last night that I found really interesting, I think there's a lot to dig into here. Devin Lloyd headed to the Panthers three years, 45 million, $25 million guaranteed. Really the same general area of the Quay Walker deal, which we'll talk about in a second. I mean, I think when we were talking about the Devin Lloyd deal and the potential range of the Devin Lloyd deal last week when we were discussing free agency and there was a thought that could he get $20 million a year based on the way that he played? And so for him to come in at this number, Derek kind of bunched up with a lot of the other linebacker contracts we've seen over the last couple of years. I felt like was a little bit
- [26:20]
Dave Hellman
surprising, I thought because of the age, because of some of his athletic potential, him obviously just coming off of his best football that he would get more than what Nick Bolton got, which was about 15 million a year. And he's not getting any more than that. And so that part of it has been a little bit curious to me. Obviously he's a touch older than than Nick Bolton is, but like he's still this is prime of your career football, it should be like 27, 28, 29, 30. I think for a linebacker is very much like prime of your career football. When the whole thing with Devin Lloyd coming out and this has still been true, is he is an exceptional athlete. Like the way that he can move backwards, the way that he can go sideline to sideline. And so I have expressed my concerns that I still think that one year of good play from the kind of player he is. And I think some of the interceptions being really lucky. I think I'm a little bit dubious of this contract or what the contract that he might have signed if it was 20 million. But honestly, at 15 million, him bunching in with some of the other guys, I don't think it's that bad, honestly.
- [27:14]
Robert Mays
So I don't think it's that bad either. I think that you kind of have to be happy about this if you're in the Panthers, given where he might have signed. And so I was talking to somebody in the league last night, cause I was like, man, it seems like a little bit less than you would have thought. And so the few factors I think that played into this one, his age is surprising for a player that is heading onto his second contract. So we. I comp this a little bit to the Tremaine Edmonds deal when. Because Tremaine Edmonds, I think the. Our career arc was similar. They were first round. Their first round picks, they didn't hit until the final year of their contract. It's kind of elite players and then they get paid big money in free agency. Tremaine Edmonds was drafted in 2018. Okay. Devin Lloyd was drafted in 2022. They're drafted four years apart. Tremaine Edmonds is five months older than Devin Lloyd.
- [28:01]
Dave Hellman
I was gonna say Edmonds was probably what, 23 when he.
- [28:03]
Robert Mays
Yes. So they're both 27 now. And so that to me, I didn't realize that when I was thinking about them kind of following that similar arc because they're at the same point in their careers. So Tremaine Edmonds, again is only five months older than Devin Lloyd. So the age is part of this. The one year production is part of this. And I think the other element of this, it was a flooded market with off ball linebackers. I mean, there were so many guys you could have signed maybe one step down from that. I think it does the opposite of something like the John Franco Myers market that we saw yesterday or the Tyler Linderbaum market after bias and McGovern are gone.
- [28:38]
Derek
Where.
- [28:38]
Robert Mays
Because there's only one guy left. That's how the number gets totally pumped up. And for a guy like Devin Lloyd, when there's so many players available that teams were chasing yesterday, I think that's why you see that number fall back a little bit compared to what we might have expected it to be.
- [28:52]
Derek
You ever wake up in the middle of the night and somebody's watching you and just as you're about to have a panic attack, you turn on the light and it's like a pile of clothes sitting on your chair?
- [29:01]
Robert Mays
Yes.
- [29:02]
Derek
Devin Lloyd and Quay Walker, both. For me, where I was like, this isn't scary at all. What was I worried about? Like, I would have been happy to have either of these guys at these prices. And I, I expected it to be a lot higher, I think. And maybe, maybe teams are learning their lesson. Like, maybe you can. Like you can. Obviously you're going to have to sp. Spend a lot of money to get guys at the top of the market, but some of these prices don't seem as silly as what we've gotten used to. I mean, the, The Tremaine Edmonds deal is burned into my brain because I remember listening to this show when it happened and you in the moment trying to process it and being like, this just doesn't feel like it's going to age well. And Devin Lloyd might not ever be as good as he was this year, but at this price, I don't think that matters to the Carolina Panthers. It's just. It's not a steep price to pay.
- [29:50]
Dave Hellman
They were also. Their linebackers were so bad last year, like, I kind of get them looking at just whoever they can pay that amount of money to. And so even if Devin Lloyd, if they only get C minus value on this deal, he is still going to be a significantly better player than any of the guys that were playing there last year, even if he's 80% of the player that he was this year.
- [30:09]
Robert Mays
A couple different things I want to talk about, as, when it relates to the. As it relates to the Panthers. If I had told you at the. 2 days ago ago that the Panthers would walk away from the first day of free agency and they would have Jaylen Phillips and Devin Lloyd for 75 million. Excuse me for. Let me do the math in my head. For $45 million a year combined, that probably would be okay, right?
- [30:30]
Dave Hellman
Just thought the split would be different.
- [30:33]
Robert Mays
But if I told you it would be for 45 million a year combined, you'd be like, all right, that kind of makes sense.
- [30:37]
Dave Hellman
Phillips for 25, Lloyd closer to 20. Yes.
- [30:41]
Robert Mays
That was thinking about it last night. It's just like, well, this kind of eases the pain of paying Phillips $30 million a year. But I, I spent a lot of time over the last day or so thinking about the Jalen Phillips contract. And I had a bun. A couple different things came to mind. The first thing was if you were. Because I thought that Baltimore would be potentially a Jalen Phillips team. That was a fit in my mind. And if you're Baltimore, Jalen Phillips got four years, 120 million. What Max Crosby has left on his deal is four years, 113 million. So now that Max car. The trade for Max Crosby looks even better. When you think about the money that you're paying Max Crosby compared to what a guy's making in the open market.
- [31:16]
Dave Hellman
And a lot of that is not guaranteed Crosby Steel, like after this year, it kind of starts to go away.
- [31:20]
Robert Mays
They will touch it, right? Right. Like they will do something to it, whether to move some money around or give him some more guarantees, whatever. But the fact that that's what's left, that looks pretty good right now. The other thing was, and I was just thinking about free agency in general and where free agency mistakes happen. And over the last couple years, I feel like the ones that age poorest are when teams are playing average, paying average players, like impact players. I don't think the real mistakes are when you're paying impact players, like elite players.
- [31:51]
Dave Hellman
Right.
