Jeffery Simmons Gets Paid and Unsolved NFL Mysteries

19:20Nick Shook:The Colts kind of flirted with it until, you know, things kind of fell apart for them this year, but it, it doesn't really like, it makes a lot of sense that this would be the team to reopen that. And then for that to be the right time for Aaron Donald to consider coming back, I just think it would be fun. It's just one of those things that we just haven't been able to track in the last few years. That would be very fun.

19:38Patrick Claybon:And the parallels, right? Having two all-time greats on that Patriots offense and Tom Brady and Randy Moss. And to think about two of the all-time greats being on this hypothetical Rams defense, it will be fun. It will be a fun story. Defense would be back. We did it. We've restored defense in the NFL. All right, let's do it.

20:03Patrick Claybon:I can't do it as well as you. A 41-year-old Ian Cunningham bolts out of bed. He'd just gotten this job after navigating a sea of consultants, but the consultants have abandoned him in this time of need. This young man with a bachelor's degree in psychology knew what to say and when to say it. Now he needs to know what to pay and when to pay it. As he frets, Brad Holmes waits 700 miles away. He's older with more success. He knows there's a top dollar running back to be paid in Atlanta and in Detroit. He knows he has the power and a nation of people waiting for the position to be brought back to the financial position.

20:42Patrick Claybon:It was in long ago. And he wonders, as we do, who pays first? Who gets their money, Shook? Bajan or Jameer?

20:52Nick Shook:i love this because i love the idea of a standoff between two gms across the country that's the first adversarial uh situation that i'm really into right now uh the answer really lies in the details the details would be in the salary cap situation if you look at the lions for next year they're projected to have roughly 47.6 48 million in available cap space according to over the cap you go over to the falcons look we know what they did at quarterback right we know that they are in a bit of a flux situation at that position, but that's also allowed them to have over$110 million in available cap space next year, according to over the cap.

21:27Nick Shook:So I think that the first player that gets paid is probably B. John Robinson. Now, if you look at their, their career, you know, where they are on their career path, it, if you think about, all right, so who came to relevance first, who rose into the spotlight first, well, you're going to go with probably Jameer Gibbs because of the lions, you know, a longer, you know, history of success in recent years. You could also say the same thing about Brad Holmes. Like you mentioned, he's older, he's wiser, but I feel like if there's one team that needs to score a big win, and this team could have that situation on their hands this year, it's not going to be the Detroit lions.

21:59Nick Shook:When it comes to off the field stuff, it's going to be the Atlanta Falcons. Cause I think the lions will bounce back and be fine. And the Falcons could be competitive and everything, but it just makes more sense to pay one of the best players in football, in my opinion, in B. John Robinson. So I'm going to pay him first. Cause I got more money to work with next year. I can front load this deal. I can, you know, I don't have to stretch the money out into future years. Like the lions might have to with Gibbs. Let's pay B. John first, not because he's my favorite running back between the two, but because the finances just make the most sense.

22:25Patrick Claybon:And to be perfectly honest, you save money by paying him first because of this situation. Exactly. And like considering the financial constraints that Brad Holmes is in on a team that's been historically more successful, which is wild to say because we're talking Lions and Falcons here. But recently, like the historical success generally favors the Detroit Lions. And as you said, this is not a commentary on which one of these football players is best because breaking news, they're both spectacular. Both of these offenses would wilt and fall apart without them. I would make the case that the Falcons rely more on Bajon than anybody else.

23:00Patrick Claybon:And that's not just like saying that Bajon is a better football player. It's about everything that's around him, and he's had that success despite all that. So I just wonder, again, as this army of consultants brought all these people to Atlanta and Flowery Branch, was this a part of those conversations? And why wait? Why wait when potentially Brad Holmes could wake up, do some chicanery with the numbers? He has the full faith and support of the Ford family and the people of Detroit. get a deal done. That's only going to cost the Falcons more. So it's only going to cost Atlanta more.

