Speaker 1: The following He's a production of Dallas Cowboys dot Com
Speaker 1: and the Dallas Cowboys Football Club. Are you ready for
Speaker 1: a break? Are you ready for a break? Absolutely ready
Speaker 1: for a break. Yeah, and so much for that. It's
Speaker 1: time for The Break on Dallas Cowboys dot Com with
Speaker 1: Nick Eatman, David Hellman and bar Garcia and Derek Eagleton.
Speaker 1: Just keep talking, yeah, fight through it, just fight on. Actually,
Speaker 1: I don't think your microphone is on, for whatever that's worth. Hey, Hey, everybody,
Speaker 1: David Hellman here, I'm not I'm here. Yeah, just there you.
Speaker 1: Good morning, guys, welcome to another episode of The Break. Uh,
Speaker 1: Derek is not here, but we have Bryan broad Is
Speaker 1: filling filling in for him today. We have a lot
Speaker 1: of things to talk about. The the Marcus deal finally
Speaker 1: got done after a lot of discussions, and last week
Speaker 1: I think we were headed to the point where we
Speaker 1: thought things weren't really gonna maybe not work out. You know,
Speaker 1: things were getting a lot of discussions there where it
Speaker 1: wasn't headed that way anyways. DeMarcus Lawrence basically got the
Speaker 1: biggest deal in Cowboys franchise history, with one hundred and
Speaker 1: five million dollars twenty one million per year for five
Speaker 1: years and sixty five million dollars guaranteed. Now, you guys
Speaker 1: were at the press conference, heard everything that was set there.
Speaker 1: How did it go from things getting heated too quickly
Speaker 1: getting that deal made the biggest deal in franchise history. Well,
Speaker 1: I think obvious there was a phone call a story
Speaker 1: on that, So we'll let you talk a little bit
Speaker 1: more about it. But sometimes these you know, the negotiations
Speaker 1: back and forth that you needed, you know, make it
Speaker 1: a human beings are involved here. It's not just a
Speaker 1: football player and the owner and the agent and all
Speaker 1: that stuff. It's like, let's get this thing down to
Speaker 1: let's talk this thing out. And I believe that's kind
Speaker 1: of what happened when they kind of gotten the room
Speaker 1: and said how do we make this work? Yeah, which
Speaker 1: Steven Jones said yesterday that it's not rare to do that,
Speaker 1: but it sure's hell seems like it is, because like
Speaker 1: that doesn't seem like a novel concept to me. And
Speaker 1: so often during these during these types of standoffs, like
Speaker 1: you know, you go back to Dez in twenty fifteen,
Speaker 1: like you know, they're not communicating, they haven't talked to
Speaker 1: each other in months. It seems like that would be
Speaker 1: a good idea and that sounds like what happened here,
Speaker 1: And you know it came out over the weekend. David
Speaker 1: Canter was very open about it. You know, DeMarcus Lawrence
Speaker 1: got on a conference call with the Cowboys and they
Speaker 1: laid out what they want. They were honest about it,
Speaker 1: they were respectful. You know, DeMarcus said he wanted to
Speaker 1: be here. It sounds like, you know, his camp was
Speaker 1: trying to get him to not demand a trade, but
Speaker 1: broach trade topics, and DeMarcus was like, no, I don't
Speaker 1: want to do that to be here. And at the
Speaker 1: same time, I love the line from yesterday where you know,
Speaker 1: DeMarcus was kind of like, your problems aren't my problems, Like,
Speaker 1: I know, you got to figure out the cap that's
Speaker 1: really that's not my job, that's your job. And it's true,
Speaker 1: It's absolutely true. We say that all the time. You know,
Speaker 1: it's on the Cowboys to make all those things work.
Speaker 1: It doesn't affect a Marcus's bottom line at all. And
Speaker 1: you know they were able to get on a conference
Speaker 1: call and speak to each other as like you said,
Speaker 1: as human beings, And it sounds like that made a
Speaker 1: ton of difference because all of a sudden you go
Speaker 1: from there at an impass to not only have they
Speaker 1: hammered out a deal, but it is a remarkably fair deal.
Speaker 1: Like everybody here got what they wanted. DeMarcus is making
Speaker 1: more than he would have made under the tag. He's
Speaker 1: getting more guaranteed in the first three years than basic
Speaker 1: like any non quarterback in the league, and the Cowboys
Speaker 1: have him at a number that makes sense, and more
Speaker 1: importantly than that, they can get out from under it
Speaker 1: in three years, which I think is everything. Why was
Speaker 1: this not done the first place? Then that's my point. See,
Speaker 1: that's if that if all it makes, if all it
Speaker 1: takes is to hop on a conference call, then we
Speaker 1: could have handled this thing out a while. If if
Speaker 1: you know, we were starting to hear rumors of discontent
Speaker 1: between the agent and the front office on some things,
Speaker 1: and so you know, I can understand, Okay, yeah, you
Speaker 1: know this is the to me, this is this is
Speaker 1: the thing. That's that's the if if it was, if
Speaker 1: it if it took just a conference call to get
Speaker 1: this done, you know that doesn't Why wasn't this not start?
Speaker 1: Why wasn't it not gone in this direction to begin with.
Speaker 1: You know, and again I can understand the the you know,
Speaker 1: if if the agent has a problem with the front office,
Speaker 1: front office has a problem with the agent, you know,
Speaker 1: all that should have been put. He's right though, it's
Speaker 1: not his problem, but it also is this problem because
Speaker 1: you know, the cowboys have to think about what they're
Speaker 1: doing in the future with their contracts. You know, they
Speaker 1: have to think about with Dak, with Zeke, with Cooper,
Speaker 1: with all those guys. So it absolutely is you know,
Speaker 1: he could say it's not his problem, but it is
Speaker 1: his problem. It's not it's no, no, it's not his problem,
Speaker 1: but I mean it, it becomes his problem exactly exactly
Speaker 1: if they you know, to me, if this was as
Speaker 1: cut and dry and quick as you know, you know,
Speaker 1: they're saying, oh, well, you know we were. I think
Speaker 1: there were some erroneous reports about it, Oh he wants
Speaker 1: twenty three million dollars and all that stuff like that.
Speaker 1: I think that that that was probably you know, when
Speaker 1: you talk to people behind the scenes, that affected you know,
Speaker 1: Calvin Watkins came out with that twenty three million dollars,
Speaker 1: with this demand and all that, I think that affected
Speaker 1: the negotiations I think it did. I think it affected
Speaker 1: the negotiations on the side of Cantor and those guys
Speaker 1: because they were put in a in a in a
Speaker 1: bad light right there. So you know, I mean, maybe
Speaker 1: maybe there were some some hurt feelings as this thing
Speaker 1: went off and then it's like, Okay, we've got to
Speaker 1: get this thing done. But I just don't understand what
Speaker 1: I mean. If Dak is part of this, and Zeke
Speaker 1: is part of this, and Cooper is part of this,
Speaker 1: then why wasn't you know, why wasn't DeMarcus part of
Speaker 1: this way back before? Kind of like you just said,
Speaker 1: I mean, why is this going to now? Because they
Speaker 1: don't seem to be dragging their feet on anybody else,
Speaker 1: so why why were we dragging our feet on it?
Speaker 1: And that you know, I think there was problems between
Speaker 1: the groups, I really do. And they can act like
Speaker 1: that there weren't problems, but you you, if you, if
Speaker 1: you kind of sniff around enough, which everybody in this
Speaker 1: room will do, you will find out that, you know,
Speaker 1: it wasn't really all hunky dory, you know. And Steve
Speaker 1: why Stephen Jones kind of hinted at that yesterday. He's like,
Speaker 1: you know, if you're not careful, these things can become
Speaker 1: confrontational and you forget that you're actually really on the
Speaker 1: same team. You know, DeMarcus Lawrence is technically he's under
Speaker 1: club control. He is a Dallas cowboy, He's not you're
Speaker 1: in a me. He's one of your best players. But
Speaker 1: it's easy to forget that when you start haggling over money.
Speaker 1: And I guess my point is, and you know, I'm
Speaker 1: not privy to these conversations, so I don't want to
Speaker 1: be too quick to judge. But like I said so
Speaker 1: many times, it feels like it feels like whenever these
Speaker 1: things happen, the team and the agent are talking to
Speaker 1: the media more than they're talking to each other. Yeah,
Speaker 1: you know what I mean, Like you're leaking things to them.
