Mega bag alert, mega bag alert, mega bag alert,
folks. That's right, we are back. That's right,
we are back and better than ever. Rested, refreshed,
ready to go over all the things that we need
to talk about with the draft, people getting
paid, and more, okay? So we got a lot to talk
about, so let's just get into it, all right?
So Jalen Petrie, Kyler Gordon, TJ Edwards. Yes,
that's Max in the background, sorry. George Kittle.
Cam Juergens, Kirby Joseph, all get paid, okay?
Now, George Kittle and Kirby Joseph reset at
their positional markets, but everybody else,
everybody else paid, okay? As well as the Lions
exercising their fifth -year options on both
Aiden Hutcherson and Jamison Williams, the Saints
exercising their fifth -year option on Chris
Alave and turning it down for Trevor Penning.
That's a little bit controversial. Jalen Ramsey
wants out of Miami. Sam Howell hits to Minnesota.
My thoughts on the whole Aaron Rodgers debacle,
and we have to talk about the draft, okay? All
of this and more. on the 76th episode of the
Football Junkies Podcast. I am your host with
the most. I am your GM who currently is not on
a team right now, but don't you worry about it,
okay? Don't you worry about it because you know
why? I'm your chief bag roll dominance, okay?
I'm your chief head of the table. Anything and
everything related to the bag, mock drafts, predictions,
all those things and more. Just know this, the
mock drafts that I did put out, I was right on
a few of them. I may have not gotten the player,
but I got the position right. Just know, you
heard it here first on the Football Junkies podcast,
okay? Because guess what? I am all these things
and more. But most importantly, the most important
thing that you must remember is I am your host,
Kale. You already know how these things are about
to go. This is going to be one of the best episodes
that I probably will ever put out. So guess what?
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 right now. So letting you know right now,
majority of this episode is going to be dedicated
to money, okay? Because you know why? We are
in bag season, as I call it. While everybody
else is recovering from the draft, we're just
getting started because you know why? We know
that the bag alerts are getting ready to just
fly in the next few weeks, months, And whatever
time that we have left until the regular season
starts. So let's just get into everything. So
let's start off with the newest bag alert that
happened this morning. And that was George Kittle.
All right. He resets the tight end market. Four
years, 76 .4 million, 40 million guaranteed,
19 .1 million a year and 35 million guaranteed
at signing. Now, we will look at his stats. 78
receptions for 1 ,106 receiving yards, 8 touchdowns,
and 14 .2 receiving yards per reception. Now
here's the thing. On one hand, I'm very happy
that George Kittle got paid. We are now seeing
that the league has embraced the tight end position.
Because for the longest time... Tight ends really
weren't loved as much. Now, sure, you had, you
know, Kellen Winslow and you had what's his name?
What's his name? Dave Casper and company had
that next generation. And, you know, Shannon
Sharp and Tony Gonzalez and Antonio Gates and
Todd Heap and Heath Miller and Dallas Clark and
company. And then you had, you know, this generation,
which is, you know, Gronk. Travis Kelsey, George
Kittle, Sam Laporta, TJ Hawkinson, Brock Bowers,
Mark Andrews, just to name a few. And so now
what you're seeing is offenses love tight ends
more because tight ends are now a quarterback's
best friend. We have seen some of the most iconic
moments happen with who? A tight end. Tom Brady
and Gronk are literally. Two of the most dynamic
players of all time. And I guarantee you, if
you ask Tom Brady right now, half of those plays
probably wouldn't have happened if it wasn't
for Gronk. At some point, Tom Brady is looking
for Gronk. And guess what? Gronk gets the ball,
gets first down and more. And it's hard to bring
him down. And so it's great because you're seeing
a position that's starting to get valued more
and people are really starting to get paid more.
And that's great. But here's my problem with
this. If you're a 49ers fan, you probably are
scratching your head this morning because you're
trying to figure out exactly why did you reset
the market for George Kittle? Why are you continuing
to reset the market for your players? Granted,
I understand that you want to pay your players,
but at some point, the line has to be drawn in
the sand because we are in the business of winning
championships. We're not in a business to just
say, oh, I have a roster that has three or four
players that have resetted their positional markets.
No, your goal is to win a championship. And so
far, you guys haven't been able to do that. Now,
a lot of that falls on your head coach and the
executions and play calling and whatnot. But
if you guys are serious about winning, somebody
would have been willing to take a pay cut. I'm
just saying. Really think about this for a second
here, folks. Last year, they had to reset both
the left tackle market and the running back market.
They did it for Trent Williams and Christian
McCaffrey. Now they're doing it for George Kittle.
And there's a good possibility that they could
do it for Fred Warner as well. You just can't
keep on doing that. Resetting the market does
not win you a championship. It does not get you
to the end point. All it does is just get you
right to the edge and that's it. Nothing else.
We see the Eagles, a team who basically invested
a lot of their money into the offense and kept
the defense fairly cheap. They're paying little
to nobody on the defense. And if they are, they're
probably on a very short term contract. Let's
go for what it is. If you're the 49ers, what
is the goal? Because you continuing to write
paychecks isn't going to solve the championship.
Because right now. If this team does not win
a championship, every move that they have made
from getting Trent Williams and Christian McCaffrey
to, you know, drafting Nick Bosa and then drafting
Fred Warner and George Kittle and Brock Purdy
and Brandon Ayewick and this person, that person
will all be a waste. Because why? You guys haven't
won a championship. You guys have created some
of the best offenses and best defenses within
the last five to eight years. And you guys have
yet to win a championship. I'm sorry. That's
unacceptable in my standards. But, hey, if that's
what they want to do, if they want to continue
to be in meteorography, that's perfectly fine.
Now, back to the positive side with this. George
Kittle has definitely been a very consistent,
reliable player for the 49ers offense. You're
talking about somebody that has had multiple
1 ,000 receiving yards. That is something that
you will only see receivers do. But now you're
starting to see that more often with tight ends.