23:36Nick Shook:Yeah, absolutely. And while they might have the luxury of being able to wait because of the effective cap space, it's going to be available to them in future years. Good, you know, smart businesses do it sooner rather than later. I think that we're going to get closer to Jameer being relied upon about as much as B John this year, because he is now clearly the bell cow in Detroit, which he'd been, you know, part of a two headed backfield over the last couple of years. It became more of a Jameer gives backfield last year, which is why the lions moved on from David Montgomery. But that also gives you incentive to pay him before that happens.

24:05Nick Shook:So it's, it is kind of a race against time. Like we know Bijan is like the linchpin of the Falcons offense. You cannot go. It all falls apart without him, but now Bijan or now Jameer is kind of going to move into that role too. So you're right. It sets up a really good race against time. And like you said, the market's only going to increase once one guy gets paid yesterday's price, not today's price,

24:26Patrick Claybon:The official position of this program, I will say without Greg here, even though he would echo my sentiments, they both they both deserve to be compensated handsomely. But yeah, Shook and I both agree. Go, you know, Ian, slide it across the table, man.

24:42Nick Shook:How good? How good is president of football? What were his math courses like at Boston College? That's what I want to know.

24:48Patrick Claybon:Well, it's the psychology thing because it worked on the consultants. Right. So let's let's use that. we'll hit up the agent Bajan has already done one season of you know great television you guys may not be familiar you know with the Pogue life as we look over to just one of the greatest shows in television history which for some reason I'm blanking on Outer Banks which I've seen every single episode of that doesn't surprise me at all Yeah, he played a pirate, you know, and they play the Buccaneers twice a year. So good luck to Bajon Robinson and Jameer Gibbs. For adults with Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis symptoms, every choice matters.

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29:25Patrick Claybon:Let's get our next mystery show. All right.

29:29Nick Shook:A top pick has seen it all in his NFL career. A coaching change. A benching. A fortunate return to action. A career best performance followed by a dreadful showing on the national stage. And a division title won despite losing the regular season finale. None of it has produced a clear conclusion on his future. Is Bryce Young the answer in Carolina or not? And can he finally answer this question in 2026? Yes!

30:03Patrick Claybon:My first answer. because there's so many parallels, and I hate to do it. I hate to because, you know, this is not about height supremacy. Shook and I both are at and shook well above six feet tall.

30:17Nick Shook:Yeah.

30:18Patrick Claybon:The standards for how tall a quarterback should be do not favor folks like Bryce Young. But I will point to another quarterback that played in the NFC South. And again, it's a player comp, and it's unfortunate because he wears the same number as Bryce Young. but there was a moment where the Los Angeles Chargers made a choice and this was after a devastating shoulder injury for Drew Brees I completely understand the idea of not making a collective investment that also Nick Saban didn't invest in which led to him becoming the head coach of the University of Alabama Dante Culpepper going to Miami and yes Drew Brees going to New Orleans the Panthers could be in a situation shook where if they do and it's it's always regrettable if you do give up on Bryce Young he finds a place where he's able to be successful in a different offense in a place that doesn't have to necessarily look back at the investment that they made in him and not to say that sunk cost is some sort of thing that we should always be worried about but if we if we examine those games where the Panthers were successful where they did make plays uh there were high leverage moments where it could have gone either way and it was Bryce Young having to make a play he has at least made those plays there are some quarterbacks who get in these discussions shook that have successful offenses successful teams but it's tough to think about a lot of situations where those plays are made I lean towards believing long term in the guys that make the plays on the field that's that's my belief those

31:47Nick Shook:bias yeah yeah and I think there's a cautionary tale that's also another parallel that exists in the nfc south right now which is that the guy who wears bryce young's number flipped upside down baker mayfield because the browns basically made the decision in a similar situation because they thought the grass was greener with deshaun watson we know how that all played out and you know baker has created quite a career for himself with the buccaneers which you fear if you're a panthers fan that that would happen to bryce somewhere else if they were to move on from him the only difference i think is that baker mayfield's issues were usually injury related him playing through injury, which happened again this past season.