- [31:51]
Robert Mays
And the one that I would compare this to, when I looked at the Jalen Phillips contract and I think about what he was worth in a trade and then what the contract was because he had some leverage in free agency. It kind of reminds me of the Montez Sweat contract from the Bears. So Montez Sweatt, I think two years ago got $24 million a year on that extension after being traded. And so he has leverage because of that trade in the same way Jalen Phillips has leverage because. Because he's hating free agency and multiple teams are bidding on him. The sweat deal, he's not a ten sack guy, right. He's not a superstar player. But you don't look at that contract and think, man, what an albatross. Because you still feel the impact he's making on the game. And I think Jalen Phillips kind of falls into a similar category for me. You look at the contract and you're like, God damn, that's a lot of money. But at the same time, he's a guy that's going to be impacting games for. And even if you're having to pay a slight premium to get those guys, I still feel like those are the contracts worth handing out compared to giving guys that aren't making an impact impact level money. I think about again, you talk about Bears players like Diodango. Is that contract right? Like those to me are the real mistakes. This type of contract for Jalen Phillips doesn't feel like that much of a mistake. And the other deal that I would comp it to, and again, I think this has to be playing into the thinking for Carolina. Milton Williams is exactly that type of player where they paid Milton Williams elite money for an impact player. And I think Carolina probably looked at what happened last this year with Milton Williams and thought we're not going to let that happen again.
- [33:20]
Derek
Not again.
- [33:21]
Robert Mays
We're not going to let three or four million dollars be the difference between us finding an impact guy up front that we desperately need.
- [33:27]
Dave Hellman
And even similarly to the Williams deal because he's a little bit younger and like, because there have just been some weird stuff with Phillips career just in terms of some of the injuries and him not having that many healthy seasons. There's a chance that he's. You pay to and you pay to get an impact player and then he ends up closer to Elite the same way that Milton Williams did. Like Milton Williams ended up better than the deal that they gave him or
- [33:47]
Robert Mays
at least they might have a chance of that with Phillips. But again, I think the thought process
- [33:51]
Derek
I'm okay with, I do think it comes way. I mean it comes with a very real risk of being an albatross because of the injury history.
- [33:58]
Robert Mays
The injury history is a different conversation. That's absolutely correct.
- [34:02]
Derek
I said this on our discord chat last night. It might blow up in my face.
- [34:06]
Dave Hellman
But.
- [34:06]
Derek
But I'm not projecting anything with Jalen Phillips. At least I don't think I am. Like, I've watched enough of him to be like, this guy is a badass. He's going to do this. He can impact the game in this way. I am 100% confident if he's on the field, he can be worth this paycheck. The injury is the big or the injury history is the big question mark. But I'll take my chances that he's put that behind him and if he's available, I'm not projecting the type of player he can be. I know exactly what type of player he can be and that even with the injury history that makes me a little more, more comfortable taking the risk is in terms of how he plays. I don't think there's a lot of guesswork there. It's just keeping him on the field.
- [34:46]
Robert Mays
All right, let's bring up the top 150 and see where we're at right now with what that collection of players looks like. Daniel Jones is at 4. We have some initial reports that from Jordan Schultz that the Colts and Daniel Jones are entering toward an extension. Even they haven't reached one yet. The Trey Hendrickson situation is fascinating how that has kind of unfolded over the last couple hours. And I saw Adam Schefter talking about it today and it seems like there is a significant gap between what Trey Hendrickson thinks he's worth and what teams are willing to pay Trey Henderson.
- [35:11]
Dave Hellman
Are we surprised by that?
- [35:13]
Robert Mays
In what way Are we surprised that
- [35:15]
Dave Hellman
teams are not willing to give him that amount of money?
- [35:19]
Derek
Am I surprised that teams don't want to pay a 31 year old player who missed most of last year with
- [35:25]
Dave Hellman
a core injury, which seems given the way that he plays the position, probably pretty impactful.
- [35:29]
Derek
Am I surprised that they don't want to pay him north of $30 million a year? No, I'm not surprised.
- [35:33]
Robert Mays
So I think the, the reports were that there was a 10 million gap between what Trey Hendrickson was asking for and what teams are willing to pay him. What do you think that $10 million gap looks like? What do you think are the two numbers that equate to that $10 million? You think he's asking for 35 and teams are willing to pay 25. That's what it feels like to me.
- [35:52]
Dave Hellman
That is probably the right range.
- [35:54]
Derek
That's funny you say that because like when I, when I saw this report, when I saw Schefter talking about it on Tuesday morning, I was like, surely we can just do like 24 million fully guaranteed and call it a day. So, yeah, that sounds about right. Me.
- [36:06]
Robert Mays
The problem is there are a couple numbers out there that I'm sure Trey Hendrickson camp, Trey Henderson's camp are pointing at and saying, well, what is different about his career than guys like this, like the Daniel Hunter contract, the fact that Daniel Hunter is making $40 million on that extension. I'm sure the Trey Hendrickson people are going to teams and being like, well, why isn't he worth this? Two years ago he was an all pro player. Like, what's the real gap between him and Daniel Hunter? My answer to that is Daniel Hunter is sent from outer space.
- [36:33]
Dave Hellman
Yeah, he don't make a lot of athletes.
- [36:36]
Robert Mays
Normal aging curves don't app I have you seen pictures of Daniel Hunter?
- [36:40]
Derek
Daniel Hunter also looked like one of the very best edge rushers in football all of last season. I mean, sorry it's a cliche, but what have you done for me lately? That's the NFL.
- [36:51]
Robert Mays
Speaking of the Houston Texans. The Houston Texans with another offensive line signing today. Braden Smith, formerly of the Colts, going To the Texans two years, $20 million, I think it was. Ian Rapaport tweeted that it's a starting tackle that can play guard is what he said. And I thought that was interesting framing, not surprising. I talked to a couple people at the combine that thought Braden Smith might profile best as a guard moving forward. And so if you're looking at this,
- [37:18]
Derek
if you're Houston and they resigned Trent Brown, right?
