Speaker 1: Veteran NFL stars continue to arrive at their respective training
Speaker 1: camps as we get ever closer to the start of
Speaker 1: the twenty twenty six season. We update you from a
Speaker 1: few coming up today, a season that will now be
Speaker 1: the last for Aaron Rodgers. But how did he come
Speaker 1: to that conclusion? Rogers explains his decision coming up in Oxnard, California.
Speaker 1: Welcomes in the Dallas Cowboys this week with work under way.
Speaker 1: Brian Schottenheimer reiterates their very super goals. We got a
Speaker 1: live report from Jane Slater in Oxnar on this edition
Speaker 1: of The Insiders, which starts now. Everybody, Welcome to this
Speaker 1: Tuesday edition of The Insiders. Patrick Claibon, here's Steve Weischmeke Girlfollo,
Speaker 1: and Ian Rappaport on his journalistic travels. Shout out to
Speaker 1: the industry where we all love deadlines, and we had
Speaker 1: another today. That's what's now today coming into our newsroom.
Speaker 1: It was the self imposed July twenty eighth deadline by
Speaker 1: Baker Mayfield, the day veterans report for Tampa Bay for
Speaker 1: him to get a new deal with the team. And
Speaker 1: now he also reports to camp with no new deal
Speaker 1: in place. So Ian we'll start with you. Where do
Speaker 1: we go from here?
Speaker 2: First of all, my understanding is this is a pretty
Speaker 2: real deadline for Baker Mayfield. It's not one of those
Speaker 2: things where you're like, well, you know, I'd like a
Speaker 2: deal and then maybe you know, I might consider lying
Speaker 2: that another day. No, Baker Mayfield said, the deadline is
Speaker 2: the camp reporting day.
Speaker 3: He meant it.
Speaker 2: I do not expect any other contract negotiation conversations to
Speaker 2: go forward. Baker Mayfield is set to play this contract
Speaker 2: out and really be in a place where he has
Speaker 2: been not only his most comfortable, but at his best,
Speaker 2: where he is betting on himself. He's going to make
Speaker 2: twenty seven million dollars this year, the last year of
Speaker 2: a three year, one hundred million dollar contract extension that
Speaker 2: was very frontloaded.
Speaker 3: He believes he is do a lot more.
Speaker 2: There's several quarterbacks starting quarterbacks in the fifties pretty clear.
Speaker 2: That is where Baker Mayfield believes he could be in
Speaker 2: the fact that had any extension happened, it would not
Speaker 2: have included did hardly, if.
Speaker 3: Any at all money that would.
Speaker 2: Any increases right now, and any deal really would have
Speaker 2: paid him the latter parts of next year and the
Speaker 2: following year, just not really something like that Baker Mayfield
Speaker 2: was going to accept. So no deal for Baker as
Speaker 2: he now is said to be a free agent after
Speaker 2: the season.
Speaker 4: Look, the Bucks don't tend to respond to pressure when
Speaker 4: it comes to contracts. And last night we were on
Speaker 4: this show talking about Vita Vea coming out with a
Speaker 4: trade request now because the defensive tackle wanted to be paid.
Speaker 4: In this case, Baker Mayfield setting a deadline right at
Speaker 4: the start of training camp. They didn't buckle to that
Speaker 4: and all of a sudden say, okay, here sixty million.
Speaker 4: From their perspective, if he plays so well that you
Speaker 4: have to pay him next offseason, that's a good problem
Speaker 4: to have. That means that he really balled out this
Speaker 4: year and showed that this is not a short term
Speaker 4: thing by any stretch, and that he can continue to
Speaker 4: be term guy for you.
Speaker 5: It also keep him on the.
Speaker 4: Field, which frankly, he doesn't need the money motivation to
Speaker 4: do that.
Speaker 5: This is a guy that's tough.
Speaker 4: And willing to play through things no matter what the
Speaker 4: contract situation is. So from the Buccaneers standpoint, it sounds
Speaker 4: like they're comfortable taking this into the season, into the offseason. Now, look,
Speaker 4: there's nothing that says they can't just come with an
Speaker 4: offer and say, okay, here's fifty five to sixty million
Speaker 4: dollars and Baker Mayfield.
Speaker 5: Can go, oh no, you missed the deadline. Like no, no,
Speaker 5: he could take that deal at.
Speaker 4: That point, but Vea had a trade request and a
Speaker 4: hold in that was in the spring and now potentially
Speaker 4: could carry into the summer. Baker Mayfield is a starting quarterback.
Speaker 4: He can't play those cards. So this was his way
Speaker 4: of creating leverage. He set the deadline, it passed. I'm
Speaker 4: with you in it does feel very real. Potentially it
Speaker 4: could change, but from his standpoint, that's the approach.
Speaker 6: Yeah, look at Baker Mayfield. Slute to him for betting
Speaker 6: on himself. A lot of players won't do that because
Speaker 6: what's the player's biggest fear.
Speaker 3: That is injury. We talk about Baker Mayfield. He's tough.
Speaker 6: He plays to you know, being hurt, and of course
Speaker 6: there's a difference between being hurt and being injured.
Speaker 3: If he is able to avoid injury, and like you.
Speaker 6: Said, Mike, if he plays well, a great problem to
Speaker 6: have because at the very least he could get franchised.
Speaker 6: That franchise number is going to be up near fifty
Speaker 6: million dollars if he's willing to play for that. But
Speaker 6: of course it's always better for a team's salary cap
Speaker 6: wise to do an extension to amortize some of the
Speaker 6: money and some of the cap hits over several years
Speaker 6: instead of one year, which the franchise tag does. But again,
Speaker 6: good for Baker Mayfield. The key for everything to this,
Speaker 6: if he decides to stick to this route, is staying
Speaker 6: healthy for all seventeen games because an injury, of course,
Speaker 6: could sabotage all of what he's banking on and risking
Speaker 6: if he decides to better himself throughout this season.
Speaker 1: Yeah, four teams for Baker Mayfield. We saw injuries kind
Speaker 1: of derail the end of his tenure in Cleveland.
Speaker 3: A little bit of experience with this process.
Speaker 1: As the process continues, Baker looking for that starter type deal.
Speaker 1: There was veteran backup type money for Kirk Cousins, where is.
Speaker 3: Not going to be a backup.
Speaker 1: The Las Vegas Raiders a new head coach, Clint Kubiak.
Speaker 1: They would love to see Fernando Mendoza thrive in his
Speaker 1: rookie year, but to make it on the field. He
Speaker 1: now will have to supplant Kirk Cousins, who is the starter.
Speaker 3: According to the head coach, I.
Speaker 7: Would say his value as a player on our team
Speaker 7: is the most important thing. You know, his leadership, his
Speaker 7: veteran presence. You know, the way that he played in
Speaker 7: the spring was excellent.
Speaker 3: So that's we.
