Double bag alert, double bag alert, double bag
alert, folks. That's right. We got another loaded
episode. All right. George Kaloftis and Zach
Tom get paid. Jerry Jones takes a jab at both
Dak and Micah Parsons. My thoughts on Omar Khan's
press conference. Lloyd Howe and J .C. try to
resign. The president threatens the commanders.
Will second round picks become guaranteed moving
forward? And gut check time. That's right, folks.
Gut check time. But this time we are going to
the south, the dirty south. NFC and AFC North,
okay? All of this and more. on the 86th episode
of Football Junkies Podcast, okay? I am your
host with the most, all right? I'm your chief,
Bagroll Domics. That's right, chief, head of
the table. Anything and everything related to
the bag, rumors to the bag, and more, okay? I
am your GM who currently is not on a team right
now, but don't you worry about it, all right?
Don't you worry about it because guess what?
I am all these things and more, but most importantly,
the most important thing that you must remember
is... I am your host, Kale. You already know
how these things are about to go. This is going
to be another loaded episode because guess what?
You are listening to the greatest football podcast
that you can listen to on a week -to -week, day
-to -day basis. So guess what? On three. One,
two, three. Let's lock in. All right, folks,
let's just get into the meat and potatoes of
everything that is going on in the league right
now. So we have a lot that's going on in the
league, all right? But let's get into these bag
alerts, all right? So George Kaloftis, defensive
end for the Chiefs in, say, four -year, $88 million
deal, $62 million guaranteed, and he'll be making
$22 million a year. When we look at his stats
from this past season, 35 tackles and eight sacks.
Great deal for the Chiefs, great deal for George
Kaloftis, okay? This doesn't break the bank.
That doesn't put them in any financial problems
moving forward. It also rewards a very impactful
player that has played a very pivotal role within
the last few Super Bowl runs that the Chiefs
have had. You're talking about somebody that
when Chris Jones is occupied with two and three
tackles and tight ends and receivers and whatnot,
guess what? George Kaloftis just comes right
on in. He gets his pressures, he gets his sacks,
maybe makes a forced fumble, maybe recovers a
fumble. That's just who George Kaloftis is, all
right? He's not going to be somebody that's going
to be talked about like a Myles Garrett or TJ
Watt or any of the other top -end pass rushers,
but he is on that second to maybe third tier
of pass rushers, okay? Now let's talk about Zach
Tom, all right? Right tackle for the Packers
inks a four -year $88 million deal with a max
value, which is important, of $92 million, okay?
He gets a $30 .2 million signing bonus, which
is the largest signing bonus for any offensive
lineman in NFL history, and he has $30 .2 million
in guarantees, and he'll be making $22 million
a year. Again, great business once again. The
Packers value their own players and they're making
sure that they take care of their players. Now,
I do know that a lot of insiders have said that
the Packers aren't done giving out extensions
because currently right now they're talking with
Quay Walker and I think one or two other players
that are up for extension. So I wouldn't be surprised
by the end of this episode, we probably get more
breaking news of somebody else getting paid as
well. So all in all, really good deal. For Zach
time. All right. Now let's get into the real
things everybody wants to talk about. Okay. And
that is Jerry Jones. That's right. Mr. Jerry
Jones taking a jab at both Dak Prescott and Micah
Parsons. So training camp started with the Cowboys
not too long ago. And of course, Jerry being
Jerry has his, you know, little press conference
and whatnot. And, you know, people are talking
about the whole Micah Parsons situation and everything.
So this is what Jerry Jones had to say. And I
quote. I remember signing a player for the highest
paid position in the league and he got knocked
out two thirds of the year. So there's a lot
of things you can think about just as the player
does when you're thinking about committing and
guaranteeing money, end quote. That's at that
Prescott. This is what he said about Michael
Parsons though, end that quote. Just because
we signed him doesn't mean we're going to have
him. He was hurt six games last year. Contracts
are four, five years, okay? There's a lot of
water under the bridge if you step out there
and do something in the first two or three. You
can get hit by a car, seriously. So there's a
lot to look at over all of the years that could
make a big difference. Have you ever heard of
any clubs committing to players and then they
didn't pan out after they committed to them?
We have, end quote. But here's the kicker of
all of this. J .J. Watt puts his two cents into
this situation as well. And this is what he says,
and I quote. Anytime you can publicly take a
dig at your star quarterback and your star pass
rusher simultaneously right before the season
begins, you just got to take it. Nothing makes
guys want to fight for you more than hearing
how upset you are that they got hurt while fighting
for you, end quote. But Micah Parsons retweeted
this tweet. See, these are the quotes from a
reactive instead of proactive owner. Jerry Jones
has always been reactive when it comes to paying
his star players. From Dak Prescott to CeeDee
Lamb and now even Michael Parsons. Jerry Jones
continues to get in his own way when it comes
to negotiations. I understand that you may be
frustrated with how much money you're giving
out to these players. But guess what? They play
one of the most physical sports in the entire
world. So at some point, somebody's going to
get hurt. someone's going to miss a few games.
That's the business. So I don't understand why
you're taking jabs at your star quarterback,
at your star pass rusher, and at your star players
as a whole. See, if the Cowboys were actually
smart, they would have been proactive in the
contract negotiations with Micah Parsons. I would
have tried to get Micah Parsons to sign a deal
right after Max Crosby signed his, because that
was the sweet spot. But then after Miles Garrett
and TJ White got their deals, it's over. You're
going to have to reset the market for Micah Parsons.
And if you don't, Micah Parsons is going to hit
free agency next year, and he will single -handedly
be the biggest defensive free agent since Reggie
White. And we know that if he hits free agency,
he may even take less just to be in a better
situation. Would he stay in the division? Would
he go out of the division? Because I can assure
you right now, there's at least 10 to 15 teams
that would be willing to sign a blank check for
Micah Parsons. So Jerry, either you got to suck
it up and sign Micah Parsons, or stop complaining,
stop throwing jabs at your players, and actually
try to win a playoff game for once. Now let's
keep this thing going, okay? So Omar Khan finally
speaks with the media. after all the moves that
he's made in this offseason so far. So here's
just a few bullet points that I took away from
yesterday's press conference, okay? So when asked
about the departure of Minka Fitzpatrick, this
is what Omar Khan had to say, and I quote, I
don't know if it was necessarily moving on from
Minka. We had an opportunity to acquire two Pro
Bowl players. We felt that where we are as a
team made sense for us. We have a lot of respect
for Minka. That's a great football player, end
quote. When asked about Johnnie Smith and Jalen
Ramsey and their roles and how they're going
to be utilized on the team, this is what Omar
Khan had to say, and I quote, Johnnie Smith and
Jalen Ramsey both can line up in different places
than their usual positions, and they'll see how
it all shakes out on the field before they determine
their exact roles, end quote. Omar Khan also
said that he feels really good about the team
as a whole, but wouldn't rule out making another
move if the right opportunity came along. But
this is what he had to say about the wide receiver
room, and I quote, I feel really good. Obviously,
we traded for DK. DK is going to be an impactful
player for us. But I saw how the growth in Calvin
Austin last year, and that was really cool to
see. Watching Roman Wilson this offseason, it's
been really great to see his progression and
where he's at, and I think we would have seen
more of it last year towards the end of last
year. He said it, not me. If he would have had
the opportunity to play. We acquired Robert Woods,
a veteran leader in that room, so I feel really
good about the position, end quote. Omar Khan
also said that he doesn't rule out looking at
the safety market as well. While I understand
this trade was a really big trade, it was addition
by subtraction because you trade away a really
great player in Miga Fitzpatrick to bring in
two really good players as well. I understand
that Minkah Fitzpatrick has been playing his
best ball and he has been making splash plays
because everybody measures everything by splash
and whatnot. But the fact of the matter is Minkah
Fitzpatrick played a very important role on this
team. And we cannot solely blame him for the
mistakes of the defense, specifically the secondary
over the past two years because of Minkah Fitzpatrick.
Instead, we have to factor in coaching. We have
to factor in that when you have someone in Cam
Sutton who clearly was doing his own thing. Every
single time he was on the field, it had a direct
effect on everyone else. Not to mention, Minka
Fitzpatrick at one point had to play a lot more
in the box down at the line of scrimmage, where
you know that's not where he likes to be. He
likes to be in the backfield. He likes to roam.
That's his role. So the fact that you were able
to just trade away Minka Fitzpatrick like he
was nothing, and the fact that this organization
didn't do anything to say, you know what, Minka,
we thank you for your efforts. We thank you for
being the leader of that secondary. We thank
you for being an upstanding person your entire
tenure with the Pittsburgh Steelers. I have gone
through their social media pages, and I have
not seen not one post, not one thank you Minka
post. That's disrespectful to someone who has
given his all to this team. Mind you, there was
a period in time where Mingus Fitzpatrick was
playing with essentially one arm and you just
traded him away like it was nothing. Let me just
read to you the stats from the past, I'll say
three years. So in 2022, he had six picks. 2023,
he had zero. 2024, he only had one pick. So he's
only had a two -year slump. Okay, fine, whatever.