32:24Nick Shook:This guy needs to learn how to just take a breather and heal up for a couple of weeks, I think. But, and it wasn't so much about questions of whether he could deliver in the clutch or not. He did a pretty good job of that with the Browns when he was there, yet they still moved on from him because of the way his final season there ended. I wouldn't want the Panthers to make the same mistake if something like that happened, but I would very much understand that if he had a tumultuous season, that if he did struggle, if they didn't, you know, meet the same expectations that were set by last season, winning the division title in what was the worst division in football, that they would be, you know, inspired to move on, thinking that they could find something better in this upcoming class.

33:01Nick Shook:Now, if you're looking at a terrible season and everything's falling apart and you got a top five pick, then maybe that makes a little bit more sense because of this class that's coming up with quarterbacks. But otherwise, it's a tough situation to be in. And a lot of it speaks to continuity. How long have you played with Dave Canales now? I had to mention the coaching change. Frank Reich was his coach's first year that ended, you know, in ugly fashion rather quickly. You thought like last year maybe would be the first step. And I think that there were moments of, of, you know, optimism and reason to believe in him.

33:29Nick Shook:But like I said, there was, you know, he had the 440 yard game against Atlanta where they win in overtime. The next week he delivers an absolute clunker in San Francisco in prime time. I can't have both sides of that. I don't think the Panthers can either, if they're going to invest long-term in a guy like this, they do have the fifth year option already. So they're fine. like I wouldn't worry about you know security wise they still have that deal it does jump to 25.9 million dollars next year but that's not a huge issue for them that's still below market rate uh for a starting quarterback in the NFL at this point so it's fine it's just that like the pressure is on he's going to have to start proving one way or the other and I think Dave Canales is going to have to too yes they won the division last year but it wasn't the most like impressive victory in the division uh especially in the greater landscape of the NFL so this has got to be the year that he takes the next step I want to believe that he can but I'm going to be one of those skeptics that needs to be, have it proven to me before I believe it.

34:15Patrick Claybon:Yeah. Being in the wildcard game against the team that almost beat the team that won the super bowl is not going to, that banner is not going up in Charlotte. No, we were that, but that other team that everybody forgets there's, I bringing up like the Canales of it all. If, if there is a bad enough season to move on from Bryce, then is that bad enough that it's long-term bad for Dave Canales? And that's the decision like this uh offensive you know the guru tab just gets thrown around everybody everybody every new coordinator has been called a genius at some point uh this offseason uh you know so it kind of becomes superfluous but canal is brought in to repair an offense and give a young quarterback hope of growing into and developing into something in the future and we've seen the hope uh now it's time for the sustained success sustained success is not there like is it up uh for both of them there was the improvement, right?

35:07Patrick Claybon:Because Bryce's pressure to sack ratio was horrible. It was 22.5 % coming into last year. It dropped down to 13.4%. The check down options being there more and Bryce being more willing to take them was a sign of growth. Coker just gets the deal. They believe in their group at receiver. Let's see what they can do. I think 27 points a game is, that's it. It's Bryce and Canal. Because it's an offensive situation. Maybe there's change with a zero Everett on the other side. You know, they, they just invested all that on defense. But right around, like if he gets close to 30, I think they're both back.

35:47Yeah.

35:47Nick Shook:I actually really liked the 27 point indicator because I think that's the mark that you set for any team that believes heavily in their defense. And if you could put 27 on the board, you're going to win most games. And it points exactly to what you said in the investments in the defense. Like they, they attack their defenses off season. Obviously with the addition of Jalen Phillips, they got Lee Hunter in the second round to kind of help their run stopping. And he can continue to go down the list. So it's like, yeah, maybe if that side comes closer to where they want it to be, then maybe there's a little bit of pressure off of Bryce Young.

36:11Nick Shook:And it could mask the idea that like, maybe he's not really proven himself as a franchise quarterback, but it's more than good enough. And that's good enough for them to invest in. I just don't want them to be in the situation. I remember I was on a vacation. I was going to meet up with a bunch of college friends a couple of summers ago. And I saw on the ticker on NFL network, to a tongue of my low assigns extension. And I was just like, you're going to regret that. And they did. and I don't want that to be the situation in Carolina.