Speaker 7: Brought him here to play really good football. And obviously
Speaker 7: the mentorship that's that's a byproduct of that. That's the
Speaker 7: kind of guy that Kirk is. But Kirk knows, and
Speaker 7: Fernando knows, and Aiden knows, and Jacob knows that they're
Speaker 7: here to play great football, and you know, that's our
Speaker 7: job as coaches.
Speaker 3: He get them ready for the other stuff.
Speaker 1: In Minnesota, the quarterback picture a little more cloudy at
Speaker 1: the moment as we get to the competition between Kyler
Speaker 1: Murray and JJ McCarthy, expecting that the heat up. Head
Speaker 1: coach Kevin O'Connell on how they administrate that particular quarterback.
Speaker 8: Battle Kyler and JJ, Well, we'll take reps with the
Speaker 8: first team. They'll also take reps with the second group,
Speaker 8: and I think that gives different layers to the evaluation
Speaker 8: as well. We want, you know, we want an elevator
Speaker 8: at the quarterback position, and in many ways, doing that
Speaker 8: in this system is kind of a do your job mentality,
Speaker 8: which is, you know, running the show, throwing completions and
Speaker 8: just showing the ability to execute our offense with comfort.
Speaker 8: You know, we want to be thorough, we want to
Speaker 8: be comprehensive with this. But at the same time, I
Speaker 8: think it's important when we feel good about a decision,
Speaker 8: you know, as a group, and we're ready to ready
Speaker 8: to move forward, it'll be it'll be good to do
Speaker 8: that so we can prepare that player for the season.
Speaker 1: Prepare that player got a placeholder. There ian both guys
Speaker 1: taking first team reps. It seems like it can go
Speaker 1: either way.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I think that's fair to say. But let's take
Speaker 3: a look at the landscape of the situation.
Speaker 2: First of all, Kyler Murray was a free agent last year,
Speaker 2: and of course we know the Arizona Cardinals are paying
Speaker 2: the bulk of his salary, lost nothing, and really had
Speaker 2: his choice of teams.
Speaker 3: He chose Minnesota.
Speaker 2: They really seem to be the prime spot for any
Speaker 2: quarterback who wanted a starting job. They found each other
Speaker 2: and a place where both were extremely excited and set
Speaker 2: for it. I don't know if that puts Kyler Murray
Speaker 2: in the driver's seat here, but at least it shows
Speaker 2: there was mutual interest in making this happen and making
Speaker 2: this a very, very real quarterback competition. Kyler Murray is
Speaker 2: not an older dude. I mean know, it seems like
Speaker 2: it's been in the league for a while. Still young,
Speaker 2: still can run still as they sealing the Kevin O'Connell
Speaker 2: could take advantage of. And for JJ McCarthy, Mike, this
Speaker 2: is a make or break year. He is a first
Speaker 2: round draft pick for various reasons that not quite lived
Speaker 2: up to it left the door open for a veteran.
Speaker 3: This is pretty open.
Speaker 2: But I will say this, the talent that Kyler Murray
Speaker 2: still has well certainly seems like it'll be tough for
Speaker 2: JJ McCarthy to be here.
Speaker 4: Big challenge for Kyler Murray is going to be just
Speaker 4: spitting out the play call, just getting in the huddle,
Speaker 4: getting the terminology right.
Speaker 5: It's going to be very different for him.
Speaker 4: That's also going to be the case with Fernando Mendoza.
Speaker 4: Kirk Cousins not so much a bit familiar with the
Speaker 4: system that Clint Kubiak is implementing, he has been through
Speaker 4: other branches of it. I like to call the branches
Speaker 4: on the old Shanahan McVeigh ish, Tree and Clint Kubiak
Speaker 4: making it clear that Cousins is going to be the guy,
Speaker 4: as he said taking.
Speaker 5: The reps with the ones.
Speaker 4: Stopped a little bit short of declaring him the Week
Speaker 4: one starter, but that is where this one is heading,
Speaker 4: but said he expects both Fernando Mendoza and Aidan O'Connell
Speaker 4: to push Cousins. I mean this is consistent even before
Speaker 4: the Raiders drafted Fernando Mendoza. Kubiak was at the league
Speaker 4: meeting in March in Arizona and he said, you prefer
Speaker 4: a young guy to sit and watch first. Now it
Speaker 4: was clear he was talking about Mendoza. I'm trying to
Speaker 4: remember at the time if they even had signed Cousins.
Speaker 4: I don't know that they had, But once he came
Speaker 4: into the fold, it was like, Okay, Kirk, Cousins has
Speaker 4: not taking that job at that point in the calendar
Speaker 4: unless he feels really good, sort of like you said
Speaker 4: about Kyler Murray. Ian really good about his prospects of
Speaker 4: being the week one starter. That is going to be
Speaker 4: the case. I expect Mendos at the play early in
Speaker 4: the season, and look, he may light it up in
Speaker 4: training camp, take all the information in, spit it all
Speaker 4: out and say, hey, I got to play as soon
Speaker 4: as possible. Maybe that forces their hand earlier than expected,
Speaker 4: but right now, Cousin is going.
Speaker 5: To be the guy.
Speaker 6: Yeah, you know, Klick Whobe back in Steadfast. I think
Speaker 6: you nailed that they had not signed Cousins yet when
Speaker 6: he made that statement about having a vetting quarterback kind
Speaker 6: of teach a younger quarterback.
Speaker 3: But we heard the same thing about Russell Wilson and
Speaker 3: Jackson Dart last year.
Speaker 6: Right, We've covered this league long enough to know that
Speaker 6: almost any time you draft a rookie quarterback, even number
Speaker 6: one overall, well, we've got this veteran here who's going
Speaker 6: to take the day one snaps the first day of
Speaker 6: practice until our young guy is ready, so to speak.
Speaker 6: That doesn't go saying, but we know that's the messaging.
Speaker 6: Look at the Raiders' schedule in October, Kansas City at
Speaker 6: New England, Buffalo, the Rams. Okay, if Kirk Cousins gets
Speaker 6: through but not too well, that might be the time
Speaker 6: we see Mendoza come in. Now, let's go to something
Speaker 6: Kevin O'Connell said about the Minnesota Viking situation. They want
Speaker 6: one of these quarterbacks to be an elevator. Kevin O'Connell
Speaker 6: is wise enough to know it's not just what these
Speaker 6: guys do in the huddle and getting the play calls
Speaker 6: and out, it's how the other ten guys in the
Speaker 6: huddle respond to them. And that's why he said they're
Speaker 6: each going to take first team reps and second team reps,
Speaker 6: and if they elevate the other guys around them, those
Speaker 6: guys will tell the coaching staff through their trust and
Speaker 6: their behavior, which quarterback they prefer, and that could go
Speaker 6: well into deciding.
Speaker 3: Who's going to be the starter in Minnesota.
Speaker 1: As both Kyler Murray and Kevin O'Connell have said that
Speaker 1: they would like to get this conversation finished, so whoever
Speaker 1: is the starter will have an opportunity to prepare for
Speaker 1: this upcoming season in which the Vikings expect to contend.
