In short
NFL Daily episode covers offseason NFL news and debates, plus a few college and contract storylines. Topic 1: Brandon Sorsby (Texas Tech transfer) ruled eligible to play after admitting college-level gambling; an injunction blocks NCAA punishment. He’ll be suspended for the first two games. Hosts call it a “fiasco” for NCAA integrity, arguing NIL weakened enforcement. Key examples: his best Cincinnati season (27-5 TD-INT) and early Texas Tech tests like Nebraska and later playoff-caliber matchups. Topic 2: Baker Mayfield contract talks—Buccaneers reportedly made an initial offer without a counter; Mayfield wants more money but set a negotiation deadline around training camp. Topic 3: Jacoby Brissett shows up for Cardinals mandatory minicamp; no new contract yet. Topic 4: Contract extensions—Christian Watson (corrected total value), Darnell Washington (market-rate bargain), plus Vikings QB battle leaning Kyler Murray. Topic 5: Soundgarden segment includes Ben Johnson podium interruption clip, Dan Campbell on Jameer Gibbs, Trent Williams on Miles Garrett trade, Odell Beckham Jr. signing, and Russ’ Hall of Fame candidacy.
Guests
none (hosts Greg Rosenthal and Nick Shook only).
Written by AI. May contain mistakes. Listen to the episode to check what was said.
Chapters
Tap a time to open that second in VORussell Wilson's Hall of Fame Discussion
0:27 to 0:55
The hosts discuss Russell Wilson's potential Hall of Fame candidacy.
“There's a difference between liking a house and actually getting it.”
Russell Wilson's Hall of Fame Discussion
2:47 to 3:22
The hosts discuss Russell Wilson's potential Hall of Fame candidacy.
“Because we're going over all the news from around the league.”
Brandon Sorsby's NCAA Ruling
3:22 to 4:25
Analyzing Brandon Sorsby's eligibility to play after gambling admission.
“The expectation was he was going to single-handedly revive the supplemental draft.”
Sorsby's Future in College Football
4:25 to 6:12
Discussing the implications of Sorsby's college career on his NFL prospects.
“But everyone I know, love, and trust in the college game, including our friend Daniel Jeremiah, thinks this is a fiasco that the NCAA is allowing him to play after admitting to gambling on his own games last year.”
Baker Mayfield's Contract Situation
6:12 to 8:06
Baker Mayfield is looking for a contract raise as he approaches a pivotal year.
“He's going to miss the first two games of the season as part of the agreement of that deal.”
Quarterback Market Depth and Value
8:06 to 12:45
Evaluating the depth of the quarterback market and Baker Mayfield's position.
“Baker Mayfield is looking to make more money, franchise quarterback money.”
Jacoby Brissett's Return and Contract Status
12:45 to 14:00
Jacoby Brissett is back for minicamp, but his contract situation remains unresolved.
“One quarterback trying unsuccessfully to get more money is Jacoby Brissett.”
Analyzing Recent Player Contracts
14:00 to 19:21
Learn about recent NFL player contracts and their implications for teams.
“They were like, well, how about, you know, they asked Marvin Harrison about, well, are you, you know, figuring things out in this new scheme with Jacoby Brissett?”
Vikings Quarterback Battle Insights
19:21 to 22:42
Explore the dynamics of the Vikings quarterback competition and its implications.
“Let's talk about the Vikings quarterback battle, which we never really believed was going to be a battle.”
Brandon Aiyuk's Controversial Situation
22:42 to 25:04
Discuss the complexities surrounding Brandon Aiyuk's current circumstances with the 49ers.
“Because what are you going to get for J.U.”
Show all 21 chapters
Domestic Violence Incident in Denver
25:04 to 25:18
Overview of the serious legal issues facing a Denver player.
“The league and the Broncos confirmed they are aware and they are monitoring the situation.”
Domestic Violence Incident in Denver
26:39 to 28:30
Overview of the serious legal issues facing a Denver player.
“Love bread, baked goods, and pasta, but not the way they make you feel?”
Ben Johnson's Frustration at the Podium
29:37 to 33:48
Analysis of Ben Johnson's reaction to a phone interruption during a press event.
“Back on NFL Daily while Shook was hobnobbing with all the gamers and influencers covering the release of the new Madden.”
Trent Williams' Career Reflections
33:49 to 36:48
Discussion on Trent Williams' new contract and thoughts on his future in the NFL.
“I felt like he was just confirming what we already saw last year with the way that their backfield kind of evolved and why they moved on from David Montgomery when they did.”
A.J. Brown Trade Context
36:49 to 39:48
Insights on the A.J. Brown trade and its implications for NFL teams.
“and I'm facing like 32-year-old Myles Garrett and just getting toasted.”
Odell Beckham's Return to New York
39:49 to 42:00
Exploring Odell Beckham's realistic approach upon returning to the Giants.
“Albert Breer, I mean, I love these like later, like reporting on these contracts and it'll be interesting.”
Evaluating Odell Beckham Jr.'s Comeback
42:00 to 44:00
Discussing Odell Beckham Jr.'s potential return to football and his mindset.
“And I don't know what type of situation he's in physically at this point because he's dealt with so much over the last few years health wise.”
Russell Wilson's Hall of Fame Case
44:00 to 46:20
Analyzing Russell Wilson's career and his chances of being inducted into the Hall of Fame.
Comparative Quarterback Analysis
46:20 to 48:20
Comparing Russell Wilson's career with other quarterbacks like Matt Ryan and Eli Manning.
“would have won it every year since um like the Adrian Peterson 2007 year he just happened to be in a year with RG3 and Andrew Luck.”
Insights from the Madden Preview Event
48:20 to 52:00
Sharing experiences and insights from the Madden video game preview event, focusing on gameplay features.
“That's like in a seven year span, right?”
Celebrating Steve Weiss's Induction
52:00 to 54:30
Recognizing Steve Weiss for his contributions and recent induction into the Black College Football Hall of Fame.
“and I think they're getting a lot closer and it was fun to talk with those people.”