- [37:20]
Robert Mays
So they resigned Trent Brown. And so you have Trent Brown on a one year, $7 million deal at right tackle. You have Braden Smith in the building now at 2 years, 20 million. You brought back Ed Ingram at I think 12ish million dollars a year. And obviously you still have Ironte Ursary from last year. And then Jake Andrews was there. This feels to me like, like we didn't want to overpay for any of the guards available on the market. We didn't feel like that was worth it. I think if you had Braden Smith at one guard, smart Ingram at the other guard spot and you have Trent Brown as a placeholder at right tackle and then you just say with all of these picks that we have, which they have a ton of picks by the way, I mean, the Texans have way more draft capital in this draft than you think that they do. They're picking 28th. I guess it's, I guess it's less than I expected. But they're. Because they don't have their own third round pick or their own fourth round pick, but they have an extra two and they have the 69th pick in the draft of the Giants. So right now The Texans have four picks in the top 70 and they have five picks in the top 106. So they only have seven overall. But they have more kind of squeezed into the top 100 than you might expect. So the Texans sitting there and saying, okay, we've got, we've solved this enough where if we had to play a game tomorrow we could and we can use our draft capital and those second and third round picks whatever way we want, maybe add competition to the room. Room. I think it's a reasonable approach.
- [38:40]
Derek
I enjoy the way the Texans are approaching their offensive line like a, like A baseball outfield. Just like platooning guys, they're like, as long we got, as long as we got the bodies to handle the spots, we'll figure out where they all go later.
- [38:52]
Robert Mays
I can understand teams looking at the sticker prices of a lot of these guys signing in free agency on the offensive line and saying, we have no interest in that.
- [38:59]
Dave Hellman
Right?
- [38:59]
Robert Mays
Like, if you're the Texans, would you rather just say, and we'll get Braden Smith for $10 million rather than paying Zion Johnson $16 million, when really the difference in that is some nebulous idea of potential because he's a little bit younger? Like, I. I think history tells you that second contract guys are worth chasing in free agency. Interior, offensive lineman. I think the conversation changes a little bit because of what matters most there. And I think certainty is really important at those positions.
- [39:28]
Dave Hellman
In most cases, teams will pay good young offensive linemen. Once guys start to get up to 28, 29, 30, it starts to become a little bit of a conversation. But teams want to keep their young offensive line. They're good, young, off. So I'm kind of with you. I, again, we can quibble with, like, how good is Braden Smith really going to be? Can he stay healthy, all that other stuff. I would have rather done this than sign like, a Zion Johnson for the amount of money that he was going to command.
- [39:50]
Derek
I liked it a lot. Just thinking of him as a guy that plays right tackle. If you're telling me there's some flexibility there and he can do more for you than that, I like it even more. This is one of my. It's definitely one of my favorite signings of Tuesday, if not all of free
- [40:02]
Robert Mays
agencies so far when he's been healthy. I mean, he's worth $10 million a year as like a swing piece on your offensive line. And so you can see kind of the strategy for hous offense coming together. I mean, they're set at really a lot of premium positions, right? I mean, maybe you can start to think about what a succession plan for Daniel Hunter looks like, but we know they have Will Anderson, and then I think defensive tackle is where they need to get younger, right? Like, that's where they don't. Sheldon Rankins is going to be 32, I think this year. Defensive tackle is probably a position where they need to get younger, but corner is a spot that's very well set up for them.
- [40:35]
Derek
I would. I would hope that none of this would stop them from drafting an offensive lineman with a big pick.
- [40:40]
Robert Mays
That's. I think that's what kind of what I mean, though, that's where they can be spending some of this draft capital because they have a lot of flexibility and a lot of youth in a bunch of these other places, especially on offense. That receiver room, we're good, right? Like, we're all set there. You got Nico, the two guys from Iowa State last year, and it sounds like Tank Dell is going to be, like, in the mix for them this year. So the pass catching spots, I mean, I think those are pretty well positioned right now. You still need a running back, but being able to just kind of throw a couple picks of the offensive line. Well, they have that coverage. That's right. That's right. And so. So being able to throw a couple picks to the offensive line and just be like, trying to foster some competition in that room, like, I think it just gives them some flexibility to go whatever direction they want to in the draft. And I think that's a good thing.
- [41:21]
Derek
That's the goal for me.
- [41:23]
Robert Mays
Travis Kelsey back to the Kansas City Chiefs, one year, $12 million. This is always what I expected to happen. Like, if he was going to play, I didn't expect him to play anywhere else. I don't. I can't really get worked up about this.
- [41:36]
Derek
I. That felt like such a. It felt like a psyop. Like, there were like three days of like, oh, he might go somewhere else. I was like, why, why, why, why would he do that? What's the point? The.
- [41:46]
Robert Mays
The only team, like, the only situation where it's like, all right, would he be interested in doing this? Is like, going to the Rams, something like that. Like, you're going to la, but like, that. They don't need a player like that right now when you look at their roster. So I. I don't know what the landing spot would have been. That would have made sense.
- [42:02]
Derek
And for what? Just so you can be the latest guy to add to the slideshow of, like, Emmett Smith in a Cardinals uniform, like, just one random year of Travis Kelsey in, like a Browns uniform.
- [42:13]
Dave Hellman
Right.
- [42:14]
Derek
Because that's where he's from.
- [42:15]
Dave Hellman
And usually guys like this stage, at least that would make some sort of sense if the Browns weren't like one of the worst teams in the league. Like, with a guy like Travis Kelsey, usually, maybe you could see, yeah, they hop one year and go try to win a ring somewhere. I know last year went the way it went for Kansas City, but it's still Patrick.
- [42:30]
Derek
He's like, I'm going to go try to get one more ring by leaving the team Played in the AFC title game seven of the last eight years.
- [42:38]
Robert Mays
The other tight end news that we did not hit yesterday was actually a deal I think that was signed during the live stream. We just didn't get to it for whatever reason. Kate Otten back to the Bucks three years, 30 million. It's interesting that when we were discussing the tight end market last week and trying to figure out and predict what might happen, the one of the conversations we had is, would you rather have Kate Otten at like the Jake Ferguson price or would you rather have Charlie Kohler for. For like 6 million bucks a year? And in reality, Charlie Kohler signs for 8 and a half million dollars a year and Kate Otten's right in that general range at 10 million. So it's not. The gap between them wasn't very big.
- [43:13]
Derek
I had a feeling Charlie Kohler was going to get a hefty pay bump. But also, I like the Kate Otten salary is not as bad as I like 10 years for 30 million is. It's a nice chunk of change, but it's not prohibitive for me. Like, I wouldn't be like, same thing I said with the linebackers. Like, I'm not afraid of Kate Otten at that price.
- [43:31]
Dave Hellman
He's making as much money as Juwan Johnson.
- [43:33]
Robert Mays
It's kind of. That's the contract that I think is most similar. And when you think about it through that lens, where it's kind of like, it kind of makes sense. K Don Juwan Johnson making the same money, I think is probably where it should land.
