25 OTA Nugs: Aaron Donald's Future, Vikings QB Battle and Stocks We're Buying

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3:33Welcome to NFL Daily, where it's our favorite day of the week, Patrick Claiborne Day. Thanks, Greg. I'm Greg Rosenthal. I'm in the Chris Wesleyan podcast studio next to a well-dressed man because he is hosting the Insiders on NFL Network later today. But this isn't the warm-up back. This is your main show. No, this is it. This is what I got up for. This is why the lights came on up here, barely. You know, it's a little dim in between these ears, but that's why. That's why. Everyone check out Patrick. Good show. Insiders, he's got all the insiders. The show is the insiders. Ian Rappaport, Judy.

4:14But yeah, you can catch your boy Patrick every day these days on the insiders. It's the other property that I featured on that's named after the people that actually matter. Stop. Stop. It's a newsy day. We are going to recap what's been going on. Look, in a couple of weeks, we're going to be missing these days where teams are still practicing. It's just going to be dead. I'm going to go on vacation. I'm going to go to Japan. You should. We got about 17 teams practicing. For most of them, it's their last practices of the entire offseason. And so we're going to fire through a bunch of news. And then we're going to wrap up the show with a brief segment.

4:51Just some players we're buying stock in. Just some players that we've been eyeing that we are buying proverbial stock, not literal stock. I don't know what your thoughts are on the actual stock market. Yeah, I think there's a lot of people rightfully concerned with prediction markets. And I would like to point to the prediction market that somehow dictates who gets to eat and live in. Oh, and so, yeah, those are my thoughts. Yeah, people are big mad because the prediction markets got Spencer Pratt wrong here in L.A. Well, you should have known what was coming. Most people are mad about everything, by the way.

5:25Let's talk about Aaron Donald, one of my favorite players to watch over my time here at NFL Network, and we may get to do it even more. I know Adam Schefter was only on the Pat McAfee show, kind of spinning a yarn, not exactly capital R reporting something. But when he gets on the ESPN airwaves, one of your colleagues now at ESPN, Patrick, And he concludes his summary of what's going on with Aaron Donald by saying he believes it's more than likely that Aaron Donald comes back. My ears perk up. Now, his reasoning for that was essentially no one saying no, which I've been noticing, too. And I wasn't bold enough to say to connect the dots like he did.

6:11I'm sure he knows even more. And he says, look, I don't have anyone who's telling me that this is going to happen. But if they're not saying at this point that he's not coming back, I think when they present a particular plan to him, if it's a plan that he would be amenable to now, I assume that includes the finances of the plan, perhaps when he comes back and how much he needs to do to get ready to get back. That's all factors. He believes from what he knows that Aaron Donald will ultimately be putting on that uniform again, which is pretty crazy. Yeah, that's exciting. He's one of the best players in the history of the National Football League.

6:47He ultimately did decide to stop playing football. And so that is Aaron Donald to me saying, I don't want to play football anymore. And, you know, you mentioned the fact that we are underneath the same employment umbrella. I appreciate the work that everybody provides. But unless Aaron Donald is saying, I would like to come back and play football, I'm going to take my basis in the reality of this based on his previous statement, which has been true for multiple years now that he's no longer playing football. I hear that, but when people have been asking, he said, he's essentially been saying, I'll think about it.

7:20It's fun for people to flirt with you. You're at the gym. Maybe your ring's not on because you want to be practicing safe work and somebody comes up and flirts with you. This is such a Patrick question. Stop. This has never happened. This has never happened to me. This is obviously happening to you all the time. Do you wear your ring when you're playing tennis? I wear my ring. I never take it off. Exactly. And so perhaps it's been a long time since a person has been like, oh, that person is single. I'm very attractive. And it's fun, right? If somebody were to come up and be like, Greg Rosenthal is so attractive.

7:54And you're going to be like, no. Maybe Aaron Donald doesn't feel like he needs to say no right now. I hear you. I had an old boss at NBC who for the first five or six years after I left NBC for NFL would always kind of be offering me my job back or offering new flirting. but after a while it just went away you say no too many times no one's coming up to me in the gym I think either way whether I got this on or not I'm 5 '6 rounding up I hope no I don't think so you just gotta be confident you gotta create that connection sorry for being silly I know I appreciate it let's talk about something that's not silly hard curve here.

8:42Rams Tackle, since while we're talking Rams, Alaric Jackson was arrested for a felony domestic violence charge. Extremely serious. It is worth noting that Alaric Jackson has previously faced a suspension from the league for an incident back in 2003. That incident, he was accused of taping a sexual act without consent, and that was why he was suspended. So I do think that is context for what happened in this case. The specific charges are suspicion of domestic battery, according to the LAPD. He's a 27-year-old six-year veteran who signed a pretty big contract about a year ago with the Rams. He's their left tackle, obviously an important person in their organization, and we'll be tracking that story.

