20 Things We Learned from OTAs: Burrow's Belief, Chiefs' Receiver Problem, and Injury Updates Galore

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3:13Welcome to NFL Daily. where the only Gregory on this show is Nick Gregory Shook. That's right. Middle name reveal on May 20th as we take a look around all the news that's happening. There's a lot of news. We've got 19 things we've learned. Are you ready for another big news show? Nick Gregory Shook. I'm so excited for all 19 points. Nobody's better than you at pulling all these points together, but I hope I don't get doxed now that everybody knows my middle name. Oh, sorry. Sorry. Yeah. My my name, like your first name, Nick, is it's a nickname that's a full name. I mean, there is no Gregory in Greg Rosenthal.

3:50There's there's no Nicholas in in Nick Shook. It's just just the more, you know, we're still learning about syllables in my middle name than I do in my first and last name combined. How about that? We've we've we've worked together for almost decades, still learning new things about each other. But I know enough not to bring up what happened to the Cavaliers last night. So let's go to point one. When we last left off with Rasheed Rice, we taped on Tuesday and we appreciate everyone who's been enjoying these news catch ups. We're going to do these every other day, roughly. And when we have some of the bigger shows, we'll drop those in as well with the ranking.

4:23So Rasheed Rice, we mentioned he was going to jail for violating his probation. What we didn't know is that he also underwent a cleanup surgery on his right knee to remove loose debris that was causing inflammation. That's according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. That surgery is going to knock him off the field for a couple months. Now he's going to spend one of those months in jail. It really highlights how thin this position group is. We talked about it a little bit glancingly on Tuesday's show with Patrick. But yeah, their number three receivers, Taequann Thornton. Their number two is Xavier Worthy.

5:00I don't even know who their fourth is going to be. and you're counting on Rasheed Rice, who has not proven himself to be reliable off the field. He had the suspension last year, and now he's spending time in jail. And the surgery, I'm sure, has the Chiefs a little worried, Shook. That gets to our second point from one of my old colleagues, Albert Breer. Could the Chiefs circle back around on A.J. Brown? He threw that out there, but I don't think Albert Breer just throws that out there willy-nilly. There was believed to be some interest before. And who knows? It could be an agent trying to drum up the market.

5:37But this is the risk for the Patriots of maybe cautiously assuming a trade is going to happen. Another team could still jump in here. Like, what do you think about what Rice means to the Chiefs and maybe whether they could get involved here in the A.J. Brown sweepstakes, as it were? It's hard to define what Rashid Rice means to the Chiefs because we haven't seen much of him over the last couple of years. but the last time he was healthy and available, he was an important part of that team. When they lost him a couple of seasons ago, it was, it dealt a big blow to their offense. Now we are also in that time of the off season in which people like me play matchmaker and write up, you know, like potential trades, but I don't think that's what Breer is doing here.

6:14I think that you're right. I think there's a little bit of smoke to this fire. And it's interesting because oftentimes when these trade talks happen with big names, you hear about maybe a team or two interested. And then sometimes the mystery team slides in, We don't even need the grand reveal if the Chiefs are really in on it. And now they have a bigger reason to. So I would not at all be surprised if that drives up the price. And maybe he doesn't just walk directly to New England. Stefan Diggs has been sitting out there and his legal issues have apparently been taken care of. And he's been the most logical fit for a team like the Rams or the Chiefs, I think specifically that are certainly trying to win right now and could add some depth to their receiver group.

6:56The Chiefs getting involved in the AJ Brown sweepstakes would be incredible. Now they are second to last in terms of cap space right now. Six million dollars. They still, you know, I'm not sure if that includes all the rookies that they've signed. That's some you can always move money around. They're a team that has been trying to get a little younger. And yet they're paying a lot of money to guys like Travis Kelsey and even Carl Loftus. It might be tougher for them to fit in to their timeline. but I look at this team and I think I know Patrick Mahomes is coming off a torn ACL. It's given a little 2009 Patriots vibes of a little bit of a reset year, but it's also an older team on, on some level.

