A (0:00)

This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human the best moments aren't always about where you're going, they're about who's with you on the way. That's why Toyota believes people are the destination. The Toyota RAV4 is built for busy days and spontaneous plans, from practice runs to last minute road trips and everything in between with space, comfort and flexibility. It helps turn everyday drives into quality time because when the right people are riding with you, every trip matters. Learn more@toyota.com and find the vehicle that fits your people.

B (0:33)

This is Sophie Cunningham from Show Me Something. Okay, Arby's just casually pulled up with a deal that feels a little too good.

A (0:39)

They've got this new meat in three box for $7.99 and honestly, it's stacked with Arby's quality favorites in a way that feels kind of ridiculous.

B (0:45)

For that price, here's what you're getting inside. You pick one sandwich, the classic roast beef, the crispy chicken sandwich or the crispy fish sandwich.

A (0:53)

Then it just keeps going because also comes with melty mozzarella sticks, crispy curly fries, and a peach cobbler roll, which is a little sweet treat and so good.

B (1:01)

And you get a small drink to round it all out. So yeah, it's called Meat and Three, but you're actually getting five items all for only $7.99.

A (1:08)

Pick the sandwich you want, make it your own and get it your way.

B (1:11)

Available for a limited time at participating locations. While supplies last, prices may vary. Get your meat in three box at any Arby's near you today.

A (1:19)