Speaker 1: You know, maybe the team side is leaking that the
Speaker 1: player wants too much money, or the players leaking that
Speaker 1: the team sent him him an insulting offer. Instead of
Speaker 1: doing all that, why don't you just hop on a
Speaker 1: conference call and say, hey, it's me, it's DeMarcus, It's
Speaker 1: the guy that you drafted and developed. I'm not trying
Speaker 1: to bend you over a barrel. I just want what's mine.
Speaker 1: And the team says, we get that, and here's what
Speaker 1: we're willing to do, and maybe this stuff would be easier. See,
Speaker 1: I know, from the Cowboys point of view, and we're
Speaker 1: in the building every day, I didn't I didn't hear
Speaker 1: one thing reguarding the contract. I never heard, you know,
Speaker 1: And it could have been really easy for the Cowboys
Speaker 1: to put it out through one of us said hey, okay,
Speaker 1: his demands are unreasonable. I mean they had it buttoned
Speaker 1: down from their end. Yeah, So everything that we were hearing,
Speaker 1: in my opinion, it was coming from the other side,
Speaker 1: you know. That's where I mean, I was the cowboys.
Speaker 1: I feel like the cowboys in this negotiation, we're gonna
Speaker 1: put their heads down and go and try and get
Speaker 1: this thing done. And you know, again we we we
Speaker 1: live in this building and there's things you hear. But
Speaker 1: that was something I never heard, never heard anything the
Speaker 1: way the negotiations were going from their end, or the
Speaker 1: money or the numbers or any of that stuff. You know, Actually,
Speaker 1: when you when you think about it, what d laws
Speaker 1: Camp did was pretty good. Because if you stall on
Speaker 1: this thing and you and you say, we're not signing
Speaker 1: anything at all until we get to that point until
Speaker 1: we get you had there's a deadline of the um
Speaker 1: I'm sorry, there's a deadline for the surgery when not
Speaker 1: just the surgery, but also when when you've got to
Speaker 1: come up with the franchise tag. So if you just
Speaker 1: let that pass that you know the Cowboys are going
Speaker 1: to and once they tag him, then you're at you're
Speaker 1: over twenty million, right. So I think if they would
Speaker 1: have done this beforehand, yeah, they probably would get him
Speaker 1: in at eighteen nineteen or something like that. But as
Speaker 1: soon as you tag me and sell me I'm a
Speaker 1: twenty and a half million, you know, a year player,
Speaker 1: then that's where it starts. And so I think that's
Speaker 1: probably what their point wasn't it. If that's the case,
Speaker 1: it worked, Yeah, I mean it. If his goal was
Speaker 1: to be paid Mac money, then I guess it didn't
Speaker 1: work out. But this whole thing worked out in Demarcus's favorite.
Speaker 1: To their camp, they'll tell you that that wasn't their goal. No, Well,
Speaker 1: and that's my point is I don't think it was.
Speaker 1: But I'm saying, you know, you can be as critical
Speaker 1: as you want of the surgery play, but it certainly
Speaker 1: seems like it works. I don't think this deal gets
Speaker 1: done on Friday of last week if he doesn't need
Speaker 1: to have that surgery. I agree, I think it goes
Speaker 1: right up until the deadline. Just liked as Is did so,
Speaker 1: and the Cowboys sit all loong. He doesn't have any
Speaker 1: leverage on this. I think he did it sure seems
Speaker 1: like it. Yeah, that I was the leverage. I was
Speaker 1: thinking of it, go get the surgery. Now you're now
Speaker 1: you're forced them to do something. Well, I was, well,
Speaker 1: I was gonna does design really love? I was going
Speaker 1: to bring the whole point of you being the one
Speaker 1: to argue starting last week that you thought it was
Speaker 1: the best idea for him to get the surgery right
Speaker 1: and that would help him get the negotiation. So what
Speaker 1: was your output on that whole just looking at the
Speaker 1: difference of what happened out there with the whole negotiation
Speaker 1: part and the injury. Yeah, I felt initially I thought
Speaker 1: that the surgery as he used it was kind of
Speaker 1: going to be something that that would be as he
Speaker 1: uses it, it's going to be the hammer for him
Speaker 1: to say, Okay, I'm not going to get the surgery.
Speaker 1: That when then Jerry Jones came out and said wait
Speaker 1: a minute, I am not paying high dollar, you know
Speaker 1: for you know, for something that's for somebody that's injured.
Speaker 1: I mean, it's the here's time about the first year
Speaker 1: of the contract. Then all of a sudden, now you're
Speaker 1: starting to think. At that point, you're going, okay, wait
Speaker 1: a minute, here's the plan. Okay, if you're not gonna
Speaker 1: if you're worried about that, I'll get the surgery. And
Speaker 1: it's a way to maybe you know, Okay, I'm giving
Speaker 1: you something, now you give me something back, you know,
Speaker 1: in the negotiations. So that's when when when I heard
Speaker 1: what Jerry Jones said, that made me flip completely, like, okay, Tank,
Speaker 1: if you want to make this thing work, go get
Speaker 1: the surgery, go get this done, right But he didn't.
Speaker 1: He didn't need to do that. You wound up getting
Speaker 1: the deal anyway without without having to have the surgery done. Yeah,
Speaker 1: well that's what I'm saying. I mean, I think the
Speaker 1: deal went a lot faster than we even thought once.
Speaker 1: I mean, we thought it was going to drag on,
Speaker 1: drag on, drag on, But something changed last week and
Speaker 1: it might have been again that conversation that Stephen Jones
Speaker 1: had with his representatives that like, Okay, you know, this
Speaker 1: is this is where we're going. I'm trying to figure
Speaker 1: out what flipped this to make it and maybe getting
Speaker 1: the player involved the way they did. Maybe Tank went
Speaker 1: to them and said, you know, went to his report
Speaker 1: to Canter and said, hey, what's the best deal that
Speaker 1: they've offered us? Well, you know, and let's let's let's
Speaker 1: if we had this number in mind, let's go with it.
Speaker 1: You know, we talk all the time about deadlines, you know,
Speaker 1: and maybe this was the deadline if you think about it.
Speaker 1: We were we were asked about the draft that but
Speaker 1: also when when will he be ready to play? Yes?
Speaker 1: Do you think he'll be ready? Do you think? I mean,
Speaker 1: we talked about it before the show, and it sounds
Speaker 1: like everyone's kind of like right there, like is this
Speaker 1: a five month? Is a six month? Three? Have so
Speaker 1: to get this thing done with any chance of him
Speaker 1: being ready for week one? Maybe this was a deadline.
Speaker 1: I think it was, And so it's an arbit it's
Speaker 1: a it's not a real deadline like the July fifteenth deadline,
Speaker 1: but I think the draft is like the drop dead
Speaker 1: date to have hope of him being ready for the opener.
Speaker 1: And even yesterday Stephen said, you know, I asked him,
Speaker 1: you know, what's the plan for the spring in the summer,
Speaker 1: and he said, you know, we're going to get him
Speaker 1: to work with our with our rehab guy, Britt Brown.
Speaker 1: He's one of the best in the business. And he said,
Speaker 1: the hope is to have him ready for the opener. So,
Speaker 1: I mean, you know, I have all the faith in
Speaker 1: the world, and then in the medical team, but I
Speaker 1: think it's they're going to be working right up until that.
Speaker 1: If I had to guess, yeah, that'll be a shame.
Speaker 1: It'll be a shame on both ends. If if he's
Speaker 1: misses a week or two, well, yeah, I know. And
Speaker 1: to your point though, if we miss a week or two,
Speaker 1: because this deal seems pretty simple to me now, you
Speaker 1: know if you look at the way it was done.
Speaker 1: I mean, we all talk. We had this discussion and
Speaker 1: I was kind of getting on you guys when we
Speaker 1: had with the argument with Derek when on the show. Yeah,
Speaker 1: if you like him, pay him. But but but you guys,
Speaker 1: at the end of the day end up getting the
Speaker 1: number you wanted, you know, So how hard was that?
Speaker 1: That's it? And and if you lose if you lose
Speaker 1: a week of the season or two weeks in the
Speaker 1: season because you were you know, this wasn't something. This
Speaker 1: doesn't seem very tricky to me. This doesn't seem like,
Speaker 1: at the end of the day, this didn't turn into
Speaker 1: twenty five million dollars a year. It's twenty one million
Speaker 1: dollars a year. Okay, Well, why did we not get
Speaker 1: to this point? And we I keep saying this. I
Speaker 1: think there was a problem between the front office and
Speaker 1: the and the and the agent itself. I don't think.
