← The Herd with Colin Cowherd
The Herd with Colin Cowherd
3 & Out -Seattle signs Darnold, Bears approach in free agency, State of the 49ers
00:49:09
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The result?
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- [02:25]
Podcast Host
Card the volume what is going on everybody? How are we doing? How are you doing? It is Monday night and about 7:30 I got off a little bird headed back From Nashville about 3 hours ago I recorded a little free agency reaction then ate some dinner and I saw use check for the niners got cut and I did a little separate just rant that I put at the back of the podcast because the 49ers felt like lost their entire team today and are going through this crazy transition because of some poor decisions they have made. So we will talk everything from Sam Darnold to Geno Smith to Justin Fields, DK Metcalf, Laramie Tunzel. We had a lot of moves. NFL free agency is fun. So that's what we'll do today. I, I said, you know what, I'm not taking a day off. I started getting FOMO actually last night. I'm like, I gotta do something. Almost did it last night, but I was like, you know, just gotta take a deep breath that today was supposed to be the one thing we've learned is the legal tampering period is just free agency. Like everything happens. So by the time we get to Wednesday, I don't know why I it's part of the reason I put the wedding is, you know, I thought I had myself like a couple day buffer but that, that was somewhat of a wedding was not a mistake. But my timing was probably a day off. But luckily I'm a podcaster and we bank something out and the game plan will, will just keep reacting all week to whatever's going on because as I'm recording this, it's hard because it's such a fluid situation. Aaron Rodgers, Russell Wilson. It's going to be fascinating what happens over the next couple days. Obviously there are just a lot of random players that get paid. Some become good and some don't. I mean some of these contracts are going to be disasters and some of them are going to be steals. And we've known this for a long time. You just never quite know. But it's exciting to watch play out. And these yesterday and today and the next couple days are just. Are fun. It's fun to talk about this stuff. It's why fantasy football so big. So that will be the game plan. We'll just keep podcast the rest of the week and I need a good night's sleep because I basically just. We got there Tuesday, everyone showed up Wednesday, we were raging Wednesday, raging Thursday tried to lay low. Friday did relatively well and then Saturday night was, was a rager and I pumped the brakes yesterday, but some other people were still there. I mean Nashville is a drinkers town. It was fun. But now I'm a married man and podcasts go on. So we'll talk about the wedding maybe as the week goes on, but so much going on in football. Very, very excited to talk some football. I've missed talking football through a mic. I mean you constantly talk football everywhere I go, but other than that, you.
- [05:51]
ThreatLocker
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- [05:52]
Podcast Host
Subscribe to the podcast, subscribe to the YouTube page and let's rock and roll. I do want to start with the Seattle situation and I've seen a lot of takes flying of why would you take Sam Darnold over Geno Smith? And I think based on the last several years, Geno has a much longer track record of playing at a pretty high level. He didn't just resurrect his career, he became a pretty good player. And Sam Darnold had 15 games of looking awesome. And I think what gets lost in the conversation sometimes, this is a business and money really matters. And Geno Smith is going to be 35 this fall. I haven't seen the numbers and I don't think it's official yet. He's got, you know, hasn't been reported about his contract extension. By all accounts he's going to get extended at like $45 million a year. I would be stunned if the guaranteed money Gino gets isn't well over 100 million. It's not going to be the crazy money but it's going to be like the Daniel Jones version of two years later. It's going to be a lot of money. Now there is no disputing that the last two games of Sam Darnold's Minnesota Viking career cost him a lot of money. He is lucky. He's not lucky because he did it but in one of his best games of the season, in an enormous game for Seattle which ultimately cost them the playoffs, he made some of the best plays of his career and threw a game winning touchdown against two years ago the man known as boy genius, the defensive coordinator now the Seattle head coach. So he had a front row seat of seeing that guy listen sometimes that can jade you. I remember Bill Simmons used talk about with Doc Rivers, he would always sign these guys that lit him up because he was the GM and the coach. And I'm not saying obviously they have a GM there too. And for John Schneider, $55 million total, it's like a year and a half contract in the NFL quarterback. So it doesn't even limit their ability to like make changes over the next couple years if it doesn't go well. But they were not going to give Geno Smith another huge extension at his age. And I don't blame them. And I think you also have to fact and I like Geno Smith. I do. And I could understand like if you just pulled 10 guys, offensive coordinators and coaches that just had one season with the guy next year it could be seven to three Geno to Sam. And coaches usually like to know, like, I know what I can get. And I remember watching the game when Geno got banged up. Sam Howell came in. Was that a. It's been a long week. Might have been a national televised game, might have been a Thursday night game. I don't remember. But it was on full display. Like, Geno's athleticism is underrated, but, like, you have to factor in contracts. Like, there were other trades today with enormous names. The money plays a part. This is a giant fucking business with enormous cash flows. I mean, this is like, how many businesses do you know are paying humans? 