7:37And when you have Patrick Mahomes to me, you're always win. Now the AFC is wide open. I don't think it's crazy. Cause that, that roster makes a lot more sense with their, she rice as the two and Xavier worthy as the three. I don't think it would be crazy for them to go after him. No, I don't either. And I feel like the, you know, know, just because they missed the playoffs last year, the window of timing is strange for them where the Patriots comparison is a good one because the Patriots are never not in the race, but they did have a bit of a reset at that time. And it feels like the chiefs don't necessarily have the time to make such a reset.

8:08So they have to kind of bridge the gap between the two, Travis Kelsey, you know, there was thoughts that he may retire. He's back for one year. Andy Reed gets asked about retirement at the end of every season and you have my homes in his prime coming off of an ACL injury. So there's gotta be a sense of urgency here that could prompt something like that to get done. All right. Those are our first two points. Our third. And a lot of the show today, Shook, is going to be some sound. We got 10 teams practicing around the league. And one of them is the Cincinnati Bengals. First time we've heard from Joe Burrow since the Bengals had quite an active offseason.

8:42We're going to listen to two different clips from Burrow and the excitement that he has entering 2026. I just think we know where we needed to be better. And we went out and aggressively made it happen. And we filled some holes that we have from years past. Got better at a lot of positions. Found the best free agent safety. Got the best de-tackle in the league, in my opinion. The front office has taken a lot of heat from fans, the public, the media. And we put all that behind us. they went and made it happen with free agency. I thought the draft, obviously, we'll find out. You saw what this roster looked like in 2021, albeit you were young, but that was a Super Bowl roster.

9:35Do you think what you see right now from this organization and in that locker room is a Super Bowl roster? I think this is the most talented roster that we've had since I've been here. I love it. Look, Joe Burrow's happiness was kind of a running plot line. I don't think it's media created. he's contributed to it in very meaningful ways. He wears his emotions on his sleeves. I don't think it's crazy. I know Bengals fans don't want to hear it to imagine a world where if they didn't make the moves that he liked and that this season didn't go well, that we would be talking about other teams getting in the mix for Joe Burrow and trying to give up every possible draft pick there is to go get him next offseason.

10:15So I find it compelling that he's breaking down the tape. He believes that they got Brian Cook, the best free agent safety. They got the best defensive tackle and that this is the most talented Bengals roster that he has ever seen. The expectations are high, Shooky. Yeah, and they are. And I'm glad you brought that up because I felt like he left somebody out when he said that the front office took a lot of heat from a number of different groups of people. I was waiting for him to say and me because he wasn't like shy about the fact that he was dissatisfied with the way the defense has played over the last couple of years.

10:49And when he openly wondered whether he was like, you know, his, his long-term future, just thought about how long he's going to play football. If he doesn't necessarily enjoy it, that was applying pressure. And now he's gotten the results of his actions, which is, Hey, go make some moves. They added like five new starters this year. You look about Dexter Lawrence, talk about Jonathan Allen. You got Brian cook and boy, my face. That's four right there. And you've got some other guys, including draft picks like cash is how, who could end up in the step. Well, I don't know if cash is how it necessarily end up in the starting rotation, but you've got depth too.

11:18You've got more rotational depth than you had before. So he's right. This is a very talented roster. It's a lot better than it was last year, especially on the defensive side of the ball. But now it's about going and doing it. And so it's optimism season. Everybody's happy right now. That's all fine and dandy. I'm sure we're going to get, this is the best I've ever felt in my life. I've never thrown it better than I am right now from him too, if we haven't already, but it ultimately comes down to how do you produce this fall? At least now they're, they're better equipped than they were last year.