Transcript
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2:33Welcome to NFL Daily, where we will not allow our cell phone to ring during this show. I'm Greg Rosenthal. I'm joined by Nick Shook across the country. He better not, or else Ben Johnson will be really mad. My favorite day of the week, Monday. Why not? Because we're going over all the news from around the league. We're not going to hit Ben Johnson and his anger at the podium for a little while. But we do have a sneaky amount of stuff, including some takeaways from you going to the big Madden 27 reveal, Shooky. Oh, yeah, I'm ready. And my phone is on silent. So we're good. Good. Please. The big news on Monday morning.
3:10Let's start with the freshest stuff. We're going to talk a little Russ Hall of Fame chatter, get an early start. We have five years to do so, but with him officially retiring, we'll talk about that. Some new contracts being signed. Baker is making news. But let's start with the college game. Brandon Soresby from Texas Tech thought I was going to need to start really grinding some Texas Tech tape, or rather he's transferring there, but watching his tape from his college play because there was some talk after he was found to be gambling at the college level, admitted to it, entered rehab. The expectation was he was going to single-handedly revive the supplemental draft.
3:53I had Jets fans in my life saying, should we burn one of our first round picks on him? Looks like they won't need to. I don't think they would have anyways. But Soresby has been ruled eligible to play based on an injunction from a judge in Lubbock, not so coincidentally, that prevents the NCAA from punishing him for gambling. He has agreed to be suspended for the first two games of the season. So this looks done and dusted, and it's rare to hear anything this consequential, Nick, that has such a uniform reaction. But everyone I know, love, and trust in the college game, including our friend Daniel Jeremiah, thinks this is a fiasco that the NCAA is allowing him to play after admitting to gambling on his own games last year.
4:45Nick Shook:Well, it's not a fiasco in the fact that the NCAA is willing, like willingly allowing him to play. It's that they're being told they must allow him to play. If it were up to them, he would never take the field in college football again because it threatens the integrity of the sport. But here's the issue. The whole stance for the NCAA on integrity and amateur athletics disappeared when NIL became a thing. And they're just slowly losing the remaining control they have to enforce their own rules. So it's a fiasco because it's another, you know, strike against the NCAA's existence. So we'll see how this kind of plays into that.
5:15Nick Shook:But as a concern, Sorsby, it's best for him to continue playing college football. You know, he had his best season of his career at Cincinnati last year. And some people are interested in his size, you know, six foot three. He's mobile. He's like the dual threat type that you want in your modern college quarterback coming to the NFL. but I don't think that he has the tape necessarily to back up a strong draft projection at this point. He needs the last season. You know, you look at his stats from last year, not to dive too deep into it, but he finished with a 27 to 5 touchdown to interception ratio and had very strong numbers.
5:44Nick Shook:But I always go back to the first game of the year, which is the loss they had against Nebraska, a very run heavy game in which he finished with 69 passing yards on 13 to 25. If that was your only game tape you saw of him, you'd think, why are we making such a big deal out of this? Obviously, he had a very successful season from there. But the big test comes playing for Texas Tech, a team that has dumped money into NIL, a team that made the college football playoff last year. This is where we're going to find out whether he's got what it takes to become a quality NFL prospect. In order to do that, he's got to be on the field.
6:12Nick Shook:So I guess it's good for him. He's going to miss the first two games of the season as part of the agreement of that deal. But we're going to see him on the field for the important games and we'll get everything we need to know about him prior to him going to the NFL. Right. You can lose games and make the college football playoffs. You can lose multiple games. One of those two games is against Abilene Christian, so that barely counts. They can certainly beat Oregon State or compete with Oregon State with a backup quarterback anyways. But I had asked around because this was coming. The supplemental draft has literally been dead for four or five years, and there hasn't been many significant players going that route.
6:46There was talk of like, you know, in terms of pure raw skill set, he could be someone teams really get excited about. I did not get the sense that any team would probably give up anything above a third round pick. I think that's where the draft would have started. But maybe a team like the Jets or some team that wanted to get a year head start and had an extra third. I think there would have been a conversation whether he got taken in the third, fourth round. Who knows? Back in the day, he used to kind of say supplemental draft, like knock him down a round off of where he normally would go. But who knows what the rules are anymore?
7:24Either way, who knows if rules even matter? I mean, if you can gamble on your own team, though, and just still keep playing. Yeah, it's a problem. I understand the NCAA's argument in this. It's not a slippery slope. That's just the cliff. Like the Rubicon has been passed. And I wouldn't be surprised if there's more to this story and that if this precedent changes down the road. Because, look, we've heard stories. I mean, you can't be gambling on NFL media, Shook. We heard some pretty reliable stories. Someone's name got caught in the ether by one of these gambling houses. And bye-bye, NFL media.
8:03So we're off. And it's crazy that Brandon Sorsby is still playing, but it's good for his career. Baker Mayfield is looking to make more money, franchise quarterback money. He's been on one of the best deals in terms of team value for the last few years. He's got a three-year,$100 million contract. So he's right at the bottom of kind of the veteran quarterback market, making about$33 million a year. He wants a raise entering his contract year. And he didn't sound happy about how the negotiations are going.
8:35Nick Shook:Yeah, contract stuff. It's happening. It's starting the talks and whatnot, but not anywhere close to what, you know, we were thinking. So we'd love to be here long term. And as of right now, that's not exactly the case. but I'm under contract for 2026, and the guys in that locker room, the staff know that I'm still going to be me. I'm still going to do everything I can to help this team win a Super Bowl, and to me that's the priority, everything else to take care of itself. Obviously, yes, I would love to have a long-term deal done, but they know my deadline is as soon as training camp starts, we're not doing any contract stuff.
9:09Nick Shook:It's all ball, so it's not up to me when that gets done by. So hopefully before that, if not, we're still going to have a good year. Good clip to listen to versus just read the headline where it says not anywhere close sets a deadline. I think Baker Mayfield kind of straddled the line perfectly. Just saying where they're at, the Bucks, according to multiple reports, had one initial offer that clearly Baker's camp is not happy with. They have not sent a counteroffer. We'll see if this thing happens in the summer. But he's also setting a deadline for the start of camp, which is pretty early in the process.
9:47or this is kind of a story with Baker and his contract year that we're going to be talking about all season long.
