1
00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:15,000
Week one of free agency is in the book folks. We're going to react to Kurt Cousins going to the Falcons Russell Wilson going to the Pittsburgh Steelers Justin Fields also joined to the Pittsburgh Steelers and more on the first episode of the football junkies podcast.

2
00:00:15,000 --> 00:00:28,000
I'm your host, Michael Stanley. Now let's let's just take a deep dive into it. Let's go because there's a lot of things that we need to go over now. The biggest of them all is the bears.

3
00:00:28,000 --> 00:00:40,000
Once again, continuing to set everything up for Kayla Williams. Now, if you don't know, Justin Fields was traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

4
00:00:40,000 --> 00:00:54,000
What was that Saturday? Saturday Sunday? Maybe Saturday Sunday. He was traded last week basically for a conditional six round pick that can turn to a fourth round pick if he plays 51% of snaps.

5
00:00:54,000 --> 00:01:05,000
Now that's not going to happen because he's going to be the backup. This is what I will say and I'm going to try to be as non biased as I possibly can.

6
00:01:05,000 --> 00:01:18,000
And this will probably be something for a longer episode, probably from the next episode. I personally feel like the bears didn't do the best that they could do for Justin Fields.

7
00:01:18,000 --> 00:01:36,000
And I say that to say this. You cannot expect for a quarterback like a Justin Fields to be successful when you don't build around him, when you don't give him adequate pieces to be successful.

8
00:01:36,000 --> 00:01:50,000
When you look at history and you look at some of the great quarterbacks that we all love and debate about and argue about, they all have had one thing in common, the team built around them.

9
00:01:50,000 --> 00:02:03,000
And when the team does not build around you, you will not be successful. We have seen it. Look at the countless quarterbacks that the Jets have drafted within the last five years.

10
00:02:03,000 --> 00:02:13,000
A lot of them, they're not starters anymore. A lot of them are just, you know, they're journeymen at this point or they're just out of the league.

11
00:02:13,000 --> 00:02:31,000
And granted, I understand that drafting a quarterback is very hard. I'm not trying to make it seem like, you know, I'm a GM for 20 years and, you know, my first three drafts, you know, are full of first battle hallfamers and, you know, my trades are emaculating one night.

12
00:02:31,000 --> 00:02:46,000
I'm not trying to say that. But what I am saying is when you do make a move for a quarterback, you have to make sure that things are in place for them to be successful from coaching all the way down to player personnel.

13
00:02:46,000 --> 00:03:04,000
So if you knew that you guys were getting someone like it, Justin Fields, who was still a little bit raw, then you guys should have built a coaching staff to where they could mold him and really hone in on his skillset so that he can be a better quarterback.

14
00:03:04,000 --> 00:03:15,000
Instead of just saying, okay, for the first two years, we're not going to give you anything. Nope. Receiver. Nope. Tied in. Nope. Offensive line. Nope. Running back. Nope. Nothing.

15
00:03:15,000 --> 00:03:39,000
And so what you see is a quarterback who now, and a lot of people's eyes has regressed and is on the verge of being a bust, even though last year when the later the latter part of last season, they went on a run and they were winning games because why Justin Fields was starting to understand things.

16
00:03:39,000 --> 00:04:01,000
He was starting to use more than just his athleticism to get down the field, to put points on the board. Now, granted, we also have to identify that the only reason why the Bears got a player and someone like a DJ more was because the Panthers owner was so obsessed with Bryce Young that he said, okay, fine.

17
00:04:01,000 --> 00:04:18,000
If it means that we have to move some players and, you know, move some draft picks where the case may be just to get Bryce Young, then hey, we'll do it. And now what you see is Bryce Young who is in a situation where he doesn't have a whole lot to around him to build.

18
00:04:18,000 --> 00:04:34,000
And now he's trying to figure out how in the world can I be successful if one I don't have an offensive line. I don't have a tight end. All I have I just got the ante Johnson but he probably is not he's probably not going to want to be here he's probably want to get traded or released or whatever the case may be.

19
00:04:34,000 --> 00:04:55,000
I have a running back only have a running back. I don't even have a running back how in the world can anybody be successful. Nobody can. And so now the bears decided to you know, wipe their hands clean from the situation, and you know continue to move forward that they are going to draft Caleb Williams with the first overall pick and the

20
00:04:55,000 --> 00:05:09,000
2024 draft. They recently made a trade for Keenan Allen for a four round pick. Now, and I'll just I'll just go over this real real quickly because I'm sort of irritated with the bears.

21
00:05:09,000 --> 00:05:23,000
They are setting everything up for Caleb Williams. Everything. receiving core offensive line. They paid for DeAndre Swift they got him in free agency. He has adequate pieces to be successful.

22
00:05:23,000 --> 00:05:31,000
Now, I'm just going to ask this question and then we're going to move forward to the to the next topic.

23
00:05:31,000 --> 00:05:46,000
How will will will analysts and will the media and will you know former players and whatnot. Will they still look at Caleb Williams if he goes on the same if he goes on a similar path that what Justin Fields went on.