And not to mention, what you're also starting
to see is this. The market is continuing to climb.
This is my hot take, and I could definitely be
wrong. I'll probably be on cold takes. But I
can make a strong case. That by the time Sam
LaPorter is up for a contract and Brock Bowers,
somebody is going to hit the $20 million threshold.
You heard it here first on the Football Junkies
podcast, episode 76, Aftermath. You heard it
here first. I believe by this time next year,
we will have our first $20 million a year tight
end. Guaranteed. You can write it down. You can
screen record it. You can do whatever you want,
but guess what? I said it here first. To somebody
else, Jalen Petrie, okay? Safety for the Texans.
Inks a three -year, $39 million extension. He
gets a $10 million signing bonus, makes $13 million
a year, and is guaranteed $20 .6 million, which
isn't really bad. Now, he uses $29 .1 million,
which still isn't bad. Now, when we look at his
stats, okay? 65 tackles and was targeted. 54
times and allowed 34 receptions for 395 yards,
five touchdowns, and got one pick. Now, he is
more of a slot option at this point because primarily
they really don't like using him in the safety.
I don't know why. You probably have to ask them,
but he's mainly placed in the slot. Now, when
you look at his stats in the slot, it's a little
bit of a difference, okay? So in the slot, he
had 44 tackles. four quarterback pressures, and
he was targeted 43 times and allowed 29 receptions
for 371 yards, four touchdowns, and got one pick.
All in all, this is a team -friendly deal. It
does not break the bank. It is a great deal for
both sides. Jalen Petrie plays a very pivotal
role in the backfield, and so it's only right
that you give him a pretty good deal. And then
not to mention, it's only a three -year deal.
So by the time this contract is up, you'll still
be in your prime so you can re -up and get another
contract, either with the Texans or with another
team. All in all, I think that's a win -win situation.
It's the same thing with Kyler Gordon as well,
who inked a three -year $40 million deal. He
gets a $10 million signing bonus. He's making
the same amount as Jalen Petrie, $13 million
a year, and he's guaranteed $21 .2 million for
both total guarantees and guaranteed money. Now,
when we look at his stats, all right, 75 tackles,
and he was targeted 51 times and allowed 36 receptions
for 329 yards and two touchdowns. What you are
starting to see now is the slot corner position
be valued so much that teams are willing to invest
into it. Not only just because slot corners are
good when it comes to blitzing and adding quarterback
pressures and making... really great plays, but
you're starting to see that slot corners are
really good. And we're not just talking about
people that were drafted in the sixth or seventh
round and they were able to fight their way and
get a roster spot. No, you're talking about people
that make plays. You're talking about people
who are locking down elite corners, elite slot
receivers, because What you're also starting
to see is a lot of the elite receivers are also
being moved into the slot as well. So you have
to counteract that with a good slot corner. Just
saying. Now, some teams understand that. And
then there's other teams, Steelers, who do not
understand that and do not value that. And this
is why they're in the situation that they're
in. let's go to cam jurgens okay we're just breezing
by the you know the bag alerts and whatnot so
cam jurgens inks a four -year 68 million dollar
extension to stay with the eagles he'll be making
17 million a year and he gets 39 .4 million in
total guarantees for the transition of jason
kelsey to cam jurgens i can make a strong case
it's definitely been one of the better ones because
usually When a player is following the footsteps
of a legend, it's a little bit difficult because
they're trying to find their footing. They're
just trying to find their way because it's so
hard to play behind a legend. That's like Brandon
Fisk, you know, trying to do what Aaron Donald
did. Can't do that. But Cam Juergens has carved
his own path and has played really well for the
Eagles. And so it's only right that you give
him a deal. Not to mention, let's be real here.
As I said before, the Eagles aren't paying a
lot of people on defense. The only person that
they really paid a lot of money to was Zach Bond.
Outside of that, everybody else is still on their
rookie deals or on fairly small deals, which
isn't bad. Because let's be real here. You have
to invest into this offensive line because right
now they're paying Cam Juergens, Landon Dickerson,
Jordan Malata, and Lane Johnson. Those are the
only people that they're paying when it comes
to the offensive line. Then you got Jalen Hurts,
you got Saquon, you got Devontae Smith, and you
got A .J. Brown. That's the milk and honey for
this team. It's that offense. If that offense
ain't going, guess what? Team ain't winning.
That is what it is. Now, when we look at T .J.
Edwards' deal, it's team -friendly, very team
-friendly. Two years, $20 million. He gets $10
million a year, a $7 million signing bonus, and
he's guaranteed. 16 .6 million. That's not bad.
That's team friendly. Very team friendly. When
you look at his stats, 129 tackles, four sacks,
one pick. That's not bad. He's a really, I wouldn't
say elite player. He's a very, what's the word?
What's the word? He's a do -it -all type of player.
He's a reliable player. He's a consistent player.
He's a tackling machine. That's what he is. He
is somebody that he's going to get the job done.
He may not be in the same tier as some of the
better outside linebackers and whatnot, but guess
what? He gets the job done. And that's what you
need sometimes on your team. That's it. There's
nothing else that you can really say. It's a
team -friendly deal. It does not break the bank.
It does not have the Bears, you know, in cap
hill or whatever. No, it puts him in a really
good spot. Now, Kirby Joseph, that deal is a
little bit crazy. And I only say that because
the Lions still have to pay Aiden Hutchison.
And then not to mention, you're going to have
to pay Brian Branch soon. Just saying. Kirby
Joseph's deal, four years, $86 million. And he'll
be making $21 .5 million a year. When we look
at his stats, 82 tackles, and he was targeted
33 times and allowed 14 receptions for 168 yards,
one touchdown, and one pick. He's been balling.
He has been balling God. And it was only right
that the Lions pay him because he played such
a pivotal role in that team. If you're a team
like the Ravens, you're in a pretty bad spot
because you could have easily hashed out a deal
prior to Kirby Joseph getting his money. But
now you're taking a risk because guess what?
