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15:10Jourdan Rodrigue:It then becomes a little incumbent maybe on the player too, because the reality is he's not getting franchise tagged and it is almost stupid to take any deal or respond until you get closer to free agency because they might lose this staring contest because that number actually might get as high as the franchise number for tackles. It could get to like 25 million or something crazy.

15:37Gregg Rosenthal:There is some risk in this in a who blinks first situation because they've essentially told every other team in the league what that number is. So it's basically like price is right, oh, plus$1. I mean, it wouldn't be that low. But still, that is very interesting to me. I do like them sort of putting it all out there like that.

15:54Jourdan Rodrigue:I love it. The Giants and the Chargers, I think, will be in on Tyler Linderbaum. Howie Roseman spoke to his local media on Friday, and then they embargoed it until Tuesday. Bizarre. Then they did press conferences here anyways. Why did they do that? I don't really know. A few things that Howie said between the two pressers I found interesting. Number one, he pointed out, like, can we keep all of our guys considering all the great defensive contracts coming up? So if you think that's the flip side of the great draft that they had with Quinion Mitchell and Cooper Dejean and Jalen Carter specifically.

16:32Gregg Rosenthal:And they're not going to be able to pay Cooper like a safety.

16:36Jourdan Rodrigue:Well, I'm going to mark down two different items here. He also made a comment on Tuesday. Your buddy Brooks from The Athletic. Kapka? I never know how to pronounce his last name. That's a golfer. That's the golfer. We're going to edit that.

16:51Gregg Rosenthal:No, we're leaving that in. No. Kubena.

16:54Jourdan Rodrigue:Kubena. Both starts with a K.

16:57Gregg Rosenthal:Watch, we both got it wrong.

16:59Jourdan Rodrigue:We, he said that he really believes, like, Cooper needs to stay at nickel. When you have someone that is the best in the league at what he does and offers us that much flexibility, we're not moving him. And so that was very definitive. Like, we're not looking at him as an option at safety or at outside cornerback. And I think he indicated with that question, can we keep all of our guys when we have these coming up, that maybe don't be as optimistic, certainly about Dallas Goddard, who they said they'll talk to, but I think he's gone. But maybe Jalen Phillips, too. Maybe he goes. Maybe N 'Kobe Dean goes.

17:38Jourdan Rodrigue:I actually expect N 'Kobe Dean to go. And Phillips is the one hearing that comment that I'm like, hmm, maybe they're not able to keep him.

17:45Gregg Rosenthal:I think watch Jalen Phillips and Christian Parker, who's now in Dallas as the defensive coordinator potentially. You know, Dallas very famously lost a significant pass rusher last offseason. This is not by any means a one-to-one comparison, not even close. But Christian Parker had a great relationship with all those players on the defensive side. And I think Dallas could certainly use. They have a couple of young guys coming up who I think are great. But they could absolutely use more juice there.

18:17Jourdan Rodrigue:they do and they could create more room with with some of their yeah guys that are still on the roster with some potential cuts so very interesting in the NFC East let's stay there and let's go to John Harbaugh who yeah I was trying to listen to him because you know he's got that new coach energy I got to give him credit like I don't know if it's fake until you make it but he like he doesn't give second coach energy he gives like this is my first time he said I'm gonna take off my credential so that you can see the New York football giants on my chest. Cause I'm excited. And he's just, he's just beaming from the podium.

18:54Jourdan Rodrigue:Even when answering some awkward questions, he was asked about his owner, Steve Tisch. Does he still believe in his ownership as much after Tisch's name was prominently mentioned in the Epstein files and was asked questions to Roger Goodell. He said, yes, he handled that question fine. And there were some followups, but basically he gave as good a non-answer as he could. But he also said very specifically he really wants Dexter Lawrence on this team, that he's going to be a big part of this team. So that was kind of another one of those Marlon Humphrey-type answers where it was like, okay, I thought he might get cut or traded.

19:27Jourdan Rodrigue:Sounds like Dexter Lawrence is going to be there. What's your Harbaugh vibe right now?

19:32Gregg Rosenthal:You know, when you got really excited about this and the new coach energy, not retread coach energy kind of thing, and it brought me back. Actually, Greg, we were sitting right here a year ago, basically this week and John Spitek and Pete Carroll walked in looking cool as hell in silver and black and Pete Carroll was a sunbeam who was absolutely ready to do this now the age thing is what it is that's not a one-to-one comp I've but it's interesting it's interesting to me how

20:05Jourdan Rodrigue:are you saying we can feel this my interpretation of a press conference in February might not be the best indicator of wins and losses.

20:13Gregg Rosenthal:You know, I am saying that, and also I'm saying, I think that you are heavily influenced by strong energy.

20:22Jourdan Rodrigue:Okay, that's fair. I got to say, I don't know if we said this on the show, and maybe this is me just remembering it how I want to remember it. I wasn't that high on the Raiders, really, like going into the season. What? I did feel I was high on, you know, Geno Smith. What I was going to say about Pete, Pete did kind of give a little bit of, like it wasn't the same as when he started in Seattle. Let's be fair. It wasn't the same, energy-wise. The Pete part of it. Pete part of it. I believed in the Geno. I still believe in the Spitech. Let's listen to Joe Shane, someone who I don't really believe in.

20:56Jourdan Rodrigue:But he believes in himself. I'm still the general manager of the team, and my role has not changed.

21:01Ryan Poles:I'm still tasked with leading the entire football operation. and we're going to work in collaboration like most good teams do. And, you know, it's going to be a collaborative. Everybody's going to have their role, but there's constant communication between Don, Coach Harbaugh, myself, in terms of how we're going to build the football operation and then how we're going to execute, you know, the draft, trades, free agency,

21:23Jourdan Rodrigue:contract signings, coaching staff, whatever it may be. Never a great sign about your tenure as the general manager when you have to say at the podium, I'm still the general manager. And my responsibilities are the same. I know I'm being a dick, but I am sometimes.

21:42Gregg Rosenthal:Well, one of the plot lines of the offseason that we have been following very closely that's sort of a subtle inside baseball is the general vibe of that entire beat toward Joe Shane and some of the headlines that the columns get and just the general angst and misery in his direction by... It's a tough spot. It's a really big beat, and really there's a lot of talent on that beat, and there's a lot of really strong opinions, and, man, are they all flowing toward to the point where my good friend, Charlotte Carroll, brought cookies, brought homemade cookies. They were good. Just to improve the vibes, just to improve the vibes a little bit, you know?

22:21Jourdan Rodrigue:They were delicious, so thank you to Charlotte. And I feel bad for Shane. He was asked a lot about Don Aponte, who is now higher than him on the org chart, And that was the context with which he made that answer that he was still the GM. But it does make you wonder long term. He's in an uncomfortable position right now. Let's talk about a guy who we talked to last year. I don't think we're going to get a chance to this year. It's Jason Light of the Bucs. He said when asked about a potential extension for Baker, that Baker Mayfield, that is, that his, they haven't talked about that yet, but their feelings haven't changed at all about Baker and that they believe in him long term.

23:05Jourdan Rodrigue:Todd Bowles really echoed that. I think they know Baker needs that lifting up. Of course, you're going to say that.

