Boom. Here it is.

Here's your breaking news. Kirk Cousins is going to the Atlanta Falcons.

He is leaving Minnesota. He is going to Atlanta.

Saquon Barkley now has a deal with the Philadelphia egos.

Russell Wilson, for next to no money because the Broncos are paying him, is going to Pittsburgh.

A massive deal for Christian Wilkins, who now lands with the Los Vegas Raiders. The Green Bay packers are signing Josh Jacobs.

Deandre Swift headed to the Chicago Bear.

Three years, $24 million for Tony Pollard and the Tennessee Titans.

Oh, my goodness. It's Insider's Christmas, day one of the legal tampering period as we close in on the official start of a new league year on Wednesday. And yes, the moves were hot and heavy across the NFL, and we are here around the NFL to document everything that's happened as of 4:40 PM Eastern Standard Time, and We'll continue to track things as we record this show. And like we said, we'll be doing shows all week. So everything you need to know about this big week on the lead calendar, we got you. Dan Hans is here. Mark Sesler, Greg Rosenthal. Here we go. Here we go, boys. It has started. It is a frenzy as NFL Network advertises.

I don't even know if we need to do a show after that intro. We spoiled it all. That's it. That's it right there. Give me those bass drums, and maybe we'll just dance.

I thought that by doing an extra show yesterday, which we did not plan to do out of the gate, that we helped ourselves, that we maybe cleared the deck. And about a couple hours into today, it is a bushel of frenzia, a tornado of news items. I feel I'm just sitting in my hotel room getting whipsawed by the news coming off the night.

No Van Ginkle in that opening credit. Some say that's a shot.

It's a shot of Van Ginkle, but you know what he's going to do with that.

Look at it this way, Mark. If we didn't do the Sunday Surprise up. We're looking at a Killers of the Flower Moon length show today, Monday. We did take care of business, and we got ahead of it as best we could. But let's get into it. Yeah, the big move, and you heard it there, Off the bat was Kirk Cousins. You knew Cousins was going to get paid handsomely. That's what Kirk Cousins does. You also knew...

Some balloons coming up in your room there.

What just happened? Why the balloon just went up on Sesler's screen?

I mean, it's beautiful. We're just trying to get people to check out the YouTube. It's wonderful.

I have no idea why that would have happened.

I think Randy is part of all of this.

Randy, focus. I know your team made a lateral move at Running Back Today in Green Bay, but we don't need to be not taking this serious. Gravitas is the order of the day as we get into the Kirk Cousins conversation after a run in Minnesota that featured a ton of production, not a lot of playoff success, but on balance, Cousins, again, over his time with the Vikings, just like in his run with Washington, proved himself to be a answer at quarterback and a stable figure and a well-liked individual. You knew he was going to get the And on the first day of the legal tampering period, he does. And it's from the Atlanta Falcons, who agreed to a four-year, $180 million contract. That came straight from his agent. His agent broke the news, I believe, which is ouchers to all the insiders there. So Cousins finally brings some legitimacy to the quarterback position in Atlanta, Greg, a team that has been making incremental progress in the last couple of years, but it was always the quarterback that was holding them back. While Cousins has not, so far in his career, shown us that he is a Super Bowl-level quarterback, a Championship quarterback, man, this is a massive upgrade and a no-brainer move, I think, for the Falcons.

Yeah, I think it made sense for all sides, which is not a hot take, but it's starting with ownership in terms of Atlanta saying, We need a quarterback, and I think they're the ones pushing this, that they made this happen. Arthur Blank. He was just sick of watching what he was watching, and he was going to make it happen. I think it also makes sense that this is the time that Minnesota lets Kirk go. The minute I started really believing Kirk was going to Atlanta was on Sunday when we just kept hearing over and over how Minnesota is really trying. Every single report was like, Oh, Minnesota is really trying. They're staying in it. It's like, Those are the reports of a front office that knows they're losing their guy and wants everyone to know that they tried their hardest. And I'm sure they had a reasonable deal. And I think they are making a smart move, even as Atlanta is making a smart move in signing Kirk Cousins, I think Minnesota is making a smart move in choosing now, 36 years old, entering next season, coming off a torn Achilles to be the time that you cut the cord and stop giving this guy this much money.

Yeah, I'm with you. I think the time ended in Minnesota, and you can tell that they're team building in a way where they're moving away potentially from Cousins, and it's like they have to find a quarterback. But I love the landing spot in Atlanta. I think that Cousins, he is 36, but if you get just three more years of him, and I think it could be more than that, he goes to a place that essentially was missing only a quarterback last year. And if you're Arthur Smith, you're thinking, if you had Kirk Cousins a year ago, everything would have been different. I think for guys like Drake London, this is a level beyond human trigger pull that changes your career. We might finally get to see Kyle Pitz the way we wanted to see him. It's great for Béjian Robinson. You've got Zack Robinson, I think is a good fit for Kirk Cousins. And Rahim Morris, first-year coach here in Atlanta, he came in saying, We want to do this. This was the one thing that got the last coach fired, and they went and did it in a short order. And I really love it for Falcons fans because I think it changes that division entirely.

And it's like you plug a quarterback into a team that probably could have made in the playoffs last year if they had gotten 30, 40 % better quarterback play.

The Falcons ranked 26th in points per game last year, 22nd in passing yards. So Cousins, you're paying big time. It's 100 million, we're hearing, in guaranteed money for Cousins. So you're paying at a premium. That's going to come with other challenges now for Atlanta moving forward. But I think this was a move that, while making sense, also was one, it was almost like they threw their hands up and they were like, We've tried it different ways since Matt Ryan got old, and now we're just going to throw money at the problem and hope that Cousins, yes, coming off a torn Achilles tendon entering his age 36 season will be that guy. I thought, thinking about the deal and what it means in the NFC South, that the Baker deal in Tampa Bay, to me, which I already didn't love, it looks even a little worse now because the reason they won that division at 9:08 is because in But for the large part, Atlanta wasn't ready to make the leap. I think certainly the desert is going to establish now that the Falcons are going to win that division. How deep can they go? Is this a team that can make a run in the playoffs?

We'll see. But there's pieces, Greg. That's the reason why you guys were always more into the Falcons than I was. But this is a roster that is pretty close to making a run if they just got that competent quarterback play. And that's what Cousins does.

Probably, but they're totally different now Their defense was overrated last year. They were good in a couple of points per game and stuff like that. But talent-wise, they're fine. And if you look beneath the hood, as you would say, Dan, and DVOA, all that stuff, they were a mediocre defense. It's going to be a totally different defense. I like Raheem Morris as a hire. We'll see how that works out. I think it'll work out, but it's a new offense. Kirk Cousins fits well in this offense. Drake London is a good number one. Is he a great number one? We'll see. He's a nice guy to have. Pitz, to me, is a question mark. I'm He's not suddenly saying, Okay, Kyle Pitz is going to be awesome now. Kirk Cousins is a very up and down quarterback. He is a streaky quarterback who at the end of the season looks like he's very consistent, but he'll be on fire for seven games. Then he'll struggle for seven games or four games. Vikings fans know that, and I think he was worth the gamble. But it is funny that they spent 2-3 years getting out of their old cap hell with Matt Ryan and all the dead cap hit that they had on their cap a year especially.

Now, they freed up as much cap space almost as any team in the league, and then you spend it all on Kirk Cousins. Before I get to you, Mark, I do want to mention what the money is. It's essentially Daniel Jones' contract, which makes Falcons fans, I would think, feel better. It's like a two-year, $90 million contract or $100 million contract with $10 million more in year three. That will be a penalty, essentially. If they want to give up on Kirk Cousins in year three, they got to give up $10 million. But have shown they're more than willing to do that. They've done that more. So it's basically a two-year contract with a salary cap inflation bump from what Daniel Jones made, and that's not bad. Then again, there's such little gap between the Daniel Joneses and the Kirk Cousins and the Mahomes and the Lamar Jacksons of the world in terms of one makes 45, one makes 51, or whatever it is. It's a nice value when you have the really, really great ones. In Kirk Cousins, I would not put in that category.

I guess when you say they, They. It's a different coaching staff, and they are trying to keep their jobs. The last day lost their job because of poor quarterback playing. It's like, you got two options in today's NFL. You go get the best quarterback you can find or you don't. We just saw the Falcons team that chose to not for two or three years in a row. And it's like, this was the best option. It comes with some risk. You could also argue that Kirk Cousins was already surrounded by a ton of talent in Minnesota, especially the wide receiver position. So it's not like he's going from rags to riches. But if you're the Falcons, it's like this was the prize. You don't go get Garner Minchou, you go get Kirk Cousins, and you ride with it. I think if you're a Falcons fan, you can say, Our team is at least, they're swinging for the fences, and we'll see how it goes.