Speaker 1: We'll be back with Steve Wesh coming up a little
Speaker 1: bit later on as we get to some guys who
Speaker 1: could elevate our perception of them. But we start with
Speaker 1: elevating the pocketbooks for Denzel Wark. Congratulations this week from
Speaker 1: Ian a two year, sixty two point two million dollar extension,
Speaker 1: making him the highest paid dB NFL history for the
Speaker 1: second time.
Speaker 3: In his career.
Speaker 1: So congratulations to the history maker there. And also this
Speaker 1: week from Adam Schefter as we send out congratulations to
Speaker 1: Jalen Carter. A four year deal could be worth up
Speaker 1: to one hundred and sixty million dollars. One hundred and
Speaker 1: six of that guarantee the highest paid defensive tackle in
Speaker 1: NFL history as the Eagles ian are able to lock
Speaker 1: up the centerpiece of their defense.
Speaker 3: For a while.
Speaker 2: They certainly are and look for Jalen Card. He's taking
Speaker 2: up a lot of headlines for some good reasons. He
Speaker 2: is extremely talented, extremely hard to block, and when he
Speaker 2: is on the field, he has no doubt one of
Speaker 2: the best defensive linemen in the NFL.
Speaker 3: There's also been the other stuff. There's a spinning incident.
Speaker 2: He's been dealing with his shoulder injury, which causes play
Speaker 2: a dip a little bit last year. What the Eagles
Speaker 2: are doing is betting on the potential. It is a
Speaker 2: huge deal for you years one hundred and fifty two
Speaker 2: million dollars at the max it's forty million dollars per year.
Speaker 2: And now obviously this is a bigger deal Mike towards
Speaker 2: the back end of it, but clips is Jeff Simmons
Speaker 2: record setting deal. They also paid Jordan Davis, another really
Speaker 2: good defensive Tacooons means Moro Jomo probably going to end
Speaker 2: up as a free agent there. But clearly the Eagles
Speaker 2: putting their money where the priority is, which is in
Speaker 2: the offense and in this case the defensive line.
Speaker 4: Yeah, the Eagles have had the depth at the defensive
Speaker 4: tackle position. Milton Williams sort of in the Jomo role
Speaker 4: a couple of years ago, wound up getting a huge
Speaker 4: bag from New England. So Maro Ojomo could be the
Speaker 4: guy that we're talking about soon getting that from another team.
Speaker 5: You're right, they paid a lot of money.
Speaker 4: Twenty six million dollars a year and thirty eight million
Speaker 4: dollars a year combined. That is sixty four million dollars
Speaker 4: a year if I just did my math correctly for
Speaker 4: their two defensive tackles in Vic Fangio scheme.
Speaker 5: That is extremely important.
Speaker 4: Now, the defensive tackle market was sort of stuck for
Speaker 4: a couple of years. Chris Jones was at thirty one
Speaker 4: and change, and then Jeffrey Simmons goes to thirty five.
Speaker 5: Now it's thirty eight.
Speaker 4: Well, if you're Vita Vea with the Buccaneers we talked
Speaker 4: about earlier in this segment, ask him for a trade
Speaker 4: because he's been frustrated with the contract.
Speaker 5: Offers from the Bucks. You're saying, I am making eighteen
Speaker 5: this year. Now, it's a good chuck of money. I'd
Speaker 5: like to make eighteen this year. I'm not. But Veya
Speaker 5: is looking at thirty eight now and.
Speaker 4: Going, wait a minute, am I getting less than half
Speaker 4: of the top of the market right now? So that's
Speaker 4: where you get his frustration. You also understand what the
Speaker 4: Bucks are trying to do. They want to get the
Speaker 4: best possible deal. They also appreciate Vitavea. I'm curious to
Speaker 4: see how they're going to handle this situation because I
Speaker 4: know that they still want two men fences here and
Speaker 4: find a solution if they possibly can.
Speaker 5: Again I talked yesterday, it's an experienced front office. They're
Speaker 5: not going to panic.
Speaker 4: They wouldn't panic at Baker Mayfield situation either, So let's
Speaker 4: see how that develops. But that gives you a little
Speaker 4: perspective for Vea, he knew this deal was coming. He
Speaker 4: knew even in the spring Jeffrey Simmons deal was coming.
Speaker 4: Wanted a big bump, and that's why he has gotten
Speaker 4: to the point that he's requested a trade, which can
Speaker 4: always be rescinded as soon as he signs a deal.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I would imagine Veavea has a pretty easy solution
Speaker 1: to this problem for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. We will
Speaker 1: have more from our insiders as we get started on
Speaker 1: the farewell tour for Aaron Rodgers.
Speaker 3: We'll see Ian and Mike. Then maybe some of these
Speaker 3: teams would like to acquire the services of one Vita Vea.
Speaker 1: The longest NFC championship game droughts, how about that team
Speaker 1: right there at the top of the Dallas Cowboys that
Speaker 1: has been since nineteen ninety five.
Speaker 3: But they have hope, They have hope to get past
Speaker 3: that game.
Speaker 1: As we go to Oxnard where Jane Slater is standing
Speaker 1: by Jane good evening to you they got no players
Speaker 1: on the pup list. There's no really publicized contract holdouts
Speaker 1: or dispute.
Speaker 3: It seems like it's been relatively quiet.
Speaker 1: Is that because they haven't done anything or are they
Speaker 1: just really good at keeping secrets now?
Speaker 9: Well, well, well, Patrick, you know, Jerry Jones acknowledged a
Speaker 9: lack of off season drama.
Speaker 3: But and he even said.
Speaker 9: He wasn't playing on stirring things up in the next
Speaker 9: few days. But leave it to Jerry. A few moments later,
Speaker 9: he told us that he wasn't opposed the idea of
Speaker 9: making a big, significant move if it meant that it
Speaker 9: could improve the team. In fact, Patrick, he followed it
Speaker 9: up by telling us that he had been on the
Speaker 9: phone with a team and an owner as early as Monday.
Speaker 5: Listen in, I.
Speaker 10: Talked about a situation yesterday with another team and another
Speaker 10: owner yesterday. Very interesting. I'd give up future to add
Speaker 10: substive to where we are today as to a player,
Speaker 10: to give you an idea about would I invest something
Speaker 10: substantive to get the right kind of deal to improve
Speaker 10: us opening day?
Speaker 3: I would I feel that good about this thing this year?
Speaker 3: All right?
Speaker 9: That one word that he used there caught my attention,
Speaker 9: The word substantive. Now, when I think of that, that
Speaker 9: is a word that he has used and passed aggressive pursuits.
Speaker 3: One aggressive pursuit.
Speaker 9: That comes to mind was Max Crosby as you will
Speaker 9: remember back then in the off season, he made an
Speaker 9: offer to the Raiders according to multiple sources, and included
Speaker 9: at least a first round pick and a player might
Speaker 9: that be in play here? He was a player they
Speaker 9: thought highly of. I circled back on this with Jerry.
