Speaker 1: Welcome to Bucks Insider Live. Casey Phillips. Here was senior
Speaker 1: writer and editor Scott Smith, and we have more free
Speaker 1: agency news to talk about. I love this time of year,
Speaker 1: but this was supposed to be quiet this year. Yeah,
Speaker 1: he had no money. We weren't going to do anything right.
Speaker 1: Wasn't that the sentiment? Yeah, and then now we've got
Speaker 1: all this news, which is so exciting. Let's start, of course,
Speaker 1: with the Baker Mayfield signing. And he's now officially met
Speaker 1: with the media. And last week when we did the show,
Speaker 1: it was sort of like there were reports we couldn't
Speaker 1: talk about yet, so now we can talk about it.
Speaker 1: Tell me your initial thoughts on bringing Baker Mayfield in
Speaker 1: and what you think his participation could be in this
Speaker 1: team when he could bring his experience and just kind
Speaker 1: of what fans might not know about her. I think
Speaker 1: I think the move makes sense for both the team
Speaker 1: and the player of The Bucks obviously needed some sort
Speaker 1: of veteran competition at the very least for Kyle Trask.
Speaker 1: And you have a guy that has started in this
Speaker 1: league quite a bit, and Baker, I mean look around
Speaker 1: the league. Where else could he have gone with as
Speaker 1: clear of an opportunity to compete for a starting job.
Speaker 1: You know, it's not being given to him. They've made
Speaker 1: it extremely clear, especially to him, that this is a competition.
Speaker 1: So Kyle Trask could win that job, Baker Mayfield could
Speaker 1: win that job. But where else was Baker going to
Speaker 1: go for this clear cut of an opportunity. Yeah, and
Speaker 1: to have the kind of weapons the Bucks have. You
Speaker 1: know that if you're going to try to compete for
Speaker 1: a starting job, then you care about what's going to
Speaker 1: be there if you win it. And he's looking forward
Speaker 1: to throwing the ball to Mike and Chris. He called
Speaker 1: him dogs. I love that, which is true. Now, what
Speaker 1: you're hoping for, obviously, is that you get the twenty
Speaker 1: twenty version of Baker Mayfield. And you know, in twenty
Speaker 1: twenty one he struggled with a shoulder injury. Who knows
Speaker 1: how much that affected him, but it wasn't as good
Speaker 1: of a year. Last year with Carolina didn't really work out,
Speaker 1: and then he kind of had a little renaissance to
Speaker 1: their team with the Rams, particularly starting less than forty
Speaker 1: eight hours after he got there and helping them beat
Speaker 1: the Raiders. But if you can get to twenty twenty
Speaker 1: version of Baker Mayfield, which is not that long ago.
Speaker 1: This is pretty good. I mean, he led his team
Speaker 1: to the playoffs, first time they'd been in playoffs in
Speaker 1: like eighteen years, sixty two point percent completion percentage, thirty
Speaker 1: five hundred yards, and that touchdown to interception ratio is
Speaker 1: what you're looking for. That's what hasn't been there in
Speaker 1: the majority of in his other seasons. That really good
Speaker 1: touchdown to interception ratio. Too many picks and other seasons.
Speaker 1: But man, if you can get that, and there's no
Speaker 1: reason why that can't happen, right, I mean, the circumstances
Speaker 1: were probably really good in Cleveland that particular year, But
Speaker 1: I think you've got a similar thing here with the Buccaneers.
Speaker 1: So you know, it's who knows, right. It's not like
Speaker 1: the Buccaneers know for sure that Baker Mayfield is gonna
Speaker 1: play that good. But there's there's a chance, there's a shot.
Speaker 1: It's totally worth the role of the dice, I think,
Speaker 1: and it's I think it's going to be so fun
Speaker 1: to watch a quarterback competition that I was thinking in
Speaker 1: my time here with the Bucks, I haven't watched. Were
Speaker 1: talking about that the other day Yeah, how long has
Speaker 1: it been since there's been a quarterback competition? And man
Speaker 1: talk about training camp storylines that are fun to watch
Speaker 1: and you know, reasons to come out and come to practice.
Speaker 1: It's going to be really fun to I mean twenty
Speaker 1: twelve there was there was Josh Freeman and Mike Lennon,
Speaker 1: but I don't think we knew it was a competition.
