Cutdown Day Takeaways from Every Team: Aaron Donald is BACK, Odell Makes the Cut and the 4 QB Trend

23:22Jourdan Rodrigue:I think that you're hating on Jack Strand unnecessarily because the young man played well in the preseason. Yeah, he threw the ball well. By the way, I just showed my phone to you. I was getting notifications. As predicted, we're going to, quote unquote, we're going to take it one day at a time, ramping up Aaron Donald. Thank you. Thank you. Per Sean McVay, which we could have all seen that one coming. And also the Chiefs finally did release their cuts. Congratulations to the Chiefs. So I know you're on noticing duty for that as well, so I wanted to let you know. But yeah, you have a saying that I say a lot now, Greg, where if you have four quarterbacks, you have no quarterbacks.

24:01Jourdan Rodrigue:I think that actually the team that I trust here, two teams that I trust here in this entire process are the Steelers and the Eagles. I think the Eagles have been stockpiling quarterbacks as resources for a while. I wouldn't be surprised at all to see them be active over the next week. And then the Steelers, I will say this again, I think Mike McCarthy, so underrated over his history as a coach, whether a head coach or an assistant coach, of his work that he's done with quarterbacks. And so I really think they're sort of extending this particular assessment to see. And one of them I would believe is tradable, but it wouldn't surprise me if that guy's like Mason Rudolph or something.

24:42Right. I think the Steelers actually will keep their four, and maybe they cut Mason Rudolph at the last second and put him back on the practice squad, but probably they keep their four unless someone comes calling. I think J.J. McCarthy would be available, but maybe there's not going to be enough interest in him. We'll see. The Chargers, you know, with Jim Harbaugh, who could use a backup quarterback, are certainly a logical landing spot. But you could also just cut Max Brosner closer to the season and hope he slides through and put him on the practice squad. The fact that they're worried someone's going to claim Max Brosner, I think shows how thin it is out there for a lot of teams at quarterback.

25:19The Eagles are probably trying to get something, anything for Andy Dalton would be my guess because he played behind Tanner McKee and didn't look as good as Tanner McKee at the end of the preseason. So can we get like a six, seven swap for Andy Dalton from one of these desperate teams, which could include the Falcons? Because I wasn't sure going into their preseason finale, Jordan, that Tua Tungavailoa was even going to make the team. The reporting starting to come out there was like pretty crazy. And then Michael Penix didn't play in their final game. Tua's numbers looked okay, but I went back and watched.

25:52He fumbled a snap. It was a little rickety. They did play starters there, but he was out there with the starters. It would be weird to me if they cut him, but maybe he could be available. I don't even know. We're 10 days out, and no one knows who their starting quarterback is going to be in Atlanta. I feel like this offseason has gone about as bad as it could for the Atlanta quarterback situation.

26:16Jourdan Rodrigue:Yeah, I mean, that's a tough look for the franchise overall to come in and try to be establishing this new coaching staff and this new front office and like this new team president situation and to not have real clarity of a plan quite yet. Your best player in the preseason was Jack Strand. It's a huge issue. Wait, who is their fourth quarterback? I should know this. Now I accidentally shaded Jack Strand. Sorry, Jack. That's rude. That's rude. No, he actually really did look good. We just weren't familiar with him before him, and he hasn't played football at a high level. He was at Minnesota State Moorhead.

26:50But who knows? He might be the most exciting long-term quarterback on that roster. They kept Cooper Rush, too, for now. That was like, you couldn't cut Cooper Rush? But that maybe indicates to me maybe there's something else going on eventually.

27:03Jourdan Rodrigue:Do you ever think it's funny how some of these backup quarterbacks have just an iron grip on the roster churn of their respective franchises? is like Tanner McKee, the power that that guy has within the roster planning part of it. He's like a hinge between the rest of the roster and then all the guys on the roster that are sort of churned in and out, practice squad and regular transactions over the course of the year. And standing in the middle like Spider-Man holding the bus together is Tanner McKee. He's what matters the most. Who knows? He could be playing big time snaps. Jalen Hurts is, among other things.

27:42you know, very durable, handsome, durable, you know, he gets a lot of knocks and yet, um, he finished first on the ringer fantasy shows hottest quarterbacks draft. And that's worth something. I don't know how we got here, but we're going to get out. Uh, the Falcons, by the way, I mentioned the bad off season, Matt Ryan traded, uh, like a pick swap for Wanya Morris, who was a tackle from the chiefs. And then they cut him today. I always notice when those things happen, you, you trade for someone and then you cut them like the, the Packers traded for Zyre Franklin from the Colts, but the guy they traded away to the Colts today, Colby Wooden, got cut.