24
00:05:46,000 --> 00:06:10,000
Will people feel the same way about Caleb Williams if and I mean if he goes on a similar path to what Justin Fields went on, because granted, I understand that you know if there is a better prospect quote unquote prospect that is, you know, that seems like a better upgrade in the current quarterback

25
00:06:10,000 --> 00:06:33,000
than what you have now, then of course you're going to go for that. But at the same time, it's basically putting a beautiful painting over a giant hole in the wall. That's all you're doing. You're just covering up, you know, the lack of the lack of the ability the lack of availability to try to bring in people for Justin

26
00:06:33,000 --> 00:06:52,000
Fields so he can be successful. But you know that's another story that's a deeper, deeper topic that has to be discussed, you know, at another episode but the main the big news that that has a lot of people talking about is Russell Wilson signing with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

27
00:06:52,000 --> 00:07:05,000
When, when the news first broke, you know, there were a lot of Steelers fans, you know, that were happy about it, there were a lot of Steelers fans that were like, I don't know if that's going to be a good idea.

28
00:07:05,000 --> 00:07:17,000
But I will say this, I think it is a good move for now. And the only reason why I say for now is because you don't know what version of Russell Wilson you're getting.

29
00:07:17,000 --> 00:07:30,000
I don't care how many videos he put out of him, you know, throwing balls or working out. I don't care how many videos he puts out. It's not going to do anything when it's time for you to get on that field.

30
00:07:30,000 --> 00:07:41,000
Because once you get on that field, that's going to let everybody know hey, he still got it or he doesn't have it all or, you know, maybe this was the wrong choice. That's what it is.

31
00:07:41,000 --> 00:07:54,000
We got him for, you know, a steel. We only got him for the veteran minimum and the Broncos are paying the rest, which is over, I think, which is between maybe 38, maybe $39 million.

32
00:07:54,000 --> 00:08:08,000
So he's chilling. He's just using this as a year to, you know, build himself up, get himself into a good space and hey, if he feels like, you know, I got a little bit of traction, maybe he might test free agency again,

33
00:08:08,000 --> 00:08:32,000
maybe try to get maybe one more bigger contract, you know, before he walks away from football altogether. Who knows? But at the same time, this was expected only because the team from Mike Tomlin to Omar Carr and Art Rooney all said that they were going to bring in competition for the first round pick and Kenny pick it.

34
00:08:32,000 --> 00:08:49,000
And in doing so, it resulted in Kenny pick it, asking for a trade and ultimately being traded to the Philadelphia Eagles. Now I'm going to again try to be as unbiased as I can.

35
00:08:49,000 --> 00:09:05,000
I understand the move, but at the same time, I feel like this was probably the wrong move to make right now. Simply because in people's eyes, it looks like you are striving away from competition.

36
00:09:05,000 --> 00:09:26,000
Now, to be transparent at the same time, it also didn't help that during the press conference Russell Wilson revealed that both Cameron Hayward, TJ Y and Minkafiz Patrick basically, you know, were giving their stamp of approval on making this type of move.

37
00:09:26,000 --> 00:09:48,000
Now granted, I understand that, you know, these three are, you know, major, are major people within the team. But at the same time, I feel like putting putting putting out that is going to damage Kenny pick it more because it's going to feel like wow, my own teammates really don't really don't rock with me like that.

38
00:09:48,000 --> 00:10:02,000
It's already bad enough that you had the ante Johnson and George Pickens and George and Jane Warren all say that they were, you know, openly supporting Mason Rudolph to be the starting quarterback for this upcoming season.

39
00:10:02,000 --> 00:10:23,000
So you're already in a pit, you already feel bad on yourself already. So they're basically just continuing to kick you down and to pile this on. We also have to point the finger at the Steelers and Mike Tomlin and Omar Khan as well for allowing them to keep Matt Canada for so long.

40
00:10:23,000 --> 00:10:40,000
Once that first season was over with, they should have immediately moved off of Matt Canada. I'm sorry. His resume does not speak NFL, NFL caliber offensive coordinator. I can make a story. I can make a strong case right now.

41
00:10:40,000 --> 00:10:55,000
And probably say that he's probably not even a good high school offensive coordinator, let alone coach simply because his play calling is redundant. Everywhere he goes, that often struggles.

42
00:10:55,000 --> 00:11:16,000
They can put points on the board and ultimately a lot of those players, their, their progression is stalled. You look at it from when he was at LSU to when to when he was with the Steelers currently, the only time that he actually had a really good season was when he was with Pitt when he was the offensive coordinator for them.

43
00:11:16,000 --> 00:11:34,000
When Kenny Pickett was the quarterback. That was the only time. And even then, that doesn't mean that you bring him on to your team. You needed to bring in a veteran offensive coordinator who can tell you, okay, hey, listen, Kenny can do this, this and this.

44
00:11:34,000 --> 00:11:50,000
He can't do this, but we're going to try to see if we can work on that a little bit more so we can, you know, try to make him a better player because when we, when they went through that whole process of drafting him, they were beating on the table and making it seem like, oh, we did our work.

45
00:11:50,000 --> 00:12:01,000
We obviously, you know, took a look at every single quarterback prospect and we felt like he was the best prospect out of the entire draft class this and the other blah, blah, blah.