Speaker 1: We didn't know that, Greg Shan, I don't want to
Speaker 1: get rid of Josh Freeman. So it took three games
Speaker 1: in the season two thousand and nine when Josh Freeman
Speaker 1: was drafted, you had him and Byron Leftwich and Josh
Speaker 1: Johnson and maybe in May you didn't know who's going
Speaker 1: to start. But it really wasn't a big competition in
Speaker 1: training camp. So I really can't tell you. Maybe Vinney
Speaker 1: Testaverdi and Chris Chandler back in the early nineties. There
Speaker 1: just haven't been a lot of these QB competitions. So
Speaker 1: it's it's kind of interesting. It is, we'll make for
Speaker 1: an interesting campers it is, which is you know, we
Speaker 1: kind of enjoy the interesting storylines of now here. Yeah,
Speaker 1: you know, you really don't want to have back competitions
Speaker 1: a lot, right, because you want to have a good, solid,
Speaker 1: settled quarterback. But hey, if you don't have that and
Speaker 1: Tom Brady anymore, then this could the next best thing. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I agree. And also another edition for free agency, the
Speaker 1: Bucks now have a new running back. Tell us about
Speaker 1: this edition and what you think that that role would
Speaker 1: be looking at, especially with Rashad White. I'm gonna do
Speaker 1: the same thing I did with Baker Mayfield there. And
Speaker 1: I don't mean to be cherry picking here and saying,
Speaker 1: you know, picking the one time they were good and
Speaker 1: saying that's that. But you could understand why the Buccaneers
Speaker 1: would sign these players because they have reasonably they can
Speaker 1: be that version of themselves. Chase Evans spent four pretty
Speaker 1: good years in Arizona, then last year signed with Miami,
Speaker 1: and Miami signed about a thousand running backs, give or
Speaker 1: take a few, and so it never really He never
Speaker 1: really got much a role there in Miami and got
Speaker 1: traded to Denver, whose offense was a mess too. So
Speaker 1: if you write that off and go back to his
Speaker 1: last full season in Arizona, that was twenty twenty one,
Speaker 1: again not very long ago. These are his per game
Speaker 1: and per carry averages, so that's about seventy five yards
Speaker 1: a game. Would you take seventy five yards of scrimmage
Speaker 1: from your backup running back? Yes, per game? And yards
Speaker 1: per carry is good. Yards perception. You don't see yards
Speaker 1: for touch very often. You know that's yards for all
Speaker 1: carries in catches combine. You just don't see that Stevery oven.
Speaker 1: So it was five point seven good? Do you have
Speaker 1: any idea is five point seven goods? It's pretty good
Speaker 1: for running back? Last year, our guy Leonard Fournette was
Speaker 1: four point five, Rashad White was five point zero, se
Speaker 1: Quon Barkley was four point seven. Josh Jacobs five point two.
Speaker 1: Nick Chubb. I'm not saying he's Josh Jacobs or Nick Chubb.
Speaker 1: I'm just saying there's reason to believe he can give
Speaker 1: you good quality snaps on offense and and be an
Speaker 1: asset to that. Yeah. I think I saw that. What
Speaker 1: is it? He and sa Quon Barkley are the only
Speaker 1: ones from that draft class that have what is it?
Speaker 1: Fifteen hundred rushing yards and a thousand receiving both good. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I thought that was pretty cool. I mean, anytime it's
Speaker 1: you and sa Quon Barkley, I'll take that stab anytime,
Speaker 1: And so, yeah, what do you see as the way
Speaker 1: potentially he and Rashad White kind of get used off
Speaker 1: of each other. How could they help each other potentially?
Speaker 1: And just now again we have a new offensive coordinator.
Speaker 1: We don't know as much about what the offense overall
Speaker 1: could look like, except he did say he really wants
Speaker 1: to emphasize that run game. He does want to make
Speaker 1: sure that we have a running game, which we haven't
Speaker 1: had for the last couple of years. And so I
Speaker 1: think that means, you know, like most teams, you're running backs,
Speaker 1: you do have a number one, Rashad White your number one,
Speaker 1: but you have several that you use quite a bit
Speaker 1: during the game. Most teams are like that. Most teams
Speaker 1: don't have one Saquon Barkley that they ride on every
Speaker 1: snap or Derreck Henry. So you need a couple guys.
Speaker 1: And I could see him, especially carving out a third
Speaker 1: down role. He's a good pass catcher out of the backfield,
Speaker 1: I would imagine, although I can't say no for sure
Speaker 1: that having played that role in his career pretty steadily,
Speaker 1: he's probably a good pass blocker as well. Has to
Speaker 1: be in order to be the third guy. Rashad White
Speaker 1: catches the ball well, but I don't know if he's
Speaker 1: your every down, third down guy, so at the very
Speaker 1: least I think he can be that. Okay, And then
Speaker 1: I know, we also had another signing, Cam Gill. This
Speaker 1: is a guy that's been with us before, and I
Speaker 1: feel like this is definitely going to be one of
Speaker 1: those under the radar signings in terms of just name
Speaker 1: recognition all of that. But for me, I'm actually really
Speaker 1: intrigued and excited by this. This is a guy that
Speaker 1: I think we've both been kind of fascinated by. Has
Speaker 1: an interesting story. So tell people a little bit about
Speaker 1: what this real small school guy. I think Wagner correctly him.