28:17So I know Zire Franklin was maybe not long for the Colts anyways, but that just looks bad. Like the guy you traded him away for didn't even make your team. Let's stay with the Steelers. They traded their first round pick from a couple of years ago, Broderick Jones, who played both left and right tackle for them, and a fourth round pick to the Cowboys for a third and a sixth. That sounds good until you kind of add it up. And then you're like, that's really just fifth round type value because you sent the fourth back. So they give up on Brodrick Jones, who's been hurt. The Cowboys need a swing tackle.

28:50They traded away Nate Thomas to the Texans. It was kind of a trade a palooza. We don't like this guy, but you can have him around the entire NFL. The Patriots got one from the Vikings. The Texans traded one to the 49ers. And but these are guys that they ultimately didn't believe in. I did notice our guy Omar Khan, who we had on the show. he either all his draft picks are either great or they don't last on the team at all. Uh, they like, he has a lot of big swings and misses and having to trade a first round pick a couple of years after you have them for like a fifth round value is a big loss for him.

29:22And we'll see if the Cowboys can rehabilitate project Jones's career.

29:27Jourdan Rodrigue:It's interesting. Cause they do need swing tackle depth, but their offensive line is pretty established as what it's going to be. And I, I wouldn't be surprised if some of their plan for project Jones is using him as a, like an extra tackle in some of these jumbo personnel because their tight end depth isn't, you know, they have a great, like a one, you have a great one and they've got a one, two even, but you know, the, the tackle depth sometimes can reinforce the fact that you want to get into some of these heavier personnels, but you don't necessarily have the tight end depth to do it. That's why Jordan Rodrigue makes the big bucks from all three of the jobs she has.

30:01That's a great call with Clayton Adams, you know, who you profiled there. And if you think about what Broderick Jones, there was a minute where he looked like he kind of figured out. That's the thing he does well. He's a big mauler on the move. So that would absolutely make sense. And yeah, the way their roster looks, he'll be their third tackle. The Steelers also cut Landon Roberts, which surprised me. They cut Malik Harrison, who was kind of a free agent bust for them. They gave a lot of money to him last year from the Ravens. And they also activated Joey Porter Jr. off their PUP list. How do you turn 16 games, injury reports, team notes, betting lines, and matchup trends into one clear weekend preview?

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31:20Then once your to-do list is done, get ready to kick back, relax, and enjoy the game. Shop in-store or online now and earn your Sunday with help from Lowe's, official partner of the NFL. Every player in the league has a scouting report. Strengths, weaknesses, history, tendencies, everything an opponent wants to know. But what if somebody built a scouting report on you? Data brokers collect your personal stats, your name, address, phone number, family details, and other private information. Then they package it up and legally sell it to anyone willing to pay, sometimes just for pennies. And then what?

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33:12Serious allergic reactions, increased risk of infections or lower ability to fight them, and liver problems may occur. Before treatment, get checked for infections and tuberculosis. Tell your doctor if you have an infection, flu-like symptoms, or need a vaccine. Explore what's possible. Ask your doctor about Tremphaya today. Call 1-800-526-7736 to learn more or visit TremphayaRadio.com. Let's go to the Colts where I thought they might be in the quarterback market, but instead they're keeping Anthony Richardson. It appears that he is the QB too because he started the final preseason game and he was their best backup quarterback throughout the preseason.

33:53Although reportedly at practice, like it was a little tough to, you know, choose who was the best. But I think Anthony Richardson played the best in the preseason. So he's probably the backup. They also cut Nick Westbrook-Akina because they brought in Keenan Allen, who was arrested for DUI just hours after his preseason appearance. for the Colts. Literally, I think it was that night. They played the game and then he got arrested for DWI hours later in downtown Indianapolis. So that's very disappointing. It does not mean he's not going to be on the roster. In fact, he is on the roster right now.

34:32And in general, DUIs take a while to adjudicate and NFL suspensions don't happen until they do. So just based on past precedent, unless the Colts want to do something about it, he probably is just going to be on their roster this year and face a suspension at some later time. Disappointing. You know, you bring in Keenan Allen. I'm just saying. Like, I saw Keenan Allen, you know, leaving the jail and someone got him on camera and whoever was driving the car with Keenan Allen like kind of yelled at the person who was taking the picture from a local news site. Like, really, bro? Really? You're going to do that?