This is Lavar Arrington from Up on Game. This message is brought to you by Apple Card. It's a great time to apply for an Apple Card you'll love earning unlimited daily cash on every Purchase. That includes 3% daily cash when you buy the latest iPhone, AirPods and Apple. Watch at Apple through this special referral offer. When you get a new Apple Card, you can earn bonus daily cash. To qualify, you must apply at Apple Co. Get Daily Cash Apple Card issued by Goldman Sachs Bank USA Salt Lake City. Branch offer may not be available elsewhere. Terms and limitations apply. Today's podcast is brought to you by Ferguson Home where it all comes together. Whether you're a homeowner creating your dream space or a pro managing multiple projects, Ferguson Home is where you'll find the top products by brands like KitchenAid. Visit your local showroom or visit FergusonHome.com the volume. What is going on everybody? How are we doing? John Middlecoff 3Now podcast hopefully everyone is Doing well. And we had a massive trade today. The Chiefs traded Trent McDuffie to the Rams for a first round pick. And I said, you know what, feeling a little under the weather, but I gotta do something. So we fired out a podcast reaction to the trade. Some other stuff going on. Mike Silver wrote a big article about Max Crosby and Lou Holtz passed away at 89 years old, the legendary Notre Dame football coach. So we will dive into that today. I'll probably do a pretty big mailbag tomorrow. Hopefully there's another trade at John Middlekopf at John Middlekop is the Instagram fire in those DMS to get involved on the show. And you guys know the drill. If you listen on Collins feed, make sure you subscribe to three and out. We're on Netflix so you never miss an episode. You can listen on your phone, put it in your pocket. I do it all the time, not to myself, but to other people. So go check that out as well. So let's just dive in. I, I mentioned this to Howie, is that when I first started working with the Eagles, he was kind of on the forefront of thinking much more like a basketball or a baseball general manager, where major players get traded all the time. And when I was a kid and the NBA and the Jordan era was thriving and obviously baseball was America's pastime, I, I know technically I, I, I don't know if it's lost that kind of that label in terms of they still consider themselves that, but clearly football is America's sport. But one thing that happened in those two sports constantly were star players getting traded year round, the off season, in season. It just didn't happen as much in football, obviously in season. Football coaches always push back. It's not a plug and play league, right? If I trade for a third baseman right now in spring training or in the middle of the season, I just put him at third base and if he's a good hitter, I put him at. Now they bat the guy lead off for second, potentially three or four, and we just roll. In a weird way, it's a team sport that's kind of an individual sport morphed into one. Basketball has always had this middle ground where you need these great individuals. But it's definitely more of a team concept to win championships and be, you know, win a lot of games. Much closer to football where chemistry, cohesion, some of the intangible stuff really, really matters. But they've always been willing to make trades for star players. I mean, some of the biggest names in the history of the sport, at least in my lifetime have been traded in season, off season. It just happened. And in football it was way less likely that up until the last 10 years. And I, I think we have really benefited. Obviously someone that talks about the sport, but people that consume the sport is if I would have told you two days ago there was going to be a massive trade on Wednesday morning, I would have said universally people, you know, not necessarily quote unquote casuals, but people that follow football really closely would have said oh where did Max Craig, I Wonder who landed A.J. brown. And that's not what took place. Trent McDuffie was traded for a first round pick from the Chiefs of the Rams. Which this isn't out of Nowhere because Trent McDuffie had been rumored like the Chiefs weren't going to give him a hundred million dollar contract, they weren't going to pay him $30 million a year. And we'll dive into all the different angles there, but it was, it was kind of well known he was available. Now they weren't just going to give him away. You had to pay a lot I. E. The Rams, but these teams and listen, Andy's made a lot of trades obviously less sneed have made a lot of trades. You go yeah John, these two teams are outliers. I think all these teams now, especially the good ones are more than willing to wheel and deal. Like we have a league full of Howie Roseman, John Schneider types who are willing to do aggressive things that historically football especially you know, 70s, 80s, 90s was much more of a conservative league. Let's just see what we got. Let's just play this out. Let's just keep our picks. I, I think it's much less likely like that. Now obviously the boom of the cash that is involved, the pressure on a year to year basis. It was reported yesterday that Stephen Ross, the Miami Dolphins, who I don't think have won a playoff game, I don't even know if they've won a playoff game in the Internet era. It's been a long, long time. Don't, don't quote me. I don't want to piss off Miami Dolphins fans, but it's definitely been over 20 plus years since the Miami Dolphins have won a playoff game. Maybe even longer, maybe since the 90s and they've sold 1% of the franchise and he got $125 million. You know why? Because they valued the franchise at $12.5 billion. Now there are some franchises that are worth more than others, but this is why I always push back on the mindset of people like the Cincinnati Bengals, people like the Arizona Cardinals. Yeah, your franchise might be worth, in theory, way less than that, but your franchise is still worth billions of dollars. You have the cash flow from the league. You should be overly aggressive spending money. You're not going to go broke. This isn't the 70s or the 80s. You're not dependent on people showing up to your stadium. That is just extra cash. That is just money to fill your back pockets. And those type guys, unlike some of these franchises, don't have a lot of other businesses that they need to worry about. I do understand some of these teams that go, well, we got a EPL team, we got three other businesses, we got a lot of hands in different cookie jars, right? Okay. So some years we're going to be more aggressive than others. That is not the case for some of the poor teams. Now, you're not poor because you have the NFL for. You have the NFL valuation of your franchise. And I. I just appreciate teams that are aggressive. I appreciate all these GMs in the league making this kind of reality television