But you should have tried to at least let things
play out. If you would have made this move without
giving up Minka Fitzpatrick and by, I don't know,
maybe the trade deadline, Minka Fitzpatrick isn't
back to his old self or he's not making quote
-unquote splash plays, then move off of Minka.
But you had to just try to give this a chance
at least. Because this secondary would have been
more formidable with Minka Fitzpatrick, Deshaun
Elliott, Darius Slade, Jalen Ramsey, Jordan Porter
Jr., Brandon Echols, Beanie Bishop, and Corey
Trice. That's way more formidable than what we
have right now. But again, Omar Khan emphasized
in this press conference that he loves positional
flexibility. Minka Fitzpatrick showed positional
flexibility because he went from playing all
the way in the backfield to now playing in the
line of scrimmage to now playing in the box to
now lining up that corner sometimes. He was flexible
everywhere on this defense. This is the problem
that I have with a lot of commentators, with
a lot of journalists, with a lot of people who
cover teams. Everybody talks about splash. If
you're not making splash plays, then you're not
effective. When that's not the whole kit and
caboodle. You have to look at the player and
the tape and everything that they put out in
its entirety. It's not always the big hit, the
interception, the forced fumble, the punch out,
the touchdown, the catch, the grab, the truck.
It's not always that. Sometimes it's just doing
just the routine things. But we are so involved
with... 5 and 10 and 20 second clips of splash
plays that now it has blinded us as fans and
as people who actually watch football and saying,
you know what? Man, that player really ain't
that good no more. He's not making any more splash
plays. What happened to the splash, man? Players
can go through things. People can go through
a slump. Minka Fitzpatrick, okay, wasn't playing
his best ball in two years. Okay, fine. But if
he rebounds this year and he goes back to his
quote unquote old self, who's complaining? Nobody.
Because guess what? Everybody's going to be riding
the make it this Patrick ways once again. You
can't do that. You have to give people grace,
especially people who have been nothing but a
first class player for this team. From answering
questions when they lose and win to just showing
up. Minka Fitzpatrick was a first -class citizen
for the Pittsburgh Steelers. And I can only imagine
how he feels with all the blood, sweat, and tears
that he gave to the Steelers and just to be shipped
away like it was nothing. You can even tell just
by his posture and the way that he looks in Miami
that he's still shaking up about this. That's
why he still hasn't spoken to the media yet.
Because I think he's still trying to deal with
this entire process. But that's another story
for another day. I want to go on my soapbox once
again because nobody really cares about it. Because
every time I say the things that need to be said
about this team, I get flack for it. But let's
get into this whole Lloyd Howell and J .C. Tretter
situation. a couple days ago lloyd howell the
former executive director for the nflpa resigned
okay so uh it's a lot of twists and turns and
uh booty cheeks and stripper poles with this
okay so uh let's get into it so this is the statement
from lloyd howell about his resignation And I
quote, two years ago, I accepted the role of
executive director of the NFLPA because I believe
deeply in the mission of this union in the power
of collective action to drive positive change
for the players of America's most popular sport.
Our members deserve a union that will fight relentlessly
for their health, safety, financial futures,
and long -term well -being. My priority has always
been to lead that fight by serving this union
with focus and dedication. It's clear that my
leadership has become a distraction to the important
work the NFLPA advances every day. For this reason,
I have informed the NFLPA Executive Committee
that I am stepping down as Executive Director
of the NFLPA and Chairman of the Board of the
NFL Players effective immediately. I hope this
will allow the NFLPA to maintain its focus on
its players' members ahead of the upcoming season.
I am proud of what we've been able to accomplish
at the NFLPA over the past two years. I will
be rooting for the players from the sidelines
as loud as ever, and I know the NFLPA will continue
to ensure that players remain firmly at the center
of football's future, end quote. But this is
what J .C. Tretter had to say, and I quote, I'm
not resigning because what I've been accused
of is true. I'm not resigning in disgrace. I'm
resigning because this has gone too far for me
and my family, and I've sucked it up for six
weeks. And I feel like I've been kind of left
in the wind taking shots for the best of the
organization. I got to the point this morning
where I woke up and I realized like I'm going
too deep dying on this fucking sword forever.
I'll never ever be able to do what's best for
me. And I will always pick what's best for the
organization. And in the end, what's the organization
done for me? Like nothing. I've been a bullet
shield for six weeks for them where everything
that's been controversial, it all just dumps
down on me. And I've had nothing to fucking do
with it. And that's when I was like, I'm done
taking bullets for the organization on stuff
I wasn't a part of and did not do, end quote.
What a fiery response by J .C. Treader. Oh, it's
just so ground shaking, just so pivotal with
the word choice that he used. Amazing. Hand clap
for J .C. Treader. No, let's just stop, okay?
J .C. Treader, your hand was caught in the cookie
jar. You orchestrated a lot of this conundrum
that the NFLPA is now going to have to clean
up because you decided to go around the entire
process of hiring the next executive director
for the NFLPA. And by doing so, you covered your
own tracks by making sure that you bring in somebody
that's going to put you in position of power
as well by creating a position that was never
created. prior to this point. And so now when
the kitchen gets really hot and now everything
is coming out about this whole collusion case
and how you felt about it and your personal input
and everything that you've said within the past
few years, oh, you can't take it. Oh, I'm just
tired of being the shield. Oh, I don't know what's
going on anymore. I didn't do anything wrong.
Yes, you did. Yes, you did. You hired somebody
that for one, is a part -time consultant for
a firm that is trying to acquire minority stakes
in NFL teams, who was also a part of one of the
largest scandals in U .S. history with Booz Allen,
who also was making it rain at Magic City and
at the world's biggest strip club in Florida.
That's your guy. That's the person that you were
tied to. So you have to fall on the sword just
as much as he does. So you got to take them bullets
and you're going to continue to take them bullets
because you know why? This needed to come out.
This needed to be done because this collusion
case showed that the current structure of the
NFLPA is not for the players, but instead for
the owners and the league who continue. to find
a way to limit guarantees for players. Players
who, by the way, risk their bodies for this sport.
So before we go any further, shout out to Pablo
Torre. Shout out. to Pro Football Talk for coming
together and putting out this collusion case
story. Because you know what? It opened up the
floodgates to what's going on with the NFLPA.
And also shout out to Dan Venetta Jr. and Kaylin
Cather from ESPN as well. Because you know why?
If it wasn't for you guys working together to
figure out exactly what's going on with the NFLPA,
we would have never known anything about this.
And I'm so glad. that Pablo Torre was the first
person to kick down the door with this case.
Now let's get to Lloyd. Not Lloyd Howell, but
Lloyd, okay? Lloyd Howell, according to an article
by Dan Mineta Jr. and Kalen Cather of ESPN, he
liked to go to the strip club. He liked to see
Scripless. So Lloyd Howell charged the union
for two visits to a strip club, including a $738
.82 car service. Howe was picked up at Fort Lauderdale
International Airport on November 2nd of 2023
at 1026. Now, before we go any further, let me
just stop right here. They timestamped when you
got picked up from the airport. Yo, this is sick.
Lloyd, you are a sick man, okay? Sick man. Well,
but let's keep on going, okay? A union finance
worker discovered that Hal went to Tootsie's
Cabaret, the world's largest strip club in Florida.
Imagine you're somebody, you're one of the financial
workers for the NFLPA. You're checking all the,
you know, finance and whatnot. You're checking
out. Wait, Tootsie's? Tootsie's Cabaret? Wait
a minute. Let's go on here. Let's see what's
going on. Tootsie's Cabaret. Tootsie's Cabaret.
World's largest strip club? What? Yo, I would
be... This is hilarious. Listen, I don't care
what anyone says. This story is hilarious. But
it gets even worse, okay? During this year's
NFLPA Summit meeting on February 21st... Howell
tagged along with Apple with employees to Magic
City and accumulated $2 ,426 in charters, including
cash withdrawal that ranged from $200 to $525
from the club ATM and used two, not one, but
two VIP rooms. Yo. Howell was giving it up. He
was telling his life story. Yeah. Where's Shanisha?
Where's Shanisha? I thought somebody told me
she was performing tonight. Meet me in the VIP
room. 2 ,426. Brother, that is somebody's rent.
That is somebody's card note that you just spent
at Magic City. Ain't no way. Ain't no way. See,
if it was maybe about $200, maybe $300, okay,
fine. No problem with that. But for you to accumulate
that much money in charges, yo, you like them
scribbles, okay? But here's the reason for this
expense. And I quote, player engagement event
to support and grow our union. End quote. Now
you know damn well this ain't for no player engagement
event. Because any player can go to a strip club
by themself. What does it look like when you
go into the club? All right, ladies, we got Lloyd
Howell and the NFLPA in the building. That's
right. Show them a good time, not a long time.