35:06And I'm thinking like, yeah, don't get arrested for DUI. I don't know. It's just like.

35:13Jourdan Rodrigue:Never drink and drive. Right. Just like it's not a hot take. Like, don't be mad at someone like doing that. That's the cold situation. We'll see if Alec Pierce is healthy for week one. More QB news. Quinn Ewers is a Jacksonville Jaguar. The Jaguars swapped 2028 day three picks. It was like a sixth and a seventh round pick. Like barely anything to get Quinn Ewers from the Dolphins. they traded they gave up so little Jordan you would think this is for their third quarterback spot but they released Nick Mullins and no one else is on the roster other than Trevor Lawrence so presumably Quinn Ewers is their backup quarterback what are we doing here that backup quarterbacks are so little valued that all you're doing is trading like late round pick swaps I there's something about the backup quarterback market that's completely effed that even the smart teams have not quite figured out at least most of them I mean this screams Liam Cohen honestly like Quinn Ewers is somebody who a couple of people in the quote-unquote the tree had one eye on Mike McDaniel went and pursued him in part because of quote-unquote being of quote-unquote the tree um it he just seemed like a fit you know I was on Quinn Ewers duty last year famously not the most fun time of my haven't stopped complaining about it since you know You should have relished a chance to learn about a college superstar in his day, you know?

36:47Jourdan Rodrigue:Yeah. So I just, but to me, this is like a total I can fix him. This is total get him in my system type of move here. The Hunter Long trade to the Cardinals is interesting because the Cardinals are going to want to play 13 personnel, but Tip Ryman's on PUP. So, and he was their third. So now Hunter Long will sort of fast track into the third spot. And Mike LaFleur, we'll get to the Cardinals in a minute, but Mike LaFleur has a lot of familiarity with him. Obviously, the Jaguars went out and were active in the draft at tight end, so they've sort of replaced him anyway. That's sort of one of those rare win-win trades, although not as rare this time of year when you have these sort of late depth chart guys swapping for each other.

37:26Okay, I guess what I'm thinking about this depth chart thing is, like, why you could have invested more in a better veteran in the offseason. Like, why is Jameis Winston only making$4 million a year if half the league is trading like a 6-7 pick swap to get their quarterback too late? You know what I mean? It's just worth the money, I think. Like, Joe Flacco only got$6 million. That would be worth the money because basically you're saying if Trevor Lawrence is hurt, the season's completely over. Which maybe that's just a realistic way to look that you'd be done with Jameis Winston and whoever too, but I don't know.

38:05Also, one thing that you fail to factor into this equation is the idea that somebody can build him and make him do all of the things that I want you to do and point and shoot at where I tell you.

38:19Jourdan Rodrigue:And you're not factoring in the little bit of that, like in the back, maybe subconscious, maybe in the forefront of some people's minds that, hey, if I get this guy, I can really make something happen with him. like drew locks making 2.5 million dollars a year i just feel like that's actually a quite a bargain compared to what these good teams are having to be stuck doing just to have someone that's played and knows how to play quarterback all right i'm lingering way too long on these quarterbacks i apologize yes but you know what you've opened the door and now i'm walking through it so i i really think though that you see where where the league sees guys that really are high value backups like that clearly the Rams when they paid Jimmy Garoppolo they thought he was he was making something like five or six million a year Marcus Mariota uh unfortunately is hurt but one of the best backup quarterbacks in the NFL you saw you saw the team really so it's like it's not that they're not going to pay these guys it's that there's a huge drop off between the backup quarterbacks that the league thinks are very good and can help them win some games Davis Mills can help them win some games or and the ones that they just don't that they don't regard that way Fair.

39:26It's still the toughest position in sport. There's just not enough great ones around. Speaking of which, the Titans had a former future franchise quarterback in Will Levis. He is now on waivers. Any team could claim Will Levis. I mean, I assume he's going to get a job because someone will try to turn his career around, but they couldn't find a trade partner for him. I mentioned Kyle McCord earlier. He is the guy replacing Quinn Ewers. Quinn Ewers was traded for a pick swap. The Dolphins traded a clean 20-28 sixth to get Kyle McCord. I'm actually surprised the Packers gave him up just because he had such an awesome preseason that I thought Matt LaFleur would look at it like, hey, here's a guy maybe we could have as our two slash three for a couple of years at very cheap price that I'm developing.

