WEBVTT

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Triple bag alert, triple bag alert, triple bag

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alert, folks. That's right. Garrett Wilson gets

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paid. Trey Smith resets the guard market. Sauce

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Garner resets the cornerback market. Terry McLaurin

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speaks out. Juan Jennings gives the 49ers an

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ultimatum. The NFLPA backs the league executive.

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Why? I don't know. Why has only two second round

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picks signed their rookie deals? TJ Wattrade,

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question mark? Maybe. And we got to do gut check

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time. That's right, folks. Gut check time. But

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this time we're doing it a little bit different.

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We're doing training camp edition. And we're

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not just doing just one division. We're doing

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two divisions. That's right. AFC North, NFC North.

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So guess what? You already know my spell. So

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guess what? This is the 85th episode of the Football

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Junkies podcast. All right. I am your host with

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the most. I am your chief, Bagroll Adamas. That's

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right. Chief, head of the table. Anything and

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everything related to the bag. Rumors to the

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bag. bag and more. But guess what? I am your

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chief RSS affiliate. I am your GM who currently

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is not on the team right now. But don't you worry

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about it, okay? Don't you worry about it because

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guess what? I am all these things and more. But

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most importantly, the most important thing that

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you must remember is I am your host, Kale. You

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already know how things are about to go. So guess

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what? If you have something that you have to

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do. You got to clean your room. You got to clean

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the house. Got to clean the bathroom. Whatever

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you got to do. Guess what? This is the episode

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to listen to because guess what? This episode

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is full of twists, turns, hot takes, truth bombs,

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and more. So guess what? On three. One, two,

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three. Let's lock in. Right folks, let's just

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get into the meat and potatoes of everything

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that is going on in the league right now. And

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man, is there a lot of stuff going on in the

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league right now. For some teams, they've already

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started training camp. For others, I think they

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start either today, tomorrow, or next week. Depends

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on the team. We're not worried about that, okay?

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Because we got bag alerts, all right? We got

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triple bag alerts to talk about, all right? So

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let's start things with Sauce Gardner, okay?

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So Sauce Gardner inks a four -year, $120 .4 million

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deal, $60 million guarantee, and he'll be making

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$30 .1 million a year. When we look at his stats

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from this past season, 49 tackles, one sack.

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He was targeted 51 times for 28 receptions, allowed

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454 yards, one touchdown, and had one pick. Now

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here is a... A junkie nugget that definitely

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caught my attention that I just had to bring

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it up. So this is according to Zach Rosenblatt

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on X. So from 2011 through 2022, the Jets only

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signed one first round pick to a second contract.

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And that was Muhammad Wilkinson. Since then,

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Quinton Williams in 2023, they re -signed him.

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Garrett Wilson, 2025, they re -signed him. And

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then Sauce Gardner in 2025. Times are changing,

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which is true. But I feel like the Jets overpaid

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Sauce. And let me explain why. Sauce last season

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didn't play his best ball. And so in my mind,

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I would have thought Sauce would have taken a

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little bit less just to say, hey, I'm still that

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guy. Let me just prove it to you guys. Instead

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of just saying, hey, we're going to reset the

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market for you. If the Jets would have made him

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top five or top 10 highest paid corners, I would

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have no problem with that because he's still

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a top five, the top 10 corner, depending on who

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you ask in the conversations and whatnot. But

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to reset the market for Sauce, it's a little

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bit of a head scratcher, honestly. Because on

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one hand, yes, Sauce Garner is a really good

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player and he's probably their best corner since

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Darrell Rivas. But on the other hand, resetting

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the market is... To me, resetting the market

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means you've been balling out since coming into

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the league compared to, you know, you may have

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probably two good seasons out of three or, you

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know, three seasons out of four or whatever the

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case may be. And now we're just, you know, we're

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only talking about resetting the market. That's

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where we get things a little bit tricky. But

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congratulations to Sauce. Now let's talk about

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somebody else that got paid. All right. So Trey

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Smith. Guard for the Chiefs inks a four -year

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$94 million deal, $70 million guaranteed, and

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he'll be making $23 .5 million a year. So this

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was expected. We all knew that the Chiefs had

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until four o 'clock yesterday afternoon to finalize

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a long -term deal with Trey Smith. Otherwise,

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he was going to play on the franchise tag. And

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there was a moment in time where the Chiefs were

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skeptical on if they were going to be able to

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get that deal done, but they were able to hash

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it out. And so congratulations to Trey Smith.

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Now, the question is, are the chiefs going to

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start contract negotiations with Trent McDuffie?

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Because that's another person that they need

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to take care of. And the question is, with Sauce

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Gardner getting his deal yesterday, does that

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make Trent McDuffie want to be top five highest

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paid, top three highest paid, reset the market?

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What exactly is the magical number for Trent

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McDuffie? only time will tell but let's talk

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about another jet that inked a deal and that

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is garrett wilson who inked a four -year 130

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million dollar deal 90 million guaranteed he

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gets a 13 .75 million dollar signing bonus and

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he'll be making 32 .5 million a year which is

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a little bit of a head scratcher because at first

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I thought Garrett Wilson was just going to just

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play out the rest of his deal and hit free agency

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or better yet, just take a short -term deal so

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he can hit free agency while he's still in his

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prime. But clearly that's not the case. Garrett

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Wilson has a lot of upside to his game. And if

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the Jets find stability at quarterback, it's

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to the moon. Garrett Wilson could possibly be

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in the same conversation as... you know, an A

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.J. Brown, a Justin Jefferson, Jamar Chase type

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of receiver because he has that skill set. You

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were talking about somebody who, and I had to

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look this up and it was actually crazy. He's

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one of five receivers in NFL history that have

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80 plus receptions, 1 ,000 plus receiving yards

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in each of his first three seasons. The other

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receivers, Jamar Chase, Justin Jefferson, Michael

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Thomas, and OBJ. That's a pretty good class to

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be in. But let's go a little bit deeper into

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this extension. So according to Reception Perception,

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Garrett Wilson's success rate against zone coverage

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is 82 .4%. His success rate against man coverage

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is 77 .6%. His success rate against press coverage

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is 78 .6%. So you're talking about somebody that

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is pretty good when it comes to man zone and

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press coverage. Not to mention, when you look

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at his success... by routes you're talking about

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somebody that that has a 94 .7 success rate at

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flat routes you're talking about somebody that

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has almost a 90 success rate in a lot of the

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routes so why wouldn't the jets want to pay him

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the way that they paid him not to mention the

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deal doesn't kick in until the 2026 season But

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let's keep talking about wide receiver, okay?

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So Jawan Jennings, wide receiver for the 49ers,

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has informed the team that he is looking for

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a new deal or he wants out. So he's in the final

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year of his deal, making $7 .5 million this season.

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And according to SpotRack, his market value is

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two years, $20 million, which is $10 million

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a year. Now here's the crazy thing about it.

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His stats this past season, although to some

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they may not be the best, is still very productive.

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He had 113 targets for 77 receptions, 975 receiving

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yards, 6 touchdowns, and 12 .7 receiving yards

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per reception. But here's a junkie nugget. According

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to the 33rd team, among players who ran 200 plus

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routes, Jawan Jennings ranked in the top 20 in

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yards per route run and in total EPA on targets.

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Folks, you're talking about somebody that is

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a very productive wide receiver two, wide receiver

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three on a lot of teams. And the 49ers realize

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that they need Jawan Jennings because there's

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no other option at wide receiver. We still don't

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know the timeline of Brandon Ayewick. Ricky Pearsall

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is still trying to get used to everything. There's

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no other options available other than Jawan Jennings.

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What sense does it make giving Brock Purdy all

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that money if he doesn't have a receiver to throw

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to? Now, the question is this, and this is for

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any receiver and this is for any player. What's

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the magical number? Now, my number for Jawan

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Jennings is probably between 15 to maybe 20 million

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a year. Now, with the 20, that's with incentives.

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But base salary, as far as guarantees and whatnot,

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is between 15 to maybe 18 million a year. He's

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not a wide receiver one. He's a wide receiver

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two slash three on a lot of teams. But if you're

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the 49ers ownership, you're probably starting

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to get a little bit tired of this because how

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many off seasons have we seen the 49ers once

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again being the headlines of somebody who's looking

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for a new deal? Go from Trent Williams, Brandon

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Ayewick, Christian McCaffrey, Nick Bosa, Fred

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Warner. Everybody's looking for deals and everyone's

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getting paid. But here's the thing though, nobody's

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holding up a Lombardi trophy. Nobody's going

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to the Super Bowl. So if I'm ownership, I may

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be a little reluctant on giving Jawan Jennings

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a deal because why? I don't roll this person

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a check, that person a check, that person a check,

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that person a check, and I haven't gone anywhere.

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I haven't held up a Lombardi trophy because that's

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what it's about. So at some point, the line has

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to be drawn in the sand. I think John Lynch in

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the front office will try to start up negotiations

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with Jawan Jennings. And if they feel like his

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number is a little bit too big, then they'll

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probably ship him off. And then they'll probably

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target a wide receiver when he gets to cut down

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time at the training camp. Because there is a

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potential that we can see a lot of receivers

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getting moved once we get down to trimming down

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the rosters. Keyshawn Boutier, Jalen Pohl, Javon

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Baker, Dontavion Wicks, Romeo Dobbs. There could

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be a lot of young receivers that they could possibly

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get. Or you can make a big move and you can go

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after someone like a Terry McLaurin. You know,

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just saying. Which, speaking of Terry McLaurin,

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we need to talk about this situation, okay? So

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Terry McLaurin was able to speak to the media

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after shooting a commercial with Eastern Motors.

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If you know, you know. I'm not going to get into

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that because it might get copyright struck. He

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basically voiced his displeasure on how things

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are going between him and the commanders. And

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let's just get into everything. So here are some

00:10:47.070 --> 00:10:49.490
of the talking points from this situation. So

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Terry McLaurin has said both sides haven't talked

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in a month. He's undecided on if he'll report

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to camp, but we'll see what happens. He's frustrated

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and disappointed on how negotiations are going

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and doesn't know the outcome. He wants the commanders

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to let him know that if he's a part of the future

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or not. He's also said that Jaden Daniels has

00:11:08.309 --> 00:11:11.570
voiced his support during this entire process.

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But here are some of the quotes from that media

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session. And I quote, It's obviously the compensation,

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but it's kind of like the confusion. All year,

00:11:21.490 --> 00:11:23.309
you feel like you're a part of something. You

00:11:23.309 --> 00:11:26.049
earn the right to be a captain. When you have

00:11:26.049 --> 00:11:29.149
that type of production, when you know how people

00:11:29.149 --> 00:11:32.970
value you and see you and have told you to your

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face, and then you see how it's progressing until

00:11:35.649 --> 00:11:38.629
this point, that's very disappointing. I'm just

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trying to get some clarity. Shoot it to me straight,

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end quote. He also goes on to say this, end quote.

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I guess you can say there is no point of return.

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I don't think it's at that point now, but time

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is kind of ticking, end quote. He also says this,

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end quote. When things were adverse, when there

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was a lot of chaos going on, I held firm. I held

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strong. I held my head high and I was a leader.

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I'm going to continue to do that, end quote.

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He also goes on to say this, end quote. With

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how the market is today, it conveys what guys

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of my caliber are deserving of. I feel I fit

00:12:14.559 --> 00:12:16.419
in that box because of how I've carried myself

00:12:16.419 --> 00:12:19.240
on and off the field. I don't want to feel like

00:12:19.240 --> 00:12:21.100
you have to beg for someone to see your worth

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and value. Everything in previous regimes and

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now I've done everything asked of me, end quote.

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While I understand this is a new regime change

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and the front is different, so their vision may

00:12:31.480 --> 00:12:33.320
be different, their approach to contracts are

00:12:33.320 --> 00:12:36.159
different. I get all of that, but this is a no

00:12:36.159 --> 00:12:38.840
brainer. If he wants 30 million, give him 30

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million. Better yet, I'll give you two extra

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million just to show you of how much I love and

00:12:44.720 --> 00:12:48.919
appreciate you as a person. Because Terry McLaurin

00:12:48.919 --> 00:12:51.559
deserves that. Let's be real here, folks. The

00:12:51.559 --> 00:12:54.120
last deal that he signed, that was a cheap deal.

00:12:54.320 --> 00:12:56.919
He took a team -friendly deal. Now he's looking

00:12:56.919 --> 00:13:00.080
for a re -up. He's looking for a real deal. So

00:13:00.080 --> 00:13:02.419
it's only right that you give him what he deserves.

00:13:03.059 --> 00:13:07.000
If you paid Terry McLaurin between what DK Metcalf

00:13:07.000 --> 00:13:10.759
and Garrett Wilson got, Who's complaining? Because

00:13:10.759 --> 00:13:13.379
by the time Terry McLaurin's deal is over with,

00:13:13.500 --> 00:13:15.759
guess what? It'll be almost time for you to pay

00:13:15.759 --> 00:13:19.240
Jaden Daniels or somebody else. So it's only

00:13:19.240 --> 00:13:22.740
right that you take care of Terry McLaurin. It's

00:13:22.740 --> 00:13:24.480
not going to hurt the team. It's actually going

00:13:24.480 --> 00:13:26.659
to benefit the team because what you're doing

00:13:26.659 --> 00:13:28.759
is playing a dangerous game, not only with the

00:13:28.759 --> 00:13:31.240
players, but with the fan base. Not to mention

00:13:31.240 --> 00:13:33.159
you're playing a dangerous game in the development

00:13:33.159 --> 00:13:36.440
of Jaden Daniels. Why wouldn't you want to pay

00:13:36.440 --> 00:13:39.690
his number one weapon? It's ludicrous. You've

00:13:39.690 --> 00:13:42.950
made all of these moves in the offseason to better

00:13:42.950 --> 00:13:45.870
this team, but the one thing that you need to

00:13:45.870 --> 00:13:48.470
do, you haven't done yet. What's the problem?