Speaker 1: I don't know how you could dispute that fact at
Speaker 1: this point. And that's kind of once you get over
Speaker 1: the excitement. Okay, they got tank. You get over the
Speaker 1: excitement and like the relief that this standoff is over,
Speaker 1: you look at the contract and you're like, this is
Speaker 1: so fair and simple for both sides. Like he slots
Speaker 1: in right behind mac miller and Donald, right above Flowers
Speaker 1: and some of those other guys, and it's like, this
Speaker 1: is where it should have been all along again. If so,
Speaker 1: that's my point from the top of the show is
Speaker 1: if all it took was for him to hop on
Speaker 1: a call with Stephen, exactly, why did it take till
Speaker 1: April eighth, when I was at the Pro Bowl. We
Speaker 1: were interviewing d Law and he was kind of not
Speaker 1: trying to talk about the contract and the agent, which
Speaker 1: I didn't really know him at the time. What's his
Speaker 1: first name, David? Okay, he leans into the conversation. He's
Speaker 1: like leaning in and I don't know who this is,
Speaker 1: and everyone thinks it's funny. I'm like, now it makes
Speaker 1: sense that, Okay, he's the agent he's trying to hear.
Speaker 1: He talked to reporters afterwards and they said it is
Speaker 1: gonna be tough, and he said, I don't know why
Speaker 1: this is tough. It starts at twenty and then it goes,
Speaker 1: you know, a little bit over that. That's it. Yeah,
Speaker 1: And at the end of the three months here, that's
Speaker 1: pretty much what if you've ever been in, like trying
Speaker 1: to get a business deal done, If you still have
Speaker 1: the time, you're gonna take that time if you can
Speaker 1: and keep because in your mind you think, oh, let's
Speaker 1: see what's the best deal I can get, And both
Speaker 1: parts are thinking the same thing. So yes, if at
Speaker 1: the end of the day they ended up meeting in
Speaker 1: the middle, and yeah, it ended up being the same thing,
Speaker 1: but still you want to take advantage of that extra time.
Speaker 1: If this week was kind of their deadline for having
Speaker 1: it done, so there was no really rushing in there.
Speaker 1: See is this right now? If you look at this,
Speaker 1: did this affect him on other deals? If you could
Speaker 1: have got something done earlier? Does it affect you on
Speaker 1: another deal this or something? Why? I don't see why
Speaker 1: it would. I mean, what, you're not working with a
Speaker 1: deadline on anybody else. And as far as I know,
Speaker 1: I think he's talking about an Earl Thomas. Oh, I'm sorry,
Speaker 1: I was thinking about the other that's something else in
Speaker 1: free agency though, whether again you talk about Earl Thomas.
Speaker 1: If this is something you get going right out of
Speaker 1: the gate, is that something that maybe okay, now we
Speaker 1: got momentum and you usually but but I think the
Speaker 1: way that that they're saying this is structure, that this
Speaker 1: is a mainly a three year That means a lot
Speaker 1: of this is hitting right off the bat. So I
Speaker 1: don't that's it freed up nine million in cap space.
Speaker 1: But like in your heart of hearts, you know that
Speaker 1: you know what Earl Thomas wound up getting from Baltimore? Right,
Speaker 1: Do you really think that they're going in on that
Speaker 1: even if they had the extra money, I would It's
Speaker 1: not what I asked. No, but I think it's going
Speaker 1: to come to a point where they're going to draft
Speaker 1: a safety and they might draft when at fifty eight.
Speaker 1: Don't you think that was maybe their hope all along?
Speaker 1: I no, No, I'm fifty five. Put I tried to
Speaker 1: trade this, Yeah, I mean I'm trying. I'm trying to
Speaker 1: think about cutting him and doing all this kind I mean,
Speaker 1: I'm not saying at all possible. I'm not asking what
Speaker 1: you would do. Do you think they would have gone
Speaker 1: after Earl even with the money that they saved by saying,
Speaker 1: you know what, I should have known better when the
Speaker 1: Earl Thomas Earl Thomas dream died on Draft night last year? Yeah,
Speaker 1: last year. Yes. Instead of me trying to like say, oh, well,
Speaker 1: they're gonna yea Earl Thomas, I'd do this this that No,
Speaker 1: that dream died in the second round at pick two V.
Speaker 1: The visual of him coming to the Cowboys locker room
Speaker 1: was enticing, and the fact that they tried it on
Speaker 1: draft night added fuel to the fire. But this team
Speaker 1: was never gonna jump in for fifty million on a
Speaker 1: free agent. They haven't done it in almost a decade.
Speaker 1: And I'm actually okay with that. I am too, because
Speaker 1: as soon as I saw the price of that contract,
Speaker 1: I was like, I'm out. If you could have done
Speaker 1: three years thirty all right? And to me, and I
Speaker 1: know some people may not think this is a big
Speaker 1: deal or you know, but flipping off your team when
Speaker 1: you're getting carted off the field like that just kind
Speaker 1: of shows a different mentality of kind of what you're
Speaker 1: about and who you're about, and it starts with with you,
Speaker 1: you know, And I just I don't know, I don't
Speaker 1: know if it again, I was all about it, and
Speaker 1: it would have been cool to have him here, but
Speaker 1: but that that didn't sit well with me doing so
Speaker 1: the finger changed her mind. Flipping off your team, Yeah,
Speaker 1: I thought it was awesome. But why because like because,
Speaker 1: but you wouldn't do that. You think Russell Westbrook is awesome.
Speaker 1: You mean, you like that kind of stuff, which is fine,
Speaker 1: But I'm saying, but you you're hurt and you're pissed
Speaker 1: and flipping off your team that isn't awesome. It depends
Speaker 1: on the situation. I mean, I think anybody that's on
Speaker 1: his teammates know where that fingers directed. That's how I
Speaker 1: feel like they know he's not off your coach. He's
Speaker 1: flipping off everybody above them, from Carol to Schneider to
Speaker 1: who he ain't flipping off. You know, I don't even
Speaker 1: know the I don't even know the other dbs and
Speaker 1: the Seahawks secondary anymore, Like they're all gone. But he
Speaker 1: wasn't flipping off his teammates anyway. Okay, it just just
Speaker 1: deals to seem so simple, you know now it was,
Speaker 1: and I'm thinking, Okay, this is gonna be to off.
Speaker 1: This is you know, when you look at it, you're
Speaker 1: like going, well, that makes a lot of sense. The
Speaker 1: others they're gonna be hard, yeah, the other ones. Yeah,
Speaker 1: Well everyone's happy now, especially Tank. He's making bank because
Speaker 1: of right now. And let's take a quick break boat
Speaker 1: when we come back, let's figure out whose contract this
Speaker 1: up next, dak Or Amari Cooper, who's gonna get paid
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Speaker 1: Dear dealer dot com. Slash Football. Back to the break,
Speaker 1: all right. With the Marcus Lawrence deal being done, I
Speaker 1: think that sets another bar or these people to follow,
Speaker 1: which is Dak's contract that's coming up, so Amari Cooper.
Speaker 1: People are wondering whose contract should the Cowboys do next,
Speaker 1: Who's first on the line as far as priority and
Speaker 1: who would be Like what kind of money are we
Speaker 1: talking about here as far as a deal, a multi million,
Speaker 1: multi year deal. You know, I actually have a different opinion.
Speaker 1: I think zeke m but but I don't think that's
Speaker 1: what Steven said. I mean, Steven said that it's Cooper
Speaker 1: and Daku. Of those two, I would say Cooper because
Speaker 1: he's your draft pick, he's your first round pick. He's
Speaker 1: the guy that you that you that you brought in
Speaker 1: here for because he was twenty four years old and
Speaker 1: so he did a nice job in his first year,
Speaker 1: and I would you know, he's going to be here.
Speaker 1: I mean, if if Dak struggles this year and they
Speaker 1: find out he's not the quarterback, Cooper is still going
Speaker 1: to be the number one receiver. If if Cooper has
Speaker 1: that off year, they're gonna get a new receiver's coach
Speaker 1: and figure out how to fix Cooper. So I think
Speaker 1: Coop for you know, the priority of those two. I wonder,
Speaker 1: I just like it all stems from the quarterback though,
Speaker 1: Like the quarterback is the domino that sets everything else.
Speaker 1: It's the biggest contract, it's the most important player, and
Speaker 1: that I just wonder if maybe that spurs you to
Speaker 1: get something done, Like, you know, financially, doing Cooper would
Speaker 1: be the smartest because it lowers your cap and it
Speaker 1: could make it easier for you to sign other deals
Speaker 1: because he's counting fourteen million against your cap. If you
Speaker 1: sign him for five years right now, you can lower it,
Speaker 1: can you can lower it substantially, which might make it easier.