46
00:12:01,000 --> 00:12:12,000
Okay, then. So if that's the case, then you have to build around him. And even then, we can go deeper than that. We can go deeper into this iceberg.

47
00:12:12,000 --> 00:12:25,000
You, you have the Steelers did not prepare for this moment. They did not pair. They did not prepare for this moment. They were under the impression that Ben was going to still be playing.

48
00:12:25,000 --> 00:12:39,000
And they did not prepare for the future. And it clearly shows because while the defense is still, you know, stable, the core, the offense is gone. That core is gone.

49
00:12:39,000 --> 00:12:53,000
Once you started to see David Castro retire, Marquis Pouncy retire, you know, Marcus Gilbert goes and you know, this person goes and that person goes, you have to start filling those pieces in.

50
00:12:53,000 --> 00:13:11,000
Because now you get him, but in the league of great quarterback prospects that you didn't even have to get in the first round that if you would have gotten them and they would have, you know, been mentored by Ben when he was still, you know, playing at the at the elite level,

51
00:13:11,000 --> 00:13:20,000
we wouldn't be in the situation that we're in right now. We're now basically, we don't know who the quarterback is going to be for next year.

52
00:13:20,000 --> 00:13:37,000
I'm not even talking about this year. This year, they've already said that Russell Wilson is going to be the starter. I'm talking about in 2025, because Russ is on a one year deal. And most likely they are not going to, they're not going to exercise Justin Fields fifth year option.

53
00:13:37,000 --> 00:13:53,000
So there's a lot of question marks, but again, we'll probably get into a little bit deeper, maybe probably bring in a special guest so they can probably give a deeper dive into this whole situation. But let's talk about Kirk Cousins going to the Falcons folks.

54
00:13:53,000 --> 00:14:09,000
Kirk Cousins, former, former Viking and Washington commander quarterback signed with the Atlanta Falcons a four, four year 180 million dollar deal with a 50 million dollar bonus, which averages around $45 million a year.

55
00:14:09,000 --> 00:14:26,000
Now, I understand the move. However, I feel like you could I feel like they shouldn't have given him this big of a deal. And I only say that because for one, you don't know how long he wants to play for.

56
00:14:26,000 --> 00:14:39,000
Now granted, any player can say, you know, I want to play till I'm 40 or want to play till I'm 45 or, you know, I still got, you know, six to 10 more years, you know, six to 10 great years left. That doesn't mean that that's going to happen.

57
00:14:39,000 --> 00:14:50,000
It doesn't. That that puts you that puts you in a in a hole that you just finished getting out of with both Matt Ryan and Julio Jones.

58
00:14:50,000 --> 00:14:59,000
Now, granted, is Kirk Cousins, you know, consistent, isn't is he productive? Yes. Yes. All of those things. He's checks all of those boxes.

59
00:14:59,000 --> 00:15:06,000
But let's be real here, folks. What what is the backup plan if Kirk Cousins goes down again?

60
00:15:06,000 --> 00:15:23,000
Because he is still recovering from a major injury. He tore his Achilles. And so now you have to you have to be cautious about this, because you don't know exactly what condition that Achilles is going to be once he starts playing.

61
00:15:23,000 --> 00:15:45,000
Nobody will know. And so in doing so, that that also puts a strain on what you can do for both free agency and possibly extending some of your players like Kyle Pitt, Drake London, and maybe even some of the offensive linemen or, you know, other players on the team that will be entering contract years.

62
00:15:45,000 --> 00:16:05,000
So you have to factor in all of those type of things when you are signing veteran quarterbacks, because when you sign a veteran quarterback that is sort of, you know, a little bit older than what, you know, most people will want to sign, you run into these situations where you're

63
00:16:05,000 --> 00:16:19,000
playing a risky game. You really are because the high is okay, he exceeds the contract he plays, you know, all four years, you know, we're winning games, you know, we're always in the playoffs, we're winning the we're winning the division and whatever the

64
00:16:19,000 --> 00:16:33,000
case may be. But the low is he plays maybe two seasons, two seasons are great. When he gets to that third season, he's either talking about money, or he suffers in another major injury.

65
00:16:33,000 --> 00:16:46,000
And now, you know, there's reports and leaks rumors coming out that he might retire. And now you don't have a quarterback, you know, that can, that can, you know, help try to hold things together.

66
00:16:46,000 --> 00:17:01,000
May I remind you folks, once again, that this is the same Atlanta Falcons team, who was down to the wire to get the Sean Watson. Yes, that the Sean Watson.

67
00:17:01,000 --> 00:17:18,000
They were also reportedly in the mix to get Lamar Jackson when he was going through his contract process with the Ravens. So the rate so so the Falcons have been desperate for a quarterback, since the, you know, the whole situation ended with Matt Ryan.

68
00:17:18,000 --> 00:17:33,000
And on the other hand, I understand, you know, they do have a high draft pick where they could draft a rookie quarterback and they can mold them, and you know, and into the person that they want him to be, or you know, you could, you could take the more expensive route and just get a veteran quarterback,

69
00:17:33,000 --> 00:17:52,000
and which ultimately they did. And so now they are in the situation where they're in. However, their division is so weak that they could win they could easily win that division no problem. The Saints, the Saints are still recovering from drew breeze.