40, 50, 100 miles? Garrett's got $123 million. So when you make these decisions, it's easy to sign in a week a guy for one year, $3 million. It wasn't that difficult, though it worked out for how he last year to give Beckton one year, 4 million. Those are the contracts that like, are very low risk when you're talking 100 million, 80 million. These huge signing bonuses to quarterbacks, to tackles, to wide receivers. You have to factor it all in, the age matters and how fast you can pivot out of it. So, like, I get why they did that. And I can say, like, I under if I had to choose one of those doors, like, I get why Seattle chose the door they did. I also understand why the Raiders chose the door they did. And they traded a third round pick for a guy 35 is going to be 35 years old and you're going to have to give him a lot of money. And you don't really have that many weapons beside a rookie tight end who's pretty awesome. Jacoby Meyer's not bad either. But I, I, I get why Spytech's doing that. And I get why the money guys are surely going to cut Gino a big check. Because it's just because what they did last year is the worst thing humanly possible to go into a season with just no quarterbacks in the history of the NFL. You're always going to lose. If that's the case now, you could argue every once in a while it's like, guy pops out of nowhere, Kurt Warner. But they didn't go into the season with Kurt Warner. They went in the season with Trent Green and then he got injured. So, like, the Raiders went into a season with no quarterbacks, and that is by far the shittiest experience you could ever have. And they just experienced it and they said, you know what? Fuck this. Not in division with Patrick Mahomes. With Herbert and now with Bo Nix and Sean Payton. We need to get a guy who can play quarterback and just give us a chance because here's the reality. Pete Carroll and Tom Brady, like, they want to. They want to try to win like eight, nine games next year. I think it's a little crazy. I would have gone the other way. Like, listen, I love Max Crosby and I totally understand why Pete Carroll and John Spytek gave him a lot of money. Well deserved. He's a certified badass. But, like, to me, the right move would have been to trade him and blow the up. But that's not what they're going to do. I would have said the same thing about Myles Garrett. Like, I would have acquiesced. I would have traded them. Right. I would have gave in because of what I could go back and where I'm at. But I also understand, like, the whole point of these draft picks is to find the guy and we got the cash. Here's 130 million miles. And it's like, miles, like, I want to trade. And then they give him 130 million. He's like, I'm in Brown for life. You know, Max Crosby, like, are we sure we're winning? They're like, here's three years, $100 million guaranteed. He's like, rate it for life. So it's like money talk, shit walks. Next gets back to the Geno Sam Darnold, the Ranger thing. This is a business. And the, the worst business decision you can make in the NFL is just have no quarterbacks. Now, granted, they attempted with Gardner Minshew, $15 million, like, that's an awful investment. And it blew up in their face and he was terrible and they just cut him. And now you get Geno Smith, a guy that you can at least function with. Is he going to outplay those other quarterbacks in division, especially Herbert and Patrick Mahomes? Probably not. But like, where he gives you a chance is like when you're playing the Titans, when you're playing the Bears, when you're playing the Cardinals, like, you can just win some of those games. And all of a sudden it's like, oh, we're kind of in the wild card mix. Maybe in late November, early December. Even if you end up, you know, with 8, 8, 9, there's going to be a point late in the season. We're like, okay, we are credible functional football team. And that's why the Raiders trade a third round pick, which is essentially Devonte Adams for Geno Smith. Trade up straight up because they get that third round pick for Devonte Adams. Now, obviously, you know, Seattle could use Devonte Adams. They don't have any wide receivers. But, yeah, I mean, I think I was texting with a buddy a couple days ago before this all started. And when Gino first got traded, he said, yeah, you know, rumors were 45 plus million dollars a year. Like that's. That was the decision. And I think all this stuff, like sometimes the money's pretty jarring. Russell Wilson was benched last year, which I thought was pretty nuts. Then it kind of worked until it didn't because then it got cold and Russell Wilson turned into a pumpkin. And I think this is a great lesson. And I think Sam Darnold falls under this too, though. Sam just actually had a good season. Be a good guy, handle your shit like a pro, do things the right way. Because what Justin Fields has done these last two years earned him a lot of money. Obviously he's a great athlete and he can bomb the ball. A lot of question marks about him as a pocket quarterback. And I don't know if anything's changed. I mean, it didn't really in Pittsburgh, but like, you know what the word is, because all football is, especially at the highest level, it's like high school drama. Everyone talks to each other, good and bad. Well, you know what the word is on Justin Fields? Good guy. People really, really like him because when Ryan polls traded him, remember how well and highly he talked about Fields when he was getting rid of them, it was like, God, I mean, that's pretty impressive. This is a guy, this is a business, like, get rid of him. Number one pick. And he was like the opposite. He was like hell bent on making sure everyone knew how much respect he had for that guy. And then last year, the way he handled getting benched when they were winning. And what happens at the end of the season when the Steelers fall apart, crumble? Stories start coming out pretty clear, Mr. Drama. Russell Wilson leaking shit left and right. Fields didn't say a peep. Just showed up every day, ran his couple plays when Tomlin allowed him to go into the game, and they were getting their ass kicked down the stretch like they do typically these last couple years. And now he's rewarded because you see two years, 40 million, you're like, that's kind of crazy. And I'm thinking today on the plane, I'm like, obviously Aaron Glenn knows him, right? His defensive coordinator with the Lions. So he played him and he understand. He's seen him up close and personal countless times. But if you're going to overpay a guy, you want to feel good about the person and like that's Geno. Smith's a good example of that. Like she super high character guys last longer in this league. The drama filled again. Maybe he gets some enormous contract. I wouldn't touch Russell Wilson. Too much drama. You could argue Aaron Rodgers too but Rodgers way better than Russell Wilson. But you could argue don't touch either one of them. Why even mess around with it? Justin Fields just kind of low maintenance, gets along with people, high character guy. And I don't know if it's going to work. I would probably bet against it. But I also think for the jets it just gives them a guy to play with for a year. Overpay a little bit. You kind of have to because