Speaker 1: Which is why I wouldn't be surprised if Dak and
Speaker 1: Cooper are signed by the time the season rolls around,
Speaker 1: just because you talk about the training camp, we show
Speaker 1: up on the plane. Sure, one of those Dak announcements there,
Speaker 1: But I just I just, yeah, there's really they're both
Speaker 1: kind of in similar situations, because you know, I don't
Speaker 1: think anybody would argue like Amari Cooper is great, but
Speaker 1: I don't He's not the best receiver in the league.
Speaker 1: He's not Julio ab or Odell. Right now, Okay, so
Speaker 1: the names you just mentioned. Beckham at eighteen a million
Speaker 1: a year, right, you mentioned Julio Jones at fourteen two.
Speaker 1: He's working toward twenty million a year soon. Okay, there,
Speaker 1: so that would make him the highest paid guy. Where
Speaker 1: where does he fall in all this thing? You see?
Speaker 1: I looked at that Beckham Brown, Mike Evans fifteen. I
Speaker 1: don't know where the Hopkins fifteen you're looking. That's kind
Speaker 1: of when I was looking at Jarvis Landry money right there.
Speaker 1: I'm thinking Brandon Cooks. I think the floor. I think
Speaker 1: the floor is probably seventeen. That's my guests. I don't know.
Speaker 1: I'm not a I'm not a cap expert. But well,
Speaker 1: we did a good did a good job on that
Speaker 1: other one. You kind of had this so that he
Speaker 1: had Lawrence pegged at one spot, and yeah, but I
Speaker 1: figure it out. I also said that if it were
Speaker 1: up to me, I'd pay him mac money just to
Speaker 1: get it over with. So, yeah, you just wanted to
Speaker 1: get over with it. I just wanted to not have
Speaker 1: to talk about it anymore. I just for a number
Speaker 1: one is messing up that whole thing. Oh, there's players
Speaker 1: will mess up some contracts. Now, well, he did have
Speaker 1: a thousand yards season, right, Look at the ages of
Speaker 1: these cats. Beckham's twenty seven, Antonio Brown's thirty one, Right,
Speaker 1: that's Mike Evans twenty six, DeAndre Hopkins is twenty seven,
Speaker 1: and Cooper's twenty four. Yeah, exactly, there's not a twenty
Speaker 1: four year old in the top ten of this thing.
Speaker 1: I don't I don't think you're getting this deal done
Speaker 1: for less than seventeen million a year and maybe more
Speaker 1: than that. Which that was the point I was going
Speaker 1: to make is the word on the street is that
Speaker 1: Julio Jones is working toward a twenty million dollars a
Speaker 1: year contract at the same time Russell Wilson is trying
Speaker 1: to get something done. He said a deadline of Monday,
Speaker 1: which if that's not gonna happen, no, it's not gonna happen,
Speaker 1: So gonna let that happen right now. But point being,
Speaker 1: there are other quarterbacks working toward massive deals too, So
Speaker 1: do you want to try to get these Deck and
Speaker 1: Amari deals done before somebody else sets the market or
Speaker 1: do you want to wait and see what the market
Speaker 1: looks like? Did it really matter? Did it really matter
Speaker 1: on this last contract where the market was. I think
Speaker 1: teams were looking at just like the franchise tag mannered
Speaker 1: and this one didn't it. Yeah, and people will be
Speaker 1: looking at Russell because he's probably the best quarterback of
Speaker 1: that group, But just like the defensive ends, we're looking
Speaker 1: at d Law. You know, I don't think Dak. I
Speaker 1: think I think the market will trickle down for him.
Speaker 1: But I mean I don't think you can compare what
Speaker 1: Dak and Russell Wilson have done. Yeah, well you can't.
Speaker 1: But again, I mean that's that's the free agent market
Speaker 1: for you though. I mean, was Kirk Cousins really worth
Speaker 1: what he got paid when he hit free Agency's got
Speaker 1: money and Cousins has the money and Derek Carr got
Speaker 1: the money. Quarterback to me is the most shaky paid
Speaker 1: position in the league. May like shaky guys up there
Speaker 1: getting I mean you know what I'm saying. Yeah, I
Speaker 1: mean there's some guys that are like thinking, he gets
Speaker 1: what you know, the Kirk Cousins thing is the whole
Speaker 1: that that to me is a very shaky situation. And
Speaker 1: that's my point is because you can put down their
Speaker 1: resumes on paper and be like, well, Russell Wilson's clearly
Speaker 1: better than Dad. Yeah, but then you say he's twenty five.
Speaker 1: He's got more wins over the last three years than
Speaker 1: anybody not named. He's won two division titles. He's got
Speaker 1: a playoff win in three series or three seasons. Maybe
Speaker 1: I misspoken. He's rushed for eighteen touchdowns on top of
Speaker 1: everything he's done as a passer, and all of a
Speaker 1: sudden you're like, well, yeah, Dak probably could command thirty
Speaker 1: one million on the open market if he got there.
Speaker 1: You know what's what's weird is I think it's cap charge.
Speaker 1: I looked at it in different ways, but I think
Speaker 1: it's his cap value this year. Is he ranked sixty
Speaker 1: ninth in the league in among quarterbacks. Oh, it's unbelievable.
Speaker 1: And that's seventy freaking Mike White Wow? Wow? Is that
Speaker 1: Prescott ranks sixty ninth in cap charges for quarterbacks and
Speaker 1: seventy is Michael is that after you account for the
Speaker 1: NFL increase like he's making substantially more of this? Can
Speaker 1: I jump into this conversation? I said the word shaky,
Speaker 1: and and then I thought, Man, maybe I'm not right
Speaker 1: about that. Rogers is your top we all agree, what
Speaker 1: what category are we on? We're quarterbacks, but bass salary
Speaker 1: or what's let's go. Let's go with average per year. Okay,
Speaker 1: average per year. Rogers is at thirty three point five
Speaker 1: million a year. Okay, Now this is where it gets fun.
Speaker 1: Matt Ryan is at at thirty million dollars, okay, Kurt
Speaker 1: Cousins is at twenty eight million dollars, Jimmy Garoppolo is
Speaker 1: at twenty seven five, Matt Stafford is at twenty seven,
Speaker 1: Derek Carr is at twenty five million, and Drew Brees
Speaker 1: is at twenty five million, with Andrew Luck at twenty
Speaker 1: four to five. So three, four, five and six on
Speaker 1: that list of never won a playoff game. Yeah, that's
Speaker 1: where that's where my word shaky comes in. And the
Speaker 1: in the best of all time, where's he? Yeah, he's not.
Speaker 1: He's down. He's down to the fourteen million. He ruins
Speaker 1: the whole thing because he doesn't care about making a
Speaker 1: market vw Alex Smith's in there, Joe Flacco's in there,
Speaker 1: Nick Boles is in there. Russell Wilsons at twenty one nine. Oh,
Speaker 1: let's take it. Let's take it forward a step because
Speaker 1: in the next two years, Okay, we already said Russell
Speaker 1: Wilson needs a new deal. Jared Goff and Carson Wentz
Speaker 1: have club options on their contract, but they need new
Speaker 1: deals in the next two years. Cousins' is uh contract
Speaker 1: in Minnesota will be over in twenty twenty one. That's true.
Speaker 1: Cam Newton, Cam Newton, which his contracts over in twenty
Speaker 1: twenty one as well. He's a twenty he's a twenty
Speaker 1: million dollar player. If you can find a way to
Speaker 1: pay Dak this summer, he you know, if even let's
Speaker 1: just say you made him the highest paid quarterback, which
Speaker 1: I don't even know if that would happen, but even
Speaker 1: if you did, he would be fifth on that list
Speaker 1: in a year and a half. Okay, let me ask you,
Speaker 1: this stuff works, you feel better, Okay, you probably will
Speaker 1: feel better about Dak being better than Rogers, of course, No,
Speaker 1: how about Matt Ryan. Yeah, okay, we're not gonna ste
Speaker 1: not yet. Cousins, Yes, is okay? Is that where it
Speaker 1: stops for us? At twenty eight million dollars? That's I mean, yeah, yeah,
Speaker 1: he's got his cousins better than him. Garoppolo think I'm
Speaker 1: taking based on we're not being homers here, are we?