40:16I mean, he looked gangbusters. He's kind of a feather in Matt LaFleur's cap that he looked so bad in Philadelphia last year. and you have him slight, like he was one of the preseason MVPs, but it shows you how little they valued that because they still just gave him up for a 2028 sixth round pick. And he presumably is the Dolphins backup. And Dolphins, like you can do something other than just go get old Packers backup quarterbacks, Jeff Halfley, you know, you're allowed to do that.

40:42Jourdan Rodrigue:Yeah, and they have Tyrod Taylor there too. And I think part of it probably is who's going to run the scout team better because you need a player who's going to be able to do that and you're not necessarily thinking about his development long term. You are instead thinking about who's going to run your scout team and it's one of those teams where it's like, I think Tyrod is a great backup and I think that he does a lot of the things that Matt LaFleur wants his backup quarterbacks to do. But I don't think that Matt LaFleur is wanting to get back in the quarterback development business and then have someone else pay the guy that you just developed for a few years, you know?

41:19Yeah, that's fair. You're right. I just thought they'd keep three quarterbacks because quarterbacks is so important. But to me, when you make a trade like that, it's because you don't believe in your heart Kyle McCord could be your long-term backup. And so they essentially disagreed with Miami's assessment. Jeff Haffley had some interesting quotes after their preseason game, which I wanted to throw to you as Ms. Dolphins on this podcast.

41:45Jourdan Rodrigue:Okay. Okay. He said, no, I appreciated these comments, by the way. In other news, by the way, for the Dolphins, before we get to Halfley's comments, they put Kenneth Grant on injured reserve designated to return. So that's a serious injury for their defensive tackle. First round pick. They had one of the most surprising cuts to me of the day with Tyrell Dodson, who is a longtime starter for them. Jacob Rodriguez will be the starter there as a rookie, which isn't a shock. But Dodson, you know, is a good player. He'll get picked up somewhere. um hefley said after the preseason game that success this year will not be measured in wins and losses and he went on from there talking about what was going to be important was seeing how much they could develop their players especially their young players not a surprise that that's how they're thinking jordan rare to hear an organization and a coach be so straightforward with this year is not about wins and losses.

42:43I appreciate it.

42:44Jourdan Rodrigue:Yeah, he's telling the truth because how could you look at this roster and think anything else? Honestly, what really annoyed me actually was watching some of the takes on this or the social media on this, which was, oh, wow, they're admitting they're tanking or whatever. Like, no, this is the phase of the rebuild where you don't set expectations on the roster that you have and everybody is very, very clear on what this team is and what their goal is to get better over the course of a season. That's it. Do you know it's for these young players, too, and some of them who I thought really flashed positively in the preseason for these young players, that's maybe the best thing you can do for them as a head coach is to just totally remove any pressure, any expectations and say, go out there and get better every single week.

43:36Jourdan Rodrigue:And that is how we will grade your time here. like that's that's one of the it's a gift you do not get in the NFL you just don't I like it and I hope those quotes aren't thrown back at him they won't be and I think everyone there understands him even the veterans that they got on board to sign long-term contracts like Jordan Brooks like Devani Chan I think understand that and I think they've been straightforward with everything so I'm with you I think they've approached it the right way whether it all works out like that comes down to how good their player evaluation and development is in terms of the draft and we'll find out about that as we go.

44:10All right. The rest of the news, there's just like a firestorm of transactions. And you're right. Some are happening now. Cater Kohu was cut by the Chiefs. So while you were talking before you told me about the Chiefs, that was surprising news to me. And these are just like the little veteran news. Kair Elam, who's a first round pick from just three years ago, might be out of the league now. That's less surprising. He got cut by the Chiefs. So did Emmanuel Agba, a familiar name. But Cater Kohu was a guy that just hasn't been able to get over injuries and was a guy I thought would have a big role for the Chiefs when they first signed him and now he does not even make the team.

44:42Speaking of fun slot corners, Kyler Gordon for the Bears placed on the PUP list. Jalen Jones, one of two Jalen Joneses in the NFL, don't know if you're tracking that situation because it confused me today, was placed on injured reserve. He was a key reserve that we've been talking about. Their secondary is really banged up and the Kyler Gordon news continues to get worse. PUP into the season means you miss at least the first, what is it, four to five games of the season. I think then you can start practicing and possibly return. So Gordon's going to be out for a while. They also traded Gervon Dexter, who was a high pick a couple of years ago.