70
00:17:52,000 --> 00:18:05,000
Even then, they didn't prepare for that. They did it. Let's be honest here. They didn't have a they didn't have a succession plan with that they did not. They did not. I will say it.

71
00:18:05,000 --> 00:18:17,000
The Buccaneers, they really didn't have one either that that sort of crumbled after after they won the Super Bowl and whatnot.

72
00:18:17,000 --> 00:18:27,000
The vision, I think the Panthers Panthers are the Panthers. There's I could I could I could do a whole episode on the Panthers alone.

73
00:18:27,000 --> 00:18:33,000
Now, let's get to the Kansas City Chief Super Bowl win Kansas City Chief.

74
00:18:33,000 --> 00:18:48,000
So they re signed defensive end Chris Jones to a five year 158.7 million dollar deal with a $30 million signing bonus, which averages around $31.7 million a year.

75
00:18:48,000 --> 00:19:02,000
Now, this is a great signing. However, this is going to come at a cost, because now you won't be able to retain the Jerry you see now granted, the Chiefs did give him permission to talk to other teams.

76
00:19:02,000 --> 00:19:08,000
But it seems like it seems like contract talks between him and the Chiefs are stalled.

77
00:19:08,000 --> 00:19:14,000
And I wouldn't be surprised if teams are just playing the waiting game to see if the Chiefs are going to release him.

78
00:19:14,000 --> 00:19:18,000
Or, you know, maybe maybe the asking price might get lowered.

79
00:19:18,000 --> 00:19:25,000
The Chiefs, the Chiefs are the Chiefs are in a very weird situation because.

80
00:19:25,000 --> 00:19:34,000
Aside from maybe the 49ers and you know, in the 80s, we haven't seen a an offensive dynasty.

81
00:19:34,000 --> 00:19:41,000
The last dynasty that we saw it was led by a defensive coach who always kept the defense up and the offense.

82
00:19:41,000 --> 00:19:43,000
He really didn't invest into it.

83
00:19:43,000 --> 00:19:54,000
And so now what you see is this this offensive powerhouse and the Chiefs who they do have the best quarterback in, you know, in the

84
00:19:54,000 --> 00:19:56,000
league right now in Patrick Mahomes.

85
00:19:56,000 --> 00:20:03,000
But at the same time, there's only three players that, you know, three core players that they're always going to keep.

86
00:20:03,000 --> 00:20:17,000
Chris Jones, Travis Kelsey, Patrick Mahomes, everyone else, you are expendable and we have seen that they literally had the most dangerous receiver in the league right now in Tyree kill.

87
00:20:17,000 --> 00:20:20,000
And they just they let him walk.

88
00:20:20,000 --> 00:20:21,000
They traded him.

89
00:20:21,000 --> 00:20:25,000
They traded him, they traded him to the Dolphin simply because they couldn't pay him.

90
00:20:25,000 --> 00:20:35,000
They couldn't pay him, Travis Kelsey and and Patrick Mahomes and have them all on big deals because then that limits the team of doing anything.

91
00:20:35,000 --> 00:20:50,000
And so now what you see is a team that is basically going to be full of players that are on one year deals and rookies instead of, you know, sort of a balanced team.

92
00:20:50,000 --> 00:21:01,000
But at the same time, when you have a head coach like Andy Reed, and you have a defensive coordinator like Spags, and you have, you know, a beast of a quarterback in Patrick Mahomes.

93
00:21:01,000 --> 00:21:03,000
This is what happens.

94
00:21:03,000 --> 00:21:05,000
So congratulations to the Chiefs.

95
00:21:05,000 --> 00:21:11,000
Congratulations to Chris Jones, you know, getting the bag once once again.

96
00:21:11,000 --> 00:21:14,000
And so let's go to the Cowboys.

97
00:21:14,000 --> 00:21:16,000
How about them Cowboys?

98
00:21:16,000 --> 00:21:18,000
How about them Cowboys?

99
00:21:18,000 --> 00:21:22,000
Cowboys, Cowboys, Cowboys doing it again.

100
00:21:22,000 --> 00:21:27,000
Cowboys are messing up again, folks.

101
00:21:27,000 --> 00:21:28,000
Guess what?

102
00:21:28,000 --> 00:21:30,000
Guess how much cash space the Cowboys have.

103
00:21:30,000 --> 00:21:32,000
Take a wild guess.

104
00:21:32,000 --> 00:21:34,000
7.7 million dollars.

105
00:21:34,000 --> 00:21:36,000
They are in a hole.

106
00:21:36,000 --> 00:21:38,000
Better yet, they're not in a hole.

107
00:21:38,000 --> 00:21:39,000
They're in a pit.

108
00:21:39,000 --> 00:21:43,000
They are in the deepest pit you can possibly think of.

109
00:21:43,000 --> 00:21:49,000
And this is all because Jerry Jones decides to overpay for his players.

110
00:21:49,000 --> 00:21:59,000
Now, granted, I understand the the idea, but doing it for some players that you probably shouldn't overpay for is a little bit ridiculous.

111
00:21:59,000 --> 00:22:00,000
It really is.