9:52Nick Shook:Yeah, I respect the approach because it eliminates the distraction, which, you know, if you can just set a hard deadline of we're stopping negotiating here, then it gets rid of the questions that are going to follow. But they're still going to follow because it's a contract year. And I also understand why they would take that approach given his earning power, because he's coming off of a season in which he was significantly affected by injury. This whole offense was affected significantly by injury. we know what happened with the Buccaneers over the last month and a half of the season it's not the best time for him to sign an extension if that's the most recent you know subset of data that you have when you're trying to evaluate what he's worth to this team so it's best for him to try to go out there and earn maximum value by having a bounce back year not that he had a terrible year he had a great start to the year he just didn't finish it strongly so he is a streaky player but for him financially it makes the most sense and also mentally it makes the most sense to stop here I also can't envision a world in which the Buccaneers would really consider not signing him.
10:45Nick Shook:It's just a matter of negotiation. As you know, Buccaneers throw out that first offer and Baker's group doesn't counter. Got to build that leverage, baby. We're a long way away in the negotiating process. Right. If it happens, it'll happen in kind of that dead zone during July. But I do think he's a particularly fascinating quarterback contract case because, you know, someone I respect a lot who we now work with at NFL Media, Brett Coleman, kind of pointed out on Twitter, no matter what you think of Baker, right now he's the 16th highest paid quarterback. You'd probably have him ranked higher than 16, which is like an easy way to think about him.
11:19But I was just part of a podcast with Nate Tyson, Bill Barnwell, where we went through and ranked the guys and drafted him for just this season. We're going to be doing something similar on our show. And we took 18 quarterbacks. He didn't get taken. And I think reasonable minds could disagree. Put him 15, 16, put him 18, 19. but that's how good and deep quarterbacks are right now. I think it is the deepest collection of quality starting quarterbacks since I've started covering the league 20 years ago right now. Like we're 20, 25 deep of like guys that you feel pretty good about. And so Baker is clearly in that middle range.
11:55How much do you pay for that? If I'm Jason Light, part of me wants to have my cake and eat it too. Make it look like we're negotiating well with Baker. Don't make him too mad. but he's 31 years old he's undersized let's see if he's better this year because if he's not better this year i'm willing to play that out with a franchise tag see what happens possibly trade you know trade him and see what's behind door number two in about 12 months yeah i agree
12:22Nick Shook:wholeheartedly it's funny that you mentioned those 18 guys that you took and he wasn't in that group he landed 17th on my end of 2025 qb index he's 16th in average salary per year so he's kind of making proper, accurate money unless he has that, you know, significantly improved year. I think your argument's great and it explains a lot of why they stand where they are right now. We'll see if it changes, but right now I think it fits. One quarterback trying unsuccessfully to get more money is Jacoby Brissett. Our long national nightmare is over here, Shook. He is showing up for mandatory minicamp work this week.
12:57Doesn't mean he has a new contract. He's still only getting paid like$5 million this year. He's supposedly going to be the starter, but he is there. The Cardinals are one of 17 teams shook to have mandatory mini camp this week. The 49ers have canceled theirs, by the way. They're done already for the offseason. Bye bye. 49ers until training camp. And most of these teams that have the mandatory mini camp are also done for the offseason after this week. The Dolphins and Steelers had their mandatory mini camp last week. Just wanted to kind of update where we're at in the offseason program. but Jacoby Brissett is back.
13:34So I don't know what that means personally for your life and how it changes how you approach.
13:39Nick Shook:It makes me happy because that means that I may have one or two less what's going on with Jacoby Brissett and the Cardinals posts in the tank now. No, because he's going to be talking, but the contract isn't done. And so you still got to figure that out after this week, apparently. It's better than him not being there at all, because at least you have some fresh information to work off of. Last week, it was funny. They were like, well, how about, you know, they asked Marvin Harrison about, well, are you, you know, figuring things out in this new scheme with Jacoby Brissett? And he it was kind of an unfair question.
14:10He was like, well, no, he'd have to be here for that. But it does make you wonder. They're talking about Carson Beck, their third round pick as a potential starter this year. You have Gardner Minshew and Jacoby Brissett might lose out on starts if he doesn't show up. Let's do some contracts that happened since we last taped. Christian Watson signed a new contract that I was surprised made a lot of the Twitter sphere angry. Why are you paying Christian Watson all this money? He's more of an idea of a player than an actual player. But the total contract terms were totally misleading. It wasn't$110 million.
14:43It was 97 and a half, which is a pretty big difference. And then if you stretch it out into five years, because it is an extension, It's like, you know, it's it's a little over 20 million dollars a year for five years, which actually to me seems like a great value. He signed a 31 million dollar signing bonus. He showed a lot last year when he came back from his injury. And I think that's what helped get him this deal.
15:09Nick Shook:Right. And, you know, in terms of APY, where he would land right now, among all receivers between Jacoby Myers and Chris Godwin. And at 27 years old, he is firmly in the prime of his career. So it makes all the sense of the world. I think it also is an example of what Matt LaFleur has tried to initiate this entire off season, which was the strip it down to the studs approach with the offense, simplifying things by maybe getting rid of some players who weren't happy with their roles and then clearly defining the roles of those who are there. So how do you get Watson in a better place? You give him an extension.
15:38Nick Shook:You handle that part of the equation. And then you just pray and hope that he's on the field healthy all year and that you can maximize what his talents are. Because I feel like for most of his career, the big defining theme and the big drawback for him has just been that he can stay healthy and stay on the field consistently. So you pray for that. You hope that your investment pays off. And then you look like a genius three years from now. He was a different player when he returned last year. He was more of a complete player, but he's always had the juice. He is literally the fastest player in the NFL with the ball in his hands cumulatively over the last four years, according to next gen stats at any position.
16:11Now, of course, a receiver is going to have an advantage there. And especially Christian Watson because a lot of times he's sprinting when he catches that ball and then he keeps sprinting. But it does it does say something that he's literally the fastest guy in the NFL with the ball in his hands. And they're they're betting on their own evaluation. Self-scouting is so important. They let Romeo Dobbs go. And now it's it's Jaden Reed. It's Christian Watson. It's Matthew Golden. They're all signed for the next three plus years in that. That's going to be their course. You talked about really kind of determining who their guys are.
