I'ma be honest with you today. I was actually getting ready to start working on the first division
I was gonna do for the series for the offseason and whatnot
when suddenly, you know
I check and see that the Steelers have inquired about Trevor Lawrence and then all of Steelers Twitter just
You know blows up in flames
Again every single offseason and then a few hours later and Rogers is set to be released by the Jets
And then guess what Steelers Twitter once again blows up even more
It every single time folks every single time
Some people are not gonna like me for what I have to say in this episode, but I
Think it needs to be said so
Yeah, here we go
Here we go. So Steelers have inquired about Trevor Lawrence as I just said as well as Aaron Rodgers. Okay
Travis Kelsey is contemplating retirement
Kellan Moore has now become
the official head coach for the New Orleans Saints and
James Cook wants the bag. Okay all of this and more on the 67th episode of football junkies podcast
Okay, I am your host with the most okay. I am your GM is not on a team right now, but don't you worry about it?
Okay, I am your chief back road anything and everything related to the bag
Okay, I am the man with the plan like 30 mock drafts right now in my phone from the first round second round
Third round third round to the first round all that and more. Okay, but guess what? I'm all
These things and more but most importantly, I am your host Kale
You already know how these things are about to go. This might be somewhat of a long episode
Okay, I do have my tinfoil hat on but I need you to walk with me. Okay on three one, two, three
Let's lock in
All
Right folks, let's just get into the meat and potatoes of everything that is going on in the league rights now. So
Yeah, I
Know I'm not supposed to be the person that you know reports on these type of things
But I have to because it just caught my attention and there's so much that I have to say about this that's connected to this
And whatnot, which is a little bit crazy because both of the two topics actually come with one another but uh
Yeah, let's just get into it
So apparently according to an insider of Ryan Burr shout out to him
the Steelers have inquired about the availability of Trevor Lawrence and
Yeah
Yeah, that's that's all I'll say first. Okay
let's get into all the
Financials and whatnot and then we'll get into everything else. Okay, because
This is probably one of the most dumbest moves and dumbest ideas anybody could possibly think of this is something that you would do when you're
On mad and franchise and there's a favorite player that you really like that. You just want on your team
This is that type of stuff. Okay, so when we break things down, okay with Justin
Justin I don't know why I think about Justin Fields Trevor Lawrence's contract
Okay, so for starters before we go any further he has a no trade clause
So if he was to be traded he dictates where he wants to go not the team now when we break things down
Moving forward. Okay his cap hit this year is 17 million next year
24 million the year after that 35 million the year after that
47 million. Okay, and then the two years after that is
78.5 and then
74.8 million those are his cap hits
Okay, but when we break things down by the cap, okay
His base salary this year is only 2 million his cap hit is 17 million as I just said his
base salary for next year is 2 million and then the year after that is 6 million and then the year after that is
11 million and in the last two years it is 50 million and then 53.3 million. So
This is what I will say about this
This is a very bad decision. Okay, and the reason why I say that is because
It'll be one thing if the team was completely built, right?
There's not a lot of holes on the team, you know, all you really needed was just a quarterback, right?
Then this is when you make that type of move. Okay, but this isn't this isn't a type of roster
that you you know
You know give up a first or a second or maybe two first in the second and the third or whatever the case may be
To get someone like a Trevor Lawrence Trevor Lawrence does not move the needle
It does not make you closer to being a contender
It does not move the needle to the point where oh you're in the same realm of you know
The the Super Bowl caliber teams it doesn't I'm sorry
I'm just being honest with you Trevor Lawrence has not lived up to that first overall pick
Okay, he's overpaid and he's just not that good folks
He's just not that good when when we look at this right because I decided to do a comparison
I did a comparison between Trevor Lawrence and Justin Fields and then Trevor Lawrence and Russell Wilson
Okay, according to pro football reference shout out today
So when we look at things Trevor Lawrence had a lower completion percentage against Justin Fields
Trevor Lawrence's completion percentage was 60.6 while Justin Fields was 65.8
Granted Trevor Lawrence threw more touchdowns
Okay at 11, but he also threw seven picks
whereas Justin Fields only threw five touchdowns in one pick we all know because
After I think it was due to the Colts of the Raiders game. They benched him then they put in Russell Wilson
Okay, but when we look things with Trevor Lawrence and Russell Wilson, okay
Still it's the same thing Russell Wilson has a higher completion percentage at 63.7%
He also has more touchdowns and less interceptions than Trevor Lawrence
So I say all that to say this if a 36 year old quarterback in Russell Wilson
who by odds do I not want to be on the Steelers this upcoming season and
Justin Fields who is still trying to find his way within the league
Have better completion percentage and somewhat better seasons than what Trevor Lawrence has had then
Why would you want to make a move for someone like a Trevor Lawrence and granted?