Speaker 11: Why did you walk away from Max Crosby when it
Speaker 11: fell apart with the Ravens and not revisit that?
Speaker 2: Then?
Speaker 3: We didn't.
Speaker 10: No, no, because there's nothing more to elaborate about, but
Speaker 10: we did not walk away.
Speaker 11: What a player of that caliber be someone that you
Speaker 11: would be willing to engage with another team in two weeks,
Speaker 11: So that we're we're not all speculating.
Speaker 10: Again, Let's don't let's don't hypothetical here and be you
Speaker 10: specifically a player in a hypothetical situation that is temper
Speaker 10: It really is, and so we don't want to talk
Speaker 10: like that and act like that. But that is a
Speaker 10: good example of what you can stand ready. If in
Speaker 10: fact you think the rest of your team is coming along, well,
Speaker 10: then those things stay alive.
Speaker 9: Now, to be clear, I wasn't trying to have an
Speaker 9: I gotcha moment, and Jerry and Stephen made it very
Speaker 9: very clear that Max Crosby is a Raider. He wants
Speaker 9: to be a Raider, and talking about a player, even
Speaker 9: if it's in a hypothetical situation, is in fact tampering
Speaker 9: and they are not going to go there at all.
Speaker 9: With that being said, Max Crosby has the type of
Speaker 9: resume that would be quite intriguing. It would be the
Speaker 9: caliber of player that they would be interested in. Now.
Speaker 9: I also want to point out that a lot of
Speaker 9: things have to happen, right. He says that the reason
Speaker 9: why he's even entertaining these thoughts is because he likes
Speaker 9: what he saw from the offense last year, and if
Speaker 9: the defense continues to trend and he likes what he's
Speaker 9: getting from the offensive line, he doesn't want to wait
Speaker 9: until mid season. He would be happy training around something
Speaker 9: away in the future in order for this year to
Speaker 9: get off to a great start. As for Max Crosby,
Speaker 9: I did think it was interesting that Clint Kubiak, his
Speaker 9: coach with the Raiders, pointed out this week that quote,
Speaker 9: he's ready to go, He's ready to practice, and he'll
Speaker 9: get first team reps tomorrow, so his health is good
Speaker 9: to go. Now again, whether this is a player they're
Speaker 9: poking around on guys.
Speaker 3: I don't know, but.
Speaker 9: He's at least telling us that it might be quiet,
Speaker 9: but behind the scenes, Jerry's still cooking in the kitchen.
Speaker 3: They didn't walk away.
Speaker 1: And also a hypothetical player who may or may not
Speaker 1: be another player that is very good. The Cowboys would
Speaker 1: like to have Slater with the latest on the Dallas
Speaker 1: Cowboys after relatively quiet all season in Oxnar Thank you Jane.
Speaker 1: Fantasy Draft rules to live by, not draft by Live by.
Speaker 1: That's coming up with Adam Rank on this edition of
Speaker 1: The Insiders, and this next camp for Aaron Rodgers, the
Speaker 1: last camp for Aaron Rodgers, the quarterback on his farewell tour.
Speaker 3: Coming out next on The Insider. Back here on the
Speaker 3: Insider Sounds, What's new today?
Speaker 1: Coming into the nfl LA newsroom, forty nine Ers head
Speaker 1: coach Kyle Shanahan detailing and clarifying some information related to
Speaker 1: his car crash that happened earlier this month, speaking to
Speaker 1: a small group of reporters, saying he was going twenty
Speaker 1: miles an hour, dropped his phone and was stuck in
Speaker 1: his seats, slid off, looked up. Eventually his airbags were
Speaker 1: hitting him in the face, said the accident was his fault,
Speaker 1: not the fault of the twenty one year old woman
Speaker 1: who was driving the other vehicle.
Speaker 3: The Steelers reporting to training camp in La Trobe.
Speaker 1: Aaron Rodgers highlighting this week brought him back as well
Speaker 1: as how he realized this might be it for his
Speaker 1: playing career.
Speaker 3: I thought last year.
Speaker 12: Might be it, and then Mike got hired, and I
Speaker 12: talked to the wife and she said, you can do
Speaker 12: one more year, so well see if it works out.
Speaker 12: And then it kind of all came together. We got
Speaker 12: thirteen years together, got a long, long track record of
Speaker 12: success and playoff run, super Bowl championship, and then just
Speaker 12: the full circle seeing each other. Now we're out in life.
Speaker 12: I think I'm the same age that he was when
Speaker 12: he got hired in Green Bay. So that's nice full
Speaker 12: circle moment for both of us.
Speaker 1: And so it gets his old coach back, Mike, and
Speaker 1: the farewell tour begins.
Speaker 4: Britney Rogers coming through here and being the influence that
Speaker 4: we didn't even know. It's Brittany with an eye by
Speaker 4: the way, it's how it's spelled. That is his wife
Speaker 4: that behind the scenes made the push to Aaron Rodgers
Speaker 4: for him to come back for one more season.
Speaker 5: No wiggle room on this one.
Speaker 4: He making it clear that he has made his decision,
Speaker 4: and I do I'm trying to remember last year because
Speaker 4: you know, Mike Tomlin was a big push and I'm
Speaker 4: pretty sure that there was a little bit of wiggle room.
Speaker 4: So now for him to be so firm in saying
Speaker 4: that this is it now, now this feels like a
Speaker 4: lot of loops being closed. Mike McCarthy, the reunion with
Speaker 4: him one more season here with the Pittsburgh Steelers as well,
Speaker 4: also reuniting with his family off the field, recently making
Speaker 4: that clear via his Instagram post. So this does feel
Speaker 4: like a lot of the things that needed to be
Speaker 4: tied up in Aaron Rodgers' life and in his football
Speaker 4: career coming to a close, and obviously he'd like to
Speaker 4: do that while holding a Lombardi trophy.
Speaker 5: Steeler's gonna have some work out ahead of him to
Speaker 5: do that. Ian.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it does really feel like in this back half
Speaker 2: of Aaron Rodgers' career there has been obviously some unfinished
Speaker 2: business that he like to handle. You mentioned the family
Speaker 2: off the fields, certainly heartwarming to see that now says
Speaker 2: he is married as a wife who has weighed in
Speaker 2: on football decisions. C only seems to be in a
Speaker 2: very good place in life. Had the sort of divorce
Speaker 2: for lack of a better word, with the Green Bay Packers,
Speaker 2: and with Mike McCarthy now reunited here with the Pittsburgh Sewers.
Speaker 2: We've seen some story book endings in the NFL, But
Speaker 2: for Aaron Rodgers and the Pittsburgh Shewers, what they hope
Speaker 2: is that they are starting to write one. They have
Speaker 2: a team that is plenty talented enough. They have a
Speaker 2: coach at Mike McCarthy who, in weirdly underrated fashion, has
Speaker 2: always always always.