9:37But I think it's fair to wonder what his future is going to be. Another player who unfortunately has had some issues, I would say, with law enforcement over the years is LeJarius Sneed. Last on the Titans, he's now going to be rejoining the member of the Kansas City Chiefs, the same team that traded him away for a second round pick. And then he got a big contract from Tennessee. Did not work out. Wasn't healthy there. It wasn't good on the field there. Now he returns to Kansas City where he played his best ball under Steve Spagnuolo. The master plan comes into play where you've got the half of their secondary starting for the L.A.

10:17Rams. They get compensation for that. You wonder what they're going to do at the cornerback position. They get Mansoor Delane early on. And the answer to the other side question is a player that Spags knows and has executed well in the system before. It's look at the Chiefs. They're right back to doing what the Chiefs do. it's very not to bring everything back to the Patriots, but I just feel like this would be something that happened a lot during their dynastic run. And I do consider the chiefs still in the middle of a dynastic run until proven otherwise for multiple straight years. Like I expect them to be hosting a playoff game of some sort this year, more than likely.

10:54Yeah. They would like have guys get paid elsewhere. It didn't work out for whatever reason. And then they'd welcome back into the fold and you get Jamie Collins 2.0 or, you know, I'll be annoyed 2.0 and it worked great the second time around. Yeah. The, the parallels of course, having one of the five best quarterbacks. Right. And having, I think the parallels here would be between Spagnuolo and Bill Belichick who maximized, I think players into what they do best and focus on that. So now you look at their cornerback situation, which I thought was, was quite thin. Noah Williams, Legere Sneed. You mentioned some of these names, Mansour Delane, but also a fourth round pick.

11:27A lot of people like Jaden Kennedy and Cater Coe, who is at Nickelback, who I kind of like. Christian Fulton is now kind of a reserve despite making a lot of money and has had some good snaps. And suddenly, I bet that's going to be more than good enough secondary. Let's talk about a player that is stepping away like Aaron Donald did. While he can still play, Joel Batonio has had some injuries in recent years and he announced what a lot of Browns fans thought was coming. He is retiring from the game. one of the best guards of his generation, Joel Batonio, 12 years in the NFL. Pretty cool that he did it all with the Browns.

12:10He made a couple All-Pro teams over the years, seven Pro Bowls, but two first-team All-Pros. I mean, that is real-deal stuff, and I believe a second team or two. He's going to have a Hall of Fame case at some point when we're talking about possible guards making it to Canton. And he had a streak of 102 consecutive starts, which maybe ultimately wasn't that great for him in the long run. He tried to have arthroscopic knee surgery and then a bye week and then come back and play. It ultimately didn't work out. But if we're talking about people that maybe Les Snead will be on the phone with and have retired, I'm looking at this one.

12:45That's a totally fair guess. Batonio, though, the way his statement was to the Browns fans, I think it really meant a lot to him. He, of course, had a model in Joe Thomas of what kind of career he had. And he said when he entered the league, you know, Thomas is on that 10 ,000 snap streak. And I forget who the other the other offensive lineman was there was on like a six that, you know, a five, 6 ,000 snap streak. And he said the expectation was he literally was not going to miss a snap. And then he went out and did it. He went over 6 ,000 something straight snap. So incredible culture that Joe Thomas was part of.

13:24And those offensive lines with Petonio, the Browns teams weren't great always, although they popped up and had some fun offenses. You know, among the best offensive lines in the NFL over the last 10 years. So happy trails to Joel Petonio, a guy who just keeps playing year after year and playing at a high level is Calais Campbell. Let's listen to him talk about his return to Baltimore and what could be ahead. I always tell myself, you know, and this year I feel like, you know, as strongly as ever, you know, that this is probably going to be my last year. I know I said that last year and the year before, but I mean, I genuinely mean it at the time.

14:03But I always tell myself to play well enough to be able to get a job again if I want to. So if I perform out, go out there and perform to the level I want to play, then I'm probably going to have to turn somebody down next year. And that's the ideal scenario. If I can have a chance to play well enough where they want me again next year, then I got to tell them no. and then at that time we'll decide if there's you know if I want to play good or not but as of right now I'm playing this year as if it's my last year life lessons there yeah if the number works for you and you feel okay enough go ahead and say keep saying yes and that it's fun right football compared to some other I think just because it's so physical at least for some players obviously they love the sport and you have to love the physicality on some level to get into it but I think some of them are just tired of it after a while Calais Campbell taking a lot of pounding granted he's delivering a lot of the pounding uh but he seems to just welcome it maybe maybe when you're six foot seven and 325 pounds that's somehow easier but usually it isn't easier yeah but he also is a great person who facilitates great relationships probably with players and coaches and so he's never been in a situation where it's like you know what I'd like to not be he's picking the people he gets to be around every single year at this point so he gets to keep doing that so do you take the wedding ring off like before you leave for the gym or you you put it in the locker or what's going on for it's it's on me or knows this what that you're doing this yeah because i showed her a video of like what happens sometimes like bar slippage and people i forget the name of what happens but go ahead and like google it because the name is visceral enough and no thanks.