I understand that as a GM you are supposed to evaluate every single position on your team and
Figure out what positions need to be fixed and what positions are fine. I understand that but at the same time
You are not going to inquire about someone like this if you have not had the thought or the idea
To go after someone like a Trevor Lawrence, but at the same time shortly after this report came out and in it
I don't know why I'm thinking about NASA an
ESPN reporter Michael D Rocko was told by Jaguars least league source and I quote
There's no chance that this could happen. He also said that this move was quote-unquote ridiculous
So either one or two things is true
either the Jaguars Lee league source that told Michael D Rocko that if that there was no chance and that you know, it's ridiculous is lying or
Somebody else within the Jaguars front office or or whatever told Ryan Burr something just to put something out
One of the two but the fact of the matter is the Steelers are not in the position to make this type of move
You cannot make this type of move when one you have a left tackle who is very inconsistent and
Really has not lived up to the hype of being
You know drafted as high as he was and you have a rookie right tackle who is coming off of a major injury
On top of that, you do not have a number one wide receiver
So why in the world would you want to?
Potentially trade for any quarterback and this is for any of the quarterbacks that people have you know
Will throw out where they be Matthew Stafford or Kirk Cousins or anybody else?
Why would you want to trade for anybody if you know that the team is not set for them to be successful?
And on top of that you do not have a coaching staff that would help them and bring the best out of them
Why would you make this type of move again? I say all that to say this?
Buckle up Steelers fans because this is gonna be a long offseason. Okay
Because the quarterback position is about to be a carousel. Okay
You have people within the Steelers front office that are torn between the both of them
And then you also have a section of people within the front office that doesn't want neither one of them
So there's there's so much discourse right now on what exactly?
The Steelers want to do with their quarterback that you don't know exactly how things are gonna go and grant
I understand Justin Fields. You got to give him a chance. You really do have to give him a chance
You really really really do but the fact of the matter is
Either one or two things are gonna happen this offseason
Either they're gonna make a trade for somebody or they're just gonna stick with Justin Fields or Russell Wilson
One of those things are going to happen
Now am I gonna be the person that has a tin foil hat on and say, you know, whether they're smoke those flames
Yes, I will be today
Because you're just not about to go to Trevor Lawrence. You're not about to call for Trevor Lawrence. You're just not about to do that
No, no, no, no, no, you're not about to do that
Keep your eye on this story
Because I feel like there's a good chance that if things go left with the Justin Fields
You know negotiations as well as the Russell Wilson negotiations. I think they would spin the block on someone like a Trevor Lawrence. I
Think they would even spin the block on someone maybe like a columnary
I would not be surprised by the end of this week
another report comes out that they have inquired about columnary or they've inquired about I
Don't know Kirk Cousins or Dak Prescott or any of those guys. I would not be surprised but
This is what happens when you go through that transition period
From your franchise quarterback to finding your next franchise quarterback
now let's get into this whole Aaron Rodgers debacle because
once again
We have to talk about him, unfortunately
But according to multiple insiders Aaron Rodgers is set to be released from the New York Jets
Okay
Now let's get into these statements that have been put out by both Aaron Glenn and their G other GM Darren
Moghi as well as their owner, Woody Johnson
Okay, so let's do the first one with Aaron Glenn in the GM and I quote last week
We met with Aaron and shared that our intention was to move in a different direction that quarterback
It was important to have this discussion now to provide clarity and enable each of us the proper time to plan for our respective
Futures we want to thank him for the leadership passion and dedication
He brought to the organization and wish him success moving forward end quote. That's from Aaron Glenn in the GM
Okay, now we look at Woody Johnson's quote
Maybe a little bit similar
Maybe a little bit different. I don't know you are the only person that can you know decipher that so here goes
In that quote I personally want to thank Aaron for his time at the New York Jets
His arrival in 2023 was met with unbridled excitement and I will forever be grateful
That he chose to join us to continue his Hall of Fame career from day one
He embodied all that it meant to be a New York jet
Embraced our fans and immersed himself in our city
That is what I remember most when I look back at his time here
He will always be welcome and I wish him only the best in whatever he chooses to do next end quote
And that's from Woody Johnson now when we look at the financials with this
Okay, the Jets will still have to take a 49 million dollar dead cap hit, right?