Give it up for Lloyd Howell and the NFLPA. We
want to thank them for coming tonight to Tootsie's
Cabaret. No, man, you can't do that. You just
cannot do that. Listen, imagine you go to Tootsie's
one night and you see half the league in there.
On top of the NFL Players Association as well
in there. Yo, it's going to be sick. Oh, my God.
But it gets even worse. How instructed one of
the employees that he tagged along with to file
the expense reports. He was like, nah, bro, that
can't show up on my financial reports. That got
to show up on your financial reports. I only
tagged along with you. I wasn't the one leading
the charge. But then he also goes on to say this.
An employee noted that on March 23rd, that report,
$736 was the final amount that he was charged
to close the tab for both secluded sections for
our player members. This included food, alcohol
and drinks, fees, taxes, and gratuity. So you
was probably getting some wings, had a nice little
drink with you. You know, your favorite stripper
is dancing to your favorite song in the VIP room.
Probably telling them your life story, what's
going on at home with your wife and kids and
whatnot. Probably telling them what's going on
at work and everything. Oh my God, this is hilarious.
Give it up for Lloyd. Lloyd Howes in the building.
Lloyd Howes in the building. Lloyd Howes in the
building, ladies. That's right. Show him a good
time and not a long time. I just have one question.
Did Loyal Howell get the Lou Williams special?
Imagine you and your boys on a Friday night.
Y 'all say, you know what? Let's go to Magic
City, man. You guys go to Magic City, you know.
It's some beautiful women around you and everything.
It's a good time. Good vibes. Good energy and
whatnot. Next thing you know, you see about five
or six people in suits. And you see one dude,
a bald -headed dude with some glasses. And one
of your friends is like, wait a minute. Ain't
that Lloyd Howell? Yeah, that is Lloyd Howell.
That's Lloyd Howell from the NFL Players Association.
Oh, wait, he's going to the VIP room. Yo, your
mind's going to be blown. What is this? This
is like a soap opera, but on steroids. Like,
imagine this. This is the Days of Our Lives NFL
PA Edition starring Lloyd Howell Jr. of the NFL
Players Association featuring... J .C. Treader.
Like, what are we? This is hilarious. Listen,
if y 'all don't think it's funny, that's perfectly
fine. I don't care, but this is hilarious, okay?
Now, let's get into something a little bit more
serious. I know we're going to have to talk about
politics for just a little bit. Once we talk
about politics, then we can move forward and
talk about everything else, okay? I know. Everybody
doesn't want to talk about it. You could skip
this part. It's perfectly fine. I'm not going
to blame you for it. So let's just get into it.
Let's get it over with. So the president released
this statement on his platform, and I quote,
The Washington whatever's should immediately
change their name back to the Washington Redskins
football team. There is a big clamoring for this.
Likewise, the Cleveland Indians, one of the six
original baseball teams with a storied past,
our great Indian people in massive numbers want
this to happen. This is what he said. It's not
what I said. Their heritage and prestige is systematically
being taken away from them. Times are different
now than they were three or four years ago. We
are a country of passion and common sense. Owners,
get it done. But then he backtracks what he said,
and then he says this. My statement on the Washington
Redskins has totally blown up, but only in a
very positive way. I may put a restriction on
them that if they don't change the name back
to the original Washington Redskins and get rid
of this ridiculous moniker, Washington Commanders,
I won't make a deal for them to build a stadium
in Washington. The team would be so much more
valuable, and the deal would be more exciting
for everyone. Cleveland should do the same with
the Cleveland Indians. The owner of the Cleveland
baseball team, Matt Dolan, who is very political,
has lost three elections in a row because of
that ridiculous name change. What he doesn't
understand is that if he changed the name back
to the Cleveland Indians, he might actually win
an election. Indians are being treated very unfairly.
Make Indians great again. Before we get into
how I feel about this, let's get into everything
else that comes with this, alright? So this is
what Jacqueline D. Leon, senior staff attorney
for the Native American Rights Fund, had to say
about this, and I quote, No Native American child
should have to sit through a pep rally or in
a stadium where the culture is being mocked,
end quote. Now, Savannah Romero, a member of
the Eastern Shusho Nation and co -founder and
deputy director of the Black Liberation Indigenous
Sovereignty Collective, had this to say, and
I quote, we are language keepers land protectors
survivors of attempted genocide and a part of
sovereign nations to equate native people with
their cartoonish mascots alongside animals is
a gross and ongoing tactic of dehumanization
end quote now this is what somebody else had
to say this comes from beth wright a member of
the pobello of lagana my apologies once if i'm
butchering the name And I quote, Native people
are still working to revitalize what the United
States tried to erase. Native mascots work directly
against these efforts by perpetuating false historical
narratives about Native people and false depictions
of who Native people are today, end quote. In
2013, the Leadership Conference on Civil and
Human Rights approved a resolution calling for
the owners of the Washington Redskins at that
time, Dan Schneider and company, to change its
name. This resolution also called for the elimination
of names and mascots that, and I quote, promote
negative stereotypes and connotations or that
trivialize Native American cultures, end quote.
As a DMV native and somebody that experienced
all of this, it was a lot of tension. You're
talking about a lot of opinions and, you know,
you had this side that said this and that side
that said that. And it was a lot to take in at
that time. It was a very sensitive topic. to
talk about especially in public and um this is
just my personal opinion you don't have to agree
with it you don't have to like it you can skip
this part if you want i have no problem with
that keep the name where it is do not try to
change it back to the redskins the redskins is
a derogatory name to me i believe that it's a
slur and it just has no need to be on a team
this team within the last three years has undergone
a lot of change and um changing it back to the
redskins would erase all the progress that they've
made so far they are trying to erase dan schneider
and the the cloud that was over this team for
all of those years they're trying to remove that
and by going backwards and changing it back to
their original name it's not worth it From a
public standpoint, it's not worth from a financial
standpoint. It's not worth it in any way that
you look at this. There were even times where
commentators who were covering any game that
the Washington football team was, you know, was
playing. They would not say Redskin. They would
just say the Washington team or they would just
say Washington because of just because of how
it sounded. And just everything that was tied
to it. If you don't know what a red skin is,
you go look it up and you do the research yourself.
Because this is just something that you just
can't do no more. And I understand, you know,
a lot of people say, well, society now is too
woke and everybody's too sensitive and it's always
this and it's always that. It's changed this
and changed that. Okay, fine. That's your opinion.
I have no problem with that, okay? But when it
comes to depiction of people, black and brown
people, That's where we draw a line. For the
longest time, we have seen a lot of teams, either
intentionally or unintentionally, use Native
Americans, Black people, and other indigenous
people in a cartoonish and degrateful type of
way. And by doing so, you now are in a place
in society where people can now project how they
feel about this. It's no longer just a small
little rally in front of the stadium and then,
you know, it just dissipates and whatnot. No,
you have social media. You have the Internet.
Now you have various organizations that now have
influence and now have connections with people
who have influence that can project how they
feel about these things. But now that we've talked
about this, let's get into the opinion of what
said person said on what should happen. Respectfully,
Mr. President, stay out of this. You have far
more pressing things to worry about and far more
pressing things that you need to address than
the name of a football team and the name of a
baseball team. Even though we don't talk about
baseball, we still have to add them in as well.
People are fine with where both teams' names
are and their logos and merch and everything
else. So why would you want them to go backwards?
and to erode all the progress that they've made
so far and then for you to say hey if you guys
don't appease me i'm going to personally intervene
with this deal and make sure that it doesn't
happen and we have seen the same tactic time
again during this administration this bullying
tactic to say hey we are going to strong -arm
you to appease us And it's time out for it. Josh
Harris, if I were you, I would not appease to
this. I would not think about this. I would even
get an inkling of possibly changing the name.
You have made so much progress in such a small
amount of time. Do not erode that to appease
a person who is only focused on what benefits
him in his pockets. but instead continuing to
grow this team and to regain the trust and the
love that this fan base has been looking to give
back to this team for the past 20 -something
years. Now, I will say this, and I've been thinking
about this and I thought about this prior to
me recording. If you are the Native American
community as a whole, not just one specific tribe,
but as a whole, I think you could possibly be
open to the idea of possibly reopening that door
only, and I mean only, if they follow your parameters.
And I feel like personally, I think the main
parameters that could possibly work is that one,
the Native American people as a whole come together
and they create their own logo that the team
will use to represent them. No longer would you
use the chief. And if they do choose the old
logo, let them make that decision. Not people
who are not from the Native American community.