If you allow Kyle Hamilton to play out this year,
and if Kyle Hamilton wins a defensive player
of the year award, oh, that's 90 million guaranteed.
No ifs, ands, or buts about it. He is resetting
the market again. Do you really want to take
that risk? Because it's better to be proactive
than reactive. Just saying. Now let's get into
these fifth -year options. And these are just
a couple because I know there's a whole lot more
that I have to talk about and we'll probably
talk about in the next episode. So the Lions
picked up both Aiden Hutchinson and Jameson Williams'
fifth -year option. So Aiden Hutchinson's fifth
-year option is worth $19 .7 million, which really
isn't that bad. Jameson Williams is $15 .4 million.
Now when we look at the market value for Aiden
Hutchinson, It's four years, $122 .1 million,
which is $30 .5 million a year. I don't think
he's going to get that. I think he's probably
going to get a whole lot more because Aiden Hutchinson
has been one of the best pass rushers in the
league. He's on that same team, a little bit
under the tier of Watt, Garrett, Crosby, Bosa,
and everybody else. Just saying. But the problem
is... with Aiden Hutchinson's situation that
makes it so time -oriented is that Michael Parsons,
Trey Hendrickson, and T .J. Watt are also looking
for money as well. So who's going to be first?
Because whoever is first, the next two, one of
them will probably reset the market again. So
do you want to be reactionary or do you want
to be the other? Because right now we have seen
a lot of teams pay more because they wanted to
play the waiting game and they wanted to take
a risk instead of just paying the person now
and then just not having to worry about it. So
it is a gamble. Now with Jamison Williams, not
so much because his market value is only three
years, 59 million, which is only 19 .7 million
a year. That's not bad at all. Do I think he
could probably get a little bit more? There's
a possibility. Do I think there's a good chance
he may get traded? There's also a possibility
as well. Anything is open for Jamison Williams
at this point. Now, me personally, I think the
cutoff number for Jamison Williams will probably
be 25, maybe 26. Anything over 26, we're out.
Simple as that. You can't pay him almost 28 to
almost 30 million while you're doing that for
Amon Ross St. Brown. You just pay Panay Sewell.
You just pay Jared Goff. Like, that's a lot of
people that you're paying. So you want to try
to have a little bit of cap flexibility while
at the same time. But to your players, like,
listen, we are still in our championship window.
We might need to have a little bit of cap space
to bring in a superstar. Who wouldn't want to
win a championship? I would. When we look at
Chris Alave's fifth year option, it's worth $15
million, which really isn't bad. His market value,
on the other hand, is only three years, $53 .4
million, which is only $17 .8 million a year.
Do I think he could garner more? Yes. Do I think
the Saints are probably working on a contract
right now? Yes. Do I think it'll be hashed out
by training camp? It's a possibility. Because
Chris Alave, yes, he deserves to get paid, but
he's not worth $35 or $36 million a year. No,
not even close. Maybe about $28, $29, maybe $30
if you want to add incentives. Okay, fine. But
anything after that is just ridiculous. Now,
Trevor Penning, on the other hand, they turned
down his fifth year option. Now, had they picked
it up, it would have been worth $16 .6 million.
But the only problem is he's only played 40 games
in three seasons. Case in point, that's why the
Saints drafted Calvin Banks. And that was sort
of the idea that I had leading into the draft.
Now, I understand that the media personalities
were saying, hey, they're going to go with Jackson
Dart or Shador Sanders. I didn't believe it.
And the only reason why I say that is because
once Ryan Ramchick had to medically retire. That
let me know, okay, most likely they're going
to put Fuwaga back at right tackle because Trevor
Penning has been playing well on either left
tackle or right tackle. And then they'll draft
one of the top left tackles and then just go
from there. And that's exactly what they did.
They got Calvin Banks at left tackle. You're
going to have Tyler Weeks for Fuwaga on the right
side, which is great because right now, all you
really need to do is just ride out this season.
And then just see what happens next year. Me
personally, this is just my honest opinion before
we get into the draft talk and whatnot. I don't
think Archie is going to declare next year because
when you look at it, Eli played all four years.
Payton played all four years. They're not going
to continue. They're not going to break that
cycle. No, they're going to continue to go with
that cycle because guess what happened? Both
of them became. Overly successful. Now, one of
them is regarded as one of the greatest quarterbacks
of all time. The other one, not so much. But
that's another story for another day. But there
are better options at quarterback next year.
Now, let's get into this whole Jalen Ramsey conundrum.
So Jalen Ramsey wants out of Miami. Perfectly
fine with that. But the problem is, is that his
contract is a little bit wonky. And let me explain
why. So according to SpotRack, this year is the
only year that's guaranteed at 21 .1 million.
But the next three years, he still has money
on the books that a team can guarantee. But here
are the numbers. 2026, 21 million. 2027, 21 .7
million. 2028, 24 million. That's a lot of money
for an older cornerback. And we see that cornerbacks
after 30 do not age well. Their play starts to
decline a lot. And with Jalen Ramsey. His play
style, it's way too risky, way too risky, to
be honest with you. And so on one hand, I would
love for him to go to another team. I just don't
think a team will be willing to take on his guarantees.
Now, maybe if a team is willing to give them
a high enough pick, they'll probably take it.
But even then, how high of a pick are you going
to be willing to give up? I'm not giving up a
first, nor am I giving up a second for Jalen
Ramsey. I'm sorry. I'm just not doing that. Now,
I could probably do a conditional fourth and
maybe turn it into a third. That's a possibility.
