Murray to Minnesota and Best Fits for Remaining Free Agents

18:04Nick Shook:I mean, maybe, but we'll keep that off show, off record for now. Too late now. Everybody's had an experience. Everybody's understood what's going on, what's out there, and where they could be better. So we'll leave it there.

18:18Gregg Rosenthal:You mentioned Linderbaum and him joining the Raiders. Of course, it was a lot of money. They did the whole graphics thing on Thursday. Linderbaum's in the building. That is like a thick-necked man. Him and John Spitek shaking hands. He just paints the picture of an Iowa center. Let's listen to Tyler Linderbaum talk about what he wants to do as a member of the Raiders.

18:50Nick Shook:You know, as an offensive lineman, you know, that's got to be our bread and butter is to be able to run the football. It helps things set up for different things for success. And, you know, the O-line play, it's a mindset. It's having the right attitude of, you know, determination of what we're trying to do to the defense. And it takes all five guys being on the same page. so super excited to get with the with the guys in the building and kind of work towards you know

19:19Gregg Rosenthal:our goals that's a that's a thick with a double c young man there uh he makes your neck look small i mean that thing's that thing's enormous yeah he's got a he's got f1 neck and i also would

19:32Nick Shook:love to see him in a shirt and tie because i want to know what his collar size is it's got to be like at the end of the spectrum there just to fit in there it's crazy and i thought it was interesting

19:40Gregg Rosenthal:seeing the response in Baltimore losing Linderbaum. You see Kyle Hamilton with the crying emoji, seeing this picture up about the Raiders. You see different former teammates that are really sad to see him go, and I think that's gotten lost a little bit in the shuffle here, how much the Ravens are going to miss him and how much they now have a hole in their roster without him. Let's talk about, you mentioned all the players that are now going to be playing around Max Crosby. Let's listen to Quay Walker talk about why he came to the Raiders and what he thinks possibly about his new teammate.

20:19Nick Shook:Having him and Quiddy, the ball probably going to come out fast. So it kind of helps us on the back end, I'll say. Versus the run as well, those are two guys that can do a lot, especially with him. His athleticism is so much that he can do and the intensity that he plays with. Honestly, I just love his play style, and I can't wait to play alongside him. and honestly just to match his energy day in and day out. That's all I got to say. I think Max Crosby, his name and his play speak for itself.

20:49Gregg Rosenthal:Kway Walker, like he's fired up. He wasn't probably expecting to play with Max Crosby, but it really does sound like the opportunity to play with his old college teammate, Kway Walker, with N 'Kobe Dean was a big reason why he ended up going to the Raiders.

21:03Nick Shook:Yeah, reuniting two Georgia guys that were stars for the Bulldogs Makes a lot of sense as you try to reconstruct a defense. And the funny thing is they both signed. It was both reported about the same time. Almost as if it was a weird package deal of free agency additions. I think it was.

21:18Gregg Rosenthal:I think it was him making a decision at the last second because it sounded like the Cowboys offered N 'Kobe Dean at least more money. But Quay Walker was already in first. And he was like, no, I want to go there. Eric Stokes is there, just re-signed too. And it sounded like it just felt comfortable for him.

21:31Nick Shook:Following the old Howie method, just pile up a bunch of Georgia Bulldogs and a bunch of guys that teams have spent high picks on. Now, Dean wasn't a first-round pick, but Walker was, Eric Stokes was, and, you know, high picks, guys that they value. And it makes sense because, like, you need to accrue talent, and so you go and accrue proven talent. But again, I think Crosby is the piece that really attracts everybody more than anything. And obviously it didn't happen in that order, but now this is the reality that they exist in. It just makes it that much more interesting and exciting. But I will say this.

22:01Nick Shook:i love the black and white like monochrome approach to their attire as they're joining joining the silver and black quay walker's t-shirt there this is why you should watch on youtube are tall tees coming back that looked like it was like halfway to a tall tee like it's 2003 again them franchise boys are blowing up the top explain it to this old man what's a massively oversized

22:21Gregg Rosenthal:t-shirt that was in oh yeah early 2000s oh yeah that's it's back honestly i think it's coming from from japan and asia because because that's been yes that's been the style for for years and uh it the the youngins we're we're bringing it all back like the huge baggy pants it's all coming back to late 90s early 2000s i love it a big baggy pant doesn't always look the best on on like a short guy but but i'll do it anyways doesn't look good on me either better than better than like a better than tight jeans all right let's go through uh some of the moves that happened since we last taped. And they're smaller in nature, but I find a lot of them really interesting.

23:01Keaton Mitchell, the former Ravens running back who was non-tendered by Baltimore,

23:08Gregg Rosenthal:gets$5 million guaranteed to go to the Chargers. That amount of money actually opened my eyes. I mean, that's more than some other running backs out there in this market and showed that there was real competition for Keaton Mitchell. And an interesting piece there to kind of add to a young backfield, you know, behind their first round pick from a year ago.