As well as a percentage of revenue that comes
from the team should go directly to the Native
Americans. Every single tribe should get a piece
of that revenue. Every t -shirt, every hat, every
hoodie, every coffee mug, every ticket, every
TV deal, a portion of that should go back to
the Native American community as a way of saying,
you know what, we appreciate you for allowing
us to represent you guys. That is the only way
that this could work. And another thing, for
you to say that you would personally intervene
with this, It's just childish. It's just a bullying
tactic. But I will say this. If your delivery
was better, instead of saying, if you don't do
this, then I'm going to do this. Instead of saying,
hey, let me be the neutral party. Let's come
together. Let's put our heads together. Let's
find some common ground and let's get some resolution
with this matter. Because I do believe that the
commanders will go back to Washington. The problem
is there's a lot of red tape when it comes to
the stadium and the process of building the stadium
and everything that comes with it. And I can
only say this because I live in the area and
I've been tracking this story this entire time.
It's been a very red tape type of issue because
there was a period in time where there was just
going to be negotiations between the DC government
and the commanders. But now that time is up.
Now, Maryland and Virginia, as well as D .C.,
can all be involved in negotiations with the
commanders. And all three of the regions are
trying to find a way to bring the commanders
to their respective areas. And so here's the
part where things get a little bit weird. OK.
The D .C. government, it's a little bit confusing
because you have some people that say, oh, yes,
I've talked to this person with the commanders.
I've talked to that person with that commanders.
Then you have, you know, the mayor that says
I have you know, I've had communications with
this person, that person. It's a lot of. miscommunication
and a lot of backbiting and a lot of, you know,
he said, she said, I'm going to go behind you
and talk to this person. I'm going to go behind
you and have this secret lunch meeting or whatever.
It's a lot of that. Just get this thing done
so we can just move forward. Because right now,
the longer that this draws out, the better the
chance that Maryland or Virginia could possibly
have a chance. to bring the commanders to their
respective areas. And I just don't think that's
possible. Even now, where the commanders are,
you can't say the Washington commanders, because
why? Technically speaking, the stadium is not
located in D .C. It's not even near D .C. It
technically is in Maryland. So I don't know what
they have to do to get this done, but please,
for the love of God, please get this done. And
please do not change the name under any circumstance.
I don't care what type of tactics he used, what
type of threats that he throws at the ownership
of the commanders. Do not give in. Stay true.
Stay firm. They will forever be the Washington
Commanders. Granted, I understand that the legacy
of this team is tied to the Redskins and whatnot,
but sometimes you just need a breath of fresh
air. And that's what the commanders bring. Now
that we're done with the politics. Let's go back
to football, please, because I am so uncomfortable
with this. OK, you guys don't realize how much
I don't like talking about politics, especially
on a public platform. I do not like talking about
politics. I try to stay away from politics as
best as I possibly can. But any time that it
ties into football, I try to be. as lenient as
I possibly can. And I try not to, you know, be
radical or too conservative or be offensive to
any sides. No, I just want to try to be as neutral
as I possibly can when it comes to any of these
types of topics, especially for something like
this. Let's get into something more important,
and that is second round picks getting fully
guaranteed contracts. Pardon the interruption,
but this is your GM, your bag road dominance
here to talk about rss .com. All right. So if
you guys already don't know, I am a rss .com
affiliate. And so I just want to tell you for
just a quick moment about why you should choose
rss .com. So me personally, on my journey of
podcasting, I was looking at different platforms
just to find the right place. and i looked here
i looked there i looked everywhere but i checked
out rss .com and it was the best decision i ever
made from low prices to interactive analytics
to as well as helping you with your distribution
rss .com does it all not to mention they just
started a slack channel where you can network
and interact with other podcasters and even get
some insightful tips on how you can increase
your podcast even more. So head on over to rss
.com. I will be attaching my RSS affiliate link
within the description. When you click on that
link, I will be able to receive some compensation
for it. And with that compensation, I will be
able to give you guys a better product. A lot
of that money will go towards upgrading the microphones,
computers, new... subscriptions for more analytical
information that we can use for future podcasts,
all of that and more. Thank you for your support,
and thank you RSS .com for making me an affiliate.
Now back to the good stuff. So for the past few
days, prior to a majority of teams reporting
to training camp, we saw an influx of second
round picks getting signed. So some of them got
fully guaranteed, some of them didn't get fully
guaranteed, some of them got... a little bit
more guarantees towards their third and fourth
year of the contract. It all depends, but we're
going to go over all of them. All right, so let's
just start. So Alfred Collins with the 49ers,
he inked a four -year $10 .3 million deal with
over $9 million in guarantees. Donovan Izaraku
for the Cowboys, he got $8 .1 million guarantee.
JT Tumalau for the Colts, it was only just reported
as a four -year deal. They really didn't get
into the... to the numbers and whatnot. Terrence
Ferguson, 8 .5 million guarantees. Will Johnson,
there's nothing to report with that. Only thing
that they said was this four -year deal, of course.
Ariante Ursery for the Texans, four years, $9
.2 million deal. Karshing Springer, of course,
we already know, fully guaranteed. Jaden Higgins,
we already know, fully guaranteed. Nick Imanwari
for the Seahawks, fully guaranteed. Quinshawn
Junkins right now, he's unsigned because he was
arrested on a domestic violence charge on July
12th. Jonah Savania for the Dolphins. My bad
if I butchered your last name, bro. 100 % guaranteed.
Travion Henderson, I don't see it, but I think
it is guaranteed as well. Luther Burden, just
a generic rookie deal. Tyler Shuck, fully guaranteed.
TJ Sanders. He inked a four -year $10 .6 million
deal with $10 million guaranteed. Mason Taylor,
91 .3 % guaranteed. Demetrius Knight, 80 % guaranteed.
Let's see, Elijah Arroyo, $6 .8 million guaranteed.
Nick Scorton, just a four -year deal. That's
the only thing that they report. Uluwafami, Oladijo
for the Titans. Just the first three years guaranteed.
Benjamin Morrison, 96 % guaranteed in the third
year. Anthony Belton, all this is is sign a rookie
contract. Trey Harris, he just agreed to the
deal. I know this is weird. Ozzy, triple O for
the Bears. The first two years are fully guaranteed,
with the third year only guaranteed at 72%. Tate
Rattles, he's just agreed to the deal. Jack Besch,
the details are pending. Same thing with Mike
Green. R .J. Harvey for the Broncos. The first
two years are fully guaranteed, and the third
year is only guaranteed 47 .7%. Trey Amos, he
only agreed to the deal. Same thing with Samar
Turner. Omar Norman Lott, same thing, just signed
his rookie deal. Andrew Makuba. 7 .1 million
guaranteed. So you saw more teams actually just
guaranteeing a percentage of that third or fourth
year. And of course, you saw a few teams that
just said, you know what, screw it, we'll just
give you a fully guaranteed deal. But I think
with all this being said and done, I think the
number one question that needs to be asked is,
will second round picks moving forward ask for
fully guaranteed contracts? Because we all know
that first rounders, their contract is guaranteed.
So I wonder with Jaden Higgins and Carson Swearinger
and Nicky Manwari and a few others getting fully
guaranteed contracts, will that now have a ripple
effect on next year's draft and moving forward?
Will that also affect possibly, you know, third
round picks, maybe fourth round picks moving
forward? I would not be surprised if next year
during the NFL players meeting, they probably
say, you know what, we're going to find a way
to make sure that second round picks don't get
fully guaranteed deals and whatnot. But this
was expected. We know specifically with this
draft, more teams were interested in the second
and third round. than actually the first round.
And a lot of the people who were slated to be
first round picks actually fell into the second.
And that's why you saw such an influx of people
just flying off the board so quickly. But this
is something I'm definitely keeping an eye on
moving forward because I know this is gonna have
future ramifications. But let's get into gut
check time, all right, folks? I know this is
the part that everybody has been waiting for.
So let's do it, all right? AFC South, you already
know Colts, Jaguars. Texans and Titans, all right?
So let's start with the Colts. The positional
battles that I'm watching out right now, quarterback,
right tackle, wide receiver, defensive end, and
back up running back, all right? Players that
I'm keeping an eye on, Anthony Richardson, Alec
Pierce, Adani Mitchell, DJ Giddens, Latu Latu,
Khalil Herbert, and Bernard Raymond, all right?
So the storyline for the Colts is, who will be
the starting quarterback for the Colts this year?
Because right now, Anthony Richardson and Daniel
Jones have a clean slate. Nobody has an advantage
over the other. And right now, Anthony Richardson
has to prove that he is the franchise quarterback
for the Colts. Because right now, I wouldn't
be surprised if they're already having meetings
on possibly scouting for next year's quarterback.
