WEBVTT 00:00:06.540 --> 00:00:11.919 This is the Litterbox, a Detroit Lions podcast 00:00:11.919 --> 00:00:15.859 with your hosts, Chad West and Bill Patterson. 00:00:19.620 --> 00:00:22.239 Lions Litterbox listeners, welcome back. We are 00:00:22.239 --> 00:00:24.440 back with another episode of the Litterbox, a 00:00:24.440 --> 00:00:26.579 Detroit Lions podcast. thought we would keep 00:00:26.579 --> 00:00:29.719 everybody abreast of current events here in the 00:00:29.719 --> 00:00:32.719 offseason, with the draft rapidly approaching 00:00:32.719 --> 00:00:35.539 in a couple months. We have a few things, some 00:00:35.539 --> 00:00:37.840 housekeeping items coming up. We're going to 00:00:37.840 --> 00:00:40.060 talk a little bit about Rod Wood's retirement. 00:00:40.219 --> 00:00:42.539 We're going to talk about Mike Disner being the 00:00:42.539 --> 00:00:45.659 next guy up. Decker coming back. Some injury 00:00:45.659 --> 00:00:49.060 news on Kirby Joseph, Monty and the plight with 00:00:49.060 --> 00:00:51.979 Monty as a running back number two. But first. 00:00:52.320 --> 00:00:55.060 I want to get into a term here that Bill taught 00:00:55.060 --> 00:00:56.780 us about an episode or two ago, and I've already 00:00:56.780 --> 00:01:00.119 forgot the definition tolling and why that matters 00:01:00.119 --> 00:01:03.079 with Aleem McNeil and Paschal. Bill, tell us 00:01:03.079 --> 00:01:05.780 what's going on with tolling. So, Chet and listeners, 00:01:05.980 --> 00:01:09.140 the word of the day is NFL contract tolling. 00:01:09.379 --> 00:01:12.120 That's T -O -L -L -I -N -G. It's a mechanism 00:01:12.120 --> 00:01:14.819 that pauses a player's contract delaying the 00:01:14.819 --> 00:01:18.030 expiration by one year. Typically or usually 00:01:18.030 --> 00:01:20.489 when a player is in the final year of their deal 00:01:20.489 --> 00:01:23.469 spends the season on the reserve or physically 00:01:23.469 --> 00:01:27.310 unable to perform the pup list or the non football 00:01:27.310 --> 00:01:31.469 injury NFI list. So basically it behaves just 00:01:31.469 --> 00:01:34.930 like a medical redshirt and why this is significant 00:01:34.930 --> 00:01:37.650 chat and why I think we might need to give Brad 00:01:37.650 --> 00:01:42.510 Holmes a few bouquets on this is because Essentially, 00:01:42.890 --> 00:01:47.530 Levi Onzerike and Josh Pascal are now Detroit 00:01:47.530 --> 00:01:51.049 Lions opposed to being unrestricted free agents 00:01:51.049 --> 00:01:55.290 because of being on the PUP or the NFI list. 00:01:55.849 --> 00:01:59.730 And so it was just a matter of paperwork and 00:01:59.730 --> 00:02:03.530 now the Lions have depth. Which I'm going to 00:02:03.530 --> 00:02:05.870 let you argue that we bought a year with these 00:02:05.870 --> 00:02:09.030 two guys. Exactly. Exactly. Now they're going 00:02:09.030 --> 00:02:11.169 to have to renegotiate and probably put them 00:02:11.169 --> 00:02:13.689 on incentive -laden contracts. Both of them have 00:02:13.689 --> 00:02:16.330 been historically hurt their entire careers. 00:02:16.830 --> 00:02:20.169 However, Chet, we're looking at a few key things 00:02:20.169 --> 00:02:24.050 outside of this. One, this gives defensive tackle 00:02:24.050 --> 00:02:26.969 an edge depth, you know, which is nothing more, 00:02:27.069 --> 00:02:29.669 nothing less. And with Taylor Decker saying that 00:02:29.669 --> 00:02:33.300 he does not want to retire. provided the Lions 00:02:33.300 --> 00:02:35.819 medical staff clears him and that all parties 00:02:35.819 --> 00:02:38.319 agree that he's good to go. I think this changes 00:02:38.319 --> 00:02:41.039 the Lions draft strategy greatly, Chad. Opposed 00:02:41.039 --> 00:02:43.180 to needing a tackle potentially in the first 00:02:43.180 --> 00:02:46.740 round or maybe even the second round, the tackle 00:02:46.740 --> 00:02:50.460 might be able to be pushed on down the line and 00:02:50.460 --> 00:02:53.699 defensive tackle probably isn't as big of a priority. 00:02:53.780 --> 00:02:56.560 I still think edge is, but their positions might 00:02:56.560 --> 00:02:59.659 creep up there like center, safety, some others 00:02:59.659 --> 00:03:03.180 on, you know, Sure, no stratosphere. We have 00:03:03.180 --> 00:03:05.300 a lot of needs. We still have a lot of needs. 