23:13Gregg Rosenthal:Well, he didn't get it so frequently through the first part of his career. I think, yeah, I can understand that.

23:19Jourdan Rodrigue:It's in no win type of place. But I guess I would say, well, show me. Show me with that. I would believe you if you engage in serious contract extension talks with Baker. And they very well might, based on what Jason Light said today. But I guess I'll see when that happens. That hasn't happened yet. If you had to guess, do you think Baker Mayfield gets an extension or not this year? He's entering a contract.

23:43Gregg Rosenthal:Yes, I think he does. Yes, because the Bucs have a pattern where they will continue to extend their own players, their guys, their core guys that they like, and they have patience, including with the head coach, until it becomes overtly and extremely clear that it is time to move on.

24:01Jourdan Rodrigue:I've completely lost track. I've like skipped over some of the things. I'm going to have to circle back. I know, you're all over the place. I did want to mention Rob Brzezinski is the new, it's not the general manager, but he's playing the role of general manager for the Minnesota Vikings. And he said at quarterback, they are casting a wide net. And Kevin O 'Connell, similar question about J.G. McCarthy. as a franchise quarterback. Very confusing answer where he says, we don't feel any different about him as a franchise quarterback, but the timeline on it is different now. Frankly, I don't know.

24:35Jourdan Rodrigue:That is gobbledygook to me. I guess I would need to hear it. The casting the wide net looking for quarterbacks is the key phrase here. They're looking for someone to potentially replace J.J. McCarthy.

24:46Gregg Rosenthal:When you're fishing, you're not casting a net for fish inside your own boat.

24:51Jourdan Rodrigue:Right. That's good.

24:53Gregg Rosenthal:Net leaving ship.

24:55Jourdan Rodrigue:that's the type of concise but nailed it type of analysis we need to get through all 47 points finally before you keep shrinking the number i'm just making numbers up uh not a lot of news on the rules beat this year so we'll circle back when there's harder news they're talking about adding replay officials to have a little more latitude to throw a flag after seeing a replay but it might be very limited to plays like a punch we'll see I almost don't want to get ahead of this story the main story to me was that the tush push is no longer even being talked about and for context there Nick Sirianni said they need to work on it because they did not do as good a job doing it but it's kind of funny that now that the Eagles are now no longer good at the tush push that the Packers are no longer bringing it up as a potential rule actually even worse now that the Buffalo Bills are

25:50Gregg Rosenthal:running it at the highest frequency of any team in the league. Suddenly nobody's talking about it anymore. And Sean McDermott was on the competition committee. He no longer is employed as an NFL head coach.

26:00Jourdan Rodrigue:So they said, they being Rich McKay, who's in charge of the rules committee, that he thought the NFL is in a good place in terms of rules. So I don't think it's going to be a big year for changing rules. Let's take a quick break and we will be back with some more news. A lot of other teams at the podium on Tuesday from Indiana.

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30:11Jourdan Rodrigue:Back on NFL Daily, the international games, they just keep on like dropping a different home team every week or so. I just spread the excitement out. And how about the Detroit Lions are going to play their first game internationally. I couldn't believe this. For more than a decade, I think they were an away team that last time in 2015, but they're going to be playing in Munich. I still want to get to Germany. It's the question I get a lot. Where are you going to? I would like to go anywhere. If Henry Hodgson is listening, if Matt Schneider is listening, Jason English has left. We've taken too long here.

30:51Jourdan Rodrigue:Get us. Germany would be a good one.

30:53Gregg Rosenthal:That would be fun, because when you see the clips of all the fans singing together and everything, you can't not get goosebumps. Some of the really, really legendary clips from the modern international slate.

31:05Jourdan Rodrigue:Most importantly, a great team. A great team.

31:08Gregg Rosenthal:Yeah, and also, Greg, you forget so easily. They weren't playing internationally for a long time because why would they? They weren't a great team for a long time now. And then now, and teams a lot of times have the opportunity to negotiate back and forth with the league on whether they're going to be picked or not. Oh, yeah, some teams really want to go. Some teams really want to go. Some teams don't. And then with the Lions, maybe have a little leverage here saying, you didn't want us when we were bad.

31:32Jourdan Rodrigue:And now they're going over there, and that's good. I like seeing a team that I feel like is certainly going to be in the mix, although you never know. Adam Peters of the Commanders, their GM, spoke on Tuesday. He would not comment on any potential Brandon Ayuk interest. I have to think about where I put Brandon Ayuk on the top 101. I want you to think about it for a second while I tell the listeners that it is a priority for the commanders, according to Peters, to extend Laramie Tunsil. And he has one year left on his contract. The left tackle would maybe set the market that Trent Williams could potentially fit underneath at this point because he's a little older.

32:15Jourdan Rodrigue:But Brandon Ayuk.

32:17Gregg Rosenthal:I just command F'd it.

32:19Jourdan Rodrigue:It's a logical fit with the commanders. They need a wide receiver. They are paying a lot of money, of course, to Terry McLaurin, but he might not cost as much. How much do we believe in a Brandon Ayuk if he becomes a free agent? Not officially yet.

32:36Gregg Rosenthal:Kind of a wild card, right? Because coming off the injury. It could be awesome. Yeah. It could be awesome, but coming off a significant injury as well. Yeah, it's interesting. I command F'd it in your top 101.

32:49Jourdan Rodrigue:Oh, no, I'm saying he's not there because he's not a free agent. I know. I'm saying where would he go, yeah.

32:53Gregg Rosenthal:Yeah, well, I mean.

32:54Jourdan Rodrigue:I'm saying you can help me do the work of where do I put him. I love extra work. Is he still a top 20 guy? Because there was a point where the Pittsburgh Steelers were giving up a second round pick for him, and he was going to be one of the highest paid wide receivers in the league. He did become one of the highest paid players in the league. The 49ers kept him. I think it's the off the field. Is this guy too much to deal with that is going to hurt his market?

33:18Gregg Rosenthal:And here's the thing. You have Isaiah likely at 20 and Wandale Robinson at 21. And I would say certainly ahead of those guys, both of them.

33:26Jourdan Rodrigue:Is he ahead of Rashid Shahid? Is he ahead of Kenneth Walker and Devin Lloyd? Those types of guys getting into the top 10.

33:33Gregg Rosenthal:Yeah. Well, into the top 10. The other thing with Rashid Shahid is the playmaking ability and special teams, too. So I would say somewhere in the sweet spot behind Rashid Shahid and behind Mike Evans, who you also have at 16 here. I think that's the right ballpark. Yeah. You've passed your first test to be the top 101 consigliere.

34:00Jourdan Rodrigue:I mean, this isn't about rankings. This is about evaluating who's in our league. Like, Elliott Wolfe, the Patriots GM, would not comment on whether Stefan Diggs would be a member of their 2026 team. He did comment more on them being in contact with Diggs and authorities about everything going on with his assault accusations. It almost said, like, the team has a handle on that, but he wouldn't commit to him being on the team next year. So something to watch there. They also cut Antonio Gibson, who is coming off a torn ACL, just a little item there. Speaking of players coming back, Josh Jacobs is going to be back for the Green Bay Packers.