16:44The Steelers did the same. And one of their guys is Darnell Washington. Another contract that I was amazed how the reactions to it were so different. He signs a four year,$42 million extension. So only, and I say only,$10.5 million a year. But then you tack that onto his current year, it's actually five years,$45 million. I immediately thought this is one of the best bargains in the entire NFL. And yet I saw a bunch of reactions. That's like, what? $10 million a year for a guy who's never topped 400 yards receiving. That dude is a weapon in a world where Charlie Kolar and all these blocking tight ends are getting good contracts.
17:24Darnell Washington is the best of all those players. And I think he is worth even more than that. And like the Watson contract, as long as he's healthy, that is going to age extremely well for the Steelers.
17:38Nick Shook:He's an extremely difficult matchup because of his size, his athleticism at his size is essentially built like a tackle who also blocks and runs routes and catches footballs. But you don't find those players just growing on trees anywhere. But I think as a football world and especially you can't let the Internet, you know, direct too much of your thinking here because the Internet, it's always a place of extremes. But as a football world, we need to understand that when we look at dollar values at face value, we cannot simply overreact because player who you think hasn't done that much is getting$10 million a year.
18:08Nick Shook:It's all relative to the market. And as the market dictates right now, he lands between Evan Ingram and Juwan Johnson. And just ahead of TJ Hawkinson, who was making good money when he signed his deal with the Vikings. That was a while ago. The market's increased. The cap continues to increase. He's not getting overpaid. And when you look at the Steelers identity and their ability to rely on so many different tight ends and the ability to go heavy sets and power run, even though that doesn't necessarily always fit what Mike McCarthy has done over the course of his career as a coach, it gives them options.
18:35Nick Shook:So you pay that guy at this time. You invest now with the idea that it's going to pay off. I'd rather have him than all those guys you just mentioned. Yeah. I just think it turns a total value. I do really like Juwan Johnson. I'm not going to lie. I really like Juwan Johnson. To me, it's not even close because you just have a complete player. I'm not saying that comparatively, no, but yeah. I mean, you can disagree, but man, there was something about watching them there in Dublin and just see what a problem he was for the opposition. I'm just so impressed by him. And the NFL told you how much they value tight ends because they keep forcing these second round picks on him.
19:09The best case scenario, one of those guys turns into a Darnell Washington and they have him locked up. I really like what they did with the Herbig and the Darnell Washington signings over the last few weeks. Let's talk about the Vikings quarterback battle, which we never really believed was going to be a battle. And we have more reason to believe that. I know it's a quiet time of year, but podcasts I listened to, Purple Daily, made a big deal of this. And then like with the headline, is the Vikings quarterback battle already over? And it was partly off of a conversation Tom Pelissero from the NFL Network had on KFAN.
19:45But Tom has lived in the area, has covered that team forever. When he talks Vikings, it matters a little more to him. And to summarize what he said, He said, look, they've started out with the snaps 50-50. He would not be surprised if that changed starting now, you know, starting soon, if it will no longer be 50-50. They will want to have a winner and get that winner more snaps. And he was not saying who won necessarily or who is winning. But if it was Kyler Murray, would there be a situation with Carson Wentz in the building? And every time that Kevin O 'Connell can give Carson Wentz some love in front of a podium, he doesn't.
20:26He just loves Carson Wentz as his veteran backup. With Carson Wentz also in the building, would it make sense for them to see if they could possibly trade J.J. McCarthy? In the meantime, that would indicate who is winning this battle. Could it be over before it started? And do you think J.J. McCarthy is on the Vikings roster in week one?
20:48Nick Shook:okay so a few things have to be true for this for him to not be on the vikings roster one there has to be a significant injury elsewhere or there has to be such increased intrigue in jj mccarthy's future from one team that doesn't have an answer right now i'm looking at the browns um for somebody to pick up the phone and make that phone call but there also has to be clear separation in camp and preference toward kyler murray which i think loses some of the vikings leverage but that kind of signals that, hey, maybe JJ is available. I think that that's the direction we're headed in, in that it's going to be Kyler's job.
Read the full transcript
21:22Nick Shook:We talked about this already, that we believe it's already Kyler's job. And when you listen to Tom talk about the Vikings, like you said, it means more, it matters more, because he's extremely well-connected in that building. It's not just throwing out there prognostications. He knows. He knows what's going on there. And I think we all kind of know that this is Kyler's job to lose, as long as the Vikings can determine that he can play within the structure of Kevin O 'Connell's offense. And I think he's going to prove that over the next few months. But when is he even going to get a chance? Kyler's 28 years old.
21:51Nick Shook:If that's your long-term answer, then you don't need JJ anymore. Why not capitalize on the value associated with him while you still can? It's just funny, the competition. Like, when is he going to prove it? He doesn't really. They got to see him on the grass and get to know him in the meetings, and maybe that confirmed what they hoped and expected. But Tom indicated, look, they don't want to take this thing deep into training camp, maybe not into training camp at all. He said this could be determined in the spring. And then if that was determined and was determined in favor of Kyler, then J.J.
22:21McCarthy could be elsewhere. I get the feeling, and this is also listening to those Purple Daily guys and just the coverage in general, feels a little personal. It feels like this relationship, this marriage between Kevin O 'Connell and a high draft pick who is going to be the franchise has gone pretty poorly. And it's crazy to think, but they could be trading a top 10 pick, you know, with before he even gets to the third year for pennies on the dollar. Because what are you going to get for J.U. McCarthy?
22:55Nick Shook:Yeah, but it could be worse. You know who would like to trade their former top five pick for pennies on the dollar if they could? The Indianapolis Colts. OK, sure. I was like the 49ers back in the Trey Lance days. But no, they just held on. And then that just ended. These things happen. Speaking of the 49ers and wanting to get some trade value that they can't, Brandon Ayuk is still on the 49ers roster. He had some Instagram content over the weekend. Did you watch this, Shook? I wouldn't blame you if you did. I got a glimpse, but what I saw more than anything was his shirtless selfie on his story.