23:31Nick Shook:It also fills out a backfield with a bunch of different running backs of like various archetypes. Like you have Hampton, who's explosive, but also big. You got Kamani Vidal, who's a bowling ball, you know, power back style. And then you've got Mitchell, who's a home run hitting, you know, speedster. A guy that, you know, in Baltimore at his best was capable of hitting home runs, but never saw a ton of carries. The most he saw was actually this past season at 59 attempts for 341 yards and a touchdown. um i it was curious when they didn't tender him but the ravens feel like they're making a shift in how they're approaching a lot of their roster so for him to get to the open market it's the perfect fit for the chargers to go add another running back because we know the chargers want to run the football so much that they went out and and quickly added charlie colar as a high quality blocking tight end as well so it's clear what they want to do we've already known this from the last couple of years and they're just investing further in it yeah when i when i talked about the

24:21Gregg Rosenthal:Chargers on our previous show. I kind of forgot to mention that they signed Cole Strange, gave him a bunch of money, the former Dolphin. So it's interesting that Mike McDaniel, you can see his influence. It really looks all about the running game, and he loves speed when it comes to the running game. Let's talk about the Bengals, who made a couple moves on Thursday. They signed Jonathan Allen, the longtime Washington player who spent last year in Minnesota. Two years, $28 million, plenty of guaranteed money. They also extend their tackle, Orlando Brown, their left tackle there, through 2028. So he gets a two-year extension.

24:59Gregg Rosenthal:He was not a free agent, but they extend him out. He represented himself, by the way. You know, all the agents who get the credit on those tweets. How about Orlando Brown negotiating a contract by himself? A little surprise to me. They're spending this much money on Jonathan Allen. Both Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave, who are in their 30s and had one disappointing season in Minnesota, each got released by the Vikings, kind of in cat moves, but they also didn't do much there. And they both got raises. Big names, I guess, still get paid on the open market.

25:31Nick Shook:You know, I think that they have entered the rare air of official bag getters, especially Hargrave. But Allen now, too. I mean, he had a three-year,$51 million deal with the Vikings that was terminated after the 2025 season, so after one year. But he was a four-year,$72 million guy in Washington. That was his second contract signed. And now he's getting another nice little bag. So he's going to end up with a pretty high career earnings total.

25:55Gregg Rosenthal:The Bengals, I gave them some pop on day one of free agency because I really liked the two moves that they made. And that was Brian Cook, the safety, and Boye Mafe. And then they literally didn't make any other moves until this one. And this is just like a lot of bunny when they have so many needs. I would have preferred to see them spread this out a little bit. And I know that they'll sign some players throughout free agency, but they're still very old school where they front load everything because they're trying to get to a salary cap floor. And they desperately need linebacker help. I think they need to take more shots on their defensive line instead of putting it all in like an aging defensive tackle.

26:40Gregg Rosenthal:They need help in the secondary. I think they need a third receiver. They could use some interior offensive line depth. It's just a lot. So we'll see. I'm not going to grade them, you know, right now. But this was a curious contract to me. I did see a report, by the way, by Jordan Schultz. I haven't seen it out here elsewhere. That Cater Kohu is going to the Chiefs, a guy I wanted to make sure to get into my top 100 because of all the re-signings. He ended up around 80 or in the 70s. Good slot cornerback. And I kind of like that mix with him and Steve Spagnuolo. The Chiefs have not done a lot this offseason, and they have a lot of holes, so I'm still concerned.

27:17Gregg Rosenthal:But the moves that they have made, I have enjoyed between this and Kenneth Walker especially.

27:22Nick Shook:Yeah, Kohu, I was actually trying to pair him while working on that piece beforehand and then was running through some depth charts and saw him appear on the Chiefs depth chart. And I was like, wait, what? And that's what led me to discover the report that you just mentioned. And he was the guy that a lot of teams, you know, a lot of people saw as like a pretty, like a really good and surprising good cornerback a couple of years ago. And then he missed his whole last season due to injury. It's almost like he just fell off the table and out of the consciousness because he didn't play this year.

27:48Nick Shook:So a savvy pickup for them for a chiefs team that has lost a good amount of players in the secondary this off season. I was immediately pairing them with, with the best available defensive backs. So to see him go there, it made a lot of sense. Good pickup for them.

28:02Gregg Rosenthal:Yeah. I liked it a lot. I also like the commander's pickup of Rashad White, who's a really good pass protecting back, a really good receiver. He played receiver in college. He's a fine running back. He's not incredibly explosive. He's almost like the third down version of, who am I trying to compare? Maybe like a Kyron Williams or even a James White. You're not going to get the long speed, but he's not similar to Kyron Williams, but I mean like the third down version where you're not going to get like the plus 25 plays. But I really like him a lot. And it continues a theme that I've enjoyed this commandos offseason between the kind of the mid-tier signings.