34:39Jourdan Rodrigue:Brian Gutekunst said that at the podium on Tuesday. Also said they want to get bigger on the offensive line specifically. What do you think about Jacobs returning to the Packers?

34:50Gregg Rosenthal:When he was on, it was awesome. And some of the ways that they could just chip away and salt away at teams was great. I think there's a lot of woulda, coulda, shoulda with the Packers. especially with some of the injuries that they had. I like the idea of them getting bigger along the offensive line. I wonder if he's meaning that as almost like a tipping his hand, maybe they're adjusting their scheme a little bit.

35:15Jourdan Rodrigue:Well, I think they started making that.

35:17Gregg Rosenthal:They've had a body type that they've liked for a while.

35:19Jourdan Rodrigue:Right, and they have been smaller, and I think they started to tip it now in hindsight with the Aaron Banks move, who's a massive human. Now, that did not work out for them, I think, that well. He's going to still be on the roster, I assume. I didn't think Jacobs was a lock to get back. He's had a great career, but.

35:38Gregg Rosenthal:I think he's kind of a glue guy, though. Yeah, I think that's it. And if you're going to need the angst at which they ended last season and all the questions about Matt LaFleur and all of that, like you want your glue guys around if you're really going to try to really do it this time. Fair.

35:51Jourdan Rodrigue:And when he's right, he's awesome. He's worn down in some seasons. He's had a lot of workload. Sometimes at running back, you want to get out a year early, then a year late. by the end of last year was Emmanuel Wilson taking the big snaps because Jacobs couldn't really finish those games. But he will be back. I should have mentioned, by the way, when I talked commanders a little earlier, they were also going to bring back Andrew Wiley. Some of these free agent contracts are starting to happen. He didn't even make my 101, but he would have been in, like, the top 160, like a serviceable kind of swing tackle.

36:21Jourdan Rodrigue:Bradley Bozeman, the Chargers center, retired. Not that they weren't going to go after Tyler Linderbaum anyways, but they are going to be searching for interior linemen. They could cut Makai Becton. And then the cuts, yeah, they've kind of started. Yeah. Kirk Cousins. We knew he was going to get released, according to reporters, but their new GM, Ian Cunningham, said on 92.9 The Game that Kirk Cousins will be released ahead of free agency.

36:50Gregg Rosenthal:Yeah, the expected move. It's nice to actually hear somebody say it out loud, somebody with that authoritative power to make that cut, actually say it out loud. I am so curious about what happens next for Kirk and like where, where he is not crazy. It's not crazy.

37:06Jourdan Rodrigue:Kansas city. I was thinking would be kind of great for him and for Andy Reed. I actually, the more I've thought about that, I was like, if you're Kirk cousins, wouldn't that be awesome to play for the chiefs and, and then be the homes as backup and like be a part of that.

37:21Gregg Rosenthal:I don't think Miami is crazy.

37:24Jourdan Rodrigue:No,

37:24Gregg Rosenthal:I don't think Arizona is crazy. Okay. In fact, with Mike LaFleur in Arizona now, I think that we've got to really watch that one for Malik Willis and for Kirk Cousins. He is, as we know, of the tree, as Patrick would say.

37:40Jourdan Rodrigue:Am I underrating Cousins? This is an official. Have they put it? I sent my—oh, it is official. It's on there. I sent an edit. They've been wanting Cousins to go on to the top 101. Now, once you get—this is what him officially saying that does. Even though it's not official, I was like, we could wait. He's like, well, now that he gave a date to it, we can put him on there. And my question to smart people around the NFL and the NFL media sphere today was Cousins or Rodgers? You know, who would you rather have?

38:06Gregg Rosenthal:I pick Kirk Cousins.

38:07Jourdan Rodrigue:Yeah, I went with that, too. I thought it was close enough that I put them close in the rankings. Ultimately, Cousins is is there for me at 59, just below his Falcons team, Arnold Ebiketti, and only a handful of spots ahead of Rodgers. I just thought they occupy kind of the same space, but he's got a little more versatility. And I think he looked better last year, not just than he looked the year before, but maybe then people realized. I think it got better as it went. And by the end of it, I was like, he's kind of an okay bridge starter right now. I don't think you'd want him starting 16 games.

38:42Gregg Rosenthal:Well, and you're also not going to pay him a massive contract again. You know, I mean, geez.

38:47Jourdan Rodrigue:But if he's a bridge starter, put your GM cap on. don't you think he's making like 12 plus at least a year and that's nothing in a quarterback in a quarterback world so yeah i think at least 20 if like there are three teams in the mix like i talked about and then suddenly it's like man we're playing 20 for kirk cousins all i'm just saying

39:08Gregg Rosenthal:is just never underestimate mike mccartney his agent who has been the one to get him these finessed contracts year after year after year after year hall of fame bag getter kirk cousins

39:20Jourdan Rodrigue:John Eric Sullivan is the new Dolphins general manager he said that they are not actively shopping Devon Achan who, why would they? That part I don't get or Jalen Waddle but the way that he answered it made it sound like they would listen more than maybe I was expecting going into this week

39:45Gregg Rosenthal:to Waddle

39:46Jourdan Rodrigue:he gave the spiel that we're going to hear from Spitek in a bit, and it's totally a fair answer. They're going to listen. That's what he said about Max Cross. We'll always listen because it would be irresponsible.

39:58Gregg Rosenthal:Everyone will always listen.

40:00Jourdan Rodrigue:Right.

40:01Gregg Rosenthal:Reading between the lines, he said nothing.

40:03Jourdan Rodrigue:They could have shot it down. He didn't really say it with his chest that we want them as part of our team. It was like, maybe. It was kind of like, maybe. That's how I took it.

40:15Gregg Rosenthal:Yeah, I think he's just kind of a chill guy, honestly. Yeah.

40:17Jourdan Rodrigue:Okay, what do you think about the accusations that I just heard from an unnamed source, won't reveal who it is, that John Eric Sullivan and Jeff Halfley resemble Beavis and Butthead?

40:31Gregg Rosenthal:What?

40:35Gregg Rosenthal:What? Is it because the tall hair? Comedy legends.

40:40Jourdan Rodrigue:The tall hair? Once you see it, you can't unsee it. I like Halfley because I think there needs to be more short guy representation.

40:48Gregg Rosenthal:There's more of them now in the league. You know, there's Mike LaFleur and Halfley and Minter is but a wee lad.

40:56Jourdan Rodrigue:McDonald's not a really tall guy either. But Halfley, even more than the rest, and this is going to guarantee. This will never get back to him, but now it will because I said that. And there are a lot of Dolphins bloggers. He looks more like a media member than any NFL head coach. not just now, but in a minute. Like when he's just walking through, he looks like he should have a backpack and he's going to the Titans, like to ask, to ask Sal, you know, about the quarterback situation.

41:23Gregg Rosenthal:Earlier today, when you said this, you did say this sort of out loud to yourself.

41:27Jourdan Rodrigue:Yeah.

41:28Gregg Rosenthal:I just appreciate the moments where I can hear you testing material before you actually use it on the show. If it does come back to you, Greg, you've had two chances now to say, you know what, maybe I'm not going to use that material on the show.