45:23One of Ryan Poles' misses, and he's had some pretty big misses with guys up front. but he started 19 games a year ago. Every single game they played, he started. They traded him to the Falcons for a fifth rounder and Clark Phillips. So I look at their front and the names don't inspire you. I just hope they know what they're doing. I trust their evaluation of Gravon Dexter that it wasn't going to work out. They've had him for a number of years but the names behind him, including Grady Jarrett, don't make you think that's a plus position And then on the edge, it's similar to that.

46:01Jourdan Rodrigue:Galaxy brain thinking. Other teams score as fast as possible so that we get the ball in our hands as many times as possible. No, I mean, one of the best posts that I saw about this Gravon Dexter situation was, I believe it was my colleague, Ted Wynn, who said, do the Bears know something about their defensive tackle depth that we don't know? And this certainly seems like they think they do. I'm not saying they do, but that they think they do. And I would say I do think that the that great I mean, I always will love Grady Jarrett. He's one of my favorite players of all time. I don't know if I don't know if you knew that.

46:38Jourdan Rodrigue:And also Neville Gallimore, not a bad like rotational D line. Again, these are all guys who you're like, oh, in a rotation, I could really see that working out. But the problem is, is it's not really that. Yeah. Contavia Street is probably DT three there. James Lynch is there. We'll see. It's because they're surrounded by an edge group that you're not sure about. Their defense is a huge question mark coming into the season. They cut Jedrick Wills, by the way, the former first round pick of the Browns, who was trying to make a comeback after missing all of last year. He is the odd man out in that four-way tackle battle that they have.

47:11Marcus Davenport, the former Saint, was also cut by that team. Also getting cut, the Bucs cut Jake Browning, who then told them, I am not going to your practice squad. He presumably has an option elsewhere, either someone else's practice squad or someone else's active roster. He probably wasn't thrilled about getting cut. But one of my favorite stories of a guy making the team, UDFA Jalen Daniels, the prospect from Kansas, is their QB2 behind Baker Mayfield. He had an awesome preseason. He was fun to watch. I mean, again, it's you're put you're just hoping Baker stays healthy. If not, they'll at least be like, wow, Jalen Daniels is starting an NFL game in 2026.

47:52Unless they bring in some sort of veteran. And they could be a team where like, if you told me they got Andy Dalton for basically nothing tomorrow, that would kind of make sense.

48:01Jourdan Rodrigue:I'm on vibes watch for the Bucks quarterback room, too, which I think this is a part of it, is like make everybody feel as good as possible. And then Baker, as Baker Mayfield continues to want to get paid, just, you know, I guess we're on notice watch for a lot of different things with a lot of connotations of the word notice. We are also noticing a viewer who is right to point out Jordan Vanderberg is what the Bears know. Yes, a young player that Brian Baldinger shouted out on their defensive line. So sometimes it's these these young players that you never heard of that they're developing and and maybe it's Vanderberg.

48:39That's a Bears name if I ever heard one. Let's go to the Cardinals who put James Conner on injured reserve designated to return. Not surprising news. We'll see if he plays for them or not. It's just been a really serious injury he's trying to come back from. They also cut Trey Benson. So as I mentioned last week, they are quite thin at running back. Even though going into the offseason, they had so many guys. They cut B.J. Ojolari, who was a high day two pick a few years ago. Tip Ryman, who is a tight end. I know you, like a lot, you mentioned that earlier. That created a tight end shortage for them.

49:13He is going to the PUP list. Christian Gonzalez, hashtag noticing that him and the Patriots don't seem close on a contract. And Gonzalez, who's very soft-spoken and very diplomatic, the most out-of-bounds thing said in this entire contract standoff was actually by Patriots' ownership, who kind of called out Gonzalez for not taking a contract that would make him the highest-paid cornerback in the league, even though we know they're probably fudging the numbers. And Gonzalez just seems a little less happy about the situation now. And just something to watch as they enter the season. I don't buy the Patriots kind of blogosphere panicking of like, could Christian Gonzalez be on the trade block?

49:52I really, really doubt it. But there's a chance he just plays under his current contract and isn't happy about it. They also put their swing tackle Marcus Bryant to injured reserve, which means their first round pick Caleb Lomu will have to step up. Harold Landry, who's a starting edge for them, is on PUP. So he's out for at least the first month of the season. And they showed you where they're not feeling comfortable about their roster by trading for a running back from Arizona, trading for a tackle from Minnesota. I'm not going to pretend I have takes on these guys, but it just shows they do not feel good about those positions right now.