Pittsburgh was a much better football situation. Right. So if the money, if the money would have been half this, hey, we'll give you two years, 20 million and guaranteed 10. Pittsburgh would just give him that, I'm sure. So it's like you have to entice him to come to New York. Obviously the taxes play a part, it's expensive and he gets $30 million guaranteed. So good for him. Even though I like, I don't. I'm not betting on this situation like the jets to be good. But I do think it's cool watching guys just handle their shit the right way. And where you get paid sometimes is by the bad teams, right. Gardner Minshew last year resurrect his career, boom. Gets $50 million from the Raiders, like that's your time to cash out. And the other thing, the Bears, I mean it is crazy how different last year is from this year. Last year's is Caleb, Caleb, Caleb, Caleb, Caleb. And then it was like offense, passing game, Keenan Allen, Roma Dunes. Then they realized like if you can't protect the quarterback, none of it matters. I don't remember a team trading for like three trading slash signing three high level starters within I guess they traded for one of them last week. But Jonah Jackson, Joe Thuney and the Falcons center today. So they within the last five or six days they have a new guard, center, guard combination. And all the guys could kind of, you know, Jonah Jackson bounce back and forth. Tunis proven he can play left tackle. I mean these guys got a lot of versatility. But I think we talked about it last week when they made the trades for the guard is like you have to shore up the inside with smaller quarterbacks. That was a huge thing with Sean Payton and Drew Brees if you're. Because those guys, it's harder for them to see. They got to step up in the pocket to see. And if you can't protect them up the middle, they're going to get lit up like a Christmas tree. But you know my overall take right now on the Bears, all the pressures on Caleb Williams offensive line fixed overnight. Not like random. I think there's going to. No, like, these guys are high level starters fixed overnight. They got the number one coach on the market. On offense, Rabel would probably be the top coach on the market, but they got the number one offensive scheme, boy genius. They got this year's version of Kyle McVeigh, O'Connell, LaFleur, they got that guy. So it's like, you got that guy, you got the offensive line fixed. It's like I'm not doing. Because a lot of times what happens in Chicago is the organization. Well, it's like they're not skipping the ball out there. It's the coaching. And listen, sometimes the coaching shitty. But like, Justin fields a lot of excuses. Caleb Williams last year, a lot of excuses. Like those are done. It's just like all the pressure's on you. Number one pick, just get it done. You know why Josh Allen just got a $250 million contract extension guaranteed. He got like 330 total after like, I think it was two years signing his original extension. Because it's like, Josh, carry the fucking franchise. And Josh goes, hey, everyone in Buffalo, hop on my back and I will carry us to the playoffs every single year and give our team by far the best chance to always be the Chiefs can't do it. But in fairness, no one can unless the Super Bowl. Like, that's what. And that's why he is a total max guy. Like, there is not enough money you can give to Josh. There's just not enough. Right? That's why they just keep funneling him the money. He's the equivalent of like a LeBron in his prime or Steph Curry in his prime. Just carry my organization. And every single year, so it's like boom, boom, boom. Just a lock to be unreal. That's what we were told about Caleb Williams. And I didn't see many flashes last year, but that, that year gets a wash. Just like Jared Goff his first year with Jeff Fisher, complete wash. And then it all changed. McVeigh came, Whitworth came, and they were just off to the races. So to me, if I'm a Bears fan, I'm pretty fired up because, like, I'm excited to watch Caleb. Right. But it's there's going to be a lot now. Luckily for him, he's been under the bright lights for a long time. But like the pressure's not on the coach, right? I mean he's, he's proven he took Jared Goff, who sucked when they got him, was completely falling apart and turned him into, I don't know, top six seven quarterback back in the league again. So I props to the Bears. I mean Ryan Poles and that team, they came out gunning this year in free agency. I think sometimes free agency can be overrated. I mean this is most of these things we're talking about are guards and Justin Fields getting $40 million. So it's not like Mahomes, Justin Jefferson are changing teams here, but exciting. Anything else? Oh, I saw Zach Wilson just got some money from the Miami Dolphins so prop to him.
- [20:41]
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The NBA this season.
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Podcast Host
Time and time again.
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Podcast Host
The result?
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Jeremy Hobson
Live in a divided country.
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Mark Cuban
I am a lifelong Republican with all.
- [23:32]
Jeremy Hobson
Kinds of different people.
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Nikki Glaser
You know, I'm a mother, I'm a grandmother.
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Jeremy Hobson
That's why we started the Middle with Jeremy Hobson. It's about bringing voices not from the extremes, but from the vast middle into the national conversation.
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Mark Cuban
Anna, I'm calling from Las Vegas.
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Jeremy Hobson
Each week we bring together an all star panel. Mark Cuban, so great to have you on the Middle.
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Podcast Host
Thanks for having me. Jeremy.
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Jeremy Hobson
Neil degrasse Tyson, welcome to the Middle.
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Microsoft
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Jeremy Hobson
And hear from ordinary Americans from all over the country on the most important issues.
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Mark Cuban
Hi, my name is Venkat. I'm calling you from Atlanta, Georgia.
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Jeremy Hobson
And when you subscribe to the Middle, you also also get an episode each week called One Thing Trump did that focuses on just one item from the avalanche of news.