Congratulations to the Atlanta Falcons, because I know one thing you've been thinking about this, probably immediately what came to mind, and it is true. Listeners, I do now take your team seriously. So congratulations to the Atlanta Falcons. The Zuzzer, The Zuzzer's in on a Falcons run in 24. Speaking of Garner Minchew, some breaking news. This will not be the first time you hear the breaking news drop. It is, after all, a free agent frenzy. Ian Rappaport reporting that the Raiders have agreed to terms with quarterback Garner-Minschuh on a two-year deal. He'll compete with Aiden O'Kunal. That doesn't blow my socks off, but I guess… I'm trying to process this I was thinking because Justin Fields is still out there and his market continues to shrink, and I thought maybe Fields in Vegas had some… I feel like Antonio pierce would be able to ride with that. This one doesn't do as much for me, but it brings another body in there.

I guess it's smart of Garner Minchou to sign right after we start taping because if this had been 30 minutes ago, he would be buried down in 45 minutes in. But now he gets an add one. Here's the money, by the way. He gets to jump all the way to the top.

Yeah, here's the money, by the way, which can tell you about where they want him to be on the roster. Two-year, $25 million deal. It puts $15 million fully guaranteed. So that tells me that, yeah, there's your starting quarterback for the Raiders in 2024.

I'm surprised. I mean, by the way, just to let you know from a showman angle, I mentioned Garner Minchou anecdotally because I saw it in the chat and I thought we could... And you went right off that perfectly. But I would say...

Even better as a showman would not just say that.

Don't mention that. It reverses your showman points. No, on this show, when you do something of that, you mention it. That's how it works. But we're killing other teams for settling on mid-tier quarterbacks. I like Minchou as a plug and play die in a pinch, but not as like it's going to be March, and we decide, is our starter right now. Where's the draft situation? I think we can still draft someone.

Dan, I disagree, though, that this deal says he's a week one starter or a starter starter at all. If that guaranteed money is over two years, that's backup money or Bridge starter money. It shows that him and Aiden O'Neill are probably competing, but it's very possible that they add a rookie to that mix, too. Then once you get to next year, it'd be even more likely than not that Minchou is the backup.

What did Baker sign for last year?

One year, $3 million.

I get it, but- This is $15 million fully. Ii don't know. We'll see. We're going to find out.

I think it's bad news for Aiden O'Neill.

That tells me that they're serious about him as a starter, potentially.I.

Agree.i can't believe they wouldn't draft someone. He's certainly the favorite, but it's a nice threading the needle. I don't think it's that much, where it's 12.5 million per year. So it's above the high-end backup money, but it's way below the low-end starter money for the Raiders. I think it's fine. They targeted him. And look, I'd rather pay him $12 million than Baker 40. No question. If we're going to kill the Baker deal for being a little too much, this makes more sense if you're in the middle. And you raise a good point on fields, and we'll get to the other teams today, but there's been nothing on fields, and there are just not a lot of places out there. And I've been personally as a Patriot, if you want me to get back into the Patriots, give me Drake May at three and Fields in a trade and just see what happens.

Sure. I'm with that. I mean, the fields, one thing that surprised me so far about this offseason is that I really did think the bears had some leverage with fields that even if they decided to go with the quarterback in the draft, which is obviously probably how this is going to play out, that they would get some value back. It's looking increasingly like the field's market is just not much of one at all. Let's stick with the quarterback since we're on a roll here with them, because we can't delay any longer, because welcome to the Rust Belt. Russell Wilson is Also off the board. In the middle of the night, we were out and about here in Austin, Texas. We're here for the iHeart Awards. And Rust Belt is a thing in Pittsburgh because he signs a very low money deal with the Steelers. We talked about Pittsburgh, the idea that they might not be sitting on their hands here at quarterback, even though they were saying outwardly at the combine and before that, that they were happy with their QB room. Here comes Russell Wilson, Mark, who is a depreciated asset. But again, and you were just talking, Greg, about Minchou.

With the money, what you get for the player, this is a signing of Russell Wilson, where Pittsburgh, it's what? Less than $2 million that they're paying. It's still Denver on the hook for his massive salary. So I think it's an upgrade. Is it a progress stop? Or that's where it becomes a conversation, I think.

I don't have a problem financially with taking a shot at him. I think actually that's a smart move for a team that needs to upgrade a quarterback. If you remove the Russell Wilson experience out of it, I guess for me, just ruminating on this situation, because, again, I think it's like he's more productive than I think people think over the last year plus, where it's like people have written him off entirely, and he can still play, I would believe, in an Arthur Smith run heavy attack. I don't hate it, but I would say this, I cannot pick a team out of 32 NFL teams where I would say Russell Wilson fits less with my life experience of that team. Everything I think about the Pittsburgh Steelers and everything I think about Russell Wilson, it is like two magnets on your fridge that you try to press together, and they rub against each other, and they don't want to meet. It's like, I just don't see it. It's interesting, but to me, it's a very odd fit. And I think fit matters in the NFL. Because I think Russell Wilson announced it on his Instagram with a totally Russell Wilson-like announcement.

And it's just not how I think about what the Pittsburgh Steelers have done for the last 50 years of my life.

Because that announcement is like, Hey, Russell Wilson's coming to town. But Russell Wilson has to make the team. I don't consider that a total guarantee. Russell Wilson has to win the starting job. I don't consider that a total guarantee. When a team invest, everyone's looking at it like, Hey, they're not giving up anything. It's worth a shot. Okay, sure. It also means they're not trying harder at the quarterback position, but it also means that they have nothing invested in Russell Wilson. If he shows up to camp and Kenny Picket, who all those Steelers fans were so excited about after last year, and he finished his rookie season strong, fits a little better in the Arthur Smith system.

It wasn't just Steelers fans, by the way.

Fair. I was never big on Kenny Picket. It was a wait and see on how he finished that year. But he could improve. He could show up and be a better, different player, and he could win that job. I think he'd have a chance. Or Dora Normal 3. They have room here to add another player, whether it's a rookie or someone else to the mix, like Mason Rudolf coming back. Even that wouldn't shock me. They can do that because they didn't really give up anything for Russell Wilson. I hesitate to just assume that he's the guy. He's the favorite. He's the most likely got to start. But Arthur Smith's offense is all about play action, middle of the field, back to the deep. Russell Wilson stinks at all that stuff. I don't know. I guess I got to see it first.

I disagree. I think this is their quarterback. You look at some of the... Yeah, and he also is maybe- He's the favorite, but I don't assume.

He might just be washed.

I just think he's the guy. I think they brought him in, and it's in line with their recent philosophy about the quarterback position and what he may be, some of the things you're talking about with the offense, he doesn't do well, but they also have some talented receivers, and he could still throw a good deep ball, and they're going to run the ball a lot. Actually, what you're saying, Mark, I'm curious This is what you meant by it, because for some reason, Wilson and the Steelers works for me in my brain. I don't know why. It does the magnets do connect for me on this, and I don't know if he's going to be successful. But again, he is almost like Baker this year, where the Steelers are getting this depreciated asset for almost nothing. If he's a league average quarterback, then it's a huge win, at least in terms of roster building, because of the money.

Yeah. So like I said, from a football angle and from a financial angle, I think it's a smart football move for any team in the league. And I do think he has a chance to surprise people. I don't think they would have done this if Arthur Smith also didn't sign off. And we've seen Arthur Smith take quarterbacks, Ryan Tannehill, who were thrown into a scrapheap and reclimate their career. So from that angle, I've no problem. I guess it's just esthetics. It's like looking at a painting. We could see it differently. My experience of the Pittsburgh Steelers and what I think about Russell Wilson, they don't match, but prove me wrong. I'm not saying I'm right about that. It's just an odd fit. I could think of him going to five or six other places. The Stealers, to me, they've always been something different.

Because what do you mean?

I'm sorry. What do you mean by that?

Do you mean like me, me, me? Because Because he's all about himself. Yeah, because they're this blue collar thing.

I think it's also like... Yeah, it's like a Mike Tomlin, hard-nosed defensive team where the quarterback was Big Ben for 20 years. It's like something about Russell Wilson is a a bit of a creation to me. I can't separate the quarterback from the whole Russell Wilson-y Broncos and marketing campaign. He was in the entourage of the movie. It's not what I think of a Stealers' quarterback. You know what? I don't have a... We could probably talk about it for two hours. I may not convince you of this. It's just the way that a player and a team would not fit to a sports fan. I find it to be the odd. It's not the fit that I would have picked two months ago.

Yeah, you don't have to convince me. I was just more curious what you meant by it.

It just strikes me as-I don't think they'll like them. I'm surprised Mike Tomlin did it, to be honest. It doesn't seem like a Mike Tomlin guy.

What I do agree with, what I think maybe it was you that said last week or earlier this week was that he doesn't seem I'm a guy that would handle being the number two very well. But I don't think that's what he's there to do. But if he is someone that's going to get supplanted, you even mentioned, Greg, he might not make the team. We're in different places on Wilson. Maybe that's why I was saying it last night in the cab. Wilson is such great catnip for podcasters and people talking football because he creates so many different conversation points, even as his play has come down.