23:34he also had a commander's hat at one point on um while while shirtless too it's a difficult situation to talk about but basically he was talking for a minute a couple minutes almost threatening obscurely the 49ers he kept using the phrase stop running from the belt like you know what's gonna come i'm you know what type of player i am he didn't sound well and that's why i think it's it's a tricky situation i think it's a tricky situation for the commanders to dive into if they're going to i have always believed that the 49ers are not going to get anything for brandon iuk and i don't think these instagram stories are going to help but it's just a reminder uh as he like publicly you know sort of challenges the 49ers as he's dealing with these traffic site you know citations and all this other stuff that it's still a situation that is happening.
24:33And I don't know why the 49ers are continuing to hold on to him. Let's go to Denver where Jonathan Cooper, the edge rusher, was arrested for domestic violence and criminal mischief charges over the weekend. It was related to an incident with his girlfriend. Obviously, any domestic violence charges are going to be treated very seriously by the team and the league. He, unlike a lot of players who are in similar situations, almost immediately apologized on social media to his family, community, and friends. That was on an Instagram story post. And so we will be tracking that. The league and the Broncos confirmed they are aware and they are monitoring the situation.
25:15All right, that's kind of our hard news portion of the show. Chuck, we're going to take a quick break and we're going to come back with a lot of sound with Ben Johnson, who we talked about before, with Dan Campbell, Trent Williams, some fallout from the big trades last week. And yes, as I mentioned, little takeaways from Madden. Let's take a break. We'll be back in a minute.
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29:59This actually happened like the second we last taped our last show and it cracked me up so much that we had to play it on our news recap. Let's listen to Ben Johnson getting interrupted at the podium. I'm really pleased with the teaching progression. I've been able to sit in some meetings, and I love how the coaches are going about their business. I like how the players are responding to it right now. We're all on the same page. We're speaking the same language, and that's always a good starting point. Oh, my. Good.
30:27Nick Shook:Now that you've got a year under your belt, how does it feel? How do you feel about your position, what you're doing? Somebody want to take their phone. So I'm not interrupted again. Thanks.
30:44Okay.
30:46Nick Shook:I can I defend him? Please. When? Well, first off, it's funny because when we were talking earlier in the show, my I got a phone call to you, but my phone didn't ring. Yeah. when i am in public and i'm in a setting in which somebody is speaking and something like this is happening wedding reception anything and i hear a phone start ringing i get extremely anxious because i'm like oh my god how did you leave that on oh my god that's interrupting everything however never have i thought i'm gonna get so angry that i'm just gonna direct i mean i felt like he was you were getting yelled at in high school class by your teacher it's why it helps to watch the video we thank everyone that's checking out NFL Daily on YouTube like subscribe we're putting these shows up at you know after after the audio and sometimes just with the audio and his face he was furious it almost gave me a little bit of a takeaway which was why is Ben johnson this tight and amped up and nervous in the middle of may or at the end of may they started june we're at otas it's it's a huge faux pas the reporter apologized publicly terrible job by the reporter i'm not i'm not saying it's not but just for him to just completely lose his temper in that moment was just like he didn't completely maybe not completely he was very controlled but the sign was when he put his head down that's fair that's fair because that was him seething like i cannot believe somebody left their ring around right now and you know what i understand i get it i get it i'm just saying it's june i'm worried about his his uh stress level because good point he didn't lose his temper but i'm worried about the stress level of him holding in what was clearly make a joke intense rage he wanted to kill someone but maybe that that's why he gets the great performances out of his bears that he does.
32:42They're all afraid of him. Dan Campbell, I think has a softer touch. Let's listen to him talk about one of his favorite players, Jameer Gibbs.
32:50Nick Shook:Well, Gibbs is, I mean, he is, he's going to be our bell cow now. You know, he really became more of that last year. And, but we're, you know, we're going to hang our hat on him quite a bit. You know, we're going to, we're going to do a lot of things we feel like he does well. Now I've mentioned this before. He can, he can run everything that we've got. He can run every scheme that anybody's ever run you know he's not just an outside runner he's not just a space runner he can create his own space in the middle and some of his biggest runs have been gap scheme right down the pipe you know where he's had patience and found it and guys blocked it up well so we're gonna ask a lot of him so this is the portion of the show if you didn't notice it that we're playing a lot of sound we'll call it uh the sound garden portion of the show my my son My son Walker said it's his favorite part of the show when we play some sound.
33:39And I know our producer, Eric Roberts, agrees with that. Do you think this clip was worth it? And what did you learn from this clip?
33:47Nick Shook:Yes, it was worth it because today is June 8th and it's that time of year. What did I think of that? I felt like he was just confirming what we already saw last year with the way that their backfield kind of evolved and why they moved on from David Montgomery when they did. i'm honestly this is this is very like low-hanging fruit here i just want to know what sound garden song would would fit that clip because i'm thinking like spoon man black hole sun like which one are we going with here i mean i only know a handful i have to admit but black hole sun sneaky high on the played the most on mtv during my youth rankings i mean i can't remember a song that was played more than black holes and to the point where i started to hate sound garden just because I was just sick of that video and song.
34:33But a great band. Great band. And a good quote. And I bet Dan Campbell is a fan of it. I mean, he still makes that podium look small. I'm still more afraid of Dan Campbell than I am of Ben Johnson. And yes, Jameer Gibbs, RB1 or RB2 in your fantasy drafts this season. I think it's pretty obvious. Let's talk about Trent Williams, who spoke with the media last week. He is back with the 49ers. He was not excited about the Miles Garrett trade, said that sucked. Wasn't looking forward to playing him. Was joking around, but saying, yeah, that's going to make his life a little harder. He signed a new contract that gets him extended through the next two years now and kind of spoke about where he is at this point of his career.
35:19Nick Shook:I get informed of this question a lot, but having just said what you said about playing the next two years, did it cross your mind that this would be the last contract you sign? Yeah. Yeah. So do you envision this being it? Probably. Yeah. What's that thought like then? It's scary. It's scary. You know, I'm toying between the idea of going until I can't no more and just, you know, leaving while I still got some good product left, you know, and not getting ran out the league. It's funny to think of even a Trent Williams saying that. It is also funny to think about his reputation, which was totally unfair when he was in Washington, and now he's turned into, to me, a first ballot Hall of Famer that we get to see up against Myles Garrett for a couple more years.