00:13:48.649 --> 00:13:50.409
Please tell me what's the problem. Now, see,

00:13:50.470 --> 00:13:53.330
here's the thing. If Terry McLaurin's asking

00:13:53.330 --> 00:13:55.789
price was a little bit too high, if it was in

00:13:55.789 --> 00:13:58.210
the range of what Justin Jefferson and Jamar

00:13:58.210 --> 00:14:00.529
Chase was making, okay, fine. I have no problem

00:14:00.529 --> 00:14:04.210
with that. You have every right to say no. But

00:14:04.210 --> 00:14:08.970
if it's 30, 32, maybe 33 at best, Who's complaining?

00:14:09.509 --> 00:14:13.149
No one. You give him the deal. He shows up. Everyone's

00:14:13.149 --> 00:14:16.490
happy. No problems. Now that we've talked about

00:14:16.490 --> 00:14:19.070
contracts and whatnot for now, because we still

00:14:19.070 --> 00:14:20.309
have some other things we have to talk about

00:14:20.309 --> 00:14:21.990
with contracts. Let's talk about the Players

00:14:21.990 --> 00:14:25.190
Association. So we all know about the whole collusion

00:14:25.190 --> 00:14:27.009
case. I talked about it in the previous episode.

00:14:27.110 --> 00:14:28.690
If you guys haven't listened to it, please go

00:14:28.690 --> 00:14:31.549
ahead and listen to it. Also, listen to Pablo

00:14:31.549 --> 00:14:35.799
Torres's. episode as well, because he did a more

00:14:35.799 --> 00:14:38.840
deeper dive into the entire collusion case as

00:14:38.840 --> 00:14:43.779
well. So this is what the NFLPA had to say about

00:14:43.779 --> 00:14:46.039
the calls for the resignation of Executive Director

00:14:46.039 --> 00:14:49.860
Lloyd Howe, and I quote, As members of the NFLPA

00:14:49.860 --> 00:14:52.840
Executive Committee, we categorically reject

00:14:52.840 --> 00:14:55.519
false reports insinuating doubts within this

00:14:55.519 --> 00:14:58.039
committee or suggestions that we have asked our

00:14:58.039 --> 00:15:01.139
Executive Director to step down. We further reject

00:15:01.139 --> 00:15:03.480
attempts to miscategorize the committee's views

00:15:03.480 --> 00:15:06.360
or divide our membership. We have established

00:15:06.360 --> 00:15:09.179
a deliberate process to carefully assess the

00:15:09.179 --> 00:15:11.539
issues that have been raised and will not engage

00:15:11.539 --> 00:15:14.820
in a rush to judgment. We believe in and remain

00:15:14.820 --> 00:15:17.039
committed to working with our executive director

00:15:17.039 --> 00:15:20.100
and other members of the NFLPA staff and player

00:15:20.100 --> 00:15:22.259
leadership who have a shared mission to advance

00:15:22.259 --> 00:15:24.940
the best interests of players. As we approach

00:15:24.940 --> 00:15:27.740
the 2025 season, we look forward to continuing

00:15:27.740 --> 00:15:29.899
our important work together and ensuring the

00:15:29.899 --> 00:15:33.000
strength and unity of our association. If this

00:15:33.000 --> 00:15:35.559
ain't a load of shit, I don't know what is. I'm

00:15:35.559 --> 00:15:37.779
going to be really honest with you because there

00:15:37.779 --> 00:15:40.980
is no way under God's green earth that you as

00:15:40.980 --> 00:15:44.960
an executive director and the NFLPA staff can

00:15:44.960 --> 00:15:48.379
allow someone like lord howell to continue to

00:15:48.379 --> 00:15:51.139
represent the players association when literally

00:15:51.139 --> 00:15:54.639
in this collusion case it shows his inability

00:15:54.639 --> 00:15:59.899
to execute his job not to mention the way that

00:15:59.899 --> 00:16:03.580
he was able to acquire said job is also controversial

00:16:03.580 --> 00:16:07.480
in itself why would you want someone like that

00:16:07.480 --> 00:16:10.200
representing the players association why would

00:16:10.200 --> 00:16:13.309
you want somebody who clearly is not for the

00:16:13.309 --> 00:16:16.309
players. He's for the corporation, which is the

00:16:16.309 --> 00:16:20.870
NFL. May I remind you, folks, if you guys haven't

00:16:20.870 --> 00:16:23.610
looked this up, Lloyd Howell was a part of one

00:16:23.610 --> 00:16:28.929
of the biggest scams in U .S. history with Booz

00:16:28.929 --> 00:16:31.210
Allen. I'm not going to go in depth with it because

00:16:31.210 --> 00:16:34.269
if I do, that'll be another 20 to 35 minutes.

00:16:34.409 --> 00:16:36.750
I'm not going to do that. If you want to, go

00:16:36.750 --> 00:16:40.049
on Google, type in his name, and then type in

00:16:40.049 --> 00:16:41.879
Booz Allen. It's going to tell you the entire

00:16:41.879 --> 00:16:45.980
story. Why would you want someone like that representing

00:16:45.980 --> 00:16:50.879
the Players Association? No. Absolutely, positively,

00:16:50.899 --> 00:16:56.259
hell no. And if I'm a player, I'm raising some

00:16:56.259 --> 00:17:00.139
sand about this because why? This collusion case...

00:17:00.440 --> 00:17:03.179
On top of this statement shows that the Players

00:17:03.179 --> 00:17:06.720
Association is not for the player. Instead, it

00:17:06.720 --> 00:17:09.640
is for the owners, it is for the league, and

00:17:09.640 --> 00:17:11.980
it is for the Shield. And that's not how this

00:17:11.980 --> 00:17:15.460
is supposed to work. The Players Union is supposed

00:17:15.460 --> 00:17:19.019
to be the thorn in the league's side. They are

00:17:19.019 --> 00:17:22.440
supposed to be the people that continues to just

00:17:22.440 --> 00:17:25.519
nag at them every single chance that they get.

00:17:26.099 --> 00:17:29.720
Every time. But we don't have that right now.

00:17:30.079 --> 00:17:33.500
Instead, what we have is two people that say,

00:17:33.619 --> 00:17:36.099
hey, we really don't like each other, but in

00:17:36.099 --> 00:17:38.440
actuality, you guys are doing business with each

00:17:38.440 --> 00:17:41.299
other. On top of that, if you guys didn't listen

00:17:41.299 --> 00:17:43.039
to the previous episode when I talk about the

00:17:43.039 --> 00:17:45.019
collusion case, there's also something that I

00:17:45.019 --> 00:17:48.119
want to add in as well. Lloyd Howell is a part

00:17:48.119 --> 00:17:51.299
-time consultant for the Car -L Group, which

00:17:51.299 --> 00:17:54.140
is an NFL -approved private equity firm that

00:17:54.140 --> 00:17:57.599
is seeking minority ownership within NFL franchises.

00:17:59.240 --> 00:18:03.279
Conflict of interest? Somebody that clearly is

00:18:03.279 --> 00:18:07.700
for the league instead of the players? Oh, but

00:18:07.700 --> 00:18:13.099
wait. There's more. And you were a part of the

00:18:13.099 --> 00:18:15.700
group who said, you know what? We can't let this

00:18:15.700 --> 00:18:17.799
case get out to the players. We are going to

00:18:17.799 --> 00:18:21.660
hide this. Let's agree, NFL, to hide this from

00:18:21.660 --> 00:18:24.220
the players so they don't know exactly what we

00:18:24.220 --> 00:18:28.880
just did. Folks, if I'm a player... If I'm someone

00:18:28.880 --> 00:18:31.599
like a Patrick Mahomes or Lamar Jackson or Russell

00:18:31.599 --> 00:18:33.740
Wilson, hell, if I'm any of the players that

00:18:33.740 --> 00:18:36.940
were involved in this collusion case, I am blowing

00:18:36.940 --> 00:18:40.480
this up. I'm name dropping because it's not right

00:18:40.480 --> 00:18:43.119
that you have somebody in a position of power

00:18:43.119 --> 00:18:46.559
such as Lloyd Howell who is not in favor for

00:18:46.559 --> 00:18:49.500
the players, but instead is in favor for the

00:18:49.500 --> 00:18:54.420
league and the owners. At some point, someone's

00:18:54.420 --> 00:18:56.599
going to have to man up and talk about this.

00:18:57.049 --> 00:18:59.589
At some point, significant change is going to

00:18:59.589 --> 00:19:02.990
have to occur. Otherwise, people like Lloyd Howell

00:19:02.990 --> 00:19:05.549
are going to continue to stay in power. People

00:19:05.549 --> 00:19:08.369
like J .C. Tretter, yeah, J .C. Tretter, that

00:19:08.369 --> 00:19:10.509
J .C. Tretter, the one that played for the Browns,

00:19:10.509 --> 00:19:13.670
the one that put Lloyd Howell in position because

00:19:13.670 --> 00:19:15.549
y 'all was trying to look out for each other.

00:19:15.990 --> 00:19:19.410
That's what that is. You scratch your back, I

00:19:19.410 --> 00:19:21.509
scratch yours. You look out for me, I look out

00:19:21.509 --> 00:19:24.779
for you. And this is where we are. And if I'm

00:19:24.779 --> 00:19:28.500
a player, especially a player of power, I'm raising

00:19:28.500 --> 00:19:31.779
sand. I'm raising sand every chance I get. Every

00:19:31.779 --> 00:19:34.640
time somebody wants to ask me a question, I'm

00:19:34.640 --> 00:19:36.900
bringing it up because you know why? It needs

00:19:36.900 --> 00:19:40.119
to be known. The players need to know exactly

00:19:40.119 --> 00:19:42.720
what's going on because this is going to have

00:19:42.720 --> 00:19:47.339
future ramifications on future contracts. Look

00:19:47.339 --> 00:19:49.220
at the next batch of quarterbacks that are going

00:19:49.220 --> 00:19:51.960
to be looking for money. You don't think these

00:19:51.960 --> 00:19:53.660
teams are going to do the same thing that they

00:19:53.660 --> 00:19:55.940
just finished doing to Russell Wilson, Kyler

00:19:55.940 --> 00:20:00.099
Murray, and Lamar Jackson? Please. No matter

00:20:00.099 --> 00:20:02.519
how many handshakes they give you, no matter

00:20:02.519 --> 00:20:04.700
how many times they ask, oh yeah, how's mom?

00:20:05.160 --> 00:20:07.680
How's your family? How's your grandma? How's

00:20:07.680 --> 00:20:10.500
things going? Guess what? Remember this case.

00:20:10.980 --> 00:20:14.640
Remember this collusion case. Remember that the

00:20:14.640 --> 00:20:16.839
league and the owners came together and said,

00:20:16.859 --> 00:20:18.799
you know what? We are going to do everything

00:20:18.799 --> 00:20:21.720
in our power. to prevent players from getting

00:20:21.720 --> 00:20:24.839
large guarantees. Oh, by the way, we're doing

00:20:24.839 --> 00:20:27.799
this in a period of time where the NFL is making

00:20:27.799 --> 00:20:30.720
so much money that we just want to keep it for

00:20:30.720 --> 00:20:33.700
ourselves. But you know what? We have no need

00:20:33.700 --> 00:20:35.420
to talk about that, you know? We have no need

00:20:35.420 --> 00:20:37.180
to talk about that because we got some other

00:20:37.180 --> 00:20:38.799
things that we have to talk about, and that is

00:20:38.799 --> 00:20:42.039
this whole, well, you know what, better yet?

00:20:42.660 --> 00:20:45.559
Yeah, I'm going to say the TJ Watt thing later

00:20:45.559 --> 00:20:48.359
on. We have to talk about the rookie deals real

00:20:48.359 --> 00:20:51.589
quick. A lot of people are wondering what's going

00:20:51.589 --> 00:20:54.930
on with the second round rookies. And I finally

00:20:54.930 --> 00:20:57.269
got some clarification about it. So all the second

00:20:57.269 --> 00:20:59.549
round rookies are now looking for fully guaranteed

00:20:59.549 --> 00:21:03.190
contracts. And this is all thanks to the Texans.

00:21:03.329 --> 00:21:06.890
So the Texans gave Jaden Higgins the first fully

00:21:06.890 --> 00:21:09.970
guaranteed contract as a second round pick. And

00:21:09.970 --> 00:21:13.450
so in doing so, the Browns followed suit and

00:21:13.450 --> 00:21:16.089
they gave their second round pick, Carson Swearinger,

00:21:16.210 --> 00:21:19.339
as a fully guaranteed contract as well. Now,

00:21:19.339 --> 00:21:22.559
Trey Harris, excuse me, wide receiver for the

00:21:22.559 --> 00:21:25.259
Chargers, he's officially holding out because

00:21:25.259 --> 00:21:28.720
he wants the same thing as well. So at some point,

00:21:29.019 --> 00:21:30.960
league offices are going to have to give in.

00:21:31.359 --> 00:21:33.660
You're just going to have to give second round

00:21:33.660 --> 00:21:35.819
picks fully guaranteed contracts. That's just

00:21:35.819 --> 00:21:38.640
what it is. We knew at some point this was going

00:21:38.640 --> 00:21:42.099
to happen, and it finally happened. Now, this

00:21:42.099 --> 00:21:44.619
is probably the wrong time for this to happen

00:21:44.619 --> 00:21:47.380
because you have the whole collusion case happening

00:21:47.380 --> 00:21:50.180
and you have the after effects with that and

00:21:50.180 --> 00:21:52.420
now you got this. So, a lot of stuff going on.