But most likely this is going to be a post June 1st designation
Meaning that the 23.5 million dollar cap hit will be carried until June 1st
However, when it drops to 14 million the Jets will save 9.5 million in cap
But will take a 35 million dollar cap hit in 2026
So either way they are still facing some type of backlash and they do have multiple options where they could you know
Break it down so that they can you know stretch out the cap hit just so they don't take it all directly
Or they can just take it all directly and then you don't have to worry about it
You know moving forward but all in all this was expected
There's not a whole lot really to say about this
But I don't want to be the person that told you so but I told you so okay
I called this from the minute that this happened that this was not going to end well
And it wasn't even to be super negative or whatever
It was just a simple fact that someone like an Aaron Rodgers at times you have to question
How much is he committed to the game?
Whereas someone like a Tom Brady or Peyton Manning you never have to question that
When Tom went to Tampa Bay, he was committed you want to know how committed he was they were doing
practice at the park
During kovic during the height of kovic. Okay, Peyton Manning
He was fully committed when he went to the Broncos fully committed with it
So I say all that to say this I
Feel like there are so many bridges that have been burned with Aaron Rodgers that I think
Teams view him more as a liability more than the asset and granted
I understand you know sometimes we can burn our own bridges and we can definitely mess up
You know certain relationships that we have but come on man
Come on. It's starting to look like you know you might just be just a backup quarterback at this point
And granted I understand you know some people will say well
He didn't have a good offensive coordinator or he didn't have this or didn't have that they got all of his receivers
They got some of his boys. They did everything even got a person that used to work with him in Green Bay
It made him the offensive coordinator. They did all of that and guess what it still was not enough
I think at this point thing Aaron has to have a real conversation with himself and
Possibly just you know say you know what it's time. I understand
You know your body tells you one thing, but your mind says something else, but at this point just walk away
Walk away from the game of football you have nothing else to prove in the game of football
You will go down in history as one of the best
quarterbacks of all time
And you will go down in history as well as one of the greatest throwers of the ball not to mention
You're gonna get a gold jacket so there's no need for you to continue to keep playing
When we all know that going well, you're really not committed to this thing
So I say all that to say this at this point
The options for Aaron Rodgers is very slim
So for any Steelers fan out there because this goes back to the Steelers as well any Steelers fan out there that says
Oh, we should try to get Aaron Rodgers. No
No, no, no
No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no because you know why guess what's gonna happen any rifts any problems any
Disagreements that are happening within the locker room guess what it's gonna be made for everybody
They know because why you're on the Pat McAfee show and if I'm not mistaken
I think there was a report from I think either Diana Rusini or or somebody that said that one of the factors
For the Jets cutting Aaron Rodgers was because he was on the Pat McAfee show and they didn't want him on the Pat McAfee show anymore
so at this point just be immediate personality at this point just be immediate personality
That's on the Pat McAfee show, you know every Tuesday or whenever and just go from there. Okay
Because you trying to go to another team. No granted. I understand he can throw the ball really good
It looks amazing great. But guess what not on the Steelers? Okay, if we make this move for the for Aaron Rodgers
I'm telling you I will go on a whole hour rant about this team in the state of this team
Oh and guess what apparently?
Another bombshell with this whole Trevor Lawrence situation. I thought we were done talking about it, but clearly we're not
Apparently according to Noah's track bind from all Steelers talk
There has been a direct source within the Steelers front office that has said and I quote simply not true
So I'm saying all that to say this folks somebody is lying
Somebody is lying
Why in the world of all the fan bases in the world you could have done this to the Cardinals
You could have done this to the Cowboys. You could have done this to the Saints. You can does to the Giants
You could have done it with anybody else
But you decided to do it with the one team the one team that's going through some foolishness right now with their quarterback position
Why?
Why would you do that?
Why would you do that? This is exactly what what the senior Pittsburgh Steelers source said? Okay, and I quote
There has never been nor was there at any time implied or directly in imposition about Trevor Lawrence
Whoa, and this is exactly why folks sometimes you got to be careful with your sources because
Somebody's lying. I don't know who it is because I don't have you know the direct knowledge with
With any of these folks, maybe I will you know soon, but uh somebody lying
Somebody lying you know what I'll make a phone call. I'm once this
Episode is out. I'll make a phone call with somebody try to see if I can get some
Get some inside information. You know, I I think I might have an insider
You know with the Cleveland Browns and whatnot shoot. I might even have an insider with the 49ers. Who knows?