50:24What did Mike Rabel call their depth? I forget.

50:28Jourdan Rodrigue:Not good. Yes. I think it was dog poop. I think it was dog poop. Yeah. And just we're not very good right now. and their third preseason game supported. It was funny because after he said that, you know, they don't send out any starters for their third preseason game and they get boat raced by the Browns and Dylan Gabriel. So it was like, I guess. He's like standing there like, see? That's right. A little worried about that week one game in Seattle. You just want a close game, even if you're not a Patriots fan in week one for the kickoff game. One thing I noticed was a fun story for the Bengals.

51:04Dante Myers made the team. And so they kind of swapped out some of their depth wide receivers. I think this might be the best wide receiver room top to bottom in the entire league. Colby Young and Dante Myers both look great in preseason. And so they got rid of some of their old guys. Charlie Jones has been a returner for them for a while. Mitchell Tinsley was a fun camp story in the past. But Dante Myers was the guy we talked about in one of our Sunday shows who had no D1 offers, who was just working a regular job, who paid out of his own money$100 to try out for the CFL. And from that tryout, made a CFL team and then balled out.

51:43Very undersized. He's like 5 '7", something like that, receiver. And he makes this team. And they're pretty excited about him. And it has a lot of similarities to me to the Andrew Hawkins story with Cincinnati, who had kind of a... Some details were a little different, but the undersized and coming through the other leagues and being out of football. I love the short Kings, Jordan, and Dante Myers. He's my new guy. He's my new guy.

52:08Jourdan Rodrigue:I remember when I told you a couple weeks ago about how you're going to start to see the Bengals front office flex a lot of what their abilities are and what they can do. And basically leave the entire onus on the coaching staff to make all of this work finally with this roster. This is one of those things also. like a very, very small scouting and front office executive staff, famously so, or infamously so, I guess, in Cincinnati. And they're like, look who we can find. This guy is gold. Like, look, you know, among all of our other things we did, look. And so I just, I told you, I said, they're going to start flexing left and right here just to make it extremely clear who's on the line here.

52:51He's really not that small. I was just wish casting. He's listed 5 '11", 186. That's pretty normal. Yeah, what did you say?

52:57Jourdan Rodrigue:Did he say he was 5 '7"? No, you're 5 '7". No, you're not 5 '7". You're 5 '4". Hawk was 5 '7". 5 '6". 5 '6". Yeah. Yeah. I guess he's no baby Hawk. But he had the conversation with the media afterwards where he had the tearful call with his entire family, and they were on, and he starts crying immediately. And he said then once he cries, they cry. And that stuff is great. Yeah. He's on the team Joe Fanano from the Ravens, The UConn undrafted quarterback made their team. That intrigued me. The Seahawks, as I mentioned, finally signed Terry on Arnold. He's immediately placed on the commissioner's exemplus.

53:34John Schneider spoke about the long-term aspects of this signing. Like 2027 could really be the vision, I think, for Terry on Arnold. He's not going to be a part of this year's team anytime soon. Maybe not at all. They traded a sixth round pick from a guy who was getting some buzz when we were at Chargers camp, an undrafted rookie named Avery Smith. I know Joe Hortiz is great, but wouldn't you be a little worried about trading like a cornerback to the Seahawks? I wouldn't want to do it. Well, and his college tape is great.

54:08Jourdan Rodrigue:He is sticky. He makes plays. The fact that a guy like that is going to Mike McDonald. Okay, let's see how that works out for the Chargers, I guess. I think they got a sixth with, you know, if you're just looking brass tacks, they felt like their secondary room was deep. You know, you have an undrafted guy and you pick up a sixth round pick. I guess that's a win, but the much bigger win is if you find an undrafted guy that can contribute to you. So I'm surprised they didn't do that. Tony Jefferson was going to be part of that crowded secondary. We heard early in the day that they were going to cut him from Adam Schefter.

54:42Then later in the day, they made a couple of trades and that opened up room for Tony Jefferson. So our favorite 34-year-old Unc is on the team. 34. just the prime of athletic life right Jordan Rodrigue famous 34 year old for some I mean you're yeah maybe not athletic like playing but how about working for the athletic and uh doing three jobs right now you're just you're just entering your prime you're like I'm trying to

55:10Jourdan Rodrigue:think of a comp you're three Drake May right now you know oh my god that's the nicest thing I've ever said to you. That's the nicest thing you've ever said to me. The Seahawks also cut Trevon Diggs, by the way. I don't want to linger too much on this compliment and, you know, get a big head there. Monterey Foster. That's why I wear my hat to contain it. Everyone, like, literally, my son who's into cut-down day and stuff, did not want any Seahawks hard-knock spoilers, but Monterey Foster, who's probably the most likable, kind of under-the-radar Seahawks guy in hard-knocks, has made the initial roster.