41:40Jourdan Rodrigue:It's something I learned from Dave Damaschek. He would go around the newsroom and just try out stuff. To me, it's not conscious as much.

41:47Gregg Rosenthal:I was just on his show. I was on his show last week, and we went through an entire segment. It's always so fun. We went through an entire segment before actually doing the segment, basically just in conversation. It was epic. I was like, this is what I always used to hear them talking about.

42:01Jourdan Rodrigue:I love Sheck. Everyone check out Football America. Let's listen to John Eric Sullivan talk about the team's potential interest. This is the Miami Dolphins in Malik Willis.

42:15Jon Spytek:As it pertains to the Miami Dolphins, listen, I think I'd be lying to you. Any team that is potentially in a quarterback situation, a needy quarterback situation, if they tell you they're not talking about Malik Willis, that would be a lie.

42:30Jourdan Rodrigue:that's interesting and frankly him being so out there with it

42:39Gregg Rosenthal:the kids don't know beavis and butthead was that good did i do it we're getting a laugh from the people in the behind the booth so i think i nailed that i could i i'm allowed to crown myself on that

42:52Jourdan Rodrigue:one right i don't know um hey beavis that was rough it's been a long time i love like honestly I think it's one of the most underrated like comedies of the last like 40 years. It, it is amazing. Um,

43:04Gregg Rosenthal:the SNL skit being,

43:06Jourdan Rodrigue:him being out there with this actually makes me think, yeah, I don't know if they're that in on Malik Willis. Yeah. Just him being like anyone, of course they're looking at Malik Willis. Like all the teams that are interested are looking at Malik Willis,

43:17Gregg Rosenthal:but him even just getting into it like that.

43:19Jourdan Rodrigue:I was like, I kind of,

43:20Gregg Rosenthal:you'd be a little more coy, you know, you flirt a little bit, you know, you just, you say you dance around the topic just a little bit more.

43:26Jourdan Rodrigue:If you had listened to the Ian Rappaport show, you would know. He said he just doesn't think they have the money. He doesn't think that they're swimming in the deep waters that Malik Willis might be this year.

43:36Gregg Rosenthal:I want to listen to the show, Greg. I want to. I will get to it.

43:40Jourdan Rodrigue:What did you do? I think we're on good pace. Yeah, what number? I'm going to count afterwards. I have it all written down.

43:51Jourdan Rodrigue:What did you do last night? Well, I had a little dinner at St. Elmo, so I did the thing. But I went back after dinner. It was late. I know you're out talking, making friends, making sources. I think I walked by you yesterday. We haven't even talked about that in the hotel, talking to a general manager. I won't say who it is, of course. But that was interesting just seeing you at work, kind of in a spot right near the elevators where everyone's going to be walking by. Yeah, strategic. That's a choice. What was your night like on Monday night?

44:22Gregg Rosenthal:Yeah, so we had our athletic summit, and there's a mixer as well. So basically a lot of, you know, really hoping all my bosses like me. Okay, okay. Making, you know, catching up with people who I usually only see on Slack, which is really wonderful. And then, you know, you kind of do the circuit. You see people you need to see. You talk to the people, you know. You position yourself where people are going to be walking. And you see people you know.

44:50Jourdan Rodrigue:You're saving your bullets. The rest of the week is going to be a lot of schmoozing. You've been doing a lot of it here, doing a great job. making NFL Daily look better. The Kansas City Chiefs just, you know.

44:59Gregg Rosenthal:Except when I fell down.

45:01Jourdan Rodrigue:Not enough people saw it, though. But it was like a body-sit-the-floor situation. It wasn't like she kind of caught herself with the hand. It was a hole I've fallen and I can't get up until you did get up. But that's what it looked like.

45:18Gregg Rosenthal:Not with your help, by the way. Just to reiterate that. Not with your help.

45:22Jourdan Rodrigue:No, just a couple other things. Brett Veach, the Chiefs general manager, says they're prepared if Travis Kelsey wants to retire. Obviously, they hope that he comes back, sounding like he's going to come back. I thought it was interesting, both Monty Austin for the GM of the Cardinals and Michael Fleur, the new head coach, said they spoke with Kyler Murray. As we're getting closer and based on what Ian said, I don't know if it's public posturing to raise his trade value. That's a possibility. Or they're potentially getting to a place, depending on how other things go, that Kyler is in a lock to leave.

46:01Jourdan Rodrigue:What do you think?

46:02Gregg Rosenthal:Well, I think also if they have a better understanding of potentially, for example, what Malik Willis's market would be or what a Kirk Cousins situation would look like or any any of these scenarios that are not Kyler Murray. if you're looking at what they could potentially cost or what resources you'd have to give up and you say hey we got a pretty good player on our roster new coaching staff like ultra ultra you know for all the criticism and rightfully so that he takes Nathaniel Hackett is like the ultimate lovable quarterback guy like he guys love being in the quarterback's room when he is in it and for all of his his flaws especially when he was a head coach that's a big reason why Mike LaFleur went after him is because of that vibe and that dynamic.

46:48Gregg Rosenthal:And if anyone's going to kind of heal, smooth over a vibe, I would think that would be it.

46:54Jourdan Rodrigue:My gut tells me he's still gone and this is vacuum of information. We have to talk. Plus, he might be traded. But I do believe that it's one potential scenario. My gut would say he's still gone, but that's one of the more fascinating ones because he would be a really interesting piece to throw into all these quarterback waters. Rasheed Walker is a guy we talked about left tackle, the Packers, who's hoping that Trent Williams doesn't become available because before he was the best left tackle available and he's way lower on that list. Like then he's suddenly waiting for Trent Williams. I found it interesting just the teams that Jason La Canfora, who used to work with us at NFL Network throughout that are expected to be the top suitors for him, the Patriots, and the Chiefs.

47:41Jourdan Rodrigue:Left tackle, Rasheed Walker. Spicy, really, for both teams. It's interesting, but especially for the Patriots.

47:50Gregg Rosenthal:I know exactly why your eyebrows raised on that one because you would love to see. Not love. Well, Mike Rabel kind of softened on his own comments that he came out really strongly about not moving Will Campbell, even though maybe if he goes back and watches it, takes a step away. Maybe in that moment, like I said, Maybe he was just protecting his player as one should. Maybe he softens up and maybe they try to go after a guy like that.

48:16Jourdan Rodrigue:A couple other items. Joe Brady, the Bills coach, and their general manager, Brandon Bean, who's going to be coming up later on the week, kind of revealed that Davis Webb is going to be the new play caller for the Broncos. If you don't remember, the Broncos elevated Davis Webb. They're going to be their offensive coordinator. and Sean Payton then confirmed it later on the podium, literally as we're talking. And someone, I'm not even sure who it is, put this into our document as we're taping. So I appreciate that. And they were big on the Davis Webb news. I like that we're getting a few more participants, it feels like, in the combine this year, doing all the drills that are top players.