36:02And what we've seen with these guys like a Jason Peters type, where if he's still playing well and after the next two years, like, hey, why not have him keep playing? You're making eyes. He's 37 years old that year.
36:12Nick Shook:Yeah, because Trent is also thinking about the way Jason Peters' career ended, which wasn't great. He took a noticeable step, three steps back by the time he was finishing his career. He was a great tackle for the majority of his career, and his story was great, but you're right. It's also, I think, an examination or just a good example of how being with a bad team can ruin your reputation and then being with a stable franchise that has a good place for you can elevate your reputation that mirrors your play and then gets you the recognition you deserve. But I agree, and it's funny because I think he, when he talks about getting ran out of the league, I think he's just thinking about, oh man, like he turns 38 next month.
36:47Nick Shook:Oh God, I'm 40 years old and I'm facing like 32-year-old Myles Garrett and just getting toasted. That's not gonna be a good look for me. I understand that definitely. And he is coming off what I would say was his worst season in San Francisco where he had some ups and downs, which usually you don't see with him. I still think in the end he was probably a top 5, 6, 8 tackle, whatever the number is. But it started off poor. The playoff game was just like not great. He wasn't at that totally elite level as before. And you mentioned, yeah, playing for a bad franchise in Washington before in the Dan Snyder era.
37:24I mean, that was the worst franchise. You know, it's like everyone's just bickering and there's contract dispute. They didn't want to play him what he was worth. Speaking of that Miles Garrett trade, Denzel Ward said on your Browns at his softball event that he definitely wants to stay with the Browns and the indications from the Browns are that they want to keep Denzel Ward. No trade sign on Denzel Ward. That said, if we get into the middle of the season and the Browns are losing a lot of games and teams start calling, it wouldn't shock me personally if Denzel Ward got traded. So more context on the trades that went down last week.
37:54I thought it was interesting. Albert Breer said that the Rams, you know, got pretty far along with A.J. Brown, but they had concerns about his knee. He has a degenerative, quote-unquote, knee condition. That is part of the reason why the Titans traded him in the first place, according to Breer, but he's played well through it, clearly. Also thought it was interesting that Brown listed four teams in the AFC that he would have liked to go to. Those four teams, the Buffalo Bills, the Kansas City Chiefs, the Los Angeles Chargers, and the Patriots. All of them have great quarterbacks. And apparently only the Bills showed even the scant amount of interest.
38:32But then they did the DJ Moore trade anyways, and that just left the Patriots bidding against the Rams. And one of the interesting parts of Breer's story was the Patriots told the Rams, look, if you can get a first and a second, Godspeed. You can trade them somewhere else. We're just going to hang tight. And so when the Rams deal fell apart, which sounded like it was more that they couldn't find a taker for Devontae Adams, then Brown was just sitting out there. I just I just threw a lot at you, but I thought it was just interesting context in a lot of ways, including the fact that if you have a great franchise quarterback, a guy like A.J.
39:06Brown would be happy to go to your G.
39:07Nick Shook:What a concept. A great receiver wants to play with great quarterback. Amazing. Revelatory. when I hear degenerative knees I always think about the NBA's Brandon Roy one of my favorite players of that generation who played with the Trailblazers and his career ended too soon because of those knee issues and I always fear a similar demise for other players in other sports but so far we haven't really seen any signs of it it's been more about the dysfunction that he dealt with with the Eagles you know some of it brought about by himself with leaking information and everything else I'm fine with it I think that you know you ride this out and see how far you can take it for the remainder of his career because at this point he's you know already 28 turns 29 in june it's not like he's got a ton of prime years left ahead of him so it it works out it's just something to monitor i think as he makes the transition to become a patriot it's funny that the chiefs were listed not because you know it's a surprise but just because we sat back and we're like could the chiefs be involved and apparently sounds like they weren't yeah they didn't according of the reporting make any interest known.
40:10Albert Breer, I mean, I love these like later, like reporting on these contracts and it'll be interesting. You know, Brown did show a little bit of slowness last year, missed sometimes because of the knee injury. So that's the big risk. On the other hand, he sounds like Randy Moss sounded when he got to the Patriots at an older age, you know, back in 2007. I don't think he's going to produce like that, but I think he could have a great honeymoon year. Last item in Soundgarden is from New York, the Giants and Odell Beckham. He is back with New York. And I've seen a lot of the reporters being like, why would they sign him when he's not, you know, and then you also sign Juju and Braxton Berrios, all these guys like they're on minimum contracts.
40:53And Odell knows where he stands right now in the football pecking order. I like it this way. I feel like it's going to elevate me. It's going to bring me up to have to earn it. Coach and I talked about that. I think that was one of his fears. He was like, I love you so much and I got so much respect for you. I don't want to bring you here and then have to cut you or whatever. And I'm like, listen, I'm going out on my sword either way it goes. So if that's what you got to do and you see that I'm not best or fit, then by all means, I'm good with it. I can live with it. I can't live with sitting at home, like not doing it.
41:33You know, I just couldn't do it. Good that he's realistic. Do you think that he makes the Giants roster?
41:39Nick Shook:They have a lot of options. By making these additions, they have a ton of options. Like their top three of neighbors, Slayton and Mooney. But then you continue to go down the list. You got Malachi Fields, Calvin Austin comes over. I think he'll be an ideal fit in this offense as well. Then you get down to where Jalen Hyatt is, who is a youngster that they're not going to move on from. and then you get to Odell and Juju and Braxton Berrios. Like there's just not enough seats at the table for all of these guys. And I don't know what type of situation he's in physically at this point because he's dealt with so much over the last few years health wise.
42:07Nick Shook:But if he can come anything close to even where he was, I don't know if I would say like maybe end of Rams. Like I wouldn't go further back than that. But I think he's got a shot. More than anything, it really warms my heart as somebody who got to know him when he was in Cleveland to see the mature Odell who like, you know, he's not worried about the fame and how this might be perceived this way or that way, the other, like, he's just speaking honestly. And he's like, look, man, this is probably my last shot and I still want to play football. So however it goes, however it goes, I love that. I love that for a guy who has spent so much of his career in a spotlight that he didn't necessarily ever really want for him to go out.