28:45Gregg Rosenthal:There's been some signings I don't really love. Adafi Owe cost a lot of money. Charles Amenahu didn't make sense. But they're doing what I'm asking for, which is just make a lot of moves in volume and especially younger players. And Rashad White, I think, fits that need. He'll probably be their backup. I don't know who their starter is going to be. Maybe it's Jeremiah Love in Commanders fans' dreams if he fell to number seven. But I think Rashad White will be a nice number two. And the Commandos fans are thirsty. You know how I know that, Shook? Because I put out a video that I like their offseason moves, and it's gone crazy.

29:18Gregg Rosenthal:And that's how you know the fan base is just ready. Just say something nice about us. And we got thousands of likes on that.

29:25Nick Shook:They're like in the desert. They just want a drop of water to keep them alive and keep them hopeful going into the next year. And you know what? They could be a team that makes a big jump for one year to the next because it was so disappointing last year. And they also didn't have Jayden Daniels healthy. They still have holes to fill, though, and they still have the most cap space in the NFL at 66 million, according to over the cap. As we record this show, I mean, I'm looking at, you know, slot receiver, one of the offensive line spots. What are you doing with Zach Ertz? I know you added Chico Conquo, but Zach Ertz was a surprisingly big part of your offense over the last year and a half, two years.

29:56Nick Shook:you added what five different starters defensively but you still have depth guys that are on their way out what are you going to do with this larger picture but i do agree with a lot of these additions you overpay for oa based on the seven and a half sacks you got with the chargers whatever you add chase on who i think was a savvy pickup on a one-year deal because then you're like all right look he's coming off of his career year can he do it again for us it's low risk leo chanel guy who's proven in kansas city nick cross proven from indianapolis you just kind of keep going step by step and filling these little bit holes, but because they have so much that they still need to address, it's good to have the cap space because like you said, you don't know if white will be the starter.

30:31Nick Shook:You got bill Krosky merit back there. You got a bunch of other guys that are all free agents as well. So you still need to add to the groups on both sides of the ball, but it's good work on their part.

30:40Gregg Rosenthal:I think they've been, they're now entering the draft without like screaming huge needs where they just feel totally desperate. Their defense looks so much better on paper than, than it did a week ago. I think they can be competitive again right away. And these are mostly guys in their 20s that can be part of their team for two to three years instead of just like a one-year deal. Speaking of redone deals, Landon Dickerson did a restructured contract. The guard for the Eagles, it's a two-year deal where he takes less money. Only mentioning this on the show because they're just up to stuff. Dallas Goddard's still hanging out there.

31:17Gregg Rosenthal:They might redo his deal. They're trying to lower their numbers. It's why I have a show on the books for tomorrow, Shook, is because I just feel like something's going to pop here. There's still a few big moves to happen, and I think the Eagles are one of the teams that could possibly do it. Maybe it's a Jonathan Grenard trade, and they're trying to clear spots for it. We'll see. Let's go to Arizona, where I just wanted to circle back on these stories that went out, including from NFL Network's Tom Pelissero, that Jacoby Brissett was going to be the clear QB1 and that Gardner-Minch is going to be the clear QB2.

31:53Gregg Rosenthal:And there was multiple reports about this. And then Jacoby Brissett was contacted, or maybe it was his agent, and he was like, well, that's news to me. No one's talked to me about that. Meanwhile, they also, in their media room, Chuck, took down Kyler Murray's picture and put up a Jacoby Brissett picture. Yeah. And it wasn't the media that did that. It was the team. And it's a big photo of him getting interviewed by Laura Rutledge after Monday Night Football. And it just immediately reminds me of the whole Kyler Murray story, too, where they're like, yeah, we're talking to Kyler all the time. And Kyler's like, nobody's talked to me.

32:30Gregg Rosenthal:And now it's happening again with Jacoby. Like, what is happening in Arizona? I just wanted to mention that.

32:36Nick Shook:State Farm Stadium, the house of lies, I guess. Like, they're just putting small fibs out there, trying to look like they got everything under control when they maybe aren't as under control as they'd like us to believe. I mean, look, when you go into a new season and you got Jacoby Brissett, as much as we love Jake Brisket, and you have Gardner Minshew as your other option, neither are overly inspiring, but Jacoby did do a better job with his offense last season than Kyler did. Obviously, it's a whole new regime in terms of coaching staff. How do they fit that in? Is this the bridge to whatever lies ahead?

33:06Nick Shook:Do you draft a quarterback as well as a developmental guy? None of it is awe-inspiring or overly optimistic, realistic but at least you have options i guess i'll leave it at that okay the the keyword that

33:16Gregg Rosenthal:you just said might have been lies i just feel like there's why are all these lies why are you and if you're not lying about jacobi being qb1 why haven't you talked to him about it that that is some bad communication maybe it's one of those things where they're like internally they're

33:31Nick Shook:like all right he's qb1 and then they're just like setting that we'll tell him eventually but right now we have more work to do.