00:03:05.479 --> 00:03:07.740 A lot of needs. It's nice to know a couple of 00:03:07.740 --> 00:03:10.099 them have been filled due to some contract hijinks. 00:03:10.479 --> 00:03:13.479 Yeah, yeah, basically. And again, you know, if 00:03:13.479 --> 00:03:16.060 we get the best Levi -Onserike, which is the 00:03:16.060 --> 00:03:18.659 one that was signed, you know, to the extension 00:03:18.659 --> 00:03:21.840 or the one -year contract after 2024, that's 00:03:21.840 --> 00:03:24.900 a great piece to have. And if Josh Pascal can 00:03:24.900 --> 00:03:28.169 ever emerge healthy again. Ever. Yes. Another 00:03:28.169 --> 00:03:30.949 nice piece. Yeah. Going forward on that while 00:03:30.949 --> 00:03:36.069 we stay on injury news. Yeah. Brad Holmes and 00:03:36.069 --> 00:03:40.289 the Danimal MCDC both spoke at Indianapolis this 00:03:40.289 --> 00:03:42.710 week where they're down for the NFL draft combine 00:03:42.710 --> 00:03:46.370 and the injury news on Joseph Kirby, that is 00:03:46.370 --> 00:03:49.569 starting free safety is murky to say. You can't 00:03:49.569 --> 00:03:54.469 seem to get a good, good update. Just not a good 00:03:54.469 --> 00:03:57.139 update. It's just been. It seems to be going 00:03:57.139 --> 00:04:00.060 more the negative route as to whether he'll be 00:04:00.060 --> 00:04:03.699 able to ever play again. at this point. So my 00:04:03.699 --> 00:04:06.819 question to you is, does this sound like, I know 00:04:06.819 --> 00:04:08.759 we're reading tea leaves and we're reading between 00:04:08.759 --> 00:04:11.900 lines, we're making hypotheses here. Is it like 00:04:11.900 --> 00:04:15.199 a degenerative issue with his knee that it's 00:04:15.199 --> 00:04:18.639 bone on bone or it does tendons that won't heal? 00:04:19.019 --> 00:04:21.199 Yes. Okay. It sounds like it's just been beat 00:04:21.199 --> 00:04:24.160 up so much to this point. And there may be just, 00:04:24.160 --> 00:04:27.000 you know, he may have some weakness in there 00:04:27.000 --> 00:04:28.920 and that joint that's just never coming back. 00:04:29.050 --> 00:04:31.269 to the point where he can perform on it. But 00:04:31.269 --> 00:04:34.129 it does sound like the, I believe it's the knee, 00:04:34.370 --> 00:04:36.569 if I'm not mistaken. It's the knee. With Kirby. 00:04:36.930 --> 00:04:39.610 And it's the, I can't remember if it's the left 00:04:39.610 --> 00:04:41.449 knee or the right knee, but it is quite beat 00:04:41.449 --> 00:04:44.009 up. And they said he's torn just about everything 00:04:44.009 --> 00:04:46.370 in there, and it's not healing, it's not coming 00:04:46.370 --> 00:04:49.649 back to a healed state, so. Kirby's probably 00:04:49.649 --> 00:04:52.310 gonna struggle with his walking even in the future. 00:04:52.449 --> 00:04:54.370 Who knows? It doesn't sound like it can take 00:04:54.370 --> 00:04:57.029 much of a pounding. You know, I don't have half 00:04:57.029 --> 00:04:59.269 my meniscus and it's not comfortable. The bone 00:04:59.269 --> 00:05:02.110 -on -bone can get a little, can get quite frustrating 00:05:02.110 --> 00:05:05.370 and flare up. Now, I'm a fat man who tears his 00:05:05.370 --> 00:05:07.550 ligaments getting up off the couch. I'm not tearing 00:05:07.550 --> 00:05:09.930 my ligaments running, you know, 4 -4 -40 and 00:05:09.930 --> 00:05:12.410 chasing down wide receivers. So I don't need 00:05:12.410 --> 00:05:14.709 my knee that much just to get me from A to B, 00:05:14.870 --> 00:05:17.819 you know? He needs to run all over, cut. stick 00:05:17.819 --> 00:05:20.300 his foot in the ground. I just don't think his 00:05:20.300 --> 00:05:22.459 knee is up to handling that. We'll see what happens. 00:05:22.779 --> 00:05:24.480 You know, we won't give up on him. I certainly 00:05:24.480 --> 00:05:26.240 don't want to because he's a great player and 00:05:26.240 --> 00:05:29.339 I'm very sad if it ends his career. Well, likewise, 00:05:29.600 --> 00:05:32.600 and just on behalf of the listeners and on behalf 00:05:32.600 --> 00:05:35.160 of your co -host, we thank you for playing Hurt, 00:05:35.259 --> 00:05:38.800 by the way. Yes. Yeah, play Hurt, guys. You don't 00:05:38.800 --> 00:05:40.579 have an excuse. You're not Kirby Joseph. You 00:05:40.579 --> 00:05:44.399 chat. You're talking about me. It's hard to get 00:05:44.399 --> 00:05:47.680 into the stool and bend my knee for the 20 to 00:05:47.680 --> 00:05:49.959 30 minutes it takes, Bill. It's very difficult. 