00:21:52.539 --> 00:21:55.000
But do I think there's going to be some resolution

00:21:55.000 --> 00:21:58.880
anytime soon? No. Do I think this could possibly

00:21:58.880 --> 00:22:03.420
get pretty ugly? Yes. Because if you only have

00:22:03.420 --> 00:22:07.099
two second round picks that have signed their

00:22:07.099 --> 00:22:09.910
deals, and nobody else has signed their contract,

00:22:10.210 --> 00:22:12.930
that's not good. If you're a fan, you can't really

00:22:12.930 --> 00:22:15.390
be mad at the players. You have to be in some

00:22:15.390 --> 00:22:18.269
ways mad at the agents because the agents are

00:22:18.269 --> 00:22:21.130
telling them, hey, don't step on the field until

00:22:21.130 --> 00:22:23.430
you have a fully guaranteed contract. Are they

00:22:23.430 --> 00:22:27.029
wrong? No. But again, this goes back to the previous

00:22:27.029 --> 00:22:29.470
episode that I put out about the whole Kalooza

00:22:29.470 --> 00:22:32.269
case and guaranteed contracts. At some point,

00:22:32.369 --> 00:22:34.630
players are going to have to get fully guaranteed

00:22:34.630 --> 00:22:38.180
contracts. That's just what it is. You play a

00:22:38.180 --> 00:22:41.759
very brutal sport and you deserve a fully guaranteed

00:22:41.759 --> 00:22:45.160
contract. Now, the way it's structured varies,

00:22:45.240 --> 00:22:50.940
but there is a way that teams can have a fully

00:22:50.940 --> 00:22:54.200
guaranteed contract for players. And that should

00:22:54.200 --> 00:22:56.440
be an option that should be readily available

00:22:56.440 --> 00:22:59.440
for anybody if they want to take that route.

00:22:59.960 --> 00:23:01.960
But y 'all don't want to hear me talk about that.

00:23:02.660 --> 00:23:04.299
Y 'all don't want to hear me talk about that.

00:23:04.940 --> 00:23:06.599
But I know what y 'all want me to talk about,

00:23:06.700 --> 00:23:11.339
and that is T .J. Watt, okay? Yeah. Steelers

00:23:11.339 --> 00:23:13.819
fans, you're going to hate me today. But guess

00:23:13.819 --> 00:23:16.960
what? I love each and every one of you. So according

00:23:16.960 --> 00:23:21.160
to Andrew Filippone, Pat McAfee Steelers insider

00:23:21.160 --> 00:23:23.740
Mark Caboli says the Steelers have inquired around

00:23:23.740 --> 00:23:26.140
the league to see what T .J. Watt's trade value

00:23:26.140 --> 00:23:29.380
is, called it, and I quote, doing their due diligence,

00:23:29.539 --> 00:23:32.460
end quote. That's a big change in the T .J. Watt

00:23:32.460 --> 00:23:34.400
discussion from a big -time Steelers insider.

00:23:34.880 --> 00:23:37.160
That's what Filippone put out not too long ago.

00:23:37.480 --> 00:23:41.799
Then 24 hours later, Mark Carbole puts this out.

00:23:42.000 --> 00:23:44.240
He says Steelers are still in a holding pattern

00:23:44.240 --> 00:23:46.920
with T .J. Watt's contract extension, length

00:23:46.920 --> 00:23:49.500
of deal, guarantees, and total value. Basically,

00:23:49.599 --> 00:23:52.079
everything, to some varying degrees, are the

00:23:52.079 --> 00:23:54.779
sticky points right now. Even so, there is no

00:23:54.779 --> 00:23:57.039
anticipation for Watt to hold out when camp starts

00:23:57.039 --> 00:23:59.880
on July 23rd, and there has been no inquiries

00:23:59.880 --> 00:24:01.920
made to other teams about trading him according

00:24:01.920 --> 00:24:05.380
to sources. Basically, these are how high -profile

00:24:05.380 --> 00:24:08.079
and big -money deals go. Seems like it could

00:24:08.079 --> 00:24:12.240
go down the same wires it did in 2021. Now, according

00:24:12.240 --> 00:24:15.039
to Nick Faribault from the Sports Breakdown podcast

00:24:15.039 --> 00:24:18.559
via PennLive, shout out to him, He said the same

00:24:18.559 --> 00:24:21.619
thing, which is year three guarantees and contract

00:24:21.619 --> 00:24:26.140
leave. Here's the thing. Okay. If I'm the Steelers,

00:24:26.140 --> 00:24:29.559
I'm trading away T .J. Watt. And I'm just going

00:24:29.559 --> 00:24:33.160
to be very honest with you. This team is nowhere

00:24:33.160 --> 00:24:36.740
competitive. This team has not shown that it

00:24:36.740 --> 00:24:39.339
is going in the right direction. And there are

00:24:39.339 --> 00:24:44.000
too many question marks on this team. It's time

00:24:44.000 --> 00:24:46.900
for you to give TJ Watt a better opportunity.

00:24:47.500 --> 00:24:51.740
If you aren't willing to break out of the mold

00:24:51.740 --> 00:24:54.039
that you've been in for the past, I don't know,

00:24:54.140 --> 00:24:59.380
10, 15 or 20 some years for a star player, a

00:24:59.380 --> 00:25:04.119
game changer, a person that stats show that if

00:25:04.119 --> 00:25:06.339
you don't have him on the field, you are going

00:25:06.339 --> 00:25:10.000
to lose more games than win. Then what are we

00:25:10.000 --> 00:25:13.230
doing? See, it's one thing if this was just a

00:25:13.230 --> 00:25:16.650
normal pass rusher who he's had, you know, two

00:25:16.650 --> 00:25:19.849
really good years and, you know, he's feeling

00:25:19.849 --> 00:25:23.130
himself and whatnot. Okay, fine. You can put

00:25:23.130 --> 00:25:27.210
your feet in the sand. But y 'all know TJ Watt

00:25:27.210 --> 00:25:30.369
took a discount with the last deal. So it's only

00:25:30.369 --> 00:25:34.789
right that you do right by him this deal. Not

00:25:34.789 --> 00:25:37.990
to mention, let me put a little bookmark in that

00:25:37.990 --> 00:25:40.029
because we have to go back to the whole Kaboli

00:25:40.029 --> 00:25:43.140
thing. We all know Marco Boli got a phone call.

00:25:43.740 --> 00:25:46.900
Because, see, ain't nobody finna just put out

00:25:46.900 --> 00:25:49.980
a tweet in 24 hours that says something contradicting

00:25:49.980 --> 00:25:53.099
to what they originally said. No. The Steelers

00:25:53.099 --> 00:25:56.019
are shopping around T .J. Watt. They're asking

00:25:56.019 --> 00:25:59.400
different teams, hey, if we made T .J. Watt open,

00:25:59.640 --> 00:26:02.240
what's the asking price? What would you be willing

00:26:02.240 --> 00:26:04.779
to give up to get someone like a T .J. Watt?

00:26:04.900 --> 00:26:06.579
And they probably didn't like their response.

00:26:07.390 --> 00:26:10.269
And so they went back into, you know, contract

00:26:10.269 --> 00:26:12.410
negotiations. On top of that, they don't want

00:26:12.410 --> 00:26:14.490
something like that to get out because if that

00:26:14.490 --> 00:26:17.869
happens, that could potentially mess up any progress

00:26:17.869 --> 00:26:21.170
that's been made between T .J. Watt and the Steelers

00:26:21.170 --> 00:26:25.410
right now. See, I know there's going to be people

00:26:25.410 --> 00:26:26.470
that's going to be thinking, well, you got your

00:26:26.470 --> 00:26:28.970
tinfoil hat on and you're probably, you know,

00:26:28.990 --> 00:26:31.869
in a dark basement, in a dark room with no light

00:26:31.869 --> 00:26:33.869
on, you know, thinking about these conspiracy

00:26:33.869 --> 00:26:35.569
theories. No, I'm just putting two and two together.

00:26:35.789 --> 00:26:40.319
December comes around. Guess where they're going?

00:26:40.799 --> 00:26:46.779
Cancun, Turks and Caicos, Paris, London, Japan,

00:26:47.220 --> 00:26:54.319
Canada, Brazil, Cape Town. You know, vacation.

00:26:54.819 --> 00:26:58.380
See, here's the thing, okay? Last season showed

00:26:58.380 --> 00:27:02.799
us a lot. That gauntlet specifically showed that

00:27:02.799 --> 00:27:04.980
this team still can't go toe -to -toe with the

00:27:04.980 --> 00:27:08.740
Chiefs or the Ravens. or even the Eagles. So

00:27:08.740 --> 00:27:12.839
if I'm TJ Watt, if I'm getting up in age, if

00:27:12.839 --> 00:27:15.940
I want to win a championship, and I know that

00:27:15.940 --> 00:27:19.819
this team is not in no capacity of winning a

00:27:19.819 --> 00:27:22.900
championship within the next three years, I got

00:27:22.900 --> 00:27:26.000
to go. I got to bust a move because I want to

00:27:26.000 --> 00:27:29.700
win a championship. And if I'm TJ Watt, I would

00:27:29.700 --> 00:27:31.779
say, you know what, Omar, I'm going to make it

00:27:31.779 --> 00:27:35.569
easy on you. Trade me. Because there's no need

00:27:35.569 --> 00:27:38.650
in me staying on this team and continuing to

00:27:38.650 --> 00:27:41.390
buy into this foolishness that every single year

00:27:41.390 --> 00:27:44.630
they find a way to build it up with Steelers

00:27:44.630 --> 00:27:47.170
fans and the media thinking that, oh, the Steelers

00:27:47.170 --> 00:27:48.769
are legitimate contenders when they're really

00:27:48.769 --> 00:27:51.690
not. They're actually pretenders. There's no

00:27:51.690 --> 00:27:53.750
need to do it. Think about this for a second

00:27:53.750 --> 00:27:56.230
here, folks. Next year, they're going to have

00:27:56.230 --> 00:27:59.349
to draft a quarterback. Okay, cool. And on top

00:27:59.349 --> 00:28:01.640
of that. You'll probably have to get some weapons

00:28:01.640 --> 00:28:03.640
and you may have other things that you have to

00:28:03.640 --> 00:28:05.200
talk about, which we will talk about when we

00:28:05.200 --> 00:28:08.200
get to gut check time. If you're TJ Watt, you

00:28:08.200 --> 00:28:10.599
understand that rookie quarterbacks don't win

00:28:10.599 --> 00:28:13.539
the Super Bowl. So then that's another year that

00:28:13.539 --> 00:28:16.680
you're going to have to wait. Who wants to keep

00:28:16.680 --> 00:28:20.619
on waiting? See, here is the number one thing.

00:28:20.920 --> 00:28:24.279
Here's the secret sauce for all the teams right

00:28:24.279 --> 00:28:26.180
now that are Super Bowl contenders. You want

00:28:26.180 --> 00:28:28.420
to know the one thing that they all have in common?

00:28:29.099 --> 00:28:32.940
They hit on their drafts. That's the number one

00:28:32.940 --> 00:28:35.400
thing that's been keeping the Steelers from being

00:28:35.400 --> 00:28:38.200
ultra competitive right now. They haven't been

00:28:38.200 --> 00:28:41.059
hitting on their draft picks. That's the reason

00:28:41.059 --> 00:28:43.819
why Kevin Colbert and those Steelers in the early

00:28:43.819 --> 00:28:46.180
2000s were super successful. Because you know

00:28:46.180 --> 00:28:49.660
why? Year after year, what was Kevin Colbert

00:28:49.660 --> 00:28:53.279
doing? Hitting on his draft picks. Not just his

00:28:53.279 --> 00:28:56.039
first and second round picks, but his third,

00:28:56.200 --> 00:28:59.869
fourth, fifth, sixth. Seventh round picks. And

00:28:59.869 --> 00:29:02.450
so when you hit on those picks, that mitigates

00:29:02.450 --> 00:29:05.730
the cost in trying to get somebody via free agency

00:29:05.730 --> 00:29:10.190
or in the trade. But now this team has gone through

00:29:10.190 --> 00:29:14.470
a stretch since 2017 because we all know that

00:29:14.470 --> 00:29:17.609
TJ Watt is the last first rounder to get a second

00:29:17.609 --> 00:29:20.309
contract with this team. Since then, Terrell

00:29:20.309 --> 00:29:23.349
Edmonds, Devin Bush, Kenny Pickett, who else

00:29:23.349 --> 00:29:27.240
you want to go? Possibly Broderick Jones. That's

00:29:27.240 --> 00:29:31.660
almost four people, four first -rounders that

00:29:31.660 --> 00:29:33.720
didn't get a second contract with the Steelers.

00:29:36.039 --> 00:29:39.359
That pushes you back a lot. That affects you

00:29:39.359 --> 00:29:41.799
a lot in your decision -making moving forward,

00:29:41.880 --> 00:29:45.359
not to mention the mishandling of Kenny Pickett

00:29:45.359 --> 00:29:49.339
by not firing Matt Canada after that first season,

00:29:49.440 --> 00:29:52.390
instead of keeping him. That also pushed the

00:29:52.390 --> 00:29:54.750
team back. A lot of moves that have been made

00:29:54.750 --> 00:29:57.069
for the Steelers have pushed them back instead

00:29:57.069 --> 00:30:01.410
of pushed them forward. So if I'm TJ Watt, send

00:30:01.410 --> 00:30:04.490
me to the Eagles. Send me to the Lions, 49ers,

00:30:04.529 --> 00:30:06.009
you know, teams that are actually competitive.