33:37Gregg Rosenthal:My theory is that they're still open to trading him. And they're saying that he's QB one to like, make it seem like push the value up, you know, leverage, you know, they're in the middle of talking to him and maybe it's with the jets or I, I don't know who it would be, but just, it's just been, this has been happening too much in Arizona over the last few years. I did like Isaac say, Amalu, uh, who was the free agent guard. They signed good, good, solid pickup. and he did his press conference and they asked him well why did you choose to come to arizona and he started the answer by just going well the month the money was good yeah and i was like finally thank you and then he like knew how that would sound he went on to like i want to win football games and he went on to all that stuff it's like yeah they offered me the most money

34:24Nick Shook:that's so well i did like a couple of free agent pairings before free agency started for nfl.com and one of them was samalo and it was i paired him with the browns and i just thought if any if he's going to cash in one more time, it's going to be with a bad team that needs offensive line help. And I'm thinking like Browns Cardinals like that, that all fits the same mold. So good on him for being honest and she's like, Hey, look, I think he's 32 years old. I'm trying to get my bag. I got my bag. I'm happy about it. Let's go play football.

34:50Gregg Rosenthal:Right. It really is going to be his last contract. And you know, the Browns did hand out those contracts for a couple of guys. Elton Jenkins, who I think was like a fantastic value, but gave him a lot of money and Titus Howard. and they've now got four-fifths of an offensive line. Let's take a quick break. We'll come back. A couple more stories. Mike Evans, Malik Willis in their introductory pressers and then a fun little segment where we pair some players off back in a minute.

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38:29Gregg Rosenthal:Back on NFL Daily, we've got a new starting quarterback in Miami. It's been a quiet offseason in Miami. They did make a signing, however, on Thursday. I think it was their second free agent signing outside the organization. Tutu Atwell is a member of the Miami Dolphins, but that's not what we're going to talk about right now. We're going to talk about Malik Willis at his introductory press conference as a real deal. I don't know if we want to call him a franchise quarterback quite yet, but we're going to call him a starting quarterback. I don't think I put a timeline on it. I think it happened when I was prepared.

39:06Gregg Rosenthal:I think when I came in the league, I wasn't prepared, and that's not a knock toward my coaches or myself. That's just what it was coming from the system I came from. And I've had a chance to learn the last four years since I've been in the league and went through four different offenses and seen a bunch of different defenses. And I just think I've grown a lot and I'm grateful for the opportunity once again. He sounded really grateful, yeah, throughout the press conference for the chance that he's going to have. And it's great. This is how it's supposed to work at quarterback in some levels. is like the guys who are supposed to be projects land eventually with, with the right coach that can help develop him.

39:45Gregg Rosenthal:And I'm excited to watch him play for the dolphins. I really think it's a good, a good move for them, not just because I ranked them number one overall, but because it has flexibility. Like if he does great, great. And if he's somewhere in the middle or below, like they'll be still looking at, you know, young players in the draft next year. Yeah.

40:02Nick Shook:It was the right fit for them, given that they had to shed so much salary cap space this off season and really have nothing else to work with after making a couple of additions it gives you a short-term answer with an aspiring franchise quarterback who may or may not actually become that um with a lot of upside a lot of potential displayed in the brief appearances he's made for the packers we always obviously look back at that game against the ravens as his best performance one that really proved that he has these talents that we saw coming out of liberty and that he could apply them in the nfl you know level but now it's about doing it over the full season and and what's the group around you like because so many of these quarterback moves whether it's rookies coming out of the draft or it's free agent additions like Willis who's coming into a starting job for the first time it really depends on what's around you you have the best center in the NFL and Aaron Brewer that's a big a big boost for you but they still have other areas that they need to address like half of their offense in the passing game last year ended up relying on Darren Waller like that's not good enough like we can't rely on that alone so they have other moves or at least additions that they need to make either in free agency or in the draft to be able to improve this situation around him but more than anything good for him to have the opportunity yeah the situation

41:07Gregg Rosenthal:is rough I mean they're they don't have a second or third receiver right now you mentioned Waller he's a free agent they've lost some free agents at at tight end and in general I know they brought back Greg Dulcich it is not a great looking group next to him but uh him and Devin H and together should be fun Mike Evans in San Francisco should be fun I I really was taken by his press conference It really sounded like he was dead set on leaving the Bucs, that it was maybe more Mike Evans' decision than it was the Bucs' decision. Let's listen to him doing his own research. Actually, well, first off, I did my research on a lot of teams that I was looking at.

41:47Gregg Rosenthal:I was looking at contenders, guys with good quarterbacks, obviously.

41:52Nick Shook:So I was looking at here, Buffalo Bills, teams that needed a number one wide receiver. but when I got on I like this place, this is my number one spot on my own and then I talked to John and Kyle and it solidified it for me

42:10Gregg Rosenthal:If I'm a Bills fan like Eric Roberts, I'm not feeling great listening to that, especially after we just gave $29 million guaranteed to Bradley Chubb which the longer I've sat with it feels like one of the worst contracts in free agency, should have just broke out the bag for Mike Evans who clearly wasn't getting monster offers and try to change his mind you got josh allen close that deal you know well let's think about it like if

42:33Nick Shook:your priorities as a receiver are good quarterback winning team like contender good coaching staff all those boxes are checked in san francisco one of those boxes are checked in buffalo because you have a new head coach in charge who used to be the play caller and you are a contending team but you have a new coaching staff so that kind of takes two boxes it's a contending team it's a contending it's a check and a half you know like if it's an x it's a one line instead of both lines of the x So yeah, I would choose San Francisco too. The idea that he said, I am, I feel like they were a piece away and I am that piece, which first off confidence meter through the roof.