00:05:50.000 --> 00:05:52.980 But I do some exercises to make sure I can sit 00:05:52.980 --> 00:05:56.000 properly for extended periods of time. Yeah, 00:05:56.060 --> 00:05:58.500 it's a rough life. Rod Wood. Let's talk about 00:05:58.500 --> 00:06:00.990 Rod Wood. What is Rod Wood bring to the table? 00:06:01.250 --> 00:06:03.790 Well, he retires and it's kind of an interesting 00:06:03.790 --> 00:06:07.230 case. He was the Ford family's accountant and 00:06:07.230 --> 00:06:09.850 he was promoted into this role. When he took 00:06:09.850 --> 00:06:12.790 the job, his introductory press conference, which 00:06:12.790 --> 00:06:15.670 I rewatched just to share with you and the listeners, 00:06:16.170 --> 00:06:18.649 he said he was not a football guy. He knew nothing 00:06:18.649 --> 00:06:21.129 about football and wouldn't intervene whatsoever. 00:06:21.439 --> 00:06:25.300 And oddly enough, his first football move was 00:06:25.300 --> 00:06:27.860 chasing down Megatron in the hallways of Allen 00:06:27.860 --> 00:06:31.139 Park after Megatron decided to retire and say 00:06:31.139 --> 00:06:33.160 that he owed part of his signing bonus back, 00:06:33.399 --> 00:06:36.300 which then... As accountants do. I mean, he's 00:06:36.300 --> 00:06:39.139 a bean counter, right? He caused a divorce in 00:06:39.139 --> 00:06:42.060 a rift between Megatron, Kelvin Johnson, and 00:06:42.060 --> 00:06:44.459 the franchise, which has since been mended, and 00:06:44.459 --> 00:06:47.060 they paid him what was owed, but it was an ugly 00:06:47.060 --> 00:06:48.980 situation that didn't need to be there, and he... 00:06:49.040 --> 00:06:50.819 clearly was talking out of both sides of his 00:06:50.819 --> 00:06:54.720 mouth. The other memory I have is Rod Wood, multiple 00:06:54.720 --> 00:06:57.860 recent drafts, fist bumping and high -fiving 00:06:57.860 --> 00:07:00.939 MCDC and Brad Holmes in the draft room, which 00:07:00.939 --> 00:07:04.399 is completely the opposite of a, as you said, 00:07:04.620 --> 00:07:09.629 a CFO account encounter. And so he grew into 00:07:09.629 --> 00:07:12.449 the role. I will have to give Sheila Fordham 00:07:12.449 --> 00:07:15.990 credit on this that like she did promote a guy 00:07:15.990 --> 00:07:19.189 that was really great. He in terms of assisting 00:07:19.189 --> 00:07:23.209 the Lions in making that the successful franchise 00:07:23.209 --> 00:07:26.769 they are today and has turned Alan Park into, 00:07:26.990 --> 00:07:29.920 you know, if you read these NFL player. representative 00:07:29.920 --> 00:07:32.879 and union reports it's one of the best facilities 00:07:32.879 --> 00:07:36.120 both practice indoor outdoor food weight room 00:07:36.120 --> 00:07:39.180 nutrition medical staff in the NFL and a lot 00:07:39.180 --> 00:07:41.639 of that was Rod Wood's design and doing with 00:07:41.639 --> 00:07:45.879 Sheila's approval next man up is the capologist 00:07:45.879 --> 00:07:47.839 and the guy that's basically been running the 00:07:47.839 --> 00:07:50.300 salary cap, which is Mike Disney. So I had a 00:07:50.300 --> 00:07:52.519 funny joke about this. OK, I just want to tell 00:07:52.519 --> 00:07:54.259 you, when we got into Disney, I was going to 00:07:54.259 --> 00:07:55.819 be like, you know, we went from an accountant. 00:07:56.000 --> 00:07:59.160 I was like, what is Disney an economist? He is 00:07:59.160 --> 00:08:01.600 here in a degree in economics from Williams College, 00:08:01.980 --> 00:08:04.180 where he played baseball. I love it. I love it. 00:08:04.180 --> 00:08:07.740 I did not know that he did interview for the 00:08:07.740 --> 00:08:11.319 Falcons. Atlanta Falcons president and GM job 00:08:11.319 --> 00:08:14.060 that went to Matt Ryan and then the Falcons hired 00:08:14.060 --> 00:08:17.540 or Matt Ryan hired the Bears assistant GM, which 00:08:17.540 --> 00:08:19.800 is kind of an odd one because Mike Disney is 00:08:19.800 --> 00:08:22.019 infinitely more qualified than either of those 00:08:22.019 --> 00:08:24.379 individuals. But that's probably why the Falcons 00:08:24.379 --> 00:08:26.959 are the Falcons. And I hope that Mike Disney 00:08:26.959 --> 00:08:29.819 gets his fair crack at this. In an interesting 00:08:29.819 --> 00:08:32.620 note, the Lions did hire a search firm for their 00:08:32.620 --> 00:08:35.620 next president, which interesting, a little bizarre 00:08:35.620 --> 00:08:38.870 to me, given that the guy that potentially should 00:08:38.870 --> 00:08:41.149 be the successor, could be there in the building 00:08:41.149 --> 00:08:45.269 or could be in NFL circles. A name to also watch 00:08:45.269 --> 00:08:48.450 for would be Chris Spielman's brother Rick, former 00:08:48.450 --> 00:08:51.230 general manager of the Minnesota Vikings, who 00:08:51.230 --> 00:08:53.409 has been consulting and sitting on the sidelines. 