36:35Patrick Claybon:Yeah, and you mentioned Baker. I hope hopefully Baker gets his deal. But yeah, if something happens to Bryce and his shoulder is wrecked and for some reason they continue to put him in the games like the Browns did, then it's just a foul on everybody. Yes, protect players of the Cleveland Browns, protect players from themselves. Speaking of teams perennially taking quarterbacks, I'll do my final unsolved. a young man throws a ball in Austin, Texas. It's a hot day. He's the target of a state's attention, the dreams of a nation, a torrent of potential energy for the upcoming college football season, but also a specter hanging over the NFL season for who starts the season with problems.

37:19Patrick Claybon:But there are teams that might be thinking about losing before any losing even happens. who already knows that they're going to march for arch who is planning for manning who hopes to lose a ton for cooper's son you think anybody's thinking about it like that we know the players and coaches aren't thinking about it right they got a job of course not but what front offices are like hey man we let's not try

37:54Nick Shook:I don't think at this point that anybody is saying let's not try but I think there are some teams that are constructed as if they are not going to try or they expect to lose a lot of games one of those teams just signed a quarterback in Miami but that's a you know a massive rebuild that they are willingly undertaking another team had a couple of strong draft classes one that we've actually gotten results from another one that we haven't seen them play yet because they're going to be rookies this year it's the Cleveland Browns and we know that their biggest you know need still is quarterback. And I think that they're going to trudge through this season and be in prime position to potentially spend a pick on Arch Manning.

38:25Nick Shook:Those are probably the first two teams that come to mind. Another one is Arizona, but Arizona did spend that third round pick on Carson Beck. And I, that's something that maybe we'll get to later in this show that I think you should keep an eye on. So those are the first three teams that really come to mind. And you think about like the Raiders, you know, their situation that they were in last year, well, they have Fernando Mendoza now. So they're off the board. And from there, you just have to kind of continue to go on the list. Who needs answers? The Jets need an answer after Gino. Are they just going to ride this weird honeymoon?

38:51Nick Shook:This is like, oh, the first marriage didn't work out, but we've worked everything out and we actually want to get married again. That does work sometimes.

38:58Patrick Claybon:And Frank Reich is our therapist in this marriage, by the way. Oh, God.

39:03Nick Shook:But I think that yeah, I would put the Browns in prime position for that. I think that they'll actually probably be competitive enough to maybe not end up with a top two pick. And that's not me being hopeful or aspirational. I just think that they're their personnel wise is probably going to say that they'll be competitive enough to, to not be one of the absolute worst teams in the league, even though it would, it would behoove them to end up with one of those picks. But my biggest question, this is a mystery that I need solved for me this season in college football. I don't know if I'm that much of a believer in our demanding stock.

39:31Nick Shook:Like I know this is a kid that we have followed since he was a freshman in high school because of his family name and because of how tightly guarded the family kept his whole recruitment and everything else. They have really managed this like a professional agency would understandably so given their, you know, decades of experience with being an NFL quarterback, going all the way back to Archie, but I just need to see him prove it over the entire course of the season. Cause I saw him way back in week one of last season, which is a long time ago at this point, struggle mightily with accuracy, with decision-making he did improve later in the season, but it all felt like too little too late for that Texas team.

40:04Nick Shook:Can he build on the strides that he made in the back half of last season and put together one of those performances that rockets him up the draft board, at least justifies his reputation as it stands right now. Or are we going to see one of those situations in which he never really quite fulfills that? And maybe somebody overdrafts him. I that's I I'm not a hundred percent bought in guy on on Arch Manning as of this point right now.

40:23Patrick Claybon:Well, I think it's completely justifiable to feel that way regarding the expectations versus the reality of what we've seen on the field. But being who he is, that spark, those moments, that 250-yard three iron that hits within four inches of the pin and stops dead that keeps you coming back and keeps you buying clubs, that's the thing that we have to chart with these organizations. Because if they see that, like at the performance from the bowl game, if there's three of those late in the season, they're selling the farm. And like you, you mentioned like Gardner Minshew or Carson Beck or Jacoby Brissett, like these teams, they're going to need these guys to play standing on their heads, throwing touchdowns with both arms at the same time before they get this vision of this kid with Manning on the back of the Jersey running out there for their teams, which, you know, gives me a chance to shoehorn my case for draft abolition in there.