00:30:06.829 --> 00:30:09.930
Not a team that just shouts from the mountaintop,

00:30:09.930 --> 00:30:11.769
oh, yeah, we're super competitive. Oh, yeah,

00:30:11.890 --> 00:30:14.750
this is going to be our year. It's a Super Bowl

00:30:14.750 --> 00:30:16.910
mentality. That's all that it is. No, it's not.

00:30:17.560 --> 00:30:19.519
No, it's not. But you know what? You know what

00:30:19.519 --> 00:30:21.619
time it is? It's gut check time, folks, all right?

00:30:21.680 --> 00:30:24.900
Let's talk about gut check time because this

00:30:24.900 --> 00:30:26.220
one's going to be a little bit different, okay?

00:30:27.000 --> 00:30:29.079
Instead of us doing the normal one that we used

00:30:29.079 --> 00:30:30.680
to do during the regular season, we're going

00:30:30.680 --> 00:30:31.940
to do something a little bit different. This

00:30:31.940 --> 00:30:34.619
one is for the training camp, okay? So I decided

00:30:34.619 --> 00:30:37.039
to break this down like this. So we're going

00:30:37.039 --> 00:30:39.059
to talk about positional battles to watch out

00:30:39.059 --> 00:30:41.859
for, players to keep an eye out for, the storyline

00:30:41.859 --> 00:30:44.740
for the team, and possible free agency additions.

00:30:45.690 --> 00:30:48.009
So let's just get into it. AFC North, all right?

00:30:48.029 --> 00:30:50.410
So with the Ravens, the positional battles that

00:30:50.410 --> 00:30:53.609
I'm looking out for are guard, cornerback, and

00:30:53.609 --> 00:30:56.150
not specifically cornerback one, quarterback

00:30:56.150 --> 00:30:57.869
two, quarterback three, or quarterback four,

00:30:57.970 --> 00:31:00.390
but, you know, quarterback five and quarterback

00:31:00.390 --> 00:31:04.329
six, edge, and inside linebacker. Now, here are

00:31:04.329 --> 00:31:06.589
the players that I want to keep an eye out for.

00:31:06.710 --> 00:31:10.670
David Ajabo, Daniel Falele, TJ Tampa, Octavius

00:31:10.670 --> 00:31:14.099
Robinson, Adiza Isaac, and Ben Cleland. Now,

00:31:14.119 --> 00:31:16.319
there's probably a few more, but those are the

00:31:16.319 --> 00:31:19.279
main ones that I really have my eye on. So let's

00:31:19.279 --> 00:31:22.019
start with David DiGiabo. The Ravens have been

00:31:22.019 --> 00:31:24.460
very lenient with David DiGiabo. They're trying

00:31:24.460 --> 00:31:27.039
to give him a chance because we all know that

00:31:27.039 --> 00:31:29.779
coming out of Michigan that year, he was slated

00:31:29.779 --> 00:31:32.599
to be a first round pick. And then he got injured.

00:31:33.299 --> 00:31:38.279
I think he routine drill and he just fell off.

00:31:38.940 --> 00:31:41.480
And so the Ravens are trying to, you know, find

00:31:41.480 --> 00:31:43.880
a way they can tap into that potential that he

00:31:43.880 --> 00:31:45.559
had when he was coming out of Michigan. So far,

00:31:45.599 --> 00:31:48.980
that's been unsuccessful. And he's on the outside

00:31:48.980 --> 00:31:52.920
looking in for for for pass rusher. And so if

00:31:52.920 --> 00:31:56.240
I'm David Ajabo, you got to be spectacular not

00:31:56.240 --> 00:31:58.359
only in training camp, but also in preseason.

00:31:58.440 --> 00:32:02.259
You have to give the Ravens a reason not to cut

00:32:02.259 --> 00:32:05.559
you, because right now it's looking likely that

00:32:05.559 --> 00:32:08.660
you may not make this team. Same thing with Daniel

00:32:08.660 --> 00:32:11.079
Felele. They've tried you in different positions

00:32:11.079 --> 00:32:13.339
and you haven't been successful in them. Why?

00:32:13.500 --> 00:32:17.799
I don't know. So can you blame the coaching?

00:32:18.180 --> 00:32:20.380
I don't think so because everybody else is catching

00:32:20.380 --> 00:32:23.940
along with it. So what exactly is causing Daniel

00:32:23.940 --> 00:32:26.400
Felele to not progress like how he's supposed

00:32:26.400 --> 00:32:28.559
to progress? Now, I'm not saying he has to take

00:32:28.559 --> 00:32:31.039
this ginormous leap and become an all pro this

00:32:31.039 --> 00:32:34.200
season. No, but if you are a league average to

00:32:34.200 --> 00:32:37.059
a league above average guard. Who's complaining?

00:32:37.440 --> 00:32:40.859
No one. But you have yet to show anything, and

00:32:40.859 --> 00:32:44.240
that's important. TJ Tampa, you're on the outside

00:32:44.240 --> 00:32:46.980
looking in, especially with the move with Jair

00:32:46.980 --> 00:32:49.380
Alexander. You're definitely on the outside looking

00:32:49.380 --> 00:32:51.960
in. So you have to be spectacular on special

00:32:51.960 --> 00:32:54.960
teams, spectacular in training camp, and in the

00:32:54.960 --> 00:32:58.140
preseason. If not, most likely they're probably

00:32:58.140 --> 00:33:02.660
going to move on from you. Tavius Robinson, I

00:33:02.660 --> 00:33:06.819
see the potential. But he has to put it together.

00:33:08.700 --> 00:33:11.940
The pass rusher group is somewhat already established.

00:33:12.279 --> 00:33:14.920
I mean, you have Adafio Way, you have Kyle Benoit,

00:33:15.140 --> 00:33:18.079
you have Mike Green, the Green Machine, and you

00:33:18.079 --> 00:33:20.779
have a few other pass rushers as well. And so

00:33:20.779 --> 00:33:24.259
if I'm Tavius Robinson, I have to have a spectacular

00:33:24.259 --> 00:33:27.619
training camp. See, that's the number one thing

00:33:27.619 --> 00:33:30.779
with all of these players. You have to be spectacular

00:33:30.779 --> 00:33:34.519
in training camp and in the preseason. See, that's

00:33:34.519 --> 00:33:36.180
the number one thing that messes up a lot of

00:33:36.180 --> 00:33:38.480
players, right? In training camp, you could be

00:33:38.480 --> 00:33:41.200
having like, you know, three or four really good

00:33:41.200 --> 00:33:43.420
practices. And, you know, everybody's talking

00:33:43.420 --> 00:33:46.319
very high about you. But when the preseason comes,

00:33:46.599 --> 00:33:48.799
you just fold. You're like a deer in headlights.

00:33:49.059 --> 00:33:51.440
Can't be like that. Adiza Isaac, it's the same

00:33:51.440 --> 00:33:53.660
thing that I said about Tavius Robertson and

00:33:53.660 --> 00:33:56.619
David Ajabo. Ben Cleveland, it's time for you

00:33:56.619 --> 00:33:59.420
to step up. It's time for you to show that you

00:33:59.420 --> 00:34:02.170
belong to this team. Otherwise, guess what's

00:34:02.170 --> 00:34:03.769
going to happen? The Ravens are going to get

00:34:03.769 --> 00:34:06.690
a free agent guard. And I can already tell you

00:34:06.690 --> 00:34:08.429
right now who they'll probably get. It'll probably

00:34:08.429 --> 00:34:11.170
be Brandon Sheriff. But I'm going to save that,

00:34:11.289 --> 00:34:14.070
okay? Now for the storyline for the Ravens right

00:34:14.070 --> 00:34:17.550
now, prepare for battle. Because this is a make

00:34:17.550 --> 00:34:20.119
it or break it year for the Ravens. It's time

00:34:20.119 --> 00:34:22.840
out for the excuses. It's time out for, well,

00:34:22.980 --> 00:34:25.360
we didn't do this and we didn't execute this.

00:34:25.400 --> 00:34:27.199
And how we did this, we would have made it here.

00:34:27.280 --> 00:34:28.840
We would have made it there. Would have, could

00:34:28.840 --> 00:34:31.059
have, should have. Nobody cares about that. It's

00:34:31.059 --> 00:34:32.719
either you make it to the Super Bowl this year

00:34:32.719 --> 00:34:35.519
or just blow it up because you've invested far

00:34:35.519 --> 00:34:38.739
too much into this team on both sides of the

00:34:38.739 --> 00:34:41.239
ball. And you guys haven't made at least to one

00:34:41.239 --> 00:34:43.639
Super Bowl. I'm not saying winning, but just

00:34:43.639 --> 00:34:46.559
making it to the Super Bowl would mean a lot.

00:34:47.139 --> 00:34:49.750
That would say, hey. All the moves that we've

00:34:49.750 --> 00:34:52.469
made, it was worth it. But if you don't make

00:34:52.469 --> 00:34:56.269
it to the Super Bowl, it was a waste. Every single

00:34:56.269 --> 00:34:59.809
move from going after Roquan Smith and Jair Alexander

00:34:59.809 --> 00:35:02.329
and getting this person, getting that person,

00:35:02.409 --> 00:35:04.969
getting this veteran, getting that veteran. It

00:35:04.969 --> 00:35:08.090
was all a waste. Because why? You're right back

00:35:08.090 --> 00:35:10.409
where you are for the past few years. Losing.

00:35:10.570 --> 00:35:12.170
And you don't want that. Now when we look at

00:35:12.170 --> 00:35:14.960
possible free agency additions. especially for

00:35:14.960 --> 00:35:17.099
guard, you know, you have Brandon Scherf, which

00:35:17.099 --> 00:35:18.699
I think is a really good option, and I think

00:35:18.699 --> 00:35:20.960
he probably would want to go to the Ravens. You

00:35:20.960 --> 00:35:24.760
have Shaq Mason, Willie Hernandez, John Feliciano,

00:35:25.079 --> 00:35:29.099
Cody Whitehair, Dalton Reisner, Mark Glanowski.

00:35:29.400 --> 00:35:32.900
You have varying options for guard. I mean, do

00:35:32.900 --> 00:35:35.300
you bring in somebody to possibly push Daniel

00:35:35.300 --> 00:35:38.940
Folele? Do you probably try to let him see how

00:35:38.940 --> 00:35:41.199
things go? What exactly are you going to do?

00:35:41.260 --> 00:35:44.409
Because if I'm Eric DaCosta at this point, The

00:35:44.409 --> 00:35:47.630
gloves are off. We can no longer continue to

00:35:47.630 --> 00:35:50.389
play patty cake with our players. Either you're

00:35:50.389 --> 00:35:53.289
on the train or you're not. And if you're not,

00:35:53.389 --> 00:35:55.230
we're going to bring somebody in. They're going

00:35:55.230 --> 00:35:58.150
to take your job. Simple as that. Because right

00:35:58.150 --> 00:36:00.710
now, the Ravens Super Bowl window is closing.

00:36:01.110 --> 00:36:03.550
And every single year that you make it to the

00:36:03.550 --> 00:36:05.650
Super Bowl, every single year that you don't

00:36:05.650 --> 00:36:08.849
win a Super Bowl is a wasted year. Let's continue.

00:36:09.130 --> 00:36:12.340
Edge. You have Von Miller, you have Matthew Judon,

00:36:12.440 --> 00:36:14.380
you have Preston and Z'Darrius Smith, you have

00:36:14.380 --> 00:36:16.739
Jadavion Clowney, Demarcus Walker, Kaiser White,

00:36:17.000 --> 00:36:20.400
and John Kaminsky. Now, here's the thing. Jadavion

00:36:20.400 --> 00:36:23.099
Clowney, I feel like, is a very interesting signing

00:36:23.099 --> 00:36:25.920
because he's had history playing with the Ravens,

00:36:25.920 --> 00:36:27.960
and he actually played really well with the Ravens.

00:36:28.039 --> 00:36:30.159
That's how he was able to get the deal with the

00:36:30.159 --> 00:36:33.800
Panthers. I think if the edge position doesn't

00:36:33.800 --> 00:36:36.260
look that well, probably by the second or third

00:36:36.260 --> 00:36:38.780
week of training camp, I'll call Jadavion Clowney.

00:36:39.880 --> 00:36:45.260
Because, again, it's time to start winning. Inside

00:36:45.260 --> 00:36:51.119
linebacker. See, here's the thing with inside

00:36:51.119 --> 00:36:54.059
linebacker, okay? And this has nothing to do

00:36:54.059 --> 00:36:56.840
with Roquan Smith. This has to do with transition.

00:36:57.559 --> 00:37:00.000
Because right now, Teddy Buchanan can take his

00:37:00.000 --> 00:37:04.579
job. Teddy Buchanan looked really well in minicamp

00:37:04.579 --> 00:37:09.179
and in OTAs. Trent Simpson, your head is on the

00:37:09.179 --> 00:37:15.039
swivel. So whatever you need to do, do it. Because

00:37:15.039 --> 00:37:17.119
right now, somebody could possibly take your

00:37:17.119 --> 00:37:20.300
job. But if the Ravens want to take a veteran

00:37:20.300 --> 00:37:22.480
approach, they can go after someone like a Jawan

00:37:22.480 --> 00:37:25.280
Bentley, Devondre Campbell, which I don't think

00:37:25.280 --> 00:37:28.219
that will happen. If you know, you know. Eric

00:37:28.219 --> 00:37:30.420
Hendricks and Neville Hewitt, just to name a

00:37:30.420 --> 00:37:34.519
few. So all in all... The Ravens are still in

00:37:34.519 --> 00:37:36.320
a really good position. I don't want to take

00:37:36.320 --> 00:37:38.219
that away from the Ravens. They're still in a

00:37:38.219 --> 00:37:39.579
really good position. They're still competitive.