Hey, I might even be the person that tells you where T. Higgins is gonna go before everybody else does who knows
You just can't make this stuff up man, you cannot make this stuff up somebody is lying
I'ma keep on saying this until the cows come home think about it
Yes, I have my tinfoil hat on. Yes. It's a new tinfoil hat on as well
But let's get into the more serious topic and that is Travis Kelsey contemplating
retirement
And granted retirement, you know
The the the retirement talk as a whole is not something that you can be like super like funny about and whatnot
Sometimes you have to take it, you know super seriously, but
Based off of what I heard because I actually watched the episode
You can tell by Travis Kelsey's demeanor that that he's just like he's tired. He's beat up
For him to say what he said
Definitely lets you know like he has more years of experience
Definitely lets you know like he has more years behind him than ahead of him
I would not be surprised if he plays one more season
They win the championship and he just rides off into the sunset
But let's just get into the quote that he put out. Okay, so this is what he says in that quote
I know everybody wants to know whether or not i'm playing next year and right now i'm just kicking everything down the road
I'm kicking every can I can down the road. I'm not making any crazy decisions
But right now the biggest thing is just being there for my teammates and being there for my coaches
Understanding that there's a lot that's going into this thing
The fact that we keep going to these aFC championships and super bowls
That means i'm playing an extra three games more than everybody else in the entire league
That's a lot of wear and tear on your body. It's a lot of time spent in the building
That process can be grueling it can weigh on you
It can make you better and it can drive you crazy at the same time
Right now it was one of the things where it was driving me crazy this year
It happens as you tail off towards the back
nine of your career
That's that's a weird thing
As you see yourself or feel yourself not having the success that you once used to have
It's a tough pill to swallow on top of that to not be there in the biggest moments knowing your team is counting on you
Those are extremely hard things. It's just a tough reality
I'm not half-assing it. I'm fully here for them and I think I can play
It's just whether or not i'm motivated or if it's the best decision for me as a man as a human as a person to take on
That responsibility end quote now that is a lot for what he said
But he's being honest and he's being transparent. It does take a toll on your body
Especially the position that you play where you are going to get hit at some point
You are going to take a big hit from somebody
and so
This is the price of going deep into the playoffs granted you get to play a little bit longer
Granted you do have a chance to hold up a lombardi
But at the end of the day as you get older it takes longer for you to recover, you know
From each and every season
And so travis kelsey is letting it be known like listen
I'm here for my teammates. I'm here for everybody else
but right now
I'm not really thinking about that
You know
We'll when when the time comes for a decision we'll cross that bridge when we cross that bridge and i'm 100%
You know in agreement with him
But if he does retire he's going to get a gold jacket
He's going into the hall of fame. He is one of the greatest tight ends of all time
I'm not saying he's the greatest but i'm saying he's one of the greatest
Okay, because in my mind I still think it's gronk. Okay, just being honest here
If you guys saw
The run that gronk was on in his prime before all those injuries started to stack up
Unguardable, okay
This dude was doing it all
They would have safeties come down in the box to try to see if they can just stop him still didn't work
But at the same time I do believe and i'll continue to say it
If travis kelsey does decide to play again
I think this will probably be the last year
I don't think he's going to be playing, you know, another two or three or five years. I just don't see it
But we have to talk about somebody that's going back to the bayou and that is kellen moore. That's right folks kellen moore
Is now the saints head coach
I
Said it I said it I said it kellen don't do it
Don't do it kellen. Don't do it and guess what you did. You decided hey
I'm still gonna do it though and he did it and now he's the head coach for the saints
Probably one of the worst jobs you could have ever took in to be a first-time head coach
You're gonna take this this burning pile of garbage you're gonna do this
brother either you're a magician or you do voodoo because
They are gonna have to do some serious sorcery in order to turn this team around
But let's get into the quote that uh saints owner gail benson has put out and I quote
At the start of the interview process. It was important to find a head coach who was the right fit for the new orleans saints organization
Through the search process it became clear that kellen is the right person to help us reestablish a winning program and culture
That our fans are accustomed to and have come to accept
I will also like to thank darren rizzi for his service as an interim head coach and leading our team this past season
I am truly great for him end quote and this comes from katherine terrell from esp and this comes from her article shout out to her
This was a horrible move. Okay, horrible horrible horrible horrible move and the reason why I say that is because
Usually when you become a head coach, you don't want to have a little bit of flexibility, right?