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Neil deGrasse Tyson
We should be examining what our government spends its money on and are these jobs necessary and what are we doing here? But that doesn't seem to be what we're doing in this situation.
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Jeremy Hobson
Listen to the Middle with Jeremy Hobson on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.
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Podcast Host
Okay, some big name traits, I gotta be honest, this one made me scratch my head. The Pittsburgh Steelers traded a second round pick for DK Metcalf and then reportedly plan on giving him a ton of money. I like DK Metcalf and I defended like hey Seattle, you better be very careful. You trade this guy. I get he can be a little different and he's fallen off a little these last couple years. Some injuries get some penalties used to drive Pete nuts, but his talents elite. To me he's like the little lesser version of like Terrell Owens in his prime. Complete freak show and just him being on the field like Tyreek changes your offense. It makes everyone on the other side a little scared. But when I think the Pittsburgh Steelers, it's like you guys have no quarterback, so yeah, you need some more offensive weaponry. But like the last thing I would have done until I can just like you did not have a court. Justin Fields was not signed. Even if you sign Aaron Rodgers, he's 41 years old to trade for DK Metcalf. I like Rap sheet, but he's like, the Pittsburgh Steelers finally land their star wide receiver. It's like, yeah, that's usually cool. Like when the Eagles landed AJ Brown after they had other shit figured out. Like I watched your defense last year. It sucked down the stretch. And again I'm pro DK Metcalf, but trading a second round pick for him, pretty high one. You can just. Where was DK drafted in the second round? Like, what does Pittsburgh Steelers do better than most? Develop sweet wide receivers. I just don't quite understand that one. If you would have told me the Bills did this, the Chiefs did this, the Ravens don't technically need them, but like a team like that, the Chargers, who I saw people tweeting like, and maybe I talked about this last week, people like Jim Harbaugh gonna trade for DK Metcalf. You think if you've watched Jim Harbaugh's coaching career for the last 15 plus years, Stanford, Niners, Michigan and now the Chargers, you think he would trade a second round pick, which is extremely valuable in the NFL, especially in this draft where people are saying there's not much difference from the 15th overall player to the 50th overall player. So the talent discrepancy is not wide and give that guy a lot of money. Even though that wouldn't even be that crazy a move. I think he'd be sweet on the Chargers, but philosophically, Jim Harbaugh just doesn't believe into that. If Jim Harbaugh had done it, I'd have been like, damn, Jim kind of got out of his comfort zone. Maybe they think he's a player away. What did Jim Do? Gave $18 million to Cleo Mack. And I just, I don't know, man. I, I just, I. My first reaction was I don't like it. I just don't think it makes that much sense. I really don't. And he's just like adding more just weirdness to that room. Even though DK's proven to be like a winning player, you can't say the other thing for Pickens. I Don't know. I just, I, I didn't see that one coming. We saw DK getting traded coming, but just not to the Steelers. Okay. Laramie Tunzel traded today. There's another example of the Sam Darnold thing. It's like the huge just traded Larry Matunzel. He's in the last year of his contract and right, right before we took off, I just saw the plane or the trade happen on my phone right before we were leaving. I'm like, what's his contract status? Well, he can be cut next year for no dead money. So I would imagine his current contract has no guaranteed money. So what do you think Laramie Tunzel wants right now? An enormous contract he's going to want. What do top tackles get? 120 guaranteed on a $200 million contract. So the Texans clearly were not comfortable giving them that contract. So if you're not comfortable giving him that contract, what do you do? You shop the guy because he's got value. And this is what the Washington Commanders did when they attacked free agency. It was like, well, you can just pay a bunch of guys. Well, it's like free agencies kind of hit or miss. I, like Adam Peters, don't quite understand the Kinloch contract. I don't. I get you need a defensive tackle and I get you've been around him. That, that one was. We're gonna, we're gonna disagree on that one. But the Laramie Tunzel one, like the Debo one, makes a lot of sense. You get two former, I mean, Tunzels a better player than Debo these last couple years, but you get high level winning players that are in contract situations and you trade draft picks to acquire their salary instead of paying 2015. It's actually incredible for the owner. And it's also why when we talk about cap space, it's like, well, who are you going to go buy? Well, you can also use picks to acquire players and fit in that cap space. So they get Laramie Tunzel and Debo and maybe within the next couple days, maybe by the time you listen to this, Laramie Tunzel will sign an extension. Or maybe they just go, listen, if you ball out this year, if I'm at him, like I've been around Trent Williams and we broke him off when he was older than you, Laramie. So if you dominate this year, we got no problem giving you a big contract. And they acquired him. Like guys like Laramie Tuns will don't hit free agency. Look at who was supposed to be the best tackle in free agency this year. Ronnie Stanley doesn't hit free agency. So you kind of got to understand like the only way to acquire that player is, is through a trade. And I think Adam Peters, the Debo move and the Laramie Tuns will move are just good moves with your cap space if you're not comfortable paying the whoever their equivalent is in free agency where you have to give way, you know, crazier contracts to and you're stuck for several years. So to me that was the. I don't have all the details I wrote down. They're giving their third round pick this year and their second round pick next year. So there is. They are incentivized for Laramie Tunsville to play well and if he does, they extend them and they'll go well, we make the playoffs again, we give you a late third round pick