Because right now, Anthony Richardson has not
shown anything. He hasn't even shown that he
can play an entire season so far. Now for Daniel
Jones, it's a little bit more complicated with
his. We know the Giants let go of him because
he wasn't living up to the expectations of that
contract. And then he jumps on the way with the
Vikings. He's the backup for the Vikings and
he doesn't play for them. And then, you know,
he's looking for another team. And so here we
are. But right now, both quarterbacks have to
have spectacular training camps. Because if neither
one of them show anything, oh, they're gone.
And it doesn't help that next year's draft class
is supposed to be really good at quarterback.
I mean, come on. And I know I haven't talked
about it. I know I have to talk about it. But,
I mean, you're going to have Drew Adler, Carson
Beck, Lenore Sellers, Fernando Mendoza. Who else?
I could probably name about maybe three or four
other quarterbacks except for Archie Manning
because Archie Manning is not going to be in
next year's draft class. You heard it here first
in the Football Junkies podcast. I believe it
and I know it, okay? But let's get back to the
Colts. The Colts should be one of the few teams
that we should be talking about well into the
playoffs. But what is the number one thing that
has kept them from taking things to the next
level? Bad and inconsistent quarterback play.
And so right now, if you're Anthony Richardson,
you have something to prove. If you're Daniel
Jones, you have something to prove. So both of
you guys are going to have to hash this thing
out from the start of training camp all the way
to the last preseason game. You guys are on a
thin, and I mean the thinnest string that you
could possibly think of right now. So with A
.D. Mitchell, I want to see more from him. I
want to see, can he be a more effective wide
receiver? Because he has all the talent to be
a really good receiver. The question is, can
he put it together? And granted, I understand,
you know, when you don't have a really good quarterback,
sometimes that can, you know, diminish your stats
and how effective you are on the field. I get
all of that. But still, you want to see more
from A .D. Mitchell. Same thing with Alec Pierce.
Is there another level to his game? And if so,
can it be achieved? Because right now, if Anthony
Bridgeson and Daniel Jones play at an average
to above average quarterback play, who's really
complaining? Because everything else is already
in place. You made an investment in getting Tyler
Warren. You have Mo Alleycox. You have Jonathan
Taylor. You have A .D. Mitchell. You have Michael
Pittman Jr. You have a really good offense. Everything
has to come together. And people's game has to
be elevated even more. Same thing with the backup
running back position. Will it be D .J. Giddens
or will it be Khalil Herbert? Because me personally,
I think that is another sleeper of a position
that needs to be talked about just because we
all know that Jonathan Taylor is probably going
to miss, you know, two to maybe three games during
the season. And that's perfectly fine. But you
want to make sure that you have a backup running
back that is just as effective and consistent
as your primary back. And when we look at right
tackle, Bernard Raymond, I wouldn't say he's
on the hot seat. But I want to see, can his game
be elevated? It's the same thing that I'm saying
with all the other offensive players. Can your
game be elevated, all right? I understand that
they lost Braden Smith via free agency, but I
still believe that this is still a really good
offensive line. And let's shift over things to
the defense, all right? Latu, Latu, you got to
show something, bro. Because they made an investment
in the second round, I think it was. Yeah, in
the second round with getting JT to him a lot.
So, I mean, come on. You got to show something.
Now, I'm not saying you got to put up, you know,
12 or 13 sacks, but I think between 8 to 10 sacks,
I think that would actually be really good. Now,
when we look at possible free agency additions,
if they want to take that route, especially for
running back, I mean, you have Jamal Williams,
Gus Edwards, Jeff Wilson, Amir Abdullah, Chase
Edmonds, Ernest Johnson, Jermichael Hastie. If
you want to go with the defensive end free agency
route, you can go with Jadavion Clowney, Demarcus
Walker, Montrevis Adams, Jerry Hughes. If you
want to do tackle, all right, you have George
Fant, Andreas Peet, Isaiah Wynn, Chris Hubbard,
even though the tackle free agency crop right
now really isn't the best. But if you want to
take those routes, they are readily available.
Let's go to the Jaguars, right? Positional battles
to watch out for. Running back, right tackle,
safety. So the players I'm keeping an eye out
for are Eric Mary, Andrew Wingard, Anton Harrison,
and Travis Etienne. Now the storyline for the
Jaguars is, can Liam Cohen improve this offense?
And the reason why I say that is because we all
saw how that Buccaneers offense was last season.
It was effective, it was consistent, and it was
putting points on the board. So if you're the
Jaguars, you want at least half of that. Now
am I saying, are you going to get all of it?
No, because you don't have the same type of players
that the Buccaneers have. But if you can at least
get a fraction of that, I think that would be
great. I think that would let people know like,
hey, we are heading in the right direction and
all the investments that we have made so far,
they're working. But if this offense can't take
another step in the right direction, there's
gonna be some serious questions that are gonna
have to be asked once this season is over with.
The reason why I listed both safeties for players
to watch out for is because one of them is not
gonna be on this team because remember, the Jaguars
drafted the safety. fairly high in this past
draft. So either Andrew Wingard is going to get
cut or Eric Mary. Now with Anton Harrison, I
want to see if he can continue to grow because
right now he hasn't played his best ball and
I want to see if he can at least show like, hey,
I am that guy. I am your franchise right tackle
because right now Liam Cohen has already put
him on notice. Like, hey, listen, if you're not
showing anything, we're going to move off of
you. So, if I'm Anton Harrison, I got to ball
out. Now, for Travis Etienne, that's a little
bit of a weird situation, and I'll explain why.
Because we all saw that they declined his fifth
-year option, so everyone's thinking, oh, okay,
they're going to trade Travis Etienne. So far,
they haven't. And so far, he's now taking a back
step when it comes to the roster and getting
the snaps and just being on the field. Because
now Tank Bixby is now the starting running back
for this team. And so right now, if you're Travis
Etienne, do you want to force a trade? Do you
want to go in a different direction? Do you want
to stay with the Jaguars? Me personally, I wouldn't.
Because you guys clearly have shown that you
guys don't value me as a player. So I might as
well just want to go somewhere else. Now, when
we look at possible free agency additions, if
they want to take that route, of course, with
the running back, as I've already said, Jamal
Williams, Gus Edwards, Jeff Wilson, Naheem Hines,
Amir Abdullah, Chase Edmonds, Dernish Johnson.
Actually, no, scratch that. Naheem Hines actually
signed with the Chargers. I remember that. When
we look at safety, however, if they want to take
a veteran approach, you have Marcus Williams,
Justin Simmons, Jordan Whitehead, Quandre Diggs,
and Chuck Clark. Tackle. If you want to bring
in competition for Anton Harrison, you know,
you can bring in George Phan, Andreas Peet, Isaiah
Wynn, Chris Hubbard, you know, somebody that
they're not necessarily going to take his job,
but they're definitely going to push him. But
let's keep things going, all right? Let's talk
about the Texans. So their positional battles,
tackle and wide receiver, all right? Players
to keep an eye out for, Cam Robinson, Ariante
Ursi, John Meche, and Xavier Hutchinson. Everyone's
probably going to be wondering, why would you
put the rookie that they just drafted on player
to look out for? Because I want to see how he
holds up against matchups between Daniil Hunter
and Will Anderson. Now, I'm not saying they're
going to get rid of him. No, of course not. But
I just want to see where he is at this point,
all right? Cam Robinson, yes, they did make a
trade for him last season. Me, personally, I
would have tried to get off of him, but... I
guess I see the reason why you want to keep him,
but I just want to see where he is at this point.
Because right now, if you're the Texans, do you
want to see how things go with Cam Robinson?
Do you want to try to make another crazy move
for a left tackle if someone becomes available?
What exactly are you going to do moving forward
to? address left tackle long -term. Because right
now, I don't think Cam Robinson is the long -term
option. I just think he's just a Band -Aid over
a bullet wound. Yes, I know it's a weird monocle,
but that's just how I view things. I know, it's
weird. Don't worry about it. But when it comes
to wide receiver, they have a lot of wide receivers,
okay? You got Jaden Higgins, Tank Dell, John
Mechie, Xavier Hutchison. I know I'm missing
a few others. Who else? Evan Ingram. You have
a lot of receivers. So somebody isn't going to
make the team. Me personally, I think it's between
John Mechie and Xavier Hutchinson. Now, John
Mechie, you can give him a little bit of leeway
because he was battling some type of disease
and he wasn't able to play for a while. But since
then, he really hasn't had a chance to really
be on the field. So do you want to send him into
a better opportunity where he could actually
be effective on the field? Possibly. It's the
same thing with Xavier Hutchinson. So right now,
that entire wide receiver room is on notice.
When we look at possible free agency additions,
I mean, for tackle, you have George Fant, Andreas
Peet, Isaiah Wynn, Chris Hubbard, if you want
to bring in competition for both Cam Robinson
and Ariante Ursery. For wide receiver, if you
want to take that route, Keenan Allen, Amara
Cooper, Gabe Davis, Nelson Aguilar, DJ Char,
Tyler Boyd, Chris Conley, and Jamison Crowder.