Yeah, to be clear, I think the most likely outcome is he's the week one starter, but he's a 36-year-old entering a new system. We've just seen this enough that there are many potential outcomes. The fact that they have nothing invested in financially in him, to me, and the fact that he might be a bad backup and maybe there's too much, suggests to me there's a chance here that it just goes poorly. Then on the other hand, he is the most Big Ben-like quarterback in the entire NFL. They're both divas in totally different ways. They're both very tough physically. They both have been knocked for being maybe a little limited in terms of reading the defenses early in their career, but they can make some plays. So who knows? Maybe he's the 36-year-old version of Big Ben, which was, by the way, still pretty good.

We can agree on one thing, though, Dan. I think that in that cab late at night, you coined the Rust Belt lexicon, this tag. I I think it's going to grow.

I don't know if we want to... Yeah, the curtain on that one, if we want to pull it back or not. But as people know, Mark has retired from Twitter, abrupt, with a flaming screed against the analytics community and then a sign off in a wishing well of all of us. It doesn't mean Mark's out of the business as a guy that could punch up some scripts. Just leave it at that.

Well, I think we're hoping the Russell Wilson era, just for content, just has a little more pop than the Russ Belt tweet got because we had very high hopes. We had high hopes what numbers it would do. Dan even added @steelers, @NFL.

That's That's called tagging, and that typically leads to further engagement. I was also catching some flack in the... Are you able to pull up this tweet by any chance, Eric Roberts, on short notice? I was also catching some flack about the photo that I chose, which... Well, as you feel. What needs to be understood, we're in a Uber going from one establishment to another last night, and the news breaks, and the idea is in the car, I'm not going to say where it came from, because certain members of our podcast do not tweet anymore. But someone had mentioned, Oh, man, Rust Belt. Rust Belt, do your research on the region in Western PA. I, at that point, I'm scrambling. I'm like, I got to get this up. We got to beat to market the competition Rust Belt as a catchphrase. I pulled up the first photo, but I'm being told that the photo wasn't good enough, but the engagement's okay.

It was a little fuzzy in the Broncos thing Yeah, you can watch it on the YouTube now.

I think you were told by our actual social team that wanted to elevate it and said, You've picked the wrong...

Not bad engagement.

Over 70,000 impressions. It's catchy. I think it could take time, but like I said then, I think it's possible Al Michiels will be welcoming us to Thursday Night Football in week eight. Welcome to the Rust Belt. It's really caught on.

Did you know that Russell Wilson—I was reading Barnwell today, as everyone must—ranked 21st in QBR last season, which was one spot behind Joe Burrow? Wasn't that bad last year.

21st is bad, though.

Yeah, but go check where Kenny Picket and Mason Rudolf and every other jabroni playing in Pittsburgh was last year.

You don't want to look at Mason Rudolf because he'll look like he's Joe Montana.

I mean, his numbers are pretty good. There's also a couple of incredible numbers about his season because we He argued about his numbers look good if you just looked at a box, if you landed on Earth and looked at his box score for the year. But 62% of his passes came within 5 yards of the line of scrimage. I played... I mean, that's a pop corner offense right there.

He doesn't get a John Payton coming with them.

All right, we're just getting started here. By the way, I have NFL Plus up on the secondary screen to be ready with any breaking news, but let's take a break. So quarterback news done. We're going to dig into the running back rooms of teams next. And it is interesting there because there's some big names, not a hot draft class. So stay right there, and we're going to get into it. All right, we are back. Let's get to the running back situation. Like I said, a lot of big names out there, and I guess with some surprise, a lot of them came flying off the board on the first day of the legal tampering period. Let's start with Saquon Barkley, who goes from the New York Giants to the Philadelphia Eagles. I could tell you, as someone who has a lot of friends who are Giants fans, this one hurt. Saquon, from the Giants to the rival eagles, stays in the division, 26 million guaranteed on a three-year, 37 million dollar contract. So the eagles had a big day in general. But let's start with Saquon, who goes there, gets nice money.

I love that the analytically-driven Eagles, maybe the team that's most associated with the numbers over the last 10 years, are the team that gives Saquon Barkley the contract because that's the thing with Moneyball. It's all just about what the markets are saying. At a certain point, runningbacks have become so devalued that now it's come back around, and a guy like Saquon Barkley actually is worth quite a bit. If you compare his salary, for instance, versus like, Gabe Davis today, you could make an argument. I'd rather have Gabe Davis. I think the Eagles rightly made an argument. This is a guy who can play all three downs for us and supercharge a running attack that already was great to a totally different level. And I know it sounds like it's a lot of money, but it's really not much more than the types of offers I think the Giants were giving him over the last couple of years that he just didn't want, I think, from the New York Giants, which is crazy. He's getting in a better situation, certainly a better offensive line, but he basically only got two years guaranteed. And it makes this offense crazy.

Look for explosive, difference-making ability at any position, and don't close your eyes to it just because you're the Eagles, and you're not supposed to like high paid runningbacks.

Totally agree. I think if you're right now listening to WFAN out in the tri-state area, this is psychological warfare because This is a team, the Eagles, that stole James Bradbury away from the Giants when they couldn't figure out what to do with James Bradbury. And the Giants, for 600 days, couldn't figure out how to solve their issues with Saquon Barkley. Last year, they franchise them. The season's a completely lost cause. The Giants look directionless right now. The Eagles swoop in, take the star running back away from New York, and they play them twice a year. This is juicy. This is the stuff. When I tend to think that maybe the NFL is just a deeply scripted operation that is basically a chapter-by-chapter drama, this fits right in because now the Eagles have taken Saquon Barkley away from the Giants. I can see them playing each other in week one, and it's everything you'd ever want from the NFC East.Revenge.

Game.i.

Love that for the Eagles.

Yeah, that's true, Greg. The Eagles also take another player from New York, Bryce Huff of the Jets, goes to the Eagles on a three-year deal, and he gets good money, too, Greg. We talked about Huff, who has incredible pass-rush production. He led the Jets with ten and a half sacs, and that despite being a part-time player, I think he played about 42% of the snaps. The Eagles projected that he can play more than that, for the money that they're paying and some other moves that they're making on their defense, they're going to have a role for him, and we'll see if they try to turn him into the player the Jets didn't quite think he was. But as a Jets fan, you're afraid you let a star out the door.

Yeah, $50 million over three years. He's not a run stopper. I think in their defense, they're not going to really worry about that much. They don't. He reminds me a lot of Hassan Redik, which makes me think Hassan Redik is not going to be on the Eagles. Both him and Josh Sweat have been reportedly on the trade block, and you figure one, if not both of them, are going to get dealt. To me, he's the more one-to-one comparison with Redik. Just a guy who, younger in his career, maybe didn't take advantage. The Eagles have a good history of doing this, finding these guys who have just pure pass rush and getting great production out of them. We said it coming into the week, they're not going to be done yet. They also gave Lanan Dickerson $87 million, including $50 million guaranteed. Their guard, that's a contract, actually, that I think he'll see the whole deal. But he's one of the best guards in the NFL, getting $20 million a year. You think about that offense with Saquon, too. That's a fantasy football offense.

I love the reddit comparison. It hurts AJ Brown.

Like, Devante Smith, Dallas Goddard, and Barkley. They just want their defense to be good enough, I think, is the idea.

I think the reddit comparison is right on because there's numbers that came out after this signing where Reddick played 400 more snaps than Huff, 11 sacks for Reddick, 10 for Huff, Huff. Thirteen tackles for loss for Reddick, 10 for Huff. It's like the Eagles a week ago looked like a maligned team, a bit of a talking point. And it's like they always find a way in the offseason to figure it out. I think they found this one player that we've all looked at. It's like, if you can turn Huff into a full-time devastator. You've done something that... Not that the Jets couldn't do, but they didn't do last year. And you've taken something away from the Jets.

And the Jets, they never seriously negotiated with him. So This, I think, goes back a lot to their move to take Will McDonald, 15th overall last year. And sometimes you could box yourself in with some of your decisions because you have Huff, who's a homegrown guy, was an undrafted player, and you turn him into a guy that was a real breakout player, and you let him go in free agency because you have so much invested now as a draft pick. And Will McDonald, I wonder if they could do it all over again. If they knew that Huff was going to make the leap that he made this year, if they would have made a different move in last year's draft. What else?

I've noticed that in these hotel rooms, we each have the same painting on the wall, which is, I'd say, slightly uncreative on behalf of the hotel. It's a nice hotel. Not complaining about the hotel, but could have done a little more there.

Yeah. Well, they also didn't expect three bozos to be recording and showing the three hotel rooms.

We might mask them.

One more point. You're not going to get me because I know the Eagles will now have an amazing draft because how he's the man. Everything else is still that was a problem at the end of the year. The head coach is still there. The quarterback is still there, and I know he's very talented, but the locker room seemed like a mess, and he played a role in that as well, in my opinion. Aj Brown right now is still there, and he was moping by the end of the year. I'm just saying before we look at them as an All-Star team, remember, this was a team that was in chaos by the end of last year, and they didn't exactly clean house. In fact, they've lost in the center, Kelsey. We also had a retirement of Fletcher Cox, some leaders out the door. To me, there's still a little wait and see how next season begins. I just want to add that as a rejoinder.