Speaker 1: I'm maybe we are, But like based on what I've
Speaker 1: seen on the field and what I see around him
Speaker 1: every day out you know, Matt Stafford. Yeah, every time
Speaker 1: he's played Matt Stafford, I think he's beating him. Right,
Speaker 1: That's that's terrifying because Derek Carr Matt Stafford is unquestionably
Speaker 1: more talented than Dak. But would you trade it too
Speaker 1: right now? I don't think I would, especially, I mean no,
Speaker 1: I don't think I would. This is just so tough
Speaker 1: to figure out because like that I've been listening. But
Speaker 1: everything that Da've mentioned as far as accomplishments he's being
Speaker 1: able to do during his time being here. When you
Speaker 1: look at that on paper and you look at his
Speaker 1: leadership around the team and all of that, yeah, you
Speaker 1: have to take that into consideration. But then there's the
Speaker 1: other part of you that watches him during game days
Speaker 1: and you get mad and you're like, oh my god,
Speaker 1: why can't the freaking pass and throw the ball down
Speaker 1: the field and this and that, and you're like, okay,
Speaker 1: we need a better quarterback. So it's like, how do
Speaker 1: you draw the line? Stop making sense? Dinnesota, Detroit, Oakland,
Speaker 1: whoever else they get pissed off at their quarterback to Atlanta,
Speaker 1: Oh I know, okay, yes, and they all there's not
Speaker 1: a paid Yeah, the Packers, the Saints, they never get
Speaker 1: mad at their quarterback. But of those top six guys,
Speaker 1: and this includes the Falcons, Matt yeah, Matt Ryan, the Falcons,
Speaker 1: the Packers, of those top six guys, did any of
Speaker 1: them make the playoffs? And that's the stat people love
Speaker 1: to site, is that, like, I think the six most
Speaker 1: highest paid quarterbacks didn't make it last year. I mean
Speaker 1: there's there's there's no then he's sitting right there at
Speaker 1: two or three. Then I mean, yeah, okay making it
Speaker 1: to the Okay, yes, it does start with the quarterback.
Speaker 1: He's the leader of the offense basically, but it takes
Speaker 1: a lot more than just a quarterback. I mean, if
Speaker 1: you to the playoff, it doesn't necessarily mean your quarterback
Speaker 1: is the one that got you. But if your Dak's agent.
Speaker 1: How can you look at that list and be like, yeah,
Speaker 1: but he's not You know, ag is just outlining like
Speaker 1: the fan debate for us perfectly. I was like, well,
Speaker 1: you know, it takes more than a quarterback. You can't
Speaker 1: afford to think those kind of resources into a quarterback,
Speaker 1: especially a guy that so many people aren't sold one
Speaker 1: what he did without Zeek? Now that's this is gonna
Speaker 1: be the fun debate because would you rather pay Zeke
Speaker 1: and Amari Cooper and take a chance on getting another quarterback?
Speaker 1: I guarantee though, and you know this because you've been
Speaker 1: in those rooms, Jerry won't do it. Though you can't
Speaker 1: say all the time, but you just said you used
Speaker 1: to drop the rooting. Whoa, whoa, whoa. You just said,
Speaker 1: could he do all that without Zeek? Right? Right? No? Could?
Speaker 1: I'm right on my argument, but I'm saying you always
Speaker 1: take Zeek out of the questions could he do all that?
Speaker 1: Could do all that? Oh No, that's the gentleman across
Speaker 1: from me there always thinks that could he do all
Speaker 1: that without Amari Cooper? Because Zeke was there for the
Speaker 1: first eight weeks in the season last year and they
Speaker 1: weren't good. Yeah, that's what I'm saying, though he obviously
Speaker 1: needs good players around him, like Mary Cooper might be important.
Speaker 1: Everybody million dollars, you know, you're you know you're signing him.
Speaker 1: It just sucks because they're gonna get them all done,
Speaker 1: but they're gonna have absolutely nobody like Jesse Holly's gonna
Speaker 1: be like the fifth receiver because they're they're gonna have
Speaker 1: They're gonna have nobody else. So that's the thing. It's like,
Speaker 1: that sounds sounds like somebody that does not trust their
Speaker 1: success in the draft. Well, which they've they've had success
Speaker 1: in the draft. I mean, well that if you're gonna
Speaker 1: pay all these guys, that's what you have to hit
Speaker 1: on your draft picks with everything else you have to
Speaker 1: But do had they okay, but had they hit, what
Speaker 1: would you say? Between three and seven? Are they are? They?
Speaker 1: Are they great? They do have Dak Prescott, there's no
Speaker 1: doubt about that. Great. Malie Collins has been good. It's
Speaker 1: worth I mean it's worth as it's worth a deep dive.
Speaker 1: I haven't looked at it recently, but like they have
Speaker 1: found plenty of good players between rounds four and seven,
Speaker 1: I mean Anthony Hitchins, Damian Wilson, Dak Prescott, Cole Beasley
Speaker 1: was undrafted. Um MALIEK Collins was the third round pick.
Speaker 1: Found the human log on the scrap heap. Your favorite
Speaker 1: player Anthony Brown six Xavier Woods. I mean you need
Speaker 1: to look at his contract. Why is he making two
Speaker 1: million dollars a year? Probably because he's started so many
Speaker 1: games the same thing. Yeah he's getting I don't have
Speaker 1: a good answer for you, but I just think in
Speaker 1: terms of like, I just think the quarterback sets the
Speaker 1: tone for everything else. That's just how I one of
Speaker 1: these guys. I don't disagree, but you know, my my
Speaker 1: problem comes when you start looking at the whole offense
Speaker 1: and how he needs too many players to be good
Speaker 1: around him. You know, there's the line, there's the whole
Speaker 1: all line. One goes whatever, all here we go. We struggle.
Speaker 1: If the running back isn't making plays, finding the hole,
Speaker 1: getting through, Zeke's not health at all. Here is a problem.
Speaker 1: If the receiver is not catching the ball, Oh, here's
Speaker 1: a problem. How many quarterbacks don't need that? Because that
Speaker 1: rogers guys, that's why he makes thirty three million a year.
Speaker 1: How many games did they win last year. Not enough,
Speaker 1: not enough, not enough, got to coach fire. Yeah, well
Speaker 1: they came out the other day with reasons why Yeah sure,
Speaker 1: how about how about the guy that was here for
Speaker 1: so long? Like all I ever hear about Tony is
Speaker 1: that he didn't have enough around him and he kept
Speaker 1: him competitive because he was damn good. But they didn't. Yeah,
Speaker 1: they didn't win enough. They were too That's the point
Speaker 1: that's important. That you needed better players, didn't he Okay, yeah,
Speaker 1: needed an offensive line, He needed a better running back.
Speaker 1: They didn't get him to mark better running back, right.
Speaker 1: They eventually got him one when he was thirty two. Yeah,
Speaker 1: way too late to the sway of natural league. They
Speaker 1: got him Tyrant Smith, Zach Martin and Travis Frederick and
Speaker 1: he was in the thirties. Oh more comfortable paying a
Speaker 1: guy like that that can hold his own without the
Speaker 1: need of everybody else being great around. Tony Romo wasn't
Speaker 1: that quarterback until he was years older than dak Is.
Speaker 1: Right now, let's not get it twisted. I'm just saying
Speaker 1: I'm gonna look at all the aspects of it. We
Speaker 1: are bait. Like what we're arguing though, like, what's what's
Speaker 1: the what is your point though, Aaron Amber wants Aaron Rodgers.
Speaker 1: That's what she said, but like she wants to say no,
Speaker 1: no, no no, what she were talking when we start talking
Speaker 1: about money and then and the amount of money that
Speaker 1: you're wanting to pay or having to pay a quarterback,
Speaker 1: like where's the line being drawn there? When you have
Speaker 1: to look at other players because you okay Byron Jones,
Speaker 1: another guy that's coming up, do you want to keep him?
Speaker 1: And and everybody's he's the guy that's kind of getting
Speaker 1: kicked to the curb right now. And Zeke started, what
Speaker 1: the biggest one for me? It's got to be Cooper.
Speaker 1: And I know we're gonna talk about this later. I
Speaker 1: might go with Zeke, but Cooper is the one. Well, Zeke,
Speaker 1: I think it's important too. But you can sign a
Speaker 1: Marie Cooper. I think you get a Marie Cooper at
Speaker 1: an eighteen to nineteen a year and maybe an eight
Speaker 1: or nine eight or not feel better about eight or
Speaker 1: nine year deal, just like you did with Tyrn Smith.