- [43:44]
Dave Hellman
Yeah, exactly. He's making as much as like Evan Ingram got with the Broncos, which obviously he was a little older, but like, he's in that, like he's got as much as what Dawson Knox just got on his extension, basically. Like that range of tight end where it's like, he's not perfect, but he gives us something, can play in line a little bit, does a little bit of everything. That's a totally acceptable contract. I did think this would creep higher to like 12, 13. I thought he would maybe get into like the Cole commit range and he just didn't.
- [44:10]
Robert Mays
Two linebackers signing with the Las Vegas Raiders, similar price ranges. Very different. I mean, the, the buddy comedy we're going to have with six four Quay Walker and five 11 to Kobe Dean playing in the same linebacker room is very fun again, by the way.
- [44:24]
Derek
Yeah.
- [44:25]
Robert Mays
Yeah, right. And so what do you think about this? Derek, Quay Walker and Nicobi Dean, them throwing money at their linebacker problem in Las Vegas?
- [44:32]
Dave Hellman
I. I'M I'm surprised the numbers end as close as they did and I think that is a little bit more to me I thought Quay Walker would maybe command a touch more money just because again, guys built like that at that position are a little bit harder to find. Nakoby Dean, I think you can argue right now is a better player, but just because a little bit smaller I think kind of limited in what he gives you, even if he's incredible at the handful of things that he does. And also just more injury concerns with him I think has been an issue. But I really like them going out and solving the problem this way. Like obviously last year they were piecing it together with a bunch of mercenaries. Basically it was like moving 30 something year old Jamal Adams to lineback Devin White, Landon Roberts. Like them going out and getting guys who even if imperfect, maybe Quay Walker isn't as good as you want for the contract and all that. These are guys who are quality starting NFL linebackers. And I do think, Dean, this was a front to me that felt very. Other than Isaiah Polamau in their secondary, this was a front and secondary that just felt kind of slow as tacklers. Like it was well constructed, but they just didn't feel like they had a lot of pop. Quay Walker and Nakoby Dean give you a lot more pop and range than I think they had. So I, I'm going to need to see how they fix the defensive interior in front of them because I think we saw with Quay Walker specifically, he really struggled last year with the packers when they were down to like DT5 and 6 and all that stuff. And I think he struggled a little bit. But so long as that room is passable, I think these guys are going to play pretty well.
- [45:51]
Robert Mays
What a weird team the Raiders are. I don't even mean that they were weird last year. I don't even mean that in a pejorative way because it's like, you know, you're signing these two guys. They. They had a desperate need. A linebacker like you completely understand with all the money that they're. All the money the Raiders have had, you know, trying to fix this problem this way. Linebackers are typically a decent thing to spend money on in free agency because we know the development curve at that position can be a winding road. And so watching guys that have at least shown something and paying a premium to find some certainty and stability at that position, I think there are worse ways to approach that spot. But now, like you just said, the front needs completely com. Needs to be completely Remade. They signed quiddy pay yesterday, but that really is all they've done. Every other spot you can probably use an upgrade. And then you look at the offense. Obviously they spent the money on Tyler Linderbaum, but they still probably have a need, they still have a needed guard, theoretically, even with Charles Grant, Caleb Rogers being third round picks from last year. We'll see what happens at right tackle with DJ Glaze. Like we know what they're spending the first overall pick on. But Dave, I just wonder like where they use the rest of this draft capital because even on offense, where you're trying to make sure that you have enough, as much stuff solved as possible because you're dropping the number one pick into that, there's still like some pretty massive glaring holes on this team. And like we just showed with the top 50, like most of the starting level players in free agency are coming off the board, especially up front.
- [47:11]
Derek
Well, and I think, I think the Raiders, considering that they're picking number one in the, in the draft and they were the worst team in the NFL, I think I'd be, I'm, I'm cool with them stopping here. Like, like in terms of like major acquisitions. Like, I think, I think they did good work here, honestly. And I, I joked about it yesterday, with the exception of Linder Bomb being one of the most eye popping contracts we've ever seen seen. I thought, I thought they did a good job being like financially restrained with a lot of these other guys. Like that sounds silly when you spent $280 million in a day. But we, we've been talking about it for a minute. Not like none of these linebacker contracts came in at a, at a rate that like just kills you. Quitty pay was the same way where it was like, oh, we thought he might get a little bit more than that. Like this isn't a prohibitive contract. I feel the same way about Jalen Naylor. Late round pick swap for Toron Johnson, who wasn't great for Buffalo last year. But the great being bad is everyone's an upgrade for you if you're the Raiders. So I really like what they did. And then you look at it and what. Let me, let me refresh my memory. I know they have Baltimore's pick. So Fernando Mendoza is going to be on this team. Pick 14, pick 36, pick 67. I mean you can go in a variety of different ways there. I think you probably want to address the front even still with quitty pay on the team, you could do that with 14. I love the idea of adding an offensive lineman to this.
- [48:34]
Robert Mays
That's kind of my thought. Yeah. If you can add like a rookie right tackle with the 14 overall pick. I know there's some guys who might be available in that range.
- [48:40]
Derek
I've been. I said it when the Ravens had the pick and I'll just move it to the Raiders now that they own it. Pick 14 just feels like a great landing spot for Vega. You want to. Out of Penn State, who is just a big badass Mauler, and you put those two guys in front of Fernando Mendoza, I'd be pretty pumped about what that might look like. But, yeah, I mean, there will be. There will be edge rushers available. If I had to guess, you could take a developmental offensive tackle if that's what you wanted to do. I think. I think at least one of the top three corners in the draft would probably be there at 14 if that was something you wanted to do. So I think you could take it any way you wanted to, Honestly.
- [49:17]
Robert Mays
It's funny looking at the offensive linemen still available in free agency and just thinking, because with offensive linemen specifically, again, especially on the interior, my thought is like, can we just get like, starting caliber players in there when we're dropping the number one pick in? Like, I just. I just. That's where my mind goes. And I honestly think the best potential option for them at guard right now among all the players still available in free agency is probably. Probably Dylan Parham.
- [49:38]
Dave Hellman
Just retained.
- [49:39]
Robert Mays
Bringing him back. Yes.
- [49:40]
Derek
Still around. All right, I'm. I'm getting excited about the Raiders, which I hate because I was excited about the Raiders last year, but.
- [49:49]
Robert Mays
All right, before we move on, let's take one more quick break.
- [49:55]
Jennifer
Thy ticket, lady Jennifer of Coolidge. Well, many thanks, good sir. Here is my Discover card.