But the storyline for the Texans is, can this
offense improve? And here's why. We all saw that
this offense was just atrocious last year. From
the offensive line being unable to protect C
.J. Stroud to the run game being inconsistent,
the offense just wasn't good at all. I want to
see, can they rebound and actually improve? Because
mind you, they made additions at wide receiver,
but they also added Nick Chubb as well. So now
you have a tandem of both Joe Mixon and Nick
Chubb as well. And they made some investments
into the offensive line. So I want to see can
this offense become a little bit better than
what it has been the last two years. Because
we all know that if the run game was just a little
bit better against the Chiefs in the playoffs,
they could have won that game. The defense was
keeping them in the game. It was just the offense
was just so stagnant and it was so inconsistent
that C .J. Stroud couldn't do anything. But only
time will tell. Now, let's get to the Titans,
all right? So, their positional battles. Guard,
wide receiver, tight end, and left tackle. Players
to keep an eye out for. Xavier Restrepo, Traylon
Burks, Van Jefferson, Dan Moore, Peter Skowronski,
and Chig Okonkwo. I think I butchered your last
name. I didn't mean to do it, bro. Now, their
storyline. Can this team improve? I understand
that they just drafted Cam Ward. I understand
that they still have a lot of rookies, especially
on the offense. But can this offense improve?
Peter Skowronski, you got to see more from him.
Because right now, things are looking a little
bit shaky, okay? Sure, they moved J .C. Latham
back over to right tackle, if I'm not mistaken.
Yes, they're moving back over to right tackle.
Dan Moore's left tackle. I want to see, is Dan
Moore going to live up to that contract? Because
the Titans gave him a big payday. They paid him
a lot of money. They paid him like he is an above
average to possibly borderline elite left tackle.
So let's see if he lives up to that deal. Wide
receiver, Xavier Estrepo. Right now, you're on
the outside looking in. But you have a chance
to make this roster. Because the wide receiver
room outside of Calvin Ridley isn't completely
solidified. So you could do it. And mind you,
you sort of have an advantage because you have
chemistry with Cam Ward. Now, when we look at
the tight end, however, I really don't know what
to tell you at tight end. Now, me personally,
I would try to make a move to get Noah Pham because
right now that is probably the only viable option
at tight end. I mean, sure, you could probably
get Noah Phan, Gerald Everett, Mercedes Lewis,
Jordan Aikens, or CJ Uzma, but I think Noah Phan
has a little bit more upside with his game. Van
Jefferson, I don't want to say he's on the outside
looking in because I do think he'll make this
roster, but I mean, it all depends on how well
he plays. Traylon Burks, you're on the outside
looking in. But I will say this, I wouldn't be
surprised if the Titans make multiple moves to
bring in wide receivers. I think they probably
would make a move for someone like a John Mechie
or Xavier Hutchinson or Don Sabian Wiggs or Romeo
Dobbs if they become readily available. Because
right now, outside of Calvin Ridley and Tony
Pollard, What else do you really have? And this
is no disrespect to any of the other offensive
players on this team and whatnot, but for a rookie
quarterback, you want to try to surround them
with as much talent as you possibly can. Me,
personally, I feel like they can make more of
an investment into the offense because right
now, this offense leading into week one of the
regular season is not good enough. You need to
at least make at least two, maybe three moves.
just to upgrade it, just so it can be, I don't
know, average to possibly above average. Just
saying. Now, when we look at possible free agency
additions, like I said before, with tight end,
you have Noah Fant, Gerald Everett, Mercedes
Lewis, Jordan Aiken, CJ Usma. You also have Noah
Fant as well. Guard, you have Brandon Scherf
if you want to bring in competition for Peter
Skowronski, Shaq Mason, Will Hernandez, Joe Feliciano,
Cody Whitehair, Dalton Reisner, Mark Glanowski.
Wide receiver. I mean, sure, you have Tyler Lockett
and you have Calvin Ridley and company. But if
you want to take, you know, a free agency route,
you can, you know, get Keenan Allen, Amar Cooper,
Gabe Davis, Nelson Aguilar, DJ Chark, Tyler Boyd.
If you want to bring him back, Chris Conley,
Jamison Crowder. Tackle, you could bring in George
Fant, Andreas Peet, Isaiah Wynn, Michael Dunlap,
Raven Clark, Chris Hubbard, and Jermaine Effetti
if you want to take that route. Just so you can
have competition for both JC Latham and... Dan
Moore as well, but also having a safety blanket
just in case they get hurt or anything crazy
happens. But I want to see, can this team improve?
Because the defense have pieces. The offense
has pieces. But the question is, can you put
them together and can this be an effective team?
Now, I'm not saying this team is going to win
eight games or this team is going to win 10 games
or go to the playoffs or whatnot. But I will
say this. If this team wins at least five games
and Cam Ward looks pretty good, I think you're
in the right direction. But if this team struggles,
we might have to have a conversation. Just saying.
Now let's go to the NFC North. I mean, not North.
South. I don't know why I'm thinking about the
North. Saints, Falcons, Buccaneers, Panthers.
This one is going to be a little bit controversial,
but I really don't care. So let's start. So for
the Saints, positional battles to watch out for,
quarterback, left guard, safety, quarterback,
and defensive line. Players to keep an eye out
for, Tyler Shuggs, Spencer Rattler, Trevor Penning,
Jordan Howden, Jonas Sanker, Alante Taylor, excuse
me, Ugo Amadi, Brian Brees, David Gottschall,
Nathan Shepard, and Vernon Broughton, all right?
So the storyline for the Saints is, what's the
identity of this team? granted I understand they've
had a lot of change in this offseason you now
have a new head coach a new regime so what is
the identity of this team how is this team going
to be better than it has been the last two years
are they going to be more effective in the run
game in the pass game a little bit of both what
exactly is the identity of this team moving forward
because right now if I'm Kellen Moore I would
use this upcoming season as a measuring stick
to see where the team is I want to see, hey,
do we need to make significant upgrades in the
draft next year and free agency? Are we good
with what we have? What exactly do we need to
do to make this team better within the next two
to five years? Because right now, I mean, you
have Chris Alave, you have Alvin Kamara, you
have Ty Luis Figueroa. You have pieces on the
offense. Same thing with the defense. But you
want to make sure that this team is headed in
the right direction under Kellen Moore. So let's
get into quarterbacks, all right? So Tyler Shuck
and Spencer Radler, both of them have a clean
slate and neither one of them has an advantage
over the other. So right now, I think my number
one question for Kellen Moore would be, how long
is it going to take for you to come to a decision
on who's going to be the starting quarterback
for this team? Are you going to wait all the
way until the end of training camp? Or are you
going to make a decision by the second or maybe
last game of the preseason? Because right now,
I think... I probably would want to roll with
Spencer Rattler just because he showed a little
bit last year. But again, I don't make those
decisions. I'm not a part of the Saints, so I
don't know anything. Trevor Penning, you got
to show something because right now you have
not lived up to that first round pick. They moved
you at tackle. Now they're moving you at guard.
You have to show something. I think if Trevor
Penning shows that he is an average to possibly
above average guard, I think he has a chance.
But... If he doesn't show anything, if he doesn't
show any growth, they're going to move off of
him. Because again, you can get a guard anywhere.
And not to mention, there are still some really
good veteran guard options that are still available.
Brandon Scherf, Shaq Mason, Will Hernandez, Cody
Whitehair, Dalton Reisner, Mark Lanowski. If
you want to take that route, you know. Jonas
Sanker, Elante Taylor, excuse me. Ugo Amadi,
Brian Brees, Davin Gottschall. I want to see
more from you guys. I want to see exactly. Can
you guys solidify your role within this team?
Because if not, I think the Saints will have
no problem making upgrades, especially for Brian
Brees. I think I'm pronouncing your last name
correct. Hopefully I am. But I want to see more
from him. I want to see more from this defensive
line. Can this defensive line... Be effective
moving forward. Because last year, the defensive
line wasn't the best. And granted, I understand
you still have Cam Jordan and you have Chase
Young as well. But outside of them, who else
do you have? Everybody is under a microscope
moving forward. Now, yes, I did put safety on
here. And this was prior to the Julian Blackman
signing. But I think now that Julian Blackman
is a part of the Saints, we could actually just
cut that out moving forward. Yeah, let's just
get into the free agency additions, all right?