Speaker 1: He's young, he's gonna be here for a while, and
Speaker 1: he you can stretch his contract. You're gonna have to
Speaker 1: do that with with one of these guys. Well, which
Speaker 1: one would you do it? Whose contract are you? Whose
Speaker 1: contract are gonna feel the least best about? I guess
Speaker 1: you know what I'm trying to say, Like when you
Speaker 1: when when you get to the point you're saying, Okay,
Speaker 1: you're gonna pay these guys, like you say, okay, you
Speaker 1: want to pay Cooper first, because you're gonna feel like
Speaker 1: that contract is gonna that's gonna contract is gonna hold
Speaker 1: value for you throughout that or is it Dak Prescott
Speaker 1: or is the ezekiel A contract going to be better
Speaker 1: for you long term? Why can't you do a Zeke
Speaker 1: contract similar to what you did d Law. I don't
Speaker 1: mean it has to be a twenty one million, but
Speaker 1: I'm saying that type of deal where it's really a
Speaker 1: three year deal, but it's it looks like a five
Speaker 1: year deal. And yeah, you know that's kind of what
Speaker 1: you see because you think whose contract is going to
Speaker 1: hold better value? If that, guess that's what I should,
Speaker 1: I think I would be the least scared. I think
Speaker 1: I would be thought straight today. Sorry about that. I
Speaker 1: think it's what you're trying to say. I think the
Speaker 1: answer for me was good. I agree it would be
Speaker 1: Cooper if but not. I don't want to sign anybody
Speaker 1: to an eight year deal, please, that's just begging. What
Speaker 1: did Tyrn get a seven year He got an eight
Speaker 1: year extension, And I mean that hey. First of all,
Speaker 1: it's a position that's known for longevity. He is a
Speaker 1: special class of athlete in my opinion. And on top
Speaker 1: of that, we're not done with that yet. He's got
Speaker 1: a lot of time left on that deal, and we'll
Speaker 1: see how it holds up. I mean, see to me,
Speaker 1: I think in the steel value right now, it's getting close,
Speaker 1: but he's not done until twenty twenty three. I think
Speaker 1: we're all we all feel worse about the potential of
Speaker 1: signing the quarterback. It sounds like, all right, let's take
Speaker 1: a quick break, but when we come back. I've seen
Speaker 1: several people propose franchising him and given that a try,
Speaker 1: let's get into that discussion when we come back. Well,
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Speaker 1: Today back to the break, all right, we have been
Speaker 1: discussing Dak's future contract, the Zekiel Elia's future contract. But
Speaker 1: here's another thought, why or why not would it be
Speaker 1: a good idea or not a good idea to franchise
Speaker 1: Dike Prescott tested out and see how he does on
Speaker 1: another year, same plan you did with Lords. To your test,
Speaker 1: that figure is twenty five twenty five and a half
Speaker 1: right now, which means if they do it next year,
Speaker 1: it'll go point seven twenty six twenty seven. For night
Speaker 1: that we kind of put him right where all those
Speaker 1: quarterbacks are that we don't like. Am I right about that?
Speaker 1: Here's here's here's why. And you're right they did it
Speaker 1: with Tank. I don't. It doesn't. It doesn't. The defensive
Speaker 1: end numbers clearly different than a quarterback lower. It's also
Speaker 1: a less important position. It's important, but it's less important.
Speaker 1: I think I just think that's that's a bad idea
Speaker 1: for a number of reasons. One, we talked about it
Speaker 1: off the air. I'd rather start the clock ticking, like
Speaker 1: if you signed him in June again. And you know
Speaker 1: we say this all the time, these NFL deals, they're
Speaker 1: really like three year deals, or if it's a six
Speaker 1: year deal, it's a four year deal. Like, it's all
Speaker 1: about the guarantees and how quickly you can get away
Speaker 1: from the decision. If you sign him now, you're getting
Speaker 1: it's one. You're getting closer. Yeah, you're getting closer that anyway,
Speaker 1: So your dad's going to start for you, regardless whether
Speaker 1: it's on two million dollars salary as a rookie contract
Speaker 1: right now or whether it's on a new deal. He's
Speaker 1: your starter. So you can count this year toward that
Speaker 1: right now. If you sign him now, and if if
Speaker 1: you decide you're not happy with it, you're all the
Speaker 1: closer to getting away from it. Whereas if you franchise
Speaker 1: him next year, you're paying twenty eight million. You've got
Speaker 1: to pay him that money, and then if he keeps
Speaker 1: bawling and keeps doing it, then all of a sudden,
Speaker 1: the price is even higher than it already was, and
Speaker 1: you're another year away from being able to get out
Speaker 1: from under that deal. He's another year older. And then
Speaker 1: there's the psychological aspect of it, where if there's one
Speaker 1: guy in the entire locker room who I don't want
Speaker 1: to be unhappy or not bought in, it's the quarterback.
Speaker 1: I do not want Dak Prescott's Yeah, we say it like,
Speaker 1: I mean, I think he's better than he gets credit
Speaker 1: for from a from a mechanic standpoint and accuracy, he's
Speaker 1: better than he gets credit for. But let's not kid
Speaker 1: ourselves like his best feature is leadership and CHARISMI getting
Speaker 1: people together. I don't want there to be any doubt
Speaker 1: that he's bought in or all in on the side
Speaker 1: of the franchise. I don't want him even maybe sort
Speaker 1: of questioning whether or not he's got a future here,
Speaker 1: because I think people that are asking that are probably
Speaker 1: people that still have those doubts as well. Sure, and
Speaker 1: that's what a franchise tag is because if you didn't
Speaker 1: think that that, you know, he wasn't that guy that
Speaker 1: you could sign five or six years, you probably wouldn't
Speaker 1: give it to him. That's why they give it to
Speaker 1: d law It's like, well, well, he's had one good year,
Speaker 1: can he do it again? Yeah? But is it a
Speaker 1: way you give him twenty eight million dollars for the
Speaker 1: franchise tag and say he plays well on it. Isn't
Speaker 1: that the proof again, because you're you're you're giving him
Speaker 1: a lot of money and you're making him, making him
Speaker 1: play for it. If he if he stinks, then you
Speaker 1: got your answer. What he can't handle the pressure of
Speaker 1: being a twenty eight million dollar ar quarterback? Am I Am?
Speaker 1: I wrong about it? You're not wrong. It's just the
Speaker 1: question is has he already proven it? In three years?
Speaker 1: Has he proven it? Does? And that's that's the debate.
Speaker 1: That's the debate that we think he's better than half
Speaker 1: those stiffs at up top of the board. Right. That's
Speaker 1: why I agree with with what Dave is saying. I
Speaker 1: do I think you start it now because I don't
Speaker 1: think he's I mean, yeah, you can, you can, you
Speaker 1: can have Is he gonna make two million? He doesn't
Speaker 1: need to be making two million? This is this is
Speaker 1: similar to what Emmett Smith back in ninety three. I mean,
Speaker 1: what else does he need to do? He doesn't need
Speaker 1: to be making two million a year. He needs a
Speaker 1: new deal. He should get a new deal this year. Well,
Speaker 1: I mean, on top of everything else, yeah, you can
Speaker 1: bring fairness into it. I mean, he's even if you
Speaker 1: think he sucks, you cannot deny that he's drastically outperformed
Speaker 1: his contract. He is the most underpaid player in sports
Speaker 1: probably period and one of the most scrutinized players here exactly.
Speaker 1: But any okay, let's again, let's go through with your
Speaker 1: thought experiment. If you do all that, you make him
Speaker 1: play on the tag, he plays out this contract, you
Speaker 1: tag him, so then the quickest you can be crumbles. Okay,
Speaker 1: he's terrible. He sucks next year on the tag, he
Speaker 1: sucks in two years on the tag. So the quickest
Speaker 1: you can get away from Dak Prescott is twenty twenty one. Right,
Speaker 1: if you sign him in June. By twenty twenty one,
Speaker 1: you're already close to being done with that. Anyway, Well,
Speaker 1: I mean you got you got a year or two
Speaker 1: before you can get away from it. You need to
Speaker 1: draft the quarterback. Anyway, I'd rather just start the clock.
Speaker 1: And then, on top of that what I just said,
Speaker 1: if you sign him, if you sign him at training camp,
Speaker 1: he will be a bargain in two years, like the
Speaker 1: market will push and that's like this contract will look
Speaker 1: good in comparison in no time, Like that's how these
Speaker 1: things work. So I I mean, you know, Romo, Romo
Speaker 1: got what like twenty million a year, and that was insane.
Speaker 1: That was only five years five six years ago, and
Speaker 1: now the salaries are astronomically higher than that. Rogers has
Speaker 1: a full eighty million dollars on top of his deal
Speaker 1: to what Romo got. What's Breeze doing why twenty five million?