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Derek
They accept Discover at Renaissance fairs?
- [50:05]
Jennifer
Yeah, they do here. Discover is accepted at the places I love to shop. Get it with the times.
- [50:12]
Robert Mays
With the times. You're playing the loot.
- [50:16]
Jennifer
Yeah. And it sounds pretty good, right?
- [50:18]
Robert Mays
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Derek
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Robert Mays
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Dave Hellman
Customers will pay $25 a month as
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Derek
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Dave Hellman
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Jennifer
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- [51:13]
Robert Mays
Let's look at the other a couple others. Speaking of just, you know, let's get this problem solved. Veteran offensive line additions Jermaine Illuminor back to the Giants three years, $39 million.
- [51:23]
Derek
Shocking, I thought anyway, am I crazy?
- [51:28]
Robert Mays
And it was a little bit shockingly low.
- [51:30]
Dave Hellman
It was lower than I thought it was going to be.
- [51:32]
Derek
Jermaine Aluminor got a smaller contract than Elijah Vera Tucker.
- [51:35]
Robert Mays
I think that Elijah VERA Tucker is 26 years old.
- [51:38]
Derek
I know, but offensive tackles play well into their 30s all the time. Like if you're 31 playing your best ball, that doesn't scare me. And that's Jermaine Illuminar. I mean, great for the Giants to get that discount and get to keep their guy. But when I saw that number come in, I was, I was pretty surprised it was that low.
- [51:58]
Robert Mays
I'm looking at the comparable contracts right now and they're really, here's what I'll say. There really aren't any. Right. And so for the most part, a lot of the other guys making between 12 and 18 million dollars a year as right tackles that have gotten, you know, second or third contracts, most of them are second contract guys that were extended. Zach Thomas at 22 and he's moved down on WENU. Brian O', Neal, Spencer Brown, Mike McGlinchey, Terrence Steel, Abe Lucas, Caleb McGarry, Colton McKivit, Jack Conklin's probably the best comparison. He got a new deal at 30 and that was for $15 million a year. And then Illumina comes in right behind that. And so maybe it's a little bit less. Maybe you do get up to that like McGarry, McKivitz, Conklin number. And but at the same time, he's 31 years old. I think he's, this is his age 32 season. So that's probably the explanation.
- [52:50]
Derek
I think you're right. I just, I think of offensive tackles like hockey players, players. Like it's not weird to see an offensive tackle playing well and being like holy crap, that guy's 37 years old.
- [53:01]
Robert Mays
So why don't we do this here? Here's my rationale for it. Morgan Moses got 8 million last year. You're just getting 1 million per year more. $1 million per year more.
- [53:10]
Dave Hellman
Yeah.
- [53:10]
Robert Mays
Per year younger you get one year younger, you get $1 million more. Because I do think that like Illuminor is in the. We're all how all quarterbacks are just versions of Kirk Cousins. Alumor is definitely like 3 years ago Morgan Moses like that's, that's kind of is as a player. And so I think the fact that Morgan Moses got eight last year from the Patriots on that deal and illuminars of 13 I can understand on the spectrum how you arrive at that landing point. Isaac Soamalu again are you talking about sort of veteran offensive lineman? The price that you have to pay for veteran offensive lineman 3 years 31 million to go to the Cardinals. Here's the only reason this is frustrating for me to. This is one of those to what end moves right? Like sell out because they're with the offensive line. I think if, if Jacoby Preset's going to be back there. I don't think the idea of signing like a 31 year old guard is all that important. Like it's. This is the type of move I wanted the Cardinals to make last year, not the type of move I wanted the Cardinals to make this year. And that's why it's just slightly frustrating to me. He's a good player, he's worth the money. I just am curious like how it fits into the multi year plan for the Cardinals.
- [54:18]
Dave Hellman
I'm more curious on the to what end for from his perspective like I would assume that he could have gotten similar amount of money for more competitive teams than the Cardinals are going to be.
- [54:28]
Robert Mays
So I'm this here's exactly where I land with this. Why wouldn't the Raiders give Isaac Salamalo this deal knowing that you're dropping Fernando Mendoza in there. So just the the Cardinals not because of need, they absolutely need a player like this but just in terms of where the Cardinals are. It's just a kind of a strange fit to me from that perspective.
- [54:49]
Dave Hellman
Yeah, last year this would have been awesome but not as exciting exact type
- [54:52]
Robert Mays
of player I've been wanting them to sign for like three years.
- [54:56]
Derek
I'm always so curious by what motivates different guys.
- [54:59]
Robert Mays
I don't know.
- [55:00]
Derek
Like I would imagine a con. I would imagine a better team gave Salamalu a comparable deal. But maybe this was the best guarantee structure. Maybe this was the best incentive Structure. Maybe he loves the coaching staff there. Maybe he wanted to be back on the west coast because he's a, he's an old Pac12 guy. I don't know the answer, but I always wonder about stuff when I see a guy. So sign an int a deal that kind of makes your eyebrows go up like this.
- [55:26]
Robert Mays
Roy Lopez back to the Cardinals two years, 11 million. I love the run stuffers just getting upticks on their previous deals. Roy Lopez is now at five and a half million. It was half that for the Lions last year. Same deal for Kyras Tonga where he's making more parade his AAV is higher than his entire career earnings for the deal he just got in Kansas City. So I say that jokingly. It does feel like we're at a place where teams are valued, valuing it more. But that one specific skill and yet that being your role within the defense. I think there is a higher evaluation on VATS trait now than there has been in the last couple years. And I think there should be and
- [56:01]
Dave Hellman
there should be and I think that like in a lot of years there are a couple more guys that would like flood the market in that like type of role. And there really were not that many of them who could be like a true nose guard for you in this.
- [56:11]
Robert Mays
It was only those two guys. Yeah, just those two guys. Get to the Chargers offensive line plan. This is the idea that the Chargers would sign Tyler Linderbaum for $20 million a year. I never bought. This is exactly what I expected the Chargers to do in free agency. They signed their big splash was tyler biotic for 10 million bucks and then now it's can we sign guys at a discount and just try to figure it out. Signing Cole strange to a two year deal for 13 million and then bringing back Trevor Penning and just being like ah, these guys were supposed to be good. Maybe they'll be good for us. I absolutely love it.
- [56:47]
Derek
Cole Strange. I can at least get behind where like he's following Mike McDaniel from Miami. Mike McDaniel's like, he, he can do this stuff. I like, I promise you he fits. I'm like if, if the OC is vouching for him, I can get there. Trevor pinning was here last year.