11:44And I think him saying the most talented roster just raises, the ante here of like, what are the expectations? And I do get a sense the Bengals are going to be a trendy pick. And I'm feeling it too, of a team that can go far. Like, why not the Bengals? Why, if not this year, then when? I would push back that this is the most talented roster because on the defense, I guess I got to see it first. And that was a pretty good defense back then, but they are a mature roster to have the trio with T Higgins and Jamar Chase in their absolute primes. And now Chase Brown in his prime. To me, it comes down to the offensive line, which was not good when they made the Superbowl and it's better now, but it wasn't very good a year ago.

12:29I liked that. They brought back Orlando Brown on a cheap deal and they didn't string it out with Dalton Reisner, but they need to play better. Especially run blocking early in the season was bad and pass blocking was, was pretty bad. throughout. But yes, high expectations for the Cincinnati Bengals. What could go wrong? Let's go to Atlanta, where we start a lot of different quarterback talk here in terms of who's getting the reps, who's not. A little bit of a surprise to start OTAs when the media went out there. So was Michael Penix already on the field, splitting reps with Tua Tungavailoa. Let's Listen to Tua, I mean to Penix rather, talk about the fact that now he's got another quarterback taking those reps with him.

13:13I'd say I'm running my own race. You know, I can't look in another lane, you know, but at the same time, you know, we are working together. You know, that's what it's all about, working together and helping each other, you know, finish the race. And obviously, we want to come out on top, you know, as far as this team. So, like I said, man, I'm running my own race. But, you know, Tua, Trevor, they all been there, you know, for me throughout the whole rehab process that I've been going through. And, you know, I'm going to be there for them throughout, you know, each and every day. We're out there grinding and in the meeting rooms as well.

13:42Two very distinctive throwing motions, two different body types. But when I saw that video that the Falcons posted, my first thought is just like, it's just so weird to see, you know, two lefties right next to each other just throwing passes and including. And yes, if you're watching us on YouTube, help us out, like us, subscribe, and you can see, you know, a dime from Pennix to Drake London. Get excited, Shooky. I'm excited because look, if they have to go between one of the two quarterbacks and have to bounce from Tua to Pennix or Pennix to Tua, that sort of thing, at least these receivers won't have to adjust to a lefty as opposed to a righty.

14:15They're both southpaws. You know what? Let's just build it out even more. Kevin Stefanski, tell your front office to go make a move for your guy that you used to have in Cleveland, Dylan Gabriel. Gabriel, let's get three Southpaws in the quarterback room. Why not? I was going to say, are they the only two lefties? There aren't many backups that are lefties either. But yeah, you could get Gabriel. He might be available. More on that in a minute. Pennick's not doing all the team drills yet. It's still a little unclear if he's going to be fully ready for training camp. But the idea here was that Tua was kind of the favorite.

14:47Might be getting all the reps in the offseason. Early signs are that's not necessarily true. In Baltimore, Snoop Huntley is getting more reps and OTAs than expected because Lamar Jackson, despite a lot of talk and he was there at the beginning of voluntary work, not there for the start of OTAs. Jesse Minter said he was not really concerned about that, called Lamar Jackson a leader and that they've had conversations and that he will be back soon. So nothing major. I wanted to get your thoughts, though, Nick, on Jesse Minter and some of the early reporting coming out from Ravens camp. Every head coach that is just starting their regime has their little wrinkles that they throw onto practice that are like, hey, here's here's going to be our focus.

15:35Minter's focus, and it has the playoffs in mind, his quote is, be at your best when your best is required. A lot of words there, but they're calling it like the be at your best when the best is required competitions to end every single practice where the offense and the defense goes against each other. Right now, because of the rules and OTAs, they can't even do football against each other. So they just have the offense and the defense going against each other with competitive planking. That's how he did it last week when the media was there. And then a competition of just who can throw the ball further and choosing two random players between the offense and the defense.