No, I think that's fair. But you know what I like is they deliver. The free agency year starts and it's like, Hey, we're going to sign the guy, the hotshot pass rusher that we're going to take a big chance on. Hey, we're going to sign Saquon Barkley. We'll keep our own guy and Landon Dickers into it. We'll bring back Brandon Graham. It's like, they're always doing stuff, and that's to me- Howie, mother.

That's fair. The packers are doing stuff, too. Aaron Jones and A. J. Dylan have been their combo the last few years. It's a good guy. It has been a good combo. Now, That slowed down a little bit last year. Dylan wasn't quite where he was, and he's walking as a free agent. Aaron Jones is still a productive player, but injuries have been an issue for him, and he missed a lot of last year. So the packers having some extra money to spend now that they have a quarterback on a rookie contract in Jordan Love, decide to go get Josh Jacobs. So the Raiders who had made an effort to keep Raiders, to keep their running back and the rushing champion last year. Ultimately, though, the packers went harder for him, and they land Jacobs, and in a corresponding move, they release Aaron Jones. So now they essentially swap out, as they alluded to at the beginning of the show, they swap out Jones for Jacobs. I don't know if it makes them a better team, to be quite honest with you, but they do. So good luck to them.

I don't know. I think like, Jacobs is, when you get the good version of Jacobs, a violent, easy to watch runner. And if you get that version in Green Bay, that fits very well. Aaron Jones was incredibly important to them when he was on the field last year. And I'm with you, Dan. It's not that it's apples for apples, but a healthy Aaron Jones, personally, I would take over Jacobs. But that's just me. Greg, maybe you totally disagree. I don't know.

No, actually, I agree with you. I think he's getting up there. He's 29. He hasn't been able to stay on the field as much. That's been a little bit of an issue for Jacobs, too, who's one year on, one year off. I think all things being equal, Aaron is better. I think they went into the day and even signing Jacob's with the possibility that they'd have them both. But he was paid so much money, Aaron Jones, that I think they just felt that was out of bounds. They had a number where they said, If you take a pay cut down to $8 million, I'm just throwing a number out there, then we'll keep you and we'll keep both. It wouldn't surprise me if they get in the running back market, whether it's the drafter or another free agent, but they just decided he was getting paid too much. Jacobs is three years younger, and so I guess that's a big deal, too.

Yeah. If you get 2022, Josh Jacobs, this deal is going to look amazing.

He's been great every other year and curious the other years.

You mean like every other year? Yes.

Now, this is supposed to be a good... This should be a good year for Josh Jacobs. So they're tying it.

It seems if that's what they were using internally as their compass on this, I'm concerned about the packers. They also, speaking of the Giants fans in the dumps, Xavier McKinney, the safety, he lands with the packers on a four-year, $68 million deal. So that's a lot of money. It's a lot of scratch, a lot of guap for McKinney. But that's a defense in the post-Jo'Berry world that needed some reinforcements in the back-end, and McKinney can deliver that.

We just talked to Mina, and she talked about the fact that the packers, and we all agree that it seems like for ages, they threw a ton of money in draft picks at safety, and it never worked. And he's only 24 years old. And I thought this was a player the Giants in another universe might have franchised tagged when they didn't tag Zaquan. And they didn't. And they've lost two players. And I think the packers added a piece to their defense, someone who can be around for a long time based on his age and his skill.

I love McKinney. I had him really high in the top 101, and he got paid because multiple teams were after him. I forget who the third team was, but I know the Eagles were in on him. There was even a report earlier in the day that they were going to close that deal. And so that market went very high for Xavier McKinney. But he is a good young player in That defense in that secondary has been a nightmare.

All right, here are the other running back deals that have gone down. Deandre Swift, so the Eagles decide to get Barkley, so Swift goes out the door and he lands with the bears. So he had a nice season, I thought, after leaving Detroit and now Chicago, as they retool their offense, most likely with a new quarterback as well, they add a playmaker and a guy that can make plays as a rusher and receiver. The Titans, they bring in former Cowboys running back, Tony Pollard. So Pollard coming off a disappointing season in Dallas where he became the Bell cow back, and it didn't really take. So now he lands with the Titans, and the Titans also needed offensive line help, and they get it in center Lloyd Cushenberry, former Emily of the Broncos. So they get a new running back and a new center. And by the way, if Pollard is their running back now, that means Derrick Henry, which we expected, is going somewhere else. And now it's just we're waiting to see. I have a really Really strong feeling about where he's going to land. Maybe at the end of the show, we'll each share a prediction going into day two ahead of the new league year.

Gus Edwards lands with the Chargers, and the Giants, by the way, do sign Devon Singletary, according to a report. So that's a slew of running back moves. You guys got anything?

Yeah, Pollard and Tajay Spears is a fun backfield. I think people were a little hard on Pollard coming off of a broken ankle, but I also think that they view Pollard as a 1B, and Tajay Spears is probably their 1A. I'm just a little surprised how quickly all these guys came off the market. But then when people were getting all excited, be like, Oh, the running back market is back. It's a real thing. It's like, okay, they're getting paid the same as a fairly low-level guard, or about half as much as a slightly above-average guard, and they're getting paid the same as defensive-rotational defensive line.They've.

Been prioritized on the beginning, the first day of pre-agency, which is different than the past.

It is, and they're making more than they were a year or two ago, to be clear. Deandre Swift, people will probably forget this the minute this happens, but he will always be the first player signed during the legal tampering period. So congratulations to DeAndre Swift and the Chicago Bear.

I feel like we used to do sandwiches on that. We used to make predictions, which is one of the dumber things because we don't have an official time stamp on these things.

I watch this runningback market, and for me, it's the holes it creates. I Dan, I won't steal your thunder about the Derek Henry landing spot, but there are a couple of teams out there that have absolute nothingness at running back right now after these moves. I still think Derek Henry is the best back of every one of these players. I like him more than Saquan. I like him more than Josh Jacobs. I like him more than Aaron Jones. I just do. I know I get the age, I get the mileage, but it's like, I cannot wait to see where he lands. I think he's going to be also quite agitated with the fact that he's the eighth running back to go off the board here. He's going to devastate someone and destroy someone come September.

It's also funny that the Harbaughs are now sharing players. They share coaches. But like Gus Edwards, the first thing he does is go from John to Jim Harbaugh because Greg Roman is over there. It's bizarre that that's the move the Chargers made today. I do think we're going to get some trades as we talked about, but that'll be later in the week.

I'm not going to hit the breaking news on this, but the Giants and their fans could use some good news. There's something floating out there right now, but let's wait until we hear it from our guys. In other news, so we mentioned that the Raiders go and they get Garner Minchu, and we'll see where he fits at the end of the day in their quarterback room. But they make a huge move Mark on their defensive line, Ed and Christian Wilkins, formerly of the Dolphins. For 110 million, almost 85 of that guaranteed, a lot of guaranteed money being doled out to these big-time players. So this is a huge move for the Raiders, a team that seems to be acting in what you hear from the coach, he's doing a lot of talking. It's like they think they're closer than other people might think. But there's no denying that Wilkins is a big-time talent in the middle, is going to tag team with Max Crosby on one of the best combines of any team up front in the league.

Yeah. I mean, Max Crosby having to do it alone, not unlike a Miles Garrett in years past before this past season in Cleveland, still wrecking people. And the idea of Wilkins and Max Crosby together gives you, if you're Antonio pierce, an identity. And I think that that's a defensive coach. You suddenly, the Raiders defense, you've got to plan for Wilkins. I think if you want to find a player like him, you would have had to use your first round pick to get a player like him. I'm not even sure there's a player in the draft like him. You might have to go years till you find someone like him. So the money is worth it. These are rare players. And I think if you're... For me, I know even in the last couple of weeks, I've been killing the idea of a Chris Jones going to a lost team or we just don't hear from him again for four years. The Raiders feel like that team to me, but that's just bias. I actually think that the Raiders made an aggressive move here. And either you do or you don't. Whoever got Christian Wilkins, their defense becomes a completely different operation.

I mean, he owes the Dolphins on some level for letting him go in free agency. He got $84.5 million guaranteed, and the Dolphins could have kept him for one year, $20 million. So that changed his life. They have the... I don't know what the word is. The most starting, we'll have to beat that out, defensive line in the league by far. Because who annoys offensive linemen more than Christian Wilkins? He gets in fights. Everyone thinks he's on the edge or over the edge. Putting him next to Max Crosby, that's just an insane duo. They also, both of them never leave the field. Christian Wilkins is almost the defensive tackle version of Max Crosby. You can't stay on the field every step if you're a defensive tackle, but he's pretty close to that. I also like Malcolm Coons there at the end of last season. That's three guys like the Raiders doing something. I like it. That's the most, by the way, anyone's going to make, I think, in free agency other than Kirk Cousins. It's going to be Christian Wilkins. We'll go down. That used to be a sandwich prop we used to make, too.

Kirk Cousins, I guess, would have won it, but Wilkins will be second.