00:37:39.900 --> 00:37:42.619
They are still a Super Bowl team. But the time

00:37:42.619 --> 00:37:46.139
for excuses is over. You have everything at your

00:37:46.139 --> 00:37:48.559
disposal, especially with the move that they

00:37:48.559 --> 00:37:51.199
made to get Jair Alexander. Oh, there's definitely

00:37:51.199 --> 00:37:53.980
no excuses. If the Ravens don't win this year,

00:37:54.059 --> 00:37:57.440
oh, that's it. That's it. Start calling for people's

00:37:57.440 --> 00:37:59.340
jobs. Start calling for people to get traded.

00:37:59.500 --> 00:38:02.429
All that and more. Because it's time to start

00:38:02.429 --> 00:38:05.170
winning. I'm going to beat the dead horse until

00:38:05.170 --> 00:38:08.210
the horse is no more. Until the horse is sprouting

00:38:08.210 --> 00:38:12.429
up flowers. It's time to start winning. Now let's

00:38:12.429 --> 00:38:14.590
get to the Browns. There are positional battles

00:38:14.590 --> 00:38:16.469
I'm looking out for. Quarterback, running back,

00:38:16.650 --> 00:38:19.489
wide receiver, edge, and left tackle. Players

00:38:19.489 --> 00:38:21.449
that I'm keeping an eye on. Deontay Johnson,

00:38:21.650 --> 00:38:23.909
DeJuan Jones, Kenny Pickett, Dylan Gabriel, Shador

00:38:23.909 --> 00:38:27.130
Sanders, and Dylan Sampson. Their storyline.

00:38:27.670 --> 00:38:30.719
Who's backing Flacco? Now, before we get to the

00:38:30.719 --> 00:38:32.940
storyline, let's get to the players, okay? So,

00:38:32.960 --> 00:38:35.800
Deontay Johnson, for starters, you're on a vet

00:38:35.800 --> 00:38:39.159
minimum. You make one crucial mistake, they can

00:38:39.159 --> 00:38:44.800
cut you. DeJuan Jones, it's a little bit tricky

00:38:44.800 --> 00:38:46.699
with him because if I'm not mistaken, he's coming

00:38:46.699 --> 00:38:49.519
off of injuries. So, for one, you want to see

00:38:49.519 --> 00:38:53.099
what condition he's in. But two, you want to

00:38:53.099 --> 00:38:55.380
see if he can take that next step to being better

00:38:55.380 --> 00:39:02.599
than what he was last season. Yeah, that offensive

00:39:02.599 --> 00:39:05.780
line is not looking pretty good right now. And

00:39:05.780 --> 00:39:07.719
it also doesn't help that Jedrick Willis has

00:39:07.719 --> 00:39:09.500
already said that he's not playing this season

00:39:09.500 --> 00:39:11.739
so that he can get healthy for next season, which

00:39:11.739 --> 00:39:15.519
I completely understand. But man, if I'm the

00:39:15.519 --> 00:39:18.239
Browns, I would probably try to find a way to

00:39:18.239 --> 00:39:20.619
get at least like a swing tackle or something

00:39:20.619 --> 00:39:23.840
as an insurance policy. Can you pick it? You're

00:39:23.840 --> 00:39:27.079
on the outside looking in, brother. Right now,

00:39:27.099 --> 00:39:29.039
I would venture to say the Browns are probably

00:39:29.039 --> 00:39:31.619
going to roll with Shador and Dylan Gabriel and

00:39:31.619 --> 00:39:34.519
Joe Flacco before giving you a chance. Now, granted,

00:39:34.639 --> 00:39:37.360
by some accounts, people will consider you as

00:39:37.360 --> 00:39:40.659
a veteran. But right now, you really haven't

00:39:40.659 --> 00:39:44.340
shown anything in your career for one reason

00:39:44.340 --> 00:39:47.500
or the next. But I'm a little bit skeptical with

00:39:47.500 --> 00:39:51.269
Kenny Pickett right now. Dylan Gabriel. You're

00:39:51.269 --> 00:39:54.389
on the fence as well. Same thing with Shador

00:39:54.389 --> 00:39:58.110
Sanders. It's basically who's going to be quarterback

00:39:58.110 --> 00:40:00.670
two, quarterback three at this point. It's basically

00:40:00.670 --> 00:40:05.429
anybody's spot right now. Dylan Sampson, I want

00:40:05.429 --> 00:40:07.210
to see exactly what you're going to do, especially

00:40:07.210 --> 00:40:09.769
with this whole Quinn Sean Jenkins situation.

00:40:10.309 --> 00:40:13.849
This is now your opportunity to possibly get

00:40:13.849 --> 00:40:17.760
the starting running back role. So what exactly

00:40:17.760 --> 00:40:19.880
are you going to do? How are you going to respond

00:40:19.880 --> 00:40:23.360
with this opportunity is my question. Now for

00:40:23.360 --> 00:40:25.559
the storyline, who's backing Flacco? Like I just

00:40:25.559 --> 00:40:28.159
said, because right now no one's going to be

00:40:28.159 --> 00:40:29.840
focused on any other position than quarterback

00:40:29.840 --> 00:40:32.380
because that's the position that they invested

00:40:32.380 --> 00:40:35.659
the most into. They literally drafted two quarterbacks

00:40:35.659 --> 00:40:38.920
in one draft. So everyone's going to be focused

00:40:38.920 --> 00:40:41.639
on Shador as well as Dylan Gabriel, but I think

00:40:41.639 --> 00:40:43.780
they're going to be more focused on Shador, especially

00:40:43.780 --> 00:40:47.579
if the Browns give him an opportunity to start

00:40:47.579 --> 00:40:51.239
in one of these preseason games. Oh, man. Everybody

00:40:51.239 --> 00:40:53.619
is going to be talking about it. Now, when we

00:40:53.619 --> 00:40:56.000
look at free agency additions, especially for

00:40:56.000 --> 00:40:58.079
running back, they have options. Jamal Williams,

00:40:58.280 --> 00:41:01.159
Gus Edwards, Jeff Wilson, Naheem Hines, Amir

00:41:01.159 --> 00:41:03.300
Abdullah, Chase Edmonds, and Ernest Johnson.

00:41:04.010 --> 00:41:06.309
That could be, you know, that could be an option

00:41:06.309 --> 00:41:08.510
as well because he did used to play for the Browns

00:41:08.510 --> 00:41:11.929
at one point. For edge, as I already said before,

00:41:12.050 --> 00:41:14.789
with the Ravens, Von Miller, Matthew Judon, Preston

00:41:14.789 --> 00:41:17.309
Anza, Darius Smith, Jadavion Clowney, Demarcus

00:41:17.309 --> 00:41:20.389
Walker, Kaiser White, and John Kaminsky. Left

00:41:20.389 --> 00:41:22.809
tackle, there really isn't any options available.

00:41:23.150 --> 00:41:25.210
Sure, you could probably go with the swing tackle

00:41:25.210 --> 00:41:30.090
route, but even then, it's really not the best.

00:41:30.619 --> 00:41:33.420
Wide receiver, you have Keenan Allen, Amara Cooper,

00:41:33.679 --> 00:41:37.159
Gabe Davis, Nelson Aguilar, DJ Chark, Tyler Boyd,

00:41:37.199 --> 00:41:39.199
Chris Conley, and Jamison Crowder, just to name

00:41:39.199 --> 00:41:42.099
a few. So when it comes to players to look out

00:41:42.099 --> 00:41:44.460
for, I would say Jermaine Burton and Miles Murphy

00:41:44.460 --> 00:41:47.380
for right now. I was trying to find a few others,

00:41:47.480 --> 00:41:50.139
but really didn't have the best success. But

00:41:50.139 --> 00:41:52.320
the storyline for the Bengals, I would say, is

00:41:52.320 --> 00:41:55.079
who on the defense will step up? Especially with

00:41:55.079 --> 00:41:57.920
everything going on with Shamara Stewart and

00:41:57.920 --> 00:42:00.110
Trey Hendrickson. who on the defense is going

00:42:00.110 --> 00:42:03.429
to step up? Because right now, the Bengals' defense

00:42:03.429 --> 00:42:06.809
needs to move. Neither one of those pass rushers

00:42:06.809 --> 00:42:08.730
are going to be on the team this season. Pardon

00:42:08.730 --> 00:42:10.989
the interruption, but this is your GM, your bag

00:42:10.989 --> 00:42:13.769
road dominance, here to talk about RSS .com,

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I am a RSS .com affiliate, and so I just want

00:42:19.730 --> 00:42:22.889
to tell you for just a quick moment about why

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you should choose RSS .com. so me personally

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on my journey of podcasting i was looking at

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different platforms just to find the right place

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increase your podcast even more. So head on over

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to rss .com. I will be attaching my RSS affiliate

00:43:06.230 --> 00:43:09.030
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00:43:09.030 --> 00:43:12.250
that link, I will be able to receive some compensation

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for it. And with that compensation, I will be

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and thank you rss .com for making me an affiliate.

00:43:32.750 --> 00:43:35.429
Now back to the good stuff. Defensively, this

00:43:35.429 --> 00:43:38.030
team right now could literally cause the Bengals

00:43:38.030 --> 00:43:40.949
to not make it to the playoffs. I understand

00:43:40.949 --> 00:43:43.130
that they have Joe Burrow and Jamar Chase and

00:43:43.130 --> 00:43:45.030
Tee Higgins and they invest a lot of money into

00:43:45.030 --> 00:43:47.030
them and I understand they have Micah Secchi

00:43:47.030 --> 00:43:49.469
as well, but the fact of the matter is if you

00:43:49.469 --> 00:43:52.219
don't have a defense, You're not going anywhere.

00:43:52.619 --> 00:43:54.420
You're not making it to the AFC championship,

00:43:54.659 --> 00:43:57.000
let alone to the second round of the playoffs.

00:43:58.000 --> 00:44:00.760
So I don't know if the Bengals have to go and

00:44:00.760 --> 00:44:03.000
get somebody in free agency. I don't know if

00:44:03.000 --> 00:44:05.420
they have to try to find a way to, you know,

00:44:05.420 --> 00:44:08.639
resolve things between Trey Hendrickson and Shamar

00:44:08.639 --> 00:44:11.960
Stewart. But if I'm the front office. I would

00:44:11.960 --> 00:44:15.260
rather to have resolution between both pass rushers,

00:44:15.260 --> 00:44:17.719
but if I can't get that, then I'd rather go with

00:44:17.719 --> 00:44:20.059
Trey Hendrickson over Shamar Stewart because

00:44:20.059 --> 00:44:22.619
it looks like to me that Shamar Stewart is probably

00:44:22.619 --> 00:44:25.599
going to go back to college or find another way

00:44:25.599 --> 00:44:29.780
to just not be with the Bengals. Right now, if

00:44:29.780 --> 00:44:33.119
you're the Bengals, you have a lot to do within

00:44:33.119 --> 00:44:35.579
training camp. You have a lot of observations

00:44:35.579 --> 00:44:37.480
and a lot of tough decisions that you're going

00:44:37.480 --> 00:44:40.679
to have to make from the top down. And when we

00:44:40.679 --> 00:44:44.000
look at possible free agency additions, I just

00:44:44.000 --> 00:44:46.480
put safety in here just to, you know, just to

00:44:46.480 --> 00:44:47.880
have something to talk about. I mean, you have

00:44:47.880 --> 00:44:50.260
Marcus Williams, Justin Simmons, Jordan Whitehead,

00:44:50.440 --> 00:44:53.059
Julian Blackman, Quandre Diggs, Chuck Clark,

00:44:53.159 --> 00:44:56.320
just name a few. Edge rushers, you have Von Miller,

00:44:56.460 --> 00:44:59.760
Matthew Judon, Preston, Anza Darius -Smith. Jadeveon

00:44:59.760 --> 00:45:02.480
Clowney, Demarcus Walker, Kyzer White, John Kaminsky,

00:45:02.579 --> 00:45:05.239
as I said before, wide receiver, of course, Keenan

00:45:05.239 --> 00:45:07.579
Allen, Amar Cooper, Gabe Davis, Nelson Aguilar,

00:45:07.699 --> 00:45:10.619
DJ Char, Tyler Boyd, Chris Conley, Jameson Crowder.

00:45:10.619 --> 00:45:13.280
Now, I just want to preface this. When I meant

00:45:13.280 --> 00:45:17.280
receiver, I mean wide receiver three, if I'm

00:45:17.280 --> 00:45:20.760
not mistaken, because Jermaine Burton, I don't

00:45:20.760 --> 00:45:23.579
know what's going on with him, but he needs help,

00:45:23.719 --> 00:45:28.280
okay? You continue to just get into trouble.

00:45:28.400 --> 00:45:32.219
And I just don't understand why. Like, you're

00:45:32.219 --> 00:45:35.019
a very talented receiver. You showed a lot at

00:45:35.019 --> 00:45:38.320
Alabama. So I don't know what's going on. I don't

00:45:38.320 --> 00:45:40.900
know if you need a new change of scenery, whatever

00:45:40.900 --> 00:45:44.840
it is. Get it done. Because, bro, just stop.