But outside of that, I'm not giving up high compensation
for Jalen Ramsey. I'm just not doing it. But
here is the other side that people aren't talking
about. The dead cap hits. So if the Dolphins
designate this as a pre -June 1st cut or trade
or transaction or whatever, the dead cap hit
this year is $29 .2 million. They lose, instead
of gain, lose 12 .5 million in cap. That's not
good. Now, if they make this into a post -June
1st designation, 2020, 10 .8 million in debt
cap. And then next year, it's 18 .4. But they
have a savings of 5 .9. So it's either you wait
until the post -June 1st designation happens.
or somebody gets desperate enough and then they
make a trade for Jalen Ramsey. Those are the
only two outcomes at this point. Now, me personally,
do I think he has a market? Yes, of course he
does, because Jalen Ramsey is still one of the
better corners in the league. Even at his current
age, he is still one of the best corners. He
is still able to hold his own against some of
the best receivers in the league. Now, am I saying
he can be like how he was in his prime? No. But
what I am saying is he can hold his weight. You're
talking about somebody that can tackle, that
can hit, and is probably one of the smartest
corners in the league. Now, me personally, I
think he'd probably go to the commanders. I think
if you add Jalen Ramsey to the commanders, that
would put so much fear into teams that I think
it could push you to the next level. I'm just
saying. Because think about it. You have Jalen
Ramsey, you have Trey Amos, Bobby Wagner, you
still have Deron Payne, you still have Johnny
Newton, I forgot who their pass rushers were,
and then your safeties as well. I think that's
a pretty good defense. I think getting a big
fish in Jalen Ramsey would be fairly good. I
think it would work phenomenally well. Not to
mention, Jalen Ramsey would automatically go
up against A .J. Brown. So you're taking A .J.
Brown out of the game. Same thing with C .D.
Lamb. Who wouldn't want that? Who would not want
that? Who would not want a tackling machine in
Jalen Ramsey, a playmaking machine in Jalen Ramsey,
a person who can just do it all in Jalen Ramsey?
Who wouldn't want that? Now, the finances, you
probably have to, you know, move some money around,
ask some people to take some pay cuts, but...
I mean, if it pays off and you guys get into
the NFC Championship or the Super Bowl, hey,
who's really complaining? Nobody. But only time
will tell with that situation, though. But we
do have to get into a little bit of a trade talk.
And that is Sam Howell going to Minnesota. So
Sam Howell has been traded to the Vikings. And
so the Vikings receive, of course, Sam Howell
in a 2025 fifth round pick. The Hawks receive
a 2025 fifth round pick as well. So they're just
swapping, you know. Fifth round picks, that's
all. Nothing significant or whatever. With the
Seahawks drafting Jalen Milrow, Sam Howell didn't
have a chance. And so they want to put him into
a better situation. Because the Seahawks right
now have, what is it, Sam Darnold, Drew Locke,
and Jalen Milrow. And to be honest with you,
Sam Darnold, technically speaking, is on a one
-year deal. This sort of... shuts the door for
Aaron Rodgers possibly going to the Vikings.
And I say that because with Sam Howell, you don't
have to worry about this shadowy figure that's
hovering over J .J. McCarthy. You don't have
to worry about that with Sam Howell. Sam Howell
is not necessarily a threat. He's here to help.
And so if you're in a pinch, Sam Howell comes
in. That's all it is. Nothing crazy or whatever.
But we do have to get into this whole Aaron Rodgers
debacle. OK, because there's a few parts with
this. So when Pat McAfee made the announcement
that Aaron Rodgers was going to be on the show
instantly, I'm like, oh, OK, this is going to
be the day that he makes the announcement. So
instantly I tune in and I'm listening to it and
it's just not going anywhere. Like it was probably
45 minutes of just bullshit. It was 45 minutes
of time that I just wasted because here I am
thinking that he's about to make his decision
or or something significant. No, he didn't. He's
basically just talking about how, you know, the
Jets did him dirty. And, you know, they could
have just called him instead of just have him
take a take a flight and whatnot. All this other
crap. Don't nobody care about that. OK. But let's
just get into this stuff. So I'm going to read
some quotes, give my thoughts. Read some quotes,
give my thoughts, okay? So this is what he says
in that quote. I wasn't stringing anyone along.
I wasn't holding anyone hostage. I was honest
from the jump about where I was at mentally and
some of the constraints I have in my life right
now that warrant my attention. I'm open to anything
and attached to nothing. Time out. Time out,
time out, time out. Why in the world would you
say... Man, this is going to be difficult. Why
would you say I'm open to anything and attached
to nothing? But he goes on to say, retirement
could still be a possibility, but right now my
focus has been and will continue to be on my
personal life. And that's what I've told the
coaches. There are still conversations that are
being had. It's all been very honest lines of
communication. So then he goes on to say, I told
every single one of the teams I talked to. It
ain't about the money. I'll play for 10 M's.
I don't care. I never once said I need a multi
-year deal, 30 million or 40 million. Okay, that's
fine. That's absolute bullshit. I'll play for
10, whatever. Then where is everybody getting
these numbers from? That's what I really want
to know because I remember somebody was saying,
oh yeah, everybody's looking for 30 or 40 million
a year. And I'm like, wait a minute, just for
one year? Who the hell is going to pay Aaron
Rodgers 30 to 40 million a year? You got to be
out of your crazy mind. But good thing he finally
shot that down, which is great. Now, moving forward,
this is what he also says as well. He goes on
to say, and I quote, this entire time, I haven't
felt like I owe anyone a decision at any point.
This is my life now. I've been upfront with them
about that. If you need to move on, if you need
to do something, by all means. I don't think
it's fair to the Steelers or anyone while I'm
dealing with a lot off the field. I want to keep
the lines of communication open. The people who
need to know, know. On one hand, I do understand
where he is coming from. But at the same time,
what you cannot do is say these type of things.
But then prior to this point, you had a photographer.
To come out and videotape and take pictures of
you and DK Metcalf working out on the field.
That's very hypocritical of you, Aaron. He goes
on to say, I'm in a different phase of my life.
I'm 41 years old. I'm in a serious relationship.
I have off the field stuff going on that requires
my attention. I have personal commitments I made
not knowing what my future was going to look
like after last year that are important to me.