The Vikings. We mentioned Kirk Cousins is no longer their quarterback, and that leaves a gaping void for that team. But there's still other work to be done. Jonathan Grannard, there's a nice piece of the puzzle for them. Pass rusher, he goes to the Vikings for 42 million, guaranteed four for 76. Blake Cashman, the veteran linebacker, also to Minnesota on a three-year deal. That defense definitely needed some enforcements. On that side of the ball, it's been a good day in Minnesota.

Yeah, I think he was, again, a guy who was helped out by his team, which is maybe a red flag. I don't know because Houston was not in any cap struggles. They just decided, We don't want to invest that much in Jonathan Gnard. But in terms of pressures in his age and pass-rush win rate and everything you would want, he is a one-for-one replacement for Daneel Hunter, who is still out there. I think he's the top player left on my top 101. I did a quick check before we started. I think 20 players that entered the day on the top 101 have been signed, but that's it. That means 80 are still out there, but 25, 30 more were already taken off the board before it even happened as that list kept changing. But that's a nice move. But it showed me, The Vikings knew they weren't getting Kirk Cousins because this move happened right off the bat. This was one of the very first moves of free agency was them making sure that they got Jonathan Grinard.

I mean, even their decision, the GM put out a statement, like you said, and the decision that they made before last season when they decided to break off the extension talks. It seemed like the writing was on the wall, and they want to build this a different way. You can't really hate on them because when you look at what he actually did, Cousins, despite all the production, they never really got close. Now it's time to change things up. I understand that it does. I do have to say. I mean, I will say it. I've been waiting this moment for Sam Darnal. You keep on hearing whispers about Darnold and the Vikings. I've been waiting for this guy to get a fair shot at a proper reboot since his Jets fiasco career, and that would work. Give me Darnold as the QB with Kevin O'Neill and have Justin Jefferson. Hopefully, they'll get under contract. Then if he bombs out of there, you guys can bury me for it and laugh at me. But I think that would be a nice setup for him to potentially have his own type of Baker renaissance.

They also have the 11th pick. They could move up. Someone like JJ McCarthy. I think they have- Or trade with the- Or trade with the- Or trade with the- Some people think they might trade up with the Patriots all the way to three and take one of the top three. Right. There has to be another But Dan, honestly, the whole master plan here in two offseason rebuild was to get Sam Darnold. You got a good gotten Sam Darnold.

It's a transition year for them. So if you go and get a guy on the cheap, then maybe it works.

I don't know how many How many transition years you get in a row? It's like they sold players on the cheap last year. And I know they had cousins.

They won 13 games in what was supposed to be a transition year. And then this truly was, and they were peaking at the moment that cousins got hurt. I think it was absolutely the right time to say goodbye. You got to make tough decisions sometimes. And I think Quessi made it at the right time. I think the injury ended up making it a lot easier for them to do that. And I actually do think Darnal would make sense there, but that is the ultimate team of Zustia. I mean, forget. We're not doing the Vikings ever again.

Never.

Never again. Dan is the most loyal to his team of any person I know. But If there was ever going to be a strong number two for Dan, it is Sam Darnold starting the freaking Viking. You always like for some reason. I don't really know why.

I know. As everyone knows, the Jets are testing my patience like never before. That becomes very interesting to me. 50% G, my buddy Greg, who is at the Super Bowl this year, is a diehard Vikings fan. I would even have a buddy that I could connect with on it. Let's just leave it out there and let it hang.

They also signed Blake Cashman to a $26 million deal, a linebacker who I think Mina mentioned is one of her favorites. They're definitely signing the hipster football Twitter favorites in and Cashman. So you got that group. You know who else said it other than Mina? Darnal will be there, too.

I said it. I said Blake Cashman.

You said it. You said it.

You said it. You said that he was one of your favorite guys in free agency?

No, I said that. I mentioned that in the news when we set up this Vikings conversation.

But Dan, our list is still coming out. So he's not going to be on our list.

It's coming out tomorrow at midnight.

We have a lot more news to get to and everything, but are you guys a little feeling like you're getting caught with your pants down that all these free agents... I mean, we are literally reporting on the biggest names of free agency signing.Your list isn't even out.No. Our pants are up. Our pants are down. You are like NFL Network the first year that they did the legal tampering period and didn't realize the big day was going to be Wednesday. Monday and not Monday. On Monday, they only had two people on air for four hours, and they were like, Humana, humana. We didn't know this was going to be the big day.

The answer is no.

We feel totally confident about our operation. Let's try, Bozo. It's coming out when it needs to come out at the profit time.

It's coming out when it comes out, which is on the eve of the New League year. That's it.

It's up for the readers to decide what they prefer.

All right. Yeah, I know. Everybody I see it, and I see it in my mentions, people don't want to hear about Dan's always on about Darnal. It's true. I'm so happy. It's finally like I felt like I was seeing Mina Kimes, who everyone respects Mina Kimes' opinion. I'm not alone on this.

No. That's part of the annoyance. I'm alone on the show. There's a lot of darn of love out there in the football.

But remember, I was driving that. If it ever turned out into something, just remember before everyone else found it fashionable.

Dan, why would we have to remember when we will be reminded every single show about it?

I know you don't want this to happen because it would not be pleasant.

It's not that I don't, but it's like... Well, I wonder we're not going to-I mean, Jeremiah had him number one with a bullet in a class with Josh Allen and Lamar.

There's a lot A lot of people that are invested in Sam Darnold. Give Sam a chance, all we are saying.

All right, let's take a break and we'll roll on. All right. Welcome back. All right. Diving right back in. The Jaguars are active. The Jaguars have had a busy Monday here. They sign wide receiver, Gabe Davis, formerly of the Buffalo Bills. Three years, 39 million, 11 million at signing. Davis, who has had a checkered history in terms of being a productive player, but has always been enticing as a guy that can maybe take the next step. They also get Darnell Savage in the building as well on the other side of the ball. So the Jags, Mark, are busy.

Yeah. I was wondering what the Jags, what their plan was this offseason, and also wondering where game Davis would wind up. I don't hate it. I don't know what's going to happen with Calvin Ridley, but they lack a number one wide receiver to me because Gabe Davis, to me, is the quintessential hot and cold guy who will go a couple of games where you're not sure he was even on the field, but then he'll explode for 142 yards and be a deep threat. So I like it for Trevor Lawrence. They've added to their offensive line as well. It's like you've got to build around him. He's a piece. That's what I'd say about him. He's just a piece. It takes away from the bills. I I don't know what the Bills are doing because it seems like every couple of minutes, something is being taken away from Buffalo.

Gabe Davis, I think, has a lot of potential, but the Jaguars have tried this before. They spend a lot of money in free agency at wide receivers to pretty middling results. I'm assuming Calvin Ridley is going to sign elsewhere or they would not make this deal because Calvin really is a different type of player, but there's no way they're going to do both. It was not that expensive, though. I mean, he's signing for a little less than, let's say, Juju signed for last year. Or Jacobi Meyer signed for last year. That's reasonable to me, but this is a boomer bust type office. He also signed Mitch Morse from the Bills, yet another player from the Bills. So there's a Buffalo to Jackson.

I don't love the signing. It sounds like they're trying to save money because Ridley's market got more expensive than they wanted to do that type of business. They were scared off by that. Davis, if Josh Allen couldn't make him a thing, I know he was a thing.

He was a thing in certain games, though.

I know. That's what I mean, but not a consistent force when he wasn't even seeing the number one cornerback most weeks with Stefan Diggs already there.

I don't know. We'll see. Have you seen the analytics, though, he put out on Instagram because they were pretty impressive. He put them out on himself? Yeah, he did. He must have gotten them from his agency or something, but they were so overwhelmingly good that I actually bumped him up the top one and went for that.

Oh, good. See, it works to promote oneself. By the way, I meant to hit this when we were talking about the running backs, but like I said, this is Insider Christmas. It's a high-pressure business. We have a live program on NFL Network where we have all three of our insiders, and we all know who they are. It's Rapsheet, it's the Pelraiser, and Mike G. Okay? When the Josh Jacobs news comes down, it's on live television. Ian has it first. Ian takes out his phone, and he pauses, and he starts to say Then he's texting in real-time while he's on live TV, and he says that this is from me. In the middle box, so it's Siciliano in one box, Andrew, Pelraiser, and then Mike J. You see Pelraiser's He's like, Give me the credit. Loop me in on the scoop. Ian didn't loop him in. Here was Pelraiser minutes later when there was another bit of news to announce.

That's right. The Ram signing Kolby Parkinson, the former Seahawks, tight in to a big deal. Three years, 22.5 million, including $15.5 million guaranteed, according to me and Ian. See, I'll give Ian credit on TV. And though he stiffed me on Josh Jacobs right there, Parkinson can void that deal.

What a lonely, barren existence. Not just him. Just the job. It just sounds like, are you ever satisfied? Do you ever go out for dinner and you're not on your phone the entire time? Are you sleeping with your phone next to your face? Are you ever a human? Do you ever swim in a lake?