55:44So I'm looking forward to that being shown. And hopefully he continues to make the roster because, as we say, these things are written in pencil right now. The Cowboys cut the player from the Navajo Nation, Shaz Pete, who had that great locker room speech. I hope he lands on their practice. Amazing speech. Oh my gosh. I hope he lands on that practice squad. More surprising was Jaden Blue, their fifth round pick from a year ago at running back being cut. I mentioned Nate Thomas got traded to the Texans. Camden Brown was an undrafted rookie at receivers. who made a bunch of big catches in the preseason.

56:17He made the team. Sam Williams was a high pick a few years ago. He got cut in a pretty crowded edge room. The Raiders had some disappointing edge news. Kieran Crawford was one of the first picks of the third round. Maybe the first is out for the season. They put him on injured reserve. That was disappointing. I had no clue that that was a serious injury. I thought he was going to be a factor for them this year. They also only kept three running backs right now. So if you're in fantasy leagues with Ash and Gentry, that might be a good sign, although they could always look to see who got cut over the last few days.

56:50But good news for Gentry.

56:51Jourdan Rodrigue:It's also a huge sign of what they think of Mike Washington, too. And they think very, very, very highly of him, as you would hope, based on the potential that he's shown. So been doing some digging around on that one. They love that guy. Another couple big runs in that preseason game. I got a little overexcited and said, like, I'm not sure that Dash and Denti is better than him. Just like, period. Oh, Greg. I mean. You do. This is. I do. Sometimes when you do, you do get excited. And then, you know, sometimes things like that come out. Sometimes compliments come out. So I just sort of like sit back and let you cook a little bit.

57:36I'm going to stand on it. everyone who's like, well, let's see how he does it. You know, it's not against third stringers. If you're watching the game, it's not, it's about the traits. Like when you're watching the preseason, the juice is the juice. You can see it. And the thing I didn't like about Gentry last year sometimes, and I know he broke a lot of tackles. I think he's going to be a really good pro. My overarching point was, if you told me they're in the same bucket of like good running backs in the NFL, that's around the same bucket, that is the expected outcome I have now. That's how highly I think of Mike Washington.

58:10But maybe I'll be wrong. They're going to use him, though. You're the one. You should be patting yourself on the back. You said he had some stuff to him, you know, right off the bat.

58:19Jourdan Rodrigue:Yeah. And he did. I saw him play against the Texans' defense. I'm a believer. Now, I'm not going to get as carried away as you are, but that's the old Rodrigo Hedge right there. Never have a take. Our friend. That's the bad podcasting. You've got to have takes. Our friend Chris Wesseling, our old friend, would always say that the one position in the preseason you can scout easier than others is running back. It's true because it's the only time when it actually matters, actual gameplay, and you can see it with your eyes, the ones that are going to stick. That's why I will be really surprised if the Cowboys, among other teams, are not a team that's keeping an eye on the fact that the Rams just had to cut Dean Connors, the back out of Houston.

59:01Good call.

59:01Jourdan Rodrigue:I'm on noticing watch on that one, too. I think there's going to be a lot of quarterbacks and running backs changing position and changing rosters over the next few days. Some claims at those positions. I have a comment here that Washington's upright running style reminds him of Matt Forte. Now, Matt Forte, you know, one of the greatest receiving backs of all time, I think, like of my lifetime covering the league, like so good in pass pro and catching the ball. but if Washington can run like Matt Forte one of my absolute favorites I see it I do see the vision as just like a tougher than you think upright runner the commanders and we're wrapping up here just a few more teams to get to cut Julian Good Jones hashtag noticing the guy they had snapping the ball to Jane Daniels as the starter in those in that preseason game didn't even make the team that's a bad sign for the team yeah yeah that they just don't know what they're doing that center.

59:59I know they hope Nick Allegretti gets healthy, but I think they might be looking for a center on the waiver wire. It's like, good luck. Everybody is right. Everybody is. There's so,

1:00:07Jourdan Rodrigue:there's so many teams that need a center or a backup center right now. It's crazy. And they're, they're looking for like a starting center. And I know Nick Allegretti might get healthy, but he hasn't been. So we'll see. And he even, he hasn't played much. Trey Amos was their top cornerback coming into the off season. He's on injured reserve designated to return. That's really disappointing for them. Tank Dell is on injured reserve designated to return. Less disappointing for him. I think it was always going to be a long process, him coming back. The fact that it is designated to return makes you believe that they think Tankdale will get there eventually this season.