And I have a couple people in my inner inner
circle that are really battling some difficult
stuff. Now that I'll give you some grace on because
we don't know what's happening in the backgrounds
and it could be very significant. That's it.
Like that's that's just what it is at this point.
And then he goes on to talk about, you know,
the whole situation with the jets and whatnot.
I'm just not really, really not going to read
into that. Honestly, I'll just talk about it.
So basically what happened was. Aaron, you know,
got on the plane, went went to New York and he
was thinking the conversations were going to
go one way and they actually did. And so basically
what happened was 20 seconds into the conversation,
what they ask him is, so do you want to play
football? And he goes on to say, and I quote,
yeah, I'm interested. That wasn't the answer
that they was looking for. They were looking
for either a yes or a no. And you decide to go
and give your own answer and be an asshole and
say, I'm interested. These are the things that
I talk about when it comes to Aaron Rodgers.
If this was the Aaron Rodgers of old, I'm not
saying anything because I know what I'm getting
with him. But this version, this asshole version
of Aaron Rodgers, I'm not taking it. I don't
even want it whiffing the locker room. Because
he feels entitled. He feels like he is still
the Aaron Rodgers of old. And you're not. Your
play says otherwise. They were looking for a
yes or no answer. And that's exactly why they
made the move that they made and got Justin Fields.
Because you know why? They were not going to
take on your baggage and your BS for another
season. Oh well, tough noogies. Get over yourself.
It's no problem. But here's the problem that
I have with Aaron Rodgers, okay? So this is coming
from Mike Silver on an episode with the Scoop
City podcast that includes Diana Rossini and
Chase Daniels. It's actually a pretty good episode.
So this is what he says, Adam Silver. This is
what he says based off of a conversation that
he's had with Devontae Adams. And I quote, I
think Aaron wants someone to roll the red carpet
for him. That is what he's looking for. I'm not
sure if he would consider the Steelers doing
that right now. I'm not positive how Aaron perceives
that or how the Steelers perceive that. Roll
out the red carpet. Are you serious? Are you
serious? Do you think they're just going to send
a horde of planes full of players to say, hey,
Aaron, come and be a Pittsburgh Steeler. Come
on, play for the Steelers. Do you really think
they're going to do that? No, they're not going
to do that. You don't even deserve that type
of attention. Again, as I just said, if this
was the Aaron Rodgers of old, best believe I'm
getting on a plane, I'm getting on a train, I'm
getting on a car, I'm getting on anything that
I can go so that I can communicate with Aaron
Rodgers because I know what I'm getting. Because
I know when he steps on the field, either he
is the best quarterback on the field or the second
best quarterback on the field. It's one of those
two. But that's not the case anymore. Who really
cares? I understand Aaron Rodgers puts butts
in seats. I understand that Aaron Rodgers may
still feel like he's still got it. But let's
be real here. You don't. You're washed. And it's
just time for you to hang it up. You are falling
into a pit of misery right now because you feel
like you want to try to dictate your own ending.
Some people can do it. Some people can't do it.
But the fact of the matter is we have seen you
publicly throw players and coaches under the
bus. Unacceptable. And I know damn well if you
do that in Pittsburgh, it's going to cause a
lot of friction in that locker room. And if you're
the Steelers, I don't think you would really
want that. I don't think you would want to entertain
someone like Aaron Rodgers because he's tough
to deal with. Some things just aren't worth.
And Aaron Rodgers is one of them. It is not worth
dividing your locker room just for potentially
trying to make it to the playoffs this year.
At best, the ceiling of having Aaron Rodgers
as the quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
It's most likely the wildcard division or the
second round of the playoffs. That's the ceiling.
And so does that change anything? No. Does that
do anything significant? No, it doesn't. Aaron
Rodgers showed by his actions and just the way
that he was talking that he's not interested
in football. He's not. And that's perfectly fine.
I have no problem with that whatsoever. You're
in you say you're in a serious relationship.
You're 41 years old. That's fine. I would rather
for you to just say, you know what? I tried to
go through the process. I appreciate everybody's
time. I appreciate everybody. I appreciate everybody's
involvement in this situation. But I think it's
time for me to retire. And granted, I understand
it's a tough decision that you have to make because
this is a game that you love and it's not like
basketball or hockey or soccer or golf or any
of these other things where you can still play
once you retire. No. Once football is over with,
that's it. That's the end all be all. And so
I understand that he may be in a difficult spot
right now. But at this point, What is the holdup?
Because the draft is over. So what's the problem?
Why haven't you signed? Why hasn't there been
any indication that Aaron Rodgers is going to
sign? Because, and this is just my personal opinion,
I could be 100 % wrong. And I would love to be
wrong. I don't think Aaron Rodgers really wants
to go to the Steelers. I think Aaron Rodgers
is waiting for another team, a better team, a
team that is more suited to possibly winning
the Super Bowl to appear. I think he's waiting
for the 49ers. I think the 49ers make a lot of
sense, and let me explain why. For one, you have
a really good offensive line. You have a really
good offense as a whole. You have Christian McCaffrey.
You have Brandon Ayuk. You have Jawan Jennings.
You have... Ricky Pearsall, you have options.
And you have George Kittle, which is great. Not
to mention, you're staying on the West Coast.
You're staying in a warmer climate. The division,
it's not necessarily a cakewalk. But the only
two teams that you really have to worry about
is the Seahawks and the Rams. Outside of that,
you could probably beat the Cardinals twice if
you really wanted to. And outside of that as
well, the only time you would have to come to
the East Coast is to face either the Eagles or
the Commanders or the Lions or the Bears or any
of those other teams. I would go there because
you playing for the Steelers at this point in
your career probably isn't the most healthy option
because you're going into a division where none
of the teams have a dome and all of their divisional
games are brutal. Do you really want to deal
with that? No, I don't think you really want
to. So if I'm Aaron Rodgers, I'm weighing out
all my options. You say you're in a serious relationship.