41:19Patrick Claybon:Cause we shouldn't be nine weeks in the season in teams that like, aren't necessarily out of it with fan bases. that are like, yeah, guys, let's lose. I think that's bad for the game. But it's just an addiction at this point. And understandably so. These guys have been successful. Statistically, Arch Manning is probably going to play football. He's probably going to play football somewhere. And you can make the case that he could be successful with that, especially considering we just saw, and a lot of that was media generated, but so much energy and attention going to Brendan Soresby, who has not even accomplished what Arch has done, Shook.

41:57Patrick Claybon:Like, people are so hard up for quarterbacks that they're willing to do anything, and this one has Manning on the back of his jersey.

42:03Nick Shook:I liken it to the idea of driving past a luxury car lot, and it's definitely way out of your price range, but you're like, ooh, wouldn't it be nice to have that Bugatti? Wouldn't it be nice to drive that Lamborghini? Wouldn't it? Let's just go for a test drive. Yeah, I could justify, you know, considering even just this Cadillac, right? Like, yeah, you know what? I owe it to myself. Let me treat myself. that folks just get that obsessed with quarterbacks. And I thought Sorsby was a great comparison because that's immediately what came to mind for me. Because I think back to his first game last season when she was dreadful when they played at Arrowhead and then he, you know, put together a solid year and everything else goes to Texas Tech.

42:35Nick Shook:We all know what happened from there, right? But I do believe that you're right, that teams have made more desperate decisions in the draft than drafting Arch Manning. We can go all the way back to selecting Mitch Trubisky second overall if we want to. Like teams constantly reach for quarterbacks. the Rams you know convinced themselves that Ty Simpson was the future and spent a first round pick on him this year and I was like there's no way he's going that high and then he did so crazier things have happened and it wouldn't be crazy at all but I just need as somebody who really I guess I'm risk averse sometimes I need to see it proven to me to really buy in just because the hype has been so loud and so strong with Arch for so long just again everybody draft

43:15Patrick Claybon:responsibly and good luck to, to arch and yeah. Good luck to Brendan Soresby. Stay, you know, don't, don't scratch the itch, but we'll see. Yeah.

43:26Nick Shook:Yeah. Yeah. Definitely that we'll see you when you get it.

43:28Patrick Claybon:We got some, we got some PowerPoints though that you can watch that are going to prevent all that. Do you have one more? Yeah.

43:35Nick Shook:Got one more hit Hit that music. Let's do it.

43:40The story of a team in transition. A quarterback with new opportunity

43:47Nick Shook:and an undetermined path forward. Tonight on Unsolved Mysteries, Malik Willis knows who his best running mate is in Devon Achan, but football is a game one as a team. Two cannot do it alone. So who might emerge as the next best partner in crime in Miami.

44:09Patrick Claybon:I've got an answer for you, Shook. Let's do it. It's for the folks who, again, not you, Brendan, leave it alone. The folks who play fantasy football. Malik Washington. This, Shook, this is the Malik Washington season, which makes me feel a little bit rough for Malikos that we're having this conversation. It's honestly a little bit unfair considering the overall circumstances. And it's like, yeah, we got to save a franchise. We're going to have to do it alone, man, because we're getting everybody out here. So you and this five, nine, 150 pound running back, it's, it's all you guys go out there.

44:46Patrick Claybon:He's got to be the power back.

44:49Nick Shook:I know it's such a problem. I'm so concerned about this entire situation because look, it made sense for them to be like, Hey, we're going to be the team to pull the trigger on Malik Willis. We like what, you know, he became under Matt LaFleur in green Bay. and then we're also going to go trade away Jalen Waddle and yeah we have a bit of an investment in our offensive line that's probably our strength on the offensive side but tied to number one is Greg Dulcich who had a nice little bounce back you know first foray with with the Dolphins but I mean this core is Malik Washington and Jalen Tolbert and Tutu Atwell and Chris Bell coming off an ACL uh you know as a rookie like I'm going all the way down to Theo Weiss Jr and I remember last season when Theo Weiss Jr scored a touchdown and Fox flew up his name you know on the graphic underneath them.