You mentioned Gabe Davis, by the way. Gabe Davis did have eight catches for 201 yards and four touch downs in that playoff game against the Chiefs a couple of years back. I mean, if there was a star-making performance that you could ever bank on, you would have thought that would have been it. And yet the Bills felt comfortable letting him go, which I think tells you a lot. I'm not breaking news here. You hear this all the time. There's a reason why a lot of these signings don't work out. And the reason is a lot of these teams made internal decisions about these players that they weren't somebody they wanted to keep around or not at a certain price point. But the Jags go and get Davis, and we'll see what happens.

They have a two and a three. Kirk makes more money, and he's a two, and maybe Davis is a three or whatever. For the insiders, I do want to, I guess, give them credit. At some point, I don't know how it worked, but at some point, Rapsheet and Pelraiser decided we have to join forces because so many of these reports are the two of them. I don't know how did that conversation I'd like to know. Why isn't Mike G involved in that thing where they're shared? Because they do share a lot, but they don't share all. What is the decision-making process?I have a theory.Nobody.

Knows.here's my theory.Let's hear the theory.

My theory is that When it comes to scoopage, you got to have that dog in you. Rapsheet and Pelraiser are both highly competitive. There had to be some type of broker leverage behind the scenes, so neither would get upset with the other. But you still see it bubble up in moments like that on live television where it can't be managed. Mike, on the other hand, I feel like he doesn't have that dog in him as a newsbreaker. He can do it, and if he wanted to, he could absolutely be like the other two, but he chooses a different path in life.

He wants that dinner. He wants to turn off the phone with his wife and have a nice dinner.

That's what I think.

That's what I think. Well, so when you're 80, what are you looking back on?

I'm not saying good or bad on anybody involved with that, but that's just how I see it.

This is not a comment on any of them, but I would say that Mike Garafolo seems completely secure with whatever role he's chosen.

I also think it should be said in fairness that I would imagine that Ian and Tom enjoy having dinner with their family, too.

I would say that's probably true. We're not suggesting that's not the case.

All right, moving on. The Panthers. Signed Guard Robert Hunt to a five-year, $100 million deal with 63 million guaranteed. That seems like a lot, but the guards are getting paid. Giants sign Andrew Van Gynkel to 20 million over two years. The guy, Mark. That's your boy, Mark. That's your boy. And also, John Runian gets 17 million guaranteed. In addition, of course, yes, to Devon Singletore. Devon a singletary, joining the fray at Running Back.

I love the Hunt signing. I mean, the Panthers, I thought were lost from a front office perspective for years in a row, but he had the lowest pressure rate allowed of any offensive lineman in the league last year. That whole offense needs help. I don't love Van Ginkle going to the Giants right now. I grew up with the Giants, but it's like, I want Van Ginkle plugged into a Super Bowl ready operation. We're watching him in January next season.

How big a Van Ginkle How fan are you, Mark?

I think he's one of my favorite players in the league. I've mentioned this a couple of shows ago.

What is it about Van Ginkle that really revs your engine, lights up your Christmas tree?

His name is his whole aura persona.

Some similarities to previous Mark favorites, like To be Gerhardt and whatnot on the defensive side. But there's this commonality.

No, that's not where we're going, by the way. Like I said, though, there were... How many Dolphins games, especially on our Brian floor, were suddenly Van Genkels having a crazy second half where he's blowing people up and making plays. He just stands out to me and it's like, go do it for the Giants.

He is officially your guy.

I like these two Giants. Giants fans should feel... The Singletary contract to me was one of the most mystifying of the entire day. I know it'll be backloaded, but you really didn't have to pay that much money for Devon Singletary. I do like the Van Ginkle signing, and I do like the John Ryan one.

Can we let the running backs seat? Can we let a couple of these guys get maybe a slight overpay? But just Singletary.

But he was so clearly like, there was seven guys that were worth paying available, and he was the eighth or whatever. You know what I mean? If you were going to pay him that much money, just pay an extra couple of million to keep Saquon Barkley. That part I didn't get. But Runian was at a more fair price. The Hunt deal, it sounds crazy. Everyone was like, Whoa, Rapper Hunt. But when they don't put the specifics, they didn't put the guaranteed money, at least in terms of how it was structured. They did say 60. The last couple of years are fake, and he's a big time player, a big-time guard. And guards are getting paid, I think just because so many of them hit the market that are actually quality starters. And there just aren't many positions where young in-prime players hit the market. And there happened to be 10 guards who were playing at a pretty high level. But the Dolphins lost so many players today. Maybe this is the time to just mention it. One of the Dolphins beat writers, I think it was Joe Shad pointed out, the Dolphins need right now after losing all these players today, two starting defensive tackles.

Of course, they just lost Wilkins. They also lost Van Ginkle. A starting cornerback. They had cut Xavier Howard. A starting safety, Brandon Jones landed in Denver. Two starting guards, a starting inside linebacker, a starting center, two heavy usage edge players, and three backup wide receiver. So that's what they think the Dolphins need right now.

They think they're in trouble now. Wait till they give two of 40 million for three years.

Might be partly what they're saving up for. And they will make some signings. It's not like they're just going to sit out free agency.

But then also Buffalo has had to... I know everyone's like, The cap doesn't matter. It doesn't even exist. It's a ghost. But like...

Is that Greg? No, Greg says that cap does matter.

No, but-No, I say it's like...

It doesn't matter.

I think either one of them is a little too simplified, but if I had to pick one, I would go to doesn't.

I would say Buffalo has had to make some moves Cap because of Because of the cap, they've had to make some moves and lose some players. A year ago, it was like, Will every team in the AFC East make the playoffs? It's like, Buffalo is not better right now on any level, and the Dolphins are missing 12 players.Not.

Good.oh, really? You hate to see it. Another move at interior line, Ram sign, Jona Jackson for 34 million, guaranteed on a $51 million deal. Was he good last year?

He's been very consistent, I would say, throughout his career. He definitely missed some time for Detroit last year, but he's played a lot and always been thought of as a good guard. That price and Kevin Dodson's price for the Ram really surprised me. They got very similar money, but I think they're going to let their center, Coleman Shelton, I'm guessing, leave, and they're going to move their guard last year, who was a rookie, Steve Avila, who looked great and move him to center. And suddenly you've got, on paper, one of the best interior offensive lines in the league. They must have thought they really hit on something last year with an interior offensive line that playing well. That's their thing. That's what they decided to spend all this cap space on was interior offensive line. It's pretty interesting.

Well, how about this, Mark? You mentioned the Bills. Are they better? Are they worse? The Dolphins. Well, how about keeping Deion Dawkins in the building? There's some positive news in Buffalo. This was reported first by Schefter that the bill signed Dawkins to a three-year, $60.5 million contract extension, and This has been a durable rock on their team. Also a bit of a weird story around this one because yesterday, I think it was.

No.

When was it?

This morning.

It was five minutes before the news or 20 minutes before the news actually came out that he re-signed with the bills.

Talk about your all-time shaky bits. Five minutes before, he goes on social media and basically announces his career with Buffalo is over, which I don't know who... I mean, Where the laughs are, you're essentially antagonizing and bumming out your fans in Buffalo. Then it turns out, unless there's something more to the story, that was all just an elaborate ruse because then the report comes out that he is staying indeed in Buffalo and will continue to anchor that line. So cool bit, bro.

It's a faulty bit because there's enough players out there on Twitter making it clear that they're learning news at the same time that civilians are, the same time we are. I guarantee unless he set up this faulty bit with everyone on the roster ahead of time, which seems unlikely because the whole thing was a mess, he's got teammates floating out there thinking that he's leaving the team for a while, too.For.

About for 20 minutes? You're right. Daquan Jones actually did respond to his tweet being like, What the heck, man? The tweet that he sent out was, It was good while it lasted, Buffalo. Peace. Excited for this next chapter of my football career. I wonder if it's okay to to eat ranch now. I think he even did a press conference today, and he just said, I just woke up and felt like being a troll.

You ever get... It happened to me once, but I think a lot of people can relate to it. You have a buddy who breaks up with his girlfriend, and the girlfriend sucks, and then you share that with them after they break up, and then they get back together. But you've shared the information, your true feelings. He also risks One of his teammates, like Stefan Diggs, for example, being like, Whatever, bro, we didn't like you anyway. That would have been a massive situation. People love him. I'm just saying you open the door for that scenario.

You might not like what you hear. You might not like what you hear.

No, you're right. It reminds me of people that ask you what you think of different possible baby names before they actually name their baby. Don't give an opinion. There's a chance that that ends up being their baby's name, and then they will remember that for their child's entire life. You'll know that looking at that child.

You did this, Greg. This happened to you. You critiqued the baby name.

No, but I do know it was a close friend this happened to.

Tough sitch. Classic all-time tough sitch.

That's like a no-win situation. Oh, yeah, I don't like that name. It's like, Oh, what did you name your baby? Oh, yeah, that name I mentioned before.