You say there's a lot of things that are happening
in the background that are taking up your time
and all those other things. Then commit to those
things. By all means, 100 % commit to those things.
What you're doing right now is selling a bunch
of hopeless dreams. to a bunch of Steelers fans
that still believe that you're going to sign
with the team. Art Rooney II and Mike Tomlin
came out this past weekend talking about, oh
yeah, we hope to have Aaron in soon, and we believe
he's going to sign with us soon, and soon, soon,
soon, soon, soon, soon. Listen, y 'all been saying
soon for the longest time. At this point, just
stop. Admit your fault. It meant that you have
egg on your face because what did you do again?
You were the last to the party. You waited too
long. And now what happened? You don't have a
quarterback. This is exactly why I definitely
believe that the Steelers should have drafted
a quarterback in the first round because there's
no need to wait and see what Aaron Rodgers is
going to do. You need to move like Aaron Rodgers
is not going to join the team. Because right
now, you waiting for him is not going to solve
anything. The offseason program has already started.
You should have been in the building by now developing
a rapport with your receivers, with your offensive
players. But that's not the case. So something
has to break at this point. Because the longer
that this thing draws out, the worse of the effect
that it has on everybody. Because why? DK Metcalf
is the only person. that he's basically worked
with. He hasn't worked with Calvin Alston. He
hasn't worked with George Pickens. He hasn't
worked with Pat Frymuth. He hasn't worked with
none of the running backs, none of the offensive
linemen. He hasn't done any of those things.
So at some point, somebody in that front office
has to come out and they have to say, it's okay.
We tried. We failed. It's okay. We're going to
run it with Mason. We just drafted Will Howard.
We have Skyler Thompson. At best, if you want,
we can go and make a move possibly and get Kirk
Cousins. Figure out all the financials with that
and just go from there. Because right now, waiting
for Aaron Rodgers is like a kid waiting for their
dad to pick them up on the weekend. When you
know daggone well, daddy's not coming to pick
you up on the weekend. I'm just being honest
here. Even when you want to look at his record
since leaving the Packers, the one season that
he actually played, one full season, he was 5
-12, 584 attempts for 368 completions, 3 ,897
passing yards, 28 touchdowns, 11 picks, 6 .7
yards per attempt, and a 63 completion percentage.
And he was sacked 40 times. I'm sorry. this offensive
line is not strong enough to hold up against
Aaron Rodgers. Let's be real here. Broderick
Jones is now playing left tackle for the first
time. And Troy Furtado is coming off of a serious
injury. If I'm Aaron Rodgers, I'm very skeptical
of that. Because why? I'm 41 years old. I can't
keep on taking a whole bunch of hits. I can't
have another... a season where I'm sacked 40
plus times. I can't do that. I'm going to get
crushed. Now, if Aaron Rodgers was maybe about,
you know, 33, 34, okay, well then, yeah, he can
survive. He'll be fine because he can roll out
and he's a little bit, you know, he still has
a little bit of juice left in the tank so he
can run a little bit if he wants to, but not
anymore. This dude, he is a sitting duck and
you're playing in a division where the Ravens
The Browns and the Bengals are all going to take
your head off. I don't think you want that. But
let's get into this whole draft debacle thing.
So before we get into the actual draft, we do
need to address the Shador Sanders incident and
how this was a very serious situation. I understand
to some people they may think of this as a prank
phone call. I view this as an invasion of privacy.
And let me explain why. Anytime somebody is able
to retrieve information such as a phone number
of a prospect or even a player that's currently
playing in the NFL right now, that is an invasion
of privacy. That can put them in harm's way.
We have seen recently that professional athletes
have been targeted by robbers. From Joe Burrow
to Patrick Mahomes. I know there's maybe about
two or three other players that have been targeted
by robbers. Do you really want that? Do you really
want to put one of these players in harm's way?
No. So then why in the world was his son able
to actually get access to this information? You
would have thought by now that they would have
had a system in place to where any device that
they have would auto -lock. So this was the statement
that Jax Ulbrich, the person that was involved
with this prank call, said, and I quote, on Friday
night, I made a tremendous mistake. Shador, what
I did was completely inexcusable, embarrassing,
and shameful. I'm so sorry I took away from your
moment. It was childish and selfish. I could
never imagine getting ready to celebrate one
of the greatest moments of your life. And I made
a terrible mistake and messed with that moment.
Thank you for accepting my call earlier today.
I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive
me, Shador Sanders. That's what Jax Albrecht
says. Now this is what the Atlanta Falcons say
about this incident. Earlier in the week, Jax
Albrecht, the 21 -year -old son of defensive
coordinator Jeff Albrecht, unintentionally came
across a draft contact phone number for Shador
Sanders off an open iPad while visiting his parents'
home and wrote the number down to later conduct
a prank call. Jeff Albrecht was unaware of the
data exposure or any facets of the prank and
was made aware of the above only after the fact.
What in the world? That is so crazy. The Atlanta
Falcons do not condone this behavior and send
our sincere apologies to Shador Sanders and his
family who have been in contact with to apologize
to as well as. Can't even speak. As well as facilitate
an apology directly from Jax to the Sanders family.
We have also been in contact with the NFL and
will continue to cooperate fully with any inquiries
we may receive from the NFL League office. We
are thoroughly reviewing all protocols and updating
if necessary to prevent an incident like this
from happening again. I'm sorry, but this is
not good enough. Because you took away a moment
from somebody. For fun. I can understand if you
already had a prior relationship to Shador. I
could be a little bit lenient with that. But
you didn't have a relationship with him prior
to this moment. And you were able to access your
father's iPad and retrieve the number of a Shador
Sanders. I don't even understand why you would
do something like that. Because that incident
alone could have caused your father to lose his
job. Who wants that? Not to mention, this could
open things up for a lawsuit. Like, it's one
thing if you're trying to have fun. But it's
another thing when you do it at the wrong moment.