48:58Jourdan Rodrigue:I didn't get a chance to talk about this with Ian, but Jeremiah Love, the running back of Notre Dame, who's second on Daniel Jeremiah's board, Arvel Reese, who's second or first on some people's board, the linebacker pass rusher, Mekhi Lemon, like Reese's teammate at linebacker, Ty Simpson, who's the QB2, not a surprise he would work out, but it does feel like for what it's worth when you're watching this year, a few more of the first rounders are actually participating, which I'm just happy for my content.

49:28Gregg Rosenthal:It's like a sliding scale. Like there's a lot of GMs and coaches who are not here right now. I think more than ever before, even if coaches are here, they're not doing podium sessions. So now as that decreases, Combine's like, oh, man, we got to get some pop in here. So, you know, you got more guys who are actually participating in the workouts. That's good for the fans. And obviously, hopefully everyone stays safe.

49:50Jourdan Rodrigue:Mentioned the Dolphins before they brought John Robinson, the former Titans general manager, back into the league to help out that front office with John Eric Sullivan. and I did want to mention they mentioned a$99 million cap hit for Tua. $99 million cap hit does not make sense for them this season. That would not work for them. And so if and when they cut him, which is the expectation, even though they're saying they're trying to trade him, it will be a post-June 1st cut. They'll spread out the hit. So that Tua contract is going to hurt them for multiple years.

50:22Gregg Rosenthal:Which character is John Robinson, if we're talking lore here?

50:27Jourdan Rodrigue:we'll talk later but i i think halfley's butthead right no john robinson which one

50:32Gregg Rosenthal:john robinson oh but you said it you can't walk that one back now

50:39Jourdan Rodrigue:we could we could edit it out of the show uh brad holmes the lions general manager said about david montgomery they've spoken to him they're running back that the situation is fluid but you have to have guys who want to be here. So that sounds open. And then he talked about maybe how I read it, not being as aggressive in free agency because they want, again, their 2023 picks to be around. Sam Laporta, Jameer Gibbs, Jack Campbell, Brian Branch, all are up for contracts sooner than later. And so they might have to save the money because they've been so good at drafting. That's a good problem to have.

51:15Jourdan Rodrigue:It's the type of problem that any general manager would love to have. We're going to talk to a couple of general managers after the break. Here's what we're going to do. We're going to take a break. Then we're going to hear back-to-back interviews from Raiders general manager, John Spitek back on the show, and then fresh off an NFC North championship, Ryan Poles. You hear those two back-to-back, and then we'll say goodbye on the other side.

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55:28Jourdan Rodrigue:We are back with now regular guest, general manager of the Las Vegas Raiders, John Spitek. And look, John came over before even saying hello. What's up, Stephen? What's the name of your trainer again? And yes, last year at this time, we talked about Stephen, my trainer, big Raiders fan. Do you have any message for him after last year.

55:52Ryan Poles:Hang with us, Stephen. We're going to get this right. I promise.

55:55Gregg Rosenthal:You know, I met Stephen.

55:56Ryan Poles:Oh, you did?

55:57Gregg Rosenthal:Yeah. And the very first thing he said was, oh my God, John Spitek. I said, yeah, regular on NFL Daily. One of our favorite people to talk to, one of our favorite ball knowers to talk to. Can we start with the quarterback questions? Of course.

56:10Jourdan Rodrigue:Well, that was where we went with Stephen in the first place. I was very... I'm sure Stephen wants to know all the answers, so let's do it for Stephen.

56:16Gregg Rosenthal:So over under how many Fernando Mendoza questions do you expect to get this week, including this one?

56:22Ryan Poles:42 and a half. We're already over.

56:24Gregg Rosenthal:You saw him play. I think the entire football world saw those really great photos of you guys sort of taking in the scene in the national championship game and what a game to get to. What did you think of Fernando? What were some of the qualities that he has that you guys have sort of gleaned from him and scouted in him so far as Ian Rappaport walks behind you.

56:47Ryan Poles:What abombs us? Well, first of all, I would say there was a lot of great players on that field in the national championship game, and we were there to see all of them. And I just love watching guys compete. And to go to a national championship game when it's all on the line and the pressure's high for those young men is such a unique and cool experience. And to see many of those guys rise and play their best game in a game like that or their best in the big moments when the moment was required, It was just a great football game, and I was grateful to be there. I love football so much, and I would go to that game and do it the same way if I didn't have this job.

57:21Ryan Poles:So it was just cool to be a part of a game like that.

57:23Gregg Rosenthal:You were kind of, when you played, you were kind of an underdog yourself. Like you kind of scrapped your way into whatever you could. And Kurt Signetti, I wouldn't call him. Was that a compliment? It is a compliment. It is a compliment.

57:33Ryan Poles:That was a backhanded compliment. My vision was that I was more of a star, but you're actually true. You're actually right.

57:38Gregg Rosenthal:Well, you know, Kurt Signetti, nobody could call him an underdog at this point. but his story and like the way he gets that team playing, I think for a fan of the game and the sort of the poetry and magic of the game itself, what was it like watching all of that kind of come to life? And just like the way that those guys were connected and, and, and all of those, you know, three stars, two stars, walk-ons, all of those guys coming together the way that they did.

58:07Ryan Poles:I just think it's a great example of why this is the greatest team sport. You know, at Indiana, they built a team. They built a great team. And you could see it the way they loved each other after the games. And as they got notoriety, they didn't change. There was a humility there. There was a respect, you know, that was there. I mean, I think you saw it with Team USA just win the gold medal, too. I mean, it's a team sport. It's not any one individual. And, you know, the superpower in that Indiana program feels like they really know how to build the team. And, I mean, that's paramount. That's what we're all trying to do.

58:36Ryan Poles:What do you think Fernando's biggest strengths are? That's another one. 43. Yeah, put that one down.

58:41Gregg Rosenthal:Yeah, check.

58:43Ryan Poles:You know, I just love watching him play. I mean, he's obviously a great competitor. You can see that the teammates are drawn to him. You know, he's got a lot of the qualities you look for. But now we get a chance to meet him and then see him in person.

58:56Jourdan Rodrigue:Now, you acquired Geno Smith last offseason just because I'm still, I'm not giving up my presidency of the Geno Smith fan club. Obviously not his best season. Is there a scenario where he's still there on the roster? Yeah, of course.

59:13Ryan Poles:I mean, we gave him a contract last year. He's under contract this year. It's a good number for a starting-level quarterback in this league. And I learned long ago you can't have enough good quarterbacks on your team. So, I mean, we're going to talk about, if we get through the combine and we get the whole coaching staff together, we're going to talk about the entire roster and try to figure out the best way forward.

59:32Gregg Rosenthal:We got a chance, and this is a humble brag on my part, but we got a chance to talk to Clint Kubiak after the Super Bowl. and just really refreshing. He has this sort of presence and a belief in his players, and we saw that with his work with Sam Darnold and with that entire offense in general. What was it about Clint that you guys discussed through the interview process and through the vetting process and talking to him, getting to know him? What are some traits that stuck out to you about Clint that you gravitated toward?