43:06Nick Shook:Good for you, Mike Evans. You just, you've earned that right to say that. But I also would like to see him stay healthy throughout the season because the downside to the Niners and their reputation over the last few years is that they get hurt almost more than any team in the NFL. And Mike Evans reputation for as great as he is and how he'll be in Canton one day is that tricky hamstring always pops up. And then last year added in the concussion and the broken clavicle. And, you know, it ended up being a pile of injuries. So he's got to stay healthy. They got to stay healthy to really maximize this.

43:35Nick Shook:It makes a lot of sense when you compare it against the Bills. But I'm also like, was the situation in Tampa that bad that it drove you? Like, San Francisco is where I want to go after so many years in Tampa.

43:48Gregg Rosenthal:Yeah, there was something he also said about the fans. And I think Bucs fans are in their feelings saying like, this almost feels like shots at the Bucs. I don't think it's about that. I think it's about a guy who's done everything you can possibly do in his career with the Bucs and, you know, is still playing at a high level. And it felt like the Bucs are just running back and just wanting a new challenge, maybe to motivate himself. That's what it sounded like. Like, hey, man, putting myself in an uncomfortable new situation that this is going to make me be more motivated instead of just doing the same thing year after year.

44:23Gregg Rosenthal:Make me more excited. not unlike what Tom Brady once did when he went from New England to Tampa. Although that wasn't exactly his choice. It was more that Bill Belichick was a stiff. At the time, I thought it was a good decision. It wasn't. Dre Greenlaw is also coming back to the 49ers. $7.5 million. If that's actually$7.5 million, I'm stunned considering his injury history. Obviously, he adds some chutzpots to that defense and some hitting. but considering how little he's played over the last couple years, he's kind of been erratic even when he has played. That seems like an emotional contract that they gave him.

45:01Gregg Rosenthal:Speaking of emotions, I might be a little teary-eyed on the Alvin Kamara retirement day if that's coming soon. Is it coming soon, Kellen Moore? Let's ask him.

45:14Nick Shook:Is your expectation right now that Alvin's a part of the team going to turn this up? Yeah, we'd like to go through that process, certainly. And so we feel, obviously, we know Alvin means a lot to us. You know, again, we're three days in this thing. We've signed Travis, and we'll go through that process. Is he considering retirement? I'm not going to get into all that stuff. I haven't had those conversations in any way.

45:39Gregg Rosenthal:Kellenmore's so bad at lying. I give him credit for it. Did you see that look?

45:42Nick Shook:Oh, that look was so telling. Oh, he froze for about half a second, and he was like, oh, God, what do I say? Non-answer. definitely considering retirement.

45:53Gregg Rosenthal:Also, the first question was, do you expect him on the team? And his answer was, well, we're really looking forward to going through that process. You're looking forward to going through the process of figuring out that whether he's on the team, what's there to look forward to? Anyways. That's like looking forward to jury duty. Like, just figure it out. I think they have, and they're being respectful to Kamara, who's probably going to want to announce it on his own timeline, or maybe isn't totally sure, but is leaning that way. and they did all this contract chicanery that helped make that a little easier.

46:23Gregg Rosenthal:James Gladstone of the Jaguars spoke about Brian Thomas Jr. on Thursday, and he said, we haven't gotten an offer for him. There hasn't been a lot of dialogue on that front, and we don't really have any action on that front. He said his only concern here was Brian Thomas Jr. reading all these potential reports. There's been so many different reports. It's a little too noisy. John Shipley, who does a great job on SI.com covering the Jaguars, believes that, look, the price for Brian Thomas Jr. would be very high for them to actually let go of him. And so that's why it seems like from the outside the team's trying to shut it down.

47:02Gregg Rosenthal:All that said, you know, you get closer to the draft and that high price actually happens. I'm still on the lookout. These quotes to me do not necessarily shut down a potential trade.

47:14Nick Shook:No, but logically, I don't think a trade makes a ton of sense because he's still in a rookie contract. This is a team that's very up against it in cap space. In fact, they're in the negative right now, according to over the cap. They haven't made really any moves. They've added Chris Rodriguez to their backfield. That's about it. So they seem like a team that's pretty content with what they have and they're willing to run it back. So why move a guy that's not costing you a ton of money on a rookie deal who has the potential to be like a legitimate star receiver, had an incredible rookie season, took a step back last year, but aims to get back on track.

47:44Nick Shook:He struggled with drops early. He also struggled with injuries later. They found him a better role. He started to flourish in the second half of the season as they went on their hot streak. I just don't see any point in trading him unless you're getting an absolute godfather offer. It just doesn't make enough sense.