00:08:53.669 --> 00:08:56.590 So just... Well, Disney has apparently got a 00:08:56.590 --> 00:08:58.690 very good reputation around the league. Really 00:08:58.690 --> 00:09:00.509 good reputation. It's kind of like a salary cap 00:09:00.509 --> 00:09:03.070 guy. And I know that, you know, the Falcons... 00:09:03.080 --> 00:09:05.279 Requested an interview for president football 00:09:05.279 --> 00:09:07.899 operations not but a couple months back. So he's 00:09:07.899 --> 00:09:10.059 he's wanted by others Well, and this won't be 00:09:10.059 --> 00:09:12.240 the first time the Falcons make a really curious 00:09:12.240 --> 00:09:14.860 choice on things Remember that Bill Belichick 00:09:14.860 --> 00:09:18.559 was their first choice and they right they were 00:09:18.559 --> 00:09:21.039 courting him hot and heavy and decided at the 00:09:21.039 --> 00:09:24.360 end of the day No, Raheem Morris could is our 00:09:24.360 --> 00:09:27.740 guy. So we'll see if I don't know Arthur blank 00:09:28.000 --> 00:09:30.600 He is not. That's the Falcons owner to listeners 00:09:30.600 --> 00:09:33.139 that might not be familiar. He of Home Depot, 00:09:33.500 --> 00:09:36.139 fame and CEO, principal shareholder. He hasn't 00:09:36.139 --> 00:09:38.059 been the same since that Super Bowl collapse 00:09:38.059 --> 00:09:41.360 against the Patriots. So we've covered the front 00:09:41.360 --> 00:09:43.139 office, Bill. We've covered the front office. 00:09:43.220 --> 00:09:44.879 Let's get into the players a little bit. What 00:09:44.879 --> 00:09:48.070 do you think? Well, Big news yesterday. Taylor 00:09:48.070 --> 00:09:50.409 Decker just said that he is willing to give it 00:09:50.409 --> 00:09:53.250 another go. My question to you, Chet, is where 00:09:53.250 --> 00:09:56.129 does this sit with you? Are you excited? Are 00:09:56.129 --> 00:09:59.570 you happy? Are you frustrated? I already read 00:09:59.570 --> 00:10:02.809 something about this the other day that Decker 00:10:02.809 --> 00:10:05.389 is willing to give it a go. I read something 00:10:05.389 --> 00:10:07.490 yesterday about this. Yes, Decker is willing 00:10:07.490 --> 00:10:09.950 to give it a go. However, even Brad Holmes was 00:10:09.950 --> 00:10:12.549 saying, like, we know his current condition. 00:10:12.610 --> 00:10:14.590 We know he's getting up there, you know, his 00:10:14.590 --> 00:10:19.659 health is. Not a friend to him at this juncture. 00:10:19.899 --> 00:10:21.980 So they know they have to have another option 00:10:21.980 --> 00:10:24.259 there. And it sounds like they are going to concentrate 00:10:24.259 --> 00:10:27.679 on finding another option there to at least spelldecker 00:10:27.679 --> 00:10:31.019 when necessary. It could be a draft pick. I mean, 00:10:31.220 --> 00:10:33.360 I don't know how excited Lions fans are going 00:10:33.360 --> 00:10:36.039 to be if they take a left tackle in the draft. 00:10:36.220 --> 00:10:39.320 We have other needs. Everybody wants to see some 00:10:39.320 --> 00:10:41.320 flashy edge rusher, although there are a couple 00:10:41.320 --> 00:10:43.580 on the market. that we could go after there. 00:10:43.860 --> 00:10:46.600 But it does sound like they know that yes, he's 00:10:46.600 --> 00:10:49.500 coming back. This is great. This is not a permanent 00:10:49.500 --> 00:10:51.960 option. We're not putting all our eggs in that 00:10:51.960 --> 00:10:53.960 basket. That's all you can really ask for. But 00:10:53.960 --> 00:10:56.799 I do look at all the needs on this team. Anybody 00:10:56.799 --> 00:10:58.820 coming back helps because it trims down what 00:10:58.820 --> 00:11:01.960 we have to go after. Brad Holmes needs to step 00:11:01.960 --> 00:11:04.340 up and figure this thing out. This is going to 00:11:04.340 --> 00:11:06.039 be where we're going to find out. Rubber hitting 00:11:06.039 --> 00:11:08.700 the road for Brad Holmes. Can he make the magic? 