Speaker 3: Had an excellent office. Now offense.
Speaker 2: Now, if Aaron Rodgers can play a little bit like
Speaker 2: the Aaron Rodgers that we have seen at the end
Speaker 2: of last year, this can be a very very good
Speaker 2: Steelers team.
Speaker 3: We'll see, Patrick, If Rodgers gets the ending he wants.
Speaker 1: Yeah, there will be no more deals for Aaron Rodgers
Speaker 1: to worry about. They know, more decisions. One more run
Speaker 1: last time.
Speaker 4: By the way, Patrick, Patrick, we're all right here right,
Speaker 4: Like he's at the point now where he's referring her to.
Speaker 5: The wife, like you know, the old ball and like
Speaker 5: that seems a little early for me.
Speaker 3: Well, yeah, it's fair. It's fair. Twenty two, twenty two years,
Speaker 3: a lot of lots change for Aaron Rodgers.
Speaker 1: Congratulations to him on concluding Uh that, Sorry, it's a
Speaker 1: different story elsewhere where. Patriots owner Robert Craft on Saturday
Speaker 1: said there was an offer out to Christian Gonzales.
Speaker 3: That would allegedly make him the highest paid corner ever.
Speaker 1: Christian Gonzalez says he's gonna have those discussions actually in private.
Speaker 13: Everybody knows what mister Craft has done. A ton of
Speaker 13: respect for mister Craft and what he's done with this franchise,
Speaker 13: and you know, it's just just something we don't want
Speaker 13: to we don't want to handle in the in to
Speaker 13: the media. You know, I keep that with the team
Speaker 13: and my team and go on about that. I mean,
Speaker 13: it's baw. I'm I'm gonna come out and play some
Speaker 13: ball and and and you have fun.
Speaker 5: You know, it's we.
Speaker 13: Had a we had a tough ending of the year.
Speaker 13: You know, that sits on everybody's mind all year, and
Speaker 13: uh just wanted to get on the field and do
Speaker 13: what I do.
Speaker 1: So and we have the player in this instance deciding
Speaker 1: to keep it the Patriot Way and the owner who
Speaker 1: was the owner during the heyday of the Patriot Way
Speaker 1: deciding to, you know, just say some things about the contract.
Speaker 1: We didn't necessarily give us years and guarantees, but he
Speaker 1: said some things.
Speaker 3: Yeah.
Speaker 2: Well, first of all, one of the big parts of
Speaker 2: this Christian Zales is an excellent player who deserves all
Speaker 2: the money, right, Like, I don't believe that is indus
Speaker 2: feed the Patriots making an offer to make him the
Speaker 2: highest paid corner in the NFL, which, as we learned
Speaker 2: earlier in this show, has now the ball has been
Speaker 2: raised a little bit because Denzel Ward eclipse that, but
Speaker 2: this is a clear view from the Patriots that this
Speaker 2: is the guy who deserves it and should get paid.
Speaker 2: This also is interesting because he has the same agent
Speaker 2: as Devin Witherspiel with the Seahawks. Show only feels like
Speaker 2: that contract extension is further along than that of Christian Zales.
Speaker 2: And to me, this seems, just my read on the
Speaker 2: situation very far off, Like it does not seem like
Speaker 2: there's any work movement towards is steal actually getting done.
Speaker 2: You'll hope it would for all sides, It's still early.
Speaker 2: That being said, he's still going to go out there
Speaker 2: this year be an excellent, excellent player, which only raises
Speaker 2: his price tag.
Speaker 3: He doesn't get a deal buck.
Speaker 4: Devin Witherspoon and Christian zeal Is both represented by the
Speaker 4: same agency, both players. Like what you try to do,
Speaker 4: you'd love to do if you're an agent, is sign
Speaker 4: one and then have the other ones, just like Denzel
Speaker 4: Ward with that point too.
Speaker 5: That got him over that.
Speaker 4: Then you can be like, we had the highest paid
Speaker 4: corner in the NFL twice. But if you're the player,
Speaker 4: you don't want that to be short lived and you
Speaker 4: don't want to be the first guy only to get
Speaker 4: leapfrogged by the second guy. So there's a lot of
Speaker 4: dynamics at play, and that's why Mike Rabel came out
Speaker 4: day one and said, we're negotiating with Christian Ugonzalez. We're
Speaker 4: not negotiating with the Seahawks and Devin Witherspoon. This is
Speaker 4: all we're trying to do. I understand your point, Patrick
Speaker 4: about asking Robert Kraft a follow up question, like you know,
Speaker 4: the the guarantees, the strip, like I just don't know.
Speaker 5: That he would have been ready to like you know,
Speaker 5: the three year.
Speaker 4: Cash flow like, you know, I don't know, are their
Speaker 4: offsets on the guarantees in year four? I don't know,
Speaker 4: But you know he got the cliff notes version that
Speaker 4: we made him a huge offer.
Speaker 1: Yeah, and that's that's ultimately what I would like to
Speaker 1: have fully fledged contract discussions in the media because it
Speaker 1: behooves us in our Yeah, so we are doing it.
Speaker 3: Yeah, that's how That's how we would like to offer it.
Speaker 1: The Miami Dolphins veterans reporting the training camp in Miami Gardens.
Speaker 1: It was in Green Bay where Jeff Haffley and Malik
Speaker 1: Willis kind of got this opportunity and they look ahead
Speaker 1: to the opportunity for both of them in twenty twenty six.
Speaker 5: I think the key for Malik will be.
Speaker 14: It is his confidence and it is his chemistry with
Speaker 14: those white outs, and we need to figure out exactly
Speaker 14: who those white outs are.
Speaker 3: And what the chemistry is going to look like.
Speaker 14: But it's I want to see his confidence and I
Speaker 14: want him to focus in on that and that me
Speaker 14: take care of the rest.
Speaker 5: But I'm excited for him. He was He worked hard
Speaker 5: this summer.
Speaker 14: He was in Jacksonville a bunch of training, He had
Speaker 14: a bunch of the receivers, running routes, running the plays
Speaker 14: with him holding workouts out there, which was really cool
Speaker 14: to see him kind of lead that charge.
Speaker 5: So we'll see.
Speaker 3: We all played football at a high level. We wouldn't
Speaker 3: be in an NFL.
Speaker 13: Every team has good players, it's just putting them in
Speaker 13: position to be successful.
Speaker 5: And all the guys that have big names at one
Speaker 5: point didn't have a big name.
Speaker 3: And I think that's how it goes. You just got
Speaker 3: to prove it.
Speaker 5: And that's where we're at right now.
Speaker 3: And a sign for the Wolf of ball Street as
Speaker 3: Cam Wolf joins us here on this edition of The
Speaker 3: Insiders taking us through some camps, and I hear Cam
Speaker 3: that there's a word that they're avoiding there in Miami gardens.
Speaker 5: Patrick, don't say rebuild in Miami.