16:17If you're curious, Elijah Surratt, the rookie wide receiver, won the day for the offense by chucking that ball pretty far. What do you think about the Jesse Minter sprinkle to how he's conducting practices? It's very collegiate of him. And if I didn't know that he came from the Harbaugh tree, I would have asked if he was from the Harbaugh tree, because it's very much something that the Harbaugh's would do. I think it fits like the Ravens culture, even though they moved on from John, like it's still, that's kind of their, their MO is to do things like that. So, I mean, obviously we're not going to see whether that, that produces anything until the season, but it seems like the, and this happens, I guess with every coach, cause it's new and everybody likes something that's new.

16:54Cause it's sparkly and it's fresh and it's different. But the, the vibes that have come from Ravens off season activities and everything else so far has been very positive with Jesse Minter. And that includes the comments on Lamar and Lamar showing up for workouts before he took this planned absence. Everything is just all hunky-dory in Baltimore. We'll see when it comes to the season. Yeah, I just want to throw this into the show because I find someone who likes to follow the NFL every day, these little differences of the head coaches and what they do. And sometimes it becomes the thing you remember most about those coaches, like Joe Judge jumping in the mud during the like the loose ball drill.

17:32And we're going to talk about Jeff Halfley in a minute. I saw him getting involved with one of those tubes where he's trying to knock the ball out of the players. Like he's getting in the mix. And so this is Jesse Minner's little spin. And he talked about it afterwards too, of just that the focus for them is playing better when it really matters. And I think that's, it's not a pointed remark about how the past has been in Baltimore, but yeah, they have not closed their seasons how they wanted to. Speaking of quarterbacks at OTAs, getting their work in, Josh Allen just wanted to note, fully practicing at OTAs.

18:07He had a foot procedure this offseason. They said it wasn't going to set him back too far, and it hasn't. So he's out there practicing, and one of the players that he is throwing the ball to, this is our eighth point, by the way, if you're keeping track at home, is Keon Coleman. Nick Shook wrote a whole article about Keon Coleman and his statements on Tuesday. Let's listen to his back and forth with the Bills reporters. How do you assess last season and how things went last season for you? F*** me. Getting benched for four games, shit like that. Unacceptable. Ended off on a decent note. Got a touchdown, so that was, I wouldn't even call it a conference boost.

18:51It was just a positive to end the season, but we lost. So it was another negative to erase that. But, I mean, I don't need self-motivation. I know what I'm here to do and what I'm capable of doing. To be clear, he said ass. We're actually allowed to say that. The Bills team site, courtesy, they gave us that video, and we appreciate them. Your thoughts on Keon Coleman entering this season? I was glad that he said what we all already thought and what I may be working on which is that it is a make or break season for him this is you know going into year three this is the 33rd overall pick few years ago who has not lived up to the expectation of a number one receiver a guy who just disappeared from the game plan healthy scratches over multiple weeks last season there was a period in which it seemed like they refused to run him inside the numbers he just hasn't been the guy that they thought he would be when they moved on from Stefan Diggs those are big shoes to fill, but he hasn't come anywhere close.

19:47And this is a team that's consistently had receiver problems over the last few years, basically since they moved on from digs, even going to the playoffs last year was, well, all of our receivers are hurt. And Brandon cooks is our best guy. He on Coleman needs to be your best guy. And he needs to do that this year, or else he's probably going to be looking for a new home and a much lower salary than he would like. I mean, that sounds great. I got breaking news for you, Chuck. He's not going to be their best guy. Yeah. There's no reason to think he's going to be better than DJ Moore and Khalil Shakir.

20:13I will take a slightly better version of rookie Keon Coleman just helping out as the best guy maybe in that x spot on the outside as a as a role player but maybe from his perspective maybe you think he can be better maybe you do if that's why he says it's make or break for him though from his perspective he needs to be significantly better than he was over the last in in two years combined he has less than a thousand receiving yards now he's actually racked up a good amount of touchdowns given the fact that he hasn't broken a thousand receiving yards but from his perspective if he's going to actually maximize his career and his earning power, this is the make or break year.