47:56Gregg Rosenthal:How about a first and a third? Would you do a first and a third for... No. I would. No. If I was the Jaguars.

48:03Nick Shook:Because what are you replacing him with?

48:03Gregg Rosenthal:Or a good player in a second or whatever. I don't know if he is a perfect fit there and that's great value. I love Brian Thomas Jr. though, so I'm just trying to wish it happening to go to a team that I want to see him on, like the New England Patriots. I'd like to give him a third year. Give him a third year. Yeah. I should have mentioned when we talked Dolphins. I just thought this was interesting just for people following this stuff. Tua's release will cost the Dolphins$43.8 million on the cap next year. So they did not decide to take all of it this year. They really couldn't. But they also picked up, you know, an option bonus in his contract that made it so that they were pushing a little more into next year.

48:45Gregg Rosenthal:So it's fifty five million dollars on the cap this year and then forty three point eight next year. This isn't really breaking news. I just wanted to spell it out how disastrous that freaking contract was.

48:57Nick Shook:And as it currently stands, they have three starting jobs filled by players who are free agents on the defensive side and three starting jobs filled by players who are free agents on the offensive side. and they haven't made many moves and they don't have cap space to work with because they are taking that huge hit with Tua, which says they were so done with him that they were willing to kill a good portion of their cap, not only this year, but next year too, just to move on and try to start anew with a different quarterback. And you know what? John Eric Sullivan, Jeff Halfley, I tip my cap to you because that takes a lot of courage and the acceptance that you're probably not going to be that good immediately when you take over your new team.

49:35Gregg Rosenthal:And they're not getting rid of players just to get rid of them they're going to build around the good players that they have i've liked everything that i've heard out of uh miami i just think it's going to take some time i think when i looked at their roster josh norris sent out a tweet that like they still have six open starting jobs and i went and looked at it and i would approximate at more like eight to nine so this this is a team that even if malik willis plays well should be in the mix for for a top five pick. A quarterback can only do so much, but you never know. Some quick nuggets. The Ravens cut Cooper Rush.

50:07Gregg Rosenthal:That was kind of a failed backup quarterback signing a year ago. The Falcons signed Epson Ebukam, who can still rush the passer a little bit. Bryce Huff is retiring. You know, just a couple of years removed from a big contract from the Eagles, was with the 49ers last year. He's only 27 years old, but the game not in him anymore. And Tony Dungy is officially out at football night in America and NBC. They're making some changes to that group. Feels overdue. Always thought Tony Dungy was overrated on TV, which feels mean to say, but...

50:45Nick Shook:Yeah, didn't really make a lot of sense behind the microphone. Grab bag here, though. I'm going to start with Rush real quick. That fit never made sense. When they added him, it didn't make sense. When they relied on him, when Lamar went down, it didn't make sense. And when Tyler Huntley came in and was superior to him, it even made less sense. This makes... This move, yeah, you can see this coming from a mile away. Tyler Huntley, he's the man. Yeah, Snoop. Evacom had a pretty productive career over multiple stops. I'll always remember, I know he's obviously with the Falcons now, but I remember the role he played with the Rams.

51:15Nick Shook:Don't forget those Rams defenses when he made a difference for them back in the day.

51:18Gregg Rosenthal:Yeah, Samson Evacom. This is where we are. I said his name wrong before, and they're going to need extra edge rushers because I don't think James Pierce is going to be playing football for them anytime soon. Maybe at all. All right, let's do a rapid fire segment. It is time for charging into the offseason presented by Apple Card for all your game day purchases. Nick, you have a piece coming up on NFL dot com. The best fits for remaining free agents. Little did you know we would use that on the podcast as well and get the segment sponsored. Let's go back and forth. It's the same number, only two players left of my top 40 overall.

51:54Gregg Rosenthal:I think we're down to about 25 to 30 players overall are left from my 101. And the majority of those are like 85 to 101. But we're going to try to find the spiciest meatballs we can get and connect some players and teams here.

52:10Nick Shook:Okay, so we'll start here. We'll go safety. We'll go Jaquan Brisker. I obviously lean on your top 101 to find some candidates here. And I believe that despite the fact that they don't have any money, the minnesota vikings are in the market for safeties yeaherson smith you know moving on there uh brisker is a player who i thought did a really good job for the most part in his time in chicago and would be a value addition to a defense like minnesota he's still out there we're obviously on the tail end of the first wave doesn't mean that you still can't get your money but i think they might be able to come in at a semi-affordable rate to add to that defense they already had a james pierre cornerback so they are focusing some attention to it they have needs in over multiple spots.

52:53Nick Shook:They don't have the cap space to work with right now, but they can, you know, do some gymnastics to make it work. So I like that pairing first.

52:59Gregg Rosenthal:He would be really fun in a Brian Flores defense. Yeah. I hate it for him. You know, I had him ranked in, in the, you know, number 45, once all the re-signings happened on the, on the final list. So he's one of the higher players left on my list. Kind of regret ranking him that high. It's really about the concussions. Why I don't think he's going to get much money, why he hasn't had much of a market. And it really, it's just so unfortunate for him that it's costing him obviously time and health, but also financially here as a free agent. All right, I will throw out one. Let's go Stephon Diggs.