Speaker 15: Nothing more important to figure out who are the offensive
Speaker 15: core players that can build around for the future. And
Speaker 15: let's start with Malik Willis because he is the guy
Speaker 15: that starts this engine. You see the throwing right here.
Speaker 15: He had a Jacksonville camp this earlier this all season
Speaker 15: this summer where he had seven or eight guys come
Speaker 15: from a three week camp. I learned about this his
Speaker 15: quarterback coach Sean McVoy Quarterback Takeover ran twelve throwing sessions.
Speaker 15: Guys came in and out, guys like Malik Washington Greg
Speaker 15: dolsicg Jaylen Tobert Terrace Marshall. Some guys did a week,
Speaker 15: some guys did two weeks. The goal was really to
Speaker 15: get the chemistry getting in and out of breaks, knowing
Speaker 15: each other, so when you get into training camp you
Speaker 15: can be ready to eat. I've talked to a lot
Speaker 15: of people this all season who have wondered, does Malik
Speaker 15: Willis have a real chance to show who he we is?
Speaker 3: He scoffed at that idea. He said, this is about.
Speaker 15: My opportunity, our opportunity, and how why can't guys step up.
Speaker 15: I'm looking at Malik Washington in this training camp, can
Speaker 15: hit him and Malik Willis create that chemistry to be
Speaker 15: guys we can remember at.
Speaker 3: The end of this season.
Speaker 15: And let's go to the Carolina Panthers, who I got
Speaker 15: to see last week in training camp, and there's two
Speaker 15: players that stood out to me that I was buzzing on.
Speaker 15: Let's start with running back Jonathan Brooks. He hasn't played
Speaker 15: much in his first two years, but most people on
Speaker 15: that staff tell me he is the X factor for
Speaker 15: our season. One coach told me, he just has another
Speaker 15: gear that can take our offense to the next level.
Speaker 3: I saw it in practice. He made a juke move
Speaker 3: and made me say wow.
Speaker 15: Today I'm told he made a cut so deep and
Speaker 15: made Lloyd, one of their top free agents missed and
Speaker 15: went upfield.
Speaker 5: Now, the big thing for Brooks is health.
Speaker 15: He has not been healthy, but if he can stay healthy,
Speaker 15: they believe he is not only going to form a
Speaker 15: one to two punch with Chewbabber, but he's eventually going
Speaker 15: to be the lead backfield. And Devin Lloyd on the
Speaker 15: other side is that green dot in the middle. I
Speaker 15: talked to you our defensive coordinator at Giro Evro. He said,
Speaker 15: I haven't had a linebacker that does on all three
Speaker 15: levels what Lloyd does. Since Navarro Bowman and Patrick Willis
Speaker 15: yes huge names, they think that these two guys can
Speaker 15: help this Panthers team be next level when they come
Speaker 15: into the season. And finally let's go to the New
Speaker 15: England Patriots. A lot of talk about AJ Brown and
Speaker 15: Drake May. For my talks with people there, it's been
Speaker 15: a slow start for these two chemistry wise, just four days,
Speaker 15: so don't overreact, but it's a sign that talent doesn't
Speaker 15: always equal immediate chemistry. The Patriots staff know Aj Brown well,
Speaker 15: but Drake May doesn't, so these next few weeks are
Speaker 15: going to be really important to see what AJ likes,
Speaker 15: what Drake mag likes. AJ talked about trying to get
Speaker 15: a chemistry with Drake, learning what makes him go.
Speaker 3: He also talked about Mike Rabel chewing him out on
Speaker 3: a play that he thought AJ should have made.
Speaker 15: These are things that are going to help them grow
Speaker 15: and a sign that it could be rocky in the beginning,
Speaker 15: but the hope is that Aj is eventually that guy
Speaker 15: for Drake May. We're gonna watch this throughout camp. I'm
Speaker 15: also watching the back end of the New England Patriots
Speaker 15: receiver room. With these additions, they have a crowded jumbo
Speaker 15: receiver room, and so there could be some guys on
Speaker 15: that back end of the roster that are trade candidates
Speaker 15: at the end of training camp that could be a
Speaker 15: playmaker for another team.
Speaker 3: As the training camp goes on.
Speaker 1: Unfortunately, and you saw it at the start of Panthers camp,
Speaker 1: that need could arise for some other teams.
Speaker 3: The way the injuries operate the Wolf of Ball Street Cam.
Speaker 3: Wolf here with us on The Insider's Folks.
Speaker 1: Football Weekend kicks off August first, with live covers from
Speaker 1: NFL training camps all over the league. Tune in Saturday
Speaker 1: starting at nine am Eastern on ESPN and NFL Network,
Speaker 1: and coverage continues throughout the weekend on NFL Network. Back
Speaker 1: here with Mark rosson Steve Wish. Marks has something special
Speaker 1: for us, Steve, because you know, as media's folks with
Speaker 1: microphones were constantly scanning for stars, Marcus found these stars
Speaker 1: that are under the radar for twenty five nights.
Speaker 3: I can't wait. Mark's always got something to back for us.
Speaker 1: So who are you picking up on your highly attuned
Speaker 1: scanners right now?
Speaker 16: Mark, I'm gonna drop three guys on you. And the
Speaker 16: first guy is wide receiver Parker Washington from the Jacksonville Jaguars. Patrick,
Speaker 16: you know we did when we did Game Day Live
Speaker 16: all year we go to the Jags games. This guy
Speaker 16: is just making plays. And that was in Spurts week
Speaker 16: one to fifteen. He only averaged thirty eight point five
Speaker 16: yards per per game, but then the last three weeks
Speaker 16: he averaged one hundred almost one hundred and sixteen yards
Speaker 16: per game. All the big plays there seem to go
Speaker 16: his way. Let's check this out. The first player since
Speaker 16: the Shawan Jackson in two thousand and nine to have
Speaker 16: seven hundred and fifty receiving yards and multiple punt return
Speaker 16: touchdowns in the same season. So I expect him to
Speaker 16: become even more integral of a part of that offense
Speaker 16: this season. Then I will go to my next gye
Speaker 16: on defense here, that's Edgering Cooper, the linebacker from Green Bay.
Speaker 16: When he came out, he was my favorite defensive player
Speaker 16: in the draft.
Speaker 3: First year, showed huge flashes. He had three and a
Speaker 3: half sacks.
Speaker 16: Last year, his first as a FO full time starter,
Speaker 16: had one hundred and eighteen tackles, second on the team.
Speaker 16: And really this season he kind of was out of
Speaker 16: position last.
Speaker 3: Year where he had to play a bit of linebacker.
Speaker 16: They signs I here Franklin and played the middle kway
Speaker 16: Walker is gone, which will allow Cooper to really roam free,
Speaker 16: which was what he does best, and after his first
Speaker 16: two years his stats really favored. We mentioned Patrick Willis earlier,
Speaker 16: very favable. With Patrick Willis, my last guy is Jamison Williams,
Speaker 16: the wide receiver from Greed Detroit.