112
00:22:00,000 --> 00:22:11,000
And I say that because that press card, the DAG press card is making over 50 million dollars a year.

113
00:22:11,000 --> 00:22:16,000
And he has yet to go to an NFC championship.

114
00:22:16,000 --> 00:22:18,000
I'm going to say that again.

115
00:22:18,000 --> 00:22:31,000
DAG press card quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys has not gone to an NFC championship, but he is making 50 million dollars, 50 plus million dollars a year.

116
00:22:31,000 --> 00:22:32,000
I'm sorry.

117
00:22:32,000 --> 00:22:49,000
If my quarterback is making 50 plus million a year, you have had to have gone to an NFC championship or a NFC championship, whatever conference you're in, or better yet, you had to have made it to the Super Bowl at least twice.

118
00:22:49,000 --> 00:22:51,000
At least once.

119
00:22:51,000 --> 00:22:55,000
Okay, I'll give you a hall pass for it.

120
00:22:55,000 --> 00:22:56,000
But twice.

121
00:22:56,000 --> 00:22:57,000
Okay, cool.

122
00:22:57,000 --> 00:22:58,000
That's perfectly fine.

123
00:22:58,000 --> 00:23:09,000
The Cowboys are in a situation where most likely they are going to have to let a lot of their, a lot of their players just hit free agency.

124
00:23:09,000 --> 00:23:11,000
I'll probably check again.

125
00:23:11,000 --> 00:23:22,000
Players that are entering in their contract years for the Cowboys includes that press card CD lamb, Zach Martin, Michael Parsons.

126
00:23:22,000 --> 00:23:30,000
I think the markets law is, I mean, the markets Lawrence is also in that in that group as well.

127
00:23:30,000 --> 00:23:37,000
Now, granted, I understand that they probably want to try to keep, you know, that core, but they can't.

128
00:23:37,000 --> 00:23:38,000
You just can't.

129
00:23:38,000 --> 00:23:39,000
I'm sorry.

130
00:23:39,000 --> 00:23:41,000
CD lamb is going to want big money.

131
00:23:41,000 --> 00:23:43,000
He's probably going to want to reset the market.

132
00:23:43,000 --> 00:23:46,000
That is probably going to want to reset the market.

133
00:23:46,000 --> 00:23:52,000
Michael Parsons, you already know is going to want to reset the market.

134
00:23:52,000 --> 00:23:58,000
I don't care what, what website, you know, makes makes a prediction or do an estimate, whatever the case may be.

135
00:23:58,000 --> 00:24:03,000
A team is going to have to pay Michael Parsons top dollar money.

136
00:24:03,000 --> 00:24:08,000
He could, he could easily probably get close to reset the market.

137
00:24:08,000 --> 00:24:15,000
He may not do it, but there is a strong possibility he can get close to it simply because of what he brings on the field.

138
00:24:15,000 --> 00:24:28,000
You have, you know, a top five, you know, top five, maybe top three guard in the league right now in Zach Martin as well, who, you know, you're going to have to pay as well.

139
00:24:28,000 --> 00:24:30,000
That's a lot of people.

140
00:24:30,000 --> 00:24:31,000
And it's different.

141
00:24:31,000 --> 00:24:44,000
It's not like baseball where they virtually don't have, you know, a cap and, you know, they can sign a player to a 10 year $300 million deal and, you know, not lose a inch of sleep off of them.

142
00:24:44,000 --> 00:24:46,000
There is a cap space.

143
00:24:46,000 --> 00:24:53,000
So you have to manage, you know, all of these players contracts under this, under this amount of money.

144
00:24:53,000 --> 00:24:58,000
So now what you're seeing is the Cowboys are probably going to have to hit hit across roads.

145
00:24:58,000 --> 00:25:09,000
And they're probably going to tell a lot of these players agents, listen, we won't be able to have any conversations about contracts until after this season.

146
00:25:09,000 --> 00:25:10,000
We can't.

147
00:25:10,000 --> 00:25:14,000
We can't do it right now because we don't have any cap space.

148
00:25:14,000 --> 00:25:28,000
And I think that's probably the best, the best option possible for all of those players simply because you don't want to sign a contract now and then you ball out and you have a crazier season than what you had the season before.

149
00:25:28,000 --> 00:25:41,000
And now you're looking at players who are less than you who are not even on your level, get paid, you know, crazy money. And now here you are, you're getting the end of the total poll.

150
00:25:41,000 --> 00:25:42,000
That's not what you want.

151
00:25:42,000 --> 00:25:51,000
You want to try to maximize as much money as you can get because again, the shelf life for for football players, it's not that long.

152
00:25:51,000 --> 00:25:57,000
So when you have an opportunity to get the bag, get the bag, get the bag.

153
00:25:57,000 --> 00:26:03,000
If you could get the brings truck and the bags in the brings truck, get it, do it, whatever you have to do.

154
00:26:03,000 --> 00:26:08,000
Now, so far, the Cowboys have been quiet and free agency.

155
00:26:08,000 --> 00:26:16,000
The only thing that they have done is sign a former chargers and Vikings linebacker Eric Hendricks.