00:11:08.759 --> 00:11:12.200 He's drafted fairly well. Free agent signings 00:11:12.200 --> 00:11:15.340 hit and miss. I need to see Brad Holmes put the 00:11:15.340 --> 00:11:17.559 players on the field that need to be out there 00:11:17.559 --> 00:11:19.799 for us to be a championship team next year. We 00:11:19.799 --> 00:11:24.759 can't blow Amun Ra, Jameer Gibbs, Jared Goff, 00:11:24.940 --> 00:11:27.399 everybody else. We can't blow Hutch. We can't 00:11:27.399 --> 00:11:29.960 blow these guys and their time with the team 00:11:29.960 --> 00:11:32.700 and not get at least a Super Bowl appearance 00:11:32.700 --> 00:11:34.720 out of it. And so he needs to figure out how 00:11:34.720 --> 00:11:36.559 to put a complete team out on the field, which 00:11:36.559 --> 00:11:38.779 means filling a lot of holes. It looks like he's 00:11:38.809 --> 00:11:40.870 Still going after a left tackle. What are your 00:11:40.870 --> 00:11:44.049 thoughts? I agree with you wholeheartedly. It 00:11:44.049 --> 00:11:46.909 gives depth. It's basically the same thing as 00:11:46.909 --> 00:11:48.870 the Levi answer. It's like a depth piece, right, 00:11:48.950 --> 00:11:51.490 at this point? Like, Decker has become a depth 00:11:51.490 --> 00:11:54.049 piece at left tackle, but I can't see him the 00:11:54.049 --> 00:11:56.409 overall answer at this point. The thing is, though... 00:11:56.409 --> 00:11:59.309 Just because of health. But he played... a lot 00:11:59.309 --> 00:12:06.009 last year, every game. He didn't practice at 00:12:06.009 --> 00:12:09.870 all. And if his shoulder heals, he wasn't one 00:12:09.870 --> 00:12:12.429 of the problems on the offensive line last year. 00:12:12.490 --> 00:12:15.090 You know, given that Sewell and everybody else 00:12:15.090 --> 00:12:17.769 struggled or was injured at times, including 00:12:17.769 --> 00:12:20.129 Decker, I think he's a good depth piece coming 00:12:20.129 --> 00:12:23.570 back. I think in a game or two he was out. It 00:12:23.570 --> 00:12:26.149 was evident. Like it was toward the end of the 00:12:26.149 --> 00:12:28.610 season. It wasn't working out, but you're like, 00:12:28.789 --> 00:12:30.769 like I said, do we have other problems along 00:12:30.769 --> 00:12:33.269 that line when he's in there that are, you know, 00:12:33.429 --> 00:12:36.690 he's not one of the major problems. So let's 00:12:36.690 --> 00:12:39.710 talk about solutions. Okay. David Montgomery 00:12:39.710 --> 00:12:44.269 apparently had a very tense or terse conversation 00:12:44.269 --> 00:12:46.970 with management in his exit interview. Yeah. 00:12:47.230 --> 00:12:51.090 Apparently, he felt a little bit more revitalized 00:12:51.090 --> 00:12:54.149 with the hiring of one Drew Petsing and utilization. 00:12:54.970 --> 00:12:58.210 But apparently, he and Brad Holmes and his agent 00:12:58.210 --> 00:13:00.769 have been in conversations this week. Yes. And 00:13:00.769 --> 00:13:03.269 if they're in conversations, that leads me to 00:13:03.269 --> 00:13:05.590 believe that a trade is about to happen. He signed 00:13:05.590 --> 00:13:07.889 a two -year extension, okay? And next year would 00:13:07.889 --> 00:13:09.929 have been the first year of that extension. Yet, 00:13:10.190 --> 00:13:12.850 it sounds like he's disgruntled. It sounds like 00:13:12.850 --> 00:13:14.570 he doesn't feel like he's going to get enough 00:13:14.570 --> 00:13:16.669 opportunities. Petsing says it's going to be 00:13:16.669 --> 00:13:19.129 the balance between him and Gibbs. What do you 00:13:19.129 --> 00:13:24.049 think? I mean, is it, is, is this just posturing 00:13:24.049 --> 00:13:26.490 to make sure he gets his time on the field or 00:13:26.490 --> 00:13:28.210 do you actually think we got a trade coming? 00:13:28.350 --> 00:13:31.289 I'd like to see him use them to trade up. I think 00:13:31.289 --> 00:13:34.110 there's going to be a trade coming and I think 00:13:34.110 --> 00:13:36.629 that you and listeners probably need to brace 00:13:36.629 --> 00:13:39.389 themselves. I mean, I think if he gets you a 00:13:39.389 --> 00:13:41.769 fifth round pick, I think that's probably fair 00:13:41.769 --> 00:13:45.169 or equitable. Yeah, I'm worried he's not better 00:13:45.169 --> 00:13:47.409 than a fourth at this point. Yes, unfortunately. 