00:45:45.679 --> 00:45:48.599
There's only so many times a team is going to

00:45:48.599 --> 00:45:51.139
give you a chance. Once you've run out of chances,

00:45:51.400 --> 00:45:55.340
that's it. Now let's get to the Steelers because

00:45:55.340 --> 00:45:58.659
this one is a little bit of a longer segment,

00:45:58.980 --> 00:46:02.139
okay? So positional battles, wide receiver, guard,

00:46:02.340 --> 00:46:04.800
tackle, defensive line, and safety, all right?

00:46:05.079 --> 00:46:07.940
So players to keep your eye out for, Isaiah Loudermilk,

00:46:07.940 --> 00:46:11.079
DeMarvin Liao, Daniel Aquale, Roderick Jones,

00:46:11.340 --> 00:46:13.460
Corey Trice, Beanie Bishop, Mason McCormick,

00:46:13.500 --> 00:46:15.980
Roman Wilson, Cole Holcomb, Logan Lee, and Dean

00:46:15.980 --> 00:46:19.019
Lowry, okay? So let's start with Isaiah Loudermilk.

00:46:19.019 --> 00:46:22.190
Well, specifically the defensive line. So the

00:46:22.190 --> 00:46:26.789
interior defensive line is packed. You have Derek

00:46:26.789 --> 00:46:28.769
Harmon, you have Y .A. Black, you have Daniel

00:46:28.769 --> 00:46:32.030
Aquale. You have a lot of defensive linemen.

00:46:32.110 --> 00:46:34.389
And not everyone's going to make the roster.

00:46:34.809 --> 00:46:38.090
So the question is, who's going to do it? Who's

00:46:38.090 --> 00:46:40.170
on the outside looking in? We already know Derek

00:46:40.170 --> 00:46:43.210
Harmon is safe. We know most likely Y .A. Black

00:46:43.210 --> 00:46:47.269
is possibly safe as well. So if I'm Isaiah Loudermilk,

00:46:47.329 --> 00:46:50.510
I got to ball out. If I'm DeMarvin Lee out, I

00:46:50.510 --> 00:46:56.869
got a ball out. If I'm Dean Lowry, you're probably

00:46:56.869 --> 00:46:59.469
not going to make the roster. But if you can

00:46:59.469 --> 00:47:01.730
at least put out some good tape for that, you

00:47:01.730 --> 00:47:04.150
know, for maybe another team to possibly pick

00:47:04.150 --> 00:47:06.849
you up, you know, that's an option as well. But

00:47:06.849 --> 00:47:09.909
this is a very packed defensive line room. And

00:47:09.909 --> 00:47:11.349
I just want to see how things are going to go.

00:47:11.989 --> 00:47:15.639
We do know that the Steelers. This season are

00:47:15.639 --> 00:47:17.900
definitely emphasizing bolstering of the defensive

00:47:17.900 --> 00:47:20.800
line, and that has to do in part to, you know,

00:47:20.820 --> 00:47:22.719
the beatdown that they took from the Ravens when

00:47:22.719 --> 00:47:25.139
Derrick Henry almost ran for, you know, 300 rushing

00:47:25.139 --> 00:47:30.179
yards. But DeMarvin Leal, his situation is very

00:47:30.179 --> 00:47:33.780
unique because coming out of college, he was

00:47:33.780 --> 00:47:37.199
a tweener. So I know, like, the Steelers used

00:47:37.199 --> 00:47:40.280
him as a pass rusher in the interior defensive

00:47:40.280 --> 00:47:44.440
line. Then, you know, edge rusher again. They've

00:47:44.440 --> 00:47:46.719
just moved him everywhere, and it really hasn't

00:47:46.719 --> 00:47:50.699
helped him out. So if you're DeMarvin Leal, I

00:47:50.699 --> 00:47:52.599
guess the only thing you can do is try to put

00:47:52.599 --> 00:47:55.000
out good tape. Because if you can't beat Jeremiah

00:47:55.000 --> 00:47:58.099
Moon, I don't know what to tell you. Daniel Akwale,

00:47:58.280 --> 00:48:01.239
same thing with Isaiah Loudermilk. Broderick

00:48:01.239 --> 00:48:03.599
Jones, we can talk about Broderick Jones a little

00:48:03.599 --> 00:48:08.079
bit. He has to show up. He has to step up. He

00:48:08.079 --> 00:48:11.480
has to take a significant step forward. They're

00:48:11.480 --> 00:48:13.329
not going to bring him back. And then that's

00:48:13.329 --> 00:48:15.869
going to set back the team another year. Because

00:48:15.869 --> 00:48:18.269
why? That's another first round pick that has

00:48:18.269 --> 00:48:21.530
yet to show anything. Corey Trice, you're on

00:48:21.530 --> 00:48:24.269
the outside looking in, brother. The problem

00:48:24.269 --> 00:48:26.449
with Corey Trice is that he can't stay healthy.

00:48:26.949 --> 00:48:29.730
If he just stayed healthy just a little bit,

00:48:29.929 --> 00:48:33.070
I think he could have a legitimate chance to

00:48:33.070 --> 00:48:37.170
make this team. But because his injury problems

00:48:37.170 --> 00:48:39.869
have just been plaguing him since coming into

00:48:39.869 --> 00:48:42.630
the league, you're on the fence. Now, Beanie

00:48:42.630 --> 00:48:45.590
Bishop, this one's a little bit more controversial.

00:48:45.750 --> 00:48:49.050
Here's why. Me personally, I wouldn't cut Beanie

00:48:49.050 --> 00:48:51.829
Bishop just because of how well he played last

00:48:51.829 --> 00:48:53.869
season. You're talking about somebody that had

00:48:53.869 --> 00:48:58.510
four picks last season. He got two off of Aaron

00:48:58.510 --> 00:49:02.710
Rodgers in one game. So I don't understand why

00:49:02.710 --> 00:49:05.389
people are just automatically discounting Beanie

00:49:05.389 --> 00:49:09.090
Bishop. But me personally, I feel like the slot

00:49:09.090 --> 00:49:11.719
position. Should definitely go to Beanie Bishop

00:49:11.719 --> 00:49:14.340
for right now. Granted, I understand he's at

00:49:14.340 --> 00:49:16.760
a disadvantage because of his size, but he can't

00:49:16.760 --> 00:49:19.179
control that. But the things he can control,

00:49:19.380 --> 00:49:22.300
he tries to put his best into it. Mason McCormick,

00:49:22.340 --> 00:49:25.199
sure, you had a pretty decent season last year.

00:49:25.380 --> 00:49:27.860
Let's see if you can do that again. Roman Wilson,

00:49:28.219 --> 00:49:31.000
it's prove it time with you. Same thing with

00:49:31.000 --> 00:49:33.940
Cole Holcomb. It's prove it time. It's time to

00:49:33.940 --> 00:49:36.739
show that you deserve to be on this team, especially

00:49:36.739 --> 00:49:39.900
Roman Wilson. Right now, the wide receiver position

00:49:39.900 --> 00:49:44.119
is open for you. So whatever you need to do,

00:49:44.239 --> 00:49:47.559
do it. Because right now, if you don't, the Steelers

00:49:47.559 --> 00:49:49.940
are going to either get Gabe Davis or try to

00:49:49.940 --> 00:49:53.079
make a move. Just saying. Cole Holcomb, yes,

00:49:53.239 --> 00:49:56.239
you took a pay cut, but I mean, again, you're

00:49:56.239 --> 00:49:58.380
on the outside looking in because you haven't

00:49:58.380 --> 00:50:01.380
played ball in over, what, two seasons, if I'm

00:50:01.380 --> 00:50:04.519
not mistaken? Dean Lowry, I really don't expect

00:50:04.519 --> 00:50:06.800
for him to make the roster, but... You know,

00:50:06.820 --> 00:50:10.139
I've seen crazier things. The storyline for the

00:50:10.139 --> 00:50:12.079
Steelers is what's the identity of this team?

00:50:12.300 --> 00:50:16.480
And here's why. And this may turn into something

00:50:16.480 --> 00:50:21.440
bigger, but, you know, I really don't care. Everyone

00:50:21.440 --> 00:50:23.760
from the outside looking in is saying the same

00:50:23.760 --> 00:50:27.679
thing about the Steelers. They're all in. They're

00:50:27.679 --> 00:50:29.320
focused on winning a Super Bowl. They're going

00:50:29.320 --> 00:50:31.260
to make a deep run in the playoffs this year.

00:50:31.340 --> 00:50:35.340
I don't see it. There are too many question marks

00:50:35.340 --> 00:50:38.800
on both sides of the ball to say that this team

00:50:38.800 --> 00:50:43.559
is all in. You have Broderick Jones as a question

00:50:43.559 --> 00:50:48.179
mark. You have Corey Trice, Joey Porter Jr.,

00:50:48.179 --> 00:50:53.619
Darnell Washington, Patrick Queen, Keanu Benton.

00:50:54.300 --> 00:50:57.739
You have a lot of players that have question

00:50:57.739 --> 00:51:01.539
marks. And if they don't take a significant step

00:51:01.539 --> 00:51:04.190
forward, That's going to push the team back.

00:51:04.829 --> 00:51:07.650
And some of those players are getting ready to

00:51:07.650 --> 00:51:10.650
enter into contract years. If I'm the Steelers,

00:51:10.750 --> 00:51:14.389
this is a make it or break season, not just for

00:51:14.389 --> 00:51:16.849
the players, but also for the coaching staff.

00:51:17.170 --> 00:51:20.429
Because let's be real here, folks. If this team

00:51:20.429 --> 00:51:23.269
doesn't progress or at least show that they're

00:51:23.269 --> 00:51:25.829
headed in the right direction, Pat Meyer is going

00:51:25.829 --> 00:51:28.909
to be without a job. T .A. is going to be out.

00:51:29.630 --> 00:51:33.260
Who else? There's going to be significant changes

00:51:33.260 --> 00:51:35.880
if this team doesn't show anything this year.

00:51:36.380 --> 00:51:39.260
Because what's the identity? I understand that

00:51:39.260 --> 00:51:42.239
they want to play Steelers football and they

00:51:42.239 --> 00:51:45.199
want to, you know, run the ball down your throat

00:51:45.199 --> 00:51:48.000
and be physical at the line of scrimmage and

00:51:48.000 --> 00:51:51.000
impose their will against their opponents. But

00:51:51.000 --> 00:51:53.099
every single time that they go up against true

00:51:53.099 --> 00:51:56.289
competition, they fold. And see, that is why,

00:51:56.389 --> 00:51:58.389
and I forgot to talk about this with the whole

00:51:58.389 --> 00:52:00.789
TJ Watt thing, but that's exactly why I was very

00:52:00.789 --> 00:52:03.409
critical about Omar Khan getting his extension

00:52:03.409 --> 00:52:06.349
before TJ Watt getting extension. And I talked

00:52:06.349 --> 00:52:09.250
about it on the TikTok, footballjunkiespod, by

00:52:09.250 --> 00:52:11.690
the way. What does it look like that you as a

00:52:11.690 --> 00:52:15.389
GM get an extension before your star player?

00:52:15.829 --> 00:52:18.449
See, it's one thing if the team is heading in

00:52:18.449 --> 00:52:20.869
the right direction and a lot of the question

00:52:20.869 --> 00:52:22.690
marks on the team have already been answered.

00:52:23.110 --> 00:52:26.920
Things are good. But that's not the case. Your

00:52:26.920 --> 00:52:29.719
first round picks are still question marks. A

00:52:29.719 --> 00:52:32.639
lot of your picks so far have been question marks.

00:52:32.940 --> 00:52:36.099
Granted, you've done an okay job. You've done

00:52:36.099 --> 00:52:39.340
what most GMs are supposed to do. And I understand

00:52:39.340 --> 00:52:41.679
that you inherited a bad situation. You had to

00:52:41.679 --> 00:52:43.960
clean up the books and you had to let a lot of

00:52:43.960 --> 00:52:46.519
people go and whatnot. I get all that. But still,

00:52:46.659 --> 00:52:49.820
this team has not made a significant leap to

00:52:49.820 --> 00:52:53.019
say, hey, we're in a better direction under your

00:52:53.019 --> 00:52:56.139
direction. So what sense does it make that, hey,

00:52:56.219 --> 00:52:57.940
I'm going to take care of myself before I take

00:52:57.940 --> 00:53:00.179
care of my star player? The star player who,

00:53:00.239 --> 00:53:03.739
by the way, statistics show that if he's not

00:53:03.739 --> 00:53:08.420
on the field, we're going to lose 60 % to 70

00:53:08.420 --> 00:53:12.780
% of our games. That's selfish. And if I'm Art

00:53:12.780 --> 00:53:15.239
Rooney, if I'm Mike Tomlin, I would say, oh,

00:53:15.679 --> 00:53:18.840
what you doing there, play? Uh -uh, uh -uh, uh

00:53:18.840 --> 00:53:22.889
-uh. You don't get an extension until... 90 gets

00:53:22.889 --> 00:53:25.630
an extension. Then we can start talking about

00:53:25.630 --> 00:53:27.630
you. Or better yet, I would have just waited

00:53:27.630 --> 00:53:31.469
until the next offseason. That way you can observe

00:53:31.469 --> 00:53:33.889
and say, hey, listen, we don't know if we're

00:53:33.889 --> 00:53:35.929
going to keep him. We might move off of him.

00:53:36.090 --> 00:53:39.449
We may extend him. We may trade him. We may do

00:53:39.449 --> 00:53:41.789
something with him. Because right now there's

00:53:41.789 --> 00:53:43.309
too many question marks on this team. I'm sorry.