- [57:01]
Robert Mays
It's 4 million bucks. But it's like, but you should know
- [57:05]
Derek
that that's probably not good enough. I, I don't know like rerunning it with something that you saw. Maybe you know, Rashawn Slater and Joe Alt coming back. Maybe a rising tide lifts all boats Everybody will probably look better with, with all pro caliber players anchoring the line and Tyler Biotish there. But I don't know. It's not a, it's not a bet that I would want to make. If you have the money to upgrade it. Like, if you have. Didn't they have the most cap space in the league coming into, into this or it was like top three.
- [57:32]
Dave Hellman
It was up there.
- [57:33]
Robert Mays
It was top three. I think the Raiders are still number one. But then the Titans and the Raiders were in the same conversation.
- [57:37]
Derek
If you have top three cap space, then why does it matter if you give Isaac SEO Malo a little more money?
- [57:42]
Dave Hellman
And, and so that's kind of where I'm at. Think I, I. There's a world where, yes, Slater and Alt coming back and obviously Biotish getting in there and being a much better center than they had before. Rising tide lifts all boats. I'm just, I'm a little bit tired of them operating that way and I know that it's probably fiscally responsible to do all that and stuff. I just, this was a team that I complained about last year, did not make like a big move to do something to give your team pop. And this year I, to this point, they have not done that yet. And we're kind of running out of options for who that would be. Like, unless they're the Trey Hendrickson team, there's really not a lot of those caliber of guys even left.
- [58:16]
Robert Mays
So right now, as it currently stands, they have the third most cap space in the league. And if you look at effective cap space per over the cap, they have the second most. The only team that's ahead of them is the Commanders. And the Commanders have struck out on every outside of oa. Every receiver the Commanders tried to pay decided not to play for the Commanders. So right now the Chargers still have a ton of money to throw around and they, not surprisingly, are not doing that.
- [58:38]
Derek
Slater got his deal.
- [58:40]
Robert Mays
Yeah, Alt.
- [58:41]
Derek
It's way too early to be talking about alt. Anyway, like, what, what are you saving your ammunition for? I guess is my point. And I'm not, I'm not asking the chargers to spend $300 million.
- [58:51]
Robert Mays
I don't think it, I truly do think it's like an organizational philosophy.
- [58:56]
Dave Hellman
But is that, does that make it right?
- [58:58]
Derek
If you're saving, like, again, like if, if you've got all these guys coming up for extensions and you're being diligent and judicious about how you space everything out. I understand that. But like, the quarterback's under contract. Slater's under contract like that for the most part is taken care of. Like Mac at this point in his career is not a guy that you're trying to go long term with. You potentially say the same thing for Derwin James. Like, I, I just, I think Derwin
- [59:24]
Robert Mays
will be back on some sort of extension and he is a free agent after this year. And so you need a new Derwin contract.
- [59:29]
Derek
You can afford it when you have as much cap space as the Chargers do. I.
- [59:33]
Robert Mays
They have $145 million in 2027 cap space and their free agents next year. Well, so Tuly Tupalo 2 is going to be up as well. So he's going to need a new contract. Dan Henley's going to need a new contract. So there are some guys that you're
- [59:45]
Derek
not saying anything that is changing my mind about how they need to be using their money.
- [59:49]
Robert Mays
That's fair.
- [59:50]
Derek
And like, like I said, I would, I would question it if the chargers had dropped $200 million in contracts. I don't think you need to do that. But if Tyler Biota were on this team with, with Isaac Sao Malu or David Andrews, I don't think that would be irresponsible. And I think I'd be pretty hyped about the Chargers if that were the case. Not to say that, that they can't still be good.
- [60:12]
Robert Mays
I mean David Edwards. You mean David Edwards.
- [60:14]
Derek
I'm sorry.
- [60:14]
Robert Mays
Sorry. I here's.
- [60:17]
Derek
But I mean with if, if Biotish is there and the tackles are healthy, I do think this could be better than people are giving it credit for. But why not just like one more punch to be sure, you know, just one more expenditure just to be really confident that your quarterback's not get crushed.
- [60:32]
Robert Mays
Here, here's where I, I, I land with this. Joe Ortiz was in Baltimore for 25 years. The Ravens operated a certain way where the Ravens did not hand out a lot of contracts in free agency because there aren't typically values to be had in free agency. The Raider, the Ravens were able. I keep doing this. I've done this like a hundred times. That is an interesting. I don't understand why this is happening.
- [60:56]
Dave Hellman
It's the trade. It's, it's just in your mind for some reason.
- [60:58]
Robert Mays
Just the lines of a blurred. The Ravens were almost never in a place where they had to do this right. The Ravens were always. The overall quality of the Ravens roster was always in such a place or usually in such a place where they never really had to patch holes and show a lot of Urgency to throw money around in free agency. And so the idea that you're trying to take that similar mindset and apply it to the way that the Chargers operate, I completely understand. Understand that. But you don't have the underlying level of talent and, like, in whole, like, homegrown talent to operate that way. Like, you have holes to fill in a way that the Ravens never really did have holes to fill, and that's why they didn't operate that way in free agency. And so that, to me, is where the disconnect happens.
- [61:43]
Derek
And I believe it was either today or yesterday. I saw the Chargers celebrating Justin Herbert's birthday. I was like, oh, he's 20, 28. He's 28 already.
- [61:53]
Robert Mays
So you. Justin Herbert's washed. Is that your.
- [61:55]
Derek
He's not washed.
- [61:56]
Dave Hellman
Given how much he gets hit, he might be, like, 32 at this point.
- [61:59]
Derek
He's not washed. But that existential dread should always be in the back of your mind if you're trying to maximize a quarterback's timeline.
- [62:06]
Robert Mays
Few more we wanted to run through here. D. Alford to the bills, three years, 16 million. I thought the offer played well last year, but that's still a lot of money for D. Alford in free agency.
- [62:16]
Dave Hellman
I think this just kind of speaks to, like, how different they want the secondary to look. Obviously shipping off to Ron Johnson, who was a good nickel, but a guy who the reason you wanted him in the building was that he could tackle for you. And then clearly last year, he just kind of lost some of that juice and ability to do that. And so them kind of shifting some of the bodies they're going for in the secondary I find interesting.