Speaker 1: He's cheese that Freeze and Brady are outliers. They're closer
Speaker 1: to the to the end of their career. They've made
Speaker 1: all the money they need to make. Brady is especially
Speaker 1: annoying because his wife, Gizelle brings she makes more than
Speaker 1: he does, and so they can afford to do that.
Speaker 1: You cannot expect a single twenty five year old who
Speaker 1: was drafted in the fourth round to be willing to
Speaker 1: play by the same rules by a Hall of Famer
Speaker 1: who's on his eighth contracts rules. I just mean, it's
Speaker 1: mess up the whole Oh, Breeze and Brady ruined this
Speaker 1: whole thing because they're arguably the best two quarterbacks in
Speaker 1: the league and they're playing for pennies and Mark, can
Speaker 1: I ask one question, real quick. Yeah, okay, we're let's slot,
Speaker 1: let's slop this runner. Then oh what real quick? Um,
Speaker 1: Mahomes is going to be up soon too. I mean
Speaker 1: like after this season they can start negotiating with him,
Speaker 1: and what do you think that's going to fetch? Yeah?
Speaker 1: What do you like? So? But who would you rather have?
Speaker 1: I would rather have Pat Mahomes. But that's not the point.
Speaker 1: The point is what is your point? The Chiefs are
Speaker 1: going to sign him to a two hundred million dollars deal,
Speaker 1: that's not in your ballpark. Then if you really think
Speaker 1: that Mahomes is better, you're not going to sign your
Speaker 1: guy to a two hundred million But that's what if
Speaker 1: let's just say, let's just say that Dak gets him
Speaker 1: back to the playoffs this year, maybe they even get
Speaker 1: to the NFC title game. Let's be optimistic, okay, And
Speaker 1: then Mahomes breaks the bank with a two hundred million
Speaker 1: dollar deal and Dak, who is not as good as
Speaker 1: Mahomes but has this fantastic resume through four years, is
Speaker 1: like where my money at? Yeah, let's again, let's start
Speaker 1: the clock on this thing and avoid these types of conversations.
Speaker 1: It's not that's not wrong. Todd Gurley making fourteen three,
Speaker 1: Leveon Bell making thirteen one, David Johnson making thirteen million.
Speaker 1: This is just a year. This is a year where
Speaker 1: he's You look at Zeke, he's okay better than Bell. Yes,
Speaker 1: he's he's a fifteen To me, he's a fifteen million.
Speaker 1: If that's it. Garcia, Yeah, I'm four for sixty. Yikes, right,
Speaker 1: I don't disagree with you right now. He is if
Speaker 1: you look at where he's he is, he is behind
Speaker 1: Lamar Miller. Lamar Miller makes six point five, he makes
Speaker 1: six point two. You got werenad ahead of him. Jerk McKinnon, Barkley, McCoy, Freeman,
Speaker 1: David Johnson, Leban Bill, Todd, Gurley, McKinnon. What is that deal?
Speaker 1: It's from the forty nine ers. That's seven and a
Speaker 1: half a year they had. They have ungodly amounts of
Speaker 1: cast space hunting money. Yeah, that only get that they
Speaker 1: had that quarterback that we really didn't like that I
Speaker 1: made this. I didn't say I didn't like Jimmy Garoppolo.
Speaker 1: I just liked that kind of you did you kind
Speaker 1: of gave you did that sharp pay face. The guys
Speaker 1: played like nine games. Yeah, they gave him a lot
Speaker 1: of money for nine games. Where's he was? He falls?
Speaker 1: He is, he's better than David Johnson, right, you think
Speaker 1: he's better. You think he's number one? Yeah, number one
Speaker 1: on the list. I made this comment like a month ago.
Speaker 1: It really him. I'm good with that. Pay him. I'm
Speaker 1: paying him right now. Today started up. I don't care
Speaker 1: what happened to girl. Watch what's about to happen over here?
Speaker 1: I care what happened early? Yeah, watch what's about to happen?
Speaker 1: What I mean, we don't know, We don't know for sure,
Speaker 1: but like what I mean? What if? What if Gurley
Speaker 1: can't finish this contract or even come close by? Not?
Speaker 1: But what was Why was Gurley the eleventh pick overall? Anyways?
Speaker 1: He did have injury problems and Zeke has had none.
Speaker 1: He's never missed a game due to injury. Knocking it no,
Speaker 1: I know, no honest, I mean, don't bring the table.
Speaker 1: It gives me pause. Just again. And if if you're
Speaker 1: gonna pay your quarterback the mouth damn the amount of
Speaker 1: money that we are talking about, that's how you offset that,
Speaker 1: is you draft running backs at a discount to offset
Speaker 1: the cost. Did you pay offensive lineman so you didn't
Speaker 1: have to pay running back. I mean you would think
Speaker 1: and let's say, oh, what was that little low let's
Speaker 1: be head tilt there, What was that all about? They
Speaker 1: drafted this guy. They drafted this guy to get Tony
Speaker 1: Romo over the hump, no question, that's what they did.
Speaker 1: And we were everybody, Now, WHOA, that's not a bad
Speaker 1: That was not a bad pick, right, No, And I'm
Speaker 1: not criticizing the pick. I was a percent on board
Speaker 1: with Zeke. I think the world of Zeke, and honestly, Oh, Ramsey,
Speaker 1: go back and listen to it. I think I do.
Speaker 1: I've listened to eighteen hours. Can listen to it. I
Speaker 1: drove the Zeke train for three months. I don't want
Speaker 1: to hear it. I was there. Yeah, Taylor was too.
Speaker 1: That's that's my point. Everyone that works here was on
Speaker 1: board with it, and I still am, like, I think
Speaker 1: the world of Zeke. He's he's a great player. Can
Speaker 1: tell me right now. I could draft a running back,
Speaker 1: right you could, but I would honestly a second round
Speaker 1: one in earlier if I could, If if I just
Speaker 1: could have it the way I wanted and negotiations weren't
Speaker 1: part of it, I would sign into a four year extension.
Speaker 1: Right now, you have him under control for six more
Speaker 1: years he comes out of the deal. I think he's
Speaker 1: twenty four right now. He wouldn't you know, he wouldn't
Speaker 1: even be thirty when the deal was over. I at
Speaker 1: least twenty five Bells twenty seven, David Johnson's twenty eight,
Speaker 1: ze twenty seven. Zeke's age and his durability make me
Speaker 1: okay with doing that type of deal. He took a beating,
Speaker 1: She's right, though, Yeah, he took a beating. Thirteen million
Speaker 1: dollars a year. Taking a beating like that, it's it's scary.
Speaker 1: And that's if there's a if. Just I slot him
Speaker 1: like last. And I hate to say that because I
Speaker 1: think he's a great, great player, but behind him But wait, wait,
Speaker 1: listening to you guys talk, you sound like you're more
Speaker 1: on board of him being the first guy next to
Speaker 1: get signed. But that's I mean, yeah, you thought you
Speaker 1: slip Nick, who was gonna No, No, Zeke's gonna be him.
Speaker 1: In my pick, we're gonna do this later today. A
Speaker 1: gut feeling on which guy should be done first. But
Speaker 1: but I think that the the weird one here is
Speaker 1: is a Mari, because I think A Mari's a guy
Speaker 1: that you could give a longer deal to. It would work,
Speaker 1: and it would work. And then that's gonna stretch it
Speaker 1: out and he's not gonna he's not gonna count as much.
Speaker 1: I mean, it'll look like you will if you stretch
Speaker 1: it out seven or eight years. How many times is
Speaker 1: the cap gonna go up in that time? A lot? Twice? Three? Yeah,
Speaker 1: you can sound more sure about signing this runner than
Speaker 1: anything I want to. I think start that clock right
Speaker 1: now with Zeke. The Runner is the most proven commodity.
Speaker 1: It's also the least value we're proven than the court.
Speaker 1: Then they then cooper, right, get me to twenty eight
Speaker 1: years old for him? How old is he twenty four?
Speaker 1: I think he's twenty four. Can you just look it up?
Speaker 1: Twenty four? How about that? Okay, yeah, twenty get me
Speaker 1: through when you know his season when he's twenty eight,
Speaker 1: and then after that we'll see. Also, you know, I
Speaker 1: feel like another you know people brought this up yesterday,
Speaker 1: is like why is why is he getting pushed to
Speaker 1: the back burner. Why isn't anybody talking about Zeke? Well,
Speaker 1: he's got two years left. They have a fifth year
Speaker 1: option on him. They will exercise it barring something insane.