show much more entertaining. You could tell me right now there is another massive trade on Thursday or Friday of this week, and it does not include either one of the guys that we think are going to get traded in. Max and AJ and that that's what's cool about the off season now. Because, let's face it, you look at the free agent list, it's not great. It's not names like, no one's, you know, gonna break Internet records talking about Tyler Lindenbaum's, you know, getting paid $20 million, signing with somebody, right? But these trades, these maneuvers, these really good teams being overly aggressive. What does everyone say, like, Max Crosby, Howie Roseman's gonna be in the mix. Howie Roseman's gonna be in the mix. The Bears right now are currently the betting favorite to land Max Crosby. The Tampa Bay Bucks are going to be overly aggressive to get him. The Detroit Lions, I'm sure, are going to have long discussions in regards to Crosby and I. I think we all benefit from that. And it makes, you know, an off season, which I would say used to be a little slower, especially 20, 30 years ago, much more of just fireworks can go off at any moment. And these trades, not just now, but in training camp and in the season, you got to buckle up, because they could come at any moment. That just wasn't the case in generations past. So props to these young guys. Props to these GMs, like Les need and Brett Veach. And Howie and John Schneider that are just willing to wheel and deal. We all that follow the sport and love the, you know, the business of football truly appreciate you because you, you, you make this, the whole thing much more entertaining in the middle of March when it could, could have been a little slower. So let's talk about the trade now. I did some digging and I've, you know, done digging on this guy for a long time. The Chiefs really like Trent McDuffie. I, I, I won't go as far as love Trent McDuffie because they traded him but he was not poorly thought of in the building. He has, from what I've been told, elite football character and just a high end character guy. So in terms of the intangibles, he's a high end human being, the type guy that you want in your building. Good example comes to the Chiefs. They immediately go to several Super Bowls and he's one of the key guys on defense. He is a winning player. I think the issue they had is the business element of this sport is he's a fantastic nickel corner. You could argue he's one of, if not the best nickel corners ins in the NFL. The guy that plays the slot, right? You got your outside guys like Richard Sherman, Darrell Revis, Patrick Surtan, and then you got guys like Trent McDuffie who thrive inside. And when you put him outside, he's a good player, but no one would, you know, get him confused for some hall of Famer outside. And if you're going to pay a guy 30 plus million dollars a year, which I would guess whenever the contract comes out that the Rams eventually give them, it's going to be an astronomical number. And I think they were uncomfortable giving the amount of money to a guy who thrives doing certain stuff. Again, they love the guy in the intangible stuff, but given that some of their other financial situations, given that they're paying their quarterback a lot and ideally he comes back healthy and you know, he will keep getting revisions to his contract and be one of the highest paid guys in the league for the rest of his career. As long as he's on the Chiefs and Andy's, there's that. You got to make these tough decisions. You know, when they traded Tyreek several years ago, it wasn't football because Tyreek then was in the peak of his powers and one of the greatest football players we've ever seen. You can't say that about Trent McDuffie. You could say that about Tyree Kill and then he went to the Dolphins and Had like historic seasons. He wasn't elite, but they were just uncomfortable. Obviously there's a lot of noise off the field and they just made as much of a business decision as like a personal decision. Can we invest in this guy at this number? And we can't. And we punted. With the McDuffie thing, it was more, is he good enough? Because Tyreek was good enough for whatever you're going to pay him. It's like, can you trust the guy? You can trust McDuffie, but can you trust him on the outside against Jamar Chase in the second round? And the answer, I think clearly they said, no, not when I'm paying you as the what, you will become the second highest paid player on the team. So I don't think this was an easy decision for the Chiefs. And let's face it, they extended George Carloftis last year and by all counts, he had an underwhelming season. So there is going to be a lot of emphasis for him, I'm sure, from the coaching staff, from Veech, from everyone in that organization of like, listen, we've invested in you. We need to get what we saw early on. We need you to be, you know, above average player. And I think they just kind of went through that, that it was like, whoa. Carloftis was never going to be Max Crosby was never going to be some high end, one of the best players in the league. But they felt good about his trajectory. And let's face it, I would imagine a year in, they probably have some regrets of doing that contract and they didn't want to be in the same position with McDuffie. And like McDuffie, Carloftis elite football character. So they have no problem with the guy or the person. It's just the play. And they're in the business. It's all about the play. We're the only team in the league really, that it's like super bowl or bust every single year. I mean, we went to, you know, whatever, five to six Super Bowls, and it felt underwhelming. Like we, we thought we should have been had more success. And that's pretty rare in a league built on parity. Here's the other thing. In the Andy era, because Veech hasn't been the, the GM the whole time, even though he's been with him the whole time. He came over with him from Philly and then became the GM. I forget the exact year, 17 or 18, whenever they drafted Mahomes, he wasn't technically the GM yet, even though he was obviously One of his biggest supporters in the building and the guy pushing him from, from day one. They've won a lot of big trades. I would say they're four pivotal trades in the Andy Reid era. We don't have the results of this one. We will find out over the next several years. But the previous three were. Couldn't have gone much better. The first one I'm not going to call a home run. But when they traded for Alex Smith, Andy Reid's first year, it solidified a position that the Chiefs had been disaster at. At quarterback. They were the worst team in the league the previous year. They had the number one overall pick and getting Alex Smith, what they went to five playoff games in six years, like, so they immediately stabilized their franchise and became a real factor in the NFL. Not a Super bowl