42:43Nick Shook:At least, I think that's kind of on his own terms at this point. Good for him. You figure neighbors might not be ready for the start of the season, whether he starts on PUP or PUP list, something, you know, or IR. maybe that opens up a spot. Slayton, you would think, is close to a lock, but you never know. They might look to trade him. Mooney is a lock. Fields is a lock. After that, it's pretty wide open. If everyone's healthy, it's Odell and Calvin Austin and Isaiah Hodgins and Juju. I don't think Jalen Hyatt's necessarily making this team. So they're all battling for one or two spots. We're talking about a guy who will be, it would be a great story, but it's probably a third or fourth receiver at best if everything goes well.
43:24and he seems to understand that. Let's do just a couple nuggets I wanted to mention. A.J. Barner, the great Seahawks tight end. I'm calling him great. I'm putting him in the top 10. He's coming off two surgeries from last offseason, but he is expected to be ready for training camp. So we didn't know that he had multiple surgeries. That's a little concerning. Deron Bland, who had a foot surgery, and Donovan Eziraku of the Cowboys, who had a hip problem, both say they're going to be ready for the start of camp full go uh russell wilson has retired we think he released a video that said goodbye to football i feel like there's a 10 chance some team will come calling in the middle of the season and he could be back as a backup it didn't exactly say retire but he just he said i love you football but i did want to kind of go over his hall of fame case I feel like this is as good a time as any here we go like a gut reaction of where Russ I mean just an incredible career an incredible player I I don't want him falling off a cliff from Denver onward to be what we we remember because he had 10 seasons in Seattle that's his career right there and 10 seasons to me is enough to make a hall of fame case plenty and I think he has won but i guess i'm curious of where you see him in kind of the big picture career arc pecking
44:51Nick Shook:order 10 time pro bowler obviously a one-time super bowl champion got there in back-to-back years with the seahawks and well if they would have handed the ball to marshall he could be a two-time super bowl champion but well we won't spend time rehashing that um there were multiple seasons when he was at his peak where he was a legitimate mvp candidate for at least a portion of that campaign and i when i think about if we could strip out the denver experience the last four years from his career if he ended after the 2021 season in seattle he's going to the hall of fame so but that's all that should matter like i don't think you should ever i'm saying like where are you at your peak and when he was at his peak he was a bona fide superstar one of the best quarterbacks in the nfl for five six years so yeah he gets in eventually he's not first ballot but i think he gets in eventually so i if i was a voter i would not hold the end of the year the the latter years against him now for other people like a matt ryan or matthew stafford the fact that they had cumulative great years in years 11 12 13 14 whatever it is obviously works in their favor if you're comparing them apples to apples versus russell wilson so it does hurt him in that way when you're comparing him to other quarterbacks and that that is how this goes sometimes but i think 10 years is long enough to potentially have a hall of fame career now was it he had an incredible rookie season I went back and looked at what I wrote at the time because I watched every single play for QB index basically of his entire prime including his rookie season that was the year we started he would have won rookie of the year almost every season I wrote at the time he would have won it every year since um like the Adrian Peterson 2007 year he just happened to be in a year with RG3 and Andrew Luck.
46:30But you put RG3, Russell Wilson finished that season awesome and then into the playoffs. So incredible rookie year. Here is his end of the season QB index ranks. Okay, Shook? This is the end of the regular season. So you're not giving him extra points for postseason, which you would obviously with Hall of Fame. Maybe the most consistent quarterback other than like Breeze in terms of where he was ranked in Brady maybe in the decade. sixth, eighth, fourth, ninth, fifth, sixth, third, sixth. And then his final season in Seattle, we had him 12th. He gets the boot and then it totally falls off a cliff.
47:14That is awesome. It is really hard to be a top six-ish quarterback, you know, anywhere from three to eight or so. And the consistency is awesome. But to me, that's like borderline at best. but the the postseason stuff the rookie stuff the what he meant for the game you know gives him a little extra juice if i am comparing guys i put him behind rivers for sure but i think i would put him ahead of matt ryan and eli manning in fact i know i would um because i think that sustained peak was better by a good margin than their sustained peak yeah i i agree with that and
47:50Nick Shook:sometimes even like the most simplistic approach i think about like how did i regard them when they were at their best and then how long was their best and he was held in higher regard than Eli and Matt Ryan were like Matt Ryan had that MVP season with the Falcons and we were super and everything right no question annually people are funny about Matt Ryan now I thought Matt Ryan was great at the time and when I thought he was great and that he was underrated I was always thinking he was like the seventh best quarterback in the league like he wasn't quite Russell Wilson at his peak exactly so yeah I'm with you on that I like that uh placement there and I think that those QB index final placements really kind of speak to what we often miss, which is that like third and offensive rookie of the year, fourth and offensive player of the year, third and offensive player there, fourth and offensive player there.
48:33Nick Shook:That's like in a seven year span, right? Like we, we always point to that. And it's like, well, how many pros did he make? How many times was he a finalist for offensive player of the year? How about where was he every year at the end of the QB index? It's a good, good metric. I think so because quarterbacks, you get extra, like a top, if that was your position ranking at tight end, like, yeah, you're not making the hall of fame, but it's a little different when you're the most important position. If we're saying he's a top five quarterback for the 2010s, you have Rogers in there, Breeze and Manning and, you know, it gets complicated.
49:04Like I think that it, it's on the border. I actually don't have like a final say. I'd have to see who he's up against. He gets in eventually. Eventually he is sort of the definition to me of borderline where he probably does get in after seven to 10 years, depending on like who he's against. But I definitely have them ahead of Ryan and Eli, and definitely behind Rivers. But that's my own personal evaluation. I know some people disagree. Let's wrap up with your Madden takeaways before we get out of here. What is it that you do? You go, and you guys just all play Madden together in a room.