Speaker 1: And then the reason this came up in the first size, well,
Speaker 1: the reason this came he's the one guy that would
Speaker 1: sit on you. Word surfaced in January that his camp
Speaker 1: was wanting a new MP if if he just if
Speaker 1: that's something he decides to do, we'll revisit it then.
Speaker 1: But I haven't heard anything about that since the playoffs.
Speaker 1: I haven't. It hasn't been suggested. I've seen him here
Speaker 1: at the facility. He was at the MAVs game with
Speaker 1: all of his teammates last night. He's not acting like
Speaker 1: a guy who's planning on sitting out. If that changes,
Speaker 1: then we can revisit that conversation. But until then, I'm
Speaker 1: just like, you're making good money. You were a top
Speaker 1: five pick. Like I'm willing to let that ride for
Speaker 1: the time being. That's how I feel. Pay him now,
Speaker 1: get it done. No, he's the one guy I would
Speaker 1: feel absolutely comfortable. I'm like, just kind of how Tank
Speaker 1: said it last night, that's not my business. Get me
Speaker 1: my money, and you figure out the rest. Because obviously,
Speaker 1: like Stephen Jones, he mentioned the whole like, yeah, we
Speaker 1: have several guys that we need to take care of,
Speaker 1: and that's something that we bring up to the players,
Speaker 1: but at the end of the day, that's not the
Speaker 1: player's business or job is like the quarterback or the runner.
Speaker 1: See here's the thing. Zeke is the one that, to
Speaker 1: me literally carried the whole offense in these three years.
Speaker 1: He's been the one for me doing basically everything. And
Speaker 1: they went three and five without Cooper last year while
Speaker 1: he was on the field. Okay, there are different there
Speaker 1: are other things that Okay, get him a good backup
Speaker 1: so he can rest a little bit. You look at
Speaker 1: other get him a good backup, poor guy, get him
Speaker 1: beat up. I mean yes, the money the guy that
Speaker 1: you feel the most comfortable paying is the guy that
Speaker 1: gets the hell beat out of him every time he's
Speaker 1: on the field. That's why you can't do it now.
Speaker 1: And look, hey, I like that up with it three years.
Speaker 1: So if you get him a good backup, a decent backup,
Speaker 1: it doesn't have to be great. Just get him someone
Speaker 1: decent and he can rest a little bit. Rod Smith,
Speaker 1: was he decent? No? Okay, now we need to do
Speaker 1: better than Rod Smith. Right, Well, something happened to him
Speaker 1: last year. I don't know why he went down. He'll
Speaker 1: I mean I had high holds for him. Get me
Speaker 1: a running back? Yeah, five eleven. You know we're gonna
Speaker 1: go get Justice Hill. Don't worry. But I mean, I'm
Speaker 1: not the draft X for here. You guys to study
Speaker 1: this way more than I do. But to me, and
Speaker 1: based on the time that I've been here and what
Speaker 1: I've been watching, I don't feel that getting a running
Speaker 1: back that caliber is as easy as you make it sound. No,
Speaker 1: I understand, but Amber is asking me Nick to pay
Speaker 1: him pay the runner, and I have to use draft
Speaker 1: capital to go get a backup. Are Is that right?
Speaker 1: I mean, I think is that right? She's asking me
Speaker 1: to use she's asking me to pay him. But I
Speaker 1: also got to go use a premium pick because I
Speaker 1: got to go find a guy better than the guy premium.
Speaker 1: Where's premium I'm gonna use. I'm gonna use a third
Speaker 1: round pick. I'm gonna use ninety on a back. If
Speaker 1: you bought a home, you have to buy insurance to
Speaker 1: protect your home. Yeah, and so your fourth round pick
Speaker 1: is your your third or fourth round pick is your
Speaker 1: insurance to protect the home, which is zeke. That's what
Speaker 1: you want, but you got to make sure you protect
Speaker 1: it and prolong it. They right, can get insured if
Speaker 1: you don't have a home in the first place. They're
Speaker 1: right over there. They're right about what they're saying right now.
Speaker 1: But I keep thinking about what ag just said, which
Speaker 1: is that it's harder than we think to find good
Speaker 1: running backs. And I don't think that's true. I think
Speaker 1: it's pretty easy at the end of the day, in
Speaker 1: all honesty, like and that expand on that. Look, I mean,
Speaker 1: I can make your case. Well, Murray had the best
Speaker 1: year of his career. What happened after that? McFadden had
Speaker 1: the best year of his career in a long time.
Speaker 1: What happened after that? We'll go go around the NFL
Speaker 1: like the I mean, Levion Bell was taken after Gavin Escobar.
Speaker 1: He was barely a top fifty pick. Philip Lindsay's a
Speaker 1: sensation in Denver. He was an undrafted free agent. Um,
Speaker 1: what would be the amount of years that you would
Speaker 1: say that these running backs have success, like their most
Speaker 1: success their first contract. Yeah, this, this to me very
Speaker 1: much is three or four years. Yeah, this is this
Speaker 1: is like if you are you are a guard, if
Speaker 1: you are a generational talent. I mean Adrian Peterson was
Speaker 1: still balling out last year at the age of thirty
Speaker 1: whatever after missing a year in the league after an
Speaker 1: acl or an achilles whatever. It was like, it's doable,
Speaker 1: and Zeke is that talented. And for the second time
Speaker 1: on this show, I was completely on board with the pick. Yeah,
Speaker 1: but you're reenterating that a lot if I'm well, because
Speaker 1: I know how these things work. Because somebody hears me
Speaker 1: and they're like, oh, you hate Zeke, Like, no, I
Speaker 1: don't hate Zeke. We're just talking this whole thing out. Yeah.
Speaker 1: If you remember Stephen Jones right after they drafted him
Speaker 1: that they basically said five years. Yeah, like five years
Speaker 1: and then we'll see what happened. Which I would. I would.
Speaker 1: I would extend him if if he wanted to do
Speaker 1: it to a and it would be better to do
Speaker 1: it now while he's still young and you can get
Speaker 1: away from the contract when he's only twenty six or
Speaker 1: twenty seven. That's fine, But I'm not trying to build
Speaker 1: the long term future of this team around a running back. Period.
Speaker 1: That's the quarterback converts the other like the other car
Speaker 1: he run in every game he tried. Yeah, you get
Speaker 1: the window, the windows here? You do? This is it?
Speaker 1: This is the time that I don't think, and and
Speaker 1: and but that's again. If if he doesn't show off
Speaker 1: the training camp, we can reopen this conversation. But he's
Speaker 1: under contract for two years, so he's here for the window.
Speaker 1: I just think I might sit if Jared McKinney was
Speaker 1: was making more than me. Yeah, I mean question when
Speaker 1: when will you say about thirty one year old Lastaun
Speaker 1: McCoy making more than me? Yeah? Which you know if
Speaker 1: that if it comes to that, Lamar Miller making more
Speaker 1: than me? Right now I'm wondering, like they're enjoying their money.
Speaker 1: And then meanwhile, Zeke is just in a in a
Speaker 1: tub full of ice, recovering from all the beatings. Uh?
Speaker 1: Are we setting are we setting ourselves up for like
Speaker 1: a like? I mean the offseason program starts on Monday. Yeah,
Speaker 1: we're gonna are we setting ourselves up for? Like? Well,
Speaker 1: Zeke's not here. He's been out here for the I
Speaker 1: shouldn't say that he'll be here. He's he's been at
Speaker 1: the facility. I've seen him around a breakfast. Guys who
Speaker 1: guys who were holding out are typically not going to
Speaker 1: MAVs games with their teammates in my experience, or showing
Speaker 1: up for captain's workout. Yeah, I think that got somebody
Speaker 1: will upset the defensive end. Yeah, it's should have done that.
Speaker 1: It's okay, all right, it's all right. But if that,
Speaker 1: if that comes to pass week we I'll revisit this conversation. Yeah.
Speaker 1: Until then, Until then, it's really guys. Thank you. Dropt
Speaker 1: show tomorrow four four o'clock periscope drop show. I see
Speaker 1: I saw a lot of people asking what now? Were
Speaker 1: those the priority change in the trust a m Until then, Yes,
Speaker 1: it has been a good time with you guys. Thank you, Brian,
Speaker 1: thank you Nick, David Hellman, I remember you see. This
Speaker 1: has been the break on Dallas Cowers dot com Radio.
Speaker 1: This is been a production of Dallas Cowboys dot Com
Speaker 1: and the Dallas Cowboys Football Club.