1:00:07Ryan Poles:You know, when we were getting started, we put together a list of kind of the traits that we were looking for in a head coach, you know, none of them physical. But he just has a great, even-keeled way about him. You know, there's a high level of confidence that he presents, but with a wonderful amount of humility. His intelligence is through the roof. He's done this for a long time. You know, I think one of the cool things about him was the story that kind of broke about him working in the oil industry for a little bit and you know I think like I think like a lot of us at some point we we think like maybe maybe we should do something else you know maybe we should and then you're drawn back to the game and it's just that love of the game and the love of coaching that kind of shone through and then it was undeniable as that team started to really roll I mean it just seemed to get better and better and just when you think you know I got to stop these these these players you know JSN has is the offensive player of the year I mean everyone's trying to stop them and nobody can stop them well there takes a real wonderful wonderfully coordinated offense and a great offensive mind to do things like that I mean it's not an easy thing to do when you know they're trying to stop that guy and then they still get the ball to him and still in big moments you know that's awesome so but really it was about the man the person

1:01:19Gregg Rosenthal:um that that drew us to him you know I'm kind of I kind of set you up here and I'm sure you expected it I'm sorry about that but with the Indiana question how it felt those that connect connectivity how those guys felt playing together and then also with what Clint did and that when what that Seattle team how close they were how they just like were like radically positive to each other all the time and just like loved up each other and were confident Ernest Jones quotes you know if you don't like my quarterback and I mean like how do you get that in in Las Vegas I know you got some bright young guys and then some some some culture guys that that you like but but How do you get from what happened last year into that, that energy, that feeling?

1:02:02Gregg Rosenthal:You're building a roster of players, obviously, but bringing that into the space and making it a part of what you are, how do you do that?

1:02:11Ryan Poles:It's a challenging part of it. There's so many things that go into a roster, and guys from all different backgrounds, demographics, they're older, they're younger, they're in different stages of their lives. but you have to find a way to connect them together. And they obviously did a lot of really cool stuff in Seattle with Mike this year and Clint talked about a lot of that. And at the end of the day, it's about accountability to the man lining up next to you. You've got to create that somehow. And getting guys that love football and that will be there for each other and there's like a selflessness and a humility to them, I think, is another wonderful traits to have.

1:02:46Ryan Poles:Maybe some teams prioritize those more than others. I mean, to me, it's a big thing. It's kind of how we built it in Tampa with the right kind of people. And we're just going to continue to stack the right kind of people in the entire organization. It's not just the players. It takes literally the entire organization. And, you know, it's required every day to show up for the people next to you.

1:03:06Jourdan Rodrigue:I know, or I would assume you see Max Crosby as one of the people that has that right kind of stuff. How are you managing the reports and the idea that, you know, he wasn't happy with how the way last season ended and, you know, might want to be playing elsewhere this next season?

1:03:25Ryan Poles:Yeah, I mean, the reports, Will Kiss manages those for me, so I don't, I don't, I got too much to do to write. I have a great relationship with Max. You know, we talk all the time. We've had hard conversations. I mean, it's no secret that he wasn't thrilled about it, but I can sit in those things, you know. I can have that stuff. And I love seeing Max. I love seeing him every day. He works his tail off right now. He's on the mend to get healthy and to play the game that he loves.

1:03:53Jourdan Rodrigue:I have a question. And this could be related to Max because, in theory, Tradium, you could get draft picks and you'd open up cap space, but you have a ton of cap space. Is there such a thing as too much cap space? You have like$90 million in cap space. Is that too much?

1:04:06Ryan Poles:I don't ever want to have that much again. I'd love to have the challenge of Tom Delaney struggling to piece it all together and not just like, you know. And then the other part of it, too, is like, you know, the whole world knows we've got a bunch of cap space, so what are they going to ask for, you know, more money. So we've got to sort through all that stuff. But we've got a great opportunity in front of us this offseason to attack it with a new head coach, a young head coach, and build this roster the right way. And that's really all I'm focused on. So we have what we have. I mean, there's no denying it, and I'm not going to run from it.

1:04:33Gregg Rosenthal:And with that, I mean, I hear what you're saying. I know it could be tempting maybe to go out, and it's been big in free agency and those types of things. But the way that you guys built Tampa Bay, you drafted and developed guys who love football and were going to be culture tone setters, and then you paid them, your own guys.

1:04:52Ryan Poles:Yeah, it's the best way to do it.

1:04:54Gregg Rosenthal:Right. So the patience that it takes. Last year at this time, everyone was fired up and talking about competing immediately. I think that was the expectation for all of us. I mean, and yourself included. But now it's like there's going to be patience, more patience in a build like this, the way that you want to draft and develop and those things. So what is balancing like that amount of money, first of all, finding the right guys in potentially in free agency who are worth sort of helping lift the floor of the young guys who come in and then balancing that with what you want to do in the draft?

1:05:29Ryan Poles:Yeah, it's a it's a delicate balancing act, all of it. And I think what we're going to prioritize is guys that can add to the culture right now, get us back on the right track, and then be there when we're ready to roll. Patience is not a word that I use a lot in this industry. There's not a lot of patience, so that's not. But building it the right way, having a process over results, and sticking to that, even when it's hard. Even when you feel like there's urgency and you get emotional about these deals and you don't want to lose the deal. I mean, some of the best deals are the ones you walk away from.

1:06:04Ryan Poles:Just because you have the money doesn't mean you should do it. And so it's all out in front of us right now, and we've got to be mindful of that.

1:06:11Jourdan Rodrigue:So speaking of patience, and you've been very generous with your time, we'll let you go with this. I do feel like Stephen, and for the listeners that missed that interview, my trainer, which is a little embarrassing, big-time Raiders fan, he was losing a little patience, I've got to admit, with the Raiders midway through last season. And just before you go, do you have any message for him or for Raiders Nation, how you're feeling here after a year at the helm?

1:06:35Ryan Poles:Stephen, you've got to get after this guy a little bit harder, number one. And, no, I just appreciate people like Stephen and Raider Nation. And, well, any trainer is supposed to get after you. They're not supposed to make it easy. I'm so happy right now. You're not supposed to, like, leave a workout if you're a good trainer and be like, that was easy. You're supposed to get your ass kicked. I mean, not exactly a body beautiful over here.

1:06:55Jourdan Rodrigue:I was feeling very old.

1:06:57Ryan Poles:No, I would just say to Steven and all of Raider Nation, we appreciate all of them. And the passion in this fan base is unmatched really anywhere I've ever been. I've been in some really cool places. And we've got a great opportunity in front of us and just continue to support us and have a little bit of patience. But I'm not asking for a lot. That's not the way this thing works.

1:07:15Jourdan Rodrigue:I love that. And there really is no other fan base like Raider Nation. I really think Cowboys are interesting and the Raiders. But to me, those are the two truly national teams. So John Spitek, he knows the job that he has in front of him. We appreciate the time. Thanks, guys. Always great to see you. Thanks, John. Hope we're still two of your favorites, by the way. You said that coming in. I was like, that was being a little generous to me because he just felt bad in front of me. Two of my favorites. But thank you. Hope he stayed that way. All good. Here with Ryan Poles, general manager of the Chicago Bears for the second time.

1:07:47Jourdan Rodrigue:Just want to point out, after you came on for the first time, you went ahead and won the NFC North. Yeah, we had a little success. Yes.