- [62:35]
Derek
We talked about this. I mean, I thought I loved D. Alford last year, and I loved the job that Jeff Ulbricht did in Atlanta, period. But I just thought about this as you brought this up. The offer had a amazing game against the Bills. Remember, that was that Monday night game. Oh, my God, that's right. And I'm sure the Bills did more due diligence than that, but they're like, oh, shit, that's the guy who just gave us fits on Monday Night Football. Let's get him.
- [63:01]
Robert Mays
Reed Blankenship and Alohi Gilman signed the same contract, which I absolutely love. Three years, $24.8 million. Sixteen and a half million dollars guaranteed was Blankenship's number. I'm pretty sure Gilman was in, like, half a million for both of those numbers. Not surprising to me to see them like, those are. Can we start him at Safety? Yes. Is D. Alford, or, excuse me, is Reed Blankenship and Alohi Goman. So I think that is. That, to me, feels like the market just above $8 million a year for can we start him at safety?
- [63:30]
Dave Hellman
And I think what's interesting is that I think both of these deals, like, even though it's the same number, they're very different to me in the sense that I'm not saying that the Chiefs are going to draft the Caleb Downs, but I don't think this stops you from doing it. Like, you're not paying him an obscene amount of money. They play with multiple safeties on the field anyway as it is, and so I don't think it stops you from doing it. If you can't get him or you decide somebody else is the better pick there, that's fine. We can keep a low. He Gilman at safety with the Texans. I think it's a little more interesting I said this going into last year with the Eagles, where in 2024, when Reed Blankenship was your worst defensive back, that's a really good spot to be in as a second. When he became their third best guy and like, they had some other questions up front, it was like, okay, he's a quality player. What does this do for you in Houston? He's their worst db, and that is not anything to say of his quality of play. The other guys are just insane. And I think that he can be really good as, like, a guy who. He gives you a little bit as a center fielder if you need to, but really a guy who does well coming down into the box playing that robber role a little bit could maybe let Bullock really settle in more as, like, a deep safety if they want him to be like, I. This. This safety signing, I think is really, really good for Houston.
- [64:36]
Robert Mays
Few other smaller signings to hit the lion. Signing Isaiah Pacheco makes perfect sense. I mean, we talk about biting kneecaps, him biting people. I mean, it's perfect alignment with, like, the type of players that they want. I think similar conversation when it comes to, like, kind of downhill thumpers. Rico Dowdle going to the Steelers. Not surprising based on, you know, what their running back room looks like right
- [64:58]
Derek
now, his history with Mike Mc. McCarthy.
- [65:00]
Robert Mays
Yep. So, and then the Steelers conversation we had yesterday. I want. I wanted to just revisit it really quickly because Sando did a good job of this, like, just kind of on us in real time. How could anybody do this? He was like. He was like, you know, you really can't Judge any of these signings as they're happening. And I'm like, yeah, thank you, I appreciate that.
- [65:20]
Dave Hellman
The whole five hour show we're doing.
- [65:22]
Robert Mays
He's right by the way. And I think that I again sitting there last night and kind of mulling over some of this stuff, I, the idea of what the Steelers are doing and I, I think that we can kind of take it in a couple different steps here. When you think about this, the deals that the Sealers signed yesterday, the Pittman one's kind of like whatever Michael Pittman I think is 29 years old. You'll probably get multiple years out of Michael Pittman, the Jamel Dean one. To me it's like, okay, let's just play out like what the next couple years of Steelers football would look like. If you're going to bring back 43 year old Aaron Rodgers and he's going to be your quarterback, you're going to be whatever you are this year. The goal is to be as competitive as possible. That's always the Steelers goal. At some point you're going to need to get younger at quarterback. So you're, this is not the year you're probably going to win the super bowl next year. Hopefully you can find a quarterback in the 2027 draft and get that clock started, but you're still probably not going to be a competitive team trying to win a Super bowl in 2027. And so the idea of signing a 29 year old injury prone corner as part of a plan where again the ultimate goal here should be to win a Super bowl, that, that's where I have my questions that start to arise like the, the comparison that we made about the Jamal Dean contract was the Carlton Davis deal, right. So Carlton Davis signs with the Patriots last year and I even had these thoughts about Carlton Davis last year.
- [66:44]
Dave Hellman
But at least in that scenario you have Drake May, correct? Yeah.
- [66:48]
Robert Mays
So the idea, you've already started that process by the time you signed Drake Carlton Davis in 2020 25, you already have Drake May in year two. And even if that potential super bowl run feels far off, at least you can tell yourself a story about the quarterback taking a huge second year step. There is a, there are unknowns in a good way. There is potential to be filled with where you can be as a team. If you're re signing 43 year old Aaron Rodgers, it's a very different conversation. And so at that position specifically I thought Matt Harmon did a great job of laying this out yesterday where instead of capping opportunities for young players at positions of need. Why not just say, you know what, we're going to take a guy in the third round, we're going to see what we have at corner. Because in reality, it doesn't matter if we win seven or ten games this year. We should just be building for what this team is in 27 and 28. And I'm just not sure if Jamel Dean is that sort of acquisition. And there's a difference here. And I think there is a difference between having a long view of how you're building your roster and tanking. Those are not the same thing. Those are different things. And so that's where I think some of the subtleties with the Steelers conversation get lost. I think that's what I was trying to say yesterday and didn't necessarily express in the best way in the moment.
- [68:07]
Derek
Just doesn't feel like the Steelers view it that way. The Steelers, until further notice, seem to believe that if you make the tournament, anything can happen. And that's false. There's a lot of evidence.
- [68:20]
Robert Mays
No better evidence of that than the Pittsburgh Steelers.
- [68:24]
Derek
You have to convince me.
- [68:26]
Robert Mays
So I, Any, any, any thoughts about that? I mean, I just wanted to kind of get that out there after thinking about it all day yesterday.
- [68:32]
Derek
When Will Howard makes his second all pro team. This will be a great artifact that we can have on. It'll live forever on the Internet.
- [68:40]
Robert Mays
Steelers content creator out there that wants to clip this. When Will Howard is a. When Will Howard finishes second to Matthew Stafford in the MVP voting this year. Everybody can throw this out there if they want to.
- [68:50]
Derek
Outside of that happening, I agree with you. I mean, and I think I like Jamal Dean. If he's healthy, I like the, the deal's fine. I like the player.
- [68:58]
Robert Mays
And I think the thought was, well, they, they signed a good player at a position of need. Why wouldn't you do that? And it's like, well, there should be more considerations than that. Like those aren't the only considerations. It's. It's not about taking good player and putting a position where you need good player. Like there has to be more thought to it than that to be a cohesive plan or should be.