Speaker 3: Kind of overshadowed at an.
Speaker 16: Offense there by Aman Ross, Saint Brown and Jamier Gibbs,
Speaker 16: but this guy has been ultra productive, first in the
Speaker 16: NFL since he's been in the league with seventeen point
Speaker 16: two yards per catch, first in a league time with
Speaker 16: Jamar Chase with ten catches over thirty plus yards, and
Speaker 16: has had back to back one thousand.
Speaker 3: Yard receivers with seven touchdowns.
Speaker 16: So Steve, all three of these guys will even have
Speaker 16: more of a breakout seasons to come with more people
Speaker 16: will know who these guys are.
Speaker 3: I love that trio.
Speaker 6: I mean, I'm a big Parker Washington guy, edgiend Cooper
Speaker 6: also a real good coverage linebacker.
Speaker 2: Mark.
Speaker 6: One of your favorite players I hear you talk about
Speaker 6: you didn't have on the list, and that is running
Speaker 6: back Kenneth Gainwell, who is Pittsburgh's best player last year
Speaker 6: who now is in Tampa Bay. We were talking about
Speaker 6: Baker Mayfield earlier. When you've got a running back who
Speaker 6: caught seventy three balls last year, he's the ultimate dump
Speaker 6: off an outlet player, but also is a much tougher
Speaker 6: runner and moves the sticks and makes plays like people.
Speaker 3: Don't give him credit for us.
Speaker 6: You talk about a player under the radar now in
Speaker 6: Tampa Bay, this is one of those guys.
Speaker 3: At the end of the season we can be talking about.
Speaker 6: Is the swing boat is the difference maker to getting
Speaker 6: a team to the playoffs.
Speaker 3: He's one of your favorite guys. Man, that was good
Speaker 3: with Steve. That's why you're the better. That's where your
Speaker 3: Hall of Famer.
Speaker 16: You know, you scooped me on matt One, took my
Speaker 16: own guy from me.
Speaker 3: But that's why you do what you do. You can't
Speaker 3: get them all, bro, Yeah, that's the thing.
Speaker 1: You got multiple layers of scanners here getting all the
Speaker 1: top options. There're seventy three catches for guys who only
Speaker 1: started two games. Folks, when we come back, all kinds
Speaker 1: of rules in our world, but some of them actually
Speaker 1: help you out of Red's five rules for fantasy drafts
Speaker 1: coming up next, So we are continuing our twenty twenty
Speaker 1: sixth Fantasy football primer in your Drafts on the Way,
Speaker 1: Adam Rink is on our show with five absolute rules
Speaker 1: people need to follow.
Speaker 3: Yeah, thanks so much. Patrick, I'm back.
Speaker 17: Not a moment too soon, because the fantasy football season
Speaker 17: is upon us said, that's right. I'll do the top
Speaker 17: five you need to know heading into your fantasy football season.
Speaker 3: We start at number five.
Speaker 17: We're the most basic rule ever, and that is to
Speaker 17: know your league scoring settings. Do you start three receivers
Speaker 17: multiple flex? Do you have a crooked commissioner that pushed
Speaker 17: through a tight end scoring premium option that nobody thought
Speaker 17: that he thought that nobody would.
Speaker 3: Notice things really personal?
Speaker 10: Oh?
Speaker 17: It is because sometimes you will get a commissioner who's
Speaker 17: trying to push across the waiver wire amendment, maybe mixing
Speaker 17: in some new fun scoring options.
Speaker 3: But don't fall for it.
Speaker 17: You know what when in actuality, that commissioner is doing
Speaker 17: nothing more than to disenfranchise a lot of league owners
Speaker 17: by stripping away your voting rights. I should need a
Speaker 17: passport to vote on rules changes. This isn't Olive Garden,
Speaker 17: of course, But number four, you don't need a shop
Speaker 17: for brand names. There's going to become a time in
Speaker 17: your draft when you're looking at some familiar names like
Speaker 17: Tyreek Hill, Stefan Diggs, Brandon Ayu, guys who are not playing.
Speaker 3: So don't do this.
Speaker 17: It's a lot like when you're flying into New Orleans
Speaker 17: and you head to the nearest Chipotle instead of going
Speaker 17: somewhere else, which actually happened. I'm not naming any names.
Speaker 17: They might know who they are, they might be related
Speaker 17: to somebody who works here. But listen, I get the allure. However,
Speaker 17: you want to try something cool. The kids are in
Speaker 17: the back. Listen, the kids are in the back and playing.
Speaker 17: They want to go to McDonald's or doing whatever. And
Speaker 17: you got veterans out there, and listen, here's the thing.
Speaker 17: Go look for something new and something exciting.
Speaker 3: Look for some of the rookies.
Speaker 17: Last year, I took Harold Fanning junior in the Scott
Speaker 17: fish Ball Fantasy Draft and it worked out pretty sweet
Speaker 17: for me.
Speaker 3: And that's something else you need to keep an eye
Speaker 3: on this.
Speaker 17: Number three, Familiarize yourself with coaching changes. Yes, Clint Kubiak
Speaker 17: is no longer the Seahawks coach, he's the coach of
Speaker 17: the Las Vegas Raiders. Does this mean JSN takes a
Speaker 17: step back? Is Trey Tucker a breakout guy? And what
Speaker 17: about Mike McDaniel coaching with the Chargers? The Kaki King
Speaker 17: working with the Jogger Jester. This is a collaboration that
Speaker 17: you want to be a part of Quinton Johnson could
Speaker 17: be reaching his full potential. Well, Amari and Hampton is
Speaker 17: this year's version of Devon Ahn. I'm not saying that
Speaker 17: it's an absolute lock, but these are the kind of
Speaker 17: things that you need to be on the lookout for,
Speaker 17: which leads me to the next point. Draft this year's
Speaker 17: team not a reboot of.
Speaker 3: Last year's team.
Speaker 17: Too often people try to recreate the pass and instead
Speaker 17: of looking forward, which is why we come up with
Speaker 17: shows like The Mentalists, which was clearly a ripoff of
Speaker 17: psych or.
Speaker 3: Like Friends and Living Single.
Speaker 17: Exactly good point, Patrick, Yes, indeed, so instead of recycling
Speaker 17: last year's draft sheet, look forward and project who is
Speaker 17: going to take a giant step forward? Pick and here's
Speaker 17: number one, number one pick who you want? Don't let
Speaker 17: anybody talk you out of what you want to do.
Speaker 17: I told you last year draft JSN. And yet there
Speaker 17: were people online who tried to bully me out of
Speaker 17: that pick because you know, they didn't think They thought
Speaker 17: it was an idiot, thought it was stupid, And I'm like,
Speaker 17: why am I letting the ALTI will rise again? Eight
Speaker 17: six eighty six on Twitter? Talk me out of anything?
Speaker 17: He's got thirty seven followers. Why should his opinion matter?