Shador Sanders. Alone, outside of the rest of
the draft, was the number one thing that had
everybody glued to the draft because everybody
was trying to see where Shador was going to go.
And you just had to be the jackass to say, you
know what? I'm going to do something stupid.
And guess what happened? You got exposed. You
know, and everybody else knows, that Twitter
is faster than the CIA, NSA, FBI. everybody in
between they find people quick and when i mean
quick i mean quick i'm talking about the same
day that they put out that video they found out
who it was that's how quick it was that's unacceptable
there are there are certain lines that you just
do not cross and this line was crossed and so
now if you're the nfl for one you need to find
Jeff Albrecht because you are being irrelevant
with the equipment. You should have had a setting
put in place on your iPad to where it auto -locks
after either 30 seconds, a minute, five minutes,
whatever, to prevent any incident like this from
happening. Because guess what? God forbid, if
somebody broke into Jeff Albrecht's house and
retrieved that iPad, they would have had direct
contact with any of the prospects that were on
his iPad. Not to mention, Shador wasn't the only
person. Tyler Warren and Isaiah Bond were also
targets for prank calls as well. So, I say all
that to say this. The league has to change their
rules for all 32 teams. Because right now, you
cannot allow another incident like this from
happening. Because luckily, this was just a prank
call. If this was somebody with malice intentions,
they could have schemed up something to make
it seem like it was such a realistic situation
and could lure somebody in and potentially either
harm them or kill them. Now, to some people,
they're saying you're being a little bit dramatic.
But no, in this incident, you cannot be dramatic.
This is a multi -billion dollar business. And
you cannot allow the son of a defensive coordinator
to do dumb shit like this on one of the most
important three -day periods of the entire league's
history. You don't want that. Because guess what?
All those lawsuits and All those things that
come with it, if one of those players get hurt,
that falls on your lap. You're going to have
to deal with that. Do you really want that? I
don't think you want to. So if I'm the league,
I'm slapping a fine on Jeff Albrecht. And if
I'm the Falcons, I may slap another fine on you
as well. Because you need to understand the significance
of this incident. An incident like this cannot
happen again, folks. If it does, things might
have to change significantly. Just saying, I'm
not calling for Jeff Albrecht to lose his job.
I never want to do that. But something significantly
has to change. Whether the contact information
is not shared with the coordinators or whatever
the case may be. Something has to change. But
let's get into the draft since we're still talking
about Shador. Shador did not help his case. Now,
I understand for some people you're probably
saying, well, what do you mean? You cannot have
your father go on the media run that he went
on and basically say things such as, oh, yeah,
there's only a few teams that we want him to
play for. Oh, yeah, we're going to choose which
teams he want to go to. You can't have those
type of things come out publicly. Then on top
of that, you can't have someone like a Tom McShay
report that says in details how him and Brian
Dable really wasn't agreeing eye to eye and that
how Brian Dable was grilling Shador and Shador
really wasn't taking it well. You can't do that.
Case in point, that's why they chose Jackson
Dart. They didn't just choose Jackson Dart just
because he's a quote unquote better prospect.
No, they chose Jackson Dart because you know
why? Didn't have those problems. Didn't have
those issues. Didn't have those situations. That's
what it was. And so when you have Deion saying
on top of Shador moving the way that he's moving,
guess what happens? A lot of teams are going
to be turned off. They're not going to want to
be interested. And a lot of people have said
that, guess what? That interview with Shador,
it did not go well. Now, here's the thing with
this. If Shador was like the same prospect like
his father, OK, fine, whatever, because you already
know you're getting a perennial all pro game
changing talent. But that's not the case. Let's
be real here, OK? Jador isn't a prospect like,
for instance, Andrew Luck or Camden or Patrick
Mahomes or Lamar Jackson or Peyton Manning or
any of those top tier prospects. That's not him.
And so it reflected because a lot of teams were
just like, no, we'll pass over you. Now, the
thing that made things a little bit crazy. was
that once the Browns passed him a couple of times,
I was like, oh, man, this isn't really good.
Because the Browns needed a quarterback. The
Steelers needed a quarterback. The Raiders probably
wanted a backup quarterback. There was a few
teams that really needed a quarterback, and they
all passed up on Shador. And so if you are Shador,
you need to come into the mindset that, listen,
everything from this point on is a fight. I am
fighting for my roster spot. I am fighting to
stay in the league. I am fighting to prove all
the naysayers and haters and doubters and all
those people that said I wasn't going to be nothing.
I'm just following. I'm just trying to be like
my daddy. That's what you have to do with this
point. Not be in the club with freaking Young
Miami and whatnot. Partying. No, bro. The work
starts now. It starts now. The minute. That they
called you and said, we are going to draft you.
The work should have started. That's when you
should have said, hey, listen, I appreciate everybody
for coming. Thank you so much. But I got to get
to work. And I would have started throwing. I
would have started practicing. I would have gotten
on a plane and head to Cleveland. I know I probably
just said that wrong. I would have gotten the
playbook. Hey, Jerry Judy or David Njoku or whomever.
Meet me at such and such place at such and such
time. We're going to do some drills. That's what
it did. Because right now, you're in a really
crowded quarterback room. Because you have Deshaun
Watson, even though he's not playing this season,
he's still on contract. You have Joe Flacco.
You have Kenny Pickett. You have Dylan Gabriel.
And then you have yourself. You have five quarterbacks.
Now, we all know Joe Flacco, this is his spot
to lose. And we all know, most likely, it'll
be a battle between Kenny Pickett, Dylan Gabriel,
and Shador Sanders. But I feel like Shador Sanders
could definitely beat Kenny Pickett. And I think
there's a good chance he could probably beat
out Dylan Gabriel as well. But he has to be committed.
You have to prove and you have to show everybody
that, listen, you weren't just a mistake. You
have to do that. Otherwise, guess what's going
to happen? Come cut time, they're going to get
rid of you. I don't think you want that personally.