factor, but a real factor on a yearly basis in a league still, with Brady, with Manning, Philip Rivers in his prime, like, they became a real team and they gave up a second round pick for him and they clearly did not regret that one at all. Their next massive trade obviously was trading up for Patrick Mahomes. They were coming from the 20s and they got him. And it clearly will go down as one of the greatest trades in the history of sports, right? It's netted them a bunch of Super Bowls. He's a Hall of Fame quarterback and he will go down as one of the greatest players in the history of the sport. And it all came back to draft night when they knew that the Saints and Sean Payton liked him and they maneuvered them and came over them. So those are, you know, Mahomes is a walk off grand slam Alex Smith, when you factor in the context of what that team was, I mean, is that minimum, like, I, I mean a double off the wall, maybe like a standup triple. That. That was a fantastic trade. The other trade, which was pretty polarizing, back to the Tyreek thing, which is ironic because they traded Tyreek to the Dolphins and then they used that pick to take Trent McDuffie who then became a key player for a team that went to three straight Super Bowls. I remember talking to Veech a couple years ago. He's like, they had been back to back champs and Brett was like, you know, the crazy part is George Carloftis and Trent McDuffie who were drafted in the same draft right in the first round. All those two guys knew going to the super bowl, like, that's not the league. I mean, obviously they got a little humble pie this year going 6 and 11. But that trade is, I Listen, I don't know where it goes on, on the list of all time great trades, but when you factor in getting rid of the money, changing your defense and, and then winning back to back Super Bowls, it's clearly one of the defining moments in the Andy Reid era. Now, this trade is yet to write itself, but anytime that you could get a first round pick for a player that you were not going to pay who you drafted in the first round a little higher. Pick 22, you get pick 29. But over the course of four years, not only has he held his value and he's not viewed as like, you know, sometimes these guys get traded, like Jalen Ramsey, you know, Khalil Mack got traded. Those guys reviewed as like hall of fame players. Trent McDuffie's not viewed as a Hall of Fame player, but he's a really good player that you can get a first round pick and then the following year get a third round pick. I know there are other picks involved, I don't really care about those. But the pick 29 for a team that needs some younger, cheap assets and talented players, think about this. The Chiefs got their starting left tackle last year at the end of the first round pick 31. So this is technically a better pick, you know, so I, this is, this is one of the rare trades. And someone with the Chiefs texting with them today said this is a win win. Like, this is a good trade for the Rams too. This is not one of those trades like when the Dolphins traded for Tyree Kill, it went, does this make that much sense? Like, is this what you want to do? And there was a business element to this, you know, from the Dolphin standpoint. They got to the playoffs, he was great. It's not like it was a disaster for them, but you're going to trade for a wide receiver, you better be damn sure, right? The Raiders traded for devonte. Devonte is a Hall of Fame level guy. It was a disaster. The Eagles, who were much better equipped to handle it, trade for A.J. brown. And while it might end this week, it was a really successful marriage making that move. So trading McDuffie is much more of a plug and play player because of his versatility and you immediately know he can play in the slot. And then you're in a division where, you know, JSN, you know, the 49ers are going to have reinforcements, I'm sure on offense, obviously the NFC in general with Ben Johnson. The Lions got a bunch of talent, the Eagles got a bunch of talent. The Cowboys have a really Good offense. You know, I think the south is kind of under the radar right now. The Giants are definitely on the come. I mean, Jaden Daniel is going to be healthy. The NFC I don't think we quite talk about sometimes like the AFC because of Mahomes, Josh, Lamar, Burrow, Herbert. But from a team standpoint, it's really good and really deep. So I think when you're looking the Chiefs, the key now is to hit on these players and you know, the best thing that ever happened to them, they lost those last couple games. They have the ninth overall pick. They should get a impact player that helps reset the franchise. Like they have a chance to get the equivalent of, you know, a Travis Kelsey, a Chris Jones, a guy that you can look back in seven, eight years that have been to five Pro Bowls. And I don't mean the guy like a Shador Sanders Pro bowl or, you know, Mac Jones Pro Bowl. I mean the Pro bowl, you know what I mean? One of the best players in the league at his position. You know, a guy that's, whether he's an all pro or like a fringe all Pro, but a guy that every team would want. And Chris Jones and Travis Kelsey are all pro level guys, but you know what I mean? And whether that's Ruben Bane, whether that's, you know, I don't think they're going to take Jeremiah Love because I don't think he'll be there. But you know, one of these offensive linemen, whoever it may be, I think it'll be a lineman. But you have a chance to get a core guy for this reset. And then with 29, you can do a couple things. Like you could move up into the high 20s, right? You got that extra third next year you can get aggressive because you're kind of like the Rams. The Chiefs are all in on this year that they're going to try 100% to be back to be a division champ, to be hosting playoff games. They will be aggressive in this draft, I promise you that. And I think now they are very, very equipped to do that. Today's show is brought to you by our presenting sponsor, Hard Rock. Florida's sportsbook march is here. That means college basketball take center stage. Stakes are rising and the shots are falling. Get it. All your action you need on Hard Rock Bed hoops is on every night. That means you can get same game parlays going every night of the week when you sign up today and double your winning on your first 10 bets, max 50. That's right. If you would have won a hundred bucks on your same game parlay. Make that 200 bucks. The hard Rock Vet Sportsbook app is the only legal sportsbook for whenever you're in Florida. It's also live in Arizona, Ohio, New Jersey, Indiana, Tennessee, Virginia, Illinois, Colorado and Michigan. Plus Hard Rock Bet. They offer new promos every single day, so whenever you're listening, just open up the app and check out what you've got. On any day of the week. Download the Hard Rock Bet today and make your first appearance. Deposit payable and bonus bets. Not a cash offer. Offered by Seminole Tribe of Florida in Florida. Offered by Seminole Hard Rock Digital LLC in all other states. You must be 21 plus and physically present in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Jersey, Ohio, Tennessee and Virginia to play. Terms and conditions apply. Concerned about gambling in Florida? Call 1-833-PLAY-WISE in Indiana. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800-9 with it gambling problem call 1-800- gambler Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, New Jersey, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia cold days, big goals, no time to cook Factor makes healthy eating easy with fully prepared meals designed by dietitians and crafted by chefs. So eat well without the planning or cooking. I've used Factor Meals for a long time. They have no refined sugars, which is big when you're trying to lose some lbs. Quality, functional ingredients including lean proteins, colorful veggies, whole food ingredients and healthy fats. They have a ton of varieties, easy to find, whatever you're looking for. Plus the new Muscle Pro Collection supports strength and recovery. Always fresh, never frozen, no prep, no stress. How do you beat that? You don't. Head to factor meals.com john50off and use code johan50off to get 50% off and free breakfast for a year. Eat like a pro this month with Factor New subscribers only. Varies by plan. One free breakfast item per box for one year. While subscription is active. Life moves fast. Work, family, friends, weekend plans, and somewhere in between, you find the moments that really matter. That's why Toyota believes people are the destination. It's not just about where you're headed, it's about who's beside you. From early mornings to late nights, from packed schedules to spontaneous adventures, the Toyota RAV4 is built for real life. Whether you're heading to a game, meeting friends for a watch party, or chasing the next big moment, it gives you the space and comfort to enjoy the ride no matter what the day brings. When people are the destination, ordinary drives become shared memories. Learn more@toyota.com and find the vehicle that fits your people Today's podcast is brought to you by Ferguson Home. Whether you're a homeowner creating your dream space or a pro managing multiple projects, Ferguson Home is where it all comes together. Ferguson Home is designed for the way you want to shop. Experience today's top products by brands like KitchenAid firsthand by visiting a Ferguson Home showroom where you'll explore stunning displays featuring today's latest products and innovations, or browse their extended selection of products online. Ferguson Home understands that every project is made up of countless decisions and that's why their expert consultants are committed to helping homeowners, builders, contractors and designers bring all the details together. You can count on support from them start to finish, from choosing the right products to coordinating deliveries with your project schedule. Book a one on one consultation at your local Ferguson Home showroom or shop online@fergusonhome.com whether you're working on a new kitchen, a new bathroom or a whole home remodel, you'll find the latest designs and technologies from the brands you trust at Ferguson Home. On the Ram side, clearly they have been really close these last couple years. I mean they are was it Jalen Carter pass rush two years ago against the Eagles from upsetting the Eagles and I think they probably go on to win the super bowl that year. This year it was clear the super bowl was the NFC championship and I, I think that their downfall this year was pretty clear their secondary wasn't that good and it's been, well I guess it's been put out there by different reporters like they had had a desire to add a high end secondary player and they've done it before and it really worked. Now Jalen Ramsey at the same age is a better player than Trent McDuffie, right? If you could say, hey you get every GM in the league at whatever old Trent is 25, 26. You get both players, same age. Every single GM's taking Jalen Ramsey and that that helped change. They gave up more. Remember they gave up multiple first round picks so you didn't have to give up as much. But I, I think there weren't many Trent McDuffie types available. Like most teams aren't willing to trade high end corners and high end DBs when they have super bowl aspirations. Like the jets traded Sauce Gardner because they were going nowhere. Hell, they were going backwards. So the Chiefs because of their financial situation like were willing to talk. Now there were also rumors that the Giants were involved, but the Giants would never give up their what do they have the fifth pick in the draft? You know that that's not an option. So I would imagine their offer might have included like, hey, we'll give you like a three and a four this year and a one next year or whatever it may be. But it would, they would have to kind of get creative because the, the top five pick is not an option. Where the Rams, this trade is probably the easiest one they've ever made. It truly is, because I could be wrong. But all the years that they traded their first round picks going way back to the Sammy Watkins, to the Brandon Cooks, Marcus Peters, obviously Jalen, multiple first round picks, I mean Matt Stafford, they usually only had one pick right? This year because of the trade they made. You know, essentially 10 months ago, this pick was like, listen, we talk about this all the time. There aren't 32 guys that you will have graded in the first round. There is not a player. Now this might not be the case in five years, but as we sit here today, Sean McVeigh and Les need in their offices wherever, in some beautiful area in Los Angeles where you go, we're going to get a guy who's going to be as good as Trent McDuffie for the next couple years. Not only could you not say that, more than likely it's a 50, 50 proposition. This guy's decent, this guy's a starter. And because we have the 13th pick in the draft, because we made one of the craziest trades in the history of the league, there's no one's disputes that James Pierce can play, right? He had whatever double digit sacks this year, but he might spend the next however many years in jail, right? So not, not Matt Ryan or Ian Cunningham or any of those guys fault. It was a previous regime, but that will go down of taking a character risk that high and mortgaging a first round pick to pick a guy in the 20s. Why is he there in the 20s? Because he's got the biggest red flag behind him you've ever seen. And obviously he lived up to that. This off season, it's a fucking disaster for the Falcons. And then you go eight, nine. It's not like, well, you made the playoffs, you won, you got to the second round, you give the Rams the 13th overall pick, which enables them, they could move up