1:07:55Gregg Rosenthal:What I want to point out is that you called your shot in that last interview that we did because all we wanted to ask you about was the offensive line and how aggressive you wanted to be in rebuilding that foundational element of your offense and of your roster. And then you went out and did the dang thing. And they were one of the best units in football this year. So, first of all, how did it feel to call your shot in such fashion with such flair? Yeah. And second of all, I mean, the growth of that unit and just sort of what it was like to put them together in real time.

1:08:28Jon Spytek:Yeah, I would say, you know, to call the shot, I wish it always worked out that way. You know, you have plans, and you're always waiting for some type of wrinkle to throw it off. That's just part of this league. You never feel comfortable. So it was cool seeing that come together and using different ways of doing it in terms of trades and also for agency. and I think really the best part for us is for agency and trades, some of the tough things are you don't know the player very well. You don't know their habits in terms of how they prepare and all that good stuff. So with that, there was touch points with all three of those interior players that made us really comfortable, and we were able to obviously see the results come through for us.

1:09:11Jon Spytek:And I got to give Dan Rochard and Kyle Devan, our O-line coaches, There's a lot of credit for that. Just because you plug in good players who are O-line doesn't mean that it'll come together. They've got to have chemistry, and they were able to create that in really one of the best rooms that we had in the facility.

1:09:29Gregg Rosenthal:For the listener, Ryan cannot stop smiling every once in a while talking about this group. You saw it in the past game, of course, and Caleb is one of the best quarterbacks in the league and not taking negative plays anyway, but to combine him with that line was really cool to watch. But the run game came to life. in such a multiple way for you guys, not just because of what those linemen could do and were capable of doing as a unit, but also your backs. And, you know, we love Kyle Monong guy. We call him Kyle Monong dude on this show. He is a dude. He is a dude. And we loved watching that come to life all season.

1:10:06Gregg Rosenthal:And so behind that line, what was that like watching Ben put that together?

1:10:09Jon Spytek:It was amazing. Again, when you pair Dan Rochar and Ben Johnson together and put a run game together, you're gonna get a tactical advantage in terms of getting the best you know opportunities to to get yards before being touched really so then when you add on the talent that we had up front some really good things can happen and anytime that you have balance your protection and in the past game is going to be better your quarterbacks confidence is going to be better so it was really cool seeing that all come together Eric Biendemi who's down with Kansas City as the OC did a fantastic job with our backs, Kyle's development, and also seeing Swifty put together a really strong year, maybe the best year of his career was awesome.

1:10:53Jon Spytek:So we look forward to picking up where we left off. Again, there's always challenges for this league. You can't just take last year and apply it to this year. You got to continue to work on it and adjust as things pop up. So looking forward to it.

1:11:07Jourdan Rodrigue:But yeah, good group. You mentioned DeAndre Swift having such a great year. I was surprised to see him on some of those articles that like you know potential cap cuts you guys do have a tricky situation where you know you got to cut some salary cap is he a guy you feel good about for the 2026 season on the team

1:11:23Jon Spytek:yeah i do feel good about it um you know we'll get through this next two weeks um see what different opportunities kind of pop up um it's always difficult there's a lot of unknowns um a lot of different sequences that we've put together how they come together um is is um it's too is It's unknown right now, but I feel good about Swift team. Where is that?

1:11:45Jourdan Rodrigue:One thing you alluded to it, you had the Joe Tooney trade, and you've kind of pulled a big surprise almost every one of your off seasons. You started out with the Kyle Mack trade, you know, leaving. You, you know, DJ Moore, you got as part of that trade. I feel like you and a few other teams have been part of a trend. There just have been more veteran trades in the NFL. So I guess I'm just curious if you go through your process as a GM, how you use trades as part of kind of the arsenal. And do you have another little fun one coming up? Just do it at the end.

1:12:21Gregg Rosenthal:Follow-up question.

1:12:23Jon Spytek:We'll see. We'll see. Usually they start popping up this week. I'll say this kind of cool story. I've gotten to know, I'm trying to draw a blank on his name. there's an author who wrote range and a new book's coming out inside the box is about constraints and what we can learn from constraints and it's uh it's interesting because when i think back to our first year not having much money um not having many picks you learn how to you know live inside this box and how can we make the most out of our situation and we've been able to take that and apply it along the way and and what that's taught us is to just really keep an open mind on how to solve some of these solutions there's the basic way of just doing the draft and straight up for agency but how can we take advantage of some trade opportunities to bring a talented player onto our roster by really starting fresh and rebuilding from year one we needed to get the talent level higher and higher, knowing that it takes a little bit of time to get draft picks developed along the way.

1:13:37Jon Spytek:So how can we expedite it just enough, but also bring in the right type of people. So I think that experience in the very beginning has helped us take this kind of unique approach of using trade, free agency, and the draft to help build our team. So we're always listening. We're always going to analyze everything that we hear in terms of how to improve our team. And that's been able to create some cool situations over the last few years.

1:13:59Gregg Rosenthal:One of my favorite things about football is how people make decisions. And I think we always see on the field the product of like a play caller sequencing plays together and how combinations and permutations change over time and all of the different avenues they can take. You mentioned something that sort of sparked for me when you were talking about DeAndre Swift, which is we've sort of gamed out some of the scenarios and some of the different combinations. What I think a lot of people don't know about your job is you have to sequence out possibilities too. And you have to run a lot of game theory on all of it.

1:14:34Gregg Rosenthal:I'm curious if you could peel back, maybe not with this specific situation, but if you want to, you can. But how you do that and what that process actually is and looks like for the listeners who might not be as familiar with it.

1:14:48Jon Spytek:Yeah, I'll start with the calendar, really. Once we finish the season, we have our early draft meeting. So we bring all of our scouts in and we go through the board. We kind of call it pinning the board up. So it's not set yet. There's a lot of information to learn this week and through the spring. But it gives us an idea where strengths and weaknesses are. And then for agency, we do the same thing. And our pro staff does an amazing job with that. What we also do is we add to our free agency board, we add the cap casualties. We usually overload that more than what's actually going to happen, but we never want to be caught by surprise.

1:15:29Jon Spytek:So when we mesh those boards together, it gives us some clarity of where strengths and weaknesses are and allows us to understand really, all right, where do we have to be aggressive? Maybe we need to go to a trade route to get this done because I don't know if the volume is there to feel comfortable with fill in that need um so we go through that and then obviously there's a financial part of it um so we have one of the best cap guys in the league matt feinstein um so i myself and now jeff king will go through and list everything with ben and then i'll bring in matt and say okay walk us through what's the short-term and long-term effect of this financially

1:16:10Jon Spytek:yeah so there's a lot of tough conversations there where you know i'm like come on You can find more money somewhere. And he does. He does a great job. But he also knows there's some core things. I don't want to hurt herself down the road. I want to stay flexible. Also, you know, we've got a quarterback that's trending in the right direction. I want to make sure that there's a plan in place for whenever we need to extend him, if everything continues to stay on the same path. So how does all those decisions today fit that down the road? So it's complicated. It's the most fun part of this job. There's a lot of putting out fires, but that's the part that, you know, I'll sit there on a board and we're writing the tags.