1:00:39There's only a few of those slots available throughout the season, so they wouldn't use one on him unless they thought he was coming back, but he won't be available early in the season. Jared Wayne made that team. He's bounced off their practice squad for a number of years, but he had a good camp. He made the team at wide receiver. The Panthers kept Haynes Kang on the roster. Our Hall of Fame game hero, Haynes Kang. The Hall of Fame game matters, Jordan. Carson Beck, I mean, he was always going to make the team. Never forget. Haynes Kang, I think, made the team basically off that day because he's been barely healthy since.

1:01:12I think he's back out on the field now, but he made the Panthers team. Are you excited for the Haynes King era in Carolina?

1:01:18Jourdan Rodrigue:Sure. I'm feeling bad. This is where Eric is like, this is the last time a lot of these guys are going to get mentioned on the show. You know what? They're people, too. They had some injury news in Carolina, too. Tashaun Wharton and Ikeem Kanwu to the PUP list. Not a surprise for either of them, especially Wharton, though I was keeping an eye on, who hasn't been healthy at all. Taylor Moten to the non-football injury list. He's expected to miss at least half the season. The Browns, I mentioned, kept four quarterbacks for a second, and then they put Dylan Gabriel on injured reserve. Taylon Green, the dual-threat Arkansas quarterback.

1:01:53Keep an eye on him.

1:01:57if we were still doing sandwiches, Jordan, or maybe if we stand on the tiny table to make predictions like we did once, I would stand on the tiny table and say, Taylon Green is the quarterback that the least amount of people know about that will start a game in the NFL in the year 2026. Like, Taylon Green, week 18 starter for the Cleveland Browns. Book it. it's happening.

1:02:24Jourdan Rodrigue:I'll write it down. It's like by the end, it's like they've seen enough of the other guys. Let's just roll with Taylin Green for the last couple of games of the season. I will write this down. Do you have a pen I could borrow? No, you've taken all my pens. You haven't paid customs for them and then you've lost them. Final news. Christian Kirk of the 49ers going to PUP list. Michael Williams, their first round pick from a year ago and Isaac Garendo to injured reserve designated to return. And then they did cut Dijon Love from their roster. I thought he could make it. If you haven't been following the story, he runs some great routes for the ladies on the beach.

1:03:11But yeah, didn't make the team.

1:03:13Jourdan Rodrigue:It's that grapevine, you know, that really must have got some ladies going. You know, that just was, what a game changer. My favorite thing about Dijon Love, who's had one of the most underrated careers of anyone over the last handful of years, is that he gives back to the community too. He had a turkey giveaway last year. I don't know if you saw that Instagram post, but he had a turkey giveaway. So I hope that's not the end of Dijon Love's career, as we hope all these guys who got cut today have jobs. A few teams still haven't posted rosters, but we got to get out of here, Jordan. This was a lot of fun.

1:03:44We got to get ready for our next show.

1:03:47Jourdan Rodrigue:Quarterback Island is back. Quarterback Island is returning. Not only that, it is the return of Colleen Wolfe to the studio. Let's go. Yay. I can't wait to see her. Summer of Connie is over. And let's be real. We don't have Weish on the show as often as we would like anymore either. Big ESPN employee Weish in the mix too. So that'll be our show on Monday. Let's hit the music. Let's get out of here. Big week. We have QB Island. we have our win totals where we draft the teams basically predicting our record and then Patrick Claibon returning to the studio as well with Jordan and that's where we get her to actually make takes pick a Super Bowl winner pick an MVP all coming up during predictions week we'll see you then

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1:05:24Before your draft, our players to target and players to avoid episodes tell you exactly who to circle and who to cross off. Listen to the Late Round Fantasy Football Podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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1:05:46Jourdan Rodrigue:The league's newest podcast, the NFL Report, hosted by me, Andrew Siciliano. It is your home for everything football. Breaking news, expert analysis, game picks, and hear from your favorite players too. Join me and an all-star cast of experts for everything you need to know from around the league. Get new episodes of the NFL Report Monday through Friday, all season long. Listen to the NFL Report podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an iHeart Podcast. Guaranteed Human.