53:32Gregg Rosenthal:Can't you just see him as a member of the Baltimore Ravens? I had a hard time because he's like atop my list. And I'm thinking like, God, what teams need receivers?

53:41Nick Shook:And then I'm like, oh my God. I know they just got DJ Moore, but would they entertain? The idea of a reunion in Buffalo? No, I think that's possible, right? So yes, the Baltimore Ravens makes the most sense. I can definitely see that being a fit. Natural progression.

53:56Gregg Rosenthal:I had to think about it for a second. I was like, wait, has he already been on the Ravens? Because the Texans and the Patriots, he had some moments against the Ravens. I just can absolutely see that. For what it's worth, Elliot Wolfe, the nominal Patriots GM, although I kind of believe it's Mike Rabel, said on Thursday they would not rule out bringing Stefan Diggs back at a reduced rate. But I think he'll be able to do better financially than whatever the Patriots probably would be willing to pay him. All right, give me another pairing.

54:26Nick Shook:Another pairing we have here. Let's go offensive line. Wyatt Teller, a guy who has had a lot of success over the seven years with the Browns. In fact, I was with the Browns when they acquired him, and it was just like a throwaway trade. They're like, what? It was day three pick for Wyatt Teller. We're like, we never heard of this guy. And then he gets in the building, and you kind of understand, And, oh, as he starts to play, oh, this guy's legit. They got a steal here. And obviously he forms a great career with the Browns and gets the accolades and everything else. But he is at that age point now, and he's been battling some injuries and some inconsistencies over the last year and a half, two years, where you think his market value has dropped a little bit.

55:02Nick Shook:He posted a goodbye to Cleveland before I think even March began because he knew he was going to test the market, and they weren't interested in keeping him, bringing him back. So let's put him with a team that could use an experienced guard along their front five. Let's send him to Tennessee who needs to replace an older guard, Kevin Zeitler. Throw Teller in there, replace him. He's got him by like five years younger. Why not make that work and use a little bit of your cap space on it?

55:27Gregg Rosenthal:It's funny. Those are the two highest ranked remaining guards on my list. The only two guards remaining still on my list is Wyatt Teller and Zeitler, who's a little lower. Maybe I had them a smidge high, but if he can just like start for a team at a solid enough level, that's very valuable. I don't know if Kirk Cousins is at that point in his career anymore, but I do like that mix of him with the Raiders. The more I thought about it, like Kirk was always the shining star, the apple in Kyle Shanahan's eye. He always wanted to get Kirk back. And, you know, who was with Kyle Shanahan for many years, and I believe is one of the reasons why Clint Kubiak is a head coach right now, is Kyle Shanahan.

56:11Gregg Rosenthal:You know, he spent all those years in San Francisco. I just feel like he would work perfectly in that system. I think he'd have to adapt to the world where he would be Fernando Mendoza's caddy, but would be a good 1B. And they could even pretend like, hey, we're going to start the season with Kirk Cousins. And if for whatever reason, they just want Mendoza to wait. Either way, I just like it. I think he's ready to go into his mentor phase. and if he needed to step in, I thought he played pretty well at the end of last season. I ranked him ahead of Aaron Rodgers on my rankings and in that system with Clint Kubiak, I think he'd be fine.

56:47Nick Shook:I think I had him right behind Rodgers, although I don't have it up in front of me right now. I agree with the sentiment that you just expressed there. I don't know if I like the idea of him in a Raider uniform for whatever reason. It just doesn't feel like it fits. Yeah, that's a good call. But it just doesn't, right? Like Raiders uniforms, silver and black, intimidating. Kirk Cousins is not intimidating. um but he he does deserve a a job as a backup and i thought as a backup who could push somebody for a starting job um you know if they have a young guy that's you know maybe coming off of injury like the atlanta situation or whatever um i think at this point his best market now is as a plus backup and it would make a ton of sense to do exactly what you said even if i don't like it visually however i am getting ty detmer to tim couch vibes and maybe that's just me exposing some of my personal sports trauma from when I was a child.

57:36Nick Shook:Hopefully it doesn't go that poorly.

57:39Gregg Rosenthal:Yeah, it would be like Mr. Rogers getting traded to the Raiders. You know, if Mr. Rogers was alive. Yeah. And a football player. Won't you be my Raider? A lot of imagination that needs to go on. There you go. What is that Mr. Rogers documentary? Did you ever see that? I did. And I didn't realize he came from such wealth. Won't you be my neighbor?

57:58Nick Shook:Connects to Kirk Cousins. Classic. Bag getter.