45:30Nick Shook:And I went, who that's going to be the story of the dolphin season offensively who this guy, but somebody has got to emerge. So honestly, I liked that pick. I would love to believe in, in the two, two conspiracy, right? The two, two push the agenda, but I just don't think it happens in a team that actually might need to rely on him. Jalen Tolbert was a guy that, you know, in Dallas never lived up to his expectation was often a unfair target of, of fans. I are in his first couple of years there. I like the idea of him getting a fresh start with the dolphins, but again, this is going to just be a challenge for this entire unit night.

46:05Nick Shook:I pray Devon HN can play the majority of the season because they're going to need him desperately.

46:09Patrick Claybon:Yeah. It's, it's a question of who makes the place. Right. And that's why I bring up Malik Washington because I've seen them make plays. And I know two, two and Jalen Tolbert have played football. They played a lot of football. They played with really good quarterbacks and really good offenses where they weren't even the top one or two options and we still didn't see those plays that's the concerning part uh to me where they're like pieces in something that's really good it's gonna be tough for this assembly to be really good and malik washington like let's let's go i um i'm worried but in terms like it could all be malik I just hope we can get 16, 17 games of Malik Willis being healthy, considering all that he's going to need to do for this offense to move the ball.

46:58Nick Shook:Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And that's, that's my greatest concern is that look like when he came out of college, we came out of Liberty as a Tennessee, he just looked lost. Like he was not ready for the pro game. And fortunately he was able to land in a good spot where he could actually grow and learn the plays. And he, even he said that he's like year two with the Packers. It was like, I know the plays now, like that's half the battle. and he was able to use his natural talents to the best of his ability and kind of, you know, raise enough eyebrows to attract, you know, the contract that he he's earned in a small sample size, but now is where the real test begins.

47:28Nick Shook:And it's with leading this team. And, and it's funny because they asked him about Jalen Waddle getting traded away and he was very blunt about it. He was like, yeah, like this isn't exactly what he said, but he essentially said this, it sucked. Oh, wait, wait, I gotta be the quarterback. Now I can't say this. I will be fine. I hope that they'll be fine.

47:45Patrick Claybon:No, it's the right answer. Malik, if something sucks, say it sucks. We just finished a conversation about teams maybe not trying so hard, and maybe that team has history of maybe not trying so hard. So we just want everything to be in the up and up. Let's do a quick run before we do have a solved mystery that I can give you and the folks. Quick run through here. Who's going to sound Debo or Stefan Diggs? If you had to pick a spot for those guys where they're going.

48:12Nick Shook:I lean Diggs because as all due respect to Debo, he, I think he's one of those players that the style of play, you know, being the rugged, shorter, more explosive receiver when you get older, I think that time that tends to fall off. And we kind of saw that in Washington, just being his availability, not being the best. And I think that he's somebody that ends up latching on with a team that, that develops a needed receiver in training camp. Right. Whereas digs, I think, you know, the role that he played with the Patriots, you know, in the lead up to the super bowl, you know, I was, embedded with the Patriots all week.

48:43Nick Shook:And all those guys just talked about like him being the older guy in the room that was really showing them how to do things. They basically presented Stefan digs in a positive light that we've never seen Stefan digs presented in, in the course of his career. And yes, he didn't really do anything in the super bowl, but the idea that he was able to kind of bring that room together and serve as a veteran leader on their March to the super bowl carried a lot of weight with me. And I think we'll land him with the right team. It's just a matter of who, so you think about some, some potential pairings and a quick one is he's a Maryland kid, why not go back to the commanders where it's Terry McLaurin and some guys that would make a lot of sense.

49:17Nick Shook:The guys that they've spent draft picks on in recent years, haven't worked out. They could use a running mate in that receiving core. You look at the Raiders. We know that their, their whole group has not been, you know, anything to really write home about it, whether it started with the idea of, of drafting Jack Besh and he failed to really make a difference. They did add Jalen Naylor. Um, but Trey Tucker is the other guy out there and they have Dante Thornton as, you know, somebody who could potentially make a difference downfield, but that group is not very deep. There's way too much of a reliance on Brock Bowers.