this year, next year. If we're in the second round, that's the 24th pick of the second round. So I think if you're Adam Peters like I like that move a lot. Now if you're the Texans, I think whatever's going on there, you just weren't comfortable with the player giving him big money. And I was reading online a lot of false starts last year. Definitely just talented player, blue chipper. I mentioned this earlier, but Tampa, it's just pretty rare to have two stud wide receivers and have them both be just so low maintenance. In one story I saw today is like Chris Godwin, the patriots were offering $20 million more. Well yeah, on the total contract. But if I was a player, especially a guy like Godwin who's made millions of dollars, I would look everything from a net income perspective because we're talking so much bleeping money that when you just throw out $20 million, this isn't like that's why I've always hated the word oh, get your bag. Bags are what mafia members handed politicians or what boosters used to hand kids. And they had 10,000, $20,000 cash. These guys get millions of dollars through bank accounts that are have taxes deducted because they're W2 employees. So $20 million to go to, as Bill Belichick once called it taxaches compared to Tampa Bay is not even remotely close to $20 million. It honestly one, you'd have to cut that 20 wherever you're playing, borderline in half. So you're talking 10 and it might be the difference of three or four million dollars at the end of the day. So when you say about taking staying in Tampa, you go, well I'M comfortable with the quarterback here. I'm comfortable with my wide receiver mate. I like playing here. From a living standpoint, I would much rather live in Tampa. It's safe to say if you're Chris Godwin than Boston, Massachusetts. And this is where I want to play. So I think sometimes took a lot less money. Well, kinda, you know, four or five million dollars to a guy that's going to be worth at the end of the day, $150 million. Making a decision to stay in a state he likes much more than another state, isn't that crazy? Honestly, it probably happens a lot relative to how much money normal people make. It probably happens on a daily, weekly basis. I was at a wedding talking with friends that are in all sorts of industries. They make these decisions all the time. It might be over 50 grand or 100 grand. Say, no, not interested. It's not worth my time. I don't want to pick up and move my shit, don't want to move my kids. $5 million ain't changing my life. It would me. But if you're Chris Godwin, just like $50,000 might not change your life. Money's all relative. I hate when that's said and it's so often said during this stuff. It's. It's a different conversation in like the Luca contract, when he got traded, he lost $120 million. Sometimes you see these baseball contracts, you're talking like six, seven hundred million dollars. This is a different stratosphere than like he would have extra 20 million. Well, 20 million total. Like we got it. We got to be adults here. We're grown ups. This is every team. What's. What's the NFL worth? $100 billion. More than that, $200 billion. This, this is this. Real money's exchanging hands here. Devonte Adams signs with the Rams. I hate to say it, but I love it. I just feel like this thing's going to work. You get devonte with Puka, with Matt Stafford. It's just an upgrade over Cooper Cup. And listen, I know, you know what's funny is like sometimes and listen, I've been fired twice fired by the Eagles. And I was fired in radio. And at the time, I was so mad at the time it was happening at my now like Cooper Cup. I was in my late 20s, early 30s. I was angry. And now looking back, I laugh. Why would you want to be with people who don't value you anymore? And it's like you also make. Like, you have to understand you make a lot of money. And you don't produce at that level anymore. But like Sean McVeigh, like they're kind of over you. If anything that should be. It happens all the time in the NFL and guys go to other places and have a lot of success. I will guarantee now you're going to take a pay cut. All the good teams in the NFL are going to be interested in Cooper cup now at a price point. They're not going to give you Devonte Adams money. What do you get? Two years, 46 million. I think 25 guaranteed or something. Cooper cup might get one year, $5 million. That might happen. I remember when I was around the Raiders and they signed Michael Crabtree to like a one year, $3 million deal that he had an incredible. Everyone thought he was like shot. No one wanted to touch him, had a huge season and then he got like a three year contract. Happens all the time. Like this notion that you're just careers over because Sean McVay doesn't want you. It's like I feel like sometimes, listen, I want to like Cooper Cup. I have nothing against the guy. The pity party around like him getting cut or traded over the last like six months has been fucking laughable. I mean we have seen dramatically better players in the history of the NFL get treated way worse than just like Sean McVeigh's. Like, yeah, we might trade you, bro. You make $20 million, you're hurt all the time these last couple of years. What do you think this is, fantasy football? Mike Vrabel just signed real players. And I think sometimes when you are really, really crappy and that's what the Patriots were. They were really bad now obviously poorly coached too, but they just look pretty bad talent wise. You got a bunch of money, just sign some guys that can just plug and play. The number one thing you can do as a coach, I think you always want to do when you first get a job is sign someone that knows you right. Just some players who are probably going to be starters that know the way you do things, know the way you lead meetings, know the way that like you structure stuff. And the, the Landry signing the pass rusher from Titans, no brainer, easy decision. It happens every time one of these guys gets a new job. But like sign Milton Williams, that's just a real defensive tackle. Like that guy's good in a perfect world. The Eagles would love to keep him. Obviously financially they just can't. Like Mack Hollins, like that's just a real NFL player. He's not a number one. He's not even a number two, but like, that's a guy. If you're playing the Bills, if your team's not bad, you can just compete with him on the field. Shit, he was just starting for the Bills, making plays. The