00:13:47.850 --> 00:13:51.049 Yeah. And so then that changes again the landscape. 00:13:52.210 --> 00:13:54.669 You know, let's just go through the lines currently 00:13:54.669 --> 00:13:56.850 have seven picks. Let's say this goes to eight. 00:13:57.029 --> 00:13:59.370 You know, if they get an additional pick on that. 00:13:59.590 --> 00:14:02.309 Sure. I imagine a running back would be a late 00:14:02.309 --> 00:14:04.590 pick. I think a tight end will be a late pick. 00:14:04.809 --> 00:14:06.529 I think there'll be a safety as a late pick. 00:14:06.669 --> 00:14:08.509 I think there'll be a cornerback as a late pick. 00:14:09.029 --> 00:14:10.809 And so your early picks are probably going to 00:14:10.809 --> 00:14:14.250 be left tackle, edge, and best available wherever 00:14:14.250 --> 00:14:16.990 that might be. Pray it's not wide receiver. I 00:14:16.990 --> 00:14:18.809 still think they're going to get a free agent 00:14:18.809 --> 00:14:20.549 edge. I think they're going to get one of these 00:14:20.549 --> 00:14:22.649 edge guys. There's a couple of them available. 00:14:22.850 --> 00:14:24.409 I hope they do. I don't know that that's going 00:14:24.409 --> 00:14:26.090 to be a draft. I think the draft will center 00:14:26.090 --> 00:14:29.049 around line. So we did have a question from a 00:14:29.049 --> 00:14:32.350 loyal listener. Okay. The new league date starts 00:14:32.350 --> 00:14:35.529 March 11th. So listeners know that Chet and I 00:14:35.529 --> 00:14:39.190 will be back with you talking about salary cap 00:14:39.190 --> 00:14:42.450 and reposition that. Meaning they're going to 00:14:42.450 --> 00:14:45.509 have to restructure deals because currently they're 00:14:45.509 --> 00:14:49.350 over the cap. Okay. And there's a lot that could 00:14:49.350 --> 00:14:52.549 go to assist that restructuring Jared Goff, restructuring 00:14:52.549 --> 00:14:56.009 Ammon Roth St. Brown, restructuring Hutch, you 00:14:56.009 --> 00:14:58.980 know, is Somebody like Derek Barnes a cap casualty 00:14:58.980 --> 00:15:02.980 is Monty a trade bait is Chamo which leads me 00:15:02.980 --> 00:15:06.720 to loyal listener Andy Roberts has a question 00:15:06.720 --> 00:15:11.120 Okay, Brad Holmes loves his guys says Andy Okay, 00:15:11.399 --> 00:15:14.919 what are you to meaning you and I think are the 00:15:14.919 --> 00:15:18.759 odds that he resigns? Everybody meaning he extends 00:15:18.759 --> 00:15:22.769 Gibbs. He extends Jack Campbell. He extends Branch 00:15:22.769 --> 00:15:26.110 on down the line and what are your thoughts and 00:15:26.110 --> 00:15:28.990 opinions on that if that does happen? Well, the 00:15:28.990 --> 00:15:31.730 timing of it is difficult staying under the cap 00:15:31.730 --> 00:15:33.769 as we just said a minute ago about the cap Like 00:15:33.769 --> 00:15:35.769 you've got all these guys came into the team 00:15:35.769 --> 00:15:37.570 within a year or two of each other and they're 00:15:37.570 --> 00:15:40.389 all gonna be getting Big contracts. They don't 00:15:40.389 --> 00:15:42.350 know that he can keep everybody There's gonna 00:15:42.350 --> 00:15:44.809 be a couple guys that aren't gonna make it things 00:15:44.809 --> 00:15:46.730 like health with Brian Branch would be something 00:15:46.730 --> 00:15:49.690 to keep an eye on To see what what you know a 00:15:49.690 --> 00:15:53.480 driver for his contract Don't think he'll keep 00:15:53.480 --> 00:15:56.200 them all but I do feel like he's right and thinking 00:15:56.200 --> 00:15:58.659 like these are their guys These are guys that 00:15:58.659 --> 00:16:01.600 they evaluated they trusted they do seem to have 00:16:01.600 --> 00:16:05.539 this desire to keep their guys around I just 00:16:05.539 --> 00:16:06.799 don't think they'll be able to keep them all 00:16:06.799 --> 00:16:10.559 no and they won't and I guess if we had to go 00:16:10.559 --> 00:16:13.559 hierarchy on that one through four they all came 00:16:13.559 --> 00:16:16.159 from the same draft and Essentially, this is 00:16:16.159 --> 00:16:20.539 the bounty from so you're looking at branch Laporta. 00:16:20.879 --> 00:16:23.899 Laporta. Campbell. Campbell. And who's the fourth? 00:16:24.340 --> 00:16:28.259 Gibbs. Gibbs. Well, see, now you're wading into 00:16:28.259 --> 00:16:31.340 how much and for how long. I mean, Gibbs would 00:16:31.340 --> 00:16:33.700 be my number one. He's number one in the hierarchy. 