a couple spots. If they like a guy, they can move back a couple spots and add more picks. So it gives them flexibility. When's the last time the Rams drafted this high? Well, I'll tell you, the last time was, you know, four or five years ago. The problem was the Lions had Their pick and use that to maneuver and get Jameer Gibbs and Sam Laporta. So I think the Rams, they had to view that pick as just little house money. Listen, we all do this. Anyone that's hit a big bet, you know, online and you see that number in your account, you go, this is just found money. And that's not always the right way to look at it, but sometimes, like, hey, I'll make a bet that I might not make because I just hit this parlay for a couple grand. And I. I think the Rams looked at it that way, and I. I don't think they're wrong to. To be aggressive with that pick. Utilize that pick, because they have one goal and one goal only. And that, to me, is to be playing at home in the Super Bowl. And they have been really, really close the last couple years. And from their front, their front's good. The land man's a stud. Their defensive coordinator is good, but their secondary was just not trustworthy. And I would imagine, you know, if Caleb Downs is potentially available at 13, they will add more secondary help by one issue with this move for them, which it's. And who. This is kind of a hypothetical because we don't know how this is all going to play out. One thing Belichick really thrived at over the course of their dynasty was he was always hesitant in free agency or trading back in the draft because he never wanted guys in his locker room who hadn't done anything for the Patriots to be making more money than a lot of his core guys who were winning in winning Super Bowls and going to Pro Bowls. And he was always very cognizant of that fact until the end when he got desperate and obviously a couple years later, it cost him his job. But Puka Nakua has been one of the best players in the league for the last several years. And last year, he was an unstoppable force. In those games against Seattle, he looked like Jerry Rice meets Calvin Johnson. I mean, I. I just don't think I've ever seen anyone quite play like that. There was like a Terrell Owens element to. He was a monster, and he's contract eligible. And this is a major conversation around the league. Like, we see these numbers. Brandon iuk was catching 75 balls a year and got a contract with $75 million guaranteed two years ago. Think about that. Two years ago. So a guy like Puka, you start looking around, well, who you looking at? You're looking at the CD Lambs, you're looking at the Jamar Chases, you're looking at the Justin Jeffersons. So you start talking 120, $130 million. Now, I, I'm talking guaranteed money. Now, I don't think Trent McDuffie is going to get near that much money, but if you do break Trent McDuffie off, give him 70, 80, whatever, guaranteed 90. I don't know what the contract is going to eventually be. Puka goes, well, I've been in the trenches with all these guys these last couple years when we've been on the precipice of jumping over that line and getting right there with the Eagles, going toe to toe with Seattle in the NFC championship. I was your fucking road dog. I'm a winning player. We can, you know, nitpick some of the maturity stuff off the, off the field, but there is no disputing his just elite nature on the field, which, the end of the day, this is a production business. And I think that is going to complicate things a little bit. If in the next couple days Trent McDuffie gets a huge contract. I, I think that will only emphasize what are they going to do with Puka? They got it. This is not going to be something they can just kind of go into training camp with. It's going to be probably something in the off season that you're going to have to solidify and kind of put, you know, pen to paper and get a deal done. And if you're not, move on from, because he would have a ton of value. And I don't think they're going to move on from. I would expect Puga Nakua to get a big contract. But if you tell me Puka Nakua doesn't have a contract by OTAs and Trent McDuffie has a big contract when he's never played a snap for the Rams. I would expect Puka Nukua not to be around and then that becomes a big thing and he's already a polarizing player. So, I mean, it's part of doing business in the NFL. A lot of variables, a lot of moving parts. A lot of people have opinions, a lot of egos, A lot of, you know, people get offended quick with money because money's all relative, right? And you know how much everyone else is making. So I. That's something just to keep an eye on the contract situation, how they handle McDuffie. And remember when they traded for Jalen Ramsey years ago, they didn't immediately sign a new extension. It took a little time. And remember, Jalen was cool with it because Jalen's like, I'm like, best player in the league. I'm going to get an astronomical amount of money. And he eventually did. So I appreciate the Rams. They, they are that, that trade with the Falcons and the domino effects in which it had in a positive nature for their franchise led right up to today because without that, I think it makes a little more complicated now. They still might do this deal. Let's just say if, you know, they had just taken a player at pick 26 and there was no crazy trade available from the Falcons, maybe they do this deal anyway. I think it became way easier to be like, yeah, take 29, we gotta pick 13. And props to ramps and props to the NFC west, which is going to just, it's going to be fireworks because if they can solidify that defensive backfield, Devonte Puka, you know, Stafford, I, I think they, by the time we get, you know, to training camp, would not shock me at all. If the Rams are the betting favorite to win the super bowl. Now that isn't, you know, the Ravens and the, the Bills going into last season, I think were both like three or four to one to be to win the Super Bowl. They had better odds than the Chiefs and the Ravens didn't make the playoffs. Part of it, the guy missed a field goal, but still they, they weren't going to win the super bowl this year. Coach got fired, immediately hired, got $100 million. So it's not like his life sucks, but you know what I mean? So just awesome trade, awesome. Lot of moving parts here. And like I said, very, very appreciative to these type guys that just make moves and give us something to talk about. Okay, a couple other quick stories. Mike Silver, who I was with last week at the Athletic, who is just one thing I appreciate about a lot of people in the NFL. And I, I can't speak to the journos and other sports, but I think what makes a great reporter in the NFL are guys that have in the NFL is probably easier to develop relationships with the coaches in the personnel department than maybe some other sports. Could be wrong. But Adam