guy's a good player. And Carlton Davis, I haven't seen all the details from the money and sometimes it's hard to decipher it all. But the bottom line is like, Carlton Davis is an NFL corner, Morgan Moses is an NFL tackle. He's got some NFL players and now you can go into the draft, take some big swings, try to hit some home runs, try to get some superstar talent. But like, I don't think it's inconceivable that if three of these guys can be like big impact guys, you hit on some draft picks and almost said Mac Jones and Drake May is good, that like the patriots could win nine, 10 games. Like, Mike Frable is a real coach. Listen, when I said the pressure's on Caleb Williams, I don't know if Ben Johnson is a good head coach or not. I know he's a great offensive schemer. Being a head coach is completely different. We got no clue. I know Mike Vrabel is a good coach like that. That's an objective truth here. It's just factual. We have seen him win enormous playoff games as huge underdogs on the road. Typically in a playoff game, if you're a big underdog, you're going to be a road team, but you know what I mean. So props to the Patriots finally getting Kraft to. Kraft doesn't like giving that money out. You know, Robert likes keeping that thing for himself. Couple more Denver Broncos. I thought they had one of the better. Like just. I'm not talking statistically, just when you watch them team speed wise, one of the faster and just harder hitting defenses in the NFL. And to add Hu Funga and Dre Greenlaw, like I would say two of the 49ers more physical players. Honestly, two of the better players of the team two years ago that lost to the Chiefs in the super bowl in Vegas. Now both these guys have been injured. Funk has had acl, hurt his thumb, Greenlop hurt his Achilles and then tried to come back and then he did and he killed everyone for a half and then his other hamstring went and he couldn't stay on the field. But if either one of these guys are healthy, let alone both of them, you have two absolute hammers. These guys will put anyone into the ground in the NFL. So you have two of the Harder hitters in the NFL. So now you're looking at a good defense with an offense that now can just draft players. So it's like who's Denver going to draft in the first couple rounds? A tight end, a running back. You can invest there around Bo Nick's guys for him to grow up with. And they're throwing money at the defense and their defense is already good. So I really like, you know, those two signings for Denver. Honestly, they just hit on one of the two of them. If Drake Greenlock could stay healthy next year, you'll be a Pro Bowler. The Giants, I just think that they are in major trouble, you know, because at the end of the day the Titans have a choice. If they stay at number one, they're going to draft one of two players. It's going to be the quarterback, it's going to be the pass rusher and if they take the quarterback, you know the team is not good enough. And we saw a couple of years ago with Shador was on a not a talented enough team against better competition and they got their ass kicked. So the Giants could not go in with this roster with Shador Sanders and have any chance of winning. Now big picture, it might not be a crazy move to get a quarterback on the roster, but like Brian Dable and Joe Shane need to attempt to win this year. They're going to get fired, right? So it's. Are they going to send Russell Wilson, Aaron Rodgers and by the time you're listening to this, maybe they've signed one of these guys. But man, I think, I think they're on, I think they're in trouble. The Chiefs have signed Jalen Moore. He was Trent Williams and really he can play both spots. I'm pretty sure he played right tackle a couple years ago as well. But he can play left tackle. He's just a talented young player. He didn't get to play a lot because Trent Williams on the team. So Chiefs gave him a little money. I'm pretty sure this guy has versatility to play both spots. He's clearly a high level guy and like that signing a lot. Colts, Charvarius Ward and Cam Bynum, the safety from Minnesota and Niners corner. Bynum's the guy that does all the cool dances and like those signings. But you know the one thing is when free agency, besides some of the trades, like with Tunzel, dk, Gino, some of these names, it's like free agency can be really, really overhyped because in basketball, you know, Kevin Durant or LeBron James or Jokic like is going to be a free agent this year, right? Same thing in baseball. You knew Juan Soto or you name Aaron Judge last year going to be a free agent. And then you know in the NFL that's just not the case. Guys resign, guys get franchised and you get big names. You know that older players typically that are cut and guys like Talano Hu Funga and Dre Greenlaw who have just been battling major, major injuries. So we're going to keep the content flowing and just, just wanted to get, get something, get my, get my juices flowing. But Aaron Rodgers, Russell Wilson, who knows maybe we'll get some more trades in the next couple days. Exciting times. And Miles Garrett, Max Crosby went from like they on the block to about 250 combined million dollars guaranteed. So money talks baby.
- [42:59]
ThreatLocker
When it comes to cybersecurity threat, Locker delivers a radically different approach to securing your endpoints. Instead of trying to detect the undetectable, you start by identifying what applications you trust in your environment with ThreatLocker allow listing. Then control how these trusted applications interact using ThreatLocker ring fencing solution to further the security of your network. To keep bad actors out, deny them by default. Visit threatlocker.com to see how you can keep your organization safe from cyber threats.
- [43:33]
Microsoft
AI is redefining what's possible for your business. With more unique challenges to solve and higher stakes than ever, Microsoft helps you stay ahead. Our trustworthy AI tools and guidance can empower leaders like you to drive greater impact. And with Azure's simplified platform management, we're helping businesses go further, faster, unlocking up to 150% improved output. Whatever challenge comes next, let Microsoft help you keep pushing forward. For more details, visit Microsoft.com challengers we.
- [44:04]
Jeremy Hobson
Live in a divided country.
- [44:06]
Mark Cuban
I am a lifelong Republican with all.
- [44:08]
Jeremy Hobson
Kinds of different people.