49:42Nick Shook:And we saw what happens when Brock is not at a hundred percent health and your offensive line isn't very good. You fall apart offensively, which is what they did last year. Obviously, you know, the offensive line has gotten a little bit better with the addition of Tyler Linderbaum. And hopefully it's, it's just a better group overall with Kirk cousins or Fernando Mendoza, uh, leading that offense. So I think that's another good fit there where he could make an impact on a team that could use some leadership and some experience. But then I think about contenders and that's not to say that like, you know, commanders fans and Raiders fans shouldn't be excited for the season because they should everybody should it's june it's optimism season but let's talk about real contenders and let's think about the rams and think about the fact that they considered getting rid of davante adams in favor of aj brown and then they didn't they backed off they went out of the aj brown sweepstakes their top three right now are puka nakua davante adams and jordan whittington and all due respect to jordan whittington a player who i think is nice and makes makes good plays in spots they could use more depth too this is a team that wants to go win a super bowl go add a guy like that who has experience who was just in the super bowl as long as you can keep it all together in the locker room, which I think that they'll be able to do.

50:39Nick Shook:So that makes a lot of sense for me. And they could also make it work cap wise. And the last team that really couldn't make it work cap wise, but just stays on our radar. And it's going to be on our radar for years and years to come because they never quite fill out this position group is a Kansas city chiefs. Yes. You have Rashid rice coming back from injury and everything else. You have Xavier worthy coming back as well. And you have Tyquan Thornton, a fun little downfield guy, right? But this is a group that has never really had the fully fledged receiving core since the days of Tyreek Hill and why not, you know, try to find a way.

51:07Nick Shook:The problem is, is you'd have to make the money work. They only have like$4 million in cap space right now. That would be a big hurdle for them, but everybody wants to be on a contender. Why not go join the chiefs?

51:15Patrick Claybon:Yeah. It's been a long time since there's been that technician in Casey where like, you got to go back to Sammy Watkins. Was that the last actual wide? There was the late stage nuke for, for some time, but yeah and let's do one more here well we'll go quickly in these quarterback battles Tua or Michael Penix Jr.

51:39Nick Shook:Okay this is probably the one that I'm most conflicted on because I think it really could go either way it also depends on Penix's health coming back from injury I feel like this is a neck and neck one that could go either way to start the season and it's going to be one of those campaigns in which maybe Tua starts and Penix ends up healthy enough and Tua finds some struggles at some point in the season, they go back to Panics. And I just hope it's not one of those yo-yo things where they go back and forth between quarterbacks, because that's just going to ruin Panics is long-term development.

52:03Nick Shook:But it is a different regime that, you know, this isn't their guy. So that's always very possible there. But I think we start with Tua as QB one to begin the season.

52:11Patrick Claybon:All right. Are we going to be subjected as a football family to Deshaun Watson playing football?

52:16Nick Shook:Yes. And I don't know how it's going to go. I, you know, if the last four years or any proof. It's not going to go well, but that's pretty much the Browns. That's the position they've put themselves in with him and Shador. I saw a social media post today about people hearing rumors about trade calls for Shador because the Shador agenda never stops among the fans. Just what is going on here? It's going to be ugly. I'm going to get tired of it by week three, but I think that they are laying the groundwork to put Deshaun in the starting role and seeing where it goes.

52:45Patrick Claybon:How many weeks of Kirk Cousins as the starting quarterback of the Las Vegas Raiders do we get?