Well, also the situation, just a little more context, what gets tricky is when you're having that conversation with your buddy, and of course, this can happen with the fairer sex as well in a reverse scenario, you're trying to cheer him up because he's down in the dumps about it. He's like, I can't believe it didn't work out. You're just trying to make him feel like he didn't lose the greatest thing he ever had. You're also trying to beat him from that side, and then it all blows up in your face. Just be careful with that. Baby name thing, sure, that as well. Just a lot There's a lot of minefields out there.

The bills, by the way, are also bringing back AJ Eponesa, which is breaking right as we're talking. That's another point in my thing that the cap is real, but teams keep the players.

A point in my thing that the cap is real.

Point in my favor is like, okay, they got rid of all these guys in Buffalo. It's like, oh, this is sad. The cap is very hard. That's all true. Deion Dawkins, who is getting paid a lot of money, but actually still playing at a very high that they think will continue. They figured out a way to change his contract around, give him even more money because he's playing at such a high level. So if you have players you want to keep, you keep them like they kept up in Nasser, too.

I'm Switzerland in the is the Cap, real or not camp. I just don't give a fuck. All right, let's keep moving. Let's keep because we must. Michael Pitman. This works out for everybody. We didn't need to figure out whether Michael Pitman was really good or not or worth a lot of money. Just let the cults keep him, and they seem to like him. Michael Pitman gets a three-year, 46 million dollar deal, or a three-year deal, 46 million of it guaranteed. Where does that stack up, Greggy, in terms of the wide receiver market? To use a Steve Smith-ism, is that tier 2 money, low tier 1 or tier 2 money?

Yeah, it's on that border line. I think it'll wind up making tier 2 money. It's perfect for Michael It's a little more than the franchise tag, but it's not like you're the man.

Is Michael Pitman the Dalton line for wide receivers? As your number one guy?

For number one, it's a little weird to I think number one receiver is the Dalton line. But yes, for a number one to number two receiver, I think he would be that line.

Wait, do we have a new offseason series? It's time to expand the Dalton line universe.

To say you're a number one, then you're in the top, in theory, 2025 in the league, whatever it's going to be.

Sounds like a chore.

But to the point with the Dalton line is that at that point, you don't have a solution as a true playmaker. Mark, it's something for you to get working on.

It's too confusing because every team needs 2-3 receivers, and he's not the 16th best receiver in the league.

Isn't that where the Jaguars are? They don't have a number. Are there teams out there, do the Titans consider DeAndre Hopkins the number one at this point?

Kirsten Kirk It's more like the Dalton line, someone like him.

This might be something to chew on, that's all. Mark, something to chew on. You want me to chew on it? I'm not saying it's a fully formed idea, but something really to get in the lab and try to see if we could make something.

I will heavily consider it.

While we're on the Colts, they're, to me, one of the more forgettable teams from the 2023 season. Sorry, I know you were in the mix, but once Richardson was hurt, it was just, to me, they weren't a fun watch. Who are you talking to? The Colts. I'm saying sorry to the Colts.

To the Colts?

Yes.

I think Mark was in on the Colts as well.

They've had the most boring day one of free agency, too, which is they just resigned all their players. They resigned Taekwan Lewis. They resigned Grover-Stuart, who was surprisingly big deal, but I like Grover-Stuart, and they resigned Pitman. So it was just like, Chris Bale is just like, We like our guys. Let's stick with him.

Yeah, and let's bring back Richardson, and hopefully, Richardson's healthy, and maybe we take the leap. They comported themselves with grace and dignity, considering the injury, Mark.

That was my comment, and I thought that their defense was nasty on a week-to-week basis, and they made the playoffs with a backup quarterback. That says a lot about that team.

They did not make the playoffs, but they were on the game.

They did not make the playoffs.

It felt like the playoffs, to be fair. They almost did. It was a battle It was like the play-in game for the NBA, the battle for the 14th seed in the NFL.

Which they barely lost. Tough sitch for them, but Garner-Minch, you took them to the promised land.

There's no such thing as barely lost. Either one or you lost.

That's it. It's barely.

That's it. All right, we got to take one more break, and then we'll finish the news. All right, we're back. Let's close this out. This is more in the realm of speculation, but keep an eye on it because we've been talking about wide receiver all show, and that market is fast drying up, but there are still teams out there that are desperate to add wide receiver. So Tee Higgins, who got tagged by the bangles, their number two That's a good example. T. Higgins is the number two on his team, but I think he's almost certainly better than Michael Pitman, right?Yes.I think so.Yes, I agree. That type of thing. Higgins is that type of guy. When he looks around at the landscape, he says, All right, you're going to tag me, but you're not willing to give me the long term deal? I request a trade, he said. He declared it. We'll see. Did they grant him that request?

Well, he's a franchise tag, so it's funny because he's allowed to get paid. Well, Sneed and Kansas City is the same thing, right? You don't need to get permission. I mean, you get it a little early, but any team can sign a franchise tag player. He's unsigned. They have to give up a lot, but they could.

But he has the tag affixed to him, correct? Correct. They have to give up the fix. Doesn't that grant the team that has affixed the tag? Doesn't it preclude that player from being in the mix in free agency with a certain designation?

Well, in theory, Usually, teams could sign them to an offer sheet, and they would have to give up two first-round pics, which everyone knows is going to be too rich for Tee Higgins. So yes, I guess the bangles would have to give permission on some level to talk about different trade terms, but we know how this works.

But like Sneed with Kansas City as another example in this realm, they're on board with this. Yes. We don't have any indications that the bangles are entertaining offers, but he would like to be on the move, it sounds like.

But the chiefs or the bangles could accept less than the two number one. Remember, this happened with Jimmy Graham back in the day, too. It was like, if they really wanted to move Higgins or it became a thing, you can accept your different terms.

You can do what you want. Matt Castle, I think, was one of those guys back in the day. Knowing the bangles, they're not going to... Him declaring this is only going to make them be like, Sorry, bro, we want you for one more year. I don't think they're going to do anything.

This makes them want him more. They're like, Oh, you really want to go? You're not going anywhere. Eric Armstead also of the Niners. He is expected to be released by San Francisco, so he'll enter the fray. The Commander sign, yes.

I think he's in my top 30 of my free agency list. I was quite surprised. He was still playing pretty well last year. They did sign Leonard Floyd as we were taping to a two-year, $20 million contract. They basically decided to get a similar-ish player. I know Floyd's more of an outside guy, but good run stopper, but for much less money than Armstead was making. But a weird move.

I'm looking at a name right now that I'm really... I'm in trouble. I'm going to say it right now. The Commander signed former Cowboys defensive end Dorent. This one's not that easy. Dorant's. Dorant's?

Dorant's Armstrong.

Dorrance Armstrong, 33 million over three years, but also center Tyler... Beatis. Beatis. Beatis.

As we were taping... Tyler Beatis.

As we were taping, also our number one or my number one off-ball linebacker, Franky Louvou, to a three-year, 36 million dollar contract.

So they're active, if nothing else. And two of those guys were Dan Quinn's players in Dallas. Armstrong, I thought, is a nice value there. I really like how he played in Dallas.

Franky Louvou is, for me, like a Van Gynkel type where it's like, I think Franky Louvou is an excellent addition. Big hire. Constantly creating Why are you making a face?

I don't know. I like Mark's nebulos guys.

I got stuck watching the Panthers a lot early in the year last year, and I just noted that whenever I was writing my notes for our show, like Lou Vu kept just doing things over and over. I think it's a good... I don't know. I never trust the commanders as a landing spot, but I have to remove what's happened the last 20 years up until now. We'll see.

Right. These It actually seem like the mid-wadage, just solid NFL players that are improving and in the middle of the career that you want in free. It seemed very un-commanders. I think it's a nice day for the commanders. I really liked Armstrong coming into this whole thing. He was one of my guys that I wanted.

Pinch Me Patriots talk. Kendrick Bourne resigns with the Pats, 19 million over three years. He's coming off an ACL. It is an ACL, right? Hopefully, he'll be healthy and a contributor. Devante Parker, another big time move that they made a couple of years back, did not work out, so he's been released. Greg?

I mean, Bill Belichick signing Devante Parker to another contract last offseason is One of the more regrettable moves that didn't involve the name Juju Smith-Schuster for the Patriots.

Patriots also added Antonio Gibson.

Oh, yeah, that's fun.

I do like that. Patriots' wide receiver room is pretty rough the last few years in general. Just The decisions and the production and the highlight plays or lack thereof.

It's pretty rough. I do like them as a last-second fields option, although I wouldn't want that to stop them from drafting one.

You brought up Belichick. Imagine, Kirk Cousin signed with Bill Belichick's team today. That would have been cool if the Falcons made that move, but maybe Raheem Morris will be better. All right, 8:00 Delight. Hit it. The Colts sign Zair Franklin, three years, 31 million. The Jag sign former Bill Center, Mitch Morse, 10 million over two years. Graham Glasgow, re-signed by Detroit, 20 million bucks. He gets in that deal. The Bangles bring back tight Andrew Sample on a three-year contract. The Patriots sign Antonio Gibson, the running back. Cardinals sign cornerback Sean Murphy, bunting, and Bilal Nichols. The Colts hang on to defensive linemen Taekun Lewis and Grover-Stuart. And the Texans sign one-time top three pick of the lines Jeff Akuda to a contract. They also bring in former Titan Daniko Autry.