58:02Gregg Rosenthal:Classic. classic making me cry on a on a airplane type of movie there's just like yeah there's that one scene there's a couple scenes um and eric uh chimes in that mendoza is very much kirk light so they are kind of like two versions oh my god oh my god same guy yeah he oh this makes he can basically walk they can basically walk through casinos shielding themselves from the the horrors of um people passing out the worst city to put them in papers for um prostitutes all right they're the the card

58:36Nick Shook:clickers right on the street just don't walk down the strip guys all right let's wrap up quickly one more each let's go um what was my next one my last one here was uh america's heel juan jennings still out there still available looking to get some money and i have two options here i know that kind of breaks the rules but i have two options because let's just say this juan i'd like to send you to the AFC West. Okay. Now you have two choices here. You can go play for a team that may or may not have its superstar quarterback to start the season, but you understand that if everything goes right, you'll be in contention and you'll play for a coach who knows how to scheme you open.

59:14Nick Shook:That's Kansas city. Okay. We can send them to Kansas city, or we can send you to their rival who occupies SoFi stadium in the Los Angeles chargers. and you can fill the place left vacant by Keenan Allen if the Chargers decide to not retain him. Ooh, that's an interesting one. Because he's a free agent. Let's fill out the receiving core with Quentin Johnston, Juwan Jennings, and Ladd McConkie, and give Justin Herbert options. And hopefully, maybe, just maybe, with the new offensive coordinator now in charge, they'll be able to scheme them open, and you'll be able to reap the rewards.

59:44Gregg Rosenthal:Yeah, I like the Chargers in terms of the fit. It feels like they're playing the compensatory pick game or something and not trying to pay too much money. It is surprising Kendrick Bourne got a contract before Juwan Jennings. Kendrick Bourne is playing for the Cardinals. Next year, it's probably just a financial thing. I mean, I would throw out the other AFC West team we keep talking about, the Raiders, if only because that would put me over the top to winning our matchmaker free agency game we played on the show last week because I had Juwan Jennings to the Raiders. But I don't think that makes sense anymore because they gave Jalen Naylor that money.

1:00:16Gregg Rosenthal:They're probably not going to give it to another guy who mostly plays on the inside. I went with the next highest player ranked on my board other than Kyler Murray right now, which is Rasheed Walker, the tackle of the Packers. I'm going to put him to the Lions. They're familiar with him from the division. They really don't have a left tackle. And one of the reasons why Walker's market maybe hasn't developed is there really aren't that many spots available right now for a starting left tackle. He could go to Carolina kind of to fill in for Iki Okonmu, who's coming off of a really serious injury.

1:00:46Gregg Rosenthal:but they already have their quote-unquote franchise left tackle. The Steelers, would they ever want to replace Broderick Jones, who's not 100 %? The Browns still need a left tackle, so they could just keep spending. But there aren't really a lot of great fits. I just want the Lions to be decent, and I think Walker now he'll have to bring his money demands down a little bit, and maybe that he could be affordable for a one-year deal, go to Detroit, and try to just beef up your value.

1:01:16Nick Shook:you there are a lot of layers here because i turned to your top 101 to kind of assemble what i want to do with best remaining free agents in their fits and walker is one of three guys that i don't have paired as of now among like 20 guys which will obviously pare down because some of these guys will sign and we'll reduce it to a pool of about 10 right you got walker there you got stefan diggs which we already worked through and you got juwan taylor and it just speaks to the what you just said which is that there aren't that many tackle spots available in the nfl right now it makes sense to go with a guy who is ideally in the prime of his career who got a lot of buzz as a desired candidate without necessarily having all the tape in the world to back up how much how highly people were treating him going into free agency he was a top target for teams that needed offensive linemen and yet he's still out there which speaks to me a difference in perceived market value versus actual market value which is often driven by need and with the lack of spots available that value is going to come down so i like that pairing a lot because they obviously need to figure out what they're going to do now that they parted ways with Taylor Decker.

1:02:13Nick Shook:And so it makes sense. In fact, some of these other guys that I've considered on this list, another offensive lineman, we talked about Zeitler earlier, right? I had him going to Detroit, just, just throw veterans that are experienced because last year, what did they deal with a lack of depth and they got caught, you know, kind of with their pants down with a lack of depth and a lack of experience guys that were able to step in when injuries occurred. So why not add veterans a mix of veterans and guys with potential to potentially just in total solve your problem up front.

1:02:41Gregg Rosenthal:Yeah. They, they signed Larry Borum from the dolphins. Who's kind of a journeyman. They have Giovanni Manu who they took in the fourth round a couple of years ago, but hasn't looked great when he's played. I don't love entering the draft kind of needing a left tackle for, for a team that good. That was charging into the off season presented by apple card. Apply for apple card in the wallet app today. Start earning daily cash back on all your game day purchases from tickets to tailgate munchies to merch subject to credit approval thank you shookie let's hit that music and get out of here i know you're not quite done for the week but it's a grind of a week where's that music it is it is it is a grind of the week but you know what we're fortunate to be here and cover it i'll say that yes uh love doing the show with you we will be back for one more show i just want to be ready in case a big trade happens uh the big ginger will gavin coming back on the show on Friday.

1:03:35Gregg Rosenthal:We will see you then.

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