00:16:33.740 --> 00:16:37.990 OK. Right. So. Our loyal listener and I both 00:16:37.990 --> 00:16:40.710 agreed on this. He would be my four as he sees 00:16:40.710 --> 00:16:43.450 your four. So he's your last. Well, you want 00:16:43.450 --> 00:16:46.570 for a running back in the NFL, they have a short 00:16:46.570 --> 00:16:50.529 shelf life. You want their first two to 2000 00:16:50.529 --> 00:16:53.509 carries or thousand carries or touches, whatever 00:16:53.509 --> 00:16:55.529 you want to say. Sure. You don't want to pay 00:16:55.529 --> 00:16:58.490 for what happened those first thousand carries. 00:16:58.990 --> 00:17:03.490 So if they extended him. it would be like a franchise 00:17:03.490 --> 00:17:07.430 tag for a year if he was in good health and still 00:17:07.430 --> 00:17:10.289 performing well. Laporta's coming off back surgery. 00:17:10.710 --> 00:17:13.549 Branch is coming off a complete and total. Both 00:17:13.549 --> 00:17:15.769 he and Laporta have health issues and a back 00:17:15.769 --> 00:17:17.750 for a tight end isn't the greatest thing on the 00:17:17.750 --> 00:17:20.769 face. Tornachiles. So at this point, the quarterback 00:17:20.769 --> 00:17:23.170 of the defense is Campbell, even though I think 00:17:23.170 --> 00:17:25.930 that outside of running back is probably the 00:17:25.930 --> 00:17:28.559 easiest position to replace. He's the one that 00:17:28.559 --> 00:17:30.339 I think is the most heart and soul, and I also 00:17:30.339 --> 00:17:33.799 think he'd be the least cost prohibitive to re 00:17:33.799 --> 00:17:36.500 -sign or extend. If Campbell can have a season, 00:17:36.539 --> 00:17:38.900 this coming season, like he just had, come out 00:17:38.900 --> 00:17:41.519 and have anything close to this past season, 00:17:41.700 --> 00:17:43.460 in the coming season, I think they're going to 00:17:43.460 --> 00:17:46.099 extend him. He's probably the easiest to make 00:17:46.099 --> 00:17:48.299 a decision on, because he'll be the cheapest, 00:17:48.339 --> 00:17:51.940 and he's at a position where we don't have great 00:17:51.940 --> 00:17:54.420 linebackers. Like, we kind of need Jack Campbell 00:17:54.420 --> 00:17:57.569 right now. Yes. Your other options are like Derek 00:17:57.569 --> 00:18:00.490 Barnes and I don't know who who else are you 00:18:00.490 --> 00:18:03.630 putting out there? I mean, Rodriguez Rodriguez. 00:18:03.970 --> 00:18:05.789 I mean, no, no, no, he's an unrestricted free 00:18:05.789 --> 00:18:09.930 agent. He's gone. Yeah. So there's only they're 00:18:09.930 --> 00:18:11.730 they're balking at him. They're not they're not 00:18:11.730 --> 00:18:14.630 jumping to resign him. I mean, I think Campbell's 00:18:14.630 --> 00:18:17.450 probably your best shot. I would say Gibbs is 00:18:17.450 --> 00:18:20.170 like the, from a talent aspect, would be the 00:18:20.170 --> 00:18:22.230 tier one. I thought you were kind of asking about 00:18:22.230 --> 00:18:23.410 that. I thought, and I didn't think you were 00:18:23.410 --> 00:18:25.349 asking about who would you resign. So I think 00:18:25.349 --> 00:18:27.329 Campbell's probably one, but I would put Gibbs 00:18:27.329 --> 00:18:29.789 at like two. I'd give him like a two year deal 00:18:29.789 --> 00:18:31.849 or something if he'd take it, but he may get 00:18:31.849 --> 00:18:34.410 something bigger from somebody else. If that's 00:18:34.410 --> 00:18:36.049 the case, I don't know. I don't like these long 00:18:36.049 --> 00:18:38.329 -term deals. But then again, in football, nothing's 00:18:38.329 --> 00:18:41.690 guaranteed past a certain amount. And then La 00:18:41.690 --> 00:18:44.269 Porta. Love La Porta, but back injuries for a 00:18:44.269 --> 00:18:46.980 tight end. You're a blocker receiver. I just 00:18:46.980 --> 00:18:49.200 don't know how he's going to come back from that. 00:18:49.339 --> 00:18:52.640 Yeah. I mean, I would go tier one. Uh, I think 00:18:52.640 --> 00:18:54.799 we're in agreement on Campbell and then tier 00:18:54.799 --> 00:18:57.940 two would be if branch and or Laporta can come 00:18:57.940 --> 00:19:01.160 back from injury to anything resembling their 00:19:01.160 --> 00:19:04.220 former selves, then those are bad injuries though. 