- [44:10]
Nikki Glaser
You know, I'm a mother, I'm a grandmother.
- [44:12]
Jeremy Hobson
That's why we started the Middle with Jeremy Hobson. It's about bringing voices not from the extremes, but from the vast middle into the national conversation.
- [44:20]
Mark Cuban
Anna, I'm calling Some love Vegas.
- [44:23]
Jeremy Hobson
Each week we bring together an all star panel. Mark Cuban, so great to have you on the Middle.
- [44:28]
Podcast Host
Thanks for having me, Jeremy.
- [44:29]
Jeremy Hobson
Neil Degrasse Tyson, welcome to the Middle.
- [44:30]
Neil deGrasse Tyson
Thanks for having me.
- [44:31]
Jeremy Hobson
And hear from ordinary Americans from all over the country on the most important issues.
- [44:36]
Mark Cuban
Hi, my name is Venkat. I'm calling you from Atlanta, Georgia.
- [44:40]
Jeremy Hobson
And when you subscribe to the Middle, you also get an episode each week called One Thing Trump did that focuses on just one item from the avalanche.
- [44:48]
Neil deGrasse Tyson
Of news news we should be examining what our government spends its money on and are these jobs necessary and what are we doing here. But that doesn't seem to be what we're doing in this situation.
- [44:56]
Jeremy Hobson
Listen to the middle with Jeremy Hobson on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [45:09]
Podcast Host
Okay, I did want to do something really quick on the state of the 49ers because it's pretty crazy what has happened to them over the last I don't know ever since the Debo trade they have lost. Now we knew a lot of these guys were going to be gone, but it's to me there was a tipping point last year when a good team and a good GM and a good head coach, part of sustaining high levels of play is being cutthroat. Andy Reid's done it. Belichick made a career out of doing it. Bill Walsh became a legend because of it. Sometimes even guys you like and have won with you got to say sayonara. And I don't ever remember a team regretting a contract faster all while changing their business plan overnight like the Brandon IU contract. Now I'm not here to toot my own horn. I thought it was nuts last year that they were going to give him 75, 80 million dollars guaranteed when their offense isn't built like that. And he listen he was a really obviously got injured but paying a guy that much money who's never going to catch more than 80 balls to me is insanity. And they had just learned their lesson a couple years previously with Debo Samuel and today the 49ers just informed Kyle Juszczyk he's being cut like in a vacuum. None of these moves are that crazy. Kyle use checks been on the team for nine years. That is an incredible run in the National Football League. And that wasn't his first team right? He played. He had a four year career with the Ravens. Kyle Juszczyk has had an incredible career and his run with the Niners was awesome. Was a part of every big game they ever had that isn't that weird? No. I hate to say it but not many teams the fullback changing the way teams play. Even though I think Kyle will always use some sort of hybrid tight end Hu Funga who might not even have been a starter anymore but a couple of years ago wasn't all pro. Drake Greenlaw, if it's not for injury, is a lock starter. Charvarius Ward, four year starter Forum Aaron Banks several year starter at guard got A ton of money from the Packers. The number I saw again, you never quite know, seemed a little nuts. Their backup tackle, Jalen Moore, which is kind of a big deal given one of their best players, Trent Williams, also gets injured a lot. I just think that, you know, and luckily if you're the Niners, like all your players are signing with good teams. I mean, you know, commanders NFC championship. The Chiefs will take Jalen Moore. The Broncos playoff team will take Hu Funga and Dre Greenlaw. The packers playoff team will take Aaron Banks. It's not like they're going to shitty teams. So it's shows you like this team was one of the best teams in the NFL for a long time because of these guys. And I'm not even saying like they should sign all these guys, but it's just like you don't have to be this abrupt. This is how you sustain. Look at what the Chiefs did several years ago. Tyreek Hill, adios. And you could combine Debo and Brandon Aiyuk and they weren't as good as him in his prime. And he reads cutthroat. You gotta make those moves. And it does feel like. So the stories coming out about the 49ers, Mike Silver writing about Jed, wanting him to like not get so emotional, like listen, I respect this about Sean McVay. A couple years ago he just like turned on guys and he's even apologized. He did it too publicly. But that's part of the business this is in. Like you need to be able to pivot to a new player. And like they got very emotional on and they're high priced guys. And now it's like we will trade Deebo Samuel, we will trade Brandon Ayuk. It's like, shouldn't you probably have done that before you signed one of the two guys and had a lot more money to spread it around, to sustain. Especially after you fucked up on the Trey Lance decision, which listen, it was a tough year to draft the COVID year, but there's no way around. It's one of the worst draft decisions in the history of the league. To go from 12 to three, trade all those first round picks and completely whiff on a guy who's just horrendous. I mean that set the team, that move and all the moves when it came to paying. Like I understood why they paid Deebo. He carried him the NFC championship and he wasn't really good for a couple years. The IUK thing, like you should have learned from that situation. Trade him for a second and a third but it's like, no, we need to get a first. Like, come on, man. Second and third C. Adios piece. Godspeed. And they like couldn't do it. And now they're in this position of it's not the end of the world. Luckily they got high draft picks because they sucked this year. But you're paying a quarterback a ton of money, which who knows what that number is going to be that we all acknowledge is not nearly as good as these other guys, the top guys making huge cash and winning MVPs. So he is very dependent on guys being around him that can play. Look at your main competition in the NFC in terms of the best teams. Obviously, when the Lions are healthy, what do they have? Elite talent around Jared Goff? What do the Eagles have around Jalen? Elite talent. And then those guys, you know, Jared didn't. But Jalen came