Now, when we look at everything else in its entirety
with the draft, there's just a few things that
definitely caught my mind. The Patriots, Ravens,
Seahawks, and maybe three other teams won the
draft. I think their drafts went great, especially
for the Ravens. You get Starks in the first round.
Then you get Mike Green. Then you get Aeneas
Pebbles. Are you serious? What? Folks, I don't
think you guys understand how crazy that is.
For the Ravens to get Malachi Starks, Aeneas
Peebles, and Mike Green, people are going to
have hell to pay. And then even the Patriots.
You get Will Campbell, which is a really good
pickup. And then you also get Travion Henderson,
which is a really good pickup as well. These
teams definitely made significant moves. And
then even with the Seahawks, you get Grace Abel,
which I definitely thought they were going to
do that. And you get Jalen Milrow as well, which
is a really good pickup as well because in recent
years, we have seen that the Seahawks have been
able to develop later round quarterbacks. I mean,
they did it with Russell Wilson. I think they
could do it with Jalen Milrow as well. Now, for
the Falcons, I feel like they reached. I truly
believe that because when you give up next year's
first round pick to trade back into the first
round, that is a gamble. You don't know where
you're going to end up. You don't know if you're
going to be, you know, in a really good spot
or you're possibly going to be in a losing season.
You don't know. And if you lose this thing, you're
really going to lose your job because for one,
you overpay for Kirk Cousins. And then in that
same year, you draft Michael Penix. Hi. Okay,
cool. And now this. You gave him a first round
pick to get James Pierce. I don't know about
that. That's a little bit skeptical with that
one. Now, we all know that the second and third
round was definitely the sweet spot for this
year's draft. It was great. You still had Nick
Imanwara. You still had Jalen Milrow and company.
Like you had a lot of top tier players that were
still available in the second and third round.
And teams were just plugging them left and right.
Now, I will say this. The Giants chose want over
need. And let me explain why. It's one thing
if you needed a pass rusher. You didn't need
a pass rusher. You wanted another pass rusher.
You paid top dollar for Brian Burns. You still
have Kayvon Thibodeau under contract and you
picked up his fifth year option. Where is Abdul
Carter going to fit? Somebody tell me, please,
where is Abdul Carter going to fit? It was a
bad pick. If you wanted to address quarterback,
fine. If you wanted to address offensive line,
fine. If you wanted to address receiver, fine.
There were other positions that you instead of
going after another pass rusher, which was ridiculous.
But this is the Giants. The Giants will be the
Giants under Joe Shane. And same thing with the
Jaguars. They took a gamble on Travis Hunter.
I think unless Travis Hunter wins Offensive Rookie
of the Year or Defensive Rookie of the Year,
this may have been a bad call. Now, I understand
you probably may have done this because you probably
got intel the Browns were going to choose Travis
Hunter. But even then, I'm not about to give
up next year's first round pick. Because guess
what? If you don't do well, the Browns could
potentially have two top five picks. Do you really
want that? No. And especially with the potential
of next year being a better quarterback draft
class? I'm sorry. I'm not doing that. I'm not
taking that gamble. Because what if Archie Manning
does declare for the draft next year? Do you
know what happens? You just hand -delivered Archie
Manning to the Cleveland Browns. And on top of
that, they have another first -round pick, which
they can use to get a weapon. For Archie Manning,
if they really wanted to. I don't know. This
draft was more of a meat and potatoes type of
draft. This was a draft class that was more,
you know, just building your team up. It wasn't
like a, you know, dynamic oohs and ahhs type
of draft class. It was not that. And clearly
it showed. There were a lot of players that I
feel like were reaches. I feel like Mason Graham
was a reach. I feel like Mason Graham should
have been drafted between the 10th to maybe 13th.
I would have said that personally. I feel like
Abdul Carter may be a little bit of a reach.
I feel like Mikel Williams is a little bit of
a reach as well. I'm just going to be honest
and I'll continue to say it. I'm not really high
on these pass rushers this year. And the only
one that I really am high on is Mike Green. Outside
of that. I can talk myself out of getting a lot
of these pass rushes. I'm just being completely
honest here. But I'm going to end this episode
here. If you guys like what you're listening,
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your thoughts on this year's draft, okay? Now,
for my TikTok people, Football Junkies Pod, okay?
Football Junkies Pod. I'm content i know i still
have a lot of clips that i have to put out with
the divisional rodeo and whatnot so i definitely
have a lot of work that i have to do you can
follow me on x uh gm kale okay gm kale k -a -i
-l -e as well as blue sky gm kale k -a -i -l
-e As always, I hope I gave you guys the fix
that you guys need. We're back and we're in business
and we're ready to go, folks. So guess what?
Stay tuned because there's still a whole lot
of stuff that we still have to talk about. And
we're going to be breaking down everybody's draft
by their division so we can do a little bit more
of an in -depth analysis, you know, with stats
and all those different things and more. So as
always, this is your GM Kel signing out. Peace
and love. Later. Breaking news, breaking news,
breaking news, just when the episode ended. Man,
oh man, we got another bag alert, okay? Andrew
Van Ginkle, excuse me, Ginkle, inked a one -year
$23 million deal to stay with the Vikings. It
includes $22 .4 million guaranteed. Now, we sort
of talked about him in the divisional rodeo,
and I definitely said that he was going to be
extended, so I called it. I called it prior to
this point, and so... It's a good deal. He's
a really productive player on that Vikings defense.
He did a lot in last season, so not surprised.
And plus, it's a one -year deal. Can't be that
bad. But we'll talk about, well, you know what?
Yeah, we will. We'll talk about this deal as
well as the fifth -year options in the next episode.
So this is your GM signing out. I would not be
surprised if somebody else gets paid by the time
I am done editing and putting out this episode.
But this is your GM Kel signing out. Peace and
love later.