156
00:26:16,000 --> 00:26:24,000
And the only reason why they did that is because of their new defensive coordinator, a former head coach for the Vikings, Mike Zimbord.

157
00:26:24,000 --> 00:26:26,000
That's the only reason why.

158
00:26:26,000 --> 00:26:31,000
Listen, folks, and I'm just going to be completely honest here.

159
00:26:31,000 --> 00:26:46,000
When you when a team when a team recess the market for multiple players, it's very hard for them to to make to make some moves to try to address certain holes within that team.

160
00:26:46,000 --> 00:26:51,000
The Cowboys right now need middle linebackers.

161
00:26:51,000 --> 00:26:57,000
They need corners, they need safeties, they need players on that defensive line.

162
00:26:57,000 --> 00:26:59,000
They need a running back.

163
00:26:59,000 --> 00:27:01,000
They need a left tackle.

164
00:27:01,000 --> 00:27:03,000
They probably going to need another quarterback.

165
00:27:03,000 --> 00:27:06,000
They're going to need another receiver.

166
00:27:06,000 --> 00:27:09,000
I can continue just to go down the list of how many things that they need.

167
00:27:09,000 --> 00:27:13,000
They need a lot of things and granting.

168
00:27:13,000 --> 00:27:18,000
They don't have a whole lot of draft picks and they don't have a whole lot of cap space.

169
00:27:18,000 --> 00:27:20,000
So someone's going to have to go.

170
00:27:20,000 --> 00:27:24,000
So I'm probably going to have to get traded and someone's probably not going to get a deal.

171
00:27:24,000 --> 00:27:39,000
Now, as I put on my GM app right now, if it was me personally, I would probably see what the market would look like if you made CDLAM and Michael Parsons available for a trade.

172
00:27:39,000 --> 00:27:49,000
Because who knows if you made them available for maybe about two or three months, I guarantee you there would be a team right now.

173
00:27:49,000 --> 00:27:51,000
They'll say we'll give you two first round picks.

174
00:27:51,000 --> 00:27:53,000
We'll give you three first round picks.

175
00:27:53,000 --> 00:27:54,000
We'll give you a player.

176
00:27:54,000 --> 00:27:55,000
We'll give you this.

177
00:27:55,000 --> 00:28:01,000
We'll give you that just to get that off of your books because paying those type of players.

178
00:28:01,000 --> 00:28:03,000
It's going to be hard.

179
00:28:03,000 --> 00:28:11,000
It's going to be hard because Michael Parsons right now has been balling out since he's gotten into the lead.

180
00:28:11,000 --> 00:28:13,000
He has been on a tear.

181
00:28:13,000 --> 00:28:17,000
He is one of the best young pass rushers right now.

182
00:28:17,000 --> 00:28:20,000
And you're going to have to figure out how you're going to do that.

183
00:28:20,000 --> 00:28:23,000
And listen, he's not going to be talking about a little bit of money.

184
00:28:23,000 --> 00:28:28,000
He's going to be talking about some big boy money because he's been making some big boy plays.

185
00:28:28,000 --> 00:28:33,000
Now, of course, Jerry Jones will figure it out because why?

186
00:28:33,000 --> 00:28:34,000
He's Jerry.

187
00:28:34,000 --> 00:28:35,000
Jerry is Jerry.

188
00:28:35,000 --> 00:28:37,000
Jerry always figures out these type of things.

189
00:28:37,000 --> 00:28:38,000
So there's that.

190
00:28:38,000 --> 00:28:41,000
Now, let's talk about the draft.

191
00:28:41,000 --> 00:28:44,000
Let's talk about the upcoming draft.

192
00:28:44,000 --> 00:29:01,000
So where where has gone out and reports have have also backed this up as well that the giants are have been doing their homework on North Carolina quarterback Drake may as well as Michigan quarterback JJ McCarthy.

193
00:29:01,000 --> 00:29:12,000
Now, granted, you're probably wondering why are they doing so much extensive work on both of those quarterback prospects because they're trying to move off of Daniel Jones.

194
00:29:12,000 --> 00:29:23,000
Yes, they're trying to move off of Daniel Jones because they realize that they reached in paying for Daniel Jones, all of that money in letting say, come on, Barkley walk.

195
00:29:23,000 --> 00:29:25,000
I'm going to say this once.

196
00:29:25,000 --> 00:29:27,000
I'm never going to say this again.

197
00:29:27,000 --> 00:29:33,000
Always pay the player who has the most impact on the field.

198
00:29:33,000 --> 00:29:39,000
Always pay the player who always has the most impact on the field.

199
00:29:39,000 --> 00:29:48,000
If your quarterback is playing at a high level because of what the running back is doing, then you have to pay the running back.

200
00:29:48,000 --> 00:29:49,000
Simple as that.

201
00:29:49,000 --> 00:29:58,000
Now, granted, if reports are coming out that you didn't even give say, one Barkley an offer that says a lot about you.

202
00:29:58,000 --> 00:29:59,000
It does.

203
00:29:59,000 --> 00:30:05,000
And granted, you don't have to give him, you know, the traditional style of contract.

204
00:30:05,000 --> 00:30:16,000
You could have gave him a three year, $52 million deal with, you know, a $20 something million signing bonus so that the cap hit will be low.