You got a you know, a lot of cap space. You got you know, a high draft pick
You got something that you can build off of right? There is nothing that you can really build off of with the saints
There's uncertainty with derrick car
The roster is going through someone of a rebuild. Okay
What exactly do you have that you can say? Hey, this is something that we can build off of nothing
Chris allame probably does not want to be there anymore
And I wouldn't be surprised if there's other players that don't want to be a part of a rebuild as well
So what exactly do you have not to mention you have no cap space because why all of those years of continuing to?
Push money down the road and push money down the road and keep on kicking the can down the down the road
And now guess what the cans right there and it's time for you to pay up
So now you are going to have to wait until your books are cleaned
Then you can try to see if you can finagle some people to you know
Come in and you know play for you and whatnot
Unless you're going to get Kenny picking you're going to get Kenny pick a 30 plus million
Get Kenny picking you're going to get Kenny pick a 30 plus million. So what exactly?
Made you think that this was a great opportunity. I would have waited and just stayed
with the eagles for one more year
And then by then you would have a more clear cut, you know idea of what destinations you will want to go to
Not just choose one of the worst jobs that everybody has said that it is a horrible job to take just because of the situation
That they're in right now. You're going to have to go through a hard
Rebuild with this team
You have to figure out what you're going to do at quarterback. You have to figure out what you're going to do at
You know receiver running back
You already know that's fine because you got alvin camara and you have to figure out what you're going to do with defense
Is cam jordy going to want to stay there for a rebuild?
I don't think so is damario davis going to want to stay there for rebuild
I don't think so. It's tyrone matthews going to want to stay there. I don't think so
So you have a lot of decisions that you are going to have to make moving forward and then not to mention
You're bringing on brandon staley
brandon staley really that guy
that guy
The guy that choked away a playoff game against the jackwars that guy come on, please
Give me a break. I would not be surprised within the first two years
There are insiders that are talking about you know various situations about kellen moore and how bad his coaching is or how bad?
The situation is and how they want out I would not be surprised but on to the final topic and that is james cook
Wanting 15 million a year so recently he was on ig live and on the pin comment. It just said 15 million a year
16 million a year now granted. I understand that you know, he definitely wants to get paid and that's perfectly fine
But we have to look at everything from a broad perspective. Okay, so when we look at it
He's had back-to-back seasons of a thousand rushing yards, which is great
But this year this was his best year by far. Okay, he had
1009 rushing yards. He averaged
4.9 rushing yards per carry and he had 16 touchdowns 16 touchdowns
Compared to last year. He only had two touchdowns
James cook is a very productive running back
But paying him 15 million. I don't know
Do I think they'll probably try to get as close as they can to maybe 15?
I don't think he's you know in the same conversation as a saquon barkley or christian mcaffrey or alvin camara or
A jonathan taylor. I don't think he's in that same tier now. Is he in that maybe second to third tier?
Now we have a you know a legitimate conversation that we have to have
But he's not in that first tier of running backs now the bills have options
They can franchise tag them they can you know do all different types of tags they can try to see and you know
Maybe come to a mutual understanding with like a good number that benefits everybody
There's different ways that they can do about this right, but when we look at spot racks, you know market value for james cook
It's a four-year forty point eight million dollar deal which is around ten point two million a year
Which is you know relatively good now do I think he maybe deserves a little bit more?
Possibly you can probably bump it up to maybe about 11 maybe 12
But either way we look at it one or two things are going to happen
Either they're going to give him the 15
But they're going to structure in a way to where he basically gets
You know at least 50 to 60 percent of the money upfront or they're going to try to backload it or
They'll just let him just hit free agency, and they'll just draft one because you have people like omari on Hampton
by show to and Caleb Johnson Devon Neil
quinch on
a junkie's trevion Henderson you have a slew of
Different types of running backs in this upcoming draft that you can get
So the bills do have options if they do not want to pay James cook 15 million
They don't have to do it
It's an option
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32 teams so guess what every single team will be discussed okay?
We're going over you know free agency your cap situation
Your draft situation all those different things and more okay?
We're gonna go through a deep dive with every single team 32 teams so stay tuned for that
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signing out peace and love