Speaker 1: You know, he came in, made the roster as an
Speaker 1: undrafted free agent out of Wagner as in his rookie year,
Speaker 1: didn't really play a lot, and then very notably got
Speaker 1: his very first SAC ever in the Super Bowl half
Speaker 1: and half with domin Coin Sue. But then in twenty
Speaker 1: twenty one only played maybe one hundred snaps of defense,
Speaker 1: but did have a sack and a half, had some
Speaker 1: quarterback pressures, and last year, going into training camp, you know,
Speaker 1: we eventually signed Karl Nasson Dard Avery, right, But the
Speaker 1: plan was he was going to be the fourth guy
Speaker 1: in your olb rotation, which means he would have played
Speaker 1: a handful of snaps. And then had it been that
Speaker 1: way when Shaq got hurt, he would have moved up
Speaker 1: into the third role and would have played a lot
Speaker 1: lot more. Instead, he had a Liz Frank injury in
Speaker 1: his right foot in the first preseason game, was gone
Speaker 1: for the year, and the Bucks eventually signed Karl Masse
Speaker 1: and Card Avery. But he was intended to have a
Speaker 1: pretty significant role and so we'll see if you can
Speaker 1: do that again. He plays on special teams as well. Yeah,
Speaker 1: And I think it's also good to emphasize not only
Speaker 1: like what you said about he being an undrafted guy
Speaker 1: who was able to make the roster, it was in
Speaker 1: the COVID year where there was like no off season,
Speaker 1: so I think about what a limited time this guy had.
Speaker 1: It's already stacked against you in terms of even having
Speaker 1: you know that ability no matter what when you're undrafted,
Speaker 1: but when there's almost no snaps that speaks so highly
Speaker 1: to what he does, and then you see it when
Speaker 1: he gets in the game. So few snaps and he
Speaker 1: makes that mark that he's a guy that no matter where,
Speaker 1: how little he's given, he makes something of it. It
Speaker 1: reminds me kind of what we talked about with Mike
Speaker 1: Edwards of where he may not have played as much,
Speaker 1: but every time he was in it felt like he
Speaker 1: got an interception. That cam Gill kind of feels like
Speaker 1: that to me of when he may not play that
Speaker 1: many snaps, but when he gets in there, he makes
Speaker 1: a mark. You know who else came in the league
Speaker 1: as an undrafted guy and kind of weigh his chance
Speaker 1: to get a shot, Shack Barrett. That's true's and what
Speaker 1: a great guy to learn from. In recent we do
Speaker 1: have a couple bits of news so we can talk
Speaker 1: about yeah, yeah, go ahead. I've been told you know,
Speaker 1: I know, we've been said said several times. We really
Speaker 1: before the team announces things, you kind of have to
Speaker 1: sit on a little bit, like we did with Baker
Speaker 1: Mayfield last year. But I am led to believe that
Speaker 1: Greg Gaines, that defensive lineman from the Rams, is going
Speaker 1: to officially sign today with the Buccaneers, and that Levante David,
Speaker 1: thank Goodness, is going to officially signed. So that's probably
Speaker 1: going to happen today, yes, well, and the Great Gains
Speaker 1: one is interesting just in general, where do you see
Speaker 1: our defensive line at this point and in terms of
Speaker 1: who we have who is that you know, how much
Speaker 1: of a position is that going to be where they
Speaker 1: might still need to add some pieces and you know
Speaker 1: just how those snaps are going to be shared at
Speaker 1: this point. Well, you've already lost Rakine Nuna's roches or
Speaker 1: Natro to the Giants, so at the very least it's
Speaker 1: a one for one replacement there. And Nato played a lot,
Speaker 1: you know, especially when Vito get would get banged up.
Speaker 1: Real good backup nose tackle. I think Great Gains probably
Speaker 1: has a little bit more of a pass rush to him.
Speaker 1: He's got eight and a half sacks in the last
Speaker 1: couple of years. Really kind of didn't get a lot
Speaker 1: of playing times first couple of years, but it has
Speaker 1: the last two and has really kind of, you know,
Speaker 1: emerged as a pretty decent guy in there. To give
Speaker 1: you He's sturdy and good against the rum, but he
Speaker 1: gives a little bit of a pass rush to him.
Speaker 1: And Vita Vea played together for three years at Washington
Speaker 1: and their stats for those three years were practically identical. Yeah,
Speaker 1: the our scouts love them some Washington the guys, and
Speaker 1: you've been able to see why they've the line. It's incredible. Yeah,
Speaker 1: and then I mean even Kadalen, Right, that's right. But
Speaker 1: I'm also always thinking you mencho try and say yes.
Speaker 1: But I was just saying in general, like our team overall,
Speaker 1: they're just collecting these kinds they've done for Yeah. So
Speaker 1: that's a good edition, and obviously we're thrilled out the Dante. Yes, Yes,
Speaker 1: everyone is excited for that. All right, Well, we are
Speaker 1: going to also record our road to the draft after this,
Speaker 1: So for all these moves that we just talked about
Speaker 1: and more, we're going to discuss how they might affect
Speaker 1: what the Bucks are or are not going to do
Speaker 1: in the draft. To make sure you stay tuned for
Speaker 1: that later on on Buccaneers dot com. And we'll see
Speaker 1: you next time.