205
00:30:16,000 --> 00:30:17,000
So then guess what?

206
00:30:17,000 --> 00:30:25,000
If by year two, you guys are sort of, you know, are sort of at odds and you guys just want a fresh start.

207
00:30:25,000 --> 00:30:26,000
And guess what?

208
00:30:26,000 --> 00:30:31,000
You can move off of it quick and won't think twice about it compared to if you have a four year.

209
00:30:31,000 --> 00:30:37,000
Granted, you can add board years, you can restructure, you can push it back, you can do whatever the case may be.

210
00:30:37,000 --> 00:30:42,000
But players now don't want the four year deal because guess what?

211
00:30:42,000 --> 00:30:44,000
They're not even going to see the full four years.

212
00:30:44,000 --> 00:30:45,000
They're not.

213
00:30:45,000 --> 00:30:48,000
By the third year, they're probably going to get traded or cut.

214
00:30:48,000 --> 00:30:49,000
We've seen it.

215
00:30:49,000 --> 00:30:52,000
You look at history, look at any of these players.

216
00:30:52,000 --> 00:30:55,000
I'm talking about players that are Hall of Famer.

217
00:30:55,000 --> 00:31:01,000
I'm talking about players, you know, who were just average, who were mid, who got overpay where the case may be.

218
00:31:01,000 --> 00:31:06,000
They don't see the full term of their contract.

219
00:31:06,000 --> 00:31:16,000
And so now what you see is the Cowboys are now trying to rewrite their wrongs and they're going to try to, you know, reset again.

220
00:31:16,000 --> 00:31:24,000
And I mean, again, this is the up team time that they're doing it since, you know, Eli Manning has retired and try to see if they can get one.

221
00:31:24,000 --> 00:31:37,000
Now, this is just me as I put on my fake Mel Kuiper wig and coat and glasses and whatnot.

222
00:31:37,000 --> 00:31:47,000
I personally feel like teams that are in the top five close to top 10, they are going to trade down, especially teams like the Cardinals.

223
00:31:47,000 --> 00:31:54,000
And I say that because the Cardinals have a lot of needs.

224
00:31:54,000 --> 00:32:02,000
They have a lot of needs and they know that these needs won't be able to get patched up in just this one draft.

225
00:32:02,000 --> 00:32:03,000
They know that.

226
00:32:03,000 --> 00:32:06,000
So what is the best thing for them to do?

227
00:32:06,000 --> 00:32:16,000
They're going to have to probably trade down a few times simply because it's going to take them at least two to three years for them.

228
00:32:16,000 --> 00:32:20,000
To, you know, actually really build this team up.

229
00:32:20,000 --> 00:32:27,000
So if they trade down, they get more picks for next year and they just keep on stacking up those picks, stacking up those picks, stacking up those picks.

230
00:32:27,000 --> 00:32:30,000
Even the Chargers, they have a lot of needs.

231
00:32:30,000 --> 00:32:32,000
So they're probably going to trade down as well.

232
00:32:32,000 --> 00:32:43,000
And so those teams that are in the middle to later part of the draft, they're probably going to trade up because they probably saw a prospect at a protein.

233
00:32:43,000 --> 00:32:47,000
They're like, hmm, he might look good on the offense.

234
00:32:47,000 --> 00:32:49,000
Hmm, he might look good in the defense.

235
00:32:49,000 --> 00:32:52,000
Hmm, that's a that's a playmaker right there.

236
00:32:52,000 --> 00:32:53,000
That's a game changer right there.

237
00:32:53,000 --> 00:32:55,000
We have to get him.

238
00:32:55,000 --> 00:32:57,000
We see it all the time.

239
00:32:57,000 --> 00:33:09,000
And so what what you're going to see is a lot of those teams, they're going to trade down or probably just trade out of the first round altogether, stack up their picks, probably draft a few things and then just, you know, continue to go from there.

240
00:33:09,000 --> 00:33:14,000
Now I have a hot take and I'll probably make this a segment here.

241
00:33:14,000 --> 00:33:21,000
I feel like the Detroit Lions are going to draft Nate Wiggins.

242
00:33:21,000 --> 00:33:28,000
And I say that because they have a pressing need for corner right now with the whole situation with Camp Sun.

243
00:33:28,000 --> 00:33:30,000
I'm not going to get into that.

244
00:33:30,000 --> 00:33:34,000
I'm just, I'm just not going to get into that.

245
00:33:34,000 --> 00:33:47,000
I feel like if they were to draft someone like a Nate Wiggins, that would definitely address that need because here you have a lengthy corner who has blazing speed.

246
00:33:47,000 --> 00:33:49,000
He ran a 4-2.

247
00:33:49,000 --> 00:33:50,000
4-2.

248
00:33:50,000 --> 00:33:51,000
What's it a 4-2?

249
00:33:51,000 --> 00:33:52,000
It was either 4-2 or 4-3.

250
00:33:52,000 --> 00:34:00,000
He ran so hard that he pulled his, I think he pulled his either his hamstring or his growing.

251
00:34:00,000 --> 00:34:02,000
He is a blazer.