52:50Nick Shook:Okay, I'm going to set you a range. We're at least four. And this is not a Russell Wilson for where I always felt like that was his job, but he was going to lose. This is a four to eight game range because I think that's what Clint Kubiak wants to get his offense settled and everybody understanding exactly what they want to do, their roles, how they want to execute from a week to week basis with a veteran, a mature guy. Like he said, he wanted to lead this offense into their first year together, but eventually fans are going to want to see Fernando Mendoza. And if they struggle, it's going to be sooner rather than later, which is why my range is four to eight weeks

53:18Patrick Claybon:In terms of fans wanting something sooner rather than later, the Dallas Cowboys fan base would like to have sustained success in the postseason. The overall mystery, are the Dallas Cowboys going to win the Super Bowl? Brian Schottenheimer has an answer for us. Looking ahead into the season, if I ask you your confidence level, I know you're just going to say confident. But you look at the schedule, you also look at a lot of the moves y 'all made on the defensive side of the ball looks to be some good moves. Where's your confidence level right now? I mean, very confident.

53:51Nick Shook:I love our roster. I love the changes that we've made on defense. I love Dak's grasp of what we're doing offensively. I love watching Tyler Booker going to year two and Donovan as a Raku. I love the addition of Kobe Durant, Rashawn Gary. We're seeing the best versions of Kenny Clark and Quinton Williams. I feel very, very confident and believe that we're going to find a way to be in that game and win it.

54:13Patrick Claybon:That game being the Super Bowl, Nick Shook, are you sold? He mentioned nine players there. The Cowboys are going to win the super be in that game and win it.

54:23Nick Shook:The best version of Kenny Clark when he's approaching his 31st birthday. Okay. All right, Brian. In order to get to that game, they need to win the game that they haven't won in 30 years, which is the divisional game. So let's start with that. How about that? Of course, everybody wants to be in the super bowl. And if you ask any team at this point in the season, they're all going to say that they love their roster, whether they believe it or not. I actually am a believer in the Cowboys because they had one of the best offices last year and the defense just couldn't stop a nosebleed. Do you have numbers for me to explain exactly how bad their defense was and how much it helped them back?

54:55Patrick Claybon:Yes, in terms of success rate, if we go back in the next gen stats era, the Dallas Cowboys opponents from 2025 would have been the best offense in the entire NGS era by five percentage points. Sure. Five percentage points. They were in terms of explosive play rate and success rate. They played a mismatch of the 2025 Rams and 2025 49ers at the same time. Every time they stepped on the field, they just got to be marginally better. That's why all those players that shot he mentioned most of them play defense. It was a casual mention to Dak and Tyler Booker, but everybody else, including the best version of Kenny Clark.

55:30Patrick Claybon:So congratulations to the Dallas Cowboys fans. They did it.

55:33Nick Shook:Yeah. I mean, they got the best version of George Pickens last year and hopefully he's an even better version of himself last this year. I mean, they had 2000 yard receivers last year. How do we not believe in this team? If they can figure it out defensively with all the additions they've made. This should be a playoff team that has legitimate Superbowl aspirations. I call me crazy. Don't say it's because they wear the star on their helmet. I'm just saying the math is math. And as long as that math that you just gave me ain't math. And again, this year. Yeah.

55:55Patrick Claybon:And we, the math that we enjoy is having Nick Shook on this podcast. He mentioned several sports car brands with which Eric pointed out that Shook could only fit in one of those and that was a Cadillac. So thanks to Nick Shook. Thanks to Eric Roberts. Thanks to Robert Flack and everybody who worked on unsolved mysteries back in the day to give us a theme for our offseason edition of NFL Daily. For Nick Shook, Eric Roberts, I'm Patrick Claibon. We'll be back on Thursday with more podcasts for all of you. Stay safe. Happy belated Father's Day. And we'll see you guys later this week.

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58:29Patrick Claybon:There's always something new to see because we've got plenty of space to just be. Plan your trip at TravelNevada.com. This is Tab Ramos from Inside American Soccer. And this summer, Topgolf is turning into the ultimate soccer destination. They've got a new soccer-themed game you can play with your group, exclusive food and drink items. They've even installed full-size soccer goals so you can try to hit golf balls right into the net. And every match all summer long will be on throughout the venue. And if you want to keep the fun going all summer, you can get the Topgolf Summer Fun Pass, which lets you play every single day and bring up to five guests every visit.

59:07Get yours now at topgolf.com slash fun pass. Zach, nice vacation spot, but without T-Mobile 5G home internet, it's scary here.

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