So for guard, like I just said, you have Brandon
Scherff, Shaq Mason, Will Hernandez, Cody White
here. For cornerback, if you want to take that
route, James Bradbury, Kendall Fuller, Stephon
Gilmore, Rasul Douglas, Mike Hilton, CJ Henderson,
Michael Davis, Asante Samuel Jr., which I think
would actually be a really good move, and Emmanuel
Mosley. Defensive line, if you want to take that
route, you have Raekwon Davis, Demarcus Walker,
Montrevious Adams, Jerry Hughes, Linval Joseph,
Maurice Hurst. Quarterback, if you want to take
that route, if you want to bring in a veteran
quarterback, you have Carson Wentz, C .J. Beathard,
and Teddy Bridgewater. So all in all, actually,
you know what? I know there was a position that
I was missing out on, cornerback. I want to see
how these corners are going to look because outside
Kool -Aid McKinsey, if I'm killing more, I possibly
would want to make an upgrade at cornerback.
Just saying. I mean, you have James Bradbury,
Kendall Fuller, Stephon Gilmore, Rasul Douglas,
Mike Hilton, CJ Henderson, Asante Samuel Jr.
I think getting Asante Samuel Jr. and pairing
him with Kool -Aid McKinstry, I think that would
actually be really good. On top of that, you
have Jordan Reed and you have Julian Blackman.
I think that would be a really effective secondary.
But again... I don't make these decisions, okay?
And let's keep on going to the Falcons, all right?
So outside linebacker, quarterback, safety, kicker,
right tackle, nickel corner, end tight end are
all the positions that I'm looking out for. So
players I'm looking out for, Jordan Fuller, Kirk
Cousins, Michael Penix, Young Ho Koo, Dee Alford,
Clark Phillips III, Caleb McGarry, Kyle Pitts,
and Leonard Floyd, all right? So their storyline.
Can Michael Penix improve going into year two?
Granted, we didn't see a whole lot from Michael
Penix, but I want to know, can Michael Penix
take that next step moving forward? Yes, I know
I say it so much, but I hear it so much on different
podcasts and whatnot. So I guess it's so ingrained
with me. But yes, can Michael Penix take that
next step moving forward? When we look at this
Falcons team right now, this team just has to
improve. And I'm not just saying a specific position.
I'm not saying a specific side. But this team
as a whole has to improve. This team has weapons.
This team could be fairly competitive. Am I saying
this team can win the division? No. Am I saying
this team can make the playoffs? No. But what
I am saying is this. You want to see some level
of improvement from this team that makes you
say, hey, we're heading in the right direction.
We're doing everything that needs to be done.
Now, when we look at players to look out for,
Jordan Fuller, Kirk Cousins, me personally, I
just want to see where Kirk Cousins is. Because
right now, hey, there might be a team that say,
hey, we'll trade you X amount of picks or player
for Kirk Cousins. Because again, Kirk Cousins
continues to show and say that he does not want
to be a part of the Falcons because the Falcons
did him wrong and all that stuff, yada, yada.
No one cares about that, okay? If you want to
hear about it, go on Netflix and watch the new
quarterback series, okay? It's not a promotion
for Netflix, but hey, Netflix, if you're hearing,
if you want to sponsor me, I have no problem
doing that, okay? We'll even put the Netflix
intro, the little doo -doo, in the front of the
Football Junkies podcast if you want to. It's
no problem. But Jordan Fuller, I definitely want
to see an improvement from you. Michael Penix,
we already talked about. Young Hoku, you had
a down year last year, but I believe that you
can definitely rebound. We all know things happen
in life. You could be going through something
at home. You could be seriously injured and you're
just trying to play through it. Different things
can happen, so I have no problem giving Young
Hoku a chance because he's been a really effective
kicker for the past few years. Am I saying he's
top five? No, but I think he's possibly maybe
like top 10, maybe top 15 at best. Now, as far
as nickel corner, I feel like that's open. I
feel like that's anybody's job at this point.
Do I think Clark Phillips could definitely take
it? Yes. Do I think Jordan Fuller could take
it? Yes, but only time will tell. Caleb McGarry.
I want to see where he is, especially with the
extension of the right tackle from the Packers,
Zach Tom. I want to see exactly if he's on that
level because if he is, Falcons, you're going
to have to pay him that money. You're going to
have to pay him some money. I'm not saying you
have to reset the market for Caleb McGarry, but
I do want to see where he is at this point and
would it be best for the team to bring in competition
just so they can see, hey. Is he the guy moving
forward? Do we want to, you know, back him with
money? Or do we want to move in a different direction,
you know, after this upcoming season? But again,
only time will tell. Kyle Pitts, you just got
to show something just for other teams. Because
all signs point that the Falcons are not going
to give Kyle Pitts an extension. So if I'm Kyle
Pitts, I'm bowling out in both training camp
and in the preseason. But that's just me. Now,
Leonard Floyd, I only put Leonard Floyd down
just because they made significant investments
in pass rush with drafting James Pierce and Mikel
Williams. If they only drafted just one, I wouldn't
put him on this list. But because they drafted
two, it puts a little bit of pressure for Leonard
Floyd. Now, am I saying that Leonard Floyd is
going to get cut? No, I think his spot is safe.
There is a chance that they may take some snaps
from Leonard Floyd or they may have a different
or they may move in a different direction concerning
him moving forward. But when we look at possible
free agency additions. For safety, I mean, you
have Marcus Williams, Justin Simmons, if you
want to take that route, which I don't think
they want to take that route. Jordan Whitehead,
Quandre Diggs, Chuck Clark. Tackle, if you want
to bring in competition, you have George Fant,
Andreas Peet, Isaiah Wynn, Michael Dunn, Raven
Clark, Chris Hubbard, Jermaine Nefedi. Corner,
if you want to take that route, you have... Mike
Hilton, you have Asante Samuel Jr., you know,
two really good nickel corners. I mean, you have
Emmanuel Mosley as well. If you want to take
that route, James Bradbury, Kendall Fuller, Stephon
Gilmore, Rasul Douglas. If you want somebody
that has a little bit more flexibility, if that
makes sense. Kicker, you could bring in Nick
Folk, Matt Prater, Eddie Panero, Michael Badley,
Zane Gonzalez, Cade York, Austin Seibert. I think
is your last name. Hopefully I didn't butcher
your last name. My bad if I did. Tight end, you
have Noah Phan, Gerald Everett, Mercedes Lewis,
Jordan Akins, and C .J. Uzma or George Phan because
he just became a free agent not too long ago.
Outside linebacker, you have Matthew Judon, Preston
Anzidarius Smith, Kaiser White, Duke Riley, Jalen
Reeves, Maven, and Kamul Grazier -Hill. So you
have options if you want to take that route.
I'm not saying that you have to. But if you want
to, those are your options. And let's keep things
going. Let's go to the Panthers, all right? So
their positional battles to watch out for, outside
linebacker, wide receiver two, left tackle, center,
and safety. So players to look out for. So you
have Hunter Renfro. Yes, I know it's controversial,
but I don't care. Jimmy Horn Jr., David Moore,
Austin Corbett. You have Akeem Akwanu, just to
name a few. With the names that I just listed,
so especially for Hunter Renfro, right? You're
just now coming back into the league. I want
to see exactly where you are at this point in
your career. Are you still the effective slot
receiver that you were when you were with the
Raiders? Or have you aged a little bit? Where
is your game at right now? When we come to Jimmy
Horn Jr., like he was bowling out in OTAs and
in minicamp. So I want to see, is that going
to continue moving into a training camp? You
know, once you put on the pads and everything.
Akeem Aquanu, I want to see exactly where you
are. Because if I'm not mistaken, he's getting
ready to come up for a contract, if I'm not mistaken.
So I want to see where you are. Their center,
Austin Corbett, I want to see where you are.
There's a lot of players on this team that I
want to see where they are at this point. Outside
linebacker. Sure, they've made, you know, some
investments. You know, they got Pat Jones and,
you know, they drafted Prince Lee. Uman Milan,
I think. No, I know. I just butchered your last
name. Dog, I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry if I butchered
your last name. But, you know, the outside linebacker
core, I want to see exactly where they are because
I know they've made a lot of investments at that
position specifically. So I just want to see,
you know. where everybody is at this point, who's
going to stand out, who's going to fall, all
of that and more. But when we look at their storyline
for this team, can Bryce Young take the next
step? Last year was a rocky year for Bryce Young.
There was a point where he got benched and then
Andy Dalton came in. Then, you know, Andy Dalton
wasn't playing his best ball. Then he got hurt,
I think, in a car accident or something. Then
so Bryce Young came in and then Bryce Young sort
of like went on this, you know, really good run.
He was playing really good. So I want to see
is that momentum going to carry on into this
season? Because right now, Bryce Young has to
live up to that number one overall pick. Now,
am I saying that he has to be an elite quarterback?
No. But I think if he's a top 10, possibly top
15 quarterback, I don't think nobody's really
complaining. Now, me personally, I think the
number one knock for the Panthers this offseason
was, I feel like, personally, they didn't make
as many investments into the offense as they
did into the defense. They made a lot of moves
defensively. But offensively, I'm just like,
yo, where's the moves at? Granted, they drafted
Tetrell McMillan, but I wanted them to try to
make more upgrades from an offensive standpoint.