1:16:51Jourdan Rodrigue:It's a big week for that, too. And especially this offseason, you have so many players in your secondary up at the same time, and you might be looking for a left tackle because you have an injury there from your draft pick. So there's a lot of games being theoried out there. Specifically with the secondary, you know, Jaquan Brisker was one of your first draft picks. And Kevin Byard is such an important part of your team. And Nashawn Wright had such a breakout season last year. Where are you with those three guys specifically and your confidence of what you're going to be able to do to keep them?

1:17:29Jon Spytek:Yeah, so I think part of this week and early next week is understanding what those markets are. Also, you know, we've got to clear some space in terms of our cap and make sure that we're healthy there. And really it's then can we make that fit? And it takes both sides, you know, obviously agreeing that it works for each other. So we'll set up guardrails for each one of those scenarios, knowing that once you prioritize and the first domino goes, that may take three off the board because of financial constraints. So once we get through this week, we'll go back to the room and the drawing board and lay that out and then progress in this.

1:18:12Jon Spytek:You know, we'll prioritize everything, progress through that list and put it all together.

1:18:17Jourdan Rodrigue:Well, Ryan Pulse not only called a shot on the show last year when you first got the job, you said it's going to be our goal to take the North, the NFC North and never give it back. Well, they they have taken the North. It is a very difficult division. So hopefully, you know, next year when we talk to you, you still will not give it back.

1:18:35Gregg Rosenthal:Do you have any predictions? You know, do you want to call another shot this year?

1:18:40Jon Spytek:I just, you know, our goal is to take the next step. And that's to get to the championship game and eventually the Super Bowl. So I like to see our offense take the next step, which I know with Ben and Caleb and the work they're putting into it, that'll happen. Obviously, again, injuries, things that we can't control, we'll always throw a little bit of a wrinkle in it. But then on top of that, our defense taking the next step. And I think if all that comes together, we should be in a situation where we're going to continue to improve and keep moving up.

1:19:10Jourdan Rodrigue:Ryan Poles, GM of the Bears. Appreciate you. Awesome. Thank you. Those were delightful. You can tell, like, the vibe from Poles coming off, like, a championship season. You know, it's always interesting this time of year. Like, there's the guys who are riding high. Spitek's coming off a bad season. but you wouldn't have known it, which I appreciate. But sticking with polls for us, I did just want to update an item that he talked about on the podium we didn't get a chance to talk about, that other teams have expressed interest in Tyson Bajan. And he believes there will be a trade market. He said that for Tyson Bajan.

1:19:49Jourdan Rodrigue:So I don't know if that's them trying to drum up a market.

1:19:54Gregg Rosenthal:Do you know what, though? Because there was... It reminds me of a very specific example.

1:20:00Jourdan Rodrigue:Go ahead.

1:20:00Gregg Rosenthal:That polls was the one saying it is interesting to me because like a week ago, there was a source report that the Cardinals were interested in Tyson Baygent, which at the time felt like an agent sort of putting stuff out there like that. But sometimes when you start to connect leaks with other leaks, it might not be anything as it pertains to Tyson Bajant specifically. But it could tell you a lot about both Arizona and Chicago and what they are either hoping or attempting to do right now.

1:20:32Jourdan Rodrigue:I think it says a lot now that I have the full picture of him saying that about Chicago. And it reminds me on a lesser level, but similar to the Joe Milton, Drake May situation. I actually think that they gave Tyson Bajant a great contract. but it just might be a situation where you have a backup that's the same age, that's really competitive, that wants to play. I'm not reporting anything, but just that you might see that the quarterback room is constructed better with like, hey, maybe we'd like to see Caleb with a different true backup and Tyson could get a chance elsewhere. Maybe this isn't our forever pairing with him as a backup because you got it.

1:21:16Gregg Rosenthal:Once you get a taste of success and he did and Tyson Bajan did and then he, and he got the contract and he heard the fan base and how for him they were. And, and, and he got a taste of it. So he's going to want to go play somewhere.

1:21:28Jourdan Rodrigue:I mean, you heard with new England that, yeah, like it was maybe a vibes thing that Joe Milton wasn't really thrilled to be in that position. And maybe Drake may wasn't thrilled to have a backup. That's his age. That's that's wanting to play. Really appreciate Ryan poles and John spy tech. joining the show. The last thing with SpyTech, just I love the pop that he's he's still giving Steven.

1:21:49Gregg Rosenthal:That was the first thing he said when he saw you.

1:21:52Jourdan Rodrigue:Yes.

1:21:52Gregg Rosenthal:He also was he included you,

1:21:54Jourdan Rodrigue:you know, it was great that he he's making him a part of the show. And I like the message to Raider Nation. And he was asked about Crosby in other places than us. So I did want to provide that context. He kept saying he expects Crosby to be back, but we'll always listen. So I think that's one where just, I don't know. I'm sure they would like Max Crosby to be back, but I think that's an, I don't know. And we'll see.

1:22:16Gregg Rosenthal:Yeah. And it seems to be, uh, you're dealing with a personality as well, who seems to be in a sort of trying to stabilize his emotions toward the entire topic as well. And so you have to surf that wave too, when you come to it, love surfing

1:22:31Jourdan Rodrigue:the wave, just, you just got to stay on your feet. You know, you don't want to, you don't want to crash. That's going to be it from our show here in the Indianapolis Convention Center. Not as many coaches by a long shot speaking on Wednesday, but we have some great interviews. We're going to have a lot of news. This is quietly the first night where really every, you know, media member has made it here from the snow and everyone's in position. The entire league is now here. This is kind of the first night where the people like Jordan, uh, who have all these contexts, they start talking and people start talking to each other and the insiders like Ian, they start talking and then we start getting some news droppings tomorrow.

1:23:14Jourdan Rodrigue:So look for that, look for some more press conference updates, and then, uh, look for our interviews, uh, with some decision makers, including Bill's general manager, Brandon Bean and Steelers general manager, Omar Khan. That is it. Let's go. Let's be safe out there tonight in Indianapolis for Jordan and John Spitek and Ryan Foles. See you next time.

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1:25:00Gregg Rosenthal:Hey guys, it's Erin Andrews. Breasts get so much attention, but they're still so ignored when it matters most. Everything these days is fighting for your attention. We've got work, family, social media, making it tough to figure out what to prioritize. I got something that should always be at the very top of the list, your breast health. If you're 40 and over, you should be getting screened once a year. And if you're under 40, it's never too soon to visit yourattentionplease.com to learn about breast cancer risk. Trust me, your future self will thank you.

1:25:34Jon Spytek:I'm U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy.

1:25:37Ryan Poles:We all seem to be in a rush these days, from work to driving our kids around. But when you're behind the wheel, please do not speed. A few minutes saved by going faster is never worth the risk. So follow the speed limit, enjoy the drive, maybe bring some snacks for the kids, and know that along the way, you're getting quality time with your family.

1:26:00Jon Spytek:Paid for by NHTSA.

1:26:03Gregg Rosenthal:This is an iHeart Podcast. Guaranteed human.