Schefter knows every coach in the NFL. Rap sheet knows every coach and GM in the NFL. Diana Rossini knows everybody. Mike Silver has been at this for decades. He goes back with the Walsh and Al Davis and Mike Shanahan days when he knew those guys well. But this guy's ability to get people's phone numbers, talk to people and get information is just, it's a skill he has. Now the one thing With Mike that he's really good at is, you know, I don't know what Mike is late 50s. He, he can booze and hang. So like he, he is a fun hang. He can go out with these guys. You know, whether he's just, he can just relate to people. He, he's really good at just, he's a fun hang. And when he writes something like he gets good information. He was the guy that broke the story about Brandon Ayuk and Mike Silver was once famously banned from the Raiders facility. I think him and Al Davis used to butt heads and he reported today about the Max Crosby situation. And I think at this point in time it's pretty well established that Max is ready. And I think the Raiders are okay and ready too. They do just want to drive up the price. Like they don't just plan on giving Max away like for a Trent McDuffie package. And I think that is Spytech's biggest hang up here. Like we're not just going to give him away for a first and a third. This is not only one of the best players in the league like a McDuffie, he's like the highest character. His off the field intangibles are off the charts and he's not a slot corner. He's a pass rusher, an every down player who plays as hard maybe as anyone in the NFL. He might be the hardest player in the NFL in terms of effort for about seven straight years, that guy. There have been a couple guys at least over my time doing this and it was J.J. watt and Aaron Donald and what made them hall of Fame players is they were more talented than everybody and they played harder. I wouldn't say Max has the most talent. Like I don't think he has like Miles Garrett physical traits. I wouldn't compare him to like Von Miller Bend. But what he lacks maybe of like if those guys are a 10 and he's at like an 8, he makes up for of like he never taken a playoff. Someone in the NFL this year sent me a clip late in the season. The Raiders were terrible. They're playing the Texans, who have won a bunch of games straight, and one of the hottest teams in the league. Max played that game. Like someone told him this is the last football game you'll ever play in your life. And I was texting with Andy Reid a couple of weeks ago when I was asking him to come on the podcast at the combine. And then he told me he had knee surgery, wasn't going to be there, and we started texting I said, I just said, what do you think about. He loves Max Crosby just like every coach in the league. I think if you went around, especially to offensive coaches, the first guy, and obviously the Raiders would never trade Max to the Chiefs. But my point of saying that is the reverence these coaches have for Max Crosby couldn't be any higher. The respect in the way he approaches the game. And because think about coaches, they spend 90 to 100 hours a week. They have no lives. Mike McDonald says he sees his kid for 30 minutes on a Thursday. So just all football. And you see this guy who just is on a team for years, disastrous situation. Every single year he's got a new coach, a new coordinator, and he's just playing like his life depends on it. When all any coach wants back to high school, let alone the NFL, especially the good ones, guys that really give a shit. And the number one thing you'd say about Max Crosby, I don't. I just don't think he could give a shit anymore. Like, his care level is like 100 out of 100. And obviously his production and his play speak for itself. So I've been saying this for a while, and I saw Albert Brewer say today that more than a quarter of the league is going to want or be very interested in Max, if not more. Well, how does a price go from, hey, a first, a third and a player to all of a sudden we got multiple ones for Max Crosby? When you have people bidding against themselves, it's just basic, you know, it's a basic economic transaction. If I throw out a car for 50 grand and one person is willing to pay me 40 grand, if I want to sell the car, I'm going to get 40 grand. But if that same car for 50 grand, if I have seven people standing there and three of them are desperate to get that car, maybe I could end up getting 60 grand for the car. So if you got people lined up to trade for them, you can start playing them off each other. And it's pretty rare that you get in these situations like Trent McDuffie on the Open market. His market was probably a little unique, right? There weren't that many teams lined up to give a first and a third round pick for Trent McDuffie and then pay him however much money. These teams. Think of the teams that are interested in Max Crosby, the Rams, the Niners, the Bears, the Lions, the Eagles, I'm sure the Ravens, Tampa. Well, you start bidding, hey, they've offered me a one and a three. This happened. I remember when the 49ers mid season, traded for Christian McCaffrey. There were two teams willing to trade for him. Originally, the rams offered a 2 and a 4, or maybe it was a 3 and a 4. So you know what the 49ers had to do? They had to offer a 2, a 3, and a 4. And the Rams, like, that's a little rich for our taste. So what happened? The Niners got them. They had to pay more than the Rams. Well, and that was just two teams. So when you have, let's just say it comes down to, say, 10 teams initially are talking, and then as the price kind of gets established, half of them drop out. And then when you really coming down the stretch, you get three teams that are very interested. I just don't see how you don't get multiple ones for Max Crosby, not when there's a bidding process, which there clearly is going to be in this situation. The other part of that story was the Alex Guerrero, Tom Brady's guy, his influence in, in the building. And I, I, I, I don't never met Alex. I, I can't speak to it clearly. He enabled Tom to play till he was like 45, and he probably could have kept playing. So I, I, I can't argue that he doesn't know what he's doing. I do think anytime you get into a situation where someone is viewed as, like, I don't even want to say a tattletale, but just, is this guy, if I say the wrong thing in front of him, will it get back one time in radio? I'll give you an example. You know, in radio, you have all these different program directors, right? So if you're at a station or if you're in a conglomerate and they got six stations, when you go to the office, there's the program director for the rock station, there's one for the, the conservative news station, there's one for the country station, there's one for the sports station. And they're all kind of together, and you get to know them all. And we have this new program director