00:53:43.530 --> 00:53:45.750
Oh, and by the way, I just want to let it be

00:53:45.750 --> 00:53:48.010
known for all the people that said that Broderick

00:53:48.010 --> 00:53:49.550
Jones was going to be a good pick. Hey, guess

00:53:49.550 --> 00:53:53.900
what? Told you so. Broderick Jones, and I know

00:53:53.900 --> 00:53:56.000
I'm just skipping everywhere, but I just had

00:53:56.000 --> 00:53:59.340
to get this stuff off my chest, okay? Broderick

00:53:59.340 --> 00:54:03.420
Jones, unless he becomes, I don't know, average

00:54:03.420 --> 00:54:07.679
to above average, it was a waste of a pick. Whereas

00:54:07.679 --> 00:54:09.460
you could have had someone in Christian Gonzalez

00:54:09.460 --> 00:54:14.300
who is way better, way more established, and

00:54:14.300 --> 00:54:17.119
he would have addressed the need that, guess

00:54:17.119 --> 00:54:19.639
what? You haven't really addressed successfully

00:54:19.639 --> 00:54:23.420
in a very long time. But you know what you want

00:54:23.420 --> 00:54:25.320
to do? You want to go with somebody just because

00:54:25.320 --> 00:54:28.719
you like the look. You like the potential. Really

00:54:28.719 --> 00:54:31.480
think about this here, folks. If you can't beat

00:54:31.480 --> 00:54:34.820
Dan Moore, who was probably a league average

00:54:34.820 --> 00:54:37.980
to possibly above league average left tackle,

00:54:38.159 --> 00:54:41.059
and you're supposed to be more athletic than

00:54:41.059 --> 00:54:44.000
him and just a better left tackle prospect than

00:54:44.000 --> 00:54:47.619
him, and you can't beat him to take his job within

00:54:47.619 --> 00:54:50.239
the first probably two years? Come on now. What

00:54:50.239 --> 00:54:52.260
are we talking about? Just have to put that out

00:54:52.260 --> 00:54:55.000
there. Another storyline I think we have to talk

00:54:55.000 --> 00:54:56.900
about with the Steelers is what version of Aaron

00:54:56.900 --> 00:55:00.420
Rodgers are they going to get? Because although

00:55:00.420 --> 00:55:03.460
Aaron Rodgers says that he's all in, he's repping

00:55:03.460 --> 00:55:05.460
the Steelers, he's wearing the apparel and whatnot,

00:55:05.800 --> 00:55:09.980
I don't believe that. I just don't see it personally.

00:55:10.750 --> 00:55:12.489
But what version are they going to get? Are they

00:55:12.489 --> 00:55:13.849
going to get someone that's going to be willing

00:55:13.849 --> 00:55:16.349
to listen? Or are they going to get somebody

00:55:16.349 --> 00:55:19.429
that was throwing his own teammates under the

00:55:19.429 --> 00:55:22.110
bus and complaining about the offensive scheme

00:55:22.110 --> 00:55:24.289
and the play calling and whatnot? What version

00:55:24.289 --> 00:55:26.769
are the Steelers going to get with Aaron Rodgers?

00:55:27.829 --> 00:55:29.989
That's the number one question I want to know.

00:55:30.250 --> 00:55:32.309
And let's talk about the NFC North, all right?

00:55:32.389 --> 00:55:35.130
So this one should be fairly easy, okay? So for

00:55:35.130 --> 00:55:37.070
the Lions, their positional battles to look out

00:55:37.070 --> 00:55:40.190
for is guard, cornerback, and edge. Players to

00:55:40.190 --> 00:55:42.369
keep an eye out for, Tate Rattledge, Christian

00:55:42.369 --> 00:55:45.409
Mahogany, and Marcus Davenport, just to name

00:55:45.409 --> 00:55:50.130
a few. So with them, we know that one of their

00:55:50.130 --> 00:55:53.130
guards unexpectedly retired this offseason. So,

00:55:53.170 --> 00:55:55.829
of course, they've had to elevate. And now Christian

00:55:55.829 --> 00:55:58.170
Mahogany, if I'm not mistaken, is now the left

00:55:58.170 --> 00:56:00.690
guard. And Tate Rattledge is the right guard.

00:56:00.849 --> 00:56:03.050
So I just want to see how things are going to

00:56:03.050 --> 00:56:04.849
work, especially for Tate Rattledge because he's

00:56:04.849 --> 00:56:07.239
a rookie. You know, this is sort of like, you

00:56:07.239 --> 00:56:09.320
know, just throwing him into the fire. Marcus

00:56:09.320 --> 00:56:11.860
Davenport, I want to see exactly, is he going

00:56:11.860 --> 00:56:14.619
to take another step forward? Is he going to,

00:56:14.619 --> 00:56:17.980
you know, solidify his role at edge? What exactly

00:56:17.980 --> 00:56:20.579
is going to happen? But the storyline for the

00:56:20.579 --> 00:56:22.820
Lions is what's the identity of this team? And

00:56:22.820 --> 00:56:27.320
let me explain why. So normally when you lose

00:56:27.320 --> 00:56:30.300
coordinators, you will lose one, you know, one

00:56:30.300 --> 00:56:33.369
offseason and you lose another one. probably

00:56:33.369 --> 00:56:35.769
like two or three years later, but they lost

00:56:35.769 --> 00:56:38.909
both their offensive and defensive coordinators

00:56:38.909 --> 00:56:43.230
in one offseason. Not to mention, they also lost

00:56:43.230 --> 00:56:46.090
the people that were under the offense and defensive

00:56:46.090 --> 00:56:49.070
coordinators as well. So you've had a lot of

00:56:49.070 --> 00:56:51.489
changeover when it comes to the coaching staff,

00:56:51.690 --> 00:56:54.670
and all you've really done is just elevated a

00:56:54.670 --> 00:56:56.989
lot of people that are already on the staff currently.

00:56:57.349 --> 00:56:59.769
So I want to know exactly what's going to be

00:56:59.769 --> 00:57:02.300
the identity for this offense. as well as this

00:57:02.300 --> 00:57:04.820
defense. Because I feel like that's very important

00:57:04.820 --> 00:57:07.340
right now because they're in a very important

00:57:07.340 --> 00:57:11.840
window and they have to, and I mean have to,

00:57:11.960 --> 00:57:15.159
make it to the Super Bowl. If they don't make

00:57:15.159 --> 00:57:17.239
it to the Super Bowl, every move that they've

00:57:17.239 --> 00:57:20.139
made so far was a waste. And then we're going

00:57:20.139 --> 00:57:22.539
to have legitimate questions about Jared Goff

00:57:22.539 --> 00:57:25.099
moving forward. Now we'll look at, you know,

00:57:25.119 --> 00:57:27.940
possible free agency additions. Sure, you have

00:57:27.940 --> 00:57:30.699
guard. You know, we've already went over Brandon

00:57:30.699 --> 00:57:33.780
Sheriff, Shaq Mason, Willie Hernandez, cornerback.

00:57:33.860 --> 00:57:36.199
You know, you have James Bradbury, Kendall Fuller,

00:57:36.219 --> 00:57:38.460
Stephon Gilmore, Rasul Douglas, Mike Hilton,

00:57:38.599 --> 00:57:41.460
C .J. Henderson, Michael Davis, Asante Samuel

00:57:41.460 --> 00:57:43.840
Jr., Emmanuel Mosley. If I'm not mistaken, he

00:57:43.840 --> 00:57:46.460
used to play for the Lions. Edge, you have Von

00:57:46.460 --> 00:57:49.000
Miller, Matt Judon, Preston Anzidarius Smith,

00:57:49.239 --> 00:57:51.679
Jadavion Clowney, Demarcus Walker, Kaiser White.

00:57:52.199 --> 00:57:54.760
You know, people have already said before. So

00:57:54.760 --> 00:57:57.309
I just want to see exactly. How things are going

00:57:57.309 --> 00:57:59.190
to go with the Lions. I knew I was forgetting

00:57:59.190 --> 00:58:03.389
something. Let me backtrack. So for the Steelers,

00:58:03.389 --> 00:58:05.250
for the possible free agency additions, especially

00:58:05.250 --> 00:58:08.010
for safety, you have Marcus Williams, Justin

00:58:08.010 --> 00:58:10.349
Simmons, Jordan Whitehead, Julian Blackman, Quandre

00:58:10.349 --> 00:58:13.369
Diggs, Chuck Clark, Gar, we've already gone over.

00:58:13.469 --> 00:58:16.110
Wide receiver, we've already gone over. Defensive

00:58:16.110 --> 00:58:19.210
line, if they decide to take that route, if they

00:58:19.210 --> 00:58:21.230
decide to trade away some people, you have Raekwon

00:58:21.230 --> 00:58:23.650
Davis, Austin Johnson, Linbal Joseph, Taylor

00:58:23.650 --> 00:58:26.710
Bryant, Maurice Hurst. Uh, tackle, if you want

00:58:26.710 --> 00:58:28.690
to bring in competition for Broderick and maybe

00:58:28.690 --> 00:58:31.369
Troy Fatano, you have, uh, George Fant, Andreas

00:58:31.369 --> 00:58:33.889
Peet, Isaiah Wynn, Michael Dunn, Raven Clark,

00:58:34.150 --> 00:58:36.389
Chris Hubbard, and Jermaine, uh, Fetty. Okay.

00:58:36.570 --> 00:58:39.530
Now moving forward, let's go to the bears. Okay.

00:58:39.590 --> 00:58:41.389
So their positional battles to watch out for

00:58:41.389 --> 00:58:44.329
safety and left tackle, uh, specifically Kevin

00:58:44.329 --> 00:58:48.050
Byard, the third and Braxton Jones. So the storylines

00:58:48.050 --> 00:58:50.849
for the, for the bears is can, can Ben Johnson

00:58:50.849 --> 00:58:53.960
unlock Caleb Williams? We all know that Caleb

00:58:53.960 --> 00:58:56.659
Williams had a disastrous rookie season. And

00:58:56.659 --> 00:59:00.719
so can Ben Johnson unlock something in Caleb

00:59:00.719 --> 00:59:03.940
Williams that can elevate his play even more?

00:59:04.860 --> 00:59:07.139
I mean, look, they've made investments into the

00:59:07.139 --> 00:59:09.760
offensive line. They made investments into the

00:59:09.760 --> 00:59:12.639
receiving core again and tight end and running

00:59:12.639 --> 00:59:17.119
back as well. They've done a lot. And so. We're

00:59:17.119 --> 00:59:19.460
starting to hit that point where, hey, is Caleb

00:59:19.460 --> 00:59:22.420
Williams legit? Is he not? What exactly is Caleb

00:59:22.420 --> 00:59:25.159
Williams at this point? And when we look at possible

00:59:25.159 --> 00:59:27.739
free agency additions, you know, with safety,

00:59:27.820 --> 00:59:30.239
you have Marcus Williams, Justin Simmons, Jordan

00:59:30.239 --> 00:59:32.440
Whitehead, Julian Blackman, Quandre Diggs, Chuck

00:59:32.440 --> 00:59:35.199
Clark. Tackle, as I've said before, you have

00:59:35.199 --> 00:59:37.980
George Fant, Andreas Peet, Isaiah Wynn, Michael

00:59:37.980 --> 00:59:40.039
Dunn, LaRaven Clark, Chris Hubbard, Jermaine

00:59:40.039 --> 00:59:44.150
Effetti. Because Braxton Jones right now. I think

00:59:44.150 --> 00:59:46.789
you need to bring in some competition. I think

00:59:46.789 --> 00:59:50.170
you need to see what you have in them. And if

00:59:50.170 --> 00:59:52.469
you're not satisfied with that, well, then you

00:59:52.469 --> 00:59:54.769
already know the next draft, you're probably

00:59:54.769 --> 00:59:57.369
gonna have to draft a left tackle high or you're

00:59:57.369 --> 00:59:59.170
probably gonna have to get one in free agency

00:59:59.170 --> 01:00:03.849
or however you do it. But the time for excuses

01:00:03.849 --> 01:00:06.710
for this team is starting to run out. The clock

01:00:06.710 --> 01:00:10.360
is ticking now if you're the Bears. Now let's

01:00:10.360 --> 01:00:12.940
get to the Packers, okay? So their positional

01:00:12.940 --> 01:00:15.760
battles, wide receiver, interior offensive line.

01:00:15.920 --> 01:00:18.860
I know, we'll talk about it. So players to keep

01:00:18.860 --> 01:00:21.340
an eye out for, Romeo Dodge, Dontavion Wicks,

01:00:21.480 --> 01:00:25.260
Elton Jenkins, Sean Ryan, and Isaiah Simmons.

01:00:25.400 --> 01:00:29.019
So the reason why I have wide receiver is because

01:00:29.019 --> 01:00:31.739
they've made a lot of investments into wide receiver

01:00:31.739 --> 01:00:34.239
this off season, okay? They drafted Matthew Golden

01:00:34.239 --> 01:00:37.639
and Savion Williams. So the question is this.

01:00:38.280 --> 01:00:40.380
Are they going to transition Savion Williams

01:00:40.380 --> 01:00:43.519
into someone of like a Cordell Patterson type

01:00:43.519 --> 01:00:46.360
of role? How are things going to go? Because

01:00:46.360 --> 01:00:50.219
remember, Christian Watson is still out. So you're

01:00:50.219 --> 01:00:52.219
going to have Matthew Golden, Don Tavian Wiggs,

01:00:52.320 --> 01:00:56.239
Romeo Dobbs, and I think who else, who else,

01:00:56.260 --> 01:00:58.539
who else? McCole Harmon and a few other receivers.