- [69:17]
Dave Hellman
It's not a good plan. But if they are going to bring Aaron Rodgers back, it does make sense that they want to try to maximize it.
- [69:22]
Robert Mays
I don't know if it's disastrous. Right.
- [69:24]
Dave Hellman
I just. I don't. What I will say is that probably not the best signing if they're trying to like maximize 20, 26, 2027, all that stuff selfishly, watching Joey Porter Jr. And Jamel Dean is going to be incredible.
- [69:35]
Robert Mays
Yeah.
- [69:36]
Jennifer
Yeah.
- [69:37]
Dave Hellman
It's.
- [69:37]
Robert Mays
They're again, it's not a bad signing on a football level. The Steelers are probably a better team team for signing Jamal Dean. It's all. It always comes back to me where it's like, what is the goal here? The goal is not to be a little bit better incrementally every single year. I just don't think that should be the goal.
- [69:55]
Derek
Do you think. Do you think the Steelers would be willing to do the Kenny Picket thing all over again? Like it's. I think it's a good bet that the second quarterback in this class will be on the board when they pick.
- [70:08]
Robert Mays
I don't think they want to do that.
- [70:10]
Derek
I don't think they do either. I'm trying, but I'm trying to think of a way you could put a young quarterback who gives you some, you know, roadmap for the future on this team. And I don't think they want to draft one at 21. I don't think it really makes sense to draft one at 2021. But they don't seem interested in any of the other avenues to get a different quarterback on this team. And that is perplexing.
- [70:35]
Robert Mays
We just said it will. Howard is going to be a great player. Sure. We already know what the answer is.
- [70:39]
Derek
Get after it.
- [70:40]
Robert Mays
Few other smaller ones here. Arden Key 2 for 20 to go to the Colts rotational pass rusher. Think that one. I can understand that. J.K. dobbins and Alex Singleton back to the Broncos. I can. For the Broncos, especially the Singleton thing, it's just like you know what you have, right? So you still have Chenaud back there. They cut Dre Greenlaw. So now Stroud and Singleton are going to be back probably as your starters and you probably give yourself an opportunity if you want to draft somebody. The Stroud contract is a third linebacker contract. They were in on the Montgomery thing and so for them to land back on J.K. dobbins, I can understand understand that Quincy Williams goes to the Browns on a very similar deal to the ones Alex to the one Alex Anzalone signed. Quincy Williams playing behind that Browns front as a way to kind of re reinvigorate his career, I think that's a pretty good landing spot to potentially do that.
- [71:25]
Dave Hellman
I'm pretty into that one. Like obviously you have the big bodied edges who are going to help, but like Mason Graham was okay as a rookie. Malik Collins when he was healthy was legitimately one of the best. Fantastic defensive tackles in the league. And so putting a player like Quincy Williams with his range, with his pop next to him and then you have standing next to him, Carson Schlesinger was like about as good as a young linebacker can be. Like this. That was signing Quincy Williams. I said going into this that like he feels like he could be a good bargain for somebody that specific team in that fit. I really liked it.
- [71:54]
Robert Mays
Last one I wanted to hit. We don't spend a ton of time on this Braxton Jones going back to the bears. It's a one year deal, five year base out. Five year base up to 10 million. I think this is just a. We're going to have him, we're going to have Theo Benedict. We're going to kind of hold onto our hats for as long as we need to at left tackle. And honestly like I'm feeling fine with that. He did not win the job. He won the job out of camp last year, but never really looked right coming off of an injury. But he's going to be healthy now heading into next season. You've already seen him in the building. There's a little bit more certainty there. So if that is their intermittent, like their intermediate plan at left tackle just to have him and Benedict kind of fight it out and whatever the best solution is there you can live with for a little while, I think that's totally fine.
- [72:32]
Derek
Doesn't bother me at all. As we've been talking, it sounds like the Cowboys agreed to terms with PJ Lock. That does anything for you.
- [72:41]
Robert Mays
Does that do anything for you?
- [72:43]
Dave Hellman
That doesn't really do that much for me, to be honest. That's your guy? Well, yeah. When I was like, well, the, the Broncos signed Talanoa Huanga so they don't have to play PJ Lock. So that's kind of. Those are my thoughts on, on the PJ Lock sign.
- [72:55]
Robert Mays
Christian Parker was in Denver when PJ knows him, I think and so there is some familiarity there. But anything, no disrespect to PJ Lock, anything that moves the needle a little bit more than PJ Lock. That I miss.
- [73:07]
Derek
Nishan Wright. Nishan Wright is going to the New York jets on a one year five and a half million dollar deal.
- [73:13]
Dave Hellman
This is so funny. They, they couldn't get an interception or a turnover. So go get the guy who got a million. Somehow we're going to tap into whatever wizardry he was using. Go get that guy.
- [73:25]
Derek
I actually love that that price doesn't bother me.
- [73:29]
Robert Mays
Like we talk, whatever, yeah, 5 million bucks. If he was going to get 10 right. If he was going to get that's a different thing. And honestly I applaud the NFL for under and great. You know, I don't want to take money out of Naysha Wright's pocket. It is a sign of growth around the league that we can look at the season that Sean Wright had and understand what was real and what was not about that season. So the jets just saying we're going to pay $5 million for an interception this year I think is a completely reasonable approach to Nishan Wright's market. But the fact that we just had PJ Lock and Deshaun Wright is the two things that we missed over the course of that 70 minutes speaks to what today has felt like.
- [74:05]
Derek
Well, to be fair, like all, all hell broke loose is an exaggeration. But like from 1 to 1:45 it felt like there was a fair amount of shit going on. But yeah, it's definitely, it's, it's been slower today. Like this morning I was like I was putting my phone in and out of airplane mode. Like am I missing stuff? Like where's all the news?
- [74:26]
Robert Mays
Hopefully we got some stuff to talk about tomorrow. If not, we'll probably do what we did last year. When things started to slow down, we kind of shifted to more big picture discussion discussions just looking at some of the overall hauls that teams had. We'll likely start doing that over the next couple days, but we're going to have live shows coming your guys way on Wednesday and Thursday same time, 3pm Eastern each of those days 2pm Central. We will be here either recapping the signings or just zooming out and taking a look at what free agency has felt like up to this point. For now, that's all we got. Appreciate you guys listening. We'll talk to you very soon.
- [75:16]
Jennifer
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- [76:06]
Dave Hellman
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