Speaker 17: And I will say this too, You don't need to
Speaker 17: necessarily listen to what I say either. I spent a
Speaker 17: lot of time studying this, trying to come up with
Speaker 17: the most reasonable outcomes, but even sometimes I get it wrong,
Speaker 17: like twenty twenty four cole fits.
Speaker 3: All right, listen, the names are not important. Patrick, that's
Speaker 3: that's a little too close to home. But listen this year.
Speaker 3: If you think that Luther burd and the Third is.
Speaker 17: Going to break out, follow your gut. Don't listen to
Speaker 17: the other dorks who don't know anything else. Go out there,
Speaker 17: do the work, put in, put in your time, and
Speaker 17: you've got to go out there and make picks that
Speaker 17: you're comfortable with and for more.
Speaker 3: Insights like this. I can't let you do that now.
Speaker 17: I was going to say, tune in the NFL Fantasy
Speaker 17: Live this se Unousu.
Speaker 3: You were going to pict your podcasts. Oh no, but
Speaker 3: I will say this about my podcast. We will have
Speaker 3: draft doctor Oh right, No, we can't do that, doctor Phil.
Speaker 3: Draft doctor Phil, Not that doctor Phil. Oh Okay, this
Speaker 3: guy's actually cool.
Speaker 5: Yeah.
Speaker 3: I was getting worried. No, no, no, no, not him.
Speaker 1: Es be a fan Football, the official fantasy game of
Speaker 1: the NFL and Knew this season knockout leagues. Each week,
Speaker 1: the lowest scoring team is eliminated until only one is
Speaker 1: left standing. Download the ESPN Fantasy Out for free today
Speaker 1: and sign up to play the number one fantasy game.
Speaker 5: Time out for leaving a mark.
Speaker 4: As Mark Ross joins me, Mike Carofalo and Ian Rapaport
Speaker 4: for some hot takes, he is going to leave his
Speaker 4: mark with what he's about to lay on you here
Speaker 4: with these hot things.
Speaker 16: Go Mark, Let's leave these marks. First of all, we
Speaker 16: talk about worse the first, well, let's go first to worse,
Speaker 16: and that's going to be the Chicago Bears in that
Speaker 16: NFC Central and what they did last year was unbelievable
Speaker 16: because they led the league in thirty three takeaways and
Speaker 16: at first interceptions with twenty three, and they were nine
Speaker 16: to oh when multiple when they created multiple takeaways, but
Speaker 16: only two and six when they had one or fewer,
Speaker 16: and all other defensive categories they pretty much bottom five,
Speaker 16: sometimes bottom three in the league.
Speaker 3: So those was are really the key.
Speaker 16: The big problem is the three players that created twenty
Speaker 16: of those turnovers, nay Sean Wright, Kevin Byern and Tremaine
Speaker 16: Edmonds are all gone, so that to me is not
Speaker 16: really sustainable for next season less Caleb Williams takes a
Speaker 16: huge leap.
Speaker 3: What is sustainable is on the flip.
Speaker 16: Side, the Houston Texans, who had arguably the best defense
Speaker 16: in the league last year, first in total defense, second
Speaker 16: end points per game.
Speaker 3: It's going to take them to the Super Bowl.
Speaker 16: We're going to see one of those classic years where
Speaker 16: they just absolutely dominate. Last season, they were great during
Speaker 16: most of the game and then they were even better
Speaker 16: in the fourth quarter where they just absolutely shut teams down.
Speaker 16: They had seventy three drives fellows where they didn't even
Speaker 16: allow a first down. And of course they've got the
Speaker 16: Daniel Hunter will Anderson combination, the best pass rushing do
Speaker 16: in the league, and they got the best corner and
Speaker 16: I love the addition of Kate McDonald, the rookie from
Speaker 16: Ohio State, who will make them even better and more nasty.
Speaker 4: Texans defensive coordinator Matt Burke got my number one vote
Speaker 4: for Coach of the Year last year with shock he.
Speaker 5: Wasn't even named the finalists.
Speaker 4: Maybe that changes this year if this defense does show
Speaker 4: out the way that Mark said that as for the Bears.
Speaker 4: We showed some what we call the business b roll
Speaker 4: of Ben Johnson. He was like staring right through you, Mark.
Speaker 4: I think he actually heard what you were saying there.
Speaker 4: And Ben Johnson is trying to guard against that second
Speaker 4: year Lotdow.
Speaker 5: Let's see what can happen there.
Speaker 2: Ian, I hear you, Mark, he does feel like the
Speaker 2: Caleb Williams is going to be one of the best
Speaker 2: quarterbacks in the NFL.
Speaker 3: Leap is coming. Just hardest schedule. I get it reading
Speaker 3: the televs.
Speaker 2: Meanwhile, nothing wrong with the Houston Texans defense. Maybe my
Speaker 2: favorite defense to watch over the last ten years. I
Speaker 2: am on that hot take, you know what. I'm also
Speaker 2: all in on football.
Speaker 3: It is that time of year. Football is back back.
Speaker 2: The Other Weekend kicks off August first live coverage from
Speaker 2: NFL training games across the league. Tune in Saturday starting
Speaker 2: at nine am on ESPN and NFL Network, and continues
Speaker 2: throughout the week on NFL Network.
Speaker 3: Where will I be? I have no idea you should watch.
Speaker 1: Back here on the Insiders. Arriving today the veteran young
Speaker 1: star quarterback Jayden Daniels for the Washington Commander's Camp, rocking
Speaker 1: the Simpsons shirt. And the reason I can tell you
Speaker 1: now that we've had Ian rapperborre joining us from one
Speaker 1: of the esteemed airport lounges around this great nation of
Speaker 1: ours is Ian was there reporting on the Commanders earlier today.
Speaker 3: What can you tell us from your work today?
Speaker 5: Uh?
Speaker 2: First what Dano was referred to the Simpsons as a classic.
Speaker 2: I told him how my son Jude is also a fan.
Speaker 2: He liked that very much. One of the names we've
Speaker 2: associated with the Commanders over the last several months, Brandon A.
Speaker 2: You certainly seems like those that includes some of the
Speaker 2: commanders building are much more concerned with his well making
Speaker 2: sure he is okay than signing him. That seems to
Speaker 2: be a long shot right now. Plenty of other on
Speaker 2: Dick a lot of sense keenan All. I'm also available
Speaker 2: Brandon ayukil Man just as like football.
Speaker 3: Right now is where he's head latest from.
Speaker 4: Peter's general manager was asked about that today and said
Speaker 4: creatively by JP Finley, our buddy down there, who said,
Speaker 4: do you take in the social media cases? Not usually,
Speaker 4: and then he smiled he said usually so in this case.
Speaker 3: Yeah, thank you guys for taking in our show today.
Speaker 1: We'll be back tomorrow with another edition of The Insliders
Speaker 1: Jane Slader live.
Speaker 3: From Ox and Artle'll see you there. Not everybod