01:00:58.739 --> 01:01:02.619
So the receiver room is packed. So at least two

01:01:02.619 --> 01:01:04.519
or three people are probably going to be moved.

01:01:04.780 --> 01:01:08.519
The question is who? Do I think it's probably

01:01:08.519 --> 01:01:10.280
going to be Romeo Dobbs? There's a possibility.

01:01:10.619 --> 01:01:13.179
Do I think Dontavia Wiggs could possibly move?

01:01:13.380 --> 01:01:15.860
That's a possibility as well. All options are

01:01:15.860 --> 01:01:18.820
on the table for wide receiver. Now, Elton Jenkins.

01:01:19.789 --> 01:01:23.309
I only put him up there because I know like previously,

01:01:23.369 --> 01:01:26.090
like in the early parts of the offseason, there

01:01:26.090 --> 01:01:28.590
was like some discourse between between him and

01:01:28.590 --> 01:01:30.630
the organization because, you know, they wanted

01:01:30.630 --> 01:01:33.170
him to move in and play at center. But then he's

01:01:33.170 --> 01:01:35.329
like, hey, if I move in the center, then you

01:01:35.329 --> 01:01:39.590
have to pay me as a center. And I don't know

01:01:39.590 --> 01:01:42.349
what's going on at this point, but he's definitely

01:01:42.349 --> 01:01:45.519
a name to keep your eye on. Just because, you

01:01:45.519 --> 01:01:48.260
know, there's a chance he may stay at guard or

01:01:48.260 --> 01:01:51.099
they may pay him as a center and then he transitions

01:01:51.099 --> 01:01:53.760
to center. Only time will tell. Isaiah Simmons,

01:01:54.079 --> 01:01:57.739
I want to see exactly what can you do. I understand

01:01:57.739 --> 01:02:00.119
you were a high first round pick. You know, you

01:02:00.119 --> 01:02:02.480
were super athletic and, you know, you could

01:02:02.480 --> 01:02:04.860
play, you know, anywhere on the field. But so

01:02:04.860 --> 01:02:07.079
far, you've only really been good at special

01:02:07.079 --> 01:02:09.780
teams and, you know, the few times that you've

01:02:09.780 --> 01:02:11.800
played a middle linebacker. So I just want to

01:02:11.800 --> 01:02:14.639
see exactly. How are the Packers going to use

01:02:14.639 --> 01:02:18.639
you? But the storyline for the Packers this training

01:02:18.639 --> 01:02:22.039
camp is, can the Packers take the next step to

01:02:22.039 --> 01:02:26.039
becoming legitimate contenders? Folks, the Packers

01:02:26.039 --> 01:02:28.559
are a really good team. They have a really good

01:02:28.559 --> 01:02:32.380
roster and a really competitive division. And

01:02:32.380 --> 01:02:33.719
they have a really good quarterback in Jordan

01:02:33.719 --> 01:02:37.360
Love. But the question is, what do they need

01:02:37.360 --> 01:02:40.739
to do to take that next step? Is it an acquisition

01:02:40.739 --> 01:02:44.610
of a player? Is it coaching? Is it a change?

01:02:44.889 --> 01:02:48.610
What exactly do they need to do? Because I think

01:02:48.610 --> 01:02:50.849
this Packers team can make a deep run in the

01:02:50.849 --> 01:02:55.190
playoffs. But it all depends on what they do

01:02:55.190 --> 01:02:58.210
now. And when we look at possible free agency

01:02:58.210 --> 01:03:00.989
additions, I just put this up there just for

01:03:00.989 --> 01:03:04.449
conversation. You know, if they decide to move

01:03:04.449 --> 01:03:07.690
Elton Jenkins in and the backup who's going to

01:03:07.690 --> 01:03:10.619
be the starting. The starting guard is not good.

01:03:10.820 --> 01:03:12.320
You know, you can bring in someone like a Brandon

01:03:12.320 --> 01:03:15.719
Sheriff, Shaq Mason, Willie Hernandez, John Feliciano,

01:03:16.059 --> 01:03:18.239
Cody Whitehair, Dalton Reisner, you know, just

01:03:18.239 --> 01:03:20.679
to name a few. Wide receiver, I don't think they're

01:03:20.679 --> 01:03:22.179
going to bring in anybody. I think they're going

01:03:22.179 --> 01:03:25.679
to subtract, then add. Because remember, they

01:03:25.679 --> 01:03:28.079
drafted Matthew Golden in the first round and

01:03:28.079 --> 01:03:30.940
then Savion Williams in the second or third round,

01:03:30.960 --> 01:03:33.840
if I'm not mistaken. So only time will tell with

01:03:33.840 --> 01:03:35.519
them, all right? Now let's get to the Vikings,

01:03:35.719 --> 01:03:38.099
all right? So the only positional battle that

01:03:38.099 --> 01:03:41.940
I had with them was corner. And it was specifically

01:03:41.940 --> 01:03:45.460
nickel corner, if I'm not mistaken. So the players

01:03:45.460 --> 01:03:48.400
to keep an eye out for were Jeff Okuda, Isaiah

01:03:48.400 --> 01:03:52.000
Rogers, and Makai Blackman. So here's the thing.

01:03:52.119 --> 01:03:55.940
This Vikings team is loaded. But nickel is a

01:03:55.940 --> 01:03:58.900
little bit of a sore spot for them. And you have

01:03:58.900 --> 01:04:01.280
people like Jeff Okuda, Isaiah Rogers, and Makai

01:04:01.280 --> 01:04:03.699
Blackman that are all going to be competing for

01:04:03.699 --> 01:04:06.519
that role. Now, do I think Isaiah Rogers could

01:04:06.519 --> 01:04:09.699
possibly win it? It's a possibility. But I think

01:04:09.699 --> 01:04:11.880
if you're Jeff Okuda or Makai Blackman, you're

01:04:11.880 --> 01:04:13.639
on the outside looking in right now, especially

01:04:13.639 --> 01:04:17.019
someone like a Jeff Okuda. I want to know what

01:04:17.019 --> 01:04:19.900
exactly the Vikings are going to do with this.

01:04:20.340 --> 01:04:22.559
Are they going to try to let this play out and

01:04:22.559 --> 01:04:25.239
then make a decision there? Or are they going

01:04:25.239 --> 01:04:27.320
to bring in someone like a Stephon Gilmore who,

01:04:27.400 --> 01:04:29.820
you know, he played last season with them and,

01:04:29.860 --> 01:04:31.559
you know, that secondary was actually pretty

01:04:31.559 --> 01:04:34.650
good. Because let's be real here, folks. This

01:04:34.650 --> 01:04:39.269
Vikings team, their ceiling is very high. Okay,

01:04:39.349 --> 01:04:41.190
am I saying they can make it to the Super Bowl?

01:04:41.469 --> 01:04:44.469
No. But do I think they can make some noise?

01:04:44.630 --> 01:04:48.269
For sure. Now, the original storyline that I

01:04:48.269 --> 01:04:51.929
had was, how is J .J. McCarthy going to look?

01:04:52.070 --> 01:04:55.329
And the other one I had was, can they reclaim

01:04:55.329 --> 01:04:58.110
the fire that they had last year? Because last

01:04:58.110 --> 01:05:00.030
year, there was a point in time where the Vikings

01:05:00.030 --> 01:05:04.449
were on fire, defensively and offensively. And

01:05:04.449 --> 01:05:07.710
then I don't know what happened, but, like, Sam

01:05:07.710 --> 01:05:10.929
Darnold didn't play his best ball. They started

01:05:10.929 --> 01:05:13.530
to lose some games. And then next thing you know,

01:05:13.610 --> 01:05:17.570
one thing leads to another. And, you know, they're

01:05:17.570 --> 01:05:21.610
just not playing their best ball. So what exactly

01:05:21.610 --> 01:05:24.429
do the Vikings need to do to reclaim that fire?

01:05:25.010 --> 01:05:27.309
Now, am I saying J .J. McCarthy can take them

01:05:27.309 --> 01:05:28.869
to the promised land? No, because technically

01:05:28.869 --> 01:05:33.329
speaking, this is his rookie year. But I do think

01:05:33.329 --> 01:05:37.250
he has the intangibles. I think he has the the

01:05:37.250 --> 01:05:40.269
the weapons around him to be very successful.

01:05:41.010 --> 01:05:42.989
But I think only time will tell. And I want to

01:05:42.989 --> 01:05:44.849
look at, you know, possible free agency additions.

01:05:45.389 --> 01:05:48.030
You have James Bradbury, Kendall Fuller, Stephon

01:05:48.030 --> 01:05:49.610
Gilmore. If you want to bring him back, Russell

01:05:49.610 --> 01:05:51.750
Douglas, Mike Hilton, C .J. Henderson, Michael

01:05:51.750 --> 01:05:54.989
Davis, Asante Samuel Jr., Emmanuel Mosley, just

01:05:54.989 --> 01:05:58.550
to name a few. So I want to keep my eye on the

01:05:58.550 --> 01:06:01.670
Vikings. I want to keep my eye on probably the

01:06:01.670 --> 01:06:06.969
Packers, Lions, Browns, Bengals, Ravens, Steelers.

01:06:06.969 --> 01:06:08.849
I'll probably check in every once in a while,

01:06:08.969 --> 01:06:11.869
but I'm a little bit turned off with the Steelers

01:06:11.869 --> 01:06:15.500
right now. That's another story for another day,

01:06:15.599 --> 01:06:17.019
but I'm going to end this episode here. If you

01:06:17.019 --> 01:06:18.739
guys like what you are listening, please, please,

01:06:18.820 --> 01:06:20.719
please, please, please make sure you guys download

01:06:20.719 --> 01:06:23.400
the episodes, interact with the episodes. Um,

01:06:23.559 --> 01:06:25.860
just do something with the episodes. Okay. Please.

01:06:25.860 --> 01:06:28.719
It really helps, really helps out with the algorithm.

01:06:28.900 --> 01:06:31.579
And that way we can give, you know, people that

01:06:31.579 --> 01:06:34.440
are real football junkies, the fix that they

01:06:34.440 --> 01:06:38.079
love and or need. Okay. So now for my audio listeners,

01:06:38.280 --> 01:06:42.300
we are available on Spotify, Amazon, Apple music,

01:06:42.440 --> 01:06:45.130
anywhere. everywhere that you can listen to podcasts,

01:06:45.409 --> 01:06:48.389
okay? Make sure you guys leave a five -star review

01:06:48.389 --> 01:06:50.829
on anywhere that you listen to podcasts, please.

01:06:50.909 --> 01:06:53.510
I would deeply appreciate that. Now, for my YouTube

01:06:53.510 --> 01:06:56.150
people, Football Junkies Pod, all right? Follow

01:06:56.150 --> 01:06:59.110
us on YouTube, Football Junkies Pod. We have

01:06:59.110 --> 01:07:00.909
a link tree. When you click on that link tree,

01:07:01.010 --> 01:07:02.929
it'll take you to anywhere and everywhere that

01:07:02.929 --> 01:07:05.389
we have Football Junkies content, as well as...

01:07:05.690 --> 01:07:08.610
my rss .com affiliate link as well. When you

01:07:08.610 --> 01:07:10.889
click on that link and if you sign up for rss

01:07:10.889 --> 01:07:14.150
.com, I get some conversation back for it. All

01:07:14.150 --> 01:07:16.769
conversation will go to the Football Junkies

01:07:16.769 --> 01:07:19.449
podcast, whether that mean upgrades and equipment,

01:07:19.829 --> 01:07:23.630
more advanced stats, and whatever else that we

01:07:23.630 --> 01:07:25.730
can to make this podcast better for you guys,

01:07:25.809 --> 01:07:27.750
all right? Now, for my TikTok people, Football

01:07:27.750 --> 01:07:30.150
Junkies pod, all right? Football Junkies pod.

01:07:30.269 --> 01:07:32.969
I got some clips that I gotta put out. I just

01:07:32.969 --> 01:07:35.219
gotta edit them and then... I can just shoot

01:07:35.219 --> 01:07:36.960
them out to you guys. I'll probably do that probably

01:07:36.960 --> 01:07:39.719
towards the end of the week, maybe early next

01:07:39.719 --> 01:07:42.199
week. Stay tuned for that. Now for my Instagram

01:07:42.199 --> 01:07:44.519
people, football underscore junkies pod, right?

01:07:44.579 --> 01:07:47.099
Football underscore junkies pod. Junkies pod

01:07:47.099 --> 01:07:53.639
is not what? It is together, not spaced, okay?

01:07:53.699 --> 01:07:56.940
It is together. not space, football underscore

01:07:56.940 --> 01:07:59.920
junkies pod, all right? You can follow me on

01:07:59.920 --> 01:08:04.699
Blue Sky, G -M -K -L -G -M -K -A -I -O -E, as

01:08:04.699 --> 01:08:09.159
well as X, G -M -K -L -K -A -I -O -E, all right?

01:08:09.260 --> 01:08:11.460
As always, I hope I gave you guys the fix that

01:08:11.460 --> 01:08:13.380
you guys need. I love you guys. I appreciate

01:08:13.380 --> 01:08:16.720
you guys so much. Stay tuned. We are going to

01:08:16.720 --> 01:08:23.109
the South. That's right. NFC and AFC South. All

01:08:23.109 --> 01:08:24.649
right. So stay tuned for that. That should be

01:08:24.649 --> 01:08:27.289
coming out fairly soon. But this is your GM Kale

01:08:27.289 --> 01:08:29.329
signing out. Peace and love. Later.