I like that Autry move. I like those... Texans seem like they're doing smart things. Very disorienting.

Jeff O'Kuda floating from team to team.

A little weird to me, the Grannard thing, but they must know something that we don't.

Also, if you're a fan and your team didn't make this show or you're nick Westling and you're texting us, I mean, what is the Bingo's plan? Like, same old stuff. Just calm down. It's day one of free agency. There's going to be a lot of more stuff that's going to happen.

The Jets sign Greg Zerline. They bring back Greg Deleg. And I think Will Lutz had a change of heart. Should we leave that as a cliffhanger? Yes. You're right. You need to find that out on your The report was he was going to go to Jacksonville, and Sean Payton would not let his man go, and he brought him back to Denver.

Dan, you were going to give us your Derek Henry fantasy.

Why don't we do it? When I say, I'll go one, two, three, go, and then we'll all say where we think is the perfect landing spot for Derek Henry.

Okay.

All right, Greg, sit it out because you can't go along with anything. All right, me and you, Mark, ready?

I'm just trying to think of something.

One, two, three, go. Ravens. It just makes so much sense. It does. Can't you... You were talking about Big Ben. You were struggling with him in Pittsburgh. God, you could pour him into that Ravens purple, and you could see him running in January and finally getting them over the hub and closing out some ball games. They can happen.

Baltimore is the perfect place to pick up a veteran that's apparently everyone else, including the smart Titans, have decided we're done with this guy, and he rolls into a Baltimore operation that probably goes two playoff games deep because of him. I love the fit. You could see it today, and he would destroy people left and right post-November.

You alluded to this regarding the Giants earlier. We have had some mild confirmation from Albert Breer that Brian Burns and the Panthers are in talks with the Giants for a possible trade, but nothing finalized, and that's been apparently going on for a while, so that would be a spicy meatball.

You know, Kavon Thibodeau, friend of the show, is strong, but certainly took a big leap forward in year two. Thibodeau and Burns Okay. There you go, Giants fans. That would be something to hang your head on. Now, we'll see what the Panthers are asking for. I mean, would that cost them... Jeez. First-round pick?

I could see it. Maybe next First year's first round pick.

Yeah, they can't do it this year, right? Maybe a two this year and a one next year. And then all of a sudden, this... That's a lot. It's ahead of ourselves. It's not going to be that much.

It's not going to be that much. I know they turned down two first, but the market, it's different now because you have to pay them right now, and it's just different. You might be able to get them for a two, and then I would be happy with that.

I love Panthers Management turning down two first-round pics for Brian Burns.

And just remember, Dan, it's Kavon Burns and Van Gincal. Now we've got something going on in New York. The tide has turned in this very day for Giants.

And Singletary because, hey, you got to get Singletary in the building right off the bat. You drafted them in Buffalo, and you don't want to pay sake on.

I think unless they're going to get a quarterback, the Giants think they got to really think hard now and checking in on Justin Fields if they haven't already.

That could be all right.

All right. See, there's a lot more to come. And as soon as we finish this podcast, more news will break, and it will be annoying. But also, we did threaten vengeance upon any newsmakers and teams that break our code of not dropping news right after we finish recording. So hopefully, news breaks overnight at the earliest or early tomorrow, and then we'll be back. We're getting on a bird tomorrow, hopefully with a trophy in hand as we go to the iHeartRadio Awards tonight. Had a nice time last night. They had a private party, and it was all the nice little crowd, intimate gathering at this really nice hotel, St. Cecilia Hotel here in downtown Austin. We saw the Black Keys, who did a nice 45 minutes set of good like Heartland, Americana rock, good stomp to it, a good dirty Detroit right style rock from the Cleveland-based Black Keys. Mark was enjoying himself. Greg seemed to be okay with it. Everybody was having a nice time. I enjoyed it.

What are you talking about? We had a great time.

You know what I noticed? Because I moved. I moved. I was enjoying it. You were on the side of the stage. Then when I rotated around to the front of the stage for the second half of the show, it was like, Oh, these guys actually sound great. From the side of the stage, you couldn't hear it as well. I was like, Greg would have really liked this.

Well, you flagged us down.

It was only like 20 feet away or just come over.

You seemed to be... Because I could see you. I had a good sight line. It was a very small gathering, and you seemed to be in gross conversation. So I said, I'm going to let Greg be. But then I caught the sess dog's eye and I waved my arms and sess dog rolls over. Yeah.

We had a great time. I missed quite an interesting crowd. I'll leave it right there.

It's always tricky at a concert. Do you want to be on the side and have a direct view. We were only 20 feet from him or whatever, 15 feet from him. Or if you're a smaller man like myself, do you want to go in the morass in the front and either not be able to see or burrow your way up to the front, which is possible when you're a troll-like figure like myself. There's a lot of decisions that go into it. It just felt like a chill night. I'm just going to chill on the side with a great sight line. But you're right, it probably.

No judgments, bro. No judgments at all. And tonight, we're going to meet up with our old buddy Matt Tanten, who's worked on our show in the past. He's living out here now. We're trying to get some good Texas barbecue and then head to the award show where, Mark, you have predicted victory for us, as I understand.

I feel strongly that we will win. That's what I've said, that the feeling grows. Initially, I thought we had no chance. We're going against Travis and Jason, Kelsey, who seem to have America in their vice grip at the moment. So it would be an It was an incredible upset. But I believe that we're that type of show. We've always been that type of show, and we're hours away from a colossal American story.

Now, when I found out Club Shay Shay is, like us, also distributed by iHeart, but even more directly, I thought that was possibly a bad bit of news for us. Mark brought up this theory that we're going to win around a couple of iHeart executives, I believe, last night. One of the women said, It's just all about being dominated. So I was like, Oh, that's not a good sign. We're going. That's not a good sign because I think she knows.

I believe that we will lose. I believe that we will lose. Tite-end Will Disley agrees to a three-year, $14 million contract with the Chargers. So Greg did not give Disley any respect in his free agency 101. But obviously, the Chargers thought highly of him. And I do believe that Jim Harbaugh knows a little bit about Ball, so heads up on that.

I mean, I agree. He just didn't make the 101.

He was on our 213. We had a nice blurb, too.

He made less than Kolby Parkinson from the Ram, so let's not get too crazy. I do think the chargers are going to be the team of the next couple of days, by the way. Maybe they'll sign Dineo Hunter. They'll sign some crazy players and make some trades. They're going to do lots of crazy stuff.

Mark, your Will Disley.

What was your blurb?

Blurb was unbelievable. It's unfortunate it's going to be lost in the edit, but- That's okay.

It's part of the process. I think you just have to enjoy the process and realize that some of your better work is going to be invisible, but not to yourself.

We've lost roughly 2,100 words of content so far with guys coming off the board.

You guys are like Sofia Coppola's Elvis movie. Was it good? Was it bad? Who knows? Because an Elvis movie came out right before it and no one wanted another Elvis I'll just go again, Mark.

I got this. No. Just a no.

Actually, I saw the Coppola. It was a solid B minus.

That is Coppola.

Coppola. Sorry. Yeah, Coppola.

All right, That's it for this show. Yes, we'll be back. If we have a trophy, that would be amazing. Like with the Oscars that just happened on Sunday, everyone gets an Oscar, right? When you win. If you win best cinema photography, everyone on the team gets an Oscar, right? We're going to get three trophies, right?

Yeah. Everyone in our building, apparently, even people deep in the IT Department have Emmys, and we are the three people without Emmys, apparently, in the entire building. Right. And so, yes, they give it to everyone except for us, apparently. So this is our vengeance. Yes. Are you asking, will one of us get a trophy? I don't think.

I guess it would be a trophy. Best supporting actor, just one guy gets it there.

Well, we could keep it in the Chris Wesley podcast studio, or we could have a rotating. We could have Eric maybe work up an Excel spreadsheet, and we could share it throughout the year.

Or split the baby. Just cut it into three parts, and we each take a part home.

Yeah, that's an option as well. Bigfunk chimes in in the chat like the Stanley Cup. Yeah, you take it home, you get drunk with it, you have a good old time with your friends, and then you hand it to the next person, hopefully without a dent. Don't the Kelsies have enough?

Don't they have enough at this point?Who?They have enough. Who? The Kelsies. They've been given enough.

Oh, the Kelsies. They're not going to get it.

You got 45 minutes speeches because you stopped working. I don't like this club, she, she, thing.

You do one interview that goes viral, and now we're going to give them awards.

I think it's very popular in general.

Eric, you could hit the music literally anytime.

There is a trade, though. We have developing news. The lions are acquiring cornerback Carlton Davis from the Bucks, according to the Pelraiser, and he's not sharing this scoop. He's putting this out all by himself. That's a player who makes over $15 million a year. That's what some people would consider a number one cornerback. That's a big-time trade.

You're getting played off like it's the Oscars. Congratulations. Till tomorrow. Heave the call.