for our station, and he's the biggest bozo idiot I've ever been around in my entire professional life. I mean, I got dumber every day that I was around the guy. I mean, it was, it's an experience that I will never forget. If you remember, Howard Stern used to call his program director Pig Vomit. We used to have a, we used to call him Vegetable Lasagna. You can Google that in the Seinfeld episode. This guy was just a moron. I mean, I couldn't believe, like, this is my life. And I remember bad mouthing him to another program director, but I didn't realize that. Like, that guy immediately went and told him what I said, but I didn't realize the connection. It turns out, like, they were golfing buddies in this situation. Like, all the players know that is Tom's guy. And my only issue, like, I don't, I don't. If I was Tom, I'd fucking own this team too. If I was Tom, I'd live in Florida and play at Bakers Bay and hang out at Grove 23 with MJ and live that life. It's like just build $100 million compound. Don't blame at all. I would do exactly what he's doing. But if you want to kind of run the football thing and this is what it makes it hard, like, even in that article, like, Max likes John Spitek. How could you not? John Spitek is very impressive. John Spytik's a stud, Tom's a stud. But you can't be in on football and making decisions if you're not around because there's just like a bunker mentality. And I listen. I've never been in the military, but I've read enough military books. My dad was in it, heard him talk. You kind of become bonded with the guy next to you because you're just fighting the good fight, right? Whether it's basic training, whether it's just when you, you know, fly around the world doing whatever you're doing. And there's an element to that with football because you're just always together. You're always. You spend so much time together. It's like, why is your relationship with your brothers and sisters can change when you get a little older if weird things happen for the most part, ideally, you have a good relationship with them as you get older. Why? Because even if one's older you by a couple years, you spent a lot of time together in your formative years when you were young, right? And in football's the same thing. It's why these guys are bonded for life. Because even if you only play together for three or four years, the amount of hours you spend is more than you would spend in that same period of time, like with your significant other. And part of football is, John Elway did this. Hey, I'm going to be the gm. And being the GM is different, being a minority owner. But John Elway moved to Denver. I guess he might have been already living there, but he was in the office every Day, he was a part of the team. Right. So if you're going to do that, like, your presence being around really matters. And I listen. I do think if Tom's right now trying to have his cake and eat it, too, which is under. I think a lot of us would in his spot. I do think one day he will. If he's truly going to play this role and kind of be what Mark Davis has done, ceded power to him. I do think it would help to be in the facility more. I really do. Because the Guerrero thing, I think it's understandable to go, yeah, players a little uncomfortable because they know if they say the wrong thing, it just goes back up the chain. And it's one thing, hey, if I say something wrong to my GM or my coach, like, I'm with him every day, we can discuss it. I've seen it for years, like with the 49ers, when Debo would ask for trades, and Kyle's like, I fucking. I've been around Debo every day for five years, so. Or Trent, I've known him for 15 years. Yeah, it's business. But our relationship, we're gonna be okay. We'll talk like grown men. We know each other really well. How well do the players on the Raiders know Tom Brady? How could they know him that well? He's never around. So I think that it's just a weird dynamic that they're battling, which I've always commended Mark Davis. Like, there are meddling owners like Jerry, who's obviously always around the Cowboys, but it's always about him. He's making the moves. He's doing whatever Mark Davis like, listen, I don't pretend to be my dad. I'm not Al Davis. I don't want to pick the players. I don't want to run the draft meetings. I want my. This is why I gave John Gruden $100 million, is why he paid Josh McDaniels a bunch of money. It's why he went to Tom Brady and says, I want you to own some of this so you can run part of it. I think his heart was in the right place, but I think in a perfect world, even Mark would say, I wish he was around more. Right. To really kind of solidify and get the back of my coach and GM and the kind of the. The heart and soul of the facility. It's just difficult when you're. When you're gone, you know, it's. It's. Be no different as a parent. I see some of these guys. If you Got like six or seven kids. Some of these players, like six or seven kids with like five different women. Like, you're just. You're never gonna see these kids. How the are you gonna raise these guys? It's impossible. You know, you're just out of sight, out of mind. Show up sometimes and then FaceTime like, I ain't gonna work. You know, Fuck, if my dad would have never been around, I would have gotten so much goddamn trouble. When that comment came, well, your dad's coming home. I was like, buckle up, boy. And listen, I'm not saying that Brady has to be like the, you know, the Belichick force of being the. The guy dropping the hammer, but I. I do think his presence would go a long way of just being around. And it doesn't feel like that's going to happen anytime soon. I don't really have much say on the Stefon Diggs situation. My overall take, I do think there was just too much noise because it does feel like Variable liked him. And I know the playing time. He had some big games for him. Sometimes he wouldn't play. He obviously made some huge moments for them throughout the course of the season. I just think the off the field stuff throughout the course was just, it ain't worth it. And Mike is much more personable than Bill, but I think they're cut from the same cloth of like, yeah, this is. This is not worth the headache. Life moves fast. Work, family, friends, weekend plans. And somewhere in between, you find the moments that really matter. That's why Toyota believes people are the destination. It's not just about where you're headed. It's about who's beside you. From early mornings to late nights, from packed schedules to spontaneous adventures, the Toyota RAV4 is built for real life. Whether you're heading to a game, meeting friends for a watch party, or chasing the next big moment, it gives you the space and comfort to enjoy the ride no matter what the day brings. When people are the destination, ordinary drives become shared memories. Learn more@toyota.com and find the vehicle that fits your people.