15:39I want to keep this digit. I want to go in the dirt with 10 of these things. Okay. But you've noticed the interest level picks up a little bit. No, because it's a bright tan. Like it's very obvious that there is a ring that lives here. I didn't start going to the gym in my entire life and never, literally never lifted a weight, which is shocking. Yeah, because considering like the physicality of the growth ball. So huge. Until about three years ago. So I'm just trying to catch up here. No, you're not behind. Pajan Robinson is in contract talks with the Atlanta Falcons per Dan Graziano of ESPN.

16:16They asked him about whether he's going to be the next guy to sign, and he said with a big smile, we'll see. It was one of those responses, and I think he wouldn't have maybe mentioned it publicly if they weren't on the right path. I'm curious. I assume he'll be the highest paid running back in the history of the game. It is interesting to think about how much money Drake London just got, like$100 million guaranteed. And I know the positions are different, but I do think if there is a player that is going to change the pay scale for an entire position, that player could be Bajon Robinson. Yeah, and he may be behooved, depending on what the offer is, to wait and see what Jameer gets.

16:54If the Lions are willing, if Brad Holmes and Jameer Gibbs and his camp are willing to do that beforehand. But if the offer is good, and I think it should be, Like in terms of a player's, a position player's importance to a particular offense, it's Bajon Robinson. Well, that's the thing. His team, like both GMs that he's had, I was like, oh yeah, that's the best player in football. And just in terms of quote unquote value, as great as Drake London is, and Drake London is fairly compensated as essentially a top five receiver in the NFL, top five to 10. Bajon Robinson's more valuable. So how are you going to tell me that you're going to pay Bajon Robinson like two-thirds of Drake London.

17:31Doesn't make much sense to me. And that's why I do think he's going to break the scale a little bit in terms of what running backs have made before, and that'll be a great thing. 10.4 yards a catch last season. Outrageous. At running back. Come on. So my version, I guess, of getting noticed, you know, at the gym by the ladies, which has never happened. Never happened. I have noticed. I was talking about this with Eric, and I'm wondering if you have a theory. for whatever reason, and Shook has experiences too, going to these Cavs games, the playoffs. We're getting noticed more in public lately for NFL Daily.

18:08At least I am. And Shook was getting it a lot too, going to these games. He says it keeps happening. And in general, in my time as a podcaster, it's a pretty rare occurrence. Unless you're overseas, that's a little different. For whatever reason, the London crew is different. But if you're just like walking around with your kids in Los Angeles getting recognized for your podcasting, NFL podcasting. I would have said that was like a twice a year thing, maybe. Lately. Last six months or so. It's like a twice a month thing. Maybe more. I don't know. That's about that. What's changed? What's happening?

18:46I would say all personal data is anecdotal. And so probably a lot of things. If we're going to say anything. But I think it's more meaningful. Yeah. It's a good sample size. I think, right, the connections that you build with people through this podcast have facilitated a place where they are more likely to say, oh, hey, Greg, it's good to see you with your kids. Whereas some people, if they saw, you probably get recognized all the time, especially Shook. No. Shook is one of the most imposing people on the planet. Well, he is very recognizable. I look like a lot of people. And so, like, how comfortable is somebody saying, oh, hey, Greg.

19:22Okay. Like, thanks for doing the podcast or whatever people say, because you're an approachable guy and they feel comfortable there. It's a testament to you. I know. I appreciate that. And I like it. Shout out to the Seahawks fan I just saw last week who came up and it was on the Miles Garrett day trade and came up, said he was having a tough day because that Miles Garrett trade. He impressed my daughter by saying hi because she was with me. We were on the way to the grocery store and whatnot. I don't think it's that. My theory is actually the NFL channel. So let me know. I mean, and if you see me, say hi.

19:55But I don't know. It's this NFL channel, the Fast Network. The show does have my name. And they have these little things on the bottom, the graphics and stuff, pop up. I'm thinking that's it more. Because the most I've ever been recognized in my life was when I was one half of a lot of TikToks and Anthony Jeselnik's TikTok. When we were doing that podcast together, I would get recognized for that. And people would just be like, hey, they would recognize it. And I'm like, yeah, I'm the other guy. I'm the other half of the Anthony Jessenik TikToks that you're watching. And that was it. But those have gone away.