252
00:34:02,000 --> 00:34:06,000
He has great coverage, great player can do it all.

253
00:34:06,000 --> 00:34:20,000
And I think he would, he would do better with a team like the Lions who it's a mixture of young and old so he can learn but at the same time create chemistry with his teammates.

254
00:34:20,000 --> 00:34:23,000
That's just, that's one hot take right there.

255
00:34:23,000 --> 00:34:28,000
Also, my other hot take is I feel like I truly do.

256
00:34:28,000 --> 00:34:32,000
I'm going to stand on this, I'm going to panel on the table for this.

257
00:34:32,000 --> 00:34:38,000
I feel like a lot of the receivers that people are talking about are going to fall.

258
00:34:38,000 --> 00:34:44,000
And I only say that because there are a lot of teams that need offensive linemen.

259
00:34:44,000 --> 00:34:46,000
A lot of teams.

260
00:34:46,000 --> 00:34:50,000
There's a lot of teams that need right tackles more than left tackles.

261
00:34:50,000 --> 00:34:57,000
And even then the left tackle draft class isn't as strong as the right tackle draft class.

262
00:34:57,000 --> 00:35:06,000
You can still get a high quality right tackle in the, you know, second, third, maybe even in the fourth round.

263
00:35:06,000 --> 00:35:16,000
Left tackles after that second round, you won't be it just the skill set and just skill, you know, altogether just drops.

264
00:35:16,000 --> 00:35:20,000
And so that's what that's what you're going to see here.

265
00:35:20,000 --> 00:35:29,000
Even with even with quarterbacks, honestly, I think there's going to be more teams are going to want to take a swing on that second to third tier of quarterbacks.

266
00:35:29,000 --> 00:35:35,000
The Michael Pratt, the Spencer Rattlers, the Joe Milton, Joe Milton is a beast, by the way.

267
00:35:35,000 --> 00:35:38,000
Um, who else?

268
00:35:38,000 --> 00:35:40,000
I'm just having a brain fart right now.

269
00:35:40,000 --> 00:35:43,000
But you get the point.

270
00:35:43,000 --> 00:35:50,000
So I say all that to say this, I'm going to close because I don't want this episode to be too long for you guys.

271
00:35:50,000 --> 00:35:55,000
Um, this draft is going to be a very memorable draft class.

272
00:35:55,000 --> 00:36:02,000
And I only say that because teams right now that have a lot of needs, they're they're now in limbo on.

273
00:36:02,000 --> 00:36:07,000
Okay, do we draft somebody with a high pick that we have just for now?

274
00:36:07,000 --> 00:36:09,000
Or do we try to figure out?

275
00:36:09,000 --> 00:36:11,000
Okay, what are we going to do?

276
00:36:11,000 --> 00:36:21,000
Maybe we just trade out and, you know, see, see if maybe somebody that we like, you know, falls out the first and maybe, you know, falls right into our laps, whatever the case may be.

277
00:36:21,000 --> 00:36:23,000
We'll see what happens. I can't wait.

278
00:36:23,000 --> 00:36:27,000
I'm going to try to see if I can live stream the draft.

279
00:36:27,000 --> 00:36:35,000
I'm going to try to want to try to see if I can live stream the draft with some friends, give our reactions on some of the picks and so on and so forth.

280
00:36:35,000 --> 00:36:40,000
But before I end this first episode, huge shout out.

281
00:36:40,000 --> 00:36:46,000
Huge congratulations to one of the greatest defensive linemen of all time and Arid Donald.

282
00:36:46,000 --> 00:36:52,000
Huge shout out to Jason Kelsey and Fletcher Cox for retiring.

283
00:36:52,000 --> 00:36:59,000
Um, let's be honest here, folks, Jason, Kelsey and Arid Donald, they are Hall of Fame locks.

284
00:36:59,000 --> 00:37:01,000
First ballot Hall of Fame locks.

285
00:37:01,000 --> 00:37:04,000
They are getting into the Hall of Fame Fletcher Cox.

286
00:37:04,000 --> 00:37:06,000
I don't know. I'm not really an Eagles fan.

287
00:37:06,000 --> 00:37:11,000
So all the Eagles fans that may be listening to this, they might be mad at me, but I don't know.

288
00:37:11,000 --> 00:37:16,000
I want to flex your constant to the to the Steelers, but different story for a different day.

289
00:37:16,000 --> 00:37:20,000
Thank you guys for listening to the first episode of the football junkies podcast.

290
00:37:20,000 --> 00:37:23,000
I love you guys. Thank you guys for listening to this.

291
00:37:23,000 --> 00:37:28,000
If you like what you were hearing, leave a five star leave a comment.

292
00:37:28,000 --> 00:37:32,000
Ask me some questions. I'll answer the questions for you.

293
00:37:32,000 --> 00:37:39,000
Um, this podcast will be on Apple podcast and it will probably be on Spotify soon.

294
00:37:39,000 --> 00:37:42,000
Still trying to figure all that stuff out.

295
00:37:42,000 --> 00:37:50,000
But until then, I'm going to continue to feed you guys, you know, the fix that we all love and football.

296
00:37:50,000 --> 00:38:03,000
Until then, you have a great day. Peace out.