I know I was forgetting something when it came
to safety. Nick Scott and Damani Richardson and
Latham Ransom. I want to see where, you know,
where were they at as well? Because Trevon Morig,
his spot is solidified, okay? He's a free agent
signing, so he's good. But everybody else, I'm
not saying that you're on the hot seat, but you
sort of got to do a little bit more extra just
so you can, you know, solidify your spot on this
roster. Going back to the storyline and everything,
I want to see where Bryce Young is. If he's the
second or possibly third best quarterback in
that division, that's a start. But if he's actually
regressed instead of progressed, now we have
a problem. But when we look at possible free
agency additions, if they want to take that route,
especially for outside linebacker, you have Matthew
Judon, you have Preston Anzadarius -Smith, you
have Kaiser White, Duke Riley, Jalen Reeves -Maben,
you have Kamu Greger -Hill. Wide receiver, if
you want to take that route, you have Keenan
Allen, Amar Cooper, Gabe Davis, Nelson Aguilar,
DJ Chark, Tyler Boyd, Chris Conley, Jameson Crowder.
Safety, if you want to take that route, you have
Marcus Williams, Justin Simmons, Jordan Whitehead.
Quandre Diggs, and Chuck Clark. Now for tackle,
if you want to bring in competition for Akeem
Akwanu, you have George Fant, Andreas Peet, Isaiah
Wynn, Michael Dunn, LaRaven Clark, Chris Hubbard,
and Jermaine Effetti. For center, if you want
to bring in competition for him, you have Nick
Harris, you have Dan Feeney, Nick Gates, Sam
Mustapher, Shane Lemieux, Wesley French, and
De 'Ader Eisland. So sure, it's probably not
the best options, but you want to try to at least
bring in some competition that can at least nudge
them that can at least push them into either
playing better or at least show them or at least
show you as the team like hey this is where they
are we're not satisfied with this so we're possibly
going to make an upgrade via you know free agency
signing or a trade or just hold it off and possibly
address it in next year's draft. But let's go
to the Buccaneers. Let's just end it off with
a great team, you know, positional battles to
watch out for, wide receiver, defensive line,
tackle, and cornerback. So players to keep an
eye out for, Kalijah Canty, Yaya Diaby, Hassan
Reddick, Jamal Dean, Benjamin Morrison, Tykee
Smith, Jacob Parrish, Trey Palmer, Jalen McMillan,
Sterling Shepard, Charlie Heck, and Ben... I
think I butchered your last name. If I did, I
did not mean to do that. But the storyline for
the Buccaneers is, can this team take the next
step to becoming true contenders? Because I believe
they are contenders, but I want them to solidify
themselves as true contenders. Because me personally,
and I'll probably talk about this in the next
episode, I do believe that the Buccaneers are
a dark horse Super Bowl candidate. I think right
now on both sides of the ball, they are a really
good team. And I feel like they could go toe
-to -toe against the Eagles, Lions, or any of
the other big -name NFC teams that we all consider
as Super Bowl teams. Don't hate the message.
Just hate the game. Just saying. But let's start
things off with Kalijah Canty. So he's coming
off of a really good season. You know, he had
four and a half sacks. Really good. So you see
the growth. But I want to see more. I want to
see, are you going to continue to grow moving
forward? Because I believe Kalaja Kansi could
possibly be a 8 -12 sack type of defensive lineman.
He has that skill set, and I think he could definitely
do it. The only question is, is he going to do
it this year? Yaya Diaby, I want to see exactly
where you are. Because right now, I mean, sure,
you have Hasan Reddick. Sure, you have, you know,
other pass rushers. But I just want to see, you
know, can you continue to grow? Is there another
level to your game? Same thing with Hasan Reddick.
We all know what happened with the Jets situation.
I want to see, are you the Hasan Reddick of the
Eagles or are you the Hasan Reddick of the Jets?
Which version is the Buccaneers getting? Jamel
Dean, you're not on the hot seat, but I want
to see where you are. especially with the Buccaneers
drafting Benjamin Morrison, I want to see where
you guys are at this point. Because right now,
Jamel Dean, although you're probably cornerback
two, possibly cornerback three, I think you're
still really productive. So let's see it in training
camp. Iron sharpens iron, all right? So Benjamin
Morrison, I want to see where you are. I want
to see, have you fully healed from that hip injury?
Because remember, Benjamin Morrison was supposed
to be a first round pick. He only fell because
of an injury red flag. Outside of that, his name
was going to be called in the first round. No
questions asked. Tykee Smith, want to see where
you are. Jacob Parrish, they drafted you a few
years ago in the third round. I want to see where
you are. Trey Palmer, Jalen McMillan, Sterling
Shepard. I want to see exactly. Who's going to
take that next step? Who's going to solidify
themselves on this team? Especially with Chris
Godwin still rehabbing that ankle injury, this
now opens things up between Trey Palmer, Jalen
McMillan, and Sterling Shepard. Now, granted,
Sterling Shepard has a relationship with Baker
Mayfield, so they already have chemistry. But
I want to see if Trey Palmer is going to take
that next step, especially Jalen McMillan, because
they are two really good wide receivers that
I believe... Prior to the regular season starting,
I do believe that they're going to get traded.
Where? I don't know. Now with Charlie Heck and
Ben Chukwuma, I feel like personally this is
an opportunity for the both of you guys to showcase
like, hey, we may not be starting caliber tackles,
but we are good backup tackles for any other
team. Because right now with Tristan Works being
on the pup, I think this opens up an opportunity
for you guys to showcase yourself. For all 31
other teams. Because, again, this team is very,
very, very, and I mean very good. All right?
Had the Buccaneers made a move to get Jalen Ramsey,
oh, they're a Super Bowl team. 1 ,000%. I don't
care what anyone says. They would have been a
Super Bowl team in my eyes. Because Baker Mayfield
has been balling out. You already know what you're
getting with Mike Evans and Chris Godwin. I mean,
come on. What else do they need? for this team.
Now, I will say this, the defensive line as a
whole, outside of Vitavia, I want to see, can
everybody step up to the plate? I want to see
if everybody can become better. All right, sure,
they made investments in getting Desmond Watson.
I want to see what they're going to do with that
project. I just want to see this defensive line
become more formidable and how it was a few years
ago when they won the championship with Brady.
But we'll look at possible free agency additions
if you want to take that route. Cornerback, as
I've said before, you have James Bradbury, Kendall
Fuller, Stephon Gilmore, Rasul Douglas, Mike
Hilton, CJ Henderson. Tackle, you have George
Fant, Andreas Peet, Isaiah Wynn, Michael Dunn,
Raven Clark, Chris Hubbard, Jermaine Nefedi.
Wide receiver, if you want to take that route,
Keenan Allen, Amari Cooper, Gabe Davis, Nelson
Aguilar, DJ Char, Tiger Boyd, Chris Conley, Jameson
Crowder. In defensive line, if you want to take
that route, as I've said before, you have Jadeveon
Clowney, Raekwon Davis, Demarcus Walker, Montrevious
Adams, Jerry Hughes, Linval Joseph, and Maurice
Hurst. I want to end this episode here. If you
guys like what you're listening, please, please,
please, please, please make sure you guys leave
a five -star, five -star, five -star, five -star,
five -star, five -star review on anywhere and
everywhere that you listen to podcasts, all right?
We're available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify
and anywhere else that you can listen to podcasts,
all right? Whether it be Amazon Music, I think
we're available on there. We're just everywhere,
all right? Now, you can follow us on YouTube,
all right? Football Junkies Pod, all right? Football
Junkies Pod. When you go on our YouTube, we have
a link tree. When you click on that link tree,
it'll take you to anywhere and everywhere else
that we have Football Junkies content. I have
clips that I have to post right now at this moment.
I just posted three clips yesterday, all right?
And also with the link tree, there is my RSS
affiliate link. as well so when you click on
that link it'll take you to the rss .com site
and when you sign up for rss .com i will be able
to get some commissions for it all commissions
will go to the football junkies podcast and advancing
it and making it better for you guys right now
for my instagram people uh people excuse me football
underscore junkies pod all right football underscore
junkies pod junkies pod is now what It is together,
not spaced, all right? It is together, not spaced.
Football underscore junkies pod, all right? Now,
for my TikTok people, football junkies pod, all
right? Football junkies pod. You can follow me
on X, G -M -K -L, G -M space K -A -I -L -E. K
-A -I -L -E. It's the same thing with blue sky.
G -M -K -A -I -L -E. As always, I hope I gave
you guys the fix that you guys need. I love you
guys. I appreciate you guys so much. Up next,
we're going to the East. All right. That's right.
NFC East and AFC East. All right. So guess what?
As always, this is your GM Kale signing out.
Peace and love. Later.