20:29I think it's this. I don't know. It's important, and it matters. I miss the NFL channel. I miss the NFL channel. Well, we'll be back on it. Oh, you're not going to be on it? I don't know. We can get some fantasy live. Yeah. All these things are questions. We're definitely going to have, you know, for people that are into the NFL channel, NFL Daily back on the NFL channel regularly once we get closer to the season. Let's fly through these news. I'm just wasting time on a day. You got to get to work. No, we're good. Love it. Josh Sweat showed up for minicamp. He had been missing work. That wasn't mandatory earlier.

20:58Now he's there. Now it's mandatory. Same with Jacoby Brissett mentioned that earlier. Some injuries this week. Abdul Carter, the great pass rusher for the Giants, suffered an ankle injury. They don't believe it to be serious. Gabe Yakis, the second round pick is going to be really important, I think, for the Patriots pass rush. Had a procedure out of minicamp, not being seen. Mason Graham is in a walking boot. The Browns defensive tackle. That's not great. Kyler Gordon, who, you know, it's an OTA minicamp injury, but because it's Kyler Gordon, who's just always been hurt, not been seen because he's been hurt at minicamp.

21:29So just some injuries that I found notable. There's obviously more at minicamp. Ted McMillan, for instance, has not been doing team drills, but he's out there. It doesn't seem that big of a deal. Let's just get into some of the just minicamp, like, hey, what's happening? This feels like a minicamp story. Okay. but Nick Underhill who covers that Saints team about as well as any beat writer out there has said that Jalen Polk has looked incredible. And he said it wouldn't be out of bounds to, for someone to kind of make the take of like Jalen Polk at this rate could be their wide receiver three, like past Devon Vele end up having a pretty significant role.

22:10Could we get the Polkasans a second high second round pick from, the Patriots who washed out there and I never understood it. I thought he was a great, great prospect. And he was as, you know, as unproductive as a second round, high second round pick ever is. Maybe it's the polka songs. Yeah. I don't know if beating out Devon Valle qualifies as a science, if we can get that in the science rankings. But if Nick's excited about it, you know, there's, there's a reason for it. And I think there is a need for, for a solid three there. Potential to, you know, they were kind of laughing about it. It was him and Mike Triplett used to be at ASPN who now works with Nick.

22:46And but they were just like, it's kind of crazy how Jalen Polk is just like wowing us every day. But we'll see. This could be one of those OTA stories. It's just something to watch. Malik Willis. I've noticed for whatever reason, the the Dolphins coaching staff and even the reporters covering the team have noticed like, look, it's been they've had some difficulties early in the OTA minicamp season. They actually had their mandatory minicamp last week. Jeff Halfley talked about Malik Willis and his development on Tuesday. They're more comfortable in the scheme. They've taken more command of the huddle.

23:25They've taken more command when they're out there with the wideouts. Confidence. I've seen the confidence grow. And, you know, even the conversation I had with Malik today walking down the hallway, you can just see, you know, he's more comfortable. and he understands the answers that are being provided for him on each play. And I just, I think he looks as good as he's looked since I've known him. So Malik, well, yeah, they were kind of saying it was taking him a little bit to pick up this new system. And I wouldn't say they were negative, but it was kind of clear that maybe he was having some early struggles.

23:58Not a big deal in OTA. So that's just nice to hear about my number one overall free agent of 2020. Yeah, he's leaving the friendly confines of the tree. He's stepping out on his own. and we'll see how things look. You know, more concerned about the team around him, honestly, than Malik Willis. Well, yeah, it is crazy. But the thing that I think hasn't been talked about enough with the Dolphins is that Bobby Sloak is their offensive coordinator. There's a little bit of fiasco his last tenure with the Texans. So we'll see. Vikings, giant. I mean, the quarterback battle has been really taking the nation by storm.

24:33Let's listen to Kyler Murray. We have both Kyler Murray and J.J. McCarthy, but we're going to start with Kyler Murray. It's a new situation for him because essentially when he arrived in Arizona, the number one overall pick, he was the guy. This is different. Right now he is in a competition. I think the toughest part is, again, I was there for seven years. I know I had two different, you know, offensive systems, but at the same time, you're getting all those reps. You know, now having to split reps, it's me already being behind, not getting the amount of reps that, you know, you would typically want a guy to get learning in offense.

25:09That's probably the toughest part. You know, just, again, going back to the past, being in control of everything, understanding what we were already doing because I was comfortable within the system. Now coming into the new system, learning on the fly, trying to play fast, efficient, and let it loose while learning. You know, that's the toughest part. I can think of one way to open up some stats with him. I actually can think of two ways. One of them would be trading J.J. McCarthy, who was asked about that possibility. It's been bandied about in the Twin Cities. Since the end of last season until now, with all the quarterback changes that have already happened that you've thought about in trade or thought about the possibility of if you wanted to be traded?