through just like, if Brock has the elite talent around him, he can come through, but he ain't like taking me and you overachieving to 10 wins. That's not what it's going to be. We saw it this year. You're trying to win games against shitty teams at the end of the year and it's kind of unraveling. You need a really good team. And now they're. I think it's pretty clear they're trying to do that Rams thing where you like punt off a bunch of guys and you like nail a bunch of draft picks for a couple of years. It's like, well, we sure you could do that. That's pretty difficult to do. It's a tough little move to make. So I just think this is a very, very fascinating, interesting offseason for the 49ers because this was one of the best rosters in the entire league. He had established himself as one of the best coaches in the league. They were one of the more well run teams in the league. And now it just feels pretty chaotic and like the coach got really emotional. Now the owners get like. And one thing I don't want to hear with Jed and this story's kind of out there with Silver and some guys like about the money and the cutting costs. Give me a fucking break. This place has been an absolute cash cow, you know, like Nvidia, for the last five or six years, printing unlimited money. We spent a lot too. Well, you made even more. That's why Jeffrey spends a lot, because he's making way more. So I just like cutting costs. It's like, give me a fucking break. Whenever I hear about good teams talking about cutting costs. I want to throw up in my mouth. Doesn't mean you just pay whoever, right? But like the money should, it shouldn't even hesitate of where we're going to. We have no problem allocating huge cash for good players and it feels like yeah, we're going to pick our spots now. It's like oh my God. I just think this thing is teetering now. It's football. Not freaking out over an offseason. I love Hu Funga especially Greenlaw guys are injured. Char various had already established I'm not coming back. He had tragic situation. It was not even going to be an option. Niners weren't going to pay him anyway. But like it was over the use check thing. I love Kyle like him personally talked to him a lot over the years. But like also I do understand nine years at that position. I mean they almost cut him last year. They got him take a pay cut again. Like I said, I'm not overreacting to one individual move. I do think this is all symbolic and I think it just goes back pretty clearly to last season in the off season when the Niners aren't used to getting played. And for a long time, you know, they took advantage of everybody from Willis to Bowman. They could always get these guys to sign early and get these cheap team friendly deals. And the one big quarterback contract they had right before it really blew up Kaepernick, they completely played his agent. It was a year by year contract. The Jimmy thing seemed crazy and it actually was nothing and Jimmy ended up playing on the team for like six years or four or five years so it didn't even matter. But I think they know like these players don't lose as much anymore. Like even if you take a team friendly deal, you're still getting astronomical amounts of money now. So I'm not saying this is the NBA, but good players have a lot of juice and last year they were used to just typically, you know and Parag is one of the best in the league but like IUK1 and took him to the cleaners in that negotiation and that really rattled them and it feels now they're pivoting like because they're so shook from that moment to now doing whatever's going on and it's going to be fascinating to watch how this all plays out. They just, their team is not as deep because of the Trey Lance disaster and they went from being this like, I mean absolute powerhouse to like, I don't know, I don't feel as confident. I'm not I wouldn't. Their schedule is a joke. But if you said right now especially with this stock market right now middle cop $5,000 yes or no playoffs I just couldn't put it confidently on yes. I'd like to. I would. I'd probably lean that way just because their schedule is so bad. But I don't know. They got a lot of unknown guys that are going to be in positions. I'm watching these good teams just kind of like the Broncos AD Chiefs. They ain't going away Add right Don't really like Najee Harris runs hard $10 million a little rich for my but the charge ain't going away. They're going to keep adding and drafting so the Niners man just and they're going to have who knows what this number is going to look like with Purdy but does feel just at the point in time if they were a boat they'd be rocking and be like I don't know if they're gonna capsize but doesn't feel like that's a very stable place to be right now. The Volume.
- [55:49]
ThreatLocker
When it comes to cybersecurity, ThreatLocker delivers a radically different approach to securing your endpoints. Instead of trying to detect the undetectable, you start by identifying what applications you trust in your environment with ThreatLocker allow listing. Then control how these trusted applications interact using ThreatLocker ring fencing solution to further the security of your network. To keep bad actors out, deny them by default. Visit threatlocker.com to see how you can keep your organization safe from cyber threats.
- [56:23]
Microsoft
AI is redefining what's possible for your business. With more unique challenges to solve and higher stakes than ever, Microsoft helps you stay ahead. Our trustworthy AI tools and guidance can empower leaders like you to drive greater impact. And with Azure's simplified platform management, we're helping businesses go further, faster, unlocking up to 150% improved output. Whatever challenge comes next, let Microsoft help you keep pushing forward. For more details, visit Microsoft.com challengers this.
- [56:52]
Nikki Glaser
Is Nikki Glaser from the Nikki Glaser Podcast. On a more serious note, I'm still thinking about that commercial with Tom Brady and Snoop Dogg hating on each other. Because when you listen to the reasons for hating someone or something, you realize just how stupid they really are. There is too much hate in this country and it's gotta stop. So join us at iHeart in standing up to it. If you see hate, speak up, call it out and you can learn more by following at what's up with Hate?
- [57:19]
Podcast Host
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