49:41Nick Shook:So in the past, it's the preview event, and we would sit through a presentation three, four hours long where they broke it up into two days in the past where it would be day one would be Madden, and they would tell us about all the new features and everything coming to the game. And then we'd get our hands on it for like three, four hours. I'd sit down with the developers, talk to them about the game, do an interview, write a story about it. And we'd do the same thing for college football. Well, this year they decided to put it all into one big primetime nighttime event that's live streamed across the world because they're very excited about what they're producing on the virtual football field across both games.
50:10Nick Shook:But Madden was especially important, it felt, this year because of where it was, which was Chicago, home of cover athlete Caleb Williams. It was just dialed up a lot. There were more people there. there were more cameras there the production value which was much higher and uh let me tell you it was a blast uh what they've done in creating this game and it's really a multi-year initiative where they try to fix one element of football and the other one tackling was one year blocking was another year and they iterate on it year by year they have tried to bring the virtual football video games closer to real life football at a level that allows it to become a teaching tool and also an experimentation tool and it's taken multiple years to get to that point but But in speaking with the people who are so dedicated to doing this, I think about the gameplay lead, Scott O 'Gallagher.
50:53Nick Shook:He's an X's and O's guy. And we'll stand there and we'll just be chatting about the intricacies of the game and how he's bringing that to the football field in both college and the NFL. It's to the point now where we're getting plaster logic and defensive coverage. And you know what plaster is. You'll hear Charles Davis talk about it on a random NFL broadcast on a Sunday on CBS. That quarterback breaks the pocket. What's the first thing defensive backs are doing? They're plastering to the nearest guy. Find a guy. Stick to him. that's now in the game there are other coverage improvements like this thing they call look for work where you're playing in a zone coverage and there's nobody there but you're looking for the nearest defender trying to eliminate the soft spots they're making football more realistic and that's what excites me about the game is that if if madden and college football can become a teaching tool it can onboard the next generation of football fans and expand you know the audience for football beyond what it already is i mean i think about like i don't know anything about soccer but i play FIFA, EAFC, and now I know a little bit about soccer.
51:47Nick Shook:If you can do the same thing with football, the fan base only grows and it becomes a better experience for everybody, especially somebody like me. Because you know, I run those college football and Madden leagues and I hate having to separate my brain between real football logic and video game football logic. So they're trying to close that gap and I think they're getting a lot closer and it was fun to talk with those people. You get my hands on the game and test it out as well. Yeah, it's a great way to learn X's and O's for kids, but for adults too. It really is next level. I know they added some features.
52:16Now when you're in superstar mode, you can do tight ends or a safety. Was there anything flashy, though, that caught your eye for the Madden people out there? I mean, flashy.
52:28Nick Shook:Well, defense is back. It's no longer going to be complete shootouts. And those who like to get into real X's and O's and be able to counter defensively, it's definitely back in a number of different ways. The superstar experience is fun as a tight end because as you know former blocker myself i love the idea of controlling a tight end pancaking somebody for example playing with the jets clearing a lane for breeze hall for a touchdown and then also running a corner around the red zone and catching the game winning touchdown that's a lot of fun too and that's something that used to be in madden back in like oh seven that's back now who i love laying somebody i'm gonna i'm gonna make um my own darnell washington you know yes the son of darnell washington darnell washington uh the third uh But yeah, junior, junior.
53:11As we say goodbye, I just wanted to send a congratulations to an NFL Daily regular and co-host, and we're going to get him on to talk about this. But just a shout out to Steve Weiss and congratulations for his induction over the weekend to the Black College Football Hall of Fame, part of the class of 2026 for his contributions in elevating the game as a broadcaster, as a host of the induction ceremony for previous years. And now he's the one getting inducted. And he works so hard to elevate these HBCUs. And it's really cool that he got the black jacket. It's not a gold jacket. I don't know if you saw the pictures, but it was him.
53:51It's Tyrone Poole, Nick Collins, Eddie Robinson Jr., Jimmy Smith, the great Jaguar, and Rudy Hubbard were the nominees. And they're looking great in their black jackets after they got nominated.
54:02Nick Shook:What a great group to be a part of and completely, totally deserving. Steve is look. Nobody in it's not often you're going to meet people in the world who are as just as good of a person as Steve Weiss is. Not only is he fantastic at his job, one of the best on camera, he's an even better person off of it. And I say that as somebody who came into this organization as a producer, entry-level producer, got to know him. He's always been one of the most welcoming, honest, genuine, authentic people who's also fantastic at his job. So congratulations to you, Steve. Super proud of you. Happy for you.
54:34Yeah, I always call him the unofficial team captain of NFL Media, NFL Network now. The best. Yeah, we're lucky to have him. Let's get out of here. We're still going four shows a week, Shooky. We're cranking.
54:48Nick Shook:Who cares if teens are going to Cancun or whatever soon? They're going on vacation. We're not. Yeah, you might not hear from Shooky in a minute because he's going to get out of here. But we'll be right here. Next show is going to be myself and Jordan Rodrigue talking about why are all these trades happening right now? We'll see you then.
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55:57Nick Shook:Original series like The Chi. Just make sure we protect each other. In live sports like UFC. Welcome to the history books. New home, same family. Your BET favorites are now on Paramount+. Subscribe now. Here's the truth. You could literally be adored by everyone and then come home and still get completely ignored by your own cat. It's classic cat behavior. But new Shiba Premium Puree is a lickable treat that changes all that. They're protein-rich, made with bone broth, and have the smooth, creamy texture cats go crazy for, especially when it's hand-fed. Yeah, it's more than a treat. It's a fast pass to favorite human status.
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57:18Nick Shook:Get started at redfin.com. Own the dream. This is an iHeart Podcast. Guaranteed human.
From the publisher
Gregg Rosenthal and Nick Shook get you caught up on everything you need to know from around the NFL including, Brendan Sorsby not heading to the NFL, Baker Mayfield's future with the Buccaneers, contract extensions for Christian Watson and Darnelle Washington, some clarity in the QB 1 battle between J.J. McCarthy and Kyler Murray for the Vikings, and a discussion about Russell Wilson's chances at the Hall of Fame. Plus, Shook takes you behind the scenes of the Madden launch event and the guys give a congratulations to Steve Wyche for his induction into the Black College Football Hall of Fame.
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