20:45And he does have to climb up into that upper, you know, stratosphere with the bills receivers. You know, what's crazy is he broke a hundred yards in that opening week game against the Ravens. I mean, last year. And if you talk to us about like what we thought about key on Coleman at that point, I was excited about him. He actually had a pretty good rookie year for a 21 year old receiver. And you do worry a little bit. he tried to cite the touchdown that he had in the divisional round game against the Broncos. And I was like, oh yeah, I kind of forgot you had a touchdown there. Cause what I remember is he completely bricked and dropped a wide open touchdown on one of the best plays Josh Allen made all season long earlier in that game.

21:26Now would have been called back by a holding penalty that had nothing to do with them. Eric is smiling at me, but I know he remembers that play too. No, there was, there was a stretch of games where I think back to back games, Keon Coleman just had a Josh Allen missile thrown directly off his face mask. Like two or three on the goal line. He had a rough season. I have faith in Keon Coleman. I really do. I know I poked fun at him in an episode a couple months ago. Okay. But I have faith in Keon Coleman. Good. All right, Joe Brady. All right. All right, Brandon Bean. We'll see. I have faith in him to be what I said, which would be like the third most important wide receiver on that roster and maybe the fourth most important pass catcher with Dalton Kincaid.

22:03Who knows? Even James Cook getting in the mix. but providing an important role as a guy who's going to help out in the red zone, get, get 650 yards. Just, just, just be better. So that's our eighth point. Number nine is a quick one. Justin Herbert, not at OTAs. If we're going to keep mentioning like, Oh, Lamar Jackson's not there. It's just happened to note that Justin Herbert has not been OTA at OTAs the last two weeks when the media was there. What is he taping too many music videos with his girlfriend? He's gone all Hollywood. Justin, Justin Herbert. let's go to Cleveland where Deshaun Watson first up in drills.

22:36We don't need to linger on this. It's just the day the media is there, but should her Sanders over on the side field with the second team while Deshaun Watson is first up in drills. The drum beat continues that this could be Deshaun Watson's job. Get those tinfoil hats out. Shador fans. Cause you're just going to say he's getting sabotaged again, being on the side field, the second team. Todd Munkin was asked after practice today, whether he saw a favorite in the quarterback battle so far. And he said, no. So we're far away from that. But I'm telling you, they're laying the groundwork for Deshaun to be their starter.

23:08As if the Cavs blowing a 22-point lead with seven and a half minutes remaining. Do you understand how much pain I was in last night and this morning? We're just going to dip the knife, just twist the knife deeper. I'm a jerk. But as you told me, that shows that we are really close. That's your love language. Yeah, we're boys, ultimately, that we can feel comfortable enough about. I can imagine a fraction of the pain. Just even a fraction. Just call a timeout, please. Because honestly, I'm not a Knicks fan. I'm rooting for the Cavs here. And I had turned it off thinking that game's over. And I think I saw about three and a half minutes left.

23:49It's getting closer. And it pained me to watch that. So I can only imagine. Why do we do this? You haven't been seasoned by Cleveland Heartbreak like I have. I was never comfortable. And then it all fell apart and I saw it all coming. It was like a car crash that you knew was coming, but you couldn't stop. It does make you wonder, because I was talking about this with my beautiful wife last night, that it really hurt when the Celtics lost and everything. But I was just thinking how much more pleasant the last three weeks have been compared to like a normal May. They're like, oh, let's just check out the Cavs game, Knicks game for like a little bit.

24:21And then let's switch over to the Dodgers for a nice May game. I'm happier. What are we doing here? Throne of ease. Innovation is what gets your business to the big leagues. And Wasabi is designed to give every business a shot at competition. Break free from skyrocketing storage costs and unpredictable egress fees from old and top-heavy legacy providers. Wasabi is the world's hottest cloud storage company and the go-to provider for professional and collegiate sports teams and leagues around the world. And here's why. Innovation. From Wasabi's AI-enabled, intelligent media storage, Wasabi Air, to the industry's only cloud storage service with triple protection against cyber criminals, data deletion, and ransomware, Wasabi has taken the lead in big lead data storage.