00:19:04.220 --> 00:19:08.170 Yeah. AC are, uh, uh, Achilles and back. And 00:19:08.170 --> 00:19:11.269 then the Lions are unlike, you know, our friends 00:19:11.269 --> 00:19:13.789 down in Dallas, the Cowboys that love to franchise 00:19:13.789 --> 00:19:17.009 players. Lions rarely do it, and I think it would 00:19:17.009 --> 00:19:19.650 be a good move potentially if Gibbs is still 00:19:19.650 --> 00:19:22.509 efficient. You franchise him once. I wonder if 00:19:22.509 --> 00:19:24.309 that's like a locker room harmony thing. They 00:19:24.309 --> 00:19:26.609 don't want the grumpy franchise guy hanging around. 00:19:26.950 --> 00:19:28.950 You think? Well, you think about the franchises 00:19:28.950 --> 00:19:30.589 that do it though, and there's never harmony. 00:19:30.730 --> 00:19:32.869 I mean, look what the commanders did with Kirk 00:19:32.869 --> 00:19:35.779 Cousins. I mean... They greatly overpaid him 00:19:35.779 --> 00:19:38.380 by just not signing him when they should have, 00:19:38.680 --> 00:19:40.359 partially because of stubbornness of ownership 00:19:40.359 --> 00:19:42.059 and management for the fact that they couldn't 00:19:42.059 --> 00:19:44.460 believe that they got the RG3 pick wrong and 00:19:44.460 --> 00:19:47.279 that Cousins was the guy. And then the Cowboys 00:19:47.279 --> 00:19:50.619 do it seemingly more often than almost any other 00:19:50.619 --> 00:19:53.380 team. And yet, name another team in the NFL that 00:19:53.380 --> 00:19:55.680 has more players going to the press than the 00:19:55.680 --> 00:19:58.799 Cowboys, demanding new contracts. I mean, Brandon 00:19:58.799 --> 00:20:03.140 Aubrey today was... I didn't see that. He wants 00:20:03.140 --> 00:20:06.779 he wants more involvement. Yeah. So anyway, be 00:20:06.779 --> 00:20:10.220 thankful that's not us. Other guy that was a 00:20:10.220 --> 00:20:13.079 distant conversation is JMo someone that we would 00:20:13.079 --> 00:20:15.640 have trade bait with or someone that you'd be 00:20:15.640 --> 00:20:18.200 willing to part with. In my short answer, what 00:20:18.200 --> 00:20:20.420 can you get for him? Do you think he's got a 00:20:20.420 --> 00:20:22.319 huge contract right now? Well, they extended 00:20:22.319 --> 00:20:26.859 him. So he's actually underpaid for his value. 00:20:27.000 --> 00:20:29.579 Really? I thought he got a pretty big deal. He 00:20:29.579 --> 00:20:32.380 did, but he's not he's not Jamar Chase, Justin 00:20:32.380 --> 00:20:36.440 Jefferson. You know, he's not like a crazy. He's 00:20:36.440 --> 00:20:39.079 also nowhere near them. And I know, but but they're 00:20:39.079 --> 00:20:42.019 not paying him like a top 10 receiver. And you 00:20:42.019 --> 00:20:43.819 want to talk about a guy that vanished this past 00:20:43.819 --> 00:20:46.119 season. He was nowhere to be found for half the 00:20:46.119 --> 00:20:48.619 season. I don't feel like he was that great. 00:20:48.720 --> 00:20:51.079 We'll second half of that season. Let's dive 00:20:51.079 --> 00:20:53.680 into his numbers next episode. OK, we'll give 00:20:53.680 --> 00:20:56.140 you time to prep on that. I disagree because 00:20:56.140 --> 00:20:59.200 the games. Aman Ra did not have his best season. 00:20:59.420 --> 00:21:01.859 They're two vastly different receivers and we 00:21:01.859 --> 00:21:04.119 still need somebody to take the top off. Yeah. 00:21:04.599 --> 00:21:07.559 I will agree with you that under Johnny Moe's 00:21:07.559 --> 00:21:09.740 offense, they didn't know how to utilize JMO 00:21:09.740 --> 00:21:11.740 whatsoever. And that could have been the problem. 00:21:11.819 --> 00:21:13.940 Maybe he just didn't have the consistency throughout 00:21:13.940 --> 00:21:16.910 the season. get the mojo going. Oh, and speaking 00:21:16.910 --> 00:21:20.089 of talk about a lucky or unlucky penny, Johnny 00:21:20.089 --> 00:21:22.809 Moe is now the passing game coordinator with 00:21:22.809 --> 00:21:26.009 your Denver Broncos. He's right back where he 00:21:26.009 --> 00:21:30.470 came from. Anyhow, on that note, let's leave 00:21:30.470 --> 00:21:33.970 you March 11th is a big date for the NFL season 00:21:33.970 --> 00:21:37.329 starting, if any significant retirements, injury 00:21:37.329 --> 00:21:40.869 news, restructuring of contracts. Listen here, 00:21:40.869 --> 00:21:43.990 loyal. Lions Litterbox listeners will break it 00:21:43.990 --> 00:21:46.849 down for you. Sounds good, Bill. Go Lions. Go 00:21